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13 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

You did well to get them, i spent a lot of time trying to get them without success as i also have had some good saves with them. Enjoy them while you can since they won't be there next season.

Oh no, didn't realise they had been relegated. I feel quite sad about that. I reckon I've done a challenge a year with them for the past five years, one of my favorites. I'll have to complete the challenge this year as a goodbye to them.

Gone the same way as Hastings United who were a previous favorite of mine..

 

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The last few days I've been holidaying to the 24th of June, so I could holiday one day and get different teams promoted but somehow the teams does not change? Each new save has the same 6 teams getting promoted. I have done this before without issues and simply don't know what is wrong..

My setup is unemployed => Advanced setup =>image.thumb.png.54353496bac6efaf40d817c6228d83e6.png and image.png.a1e271e4baed09a97d564ac30012c5c0.png  image.pngimage.png


 

 

If you know what I'm doing wrong, please tell me :)

 

Edited by KVJ92
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22 minutes ago, KVJ92 said:

The last few days I've been holidaying to the 24th of June, so I could holiday one day and get different teams promoted but somehow the teams does not change? Each new save has the same 6 teams getting promoted. I have done this before without issues and simply don't know what is wrong..

 

If you know what I'm doing wrong, please tell me :)

 

Something was changed in the 19.3 patch so you have to holiday from earlier as the teams (sadly) are fixed at an earlier date. If I remember right I holidayed until the 30th May, saved and then holidayed form there and the teams were different. Is it annoying and inconvenient? Yes, but people raised it with SI and I believe/was led to believe they'll look at it for future updates/next years game. I haven't had to do it again for a while so may have changed since then but it's the method I used to get my current bunch of no-hopers! :D 

Edited by optimusprimal82
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1 minute ago, optimusprimal82 said:

Something was changed in the 19.3 patch so you have to holiday from earlier as the teams (sadly) are fixed at an earlier date. If I remember right I holidayed until the 30th May, saved and then holidayed form there and the teams were different. Is it annoying and inconvenient? Yes, but people raised it with SI and I believe/was led to believe they'll look at it for future updates/next years game. I haven't had to do it again for a while so may have changed since then but it's the method I used to get my current bunch of no-hopers! :D 

Thank you! It was driving me crazy :D Couldn't figure out what I did wrong. I'll try with 30th May - Then just holiday to the 25th June? 

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Yep, think 25th is still correct (for England anyway).

 

Actually, the date to holiday to for each country is in the first post of the academy challenge thread;

Might be elsewhere too but that's where I found it so will have to do! :) 

Edited by optimusprimal82
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1 hour ago, optimusprimal82 said:

Yep, think 25th is still correct (for England anyway)

30th May was not early enough. I'll try April instead

edit: That seems to work

Edited by KVJ92
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St Neots Town

127px-St_Neots_Town_F.C._logo.png.f8611d9146d7c7d7a78e832605bda159.png

National League North– 2020/21 – 2nd

 

Squad

Transfers

Overview

We should have been good enough to go up as champions, the campaign ended in disappointment however. We fell short in the playoff final having surrendered a commanding lead at the top of the table. Not only that but we lost a kind draw in the FA Trophy semi-final against Gainsborough.

In terms of the squad we aren’t far off. We have the core of a good team and should go up next season with a couple of good signings.

Financially we are doing okay, we have managed to stay in the black but with a ballooning wage bill this might be a problem soon.

Key Players

Jonny Smith – Left winger signed in November, contributed 12 assists in his 26 games.

Oliver Sarkic – Montenegran number 10 siggned from Leeds mid-season and scored 16 goals.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/18         Conference North                13th        
2017/18         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.   

 

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Kettering Town - 2020/21 (Season 2) Review - National League 

League - The 2 point margin doesn't flatter us. We were not head and shoulders above the rest, but a good early season left the chasing pack with too much to do

FA Cup - A decent run earned us some cash.

FA Trophy - Wasn't too upset about this.

Key Players

Sol Pryce - Loanee kicked on late in the season to make sure we won the title

D'Margio Wright-Phillips - Ian Wright's grandson isn't quite the same level of player, but excellent for me nontheless.

Emmanuel Dieseruvwe - Still a key part of my side.

Luke Coddington - Mid-season signing who turned out to be a large improvement.

Best Match

v Sutton Utd (A) - 6-3 - For once nearly ever chance went in.

Worst Match

v Tranmere Rovers (H) - 2-3 - Awful defending at the end cost us what should have been a victory.

Season Best XI | Overall Best XI | Transfers

Leaderboard Rankings

Single Game: 298,497th (962,626)

Single season in nation: 173,050th (577,848)

Single season in division: 7,239th (577,848)

Progress

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season|Division|Pos|FAC|CC/FAT|EUR|Rep|Notes|
19-20   VNN     1st 4Q    1st   -  114th
20-21   VNL     1st 3rd   3rd Q - 92nd
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2030/31

Table | Squad |Transfers

A very middle of the road season where the club were always 4 or 5 points outside the playoffs without managing to get in. Ended the season 5 points outside.
In the cups, managed to reach the 3rd Rd of the league cup where the team were well beaten by Chelsea and the 3rd Rd of the FA cup were they were well beaten by Everton.
No progress in the Checkatrade trophy.

Finances remained quite steady, i got the board to agree to improve the training facilities which they agreed to but cancelled at the end of the season to improve the capacity instead. They did grant a improvement to the youth recruitment.

I managed to sign up Probert after his release although he was not quite as good as the previous season and the other strikers fell short. Hammond and Woodyard were again the other star players. I released or sold several long time players in Akinade, Klass, George and Grantham who had made ca 250 apps each.

Barrett at RB was so poor i sold him and played a youth player (Hone) for the rest of the season which was not ideal.

 

2031/32

Table | Squad |Transfers


The squad appeared stronger even though there were not many additions. This proved to be the case as the club were just behind the top 2 all season until about March when poor form saw the club drop away. A strong finish saw the club into the playoffs. the semi-final 1st leg the team fell 2-0 behind by halftime to Northampton before drawing 2-2. The 2nd leg was won 2-1.
In the final the team was lucky to win 1-0.
The cups were generally successful with the club again losing to Chelsea in the 3rd Rd League cup and annoyingly to L1 strugglers Salford in the FA cup 2nd Rd.
The checkatrade Trophy was all about penalty shootouts as i lost the unimportant ones  but won the ones that mattered. In the final the team won against Sunderland quite easily in the end.

Finances improved hugely on the back of this season, the board accepted several bids for Pipiska who really wanted to leave. I also sold Hone who had only L1 potential and the offer seemed too good. I turned down £1.5M for White in Jan.
I was able to convince the board to improve the training and youth facilities for next season. They also upgraded the youth recruitment to Extensive which is the max and the youth level to 3.
The ground improvement was finished by Nov and pretty much sold out after that.

Giamattei was brought back to the club and converted to a RB where he was already competent.
Woodyard and Hammond were the main creative players. Rufati also deserved a mention, a player probably not good enough with the ass man telling you to dump him immediately. And yet he puts in consistently good performances, now capped by Kosovo.
Up front Probert struggled but Samuel was amazing getting the league top scorer and best player.

 

Season       League           Position      FA Cup           FA Trophy           Achievements/Notes               
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20   Vanarama South        7th        4th Q Round       2nd Round               Playoffs 
2020/21   Vanarama South        1st        1st Round         3rd Q Round             League Winners, Promotion 
2021/22   Vanarama National     10th       2nd Round         2nd Round               None
2022/23   Vanarama National     13th       1st Round         4th Round               None
2023/24   Vanarama National     15th       1st Round         Final                   FA Trophy finalists
2024/25   Vanarama National     12th       1st Round         1st Round               None
2025/26   Vanarama National     3rd        2nd Round         2nd Round               Playoff winners, Promotion
 
Season       League       Position      FA Cup           League Cup        League Trophy        Achievements/Notes               
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2026/27     League 2        10th       2nd Round          1st Round          1st Round               None
2027/28     League 2        22nd       1st Round          1st Round          2nd Round               None
2028/29     League 2         6th       1st Round          1st Round          1st Round               Promotion
2029/30     League 1        16th       2nd Round          1st Round          1st Round               None
2030/31     League 1        11th       3rd Round          3rd Round          1st Round               None
2031/32     League 1         5th       3rd Round          3rd Round          Winners                 Promotion, Checkatrade Trophy winnners

 

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St Neots Town

127px-St_Neots_Town_F.C._logo.png.f8611d9146d7c7d7a78e832605bda159.png

National League North– 2021/22 – 1st

 

Squad

Transfers

Overview

Promotion was achieved in my third season in charge. The table makes this look like it was a leisurely romp to the championship with a comfortable six point margin over AFC Telford. It felt anything but however. We were in a dogfight for the first half of the season with Macclesfield for top spot. We sat in second spot at the turn of the year. A major issue was this was that we went into the season with essentially the same team as the previous season with little strengthening. Nine players arrived in November and December essentially changing the whole first Xi. This pushed up the standard of the team and form vastly improved with 12 straight wins in January/February. This allowed us to pull away  from the chasing pack. We also completed a double with the FA Trophy following a 2-1 win over Eastleigh.

The new arrivals in November allowed me to transfer the existing first team members. This netted £325k in funds which combined with revenues from the FA Trophy put us in a secure financial position.

The board are expecting promotion again next season. Hopefully we have enough in the squad but additions might be required.

Key Players

Callum HarriottA solid first season for the ex-Hull winger contributing 6 goals and 9 assists.

Harvey Knibbs – Scored 25 goals in all competitions having arrived in November on a free from Aston Villa.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  

 

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On 06/05/2019 at 18:20, KVJ92 said:

30th May was not early enough. I'll try April instead

edit: That seems to work

Can someone please tell me which is the best date to holiday to, as June 24th now being the teams have already been decided who are going to be promoted.

April 30th or April 1st ?.

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Real life last day match fixtures for Northern Premier, Southern Premier Central & South & Istmain Premier Leagues are on 27th April 2019.

And their play-off finals are on 6th May 2019.

Has FM19 now fallen inline with real life fixtures in these leagues.

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18 hours ago, advice said:

Can someone please tell me which is the best date to holiday to, as June 24th now being the teams have already been decided who are going to be promoted.

April 30th or April 1st ?.

The latest date I tried that worked was May 15th

Edited by KVJ92
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Starting this challenge again now i have a much faster computer.

 

di3jlwbz_400x400.thumb.jpg.abe2e9858715860cc4ffc5ade8c962b1.jpg

Hyde  - 2019/2020

 

 

League

Finished 3rd in the league and lost the playoff final on penalties 

Cups

Didn't really try in the cups to be honest, just used back up players for these matches

Transfers

Scouts and DoF found lots of players that had been released that ended up being decent 

Notable Players

Thomas Cole - Scored 24 league goals but also went 8 hours without a goal during the season as well

 

Record

Season          League                          Position             Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                  3rd             Lost in Play-off Finals        

 

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12 minutes ago, KVJ92 said:

The latest date I tried that worked was May 15th

Thanks for getting back to me.

I stopped holiday at 27th April 2019 and saved it, then holiday to June 25th 2019.

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St Neots Town

127px-St_Neots_Town_F.C._logo.png.f8611d9146d7c7d7a78e832605bda159.png

National League Premier– 2022/23 – 1st

 

Squad

Transfers

Overview

A second successive promotion means we will be playing in the league next season. When the board set as target of winning the league in our first season in the Conference National I thought this was rather harsh. However, we then embarked on a run of 17 straight wins in the league. By the time we dropped our first points in a draw away at Sutton on the 29th of October we sat 17 points clear at the top of the table. In 23 years playing Football Manager/Championship Manager this is possibly my best ever start to a season. We were still unbeaten at the turn of the year when we faced Crewe in the FA Cup third round. Fixtures had mounted up and this cost our form.  We still crossed the line with an impressive 112 points. Rochdale were extremely unfortunate to accrue over 100 points and still not achieve automatic promotion.

We have a healthy bank balance of just under a million. As I have brought in better players I have been able to sell the players they replaced, sometimes at inflated fees due to the success we have experienced in the past two seasons. I have a good increase in wage budget to look forward to next season so hopefully we can push on next season. I have a feeling the board may expect another promotion.

Key Players

Benny Ashley-SealThe pacy ex-Norwich striker signed in October and scored 26 goals in 36 games.

Anthony SpyrouAnother striker released by Norwich in October. Scored 20 goals from a deep lying role.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2021/22         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  

 

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@Andrew Haines - well done on promotion. I'm not surprised by the board since my players in the championship are not a lot better. No idea how you managed to get them at that level although you are paying a lot in wages, my best player is still on just 4K a week.

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Stalybridge Celtic Season 9 2027/28

Premier League

League Table   First year in the premier league the aim was simply survival and consolidation. Started the season with 2 losses but then 5 wins after that got me in 4th position after 7 games which included wins over Arsenal and Man Utd got me excited.  4 straight losses later and I found myself mid table which is where I remained for the rest of the season.   Couple of hard lessons learnt against the big clubs, 7 – 0 to Man Utd in the FA cup at Old Trafford, 5 – 1 to Chelsea away, 5 – 1 to Liverpool away, 6 – 1 to Spurs away has me questioning my tactics.

Brought in quite a few good free players as didn’t really have much of a transfer budget particularly with the large sign on fees which are being asked now.  Ironically my biggest transfer fee paid 7.5m was a bit of a dud. Did manage to sign 2 wonderkids in Stankovic for 2.3m and Ivica 3.1m in Jan and have another one arriving in June for 1.7m.

Standout players were Filipovic who was signed for free from Arsenal and Favre who i got for free from Marseille despite copping 69 league goals still managed average rating over 7.

 

Transfers     Finances     Squad

 

FA Cup was knocked out in the 4th Round to Man Utd and Carabao was knocked out in the 3rd round by Arsenal. Hopefully with more depth next year we can actually achieve something in the cups.

Finances are great, we profited from playing at Huddersfield’s 25k capacity stadium this year but our own ground will be ready for next season with only a capacity of 13.6k. Managed to upgrade a lot of the facilities this season with the large profits, but then thought to myself, am I improving Huddersfield’s facilities since technically are ground isn’t ready yet?

Board have given me an uplift in wages budget and 65m transfer budget which I cant wait to sink my teeth into!   Need Desperately in need of a RB, LB, CB and LW.

image.thumb.png.a99af4e4439f284a24b4b738372e281d.png

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On 12/05/2019 at 10:42, Thebaker said:

@Andrew Haines - well done on promotion. I'm not surprised by the board since my players in the championship are not a lot better. No idea how you managed to get them at that level although you are paying a lot in wages, my best player is still on just 4K a week.

@Thebaker Cheers. I've done well for cash having picked up some good fees for players and had a couple of decent cup runs. That bumped up the wage budget. A year more than usual in the conference north helped to sort the squad out a bit. All I do is add every player released from the football league clubs to a shortlist and do targetted scouting to get as many scouted as possible. November/December is then a sweet spot where a lot of players will accept my offers before the january transfer window where a lot of them get picked up. This is usually a pretty viable way of recruiting in non-League. Once I hit league football I need to find another source of players.

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St Neots Town

127px-St_Neots_Town_F.C._logo.png.f8611d9146d7c7d7a78e832605bda159.png

League Two– 2023/24 – 6th

Squad

Transfers

Overview

Well this was a rollercoaster of a season. Promotion was secured when winning the playoff final but in the middle of the season I was looking likely to lose my job. The board was expecting the title and we started okay but form disintegrated and we failed to win a game in October and November. Things got desperate and we dropped as low as 18th in the league and I had the indignity of a meeting with the board to discuss my future (which I survived). Matters probably weren’t helped with most of my recruitment in pre-season consisting of loan signings.. 17 of them. I realised the limitation on loans was only restricted to 4 from a single club and went a bit mad. I started with a core lineup similar to the one that won promotion from the conference national. As this struggled I switched to a lineup including five loan players, this was no more successful. Eventually the corner was turned when I restored two of my permanent signings to the first team. Also key was that I alleviated my problems with fatigue caused by cup commitments by establishing a cup lineup, mainly of loan players, non of whom started in the league. I expected to be sacrificing the cup competitions with a hope that league form would recover. League form did recover but the cup lineup did fine and we enjoyed a league cup victory away at Norwich, a run to the FA cup 3rd round and won the EFL Trophy. I did admittedly play my first XI in the final of the EFL trophy, a 3-0 victory against League One Fleetwood.

Our improved form carried us up the table and to within touching distance of automatic promotion until a late season wobble cost us. This form did not bode well for the playoffs but we saw off Cambridge courtesy of a 1-1 draw at home and a 1-0 win away. In the final against Leyton Orient we faced a tight game and trailed 2-1 at half time. Two second half goals from Anthony Greaves, the second in the 86th minute saw us promoted however.

I will have a big task next season as the board want the title… again. Apparently four consecutive promotions is entirely reasonable. I have to replace a number of first choice players who were on loan including both centre-backs. Financially we are sound though and I have a good wage budget available to me.

Key Players

Jean-Pierre TiehlFrench striker on loan from Fulham, scored 16 goals in the league.

Daniel AkinyemiPacy winger signed from Hull for a club record £325k.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  

 

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St Neots Town

127px-St_Neots_Town_F.C._logo.png.f8611d9146d7c7d7a78e832605bda159.png

League One– 2024/25 – 5th

 

Squad

Transfers

Overview

Another season, another promotion. Four successive promotions sees us playing in the Championship next season. The end result was very similar to last season with a finish in the lower end of the playoffs but promotion with a win in the final. However that doesn’t highlight that this season we were much stronger and with a much more balanced squad. Strikers Kieran Phillips and Rodel Richards were fantastic contributing 50 goals in the league between them. A positive was that only one of the first IX were loan players rather than the four players of last season.

For significant spells in the season we looked likely to challenge for top spot and held that position for two weeks in January. We ran out of steam however in the run in and too many draws cost us. In the playoffs however Colchester were dispatched 6-2 on aggregate in the semis setting up a Wembley final with Northampton. A classic game saw us leading 1-0 at half time. Two second half goals from Northamptons Andy Faustin saw us trailing until and 83rd minute equaliser by top scorer Rodel Richards. Extra time saw us take control and two goals from Akinyemi and Phillips saw us promoted.

Financially, the £1.8m surplus I was sat on at the start of the season has disappeared into funding the wage budget. Hopefully Championship TV money will fill the coffers again.

A positive is that for the first time in four seasons, the board haven’t instructed me to win the title.. avoiding relegation will do.

Key Players

Rodel RichardsA fantastic first season at the club for the ex-Tottenham striker who top scored in the league with 29 goals.

Daniel AkinyemiThe young winger had another good season contributing 20 assists.

Joe PowellOriginally brought in to play as a no. 10, the free transfer from West Ham was great in a deep lying playmaker role.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted

 

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Season 1 (2019/20) - Vanarama National League North

Competitions:

Overview | End of Season Review

Vanarama National League North (Table| Results (part 1, part 2):

Board Expectation: Avoid relegation. Media Prediction: 21st.

Finish: 13th.

We got off to a decent start, winning 5 out of the first 9 games. Things dropped off a bit from here and we were very inconsistent, although managed to find ourselves in 7th place at the turn of the year. We hovered around this last playoff placed position for some time even though we were continuing to be inconsistent. Finally, a massive drop in form including a run of 6 matches without a win saw us plummet down the table and any hopes of a playoff spot were extinguished. At one point I had hoped we could sneak the playoffs but in the end we didn't have the quality and it was probably for the best. We are really struggling against the 4-4-2 and need to find a solution to this next season. We scored our fair share of goals, but our defence was very leaky and we conceded the 4th highest amount in the league. This needs to be rectified before we have a hope of promotion.

FA Cup (Results):

Board Expectation: Reach Third Qualifying Round.

Finish: Knocked out in Second Qualifying Round by St. Ives Town.

Really poor performance at a time when we were going through a spell of very bad form. We lost comfortably 3-1 and our goal was an 88th minute consolation. Very disappointing as we were playing a lower reputation team... Hopefully we can do better in this competition next season!

FA Trophy (Results):

Board Expectation: Reach Third Qualifying Round.

Finish: Knocked out in First Round by FC Halifax Town.

It took a replay to get through the Third Qualifying Round against Marine where we eventually beat them comfortably at home 4-2. In the next round we faced FC Halifax Town which was always going to be tough since they're a division above. It was a close game but we were knocked out 1-0 via a late own goal.

Club:

Squad (End of Season Awards) There's not much stand out quality in the squad and that took it's toll towards the end of the season. Louis White and Sam McClellen were the only two consistent performers and carried us to safety. We need to strengthen in defence and out wide if we want to have success going forward and also we need to hope to use the loan market well again.

TransfersWe brought in quite a few players and I hope to keep a few players at the club for next season with some signed up to new contracts already. Although, it might be tough to get the players we had in on loan back for another season so we may need to look elsewhere.

Key Players: 

Louis White - Amazing season from him. 11 league goals and 9 league assists is an excellent return from DM playing as the team's DLP. Signed up for next season on another year contract. Nominated for VNN Player Of The Season.

Sam McClellen - The other stand out star in the team. Although I signed him in the summer he only began to play part way through the season. He came in and started scoring immediately, bagging 12 goals in 18 starts.

Taylor Townsend - In on loan from Shrewsbury, he also only made an impact half way through the season when he was brought into the team. At times inconsistent but he hit 3 goals and 3 assists and usually played well.

Kane Cullen - Started the season as my man up top and was in great form. Although his form dipped and I put McClellen into the team and after that Cullen found it hard to get back into the side. He did finish with 11 league goals though in 20 starts.

Yusifu Ceesay - On loan from Blackpool, the Spanish winger did well. 7 goals and 2 assists was a decent return for him. His contract is due to expire so maybe we can get him in again next season.

Best Youth Intake Player: N/A - we decided not to take any of the Youth Candidates as they were all poor.

Overall Best Eleven 

FinancesThe owner has been injecting cash to keep us afloat. Hopefully, he can continue to do so or we're in trouble!

Manager ProfileGot my National C licence and a few improvements to my attributes.

Season    Team           League                             Finish   FA Cup            FA Trophy   Top Goalscorer   Most Assists  Notes  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20   Bamber Bridge  Vanarama National League North     13th     2nd Qual. Round   1st Round   McClellen (12)   White (9)     Avoided relegation
Edited by Cloondawg
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St Neots Town

127px-St_Neots_Town_F.C._logo.png.f8611d9146d7c7d7a78e832605bda159.png

Championship– 2025/26 – 10th

Squad

Transfers

Overview

A solid first season in the Championship started off with form looking likely to earn us a fifth successive promotion. Impressive form to the end of September saw us in and around the top two positions. This early season promise evaporated however and we struggled all season until the run in. We were never particularly close to the relegation zone but close enough that our form was a distinct concern. We finished strongly to earn a top 10 finish with five wins in an unbeaten last seven games.

The sale of star winger Daniel Akinyemi in pre-season for £2.5m granted significant funds to strengthen. Solid first team players arrived in Billy Gilmour from Chelsea and Dutch midfielder Kevin De Schouwer. On the wings, I struggled to recruit but picked up two excellent young midfielders in Moxon and Doran who had pace and technique so were prime to convert to play in the wing positions. Defence was a problem but loan signings filed gaps in there. The squad is decent and I have funds to spend to recruit this summer. Player availability may be the issue and it may be an iterative process over a few seasons to get out of this league.

Key Players

Kain MoxonYoung attacking midfielder converted to a winger following £235k signing from Man United.

Jon Doran – Another midfielder converted to a winger having signed from Chelsea on a free.

Louie Moulden – 24 year old keeper signed two seasons ago from Man City who has developed impressively.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                            

 

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2032/33

Table | Squad | Transfers

 

This was a good first season in the championship where the team were never in relegation trouble but also never threatened to make the playoffs, very midtable where they finished. In the cups the team lost on penalties to Championship Barnsley on penalties in the 2nd Rd of the league cup. In the FA cup 4th Rd the team lost 4-2 at home to Man City.

Finances were again good due to a combination of player sales and more money coming in.  The extra funds allowed for an increase in training and youth facilities, the board also started looking for a new stadium location.

Testolini was sold as his release clause was met which was a blow as he had started to get in the first team. My chairman generally makes all the player purchases and he managed to get in 2 good players this year in Paspalj and Leite.

There were also a number of loan signings like Bartle who generally did well.

 

2033/34

Table | Squad | Transfers

 

Another midtable season although the club were only 3 points from the playoffs by Jan but a poor run of 10 points in 12 games meant the team ended midtable again.

In the cups the club lost 5-2 away to premier league Middlesboro in the league cup and 5-1 at home to Chelsea in the FA cup 3rd rd. This shows i'm still some distance from the premier league.

Finances were again very good as a result of player sales. The board agreed to improve the youth and training facilities again for the 3rd year running. They also improved the junior coaching and youth category and allowed worldwide scouting.  A new stadium will be built although its slightly smaller than i would like.

I was unable to bring in many players as the wage demands were just too great in most cases and i was gazumped for a few transfers.Loan transfers and frees made up the bulk of any business.

Leite left as Sporting met his release fee, i didn't manage to replace him properly. Woodyard did do well as the league player of the year with the highest average and joint most assists.

Paspalj ended as the league top scorer although the team seemed short of goals with a lot of games where good chances were missed. I trialed Evans in preseason only for him to get injured for 3 months in a game. Finally signed him in dec and he ended the season strongly to make the left wing less of a problem going forward.

I sold this youth player as he kicked up a fuss when i kept turning down transfer bids. Not such a loss as this player came through the intake, 1 of 3 5 star potential players (all defenders), a proper 'golden generation'

 

Season       League           Position      FA Cup           FA Trophy           Achievements/Notes               
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20   Vanarama South        7th        4th Q Round       2nd Round               Playoffs 
2020/21   Vanarama South        1st        1st Round         3rd Q Round             League Winners, Promotion 
2021/22   Vanarama National     10th       2nd Round         2nd Round               None
2022/23   Vanarama National     13th       1st Round         4th Round               None
2023/24   Vanarama National     15th       1st Round         Final                   FA Trophy finalists
2024/25   Vanarama National     12th       1st Round         1st Round               None
2025/26   Vanarama National     3rd        2nd Round         2nd Round               Playoff winners, Promotion
 
Season       League       Position      FA Cup           League Cup        League Trophy        Achievements/Notes               
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2026/27     League 2        10th       2nd Round          1st Round          1st Round               None
2027/28     League 2        22nd       1st Round          1st Round          2nd Round               None
2028/29     League 2         6th       1st Round          1st Round          1st Round               Promotion
2029/30     League 1        16th       2nd Round          1st Round          1st Round               None
2030/31     League 1        11th       3rd Round          3rd Round          1st Round               None
2031/32     League 1         5th       3rd Round          3rd Round          Winners                 Promotion, Checkatrade Trophy winnners

Season       League          Position      FA Cup           League Cup        European Comp.       Achievements/Notes               
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2032/33   Championship        12th       4th Round          2nd Round            N/A                 None
2032/33   Championship        11th       3rd Round          3rd Round            N/A                 None

 

Edited by Thebaker
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Kings Langley - Premier League - 2036/37

Last season we came so close to completing the clean sweep, with no major signings needed we should be able to give it a good go this season.

League Table - we pretty much topped the league for the entire season.

Community Shield - a comfortable win to kick off the season.

UEFA Super Cup - this was a lot close as we snatched it in extra time.

FIFA Club World Cup - we made easy work of the unlikely finalists.

Carabao Cup - we destroyed Liverpool in the final.

FA Cup - we had a scare against Championship Cardiff.

UEFA Champions League - we weren't at our best throughout the tournament, but we won when it mattered.

Squad - I very much doubt I'll be able to improve on this.

Transfers - just one signing as I continue the search for a young defender.

Finances - a decent profit but our wages keep increasing.

Key Player Profiles:

Bright Abdullahi - top scorer again.

Mateo Pereira - our second top goalscorer, from the wing.

Rafael Silvano - a superb full back.

Allan Jakobsen - still one of our most important players.

Daniel Lawal - another great season from the winger.

Career Overview:

Season      League                       Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20     National League South        4th          Playoff semi finalists
2020/21     National League South        8th          
2021/22     National League South        10th          
2022/23     National League South        5th          Playoff winners
2023/24     National League              11th           
2024/25     National League              8th     
2025/26     National League              1st          Promoted as champions
2026/27     League Two                   1st          Promoted as champions, EFL Trophy winners
2027/28     League One                   1st          Promoted as champions
2028/29     Championship                 1st          Promoted as champions
2029/30     Premier League               8th          
2030/31     Premier League               5th          
2031/32     Premier League               5th          League Cup finalists
2032/33     Premier League               1st          Europa League finalists
2033/34     Premier League               4th          League Cup winners
2034/35     Premier League               1st          FA Cup and Champions League winners
2035/36     Premier League               1st          League Cup, CWC and Champions League winners, FA Cup finalists
2036/37     Premier League               1st          League Cup, CWC, FA Cup and Champions League winners 
Next Season:

After winning the lot, there's not a lot left to do. Perhaps an unbeaten season could be achievable?

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St Neots Town

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Championship– 2026/27 – 3rd

 

Squad

Transfers

Overview

We came so close to the premier league with a 3rd place finish where we ran the top two close all season. In the end, we weren’t strong enough in the run in and the gap to second place was an insurmountable nine points. A comprehensive demolition of West Brom 3-1 in both the home and away legs of the playoff semi looked good but in the end Sheffield United comfortably beat us in the final.

We were hampered in pre-season by a modest transfer budget being allocated. Most of this went on the recruitment of Ben Knight from Man City to fill the number 10 role. He partnered Rodel Richards who has worn the number 9 shirt for three seasons now. In truth I have never been entirely happy with Richards in this role but he has delivered 75 goals for the club. Beyond this the only first team signings were loans. The team I put together was effective though but may need some surgery to make the push for the Premier League next season. We should have funds this season however as we have a healthy bank balance.

Key Players

Ben Knight A marquee signing from Man City at the start of the season scoring 24 goals as a number 10.

Kain MoxonAn excellent second season for the ex-Man United winger scoring 19 goals.

Rodel Richards Striker in his third season with the club, scored 27 league goals.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists

 

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St Neots Town

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Championship– 2027/28 – 15th

 

Squad

Transfers

Overview

An absolute disaster of a season. 15th place was probably the best we could have hoped for at the end of a season which started badly and lurched from bad result to bad result. Bearing in mind the fantastic season we had last year, I was hopeful of at least the playoffs. I sold Kain Moxon to Blackburn at the start of the season for £7.5m which combined with a good bank balance gave me a significant funds to spend. However, I recruited badly and ended up with an unbalance squad with too many square pegs in round holes. Somehow I landed three very good central midfielders all of whom were left footed.  Ryan Walters got to play the central role while Joshua Kadzidlo adapted to the left wing role (where he did okay) and            Richard Warner converted to leftback. Upfront I signed Liverpool striker Giovanni Rothwell who had been on loan at Leeds on 20k a week. Rothwell struggled and although I was patient with him the 17 goals he scored were a disappointment.  The defence was a mess as well and a few days before the season started I panicked and brought in centre-backs Marcus Dawson (loan from Leicester) and Mariano Herrera (£525k from Atletico Madrid) who never worked and Hererra spent most of the season complaining about my managership.

It was clear that it was going to be a tough season from the off. We sat in the relegation zone in October. In December I was summoned to the first of what would be five meetings with the board to discuss my performance. The advantage of having taken a club from Confernence North to Championship is that the meetings can generally be navigated avoiding results targets to avoid the sack. My status was very insecure for much of the remainder of the season. Only a much improved run of form in March lifted this to just insecure and briefly stable until poor performances started to crop up again.

In the end I just about survived the season. The main downside is that despite £12m in the bank the budget afforded me for next season is not impressive. On the other side of the coin the squad needs a major overhaul for next season .The actual quality of the squad wasn’t bad but the balance needs addressing. In January I lost patience with last seasons star player  Ben Knight whinging about me turning down derisory transfer bids and sold him for £5.5m to Middlesbrough in January. I did have young Brazilian Alvarino on loan so he finished the season as first choice striker. A number of other players will go. I need a midfielder, winger, probably two strikers and two centrebacks. Also a keeper because first choice Jordan Dynan is good but I’m fed up of his complaining.

Key Players

Andrew OwensEnglish u21 International on loan from Liverpool  who played as a winger or a striker contributing 14 goals and 17 asssists.

Ryan WaltersYoung midfielder signed from Man City on a free played the holding role in midfield.

Joshua Kadzidlo Midfielder who spent  four season on loan with us from Leicester, finally signed for the club on a free in the summer.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             

 

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Season 2 (2020/21) - Vanarama National League North

Competitions:

Overview | End of Season Review

Vanarama National League North (Table| Results (part 1, part 2):

Board Expectation: Avoid relegation. Media Prediction: 18th.

Finish: 6th.

As is clear from the results, if we had done half as well in the first half of the season as we did in the second, we would have been promoted as champions. A mixed start, with a lot of draws, followed by an awful October and November made things appear as though we were in for another mediocre mid-table season. However, an excellent run from December to the end of the season, let to a quick rise up the table and before long we were taking part in a six-way title challenge. Frustratingly we left our good run of form too late and fell just short of the mark in 6th, only 4 points off the league leaders. This meant the playoffs and we faced Barrow who finished one place above ourselves in the first round. With injuries to Louis White and Lois Maynard, his replacement in the same game, coming in the final game of the season it was a tough ask. A huge re-jig in the centre of the park proved to be our downfall and although we pushed Barrow to the final whistle we fell to a 3-2 defeat in a thrilling game. With the best goal difference in league and knowing if the season was few games longer we would have been champions, I have confidence that if we can keep the squad intact and maybe add a couple of more quality players we can be successful again next season.

FA Cup (Results):

Board Expectation: Reach Fourth Qualifying Round.

Finish: Knocked out in Fourth Qualifying Round by Chesterfield.

Eventually overturning Corby on penalties after going to an annoyingly placed replay, before comfortably dispatching of Leiston 3-1 away from home, we reached the Fourth Qualifying Round. Here we faced Chesterfield of the league above who have a decent amount of fans attending for this level so however the tie ended it would provide a decent amount of cash. We managed to scrape a 1-1 draw at home and take them to a replay where we eventually succumbed to a 1-0 defeat in a tight game. Although, it would have been nice to progress for more financial gain, it was always going to be tough and at least we did better than last season.

FA Trophy (Results):

Board Expectation: Reach First Round.

Finish: Knocked out in Fourth Round by Chesterfield.

A great run in this competition, thanks to favourable draws, really helped boost morale and turn round our season. Comfortable wins against Welwyn Garden City, Potters Bar and Workington who were all at a lower level, led us to the Third Round. There we faced a Dulwich Hamlet side who were in a similar top half position in the VNS as we were in the VNN. We managed to find an extra gear in extra time to win 2-0 in a tight match. In the final 8 of the competition we were drawn against Chesterfield who had already knocked us out of the FA Cup earlier in the season. They were too good again and comfortably won 2-0 to end hopes of a semi final.

Club:

Squad (End of Season Awards) I was a lot more pleased with the squad this season and felt we had a lot of players contributing to the success of the team. Defensive midfielder Louis White was superb again and has been nominated for VNN Player of the Season, whilst McClellen and Smith supplied goals up front. Hopefully I can retain the major players of the team and add a couple of quality players to the mix in the summer.

TransfersWe managed to retain a few players from last season who were among the better performers. I was unable to get a few of the loan players back so we looked elsewhere. The large amount of turnover of players could have contributed to the inconsistent start to the season. Hopefully we have more of a core squad now and only have to add a few for next season.

Key Players: 

Louis White - Another great season from him in DM and the stand out player again. This time he chipped in with 9 goals and 15 assists which is superb from DM as a DLP. Won VNN Player of the Season!

Niall Heaton - Retained from last season he looked a lot more solid at CB. His long throw was a useful tool and provided him with a few assists.

Harry Smith - Signed in the summer he was the leading goalscorer with 18 goals and 5 assists in all competitions. With height and great jumping reach he was a real threat in the air and scored a lot from set pieces.

Douglas Tharme - Signed on loan from Wrexham he partnered Heaton well at the back, playing the majority of matches this season.

Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain - Signed on loan from Notts County, he struggled at first but really found his form and worked well down the right providing 6 assists.

Best Youth Intake Player: Lewis Brown - Not great but he was the only player who I thought was worth signing.

Overall Best ElevenThis now looks like my most commonly used lineup from this season.

FinancesThis is starting to look really bad and we are constantly losing more and more money. Hopefully pre-season friendlies can help, but we might need more injections from the owner. A cup run would be welcomed next season!

Manager Profile: Due to finances I was refused being able to start the next coaching course. A few attribute increases nonetheless. I also won VNN Manager of the Season.

Season    Team           League                             Finish   FA Cup            FA Trophy   Top Goalscorer   Most Assists  Notes  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20   Bamber Bridge  Vanarama National League North     13th     2nd Qual. Round   1st Round   McClellen (12)   White (9)     Avoided relegation
2020/21   Bamber Bridge	 Vanarama National League North	    6th	     4th Qual. Round   4th Round   Smith (18)       White (15)    Lost in Playoff 1st Round
Edited by Cloondawg
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Stalybridge Celtic Season 10 2028/29

Premier League

League Table – Improvement for last season finishing in 6th on the last day and qualifying for the Europa League. Managed to bridge the gap to the teams in the upper echelon, Liverpool having a disastrous season with Klopp being sacked helped. As you can tell from the ladder, there’s still a significant gap between ourselves and the top 4.

A couple of great signings with Hernandez being the standout. Signed for 1.7m from Santa Fe and scored 6 more goals than the second best in the premier league. Ivica is developing nicely and a real driving force in the midfield. Shoutouts to Goodwin who kept notching at important times and Montenegro in defence who was signed from San Lorenzo for 10m.

We also had our best progress in the Cups making it to the semi final of the FA Cup however losing to Chelsea 1 – 0 despite dominating the game.   Bit of revenge took place 2 weeks later as we went to Stamford Bridge and beat them 5 – 3.  Knocked out in the 4th round of the Carabao cup.

Transfers          Squad

 

We’re increasing the capacity of the stadium from 13k to 20k so we’ll be playing at the 30k capacity St Johns stadium in the meantime.

We have a huge transfer budget of 100m+ and wage capacity to play with in the off season so will try to bring in a couple of ready made world beaters. Need a LB, RB, CD and LW and I think we can challenge for a top 4 spot.

image.thumb.png.b1e11794335237976c37c260a8123725.png

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Not that I expect anyone to care/remember, but I'm back on my save after a 2-month break. I may have kind of absolutely ragequit after failing to agree terms with anyone of even League Two quality in my first season in League One.

That said, I've almost finished the season, and I just thought I'd share this situation for the final game, because I think it's pretty interesting.

wGmgNFb.png

One game to go, must win and need both Oldham and Forest Green not to win. Who are they playing?

Forest Green Rovers v Oldham Athletic

 

How about me? I'm at home to 15th placed Crawley. An irrelevant match-up you'd think, except they're managed by my former coach who left 140 days ago to join them. I fought to keep him as he really is an excellent (Premier League level) defensive coach. My end of season report will come tonight, but I just wanted to post this as there's so much riding on it on so many levels.

 

Edit: THE PERFECT STORM! Forest Green beat Oldham 1-0. but our 4-0 victory over a lacklustre Crawley puts us 6th on goal difference. Play-offs here we come. I was 19th half-way through the season, this has been a stunning season since January.

Edited by SuperRedditch
WE WON
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REDDITCH UNITED

Season 5 - 2023/24

League One

Media Prediction - 24th

Actual Finish - 6th (Lost Play-offs Semi Final)

 

League Table

Transfers

The Squad

Season Summary

Truly a season of two halves. After 23 games we were sitting in 19th, at the end of an 11-match winless streak. An almost complete overhaul of the 1st XI in January gave us automatic promotion worthy form. That and the shift back to 4-4-2 or how I like to call it "going all Mike Bassett". I'm done with single striker formations in this years FM - I think they're fundamentally broken. Ultimately we snuck into the play-offs on the final day of the season but were unable to overcome 3rd-placed Portsmouth, who were just too strong for us over the two legs - losing 4-5 on aggregate.

Cups were a non-entity - standard 2nd/3rd Round fare. Financially we're hemorrhaging 100-200k each month - this club just doesn't have the infrastructure to deal with wages at this level. We NEED the Premier League big bucks, but that's some way off.

 

Notable Players

Matt Ritchie - I'm sure we've all bought countless of old players, ones with great technical/mentals but terrible physicals. How often do they work out? Matt Ritchie is a play I've long admired IRL. In a 4-4-2 as a Wide Playmaker on the right, this guy was utterly lethal. Made us tick.

Adam Lewis - Really solid Left sided player. So much utility.

Japhet Tanganga - 9 goals from CB (Matt Ritchie's corners, how else?) Superb in the air.

Demeaco Duhaney - Second season just as strong as his first, overlapped Matt Ritchie on the right and made a stunning partnership.

Rekeem Harper - The legs. Gave my midfield so much energy and drive in the 2nd half of the season.

 

Next Season

I want to win the league, keep hold of my better payers and lose the weaker ones. CB, LM and ST are the three areas that need immediate attention. I'd also love an EFL Trophy run - if we do go up this is our last chance to win it.

 

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Edited by SuperRedditch
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St Neots Town

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Championship– 2028/29 – 3rd

Squad

Transfers

Overview

A massive improvement on last season. We were consistent all season and ran the top two close for automatic promotion. Ultimately we fell short by only two points. The playoffs were a similar story to two seasons ago with Norwich thrashed 9-1 on aggregate in the semis. We fell short in the final however with Middlesbrough easily running out 3-0 winners.

After the debacle of last season I cleared out a large proportion of the squad with some big name players moved on. I was able to bring in a number of decent players on free transfers and loans while moving on the players they replaced for decent fees. This granted me enough funds to pay out £3.7m on Jordan Sayer and Bernard Butler. Both were similar players as attacking forwards. Butler converted to play on the wing to accommodate both in the first XI.

In January, young midfielder Ryan Walters left for Reading for £7.5m. I did not significantly spend these funds so I should be able to spend in the summer to push on next season and hopefully reach the Premier League.

Key Players

Bernard Butler English winger signed for £2.2 million from Everton did well.

Philip RolfeThe 24 year old returned to the club on a free having played for the club on loan in League Two.

Jordan Sayer A £1.5m signing from Arsenal. The 22 year old hit 30 goals.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             
2028/29         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists                                             

 

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St Neots Town

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Championship– 2029/30 – 4th

Squad

Transfers

Overview

On paper this season looks like a decent season where we came close to automatic promotion and fell short in the playoffs. This doesn’t tell the story however. The season started terribly and we were looking at another season where we fought relegation despite having a strong squad. By the end of November I was starting to worry about my position as matters showed no sign of improving. A reorganisation of the first XI saw us pick up a few results and as confidence returned we won seven games on the trot. Form from there stayed strong and we briefly moved into second place with six games to play. In the end we sat in third going into our final game. If we won away at 20th placed Mansfield and either of the top two dropped points we would be promoted. We could only manage a draw however. If we had won we would have been champions on goal difference. In the end we weren’t good enough in the playoff semi’s. Wolves beat us home and away. It would have felt unjust if we had gone up as I don’t believe we were really good enough.

Recruitment was very successful in pre-season. I picked up a number of really good players from the reserves of some of Europe’s biggest teams. This mix of Nationalities probably went a long way to explain the slow start to the season.

Key Players

Rachid Vila French centre-back signed from Nimes on a free was excellent at the back and is attracting attention.

Christian Coulibaly 24 year old Ivorian arrived from Juventus last summer and had a great season.

Pedro PintoA January signing for £925k from Benfica. Pinto is the first truly class keeper I’ve had for a long time.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             
2028/29         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists                                             
2029/30         Championship                    4th                                             Playoff Semi-Finalists                                             

 

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@Andrew Haines, you have been really close to promotion, surely next season. There is nothing more annoying than under performing with a squad, something I'm very familiar with.

I've managed about 3 seasons in the championship in mid table each year so you are doing much better.

Edited by Thebaker
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Table | Squad | Transfers

 

Started the season poorly mostly due to a rash of red cards in the 10 games which robbed the team of momentum. Turned it around after Jan losing just 2 and winning 10 of the last 19. Unfortunately in that same period Portsmouth lost just 1 and won 13 before winning the playoffs.

Lost at home 0-1 to L1 Burton in the league cup 1st rd and 0-4 away to Premier league Leicester in the FA cup 3rd Rd.

Finances stayed pretty steady as a result of not spending much on either wages or transfers, i also sold off  quite a few clauses. The youth and training facilities were improved to great and the youth level raised to 2. Youth coaching was raised to excellent.

Lambert was an important signing as RB had been a failing area for years and he was able to shore that up. Ward established himself as the first choice CB by the end of the season.

The midfield were all a little bit inconstant except Woodyard who had the most joint most league assists, not bad for a L1 standard player.

Up front Paspalj was the league top scorer and  league player of the year, the other strikers all struggled to score, although Ikechukwu made for a good partnership with Paspalj.

 

Table | Squad | Transfers

 

This was a stop start season with runs of wins followed by winless runs, struggled to score goals for much of the season. In spite of this with 10 games to go the team was in 4th and just 5 points from 2nd.

Another poor run dropped the team out of the playoffs, but i sneaked past Leeds in the last game as they could only draw to Southampton whilst i easily beat Brentford. In the playoffs the team lost 1-2 at home to Newcastle before drawing the away leg 0-0.

The cups were another non event with the team losing 0-2 away to premier league Everton in the league cup 3rd Rd. In the FA cup 3rd rd i lost 1-2 at home to premier league Brighton. In this save i have not come close to beating a premier league team.

Finances suffered a bit paying 2.5 million in loan repayments for the new stadium and 4 million for the youth setup. I didn't spend any money on transfers but this was not deliberate as players either chose another team after agreeing wages or wanted too much in wages.

My youth pairing of Barnes and Ward were my first choice CB's with Barnes overtaking Ward surprisingly, i turned down an offer of 13 million for Barnes.

The midfield needs shaking up as they generally are not doing enough either defensively or attacking and seem very inconstant in performances. Woodyard was the exception and he is possibly in slight decline now in ability.

The strikers were pretty dreadful for most games, Paspalj had 2 amazing  2 month spells in dec/jan and again in apr/may. Outside of that he was woeful but finished as league top scorer for the 3rd year running.

Smith has talent but i seem unable to get him scoring, Youth product Meekems (Labelled as 'the next Geoff Hurst') was poor and so was loaned to Aston Villa where he couldn't stop scoring. I then brought in Ikechukwu who did not have the same impact as last year. I finally signed Burgess in Apr who is a premier league standard player who did enough to get the team into the playoffs. Burgess had been unattached for nearly a year and accepted a backup role for 6K p/w, i thought about signing him in dec but his awful injury record of 3 pages put me off.

 

Season       League           Position      FA Cup           FA Trophy           Achievements/Notes               
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20   Vanarama South        7th        4th Q Round       2nd Round               Playoffs 
2020/21   Vanarama South        1st        1st Round         3rd Q Round             League Winners, Promotion 
2021/22   Vanarama National     10th       2nd Round         2nd Round               None
2022/23   Vanarama National     13th       1st Round         4th Round               None
2023/24   Vanarama National     15th       1st Round         Final                   FA Trophy finalists
2024/25   Vanarama National     12th       1st Round         1st Round               None
2025/26   Vanarama National     3rd        2nd Round         2nd Round               Playoff winners, Promotion
 
Season       League       Position      FA Cup           League Cup        League Trophy        Achievements/Notes               
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2026/27     League 2        10th       2nd Round          1st Round          1st Round               None
2027/28     League 2        22nd       1st Round          1st Round          2nd Round               None
2028/29     League 2         6th       1st Round          1st Round          1st Round               Promotion
2029/30     League 1        16th       2nd Round          1st Round          1st Round               None
2030/31     League 1        11th       3rd Round          3rd Round          1st Round               None
2031/32     League 1         5th       3rd Round          3rd Round          Winners                 Promotion, Checkatrade Trophy winnners

Season       League          Position      FA Cup           League Cup        European Comp.       Achievements/Notes               
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2032/33   Championship        12th       4th Round          2nd Round            N/A                 None
2033/34   Championship        11th       3rd Round          3rd Round            N/A                 None
2034/35   Championship        9th        3rd Round          1st Round            N/A                 None
2035/36   Championship        6th        3rd Round          3rd Round            N/A                 Playoffs

 

Edited by Thebaker
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22 hours ago, Thebaker said:

@Andrew Haines, you have been really close to promotion, surely next season. There is nothing more annoying than under performing with a squad, something I'm very familiar with.

I've managed about 3 seasons in the championship in mid table each year so you are doing much better.

My problem is having an aggressive transfer policy. II'm bringing in a lot of revenue each year which then gets re-invested usually improving the side. It means that every year the standard of the squad increases but this unsettles the side and leads to poor starts to the season quite often. I am also prone to selling a player for big money but not immediately being able to replace them.

Eventually the increase in the standard of the squad will overrule the instability and we'll go up. Maybe this year, I sold £45m of players in the summer when I already had £20m in the bank. I've gone past the transfer window and I've still got £45m so will have significant funds to spend next season.

It looks like you're making steady progress. Making the playoffs is positive.

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1 hour ago, Andrew Haines said:

My problem is having an aggressive transfer policy. II'm bringing in a lot of revenue each year which then gets re-invested usually improving the side. It means that every year the standard of the squad increases but this unsettles the side and leads to poor starts to the season quite often. I am also prone to selling a player for big money but not immediately being able to replace them.

Eventually the increase in the standard of the squad will overrule the instability and we'll go up. Maybe this year, I sold £45m of players in the summer when I already had £20m in the bank. I've gone past the transfer window and I've still got £45m so will have significant funds to spend next season.

It looks like you're making steady progress. Making the playoffs is positive.

i've done the opposite and put all the money into youth development, i've gotten through some really good players in the last few years since i maxed out youth recruitment. I also sign any hald decent free u-21's from around europe.

I did find making fewer signings really helps to make good starts with a settled side, i'm having to give bigger pay rises to keep the team though. Hopefully doubling the capacity of the stadium will help.

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St Neots Town

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Championship– 2030/31 – 1st

Squad

Transfers

Overview

After six seasons in the Championship promotion to the Premier League has been obtained.

The season had started with an extraordinary set of bids for my players. £15m for Christian Coulibaly, £10m for Rachid Vila, £9m for Modefi Massole and £8.25m for Lewis Miles. Left back Sid Ali Hamidi was also subject of a £10m bid which he rejected (he would eventually leave in January). These funds left me free to  go out and spend on building the team I wanted. Some big fees were spent, notably on England u21 midfielders Gary Matthews and James Turner for a combined £7.8m. Foreign reinforcements also came in including Vincent Alioum and Gerard Portoles from PSG and Imael Montes from Barcelona. Number 10 Portoles would be one of the stars of the season. He started however with a goal-less first 12 games before finding his touch, ultimately scoring 18 goals. It was a good thing that he did as big money striker partner Borislav Andonov (£2.5m fee and £60k wages) disappointed. 15 goals is not disastrous but for a player with his ability and fee to match I expected more.

 We went up as champions with a game to spare but this does not tell the story. We were poor for much of the season and sat in lower mid-table for the first half of the season. Inconsistency in results meant that we couldn’t rise further although we did stay in touching distance of the playoffs. Good form, notably in October and December was mixed with terrible form. Often a series of four or five wins would be followed by an equally long run winless. Midway through February we embarked on a run however of 15 games in which we dropped only 4 points. We climbed the table rapidly and I expected a play-off finish. The teams in the mix for automatic promotion stuttered and as we continued to win, automatic promotion looked a possibility. When we been league leaders Charlton 5-2 we looked to be on course. In the end we finished five points clear at the top of the table and seven points clear of the playoffs.

There is a lot of work to be done for next season but I still have a decent amount of money in the bank for reinforcements and TV money should allow me a good shopping spree.

Key Players

Vincent AlioumFrench centre-back signed from PSG on a free transfer last summer.

Gerard PortolesAlthough a Spaniard signed from PSG for £3.6m, Portoles came through the youth ranks at Charlton and is half English.

Andrew Owens Signed on a free from Liverpool, the 24 year old winger had a successful loan spell here a couple of years back.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             
2028/29         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists                                             
2029/30         Championship                    4th                                             Playoff Semi-Finalists
2030/31         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                             

 

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St Neots Town

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Premier League – 2031/32 – 18th

Squad

Transfers

Overview

Our first season in the Premier League ended in relegation. Recruitment was decent at the start of the season was decent. I brought in two great full backs in Cornelia and Bingham, Dutch and English internationals respectively. I was happy with my strikers and left winger Liam Canham returned to the club for 7.5m from West Ham having starred on loan in 26/27. I was only short a decent centre-back and a midfielder and I would have been more happy. Youngster Marcel Toth was a decent shout in the midfield spot and looks a real talent for the future. Centre-back was more tricky and I signed Millwall’s Polish defender Lukasz Bejger on loan in the end.

In contrast to most of my previous seasons I started really well, we were in the top half at Christmas. Unfortunately a victory over Bournemouth on boxing day was the last time we would win all season. I can’t really explain why we folded so badly but we failed to win again. A definite issue was scoring goals. My two Spaniards in attack Juan Manuel Abellan and Gerard Portoles saw goals dry up and without many goals coming from other avenues we couldn’t capitalise on some reasonable performances. Our good start was so close to being enough however. Another point would have done it. I looked at my last eight games, of which seven were at home (due to a weird fixture build up I never could quite explain) and figured a win would just about see us up. That win never came. I look at games at home in the last four games like Newcastle (drawn 0-0) and Bournemouth (lost 1-0) and think we should have got that elusive victory.

Beyond disappointment at relegation there are still positives. I have some good youngsters, am sure to offload some of my more experienced players for big fees and have £120m in the bank (before parachute payments). Hopefully I will be given a big budget and can do some shopping. I might get to have have the cracking Championship promotion season I was denied previously.

Key Players

Grant Eastham – Central midfielder signed on loan from Man United. My best average rating and signed a permanent deal for next season.

Anthony Cornelia – Dutch international right back signed on a free from Freiburg.

Russell Bingham – English international left back signed from Man United for £15m and did okay.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             
2028/29         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists                                           
2029/30         Championship                    4th                                             Playoff Semi-Finalists
2030/31         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                         
2031/32         Premiership                     18th                                            Relegated                                                                                   

 

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St Neots Town

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Championship – 2032/33 – 1st

 

Squad

Transfers

Overview

Following last seasons relegation from the Premier League I needed to regroup. I was aided by a sizable bank balance going into the close season. In addition I had no desire to retain unhappy players. Top players like fullbacks Russell Bingham and Anthony Cornelia asked for transfers and I reciprocated (Everton for £25m and Charlton for £14.5m). I also took most offers put on the table on the logic that I could recruit for far lower transfer fees. In the end I only had Lian Canham of the Premier League team left, although Grant Eastham signed permanently and 17 year old James Byles stepped up from bit part player to first choice. I was left with a massive transfer budget pushing £100m to rebuild the team. Most of my recruitment was players in the 22-23 year old bracket who were on their way out of the top clubs having fallen short of the grade. In came Centre-back Kabiru Ibrahim and Winger James White from Tottenham, Left Back Phil Mason from Liverpool,  Striker Aaron Hughes and Midfielders Billy Scarisbrick and Grant Eastham from Man United. All these should be pushing for the England squad next season (except Hughes… who is Welsh). In total I spent £69m and built a solid squad which looked ready to fight for promotion. Scarisbrick was an extravagant signing at £22 million but at the time I had a budget of £70m and £120m in the bank so I though it money well spent.

We didn’t immediately run away with the league and didn’t even hold the top spot until February. We did always stay in touching distance however and we hit form at the end of January remaining unbeaten to the end of the season. Eventually we won promotion by 16 points and the title by 12 points although the season didn’t feel that easy. In truth I’m not sure how we managed this as my strikers weren’t exactly prolific. Hughes in the advanced forward role only hit 15 goals in 52 games. I have had players in this position scoring a goal a game previously. His striker partner Byles scored 18 goals which is okay for a number 10 but not exactly setting the world on fire. Only winger James White hit double figures beyond this. Sheffield United in 5th place scored 15 more goals than we did. On the other side of the coin, our defence was solid. We only conceded 26 goals all season.

I don’t feel we will need masses of signings next season to stay up so I will content myself with a couple of marquee signings. Targets will be a striker as a priority and perhaps a left winger and a centre-back.

Key Players

Grant EasthamSigned on a permanent deal from Man United following his loan spell last year.

Billy ScarisbrickAnother recruit from Man United partnering Eastham in midfield. Cost an eye watering £22 million.

Aaron Hughes Welsh striker signed for £6.25m again from Man United. Spent three season on loan with us previously.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             
2028/29         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists                                           
2029/30         Championship                    4th                                             Playoff Semi-Finalists
2030/31         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                         
2031/32         Premiership                     18th                                            Relegated       
2032/33         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                             

 

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Season 3 (2021/22) - Vanarama National League North

Competitions:

Overview | End of Season Review

Vanarama National League North (Table| Results (part 1, part 2):

Board Expectation: Avoid relegation. Media Prediction: 15th.

Finish: 2nd.

Again we didn't start that great, but quickly recovered and found form. We only lost 1 league game after the turn of the year and looked like we could be in with a shot of being crowned Champions. However, Stockport and FC United were both equally excellent and just kept winning games so it was a very close run title race. We sat in 2nd place for a lot of the season and were beginning to make ground on Stockport in first, but in the end FC United charged past both of us and into 1st place. With a superior goal difference it was going to be hard to finish above them with games running out and in the end we finished 1 point off the top, in second place. In the Playoff semi final we played Stockport who had led the league for most of the season. We had drawn and beaten them in the league already this season, but this time we just didn't turn up. Stockport were comfortable and we really struggled to create anything and fell to a 2-0 defeat. Another season in the VNN...

FA Cup (Results):

Board Expectation: Reach Fourth Qualifying Round.

Finish: Knocked out in Fourth Qualifying Round by York City.

Comfortable wins against King's Lynn and Worcester saw us through to the Fourth Qualifying Round. Here we faced a strong York City side playing in the league above so it was going to be a test. We went 1-0 in the game, but their quality shone and they came back to win 2-1.

FA Trophy (Results):

Board Expectation: Reach First Round.

Finish: Knocked out in Second Round by Macclesfield Town.

Another decent run in this competition, with good wins against Nuneaton and Solihull Moors (both going to replays). Then we 2-1 to Macclesfield Town of the league above.

Club:

Squad (End of Season Awards) We retained a lot of players from last season and added some quality too. We are almost there in terms of quality to get promoted, so hopefully won't need to change too much for next season. However, it is a worry that a lot of the best performing players are here on loan.

TransfersA few players left the club as they wanted too much money for a new contract, but a month into the window they decided to re-join. We also brought in a few new players with extra quality and made use of the loan market.

Key Players: 

James Bowen - Released by Leamington, Bowen came in to play the majority of matches this season at LB. He got a goal and 10 assists and caused problems with a long bullet throw.

Sam McClellen - Re-trained to be able to play out on the left as an Inside Forward in games we chose to go with the 4-1-2-2-1, he played a lot of games this season again. Towards the end he was on a great run of form, getting April Player of the Month. He ended the season on 14 goals and 6 assists which is another slight improvement on last season.

Billy Chadwick - Brought in on loan from Crewe as a squad option, he soon nailed down a starting place in the side scoring 7 goals from midfield. He was signed on a free permanently during the season.

Brett McGavin - Brought in on loan from York when we in the middle of an injury crisis in midfield, he kept a place in the side and played well.

Isaac Ward - Another one in on loan from Crewe, he was solid at the back alongside Tharme.

Best Youth Intake Player: There were no players I thought it worth signing.

Overall Best ElevenStewart-Dawes, Wood and Bowen were inducted into the best eleven.

FinancesStill not looking great although the owner has pumped substantial money in, to keep us going.

Manager Profile: Again, due to finances I was refused being able to start the next coaching course. A few attribute increases nonetheless.

Season    Team           League                             Finish   FA Cup            FA Trophy  Top Goalscorer      Most Assists  Notes  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20   Bamber Bridge  Vanarama National League North     13th     2nd Qual. Round   1st Round  McClellen (12)      White (9)     Avoided relegation
2020/21   Bamber Bridge	 Vanarama National League North	    6th	     4th Qual. Round   4th Round  Smith (18)          White (15)    Lost in Playoff 1st Round
2021/22   Bamber Bridge  Vanarama National League North     2nd      4th Qual. Round   2nd Round  Stewart-Dawes (15)  Hawkins (11)  Lost in Playoff Semi
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St Neots Town

127px-St_Neots_Town_F.C._logo.png.f8611d9146d7c7d7a78e832605bda159.png

Premier League – 2033/34 – 10th

 

Squad

Transfers

Overview

Our second crack at the Premier League was a success in that we stayed up this time. At the start of the season I took the view that the team was strong enough to compete in the Premier League without major surgery. Therefore I filled the one weak link I the squad with an excellent striker in Romanian Cosmin Manea from PSG for £5m. Manea was a player I was familiar with as he had spent the second half of our first stint in the Premier League and all of last season on loan with us. He was not first choice but if he hadn’t been on loan definitely would have been. This signing left me with a significant budget still to spend. I invested the vast majority of this at £52m in Liverpool’s winger Mark Ferguson, an English 18 year old rated as a wonderkid. My intention is to look at a single player in this mould every summer, spending all the funds available to try and create a team of young players to develop.

The season was solid in terms of results. We consistently returned points against opposition outside the top six but rarely caused any shocks beyond a 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield in December. Ferguson was probably the star of the season returning double figures for both goals and assists. Funds are good so I should be able to look at another marquee signing. I did add left back Ndongala from Leeds in January. Expensive at £32m but another wonderkid and he won young player of the tournament in the summers World Cup.

Key Players

Mark FergusonFirst of what I intend to be yearly marquee young English signings. Costing £52m from Liverpool he had a fine first season.

Cosmin Manea – Romanian striker and one of just two first team signings in the summer costing £5m from PSG to add much needed firepower.

Stanislas Ndongala – A £32m January signing, the young Belgian wonderkid has a big future.

Record

2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             
2028/29         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists                                           
2029/30         Championship                    4th                                             Playoff Semi-Finalists
2030/31         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                         
2031/32         Premiership                     18th                                            Relegated       
2032/33         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                         
2033/34         Premiership                     10th                                                   

 

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St Neots Town

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Premier League – 2034/35 – 17th

Squad

Transfers

Overview

A difficult second season in the Premier League saw relegation only averted in the penultimate game. There were not wholesale changes in pre-season to the team that did very well in our first Premier League season. There was a new keeper in Fabrizio Bertini from Bournemouth and a new centre-back in Mamadi Sani from Sporting Lisbon but the remainder of my considerable budget went on 19 year old striker Chris Miller. Miller arrived from Arsenal for £68m but slightly disappointed in that the scouts seemed to have misjudged his potential somewhat. He did okay, hitting 13 goals in the end and developed somewhat but I’m not sure he’s likely to repay the huge investment.

We started the season well but form disintegrated during the second half of the season. Firepower was definitely a problem and when key striker Cosmin Manea picked up an injury we struggled for goals. Going into the second to last game we held a four point gap on the relegation zone which sounds fairly safe but we were away at 18th placed Sheffield United who would move to a point of us if we lost. With a final game of the season against Arsenal and our form catastrophic I was distinctly worried. A 3-0 win secured our Premier League status however and a point against Arsenal meant the gap to relegation finished at seven points.

My aim is to recruit a team of young players from the home nations who I will develop to form my ultimate team. Therefore I have been reserving my transfer funds for big money transfers of young players. Chris Miller was not a success but fit the mould. In January I was lucky in that 18 year old Wolves winger Gabriel Michel suddenly appeared on my radar. I hadn’t been following him previously but he was available for £19m and had wonderkid status. I snapped him up and put him straight in the first team. This caused a minor revolt as he displaced popular winger James White. This summer I have considerable funds to spend (£80m plus sales) and I will try to follow the same model of signings. Miller will probably go out on loan but I have already replaced him with 17 year old Ricky Cobran from Southampton for £34m. 19 year old defender Cory Ford is also on my shopping list. Again a wonderkid, Charlton quoted me upwards of £80m for him in January but they were relegated so I fancy my chances of getting him on the cheap.

Key Players

Mark Ferguson21 year old left winger did not have the impact of his first season at the club but still massively promising.

Gabriel MichelWonderkid 20 year old picked up from Wolves for £19m in January.

Stanislas Ndongala – Massively talented Belgian left back. Don’t know what I did to upset him but he hates me.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             
2028/29         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists                                           
2029/30         Championship                    4th                                             Playoff Semi-Finalists
2030/31         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                         
2031/32         Premiership                     18th                                            Relegated       
2032/33         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                          2033/34         Premiership                     10th                                                   
2034/35         Premiership                     17th                                                   

 

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Just started this challenge for the first time as Kettering. I have been trying the youth challenge but have given up as it's stopped being fun for me because I'm stuck near the bottom of a league struggling to win a match with a team that pretty much has the worst attributes in the league and doesn't improve. Between the youth challenge and now I started a "normal" game as Porto but got bored with that because it was too easy in that over two seasons I pretty much won everything. [I know, there's no pleasing some people!] Anyway, Kettering seems to be great club to start with. It's actually within its wage budget and there is a transfer budget. Looking forward to this challenge.

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St Neots Town

127px-St_Neots_Town_F.C._logo.png.f8611d9146d7c7d7a78e832605bda159.png

Premier League – 2035/36 – 7th

Squad

Transfers

Overview

A much improved season on the previous with no relegation fight in sight and European football secured for next season. At the start of the season I realised a focal point in attack was sorely missing. I dually spent £35m on forward Jair Cardoso from Brighton who was both relatively affordable and head an shoulders at the club in terms of ability. In keeping with my model of bringing in young British talent, I signed Southampton’s 17 year old striker Ricky Cobrain. Cobrain hit 11 league goals and looks like he will develop as an effective partner to Cardoso. My other big signing of the summer was Cory Ford, a £45m signing from Charlton. The previous January I had been rebuffed in my pursuit of Ford with £100m quoted for his signature. Following Charlton’s relegation however, a few bids unsettled the player and I was able to get the club to agree to a much reduced (but still expensive) £45m fee.

The season saw us consistent without being spectacular. We sat in 7th place at the start of October and only deviated briefly to either 6th or 8th place. The top six clubs pulled away to an unreachable distance and we were strong enough to stay clear of the clubs in the chasing pack behind us. Cardoso was immense in attack and Cory Ford was a revelation in defence. He established himself as first choice for England at just 20 years old and looks a massive prospect.

I will be continuing my policy of bringing in the best British prospects I can afford although my budget for this season may be reduced somewhat. The club announced that a new stadium will be built to open in 2038. We have groundshared with MK Dons and Watford for our Premier League seasons thus far so this will be a massive step forwards.

Key Players

  • GK – Fabrizio Bertini ex-Inter keeper signed from Bournemouth two season ago for £6.5M.
  • FB – Tomaz Berntsson Swedish right back was a bargain £3.5m signing when arriving last summer from Brighton.
  • CB – Cory Ford The 20 year old was a long standing target when acquired from relegated Charlton for £45m. Already a regular in the England first XI.
  • CB – Kabiru Ibrahim The 26 year old defender signed four seasons ago and is a regular for England as well as club captain.
  • FB – Stanislas Ndonigala Signed from Leeds for £32m three seasons ago the Belgain international has been a volatile presence.
  • W – Gabriel Michael 21 year old wonderkid who has won 3 England caps. Signed from Wolves two years ago for £18m.
  • DLP – Billy Southern Signed for a bargain £4.4m from Southampton two seasons ago he won his place following the departure of Billy Scarisbrick.
  • CM – Hakki Saglam Promising Turkish midfielder signed from Antalyaspor last summer for £10m.
  • W – Mark Ferguson Having signed as an 18 year old, now 22 Ferguson has not developed as well as I might have hoped but still a good first team player.
  • AF – Ricky Colbran 18 year old striker who had a good first season scoring 11 goals following his move from Southampton for £34m.
  • DLF – Jair Cardoso – Immense Portuguese striker who arrived from Brighton last summer for £35m. Hit an impressive 19 goals as a number 10.

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20         Conference North                13th        
2020/21         Conference North                2nd                                             FA Trophy Semis, Playoff Finalists.  
2021/22         Conference North                1st                                             FA Trophy Winner, Champions, Promoted  
2022/23         Conference National             1st                                             Champions, Promoted  
2023/24         League Two                      6th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted, EFL Trophy Winners  
2024/25         League One                      5th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2025/26         Championship                    10th                                             
2026/27         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists
2027/28         Championship                    15th                                             
2028/29         Championship                    3rd                                             Playoff Finalists                                           
2029/30         Championship                    4th                                             Playoff Semi-Finalists
2030/31         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                         
2031/32         Premiership                     18th                                            Relegated       
2032/33         Championship                    1st                                             Champions, Promoted                                         
2033/34         Premiership                     10th                                                   
2034/35         Premiership                     17th                                                   
2035/36         Premiership                     7th        

 

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