[FM19] On the move again? That'll be Costly

[King Costly]

You may remember me (almost certainly not, though) from such career threads as 'The Seagulls are trying to nick my chips again' and 'Dave Duncan's tour of obscurity'

Welcome... After a two-and-a-half year hiatus, I have contracted the FM bug once again. Having skipped FM18 and most of FM19, I have dipped my toe into the vast waters of football management again. As much as I loved the Weston-super-Mare journey, I am far too promiscuous to try that again - the journeyman style suits me perfectly! My previous journeyman on here took me to Iceland, China, England, Belgium and Germany - I definitely get around...

Setup... I will be starting unemployed, as always, with Sunday League reputation and a National C Licence (as I hold that badge in real life - talk about a humble brag!). We have loaded a large database with the lowest playable league in the following nations: Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Wales. That gives us a player count of 72,000 - surely we can find a few decent ones?!

Plans... There are no grand plans for this save - I'll be learning on the job with FM19 as it looks like there's plenty of new features to get to grips with. I cannot wait to truly experience the wonders of VAR! I'll be introducing my first club in the next post and hopefully you'll join me on another crazy ride!

The story so far... 

Spoiler

The trophy cabinet... 

Spoiler

 

[King Costly]

 

Aberystwyth Town - Welsh Premier League

Straight into a Premier League job? Nice! Oh, the Welsh Premier League... Aberystwyth were one of a handful of clubs looking for a manager at the start of the game and being just a half star reputation club, they were desperate enough to interview me. My shiny new suit wowed them enough for them to offer me the job - we're off to Cymru!

Maybe it was meant to be as just a week ago I was on holiday in Mid Wales and visited Aberystwyth, inadvertently parking next door to the football ground. I stuck my head round the door not realising that just days later, it would be where I'd be calling home. As you can see from a couple of photos above, Park Avenue is a very modest ground complete with a plastic pitch which seems to be the norm in Wales.
 

 

Basic is the word to describe the club's facilities. The trophy cabinet also hasn't been touched in a long, long time so hopefully we'll be able to do something about that. The club's only major trophy is the Welsh Cup won back in 1900 - they're not used to success down in Aber!

We're expected to avoid relegation from the Welsh Premier which should be achievable. There are 12 teams in the division with the bottom two getting relegated. The Welsh Premier League is entirely semi professional apart from two clubs - The New Saints are professional and coming off the back of seven straight titles and Cardiff Metropolitan University are amateur. The quality of the league is probably on par with National League North/South which I have plenty of experience with on previous FMs - hopefully that will stand me in good stead!

[OleDK]

Welcome back to the FM Universe 

Good luck with your career at Aber - looking forward to following this!

[Mandy42]

As my reverse round the world thread will very shortly bring me to Wales I best keep an eye on this.

Up the Aber!

[King Costly]

23 hours ago, OleDK said:

Welcome back to the FM Universe 

Good luck with your career at Aber - looking forward to following this!

Thank you - I can already feel the addiction taking hold!

22 hours ago, Mandy42 said:

As my reverse round the world thread will very shortly bring me to Wales I best keep an eye on this.

Up the Aber!

Cheers. I assume Wales will be a breeze after Zimbabwe!

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - August 2018 Update

It was a pretty challenging couple of months trying to make sure the squad was strong enough to compete in the Welsh Premier. I inherited quite a strong first XI but there was no depth whatsoever. Unfortunately, any player we went for that had an offer from another club opted not to join us - some even preferring to take much lower financial rewards in the process!

I've set out to make us organised and tough to beat (which is pretty much always my mantra!) with a 4-1-4-1 counter system. Pre-season predictions placed us 11th out of 12 so I was pleased to see the fixture generator had been rather kind to us and given us three home games in our opening month - a decent start would be crucial if we are to struggle as much as predicted.

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression so I'm glad the Aber fans were treated to a King Costly classic on the opening day - a goalless draw! Our first derby game of the save ended in defeat at Newtown in the Mid Wales derby but as the attendance suggests, the Welsh League Cup isn't held in the highest of regards.

Our first three points of the save came against Cardiff Met Uni (who we have raided a fair bit - sorry, lads!) before a draw at Connah's Quay and another home victory over newly-promoted Llanelli Town. Granted, we haven't played the strongest teams in the league but eight points from four games is not to be sniffed at.

Former Birmingham, Stevenage and Wrexham keeper Callum Preston, ex-Wrexham and Bangor midfielder Declan Walker and experienced former Wrexham (there's a theme here...), Kidderminster, Chester and Llandudno striker Marc Williams are the stars of the squad and all three were at the club when I joined.

Most of the players I've signed have been merely for depth but the two that excite me are 16-year-old giant Callum Price and fellow teenager Mez Walker. Both are regens and both are already featuring in the first team. My wildcard signing? Ex-Premier League man Gary Taylor-Fletcher joined us on deadline day and at the very least provides us with a good dressing room presence.

[Mandy42]

I will be in Newtown at the weekend!

great start! stay at the wrong end of the table (as far as predictions go) as long as you can!

[King Costly]

 

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - September/October 2018 Update

What was that sound I hear you ask? That was the bloody wheels falling off! I knew it was important to get off to a good start and September and October have shown why. Our tactical set up has been at fault I think - it's quite a cautious approach so when we go behind, it can be difficult to get back in games without changing the entire way we play and opening ourselves up too much.

We started September with a very credible draw at TNS and could well have nicked it. A defeat to Bala wasn't the end of the world - they and TNS are the two clear quality teams and everybody else seems much of a muchness really. Things were looking up after a brilliant 3-0 win at Carmarthen but then we fell to three poor defeats. As I said above, we went behind in all three games and conceded further goals as we pushed to get back on level terms. I'm going to tweak the system so hopefully we can overcome this sticky patch.

We finished October with a couple of draws to at least keep us ticking over. I had my first rage moment of FM19 during the Llandudno game - we were leading with 45 seconds left when we get a throw-in deep in our own half. My left-back, rather than chucking it up the line hoping for a flick on, decides to throw it towards our centre-half in our own penalty area. He doesn't expect it, the Llandudno striker nips in and steals two points away from us - gutting! We'll regroup and hopefully get back in the win column soon. Oh, and we've got TNS away first up in November! 

[King Costly]

15 hours ago, Mandy42 said:

I will be in Newtown at the weekend!

great start! stay at the wrong end of the table (as far as predictions go) as long as you can!

Enjoy! We visited Barmouth, Aberystwyth, Bala, Porthmadog, Borth and Welshpool last week - Mid Wales is very picturesque!

I'm just hoping we can stay clear of those bottom two positions for as long as possible.

I forgot the league splits into two after 22 games so it could be quite a tense second half of the season!

[bigmattb28]

I love a good journey man save. Good luck. Following.

[scarp]

It reads fantastic! Good luck.

[King Costly]

2 hours ago, bigmattb28 said:

I love a good journey man save. Good luck. Following.

Thanks! I was considering a one-club career with a Welsh club, funnily enough, but I always tend to lose interest and yearn for that new club feeling. You can't beat a good (or not so good at times!) journeyman save!

2 hours ago, scarp said:

It reads fantastic! Good luck.

Very kind of you to say - thanks! 

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - November 2018 Update

Well that's more like it! We put up a good fight against TNS but they've just got that bit more quality that can win games at this kind of level. We picked up our first cup win of the save against lower league Ammanford and but for a couple of late goals we conceded, it was a pleasing performance and morale boosting victory.

We secured a late point at Bala - which was the least we deserved - before an important victory at Cardiff Met Uni. They may be amateurs but they've got some exciting young players that bossed in the first half. We rounded off November with a really good win against third-placed Carmarthen, finally showing we can win on our own patch in the league! Young midfielder Mez Walker scored the winner with his first (of many, hopefully!) goal for Aber.

There's six games remaining before the league splits into two - the top six go into the European Group whilst the bottom six scrap it out in the Relegation Group. Apart from the top two and bottom three, it's extremely close and could well go down to goal difference after the first 22 games are completed.

Some other good news is that we're going back to school. Coaching school, that is! In my experience, it's quite rare for semi pro clubs to fund your courses so thanks to the board for splashing out!

 

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - December 2018 Update

It's amazing what a bit of form can do! The slight tweak to the system to be a bit more expansive has definitely helped and, thankfully, hasn't had any knock on effects in defence. In fairness, we were a bit lucky to come away with the three points at Caernarfon. We had to withstand a lot of pressure and took our two chances when they came - it's nice to be clinical for a change! We then picked up a much more deserving victory against Cefn Druids. After an even first half, they had a man (their right-back that rejected me in the summer - there's some karma!) sent off five minutes after the restart and we laid siege to their goal. We missed a penalty and it looked like we would just run out of time when the pressure finally told and a low cross was turned in for an own goal.

Unfortunately we're still yet to taste victory in the Mid Wales derby, drawing both games against our rivals Newtown over the festive period. We were by far the better side at home but wasted too many chances again with striker Marc Williams missing another penalty - I don't think he'll be taking the next one! The match at Newtown was far more even and they took the lead early on from a corner. We played really well in the first half and after a period of sustained pressure, we finally grabbed an equaliser in the last minute.

The league table splits into two in two games' time. If we can remain in the top six, we'll be competing in the European Group. Whilst I think we're a way off from being competition at that level, at least it would mean we couldn't finish below sixth!

#Seasiders

[OleDK]

Three points away from medals but also three points above 7th place and Relegation Group. I hope you qualify for European Group 👍

[King Costly]

22 hours ago, OleDK said:

Three points away from medals but also three points above 7th place and Relegation Group. I hope you qualify for European Group 👍

Yep, it's quite an even league when you take TNS out of the equation. Well, we're at the half-way stage now so let's take a look...

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - January 2019 Update

Not much to talk about games wise as we had just two remaining fixtures before the split and a three week break. We should have beaten the underperforming Connah's Quay but unfortunately some lapse defending in the 91st minute allowed them to steal a point. That meant Caernarfon and Cefn Druids could overtake us and knock us down to seventh at the end of the first half of the season.

Barry seem to be our bogey team in this save so far. They don't seem to be very good but get very lucky against us and bully us at set pieces. We never really looked in control and they took their chances. A disappointing defeat but Caernarfon, despite winning, couldn't quite score enough to finish above us. That means we finish sixth and qualify for the European Playoff Group on goal difference!
 

Considering our expectations were to avoid relegation, the rest of the season is a bit of a free hit. If we lose every single game, we'll still finish sixth but hopefully we can at least finish in the top five!

Being January, the transfer window opened back up and we made a few additions to the squad. Striker Marley Bishop-Wisdom joins from Cardiff Met Uni and will hopefully lighten the load on Marc Williams who has really struggled over the past couple of months.

Midfielder Pavel Vieira is a full international (OK, only the one cap...), looks pretty good for this level and was actually playing in the division below for Airbus. Fellow midfielder Callum Sainty arrives, meanwhile, from rivals Barry. He impressed in both games against us and gives us some defensive steel and physicality we have been missing in the middle of the park. Let's see how we compete against the league's big boys week in, week out!

#Seasiders

[bigmattb28]

On 20/08/2019 at 17:41, King Costly said:

Thanks! I was considering a one-club career with a Welsh club, funnily enough, but I always tend to lose interest and yearn for that new club feeling. You can't beat a good (or not so good at times!) journeyman save!

Very kind of you to say - thanks! 

Yeah man I'm the same, get bored at 1 club saves now. Good going on finishing in the euro play off spot too

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - February, March & April 2019 Update

On the face of it, the first few games of the Championship Conference were a bit of a disaster. However, we actually competed well and somehow hit the woodwork eight times in those first three games! We also had a header directly from a corner ruled out for offside on the scorer which is actually impossible - that did not leave me best pleased...

Following the unfortunate Welsh Cup defeat to TNS, we lost two more League games on the road leaving us in a very sorry state. As you can see from the scorelines, we were keeping things tight but just couldn't score enough goals. Marc Williams has been awful in the second half of the season (just after we signed him to a contract extension - cheers Marc!) and the youngster Marley Bishop-Wisdom hasn't been too effective on his own up top. We kept battling, however, and got a credible draw at TNS before winning three of our last four fixtures to end on a high. Our last day win meant we finished 5th on goal difference - not too shabby!

TNS will go into the Champions League qualifiers, Bala into the Europa League qualifiers and I believe that Llanelli, Carmarthen, us, Cefn Druids and Barry will now enter a play-off for the last remaining spot. It does say on the rules that 3rd automatically qualifies for the Europa League but then also says that 3rd place enters the Europa League play-offs - who knows?!
 

The aim, after securing a top six finish was to try and aim for fifth. Thanks to our late run of victories, we managed to sneak above Cefn Druids on goal difference. We had the second best defence in the division but only scored 35 times in 32 games - something we've got to look at improving next season. The big shock was that Connah's Quay - predicted to finish third - got relegated after a dreadful season for them. Cardiff Met Uni also finished well below expectations but their amateur squad did get raided throughout the season.
 

Youth Intake

Our intake wasn't too great which isn't a surprise. The only two players worth mentioning are left winger Andrew Bowen and right winger Aled Allen, but I'm not sure either will make an impression in the first team in the near future.
 

Other News

We kept an eye on the players leaving clubs throughout the season and managed to pick up midfielder Jonathan Royle after he left National League North club AFC Telford United. He looks like he'll be a big part of our plans for next season.

We will definitely be in charge next year after signing a new deal with a £25 per week wage rise  The board have also backed me by funding my National A Licence qualification. Now to finish off the season with the Europa League play-offs...

#Seasiders

[scarp]

9 minutes ago, King Costly said:

We also had a header directly from a corner ruled out for offside on the scorer which is actually impossible - that did not leave me best pleased...

Good luck in Europe!

[King Costly]

13 hours ago, scarp said:

Good luck in Europe!

Unfortunately, our dream didn't last too long . We really should have won the game but had a goal ruled out for offside and then conceded a stupid penalty which was enough for Carmarthen. They took on Llanelli in the final and even though Llanelli won, both clubs qualified for the Europa League. Why Llanelli entered the Europa League playoffs when they were already guaranteed a place is a bit of a mystery for me!

End of Season Awards

The fact Kellaway got player of the season shows that it was definitely a team effort for us. He had a decent season on the left-hand side but hardly set the world alight. Wes Baynes was solid for us at right-back and chipped in with a few goals but Marc Williams struggled for half a season and only got nine goals - there's plenty of work to be done in the summer! Callum Price did well in his debut season at 16 and will hopefully be a mainstay for many years to come as he develops.

Season Review

We've got to be pleased with a top six finish considering we were tipped for relegation. Next season we'll be aiming to clinch a Europa League spot. Apart from TNS, there really isn't anybody to fear in the Welsh Premier and as you can see from our results against them, we've competed well against TNS anyway. If we can add a bit of quality, we could well be in for a better season. I'd also like to go a bit further in the Cups and we'll have a bigger squad next year to allow me to rotate a bit more.

Other News

Some good news on the European front - Wales has risen up the coefficients table. We don't get any more European slots but it does mean the clubs qualifying for the Europa League will enter at the First Qualifying Round rather than the Preliminary Round. A collective sigh of relief was heard across the United Kingdom after it was announced Brexit had finally been delivered. No rule changes by the looks of it which is fine by me!

I've started the pre-season and got some exciting signings in so I'll be back to update you with a preview of next season in due course...

#Seasiders

[Carambau]

Damn... a pity you didn't make it into europe! I see you qualify easily next year when more consistency comes in though 

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - 2019/20 Preview

We let most of last season's squad go so it was always going to be a busy summer but I'm relatively happy with who we've brought in. It looks like a lot of players but four or five have been signed for the U19 team on Amateur contracts - we'll see if they can develop into first teamers.

I managed to get a couple of players I didn't think we'd be able to sign so that was a nice bonus. The squad is definitely stronger than last season so we'll see where it takes us. Marc Williams kicked up a fuss about my striker signings so he was allowed to leave and was signed by Bala whilst our left-back Kyle McCarthy, who was going to be second choice, has gone out on loan to recoup the cost of his wages.

Key Signings: I was delighted to get a couple of really strong strikers. Luke Busumbru will be our main goal getter and his stats look very good for this level. He was signed from Airbus in the division below. Adam Roscrow, a player I've monitored for a while, will give him competition up top and he'll also fill in on the right wing too. Robbie Parry, apart from his poor finishing, looks like he'll be a key player for us and will also take the captain's armband. The signing of the summer, however, has to be centre-half Nyran Loveless from Cardiff Met Uni. He's already our best defender and could well develop into a really quality player.

Other Signings: Our other main signings include Tom Dyson, a really tidy midfield player who will hopefully calm things down in the middle of the park. I've also strengthened the defence with new full-backs. Steve Tomassen is more of a centre-half but will be likely deployed on the right-hand side of defence. I was looking for a left-back all summer and managed to sign Rhys Abbruzzese late on from Barry.

Expected Lineup: We're going with a slightly more positive 4-1-4-1 this season with the wide men pushed up to AML/AMR which will hopefully lead to more goals without negatively impacting on the defensive side too much.

Season Aims: The board want me to finish in the top half and that has to be the minimum aim. I would love us to secure Europa League football and I think that is definitely achievable. A top six spot is the first aim and then hopefully we can look to better last season's 5th place finish. The board also want me to get to the quarter-finals of the Welsh Cup like we did last season. A good run is something I'd be aiming for too and we'll also hopefully play more than just one game in the League Cup too! In other news, the board have financed my Continental C Licence - I don't think I've ever had a semi-pro club be so happy to pay for coaching courses before!

It's been a positive summer so what better place to start the season than away at TNS?! 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Decent first season King. Good luck in the second.

[King Costly]

3 hours ago, Carambau said:

Damn... a pity you didn't make it into europe! I see you qualify easily next year when more consistency comes in though 

Thanks, hope you're right!

23 minutes ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Decent first season King. Good luck in the second.

Cheers Nobby.

Quite an eventful start to the season. This team has some balls, equalising away at TNS in the 94th minute with ten men!

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - August & September 2019 Update

Not exactly the start I expected after our opening day draw at champions TNS. The results don't look great - and they aren't - but we've been the better team in every game so far apart from the defeat at Cardiff Met Uni. We're creating a bucketful of chances but just not taking them, much like last year. We've also hit the woodwork in every game so far - is that an FM19 thing or just us being extremely unlucky?! We were dealt another blow during our poor run in August as striker Luke Busumbru tore a thigh muscle and is out until the New Year. Thankfully Adam Roscrow has stepped up and done really well up front.

The defeat at Newtown summed up our season so far. A missed penalty, hit the woodwork three times, dominated the game and lost to an 89th minute free-kick. Oh joy. We were 11th in the table at that point but back-to-back victories over Cefn Druids and Haverfordwest (in which we scored two own goals!!!) have pushed us up to mid table at the end of September.

We've performed well in the Welsh League Cup but our run looks like it'll be over in the semi-finals after we were drawn against champions TNS.

 

In other news, our poor start didn't seem to put off other clubs as we were invited to interviews at Irish First Division club Cobh Ramblers as well as Premier Division side Derry City. The Derry one was interesting as they're a two-star rep club. I attended both interviews but I'm happy to stay at Aberystwyth for the time being and used the interest to get some more cash in the wage budget 

#Seasiders

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - October & November 2019 Update

Our good form continued into the beginning of October although some of our defending was far from ideal. The home game against Llanelli especially was a difficult match to watch as we threw away two leads in silly fashion. Robbie Parry has been sensational and he scored four as we battered Barry on their own patch - the goals are flowing now! Only the woodwork could stop us against TNS as we gave the champions a run for their money. The only disappointment over the two month period was the defeat at Bala - we were way off the pace.

We recovered well, however, with eight goals in two League victories against tricky sides Cardiff Met Uni and Bangor City to push us up to sixth in the table. TNS haven't had a brilliant season so the table is still looking very tight and another few wins could take us well into the top six.

We've also got to get a new suit after making it through to the Welsh League Cup final. We had a pretty favourable run until we met TNS in the semis. We took an early 2-0 lead thanks to a couple of well worked set-pieces but TNS' quality shone through and they levelled before the break. We managed to soak up their pressure after the break and were clinical with our chances, knocking them out with five goals to boot! We will face Haverfordwest in the final at the end of January.

Striker Luke Busumbru is beginning his rehab from injury and we'll hopefully have him back soon. Adam Ruscrow must get plenty of praise though because he's really stepped up and performed much better than I anticipated. The team look a lot more fluent now and are attacking and defending well (most of the time!) as a unit.

In other news, the board have backed me again and I'm now studying for my National B Licence. I'll have the Continental Pro Licence all sewn up by the time I leave Wales at this rate!

#Seasiders

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Nathaniel MG Welsh League Cup Final 2019/20

A bumper (OK, only 997...) crowd packed into the Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli for the Welsh League Cup final - could we secure our first silverware of the save so far?
 

A bit of history as both clubs compete in their first final so whatever the result, we'll have a new name on the trophy.

So that was a rollercoaster ride! We took the lead from a corner and looked comfortable before some awful defending saw us go into the break 2-1 down. We grabbed an equaliser early in the second half and despite pushing for the rest of the game, we had to settle for extra time. We switched off again in extra time from a set piece, handing Haverfordwest the lead with 13 minutes left.

The kitchen sink was thrown at them but when Luke Busumbru missed from the spot, I thought our luck was out. Oh how wrong I was! Busumbru made up for his miss with a tidy finish before skipper Robbie Parry scored the ugliest goal ever, forcing the ball over the line in the 116th minute after a long throw led to some penalty area pinball.

Nice and comfortable first trophy for us 

[Carambau]

Congrats on winning your first trophy! Hopefully it won´t be the last

Great demolition of TNS in the semis as well 

Did you qualify for Europe through this?

[deltablue]

Fabulous final.

[King Costly]

10 hours ago, Carambau said:

Congrats on winning your first trophy! Hopefully it won´t be the last

Great demolition of TNS in the semis as well 

Did you qualify for Europe through this?

Thank you - let's hope not! Unfortunately it doesn't qualify us for Europe but hopefully we'll do enough in the League to guarantee a Europa League place.

9 hours ago, deltablue said:

Fabulous final.

For the spectators maybe, not so much for the blokes in the dugouts! 

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - December & January 2019/20 Update

We started December with our very first Mid Wales derby win of the save against Newtown and secured another comfortable win at home to Cefn Druids. Haverfordwest, despite struggling in the League after promotion, have given me a tough test in every game we've played against them and we had to settle for a disappointing draw despite taking a first minute lead.

December is always a busy month so thankfully we were in top form for most of it. We celebrated the Festive period with nine points from nine, sweeping Caernarfon aside at home before back-to-back 1-0 wins over Carmarthen to end 2019 on a massive high

 Just when I thought our defensive frailties had been solved, we conceded nine in three games. Llanelli Town are a bit of a bogey side for us and they outplayed us at their place, beating us 3-1 before we secured two 4-3 wins in a row. We were really sloppy in both games against weaker opposition but did just enough to get past Barry in the League and Haverfordwest in the above League Cup final.

The League now splits into two and finishing second definitely has to be the aim now. The League overall seems weaker this season as Bala have struggled immensely and might even go down. We should be expecting to win every game in the new Championship Group apart from the two tough tests against TNS and Llanelli.

In other news... We made a few January signings to strengthen the squad, bringing in talented youngster Ryan Bevan on loan from Swansea (thanks Director of Football!), ex-Wycombe striker Alex Samuel and former Wales captain Ashley Williams! Williams is retiring at the end of the season and his physical stats are awful but he'll be a good influence in the dressing room and has signed for peanuts.

The only disappointment is that we're going to be losing our best young player in the summer. Defender Nyran Loveless has agreed to join Norwich City in the summer and I can't blame him. His stats look great and I'm sure he'll become a very good player.

#Seasiders

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - February & March 2020 Update
 

Almost a perfect two month period for us. This team has really come into its own and they're a joy to watch, especially going forward. We've progressed through to the FA Welsh Cup semi-finals after comfortable victories over lower league Taffs Well and then Bangor City. We take on Cardiff Met Uni for a place in the final. February also included two League games and we picked up six points and two clean sheets. The victory over TNS was something special - we were 4-0 up after 35 minutes! We bullied them from set pieces and always looked in control. Skipper Robbie Parry then twisted an ankle and missed six weeks but Jack Fox and Adam Roscrow stepped up with some wonderful performances. The latter starred in the victory over local rivals Newtown.

We continued the brilliant form into March, seeing off Cefn Druids at home before a run of three straight away games. Luke Busumbru climbed off the bench and showed his potential with a hat-trick in the win at Llanelli Town and we then defended really well to pick up three points at Caernarfon. The biggest test of them all followed as we travelled to TNS and it was another rollercoaster ride. We conceded early on, took a 2-1 lead, went 3-2 behind but crucially had the final say as Busumbru levelled in the last minute. Robbie Parry then announced his return with a hat-trick against Llanelli Town after coming on as a second-half sub.
 

So this season has got very, very interesting! Our fantastic run of form has ensured we won't finish below second meaning we have qualified for next season's Europa League. TNS have drawn a lot of games they should have won and we head into the final three games of the season level on points. Only goal difference separates us - I didn't expect us to be in this position! Here's how we both finish the League season...

Aberystwyth: Cefn Druids (A); Caernarfon (H); Newtown (H)

TNS: Caernarfon (H); Newtown (H); Llanelli Town (A)

#Seasiders

[King Costly]

Always nice of your local rivals to do you a massive favour . It's in our own hands heading into the final day...

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - Final day of the 2019/20 season Update
 

We went into the final day knowing a victory would see us claim an extremely unlikely Welsh Premier League title! Newtown's draw at TNS meant we headed into the final day two points clear. A draw would most likely not be enough due to TNS' superior goal difference so a win was the only thing on our mind. You'd expect some early nerves but these lads have balls of titanium steel (is that even a thing?!).
 

We're going to bloody do this, aren't we?!

I don't think I've ever loved anyone as much as I love Robbie Parry.

How the hell have we done that? We were 11th after five games and the board were starting to get twitchy. We ended the season with 17 wins from 20 games (including two draws and one defeat). TNS had a below par season (they had 80 points last year) and we took full advantage. Football. Bloody hell!

#Seasiders

[deltablue]

Great end to the season. 

[King Costly]

5 hours ago, deltablue said:

Great end to the season. 

Cheers Delta!

A week after we had secured the League, we faced off against TNS again in the Welsh FA Cup final. For some reason it isn't played at a neutral venue and TNS were drawn as the home side. We scored first but missed a couple of chances to put the game away and they equalised to take it into extra time. They had that bit more quality and nicked the win. It was a disappointing end to the season but if you'd have offered me two trophies at the start of the season, I'd have bit your hand off!

There's not much time to soak up the sun on the beach as we'll be back in early for pre-season ahead of our first ever Champions League campaign. Can we make it past the First Qualifying Phase?

[King Costly]

Our first ever Champions League journey kicks off in Luxembourg as we were drawn against European regulars F91 Dudelange in the First Qualifying Phase. We were drawn away from home first before hosting the second leg at Parc y Scarlets as our home ground - Park Avenue - isn't up to European standards. I didn't know what to expect as when you don't have leagues loaded in FM, it can be a bit of a lottery. Let's just say, I didn't need to worry...
 

 

On to the Second Qualifying Phase now and a very tough tie against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. This will most likely be our last foray into the Champions League before we have a go at the Europa League.

#Seasiders

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - 2020/21 Preview

I turned down summer advances from Northern Irish Premier League side Linfield, Israeli Premier League club Beitar Jerusalem and Greek second tier club Iraklis as I wanted to lead Aberystwyth into Europe. This could well be our last season in Wales, however.  We pretty much kept the whole of last season's squad after doing so well. We lost two young centre-backs in Nyran Loveless and Callum Price. Loveless went to Norwich whilst Price went to TNS. Loveless will be missed but Price didn't play much last season so he's replaceable.

I tried to add some quality to the team and knew we needed a centre-half or two, a full-back and preferably a better quality holding midfielder. I managed to get all of these with the Director of Football securing two quality loans for us.

  

 

 

Ethen Vaughan arrives from Norwich and will be given some game time this season to develop into our first choice right-back. Ryan Reynolds (not that one) and Joseph Low both come in on loan and will most likely be the first choice centre-back partnership. Issac Christie-Davies was a late summer signing - the ex-Chelsea and Liverpool youngster can play defensive midfield or further up. His traits would suggest he'd be better deployed in a more advanced position but we'll see.

Ryan Bevan remains with us again this season from Swansea - he had a big impact last year. The one signing I was adamant on making was Captain Morgan because that name is just brilliant! He had a really good season with Bangor City last year and we waited for his contract to run out so we could sign him without paying compensation.

The system will be remaining the same because why change a winning formula? Personnel will change and we have added quality this year so can rotate a bit more without suffering from a drop in performance.

The season's aims are to again push TNS all the way. I doubt they will drop as many points as last season so it will be very tough to retain the League title. I'd also like to win one of the Cups too but again, it will be tough.

        

After the thrashing of Dudelange, we were humbled by Maccabi Tel-Aviv and dropped into the Europa League qualifying. Our first opponent in that competition was Georgian outfit Dinamo Tbilsi and, surprisingly, we were very comfortable in both legs to make it through to the final qualifying round. Cypriot side Apollon Limassol stood between us and an unlikely spot in the group stages. We fought back to lead the home leg but a 95th minute equaliser really killed us.We gave a great account of ourselves away from home but some sloppy defending cost us and our European journey came to an end.

The good news? All of those matches have netted us £1.5m! The has allowed us to improve the training facilities and we plan to turn professional at the beginning of next season.

Now to focus back on domestic matters...

#Seasiders

[Mandy42]

Awesome read! silverware piling on silverware!

Next professional club in Wales here you come.

THERES ONLY ONE ROBBIE PARRY!

[King Costly]

1 hour ago, Mandy42 said:

Awesome read! silverware piling on silverware!

Next professional club in Wales here you come.

THERES ONLY ONE ROBBIE PARRY!

We've won two more trophies than I expected to in Wales! 

I'm not sure I'll see us go professional as I think this will be my last season. We've had a few clubs approach us and I think it's time to move on to a better reputation division. The move to being a pro club should really set Aberystwyth up though and hopefully they'll continue to challenge TNS well after I'm gone!

Robbie Parry is amazing - I've never seen somebody score so freely with a finishing stat of 2!

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - August & September 2020 Update
 

Our European run went into August meaning we only played three League games in the opening month but we secured nine points with victories against Bangor City, Newtown and Cardiff Met Uni.

We did a League and League Cup double over Caernarfon and then dispatched Cefn Druids and Haverfordwest with relative ease before a really disappointing defeat to TNS. It was my own fault as I decided to change a couple of players and tweak our system when I should have stuck with what had worked so well in the opening few games. They say a test of a good team is how they react to a defeat and we got back on the winning trail with a narrow victory at Llanelli Town although the scoreline should have been much more comfortable.

We got our revenge over TNS in the League Cup quarter-final, putting in a much better performance away from home. It went to extra time but with their fitness levels looking shocking, we took advantage and won the tie before the dreaded penalties. September ended with another victory, a 3-0 win over Connah's Quay.
 

We couldn't have asked for much better from the opening nine games. We do look comfortable against most of the League but the defeat to TNS showed that despite our  League title last season, they still have much more quality than us in their squad. The fact they are professional gives them an edge too. Despite their victory against us, we lead the way due to TNS losing to Caernarfon and drawing against surprise package Carmarthen.

The team is playing well but there is definitely an extra 10-15% to come as the summer signings continue to get used to our style. Captain Morgan has been a royal pain in the backside since signing, hardly bothering in training and constantly moaning. Hopefully he'll buck his ideas up because when he's on the pitch, he looks fantastic. Robbie Parry and Ryan Bevan both missed around a month with injuries but we're now back to full strength and ready to keep the pressure on TNS.

#Seasiders

[Nobby_McDonald]

Great season and you're getting the better of TNS.

[Carambau]

Better late than never - Congrats! What a great season!

[King Costly]

On 02/09/2019 at 22:09, Nobby_McDonald said:

Great season and you're getting the better of TNS.

I think you spoke too soon Nobby 

On 03/09/2019 at 09:44, Carambau said:

Better late than never - Congrats! What a great season!

Thanks! 

[King Costly]

Aberystwyth Town FC
Welsh Premier League - Rest of season 2020/21 Update
 

So yeah, a very long update! I just didn't get round to writing up the last couple but wanted to keep playing so thought I would do a bumper one at the end of the season. As you can see, everything was going absolutely fine - we were scoring plenty of goals, playing really well and were a joy to watch. We came up against Haverfordwest in the League Cup final - a replay of last year's final.
 

 

Luckily this year resulted in a much more one-sided match and we eased home to another trophy. Any hopes of a Cup double were quickly shot down as our back-up players put in a shoddy performance against Llanelli Town in the FAW Welsh Cup.

Our attentions turned to the League and we were two points clear heading into the last ten games of the season after the split. That's when it all went wrong. We played well against TNS on their own patch but conceded to a long-range direct free-kick and a corner and that was the beginning of the end for us. I thought we'd recovered with dominant wins against Carmarthen and Newtown but Cardiff Met Uni somehow stole a victory at our place with a 25-yard screamer in the 95th minute and the team fell apart. 

I don't know if it was the pressure of the title race or just us running out of steam but we then drew against Caernarfon, conceding to a free-kick late on after battling for 45 minutes with ten men. Then came the crucial game against TNS - a win was needed to give us any hope of the title. Again we were much the better team but they have a funny knack of scoring ridiculously good goals and relying on their fantastic goalkeeper to bail them out. Another direct free-kick from distance sealed our fate.

I stayed on for one more match, hoping to sign off in style with a win at our Mid Wales rivals Newtown. The players had other ideas and put in a toothless display in a bore draw. With three games left to go and no realistic hope of TNS collapsing, we handed in our resignation 
 

The plan was to leave at the end of this season regardless but I'm a bit sad we couldn't sign off with another League win. I predicted TNS would be much better this season and they have been. They're going to end up with 12+ points more than last year! 

Still, to leave Wales and our first club of the save with three trophies in three years and a League title to boot is fantastic. TNS are still leaps and bounds ahead of every other team and it will remain that way for quite some time. Aberystwyth will be going full time next season in my absence and the £1.5m we banked from the European run should set the club up for the future. Wales, it's been emotional. But it's time to say goodbye...

 

#Seasiders

[Hootieleece]

Should have sent someone to kneecap TNS's Striker...

Where to next?

[King Costly]

13 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Should have sent someone to kneecap TNS's Striker...

Where to next?

That would have been a good idea if they didn't have several players that needed kneecaping! This season they have two defenders with over 10 goals so they're regularly scoring 4/5 a game with ease - pretty difficult to compete with!

I'm not too sure where my next move will take me to be honest. I had offers this season from League One clubs in England as well as Premier League sides in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland. I don't think I'll be staying in the UK though so I'll be looking further afield.

I think with our reputation, we'll be looking at a second tier league in a top nation (Spain, Germany, France etc) or a top division club in a lesser nation (Greece, Switzerland, Ukraine etc). I'm excited to see where we end up!

[King Costly]

Oh, bloody hell...

[King Costly]

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