[FM19] I don't know where I'm going, only God knows where I've been. I'm a devil on the run, a six gun lover, a candle in the wind. I'm going out, in a blaze of glory (hopefully) - another Northernpilgrim journeyman

[Northernpilgrim]

Not a perfect start

but we remain clear of the bottom 4. The only question is whether I overhaul the squad in January, or patch up with a couple of loans, and overhaul in the summer?

[Northernpilgrim]

It didn't get any better in January

and that has seen us slip uncomfortably close to the bottom 4

I managed to get two loan signings, but with no money for transfers or wages, they're not high quality players

[Lenzar]

Hartlepool, then Carlisle! Certainly proving the Northern part of your name!

[Northernpilgrim]

Youth intake time, and these three have been offered contracts

[Northernpilgrim]

February was equally miserable, despite fighting back from 4-0 down at Wigan

and we're now in the relegation zone

[Northernpilgrim]

[Northernpilgrim]

We did end the winless run in March, but our results were still poor

and I think we probably need to win four out of six to stay up. Not going to happen

[Northernpilgrim]

April was no better

and relegation is confirmed

[Northernpilgrim]

We did at least finish the season with a draw

but that wasn't enough to prevent us finishing bottom

[Northernpilgrim]

But will I be around to try and win League 2 next season?

[kevhamster]

Damn, that's rough.  Best of luck what whatever gets thrown at you next!

[Northernpilgrim]

I survived the board meeting, and am still the manager. Here are our preseason results

[Northernpilgrim]

I managed to make a few changes to the squad with transfers and loans

 

[Northernpilgrim]

And, with players promoted from the Youth Team, my squad for League 2 looks like this

[Northernpilgrim]

I need to win League 2 this year, but do the bookies think it's likely? No

[Dev'o]

With the change of club, I guess you could even change your thread title to something based on another 80's pop legend.

What a fall from grace for Kelvin Etuhu though - EPL to gonnnnnne in seven years.

Olowu looks a good pickup and one for the future, and Nevers looks like one to grow as well - maybe as a super sub?

 

 

[Northernpilgrim]

Not the best start to the season

although we're only 3 points behind the top 3

but that wasn't enough to keep me in my job

[Northernpilgrim]

After more than 4 months working for the United Nations (being UN-employed, geddit?) I've got my first interview, and I've had to drop down to National League North to get it

[Northernpilgrim]

Here is the squad I've inherited

and the league table on the day I arrive. The board want a playoff place, which I'll be happy with if we don't go up. I would then be looking to win the league next season

[Northernpilgrim]

January results. *Note: I wasn't in charge for the first match of the month

We had our final 2 games of the month postponed due to waterlogged pitches, which sees us drop to 7th, but with games in hand on everyone above us

[optimusprimal82]

Decent start - Just imagine how sweet it'll be when you get Darlo promoted and stick 2-3 in Carlisle's net!  

[Northernpilgrim]

February was a disaster

and I think we need a miracle to make the playoffs

[Northernpilgrim]

3 hours ago, optimusprimal82 said:

Decent start - Just imagine how sweet it'll be when you get Darlo promoted and stick 2-3 in Carlisle's net!  

Help!!

[Northernpilgrim]

March was a little better, but not good enough

and that has definitely ended any lingering playoff hopes

[Northernpilgrim]

We were woeful in April

and finish the season 15th, with a pathetic 54 points

[Northernpilgrim]

It's been a busy preseason, and we played some tough games, and generally results were good

It's been a busy summer of transfers too, with these players all leaving (I'm disappointed to lose Sheppeard)

but we've made some decent signings too

[Northernpilgrim]

And here is the squad for the new season (first team only)

[Northernpilgrim]

Unbelievably, I've been sacked after 1 match of the new season

[optimusprimal82]

Wow, they let you have pre-season then kick you after one game? Commiserations sir, hope you find yourself back in the hotseat in the not too distant, maybe back with Hartlepool with a view to smashing Darlo for their ingratitude?

 

[Northernpilgrim]

3 hours ago, optimusprimal82 said:

Wow, they let you have pre-season then kick you after one game? Commiserations sir, hope you find yourself back in the hotseat in the not too distant, maybe back with Hartlepool with a view to smashing Darlo for their ingratitude?

 

After the disappointing end to last season, they set me a target of 13 points from 5 matches. Losing the first made that impossible, so I got fired. I'm already at Christmas without a job, if I get to the end of the season without one, I'll probably kill off this save

[optimusprimal82]

I spotted that you’d fallen short of their target but had no idea it was such a ridonculously high one, wow!

Not sure i’d be confident getting 13/15 points with Barcelona/Real Madrid on this years game given it’s quirks - that’s a brutal target (& feels like they were trying to force you out?)?!

Can’t help but feel you’ve been treated harshly so fingers crossed over here that someone does give you a chance and you can exact your revenge (realise that’s been the theme of my last 3 posts in this thread - would never consider myself a vengeful person but seems FM - or more accurately asshat chairmen - brings out the worst in me!)  

[WillHoward42]

13 hours ago, Northernpilgrim said:

Unbelievably, I've been sacked after 1 match of the new season

Cannot say I have ever seen this before!!

Why bother letting you make all those signings?

[Northernpilgrim]

I allowed the save to continue until November 2022, and having failed to even get an interview until then, I put in one last application, and I've got the job. The only objective is to stay up

and this is what I've walked into, with survival the only aim

although I have to say the squad looks better than I expected

 

[Northernpilgrim]

I'm not going to be looking for a trophy with Maidstone, this will be about rebuilding my reputation, and hopefully securing a better job that'll allow me to trophy hunt again

 

[optimusprimal82]

Great news - good luck going forward, let's hope this is the turning point and the career becomes as legendary as the title!!  

[Northernpilgrim]

5 hours ago, optimusprimal82 said:

Great news - good luck going forward, let's hope this is the turning point and the career becomes as legendary as the title!!  

Thanks optimus 🙂

[kevhamster]

Good luck!

[Northernpilgrim]

Great first game in charge, but two disappointing defeats followed

and we remain inside the bottom four, but we're still in touch

[Nobby_McDonald]

Crashed in Carlisle.
Dropped by Darlington.
Miserable in Maidstone?

Do you wish you stayed at Hartlepool?

[Northernpilgrim]

Four points from four league games in December

wasn't enough to lift us out of the relegation zone

[Northernpilgrim]

On paper, January looks horrible, but the Sutton game was the only one we didn't end up with 10 men

but remarkably, the gap to safety is still only 3 points. We need a win quickly though

[Northernpilgrim]

Our next match is at home to Kidderminster, and it's definitely a must win. Find out tomorrow if we do

 

[Northernpilgrim]

We won that, but it was the only win in another awful month

which leaves us rock bottom, and looking very likely to be relegated

[Northernpilgrim]

A couple of decent wins in March

wasn't enough to lift us out of the drop zone

or keep me in a job

 

[Northernpilgrim]

Having reached the end of June without even getting an interview, I've decided to end this career here. Sad, but inevitable if I can't get a job to carry it on

 

[samboing]

Damn, I started reading this thread today and was enjoying reading shame it ended like it did. Hope u start another soon to read! Did u stick to certain tactics or keep switching it up from game to game?

[Northernpilgrim]

1 hour ago, samboing said:

Damn, I started reading this thread today and was enjoying reading shame it ended like it did. Hope u start another soon to read! Did u stick to certain tactics or keep switching it up from game to game?

I had two tactics I used with Hartlepool,  a 4-1-2-2-1 and a 4-2-3-1, but after that I tried various tactics to try and get results,  but to no avail. I guess I'm just not cut out for lower league management. 

[samboing]

25 minutes ago, Northernpilgrim said:

I had two tactics I used with Hartlepool,  a 4-1-2-2-1 and a 4-2-3-1, but after that I tried various tactics to try and get results,  but to no avail. I guess I'm just not cut out for lower league management. 

Don’t give up down there, just need to find the right club, it’s hard going especially when the clubs are semi pro as there’s literally no time for training what 4 sessions a week?? But it’s doable, I’m currently doing the youth challenge and lost two key players to other clubs, screwed up my season, managed to scrape into a he final playoff spot but missed out in the final and in fairness completely outclassed so another year in the Vanarama north but we dust ourselves off and go again!

I’ll be looking forward to your next adventure 

[Northernpilgrim]

1 hour ago, samboing said:

Don’t give up down there, just need to find the right club, it’s hard going especially when the clubs are semi pro as there’s literally no time for training what 4 sessions a week?? But it’s doable, I’m currently doing the youth challenge and lost two key players to other clubs, screwed up my season, managed to scrape into a he final playoff spot but missed out in the final and in fairness completely outclassed so another year in the Vanarama north but we dust ourselves off and go again!

I’ll be looking forward to your next adventure 

Thanks samboing. Going to spend the next few days messing about with a few teams and trying to get my mojo back. Hopefully I'll have something up by next week

[kevhamster]

18 hours ago, Northernpilgrim said:

I had two tactics I used with Hartlepool,  a 4-1-2-2-1 and a 4-2-3-1, but after that I tried various tactics to try and get results,  but to no avail. I guess I'm just not cut out for lower league management. 

I think familiarity is key, at least based on what I've seen.  So the more you tinker, the harder it is for your team to gel.