dafuge's FM19 challenge

[Thebaker]

@janneff - well done on another great season and the new stadium. What system have you been playing? i wonder since my systems are failing badly even in the VNL.

[janneff]

39 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

@janneff - well done on another great season and the new stadium. What system have you been playing? i wonder since my systems are failing badly even in the VNL.

Thanks. I have been playing mostly this 4-1-4-1 or 4-1-2-3 DM wide since National League. There are some PIs but they mainly closing down instructions for forwards and midfielders. I think I used fullbacks instead of wingbacks when we were in lower leagues though.

[grungeandgaze]

2022-2023 has come to a close and it's another year in the National League for Whitehawk. They improved on the previous year, finishing in 9th spot with a solid goal difference. The board still expect the club to be fighting for relegation in the following season, which may explain why they have not injected anything in the finances. I believe the team can push for a play-off place and that's what I will be aiming for. The cups finished early with Doncaster and Chesterfield knocking us out. 

The squad was improved but the core remained the same. Some players were moved on and others released as usual. The tactics evolved a little, after a good start to the season the form dipped terribly. We went from the play-off places to the 15/16th spot. A change in tactics and a good run managed to pull us back up the table.

The finances are getting worse so I will aim to play a lot of friendlies to try and claw my way back a little. I am still within the wage budget, but the lack of income is damning. Strengthening will need to be done via free transfer and I will try to move whoever I can on.

Edited November 15, 2018 by grungeandgaze

[CMU Chips]

Season 5 - Vanarama North again:

Alfreton easily won the league but we managed to go up from our usual 7th to guarantee we'd play all our playoff games at home. The two games couldn't have been much more different aside from the result.

This is more drama than I needed for the whole year. A goal in the final minutes of every half, including extra time. Everyone was thrown forward at the end, and we got the vital goal through our star player and captain, Carl Corcoran. After winning this on penalties, the players decided to win the next game as soon as they could.

 

Most of the important players were actually already here, though I did fill the team with a ton of free transfers. I tried to sign players who looked decent defensively and were faster than what we had before..... we still couldn't stop anything so we just played attacking all year. I doubt I end up offering either CB an extension, they are being paid too much to not play all that well. The final wasn't all good news either, Splatt's injury was a broken leg so he'll miss a decent chunk of next year. 

At the moment the board keep periodically investing to clear our debt, so that's nice. Hopefully this time now that we are a bit more established in terms of reputation we can do a little better in the Vanarama Premier.

[Kimera56]

Our first match that has 4 digit attendance.

 

[IOA]

Anyone had any luck with getting Haringey Borough? Their reputation is quite low in a competitive league.

[grungeandgaze]

This is very strange, I was predicted to finish 20th at the beginning of the season, now as we enter the new year and I'm second with a game in hand and could go top if I beat the leaders Port Vale on New Year's day, I'm predicted to finish dead bottom.

[Thebaker]

Unfortunately the season in the VNL was a disaster and actually worse than the previous one. The team conceded 2 or 3 goals a game with the opposition having 25 shots on goal to my teams 5. Strangely with the team last and on a 7 match losing streak the board fired me in feb.

After reloading a lot, no more attractive team came up than Worthing again. This time i am going to try to make sure i get players with positive personalities in, none of my previous squad were professional or even had determination above 11.

[OlivierL]

Just started the dafuge challenge for the first team.

Started with Bishop's Stortford FC. almost no players available at the start so i was going to get a lot of players on trial (like suggested in Bust the net guide) but after +- 50 , the board canceled all the other trials because i had enough.

How can i avoid or change this ?

[Boyd The Beast]

 

Dorking Wanderers

Season 2 - 2020/21

 

League -  Wow what a year this was which saw the Wanderers become the champions! My defense was revamped with new starters which really made a huge difference. This year we scored the most goals and conceded the least in the league. Incredibly we started the season unbeaten in 31 games, by far the longest run I have ever been on in any FM. We made it all the way until February 27th before we ended up losing a heart breaker by a 94th minute goal. We did have more draws than I would have liked by I believe this is simply down to player quality. Zane Banton picked up where he did last year and consistently scored goals. Led the league in goals with 37 and picked up 7 assists along the way.

Next year will be a step up but believe our setup is more than capable of a mid table finish if we can add a quality player or 2.

Cups - This year was so much better in terms of cup competitions. In the FA Cup we made it to the 2nd Round which helped us out financially. We disappointingly got smacked down 4-0 against National League side Fylde and will be looking for payback next year. 

FA Trophy we made it 2 rounds in and crashed out to National League side Ebbsfleet in the 1st Round. I do have ambitions to win this cup before we get promoted to League football so we can add silverware to our cabinet 

Transfers - 6 new starters ended up coming in, the rest are all coverage and prospects. 

Finances - Made it out of the red thanks to the cup run and took that opportunity to get my 3rd coaching badge. No money to do anything else and board keeps rejecting senior affiliate request. Announced stadium expansion to meet requirements so we will be in a tougher situation next year, but am thankful they didn't decide to build a new stadium.

Career History:

Season	League	Position	FA Cup	Achievements	Top Scorer
2019/20	VNS	7th	2nd Qual. Round	Made playoffs	Zane Banton (27)
2020/21	VNS	1st	2nd Round	Champions	Zane Banton (42)

Club Information:

Season	Stadium	Avg Attendance	Training Facilities	Youth Facilities	Youth Level	Junior Coaching	Youth Recruitment
2019/20	3600	427	Poor	Poor	0	Minimal	Fairly basic
2020/21	3600	556	Poor	Poor	0	Minimal	Fairly basic

 

Edited December 24, 2018 by Boyd The Beast

[Miniesta]

3 hours ago, Olivierlandman said:

Just started the dafuge challenge for the first team.

Started with Bishop's Stortford FC. almost no players available at the start so i was going to get a lot of players on trial (like suggested in Bust the net guide) but after +- 50 , the board canceled all the other trials because i had enough.

How can i avoid or change this ?

Trial them in smaller numbers, maybe ten at a time. 50 trialists hanging around every week is a lot of canteen meals.

[Miniesta]

Starting at Hendon F.C.

[jcp1417]

would it be against the rules to go on vacation a time or two?

 

[Orangedale]

Can I post my profile with my date of birth removed. Little too much personal info for my liking.

Edited November 16, 2018 by Orangedale

[Pompeyboyz]

Once I get bored of my Bulgarian save, I will have a punt on this one this year with my home town club, Gosport Borough. But I reckon their reputation is a tad high 

[grungeandgaze]

That was a crazy season but we overachieved the goal of a play-off spot to secure the national league in our final game, it was a close last couple of weeks. The day following our crowning as champions, the board announced that we were going professional and they injected 1M into the finances, which went straight back out to expand the stadium to 5,5K. So this means the finances are still quite dire going into the new season. I figured that the team that got us promoted deserve their shot at glory, so next season I will keep the bulk of the squad, just strengthening where needed and if the right player comes up. First up will be tying everyone down to full time contracts and hopefully seeing them improve thanks to extended training, most my players are far from their potential, the part-time training really making them poorer. 

Tactically we had to go through some changes, after a solid but not very consistent start, we changed things up and went on a winning run that meant we were top at Christmas. After the holidays, however, we went into free fall and ended all the way down in 11th place. This meant another tactical shape-up happened and we went on another great run to clinch the title. Luckily for us this season was quite tight across the league. We did bring in some fresh faces and let some go (sealing 14k from sales), we also released some deadwood.

Our aim for the upcoming season is simply to survive and build on from there. Hopefully finances can be steadied and the training facilities improved. Then it will be about improving our youth system to build for the future. I can already see the rules for League 2 demand at least one player trained by the club in the match squad, this is a challenge in itself as there's no talent so to speak.

I won my third manager of the season award. The team finished with the best attack in the league and the third best defence.

Edited November 16, 2018 by grungeandgaze

[Kimera56]

@grungeandgaze when i see you, i feel like lazy myself

[OlivierL]

11 hours ago, Miniesta said:

Trial them in smaller numbers, maybe ten at a time. 50 trialists hanging around every week is a lot of canteen meals.

Ok thanks, i'll try that .

I'm enjoying the challenge !

[Real]

I'm new to this Challenge - I've never even done LLM before.  I've watched Rashidi's videos, but he skips over some stuff.  Help! :

a) Before i get to Sky Bet 2, I need to increase my stadium size from 2,800 (now) to 7,000.  How long does that take?  When do I need to apply for it?

b) When do I apply to the board for all the other stuff: Increasing youth budgets, facilities, my training badges, etc.

My team is Kettering. I just picked the highest rep club off the list.

Thanks for all your help guys.

[grungeandgaze]

2 hours ago, Kimera56 said:

@grungeandgaze when i see you, i feel like lazy myself

I was ill for a few days so got to blast some leagues out, will probably move at a slower pace moving forward

[IL Luce]

17 hours ago, Olivierlandman said:

Just started the dafuge challenge for the first team.

Started with Bishop's Stortford FC. almost no players available at the start so i was going to get a lot of players on trial (like suggested in Bust the net guide) but after +- 50 , the board canceled all the other trials because i had enough.

How can i avoid or change this ?

Throw them into u23 team and you can have as many as you like.

[IL Luce]

Mid-season here, at Carshalton and is not going too well, but not bad either. 6 points clear from the red zone and 9 from playoffs, but for now, we are more close to the relegation zone than the playoffs.

[Real]

I have asked a ton of trialists.  I want to accept anyone that will come.  Do I have to accept one-at-a-time through the Inbox, or is there a quicker way?

[Real]

1 hour ago, IL Luce said:

Throw them into u23 team and you can have as many as you like.

But a lot of mine were cancelled while I was still in talks with the others?  Can you "offer trial" and specify it's for the U23? If you have to wait until they are at your club, do you have to only invite them bit-by-bit?

Specifically, it said I had enough trasfers for the window.  I tried to get them all in, in June.  I haven't done anything except offer a transfer (and make offers to some staff).

What am I doing wrong?

Edited November 16, 2018 by Real

[OlivierL]

1 hour ago, Real said:

But a lot of mine were cancelled while I was still in talks with the others?  Can you "offer trial" and specify it's for the U23? If you have to wait until they are at your club, do you have to only invite them bit-by-bit?

Specifically, it said I had enough trasfers for the window.  I tried to get them all in, in June.  I haven't done anything except offer a transfer (and make offers to some staff).

What am I doing wrong?

i put all of mine in u23 but also got a few canceled. maybe it is better not to invite them all on the same day ?

[MadMcMan]

After a few years out i've gone and bought fm2019,  here i am using the Save 6a2 

I've gone Matlock! and will be streaming on twitch as i go as madmcman

wish me luck!

 

[Kaiserwatman]

Nantwich Town 2020/21

National League North

Following last season's 16th place certain elements of the system were not working , most noticeably the woeful defense.  A couple of tweaks to improve team shape and most of the side signed up for another year , a complete new defense was added to try aid Nantwich Town as they faced their second season within the National League North.  Things were slow at the start before Nantwich found themselves within the playoff positions from early November although like other miles behind leaders Stockport County who would go on to claim the title at a canter. As the months rolled on Nantwich proved themselves to be a capable side though probably playoffs but even the most ardent fans wouldn't back them to get through the playoff system.

Any hope faded actually on the day where playoffs we confirmed , league top scorer Daniel Griffiths would be ruled up to two months with an ankle injury . A 2-0 win against Telford United in the playoffs before going out to Kidderminster Harriers.

Finances

League Table

Playoff Tree

Squad

Transfers

Edited November 16, 2018 by Kaiserwatman

[IL Luce]

6 hours ago, Real said:

But a lot of mine were cancelled while I was still in talks with the others?  Can you "offer trial" and specify it's for the U23? If you have to wait until they are at your club, do you have to only invite them bit-by-bit?

Specifically, it said I had enough trasfers for the window.  I tried to get them all in, in June.  I haven't done anything except offer a transfer (and make offers to some staff).

What am I doing wrong?

 

4 hours ago, Olivierlandman said:

i put all of mine in u23 but also got a few canceled. maybe it is better not to invite them all on the same day ?

Try to limit yourself to 20-30 (I don’t know exactly the limit for the first team) trial offers at once. After you accept them, put the players into u23 team and make another 20-30 offers for others and so on.

[nick91188]

[dafuge]

Kings Langley - Vanarama National League South - 2019/20

The media prediction for my first season was 22nd, so this was likely to be a tough one. I was just hoping to pick up a few decent players in the hope of building a squad for next season.

League Table - 4th placed was a superb result, we were up there with the best but Woking ran away with it. We had a great start, but our small squad just couldn't cope when the fixtures built up.

Playoff 1st round - this could have gone either way, but the sending off helped us immensely.

Playoff semi final - we just weren't good enough.

FA Trophy - we had a few good wins, but couldn't quite complete the comeback against the team from the division above.

FA Cup - once again we came up short against National League opposition.

Squad - I think by adding two or three more players we could have a decent squad for next season.

Transfers - free transfers to give us a starting eleven.

Finances - the board injection of £100k really helped us out.

Key Player Profiles:

Top scorer - Wilberforce Ocran

Most assists - Jacob Bancroft

Highest average rating - Elliott Godfrey

Most valuable player - Toby Syme

Top youth product - Jez Hammond

Career Overview:

Season      League                       Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20     National League South        4th          Playoff semi finalists

Next Season:

I'm feeling positive about next season, as long as we get the right signings I think we can challenge for the title.

[Orangedale]

Giving this a crack for the first time with Whitehawk. Seems like a nice place to live, hopefully we can have some success!

 

[LuKo87]

Tonbridge Angels - Season 2018/2019 - 1st in Vanarama National League South

Manager Profile First season in charge of the Angels the team that i managed in Fm 14, when they were in VNS, and in that occasion i succeded to win 2 Premier League title but none the Champions League. A comeback to this team in order to complete the job was the best option for this year challenge, and is also the first time that i post my challenge here.

Transfers A lot of movement, a lot of trial and some good advice from the scouts. We also managed to sell the unhappy goalie and another useless player for some money.

League Surprisingly we managed to obtain the promotion to National League Premier in the first season! We had a long head to head with Dag&Red which ended in the last game of the season when we had a confortably 4-1 win against Woking and they draw with Billericay.

FA Cup We had also a great FA cup that ended with a 6-1 defeat against Leicester. We were lucky to pick not impossible draw in the early stage so we could arrive at the time when Premier League clubs enter the competition. With that run we gain approx. 350000 € and a lot of them were invested for improve our stadium in order to meet the new league standard.

FA Throphy Nothing special here except the win in the first round against Leyton Oryient

"The Three Angels" - The best three player of the year

Claudio Ofosu Our best scorer is our right wing, sensational season for him with 24 goals

Jayden Corbridge Solid centreback that managed to score 8 goals from cornerkicks

Michael Clunan Our mezzala scored 10 goals and gave 7 assists to provide a good contribution for the promotion

The aim for the next season is to improve the team and try to survive in a harder championship.

 

 

[Real]

I keep getting "trial cancelled":

What am I doing wrong?  All my trialists are moved to U23.

[Kaiserwatman]

Nantwich Town 2021/22

National League North

Following on from defeat in last season's playoffs Nantwich Town once again proved to be one of the better sides within the division but still lacking a little quality in certain areas to make a title challenge . Another bash at the playoffs was on the cards following a fifth place finish . Once again we were pitted against Telford in the playoffs with the Shropshire side gaining revenge for last season's defeat.  Nantwich will once again ply their trade within the National League North.

In the cups there was some success followings wins over Marine , Sutton Coldfield and York City the club qualified for the First round of the FA Cup before been hammered by Port Vale at Vale Park,  Progress was made within the FA Trophy which brought some much needed coin to the club but eventually were beaten at the semi final stages by Macclesfield Town,

League

Playoff Tree

Squad

Transfers

Finances

 

Season      League                     Position         Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20     National League North        16th          
2020/21	    National League North	 6th		Lost in Playoffs
2021/22     National League North	 5th		Lost in Playoffs

[lvzifer]

10 hours ago, Real said:

What am I doing wrong?  All my trialists are moved to U23.

 

How many? Looks like you have reached the limit

[grungeandgaze]

2024-2025, the first season in League 2 is over and until very late in the season, it looked like promotion may have been on the cards. The form was consistent throughout but the players seemed to get tired in the latter stages meaning we moved from 3rd to 10th place over the last quarter. I've noticed that during this season my staff considered all but two of my players to be suitable for National North/South leagues. Only my goalkeeper is considered a decent League 2 player and Charlton loanee Prout is considered a good National League player. Prout had been on loan with us for four seasons and with his contract expiring I put an offer in which he immediately accepted. Are my team truly over-performing or are my staff just that bad at judging? With the media predicting us to finish dead bottom, and they have done so again for the upcoming season, as have the board, I think the players may actually not be very good. The other problem is that whenever my scouts do find someone they rate as 4 stars or more, they simply are not interested in joining us. Reputation-wise, the club are still considered lower National League status.

The squad was very similar to that of last season with a couple of players coming in to strengthen. I did let some players go and sent some out on loan to reduce the wage bill. The tactics went more cautious at the beginning of the season, but evolved into something more balanced toward the end when teams started taking less risks against us. Financially, things are getting worse, low attendances and little sponsorship means little income, while staff and player wages, and upkeep and travel put strains on the balance. I have always kept within the wage budget but this helps little. The board still do not want to get affiliation as they want to protect their independence and do not believe in loans. This means I still cannot improve my training and youth facilities and cannot even send myself or my coaches to get better badges.

For the upcoming season I will look at a jam-packed pre-season to reduce the deficit as a priority. I will also look at reworking the tactic, I want to go 4-4-2 to try and get more goals as that seemed a real issue last season, we didn't do too bad defensively. A mid-table finish would suit me as it would give me more time to strengthen the squad, going up leagues with National North/South players is just begging for failure. I will see who I can bring in on free transfers, hopefully I can upgrade some of the players to at least National League competence.

Edited November 19, 2018 by grungeandgaze

[Thebaker]

@grungeandgazeIts seems your finances are looking fairly grim, what sort of attendances do you have? You might look to give out shorter  1 year contacts rather than 2 or 3 years to make it easier to get rid of unwanted players, not sure why your best player (Thompson ) is not needed though. Getting in more loan players with little wage outlay could also help, i find letting the chairman bring in players and than just accepting or cancelling them works as they seem able to find more loan players willing to join.

[Prank Emperor]

On 14/11/2018 at 18:59, janneff said:

Kettering Town - Season 29/30

"Few will have tipped Kettering to have been capable of avoiding relegation heading into the season but The Poppies confounded every expectation by achieving a top-half finish."

League Table - It was very similar season than our first in Premier League. We finished 9th once again. I think we got three less points this year so in theory we didn't progress at all. However I wasn't too disappointed. This should still increase our reputation. We could have finished little bit higher to be honest but I decided to explore new tactical options towards the end of the season and I'm not sure that did us any good. I haven't decided yet how we are going to approach next season. I'd like to play more adventurous system than 4-1-4-1 but I'm not really sure how. We don't have players to play 4-2-3-1 yet. Furthermore it was another season without cup success. I keep ignoring them at the moment.

Transfers - Lots of activity both in and out. Most notable sale was probably Pierre-Emmanuel Ekwah Elimby's transfer to Everton. He was our captain had been us since League One but he wanted to move to Everton and I felt that the offer was good enough. Michael Roels was our biggest incoming transfer. I had high hopes on him but unfortunately he suffered two major injuries. Valon Istogu was signing of the season in my opinion.

Finances are still great and new budgets are encouraging. I like that board are not afraid of increasing wage budget aggressively.

Key Players

Vito Mosca had another solid season. He didn't produce that many assists this season but did well nevertheless.

William Kasongo was free transfer from Chelsea. He scored respectable 14 goals in Premier League. Unfortunately he has pretty modest minimum fee release clause in his contract and he's not interested in signing new one when there are multiple interested parties. I expect to lose him.

Next Season

FA figured after one season that our stadium, Robbie Cooke Park, does not meet minimum Premier League requirements. Board agreed to rent King Power Stadium next season. This was pretty good news but it got even better. I was able to request board to build bew stadium despite our current stadium being less than five years old. Board agreed with me and announced plans to build new 33,000 capacity stadium. Good times. Hopefully we can celebrete these news and maybe make a push for continental qualification.

 

17

Your save has been going great! I am jealous of how far ahead you are, I am barely into October of the first season!

Best of luck!

[grungeandgaze]

52 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

@grungeandgazeIts seems your finances are looking fairly grim, what sort of attendances do you have? You might look to give out shorter  1 year contacts rather than 2 or 3 years to make it easier to get rid of unwanted players, not sure why your best player (Thompson ) is not needed though. Getting in more loan players with little wage outlay could also help, i find letting the chairman bring in players and than just accepting or cancelling them works as they seem able to find more loan players willing to join.

Thompson wasn't actually my best player. He spent most the year on 3 stars, O'Leary is better both in those terms (League 2 compared to National League) and in stats. Thompson left because he wanted to be first choice, which wasn't an option. I've not really had any trouble getting rid of players, if no one wants to buy them, there is usually a team willing to take them on loan and pay their wages in full. Long contracts means tying people up without them needed wage increases, I refuse yearly wage increases. If you do a year contract, they will want a rise the following season. I'll look in the chairman thing, but as I've said, the board are anti-loan. At the moment even getting Championship sides to loan is difficult. Attendances are roughly around 1,500.

[Nathasit]

Here we go my first ever challenge :D

[dafuge]

6 minutes ago, Nathasit said:

Here we go my first ever challenge

Good luck 

[OlivierL]

10 hours ago, lvzifer said:

 

How many? Looks like you have reached the limit

I just can't add them all (+50/100) at one click. have to do it on a few dates.

I saw this on the video from Busthetnet and i thought he was adding them all in one move.

[dafuge]

Kings Langley - Vanarama National League South - 2020/21

Last season we lost out in the playoffs, but with an improved squad I was hopeful of challenging for the title.

League Table - we had a poor start to the season and despite picking things up, we just didn't have the consistency to claim a playoff place.

FA Trophy - this wasn't a priority, so I used it to give the squad players a few games.

FA Cup - we got to play a team near the top of League 1, but the crowd didn't give us much of a financial boost.

Squad - despite signing a few key players, things didn't quite go as well as expected.

Transfers - the two late signings were great, but perhaps they upset the balance of the squad.

Finances - no injection this year, so we are in a bit of trouble.

Key Player Profiles:

Wilberforce Ocran - top scorer again, but he had a habit of going missing in the big games.

Lennon Peake - I thought he was the missing piece, but he still hasn't hit the form I was hoping from him.

Lee Connelly - a new signing who could be important for next season.

Kacper Kurylowicz - a solid keeper at this level.

Tom Warner - he scored quite a few in his debut season, could be one to watch.

Career Overview:

Season      League                       Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20     National League South        4th          Playoff semi finalists
2020/21     National League South        8th          

Next Season:

This season was a bit of a disappointment, but I'm still optimistic we have what it takes to challenge for promotion. The finances are a bit of a worry though, especially if the stadium needs upgrading.

[Catley20]

Hi all, just a question about how you all play these types of saves.

For years i've always had attribute masking turned off, but recently i've tried it on as I don't see the point in scouts with it turned off, however for challenges like this it makes it a lot harder. Was wondering if people still play with it on or turn it off due to being in the lower leagues? Thinking of starting a save myself on this forum! 

 

Thanks

[grungeandgaze]

3 minutes ago, Catley20 said:

Hi all, just a question about how you all play these types of saves.

For years i've always had attribute masking turned off, but recently i've tried it on as I don't see the point in scouts with it turned off, however for challenges like this it makes it a lot harder. Was wondering if people still play with it on or turn it off due to being in the lower leagues? Thinking of starting a save myself on this forum! 

 

Thanks

It's part of the challenge's rules to keep attribute masking on. 

[Catley20]

@grungeandgaze

Ah I missed that part in the intro, thank you! 

[Dons]

Dorking Wanderers 
Season Update 2020/21

Vanarama National League South
Position 1st

Squad - Table - Transfers - Finances - Injuries - Cups - Board Review - Season Review -  Profile

A great seasons which had us at top pretty much all season. We were pretty lucky injury wise, and a constant rotation as well as using the highest number of players during a season, was probably the main reason for the consistency.

We had outstanding luck with the draw in the FA Cup, where we got to the 4th round. We played non division teams, a couple VNS/N teams and struggling teams from VNN, until the 4th round placed us against Man Utd away. Luckily they didn't field their first team, but besides the expected beating of 4-1, it plummeled our finances the right way, which instantly were invested into facility upgrades, as well as leaving a huge amount to purchase players with for the coming season. Was really hoping the financial boost would let us go pro, but alas, board didn't want to hear such a thing. We did get a boost to the stadium, but only to make sure we met the requirements.

Last years top scorer Alex Gilbert scored the most goals in a season of any of my FM games with an amazing 58 goals. Balanced 4-4-2 and counter 4-3-3 were the tactics the kept sending him long balls to chase on score on. Despite him being this impressive, he could have scored a lot more, but with a shot on target ration of 62%, it didn't go that way. He also went on to win Player of the Year. Tomi Adeloye were second with a great 22 goals and a whooping 16 assists. Fabio Saraiva joined us on free from non league Merstham and contributed with 19 assists. Amazing stats for this level. Last years signing Lewis Smith, was the surprise of the season, playing outstanding at age 19.

In the FAT I had great hopes as the season went along, but we lost in the 3rd round to Dag & Red, who went on to win the competition.

The obvious goals for next season is to get better defenders and hope to keep my strikers, as bigger clubs are already trying to poach them.

Season	League	Position	FAT/CHT	FA Cup	Car. Cup	Euro	Ch. Lea.
2019/20	VNS	9th	2nd Rnd	1st Rnd
2020/21	VNS	1st	3rd Rnd	4th Rnd

 

 

[Miniesta]

Hendon F.C.

Season 1: 2019-2020

Small squad to begin with. Bought in thirteen free transfers throughout the season. We were favourites for relegation.

Managed to get a half decent Assistant. Couldn't afford the coaches or scouts I wanted so settled for some not very good ones. Constantly asking the board for more staff and to increase the wage bill. Banging my head against a brick wall became my key job role.

Started off with one win, two draws and three losses. 17th in league. Next few months saw us picking up points here and there while varying between 12th and 14th place.

Finding ourselves in a nine game run without a win, I changed formation and tweaked the tactics. The result was five wins in a row! Which won me Manager of the Month for February. 9th in league.

Me collecting my award: 

A tough run of games against all the top teams saw us struggle for wins and I was glad to see the end of the season. Finished 12th.

 

P.S. The board offered me a new contract, I asked for improved training and youth facilities as part of deal, they agreed, I signed. A month after I signed they said they couldn't afford it after all and cancelled the work. I should resign on principle but the challenge is more important.

[lvzifer]

2 hours ago, Olivierlandman said:

I just can't add them all (+50/100) at one click. have to do it on a few dates.

I saw this on the video from Busthetnet and i thought he was adding them all in one move.

 I actually dont know the limit number. Usually I offer trail to around 20-25 players at once and kick low star rating players soon as they arive. So you can import more.

[XaW]

 XaW - Kettering Town - 2026/27

Table | Squad | Transfers | Finances

A good last season and I had hopes we could continue to improve this season. Before the season we suddenly found out we were one of the favourites to get promoted all of a sudden. I guess our youngsters were getting old enough to be accounted for, or something, because the board had the same demands. We started the season alright, winning a few, but also losing a couple of close games. Then in late September we hit a run of 12 matches unbeaten while only drawing two of them. This rocketed us up towards the top of the table. As the season progressed we were battling for the top spot with Port Vale and Luton Town. All three of us picking up a lot of points. In February Port Vale had a bad run, but we couldn't shake them enough and in March we hit a bad run of our own. This gave Luton gap and they kept it for the rest of the season, bar a couple of bad games towards the end. Port Vale had a very strong finish and almost toppled Luton in the final match, but lost to finish 2nd. We were partially out of gas in Match and the start of April, but had a strong finish after a couple of injuries had hampered us a bit. In the end we finished in a strong 3rd place qualifying for the playoffs.

Since we finished 3rd we got a bye in the first round and entered in the semi-final. We got drawn against Stockport who had knocked out Shrewsbury 3-1. We controlled the tie and won it 3-1 without letting them into the game at all, though allowing them to score on their only shot of the game. In the playoff final we faced Darlington who knocked out Port Vale in the other semi. I have to feel a bit sorry for Port Vale who picked up over 100 points but failed to get promoted. Before that Darlington had also dispatched Tranmere in an 8-2 whooping in the first playoff round. The final was a much closer affair, but we got of to a great start with a goal within a minute and followed it up with another after 13 minutes. Darlington hit one back half way into the second half, but things got worse when we had a red card after a very poor tackle. Still, we held on and claimed the victory and our promotion to the Football League!

After the promotion were secured we also turned professional!

In the FA Cup we got to the 3rd round for the 3rd year running, this time losing narrowly to Southampton. In the FA Trophy we had a rather easy way until we knocked out Luton in the semi final. In the final we met VNN side Harrogate. We showed out class by being up 3-0 at half time and adding two more after the break. We slumped a bit towards the end and and allowed them two goals, but the victory were never in danger.  Our first cup success!

We had a decent youth intake where Paddy Gowshall 27c is the most promising one.

Season	|       League	             | Position |   FA Cup      |   Europe	|   Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20	|   National League North    |   9th	 |  1st round    |   N/A	|   Just of playoffs
2020/21	|   National League North    |   1st	 |  4th qual     |   N/A	|   Promoted as champions
2021/22	|   National League          |  16th	 |  1st round    |   N/A	|   Survived
2022/23 |   National League          |  14th     |  4th round    |   N/A        |   Mid-table, good cup run
2023/24 |   National League          |  20th     |  1st round    |   N/A        |   Almost relegated
2024/25 |   National League          |  20th     |  3rd round    |   N/A        |   Almost relegated
2025/26 |   National League          |  13th     |  3rd round    |   N/A        |   Mid-table
2026/27 |   National League          |   3rd     |  3rd round    |   N/A        |   Promoted by playoffs, won FA Trophy