Andrew Haines Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Whitby Town League One – 2030/31 –1st Squad Transfers Overview After the disaster of relegation last season I was hopeful of an immediate bounce back. This was realised in style with a season unbeaten in the league a distinct possibility right up to the 43rd game when I suffered a 2-1 home defeat to promotion chasing Sheffield United. Bolstered by the sales of first team players, I was aided by significant tranfer funds at the start of the season. Marco Neri, Lee Belcher and Danilo Estrela left for a combined £18m. These funds allowed me to reinforce the side to create a team significantly better than the one I had turned out in the Championship last season. Key arrivals included free transfers from top clubs. Juan Valencia (Bayern Munich), Michael Ward (Man United) and Fernando (Liverpool) all came in courtesy of an expanded wage budget. Tim Faulkner was another free transfer who signed from Chelsea with an expectation he would provide cover on the wings. In the event Faulkner became a key player, first as a striker and later converting to play as an inside forward scoring 17 goals in all competitions. Joining them were big money signings Rafael Garcia (£650k from Albacete), Henrik Bek Hansen (£1.9m from Liverpool) and Alex Grant (£1.7m from Bournemouth). Of these though, only Alex Grant would hold his first team place through the season. Our form was amazingly consistent. At the halfway stage of 23 games we were unbeaten in the league with only 4 draws and 4 goals conceded. This wavered in the tail end of the season but I was still hoping for a season unbeaten up to the aforementioned 43rd game. The only real fault I found with the side was the lack of a consistent goal scorer. I thought that the £2.4m signing of Manuel Costa from Porto in January might resolve this as an issue but he proved to be no better than a 1 in 4 striker, hitting 5 goals. Next season shouldn’t need major changes but I have some very saleable assets so might be tempted to cash in. Key Players Fernando – A free transfer from Man United. The Brazilian was excellent in a deep lying playmaker role. Juan Valencia – Another free transfer, the German arrived from Bayern Munich and hit 19 goals from the right wing. Record Season League Position Europe Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Conference North 5th 2021/22 Conference North 2nd Playoff Winner, Promoted 2022/23 Conference National 1st Champions, Promoted 2023/24 League Two 3rd Promoted 2024/25 League One 12th 2025/26 League One 7th 2026/27 League One 4th 2027/28 League One 1st Champions, Promoted 2028/29 Championship 15th 2029/30 Championship 22nd Relegated 2030/31 League One 1st Champions, Promoted Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnoldinho Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) Arnoldinho: Buxton FC 2023/24 Vanarama National Transfers ¦ League Fixtures 1 ¦ League Fixtures 2 ¦ League Table ¦ Cup Fixtures ¦ Finances Offseason and Transfers As we prepared for our second year in the Vanarama National, the big news of the offseason was the departure of star midfielder Olegs Sinelnikovs after just one season. Several Championship level clubs came fishing, and in the end he chose Brentford, bringing in a record fee of £300k for the Bucks, and with a 20% of future sale clause in there as well, I hope this is a piece of business that will benefit the club in the long-term. Buoyed by our financial stability, the board agreed to increase the weekly wage budget to the lofty heights of £13k - still the third lowest in the division and only 23% of that of top-spenders York, but a significant rise on last year's budget. I responded by bringing in 13 players in the offseason (and another 4 plus 2 loans during the season itself). Most were for squad depth, including previous loanee Archie Jones and Sierra Leonean youth international Prince Kamara. But three stood out. We snapped up Paul Glatzel, who appeared to be an even better version of Sinelnikovs, after he was released by Liverpool. Up front Victor Sodiende (ex Nottingham Forest) looked like the goalscorer we had been missing, and I surprised myself by signing a new keeper: while Jaros had performed admirably the previous season the opportunity to acquire Sweden's U21 goalie Johan Guadagno was too good to turn down. Behind the scenes, there were also some changes to the staffing with recently retired Ellis Deeney becoming my new assman after Shane Benjamin was poached to become manager of Truro. League Campaign We had a fantastic start to the season going a club record 14-games unbeaten to kick off the campaign, with Glatzel starring seemingly all over the pitch. And yet we still only sat in second place! My perennial Conference National frustration was happening again as a big club - this year Swindon - had been relegated and looked like they were going to run away with the title. As autumn turned to winter so our form turned cold as well - we just couldn't turn draws in to wins (with both Sodiende and last year's top scorer Viggars struggling to find the net) as Swindon pulled almost 20 points clear and FC Halifax overtook us for second spot. Still, we never looked like faltering from the playoff place that was my aim at the season's outset. With my focus on the cups (more on which in a moment) I almost didn't notice at first as Swindon started to slip in the new year. But remarkably, they won only one league game in January and February combined and suddenly, despite our own form being far from stellar, the title race was just about back on. We suddenly hit form in March, with Adedoyin (who had been quiet for most of the year), Glatzel and Sodiende linking up for some fantastic goals. As a result we took a 100% league record for the month, but unfortunately so did Swindon! And so we entered April just barely clinging on to our automatic promotion hopes. We had six games to go, and trailed Swindon - who had played two games more - by 11 points. We needed to win both our games in hand, and then beat Swindon themselves to give ourselves a chance. Barnet and Halifax were dispatched 2-1 and 3-1 respectively to cut the margin to 5, and when we beat Dulwich and Swindon could only manage a draw we were 3 behind with 3 to play and Swindon themselves at our place next. On a raucous wet Tuesday night we demolished them 3-0 at the Silverlands, not only catching them on points but the margin of victory meaning we pulled four clear on goal difference as well. Seemingly out of nowhere, two wins from our last two games would therefore almost certainly send us up! We dispatched Hereford 3-0 on the penultimate weekend but Swindon won as well, meaning it came down to the last day and a trip to my childhood team Port Vale. Having ignored the useless advice of my assman (seriously? wtf!) the team wobbled their way to a nervous 1-0 victory on the back of a terrific free-kick from Paul Glatzel and a terrible miss from Vale's left-winger late on (not that this actually mattered as Swindon only drew any way). And so - against all the odds - we were the champions and promoted to the football league! It was only when I looked back at the schedule that I realised we had in fact finished with 11 straight league wins, and we still only claimed the title by 2 points! What a day in Buxton history! Cups Alongside all of this drama (actually mainly during the part of the season that was drama-free in the league) we had another terrific FA Cup run. We beat Darlington in the fourth qualifying round, League 2 Bradford in Round 1 (after a televised replay that helped the coffers nicely), promotion rivals Halifax in Round 2 and, dramatically, League 1 Portsmouth in a third round replay at Fratton Park that we had earned via an 88th minute equaliser at home in front of the Silverlands' first ever capacity crowd. It was to be full again though for Round 4 as we (the only non-league team still left in the tournament) faced Premier League Aston Villa. Villa's class shone through and they won comfortably 3-0 but I was so proud of the campaign - as was our bank manager. With the FA Cup and our league position, I started off playing the reserves in the FA Trophy, risking the wrath of the board who wanted a quarter-final appearance. It was almost like a fun retro experience as much of our Vanarama North promotion side was re-assembled. Josh Boorn up front, Myles Bright on the wing, Ryan Hanson in the middle of the park. Plus a few new promising youngsters as well. They beat Farsley for the second year running in Round 1, dispatched Ebbsfleet after a replay in Round 2, and then crushed Hartlepool (R3) and Havant & Waterlooville (QF) to set up a semi-final with AFC Fylde. In a tense contest over two legs a mixture of the young guns and a few first teamers squeezed past Fylde 3-2 on aggregate to send us to Wembley! The final, against Barnet, was due to be three whole weeks after the season finished (is it like this in real life?!) so we were able to put out the first team for the big game - Glatzel, Sodiende and Guadango all playing their first ever games in the tournament! I probably should have stuck with the reserves though - Barnet deservedly beat us 2-1 after extra-time to deny us a famous double in what was our 62nd competitive game of the season. Finances Between gate receipts, prize money and tv rights I estimate the FA Cup run paid for our entire player wage bill for more than six months. Combined with the Sinelnikovs sale, we ended the season sitting pretty with over a million in the bank. But promotion means bigger expenses are just around the corner... Looking Ahead Football League here we come! A lot is about to change. The Board surprised me by asking if I wanted to go professional (which I thought was compulsory?) - given the relatively flush bank balance I said yes and we turn pro in July. However, the board then spent the entire bank balance on a stadium upgrade to bring us in line with League 2 regulations, on top of which they have also promised upgrades to the training and youth facilities costing around £400k in total. So I think we will start next year in the red and having to pay for full time contracts! If that is the case I think we'll struggle to hold on to Glatzel and Sodiende who are both attracting the interest of League 1 Champions Wrexham. I just hope the board hold out for a good price and don't sell them for peanuts. I also remembered in the nick of time that League 2 has a homegrown player requirement, so I have signed up a few of the slightly-less-awful guys from my Under 18's on to real contracts in order to ensure I am not stuck if Myles Bright, my only half-decent player with homegrown status, gets injured. In terms of positions of need, Defensive Midfielder is probably top of the list. I also need another striker - Ryan Viggars will not cut it at the next level - and a backup goalie as Jaros got fed up with the lack of first-team opportunities and is returning to the Czech Republic this offseason. Question for the Community An unsurprising one this time - what tips do people have for turning pro? I'm presuming that running a small squad to make sure there is enough cash to pay for reasonable quality players on full-time deals is the way to go? But any and all advice appreciated! As I've said in previous posts, I usually get stuck at the Conference level... Career Summary Edited April 5, 2020 by arnoldinho Formatting went haywire Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMU Chips Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Whitby Town 2033/2034 - A major leap (backwards) League Position Cups Training Youth Junior Recruitment Attendance (Cap) Badges Transfers (In-Out) Top Scorer Most Assists Av. Rating Clean Sheets May balance Total wages Championship 18th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 1st round Average Adequate Excellent Fairly Basic 5500 (5500) Cont. Pro (+£275k) 4-3 Aaron Parkes - 12 Agustín Urzi - 8 Aaron Parkes - 7.09 Rakish Kane - 8 (£3.41m) £124k p/w Even though we finished near the bottom, we were never in danger of relegation as we finished 23 points clear even after 5 losses and a draw to end the season. This season featured a complete failure in our tactics, as we again broke the worst discipline record but had even less bite in our attack. It also came with some of the worst transfers I've ever made. I would like to particularly point out Jørgen Stensletten. Loan listen at United and already playing for his country at the age of 20, I thought I had found another 20+ goal scorer. He got one in his debut and things seemed great. Then he went an excruciating TWENTY EIGHT HOURS without scoring, even while he was my only striker option due to injuries. He ended the year as our second highest scorer after getting 7 from 4 in March after our season was essentially over, then suffered a season ending sports hernia. We will also be losing our top scorer (and last years top assist man) after he agreed a free transfer to NYCFC while Chelsea wouldn't even negotiate a selling price for him. Rude. A lot of our wage budget will be freed up with departing players and loanees returning, though we did offer Tom Green the largest contract in club history after another solid season at centre mid. He struggled to get assists this year, but I think that was mostly our completely inept strikers. Other clubs in England are interested in signing him as well so we'll see what he decides. Either way we will probably need a complete tactical overhaul to avoid an even worse season next year. The new stadium (with nearly three times our current capacity) is set to finish in June so I look forward to higher revenue and the chance to offer higher wages. League Table - Squad Stats - Transfers - Spoiler League Position Cups Training Youth Junior Recruitment Attendance (Cap) Badges Transfers (In-Out) Top Scorer Most Assists Av. Rating Clean Sheets May balance Total wages Championship 7th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 1st round Average Adequate Adequate Fairly Basic 5500 (5500) Cont. Pro (£325k) 16-0 Jordan Chambers - 16 Aaron Parkes - 13 Tom Green - 7.18 (38) Rakish Kane - 10 (£2.99m) £110k p/w League One 1st FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Adequate Below Average Adequate Fairly Basic 4376 (5500) Cont. Pro (£220k) 8-1 Gareth Durham - 43 Bob Thomas - 20 Gareth Durham - 7.62 (45) Rakish Kane - 17 (£1.63m) £56.5k p/w League One 3rd FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Below Average Basic Average Fairly Basic 4763 (5500) Cont. A (+£10m) 16-3 Gareth Durham - 26 Bob Thomas - 19 Bob Thomas - 7.25 (49) Tony O'Flaherty - 11 (£5.9m) £38.7k p/w League Two 1st FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Below Average Basic Fairly Basic Basic 2582 (5500) Cont. B (+£275k) 13-2 Shemol Millington - 17 Bob Thomas - 16 Bob Thomas - 7.43 (46) Tony O'Flaherty - 28 (£256k) £23.6k p/w VN National 1st FAC: 2nd round, FAT: 2nd round Below Average Basic Fairly Basic Basic 1297 (4000) Nat. A (+£11.5k) 10-3 Ray Malloy - 40 Bob Thomas - 19 Ray Malloy - 7.59 (48) Brian Isherwood - 15 (£302k) £15k p/w VN National 9th FAC: 3rd round, FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 1309 (4000) Nat. A (+£1.6m) 10-4 Ray Malloy - 25 Bob Thomas - 13 Ray Malloy - 7.16 (51) Anthony Patterson - 10 (£1.6m) £10k p/w VN National 9th FAC: 4th qual., FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 1221 (4000) Nat. C (£0) 6-4 Connor Bell - 23 Connor Bell - 12 Connor Bell - 7.27 (47) Anthony Patterson - 14 (£15k) £5.9k p/w VN North 1st FAC: 1st round, FAT: 3rd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 576 (3180) Nat. C (+£8k) 11-4 Joe Ridley - 32 Joe Ridley - 18 Bob Thomas - 7.59 (50) Jonny Orritt - 25 (£583k) £4.9k p/w VN North 5th FAC: 4th qual., FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 640 (3180) Nat. C (+£150k) 10-2 Cole Kiernan - 29 Connor Bell - 20 Alfie Payne - 7.52 (32) Dave Richards - 12 (£541k) £5.4k p/w VN North 5th FAC: 2nd qual., FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 565 (3180) Nat. C (+£12k) 14-10 Mitchell George - 31 Dion McGhee - 11 Mitchell George - 7.45 (51) Marcel Wusiewicz - 16 (£443k) £7.4k p/w VN North 5th FAC: 3rd round, FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 798 (3180) None (£0) 18-6 Mitchell George - 40 Jake Cain - 16 Mitchell George - 7.35 (55) Jacob Carney - 17 (£37k) £6.3k p/w VN North 8th FAC: 3rd qual., FAT: 3rd qual. Basic Poor Adequate Average 644 (3180) None (£0) 10-1 Mitchell George - 27 Mohammed Sangaré - 11 Mitchell George - 7.33 (46) Jacob Carney - 11 (£174k) £5.9k p/w VN North 10th FAC: 3rd qual., FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 633 (3180) None (£0) 9-2 Connor Bell - 10 Jordan Barnett -11 Dale Hopson - 7.02 (49) Jacob Carney - 19 (£98.71k) £6.2k p/w Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfc7 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) Season 2 (2021/22) - Vanarama National League North Champions Season Overview League Table League Winning Game End of Season Awards So before the season began we were made 2.50 favourites to gain promotion, which i thought was expecting too much. The board expected us to get promotion by winning the League after making the playoffs last season, again i thought they were asking for too much. A good pre season was followed by 2 defeats to open the season, luckily we got back on track and picked up 7 wins and 6 draws over the next 13 games before our next defeat. We lost 3 in 6, but then only lost the odd game till near the end of the season. We had a 9 point lead and after winning 6 on the bounce and going into the last 6 games i thought it was done, silly me We lost our next two games and the lead was down to 4 points, i started to feel like it was going to slip away, but a 0-0 draw away and a 3-2 win at home, with the winner being scored in injury time won us the league with two games to spare as results went out way in the other games. We ended the season 7 points clear and i honestly didn't expect it even thought the media had us as favourites. Board Expectation: Promotion by winning the League (Too high i thought) Media Prediction: 1st. Finished: 1st FA Cup Some decent draws then got Alfreton in league above and expected a tougher game, but won 4-0 easy. Gave Gillingham a game in First Round away, but they just edged it and out i went. FA Trophy Lot tougher draws then FA Cup, but done well against some decent opposition. Thought i would got out to Wrexham, but didn't then Barnet game was same as Gillingham game where we deserved more, but they beat me with a goal in last 5 mins so out i went. Competitions Season Review Squad Transfers Again lots of ins and outs, i need to learn to stop signing so many players or stop signing so many players early on. Wasted a lot of loans as about 5 never played and were sat in u23s all season. Luckily they didn't cost me a penny. Finances Over 200k in the red which is worrying so could really do with a cup run and maybe calm down on the number of players i sign Key Players Gribbin What a signing, brought him in about 3 months after season had started on a free and his FK's alone were worth there weight in gold. Made a huge difference to the side with his set pieces, goals and assists (15). Have him signed up now for 2 seasons even with his low determination he very rarely has a bad game. Brown Signed on loan from Bolton and was our main man up top for the season with a fantastic return of 26 goals. Would like to get him again next season, but with a lot of clubs interested in him now i doubt that will happen. Stanley I know people say not to spend money yet, but i ended up buying him for 7.5k and he had a great season for us. Scored the goal that won us the league, also have him signed up for next season. Agboola Signed for free and made him my captain, he had a injury late on you could notice the difference without him in the team. Another player i have signed up for next season. Denny Another decent season for Denny, but i am unsure whether to keep him or not for next season as with a lot of players at the club i have some decisions to make Special mention to my GK who kept 21 Clean Sheets Rogerson also signed up for another season. Manager Profile B Licence Gained another Licence asked for another at end of season, but told no due to finances. Won Manager of the Year Next Season Due to us moving up a league we have had to change Stadiums so we now have a capacity of 10,000. The board want a top half finish first season in Vanarama National which i think is asking a bit much, but have to get on with it regardless as i think this will carry on up the leagues, i just hope they are patient with me SEASON DIVISION POSITION TOP GOALSCORER MOST ASSISTS BADGES ACHIEVEMENTS NOTES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Vanarama National League North 7th Mooney (19) Sangare (9) Nat.C Made Playoffs. Nat.C Coaching Badge 2021/22 Vanarama national league North 1st Brown (26) Gribbin (15) Nat.B Champions. Promoted. Nat.B Coaching Badge Edited April 6, 2020 by lfc7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfc7 Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) @kingjericho I try haggle as much as i can, but give in most of the time if really want someone, although i have lost targets from trying to save £10 a month @Andrew Haines Congrats on the promotion back to the championship, some nice signings @arnoldinho What a title race, As a Liverpool fan i know how highly Glatzel is rated so to get him for the VNL is a coup. Nice cup run, i cant help on the professional part as this is my first time properly playing at this level ha @CMU Chips Unlucky at least you stayed in the Championship and get to go again next season. 28 hrs without a goal New stadium Edited April 6, 2020 by lfc7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnoldinho Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 @Andrew Haines Congrats on the bounce-back: great effort and hopefully its onwards and upwards from here! @CMU Chips while good that you were so far clear of the bottom, hope next year's summary marks a big leap (forwards), especially with the bigger stadium. I really like your summary table - mind if I nick the format?! @lfc7 Congratulations on the first promotion - feels great doesn't it! Gribbin and Brown look insane for Vanarama North level - both will do well in the National as well if you can somehow find a way to keep Brown. Just about to start my offseason ready for League 2 - I suspect I'm going to spend a long time in the game before kicking a football again - a lot of contract re-negotiations to do! I've just realised that the board's plan is that we will go pro on July 9th - 9 days after players are released. That makes it really difficult to handle as I don't want to sign players to p/t deals only to immediately have to re-negotiate; also better quality players are likely to be willing to join us when we can give them f/t contracts. Thinking my strategy will be to try and bring top targets in on trial and see if that way I can at least delay others bidding on them until I've had chance to go pro. Going to be a lot of juggling required! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfc7 Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 @arnoldinho Thanks , yes i never expected to win the league and promotion tbh. Brown's contract is up so going to offer him everything to sign although think he will end up elsewhere Its taken me ages to just get to June as trying to scout players etc. Sounds crazy going pro ha Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfc7 Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) Offered brown a contract, but as it isn't end of June yet didn't have the extra wages so talks ended up red hopefully no one else snaps him up in the next few weeks Wondering if anyone signs players if they have good stats, but a bad personality at this level ? Edited April 6, 2020 by lfc7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_JHTB_ Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 (edited) Bognor Regis Town 2035/36 Premier League 1st place – Champions League Winners – CHALLENGE COMPLETE! Awards --- Stats --- Fixtures (1) --- Fixtures (2) --- Season Review --- Hot Prospect --- Key Player --- Overall Best XI --- Squad --- Records Season Overview “It was a memorable season for Bognor Regis as they tasted success in the English Premier Division and the European Champions League. It was a season of jubilant success for The Rocks, who got off to a tremendous start in September that propelled them to 1st place, providing them with a platform to exceed expectations and win the competition.” To say I wasn’t expecting that would be an understatement, I had hoped to challenge for the league but didn’t think I’d be able to complete the Challenge this year. The league was mad and considering how strong the end of the season was for us to only win it on goal difference is crazy. I think we were good value for the league, but the Champions League we were certainly lucky, but hey ho, lucky or not challenge complete. First Half of the season Summer Transfers We spent huge this summer by our standards including absolutely demolishing our transfer record. But again, only 4 signings in and around the first team squad. First in was Greg Allen from Liverpool for £20 million, pretty well rounded and versatile young Englishman who came in to provide squad depth whilst not being required to be registered. We also completed the permanent signing of Steve Atherton from Manchester City for £18.75 million, both fairly pricey signings but completely dwarfed by our 3rd English signing. We raided Liverpool yet again taking advantage of them not being in the Champions League to sign Juan Rodríguez for £100 million. I think that’s my highest ever transfer fee on any Football Manager save. A very interesting player who looks like a really good striker but was signed to play in centre midfield for us, but is also very versatile so can cover other positions if we need him to. The last signing was a pre-arranged deal for Mads Serup, a young centre back as we aimed to strengthen the defensive contingent. He’ll be back up this season for sure but hopefully he can develop to challenge to a starting spot. Outgoing we said goodbye to many players of years gone by, David O’Brien left on a free transfer before we said goodbye to Stuart Lea, Barry Blair and Terry Hart all of which were important players in our past seasons as we rose through the leagues. Their departures mean that Adam Lake is now the longest serving player in our team, the only player who was at the club before we reached the premier league. Premier League A very good first half of the season for us somehow saw us in 5th place at the turn of the year, the battle for the top 4 is pretty mad this year. We probably should be higher, but some disappointing losses thrown in. A sensational start saw us score 18 goals in our first 4 games most impressively a 5-0 demolition of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Our first loss came in familiar fashion losing early season for the 3rd season in a row to Aston Villa, this time a 4-2 loss. We did bounce back with another 4 consecutive victories and a solid 1-1 draw to a strong Manchester United side. Alongisde the Aston Villa loss we had 2 majorly disappointing losses, first a 2-1 loss to Everton, and then the result that made me the most annoyed, a 3-2 loss to Newcastle having been 2 nil up and cruising. Everything else has been expected losses and then mainly wins. 3 of the 5 losses of the season so far occurred in December, so hopefully just a blip and we can push on. Champions League – Group Stage A very tough Champions League Group stage draw saw us as the first pot team somehow drawing Lazio and Real Madrid alongside Fenerbahce. We lost to Lazio and Real Madrid away from home beating the latter at our own patch with the former only being a draw. A home win against Fenerbahce alongside those results saw us on the last game needing a win to go through, we went 1 up before going behind late on, I’d given up hope when Juan Rodríguez decided that he wanted to be in the next round, 2 late goals to snatch 2nd spot from Lazio. League Cup – Quarter Final We seem to be fairly good at progressing through the early rounds in the League Cup, but this season came unstuck at the quarter final stage a 2-1 loss to Arsenal a deserved victory. Second Half of the season January Transfers The January window didn’t see a great deal of incomings although Goalkeeper David Martykan was signed for a bargain £150k and did get some game time in January. Premier League We did have a strong start to the second half of the season, 3 victories without conceding a goal before we lost to fellow title contenders Tottenham, a heavy 4-1 loss. I wasn’t too disheartened because inexplicably 7 of our first team players were on international duty for 3 weeks meaning the team that played against spurs was far from full strength. That loss was actually our last of the season with lots of wins and 3 draws factored in. The league for the last part of the season was pretty much in our hands due to our superior goal difference. However, back to back draws 1-1 with Chelsea and 0-0 with Watford meant on the penultimate weekend we were 3 points off the top two but with a game in hand. One of the top two in Tottenham had similar goal difference to us and were playing the other of the top 2 Manchester City on that weekend. Thankfully for us Manchester City came out with a win alongside us meaning if we won both our game in hand and on the final day we would win the league, the two teams we were facing happening to be two teams who had beaten us already this season in Everton and Aston Villa. A 2-1 victory from behind against Everton set up a final day show down against Aston Villa. Villa probably edged the game although we created more clear cut chances but we managed to drag our way through and claim a 3-1 victory and with it the Premier League Title. Champions League - Winners To say I didn’t see this coming would be a massive understatement. Although our first game in the knockout stage was a relatively easy one against Schalke 04, a 3-0 home win in the first leg meant the second leg was bound to be less nervy and we recorded a 3-1 win away in Germany too. This drew us against an Arsenal side that we had yet to beat in the 12 games we had played them prior and only drawn two of them, so this was where I thought we’d bow out. Thankfully we took our impressive league form into the first leg dispatching them 3-0 a scoreline which unlike in the first knockout round didn’t make me comfortable going into the return leg, a game which Arsenal took the lead in and looked like the team who would most likely score more before they gave away a penalty and got a red card in the same incident allowing us to equalise. From then on it was straight forward and we ran out 3-1 victors on the night. The semi-final pitted us against Zebre/Juventus, they dominated the first game on efforts however, we did create the best chances, even still I felt we were lucky to come out with a 1-1 draw away from home, and whilst we tend to fair better at home I thought the second leg was going to be very tough. Tough it was, we probably edged in but again it ended 1-1 after 90 taking us to and extra time period where there was a huge onus on us not to concede as away goals would make that disastrous. We endured to take it to penalties which are always hard to watch, they missed their first, before we missed our 3rd and 4th penalties. Thankfully their 4th penalty was off target and our keeper saved their 5th to send us to the final 3-2 on penalties. The other semi-final was between Real Madrid and Manchester City with the latter probably my preferred opposition as we have beaten them many times previously and Madrid were very strong against us earlier in the campaign. The final was actually such a dull game but we managed to get ourselves into the lead and win another penalty that was dispatched to allow us to lead 2-0 into the break. Not much really happened in the game at all and so it remained 2-0 and we won the Champions League to complete the challenge. FA Cup - Final The FA cup is a competition we’ve never progressed past the 5th round, until this year, we had lower league opposition for our first 3 rounds though one of them took till extra time to dismiss before we beat Liverpool 1-0 to set up a Semi-Final against Manchester United. We recovered from an early goal from them to beat them 5-2 to set up a FA cup final to none other than Manchester City. This game took 1 week after we’d pipped them to the league and 1 week before the Champions League final and too many of our players just didn’t show up, we did create some chances but ultimately the 2-0 victory that City recorded was the least they deserved. The ‘Terry Hart’ Player of the season Award – Juan Rodríguez: Rodriguez was the missing piece of the puzzle from previous years his contribution to the team was sensational 26 goals and 14 assists for a player in the centre of midfield is incredible, his goal total was buffed somewhat by being our penalty take but still a very good return nonetheless, well worth the £100 million I splashed on him. Joseph Córdova the centre back having a solid season in defence for us this year. He managed 5 goals and 4 assists in 50 games and amassing an almost impressive 31 yellow cards in the season. Another of the defensive contingent claimed 3rd spot this year in Héctor Presedo 5 goals and 10 assists a marked improvement on previous offerings. Squad Overview – Again few overall changes to the starting XI just the one in central midfield but depth was largely there for all positions. Spoiler Goalkeepers: Marcos Díaz: This was Díaz’s first season where he conceded less than a goal a game for us in the league which contributed to our league win, in fact his best game of the season came in our 2-1 victory over second side Manchester City which ultimately won us the league. He developed very nicely since joining us and technically must be one of the best keepers in the game. Adam Lake: Lake pretty much acted as our cup goalkeeper for the most part, however, the latter stages of the FA Cup he didn’t get to play more so because I forgot to switch him in then anything else. He played well enough in the games he played and was a key part in the clubs history. David Martykan: Martykan came in the January window and recorded the 3 premier league games that Díaz didn’t as he was on international duty for them, the only goals he conceded coming in the 4-1 loss to Tottenham so two clean sheets from 3 not too bad. He would have likely taken Lake’s spot as cup goalkeeper next season. Left Full Back: Héctor Presedo: Presedo had his best season for us this year, although a lot of his assists and goals came at the front end of the season left back being probably the weakest area in terms of depth he played the vast majority of games he still has room to improve and is getting close to an International Debut which would be good. Mauricio Ortíz: Even though Ortíz is more natural at the right side, he was our back up left back this season and didn’t really impress when given the chance although did chip in with 2 assists for the first team. Tomas Kovac: When we had 7 players out on international duty 2 of them were Ortíz and Presedo so Kovac had to step in to play left back which was far from ideal, however, he did well when played there so didn’t let me down. Right Full Back: Steve Atherton: Again this season we didn’t particularly have a first choice in the right back spot though Atherton featured the most in the league for me here. He contributed with 7 assists in the league and none in all other competitions, but 7 assists is still a good haul. This position would have been the most likely to have been replaced next season but I didn’t have anyone particularly in mind. Tomas Kovac: When Atherton wasn’t available or needed resting or I decided Kovac was playing, he did well in the spot a goal and 3 assists not sensational but his average ratings suggests he was having good games even if not directly contributing with goals. Mauricio Ortíz: Ortíz played a few games here but alas was more so our back up on the left. Centre Back Mohamed Mansour: On my first overview of Mansour I said that I felt he could be our Centre Back all the way to completing the challenge and well, here he is still in the heart of the defence and still playing well, he recovered from his broken foot last year and has been ever dependable this year no exception. Joseph Córdova: Like Mansour alongside him Córdova has been a dependable player for us in his time at the club. When he joined he was our club record signing and even still he’s our most expensive non-English player. He probably hasn’t developed as much as I had hoped but even still ge developed enough to be a regular starter for a league winning side so that’s still pretty good. He and Mansour would have remained the centre backs next season. Mads Serup: A new name in the defence as Serup took over as 3rd choice centre back, a lot of money was spent on Serup and his deal could end up costing more than we paid for Córdova. Centre back was a key area in which we didn’t really have any future prospects so Serup was signed, he isn’t on the level of Mansour or Córdova yet but he was developing well and featured often alongside either of the other two. His attributes suggests he could have ended up playing fullback fairly well in the future. Olly Cherry: Cherry dropped back to 4th choice centre back and didn’t really feature at all for us this season. His one league appearance coming when I accidentally swapped him in instead of Mansour, he did well in that game nonetheless but was largely only kept in case of an injury to one of the other defenders. Centre Midfield Juan Rodríguez: Rodríguez fits into the feel of the team with a name that could be that of a South American wonderkid however, he is very much English and set us back £100 million. His attributes actually make him look like a striker or an inside forward but he justified my decision to play him in central midfield with an incredible return. He did feature up front and as an inside forward on the left at times just because of how good he was and a fairly strong centre midfield contingent. Amr Nagy: Nagy made up the other half of our first choice midfield until he broke his foot towards the end of the season. He’s come a long way since joining the club and has amassed 46 international appearances for Egypt at only 21 years old. I was expecting big offers in the summer for him and my priority would have been very much to try and keep hold of him. Lee Young-Suk: Young-Suk was probably most often utilised off the bench for us as I aimed to help him develop and potentially become Nagy’s long term replacement should we have been forced to sell him. He wasn’t as effective as the prior two in the season however he did develop nicely and would have played the same role again next season. Jason McKay: McKay was again used as a rotation option this year as our centre midfield options were very strong. He did feature pretty infrequently though managed 2 assists in his 6 league games. I probably would have looked to sell him in the summer as he barely featured and we would be able to get a premium due to his nationality. Greg Allen: One of our summer signings for a not low fee of £20 million. I think I had envisioned Allen being a more important player for us but like McKay found himself as a rotation to back up option. He only managed one start for us in the cup the rest of his appearances off the bench where he didn’t really contribute much. He has a very high value so it would have been tempting to sell him on as well however, I feel he’d be the one I were more likely to keep of him and McKay. Iván Bueno: This is a sad one, Bueno was a very good player for us in years gone by, but his fairly non performance for us last year and Rodríguez coming in to play in his spot in the team saw Bueno drop completely out of favour, 2 starts in the cup all the football he got for us and he was a player I tried to sell in January unsuccessfully. It’s an odd one because he never actually averaged under a 7 for us since joining but in terms of quality he’s a long way from Rodríguez. Left Attacking Midfield Pablo Ferreyra: Ferreyra is a frustrating player. He’s very good, but horrendously inconsistent and liable for a night round the town and missing training. I did persist with him on the left as of our options there he’s probably the best and on his day he justifies his selection but there are periods where he just goes missing. He might have found his spot under threat this summer as this was a position I was looking at maybe improving upon. Diego: Diego became second choice player on the left this season, though was afflicted by our past left winger ailment whereby they don’t seem to perform well, he did chip in with 8 goals and 2 assists but flattered to deceive. Julle Kasongo: Kasongo played very much a bit part role and is looking like a flop of a transfer when considering £26 million was spent on him just last year. He played very infrequently but when he did it was usually on the left an assist in the FA cup all he has to show for the season. Right Attacking Midfield Guido Fontanelli: Fontanelli is a player who had a stellar start to the season and a season in general that was very good 13 goals and 19 assists a very nice return. Unfortunately towards the end of the season his form just seemed to drop right off and he wasn’t being anywhere near as helpful to our title push as previous. I was probably going to stick with him next season as he was still a key contributor in the team. Joel Sevillano: We signed Sevillano 3 seasons prior but he had been loaned out the last two doing fairly well on the whole so came into this season as our second choice right winger. We had initially signed him as a striker but his loan teams must have trained him to paly out here and this is where I utilised him. He was largely a substitute so that was reflected in his average rating but he did manage to get 3 goals and 3 assists in his limited league outings. Peter Elphick: Elphick must be wondering why he agreed to extend his loan spell, he played even fewer games this season than last an entire 4 in all competitions for the first team we’ve certainly not aided his development as a player and I’m fairly sure Manchester United will probably sell him on before long. Greg Allen did act as a back up in this position though only infrequently played here. Striker: René Oliveri: Oliveri started where he left last season off quickly racing to 16 league goals, unfortunately unlike last season he couldn’t maintain the consistency, I persisted with him as he is obviously capable of scoring goals but unfortunately he did have a drop off in goals scored, he still managed 18 in the league which isn’t a terrible return, just not great compared to the high bar he set in the previous season. Jorge Cossu: Cossu is a fairly inconsistent in terms of within a season, but fairly consistent in terms of his final goal tallys in and around a 15 goal a season striker, which isn’t awful but not really what I had originally hoped for him. He did score more total goals than last season and wasn’t too far from Oliveri’s total so not a bad season. Simon Watson: Watson’s total of 0 league goals is a tad concerning especially as he featured in 20 games for us. He didn’t start any but I would have expected at least a few goals from him. This, coupled with a poor season last year would have probably seen the end of Watson this summer if anyone would buy him. Kevin Gutiérrez: Guttiérez was signed a while ago on a free transfer and less a loan spell to league one has been scoring goals for fun for our under 23s this season, so he did actually get some first team game time and did better than Watson at it. 6 goals in 9 total appearances for us would have probably seen him take Watson’s spot next year. Greg Allen, Juan Rodríguez, Joel Sevillano and Julle Kasongo all featured a little as a striker for us this season Finances – Ended up just shy of £300 million in the bank relatively low wage expenditure compared with high prize money for league and Champions League Youth Intake – Over the course of the save our Youth Intake didn’t produce any first team candidates except from John Caldwell who I loaned out to the Championship this season but looks like he would be able to push for a squad role in the near future and potentially a first team spot soon after. Signings of the Save 1. Terry Hart: What a player he was for us in his 12 years at the club, his first season was back in the Vanarama National League where he scored 38 goals as we reached the playoffs and he just kept scoring, managing 7 consecutive seasons of scoring over 20 goals as we found our way up the league. The Premier League was probably a step too far but he still managed 18 premier league goals for us. It’s a shame we completed the challenge the year he left as he would have been worthy a Premier League and Champions League winner medals. 2. Mohammed Mansour: A steal at £1 million, probably just below elite level of centre back he was a very good player in his 6 years at the club and at the price we got him the value we got from him was incredible. 3. Juan Rodríguez: It feels a bit weird putting a player that cost £100 million and we’ve only had for one season but what an effect he had on the team, I was happy with our midfield before but in Rodríguez we had a player that was world class and 18 league goals from centre midfield is insane, the game has him as England’s best player and it’s hard to argue. Edited April 7, 2020 by _JHTB_ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_JHTB_ Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 @Andrew Haines Nice work on the bounce back after relegation and done in convincing fashion too, hopefully one of your strikers can fine consistent form to turn you into an even better team. @arnoldinho Congratulations on the promotion. Turning pro was where I started to lose money quite readily, it was generally a case of try and keep wages fairly low and hope for a good cup run becasue you have money in the bank your board will probably give you a higher wage budget than what you can probably sustain. In fairness in regards to your assistants advice, if you weren't expected to be top of the league come the end of the season his advice on the team meeting probably would have yielded a positive reaction. @CMU Chips That striker looks like he should have done so well in the Championship he has good attributes in all the right areas such a shame he flopped for you, you'd imagine his hidden attributes were on the low side especially considering his unambitious personality. His time not scoring would have killed his morale though, often players will just hit bad form and it's luck whether they get a goal to get out of it. Considering you were struggling for goals that's a fairly solid season, so hopefully you can find someone to cure your goal scoring woes @lfc7 Congrats on the promotion, hopefully a cup run for you next season to get your finances more towards the black. On the lower levels I would favour attributes over personality just because for the most part the training facilities will mean they're only ever going to be a short term option for you apart from the rare occasions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tivvy18 Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 (edited) Truro City - Season 2021/22 - National League South - 2nd Season Review - I went into this season off the back of making the play offs last year, only to crash out at the first hurdle. I was happy enough with the core of the squad and knew with a few signings we could make the play offs again and hopefully go one step further. League - (Fixtures 1) (Fixtures 2) (Fixtures 3) (Positions) We sat top of the pile for a brief moment early on in the season but after that we maintained a play off spot. We made 2nd place ours and with that we move onto the play offs. Could we make up for last season's disappointment? Play offs - Yes we could! Both matches went to extra time but I have finally achieved a promotion! I cannot tell you how tense I was in the final and the relief after the final whistle was unreal. What a time to finally beat Havant & Waterlooville who were becoming something of a bogey team for us. Cups - (FA Cup) (FA Trophy) Embarrassment in the FA Cup in what was probably one of my worst matches ever, also featuring a red card for youth player Corby Henshall on his second start. The FA Trophy loss was a little more understandable against our league rivals. A poor season all round and could really have done with the money from a cup run... Transfers - A more reasonable amount this season and some key ones during the season made the difference. Finances - It just gets worse and worse... The board seem reluctant to provide a cash injection which usually sustained things in previous versions. Did they change this at some point or is my chairman being stingy? Youth Intake - Still nothing to get too excited over but you can but hope. I really would like a Cornish heart to the squad eventually so I will always try to pick out those born in the area.Christopher Watkins - He can finish but will he be able to do much else? Luke Davidson - Could turn into an adequate enough backup down the line. Melvin Junior Baptiste - I've got a feeling that he will be one of the players being bumped up to the first team in a few seasons time. At least if I'm still knocking around the National League. Key Players -Tyler Harvey - Fans player of the year again. He plays well but I want a lot more out of him. Charlie Clancy - He had a quiet start to the season but ended up clear top goalscorer. Ryan Bevan - Top assist man yet again despite a bit of an injury hit season. Any other business - Treyew Road is getting a capacity upgrade to meet league requirements. Could really have done without that extra expense. Looking Forward - It's all new ground for me as I deal with the step up to the National League for the first time. I've managed to renew the contracts of a core of players I think are good enough but with finances the way they are I'm not sure how much strengthening I can realistically do. Onwards and upwards! Edited April 7, 2020 by Tivvy18 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfc7 Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 @_JHTB_ Congrats on completing the challenge, really well done whats your plans for the save going forward ? @Tivvy18 Congrats on the promotion Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_JHTB_ Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 @lfc7 I'm ending it for now at least, I've had in my mind that I want to attempt the Youth Academy Challenge away from England so I'm already on the simulating a year stage to pick my team for that. I may revisit this save in the future probably when I fail at the youth academy challenge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMU Chips Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 On 06/04/2020 at 11:42, arnoldinho said: @CMU Chips while good that you were so far clear of the bottom, hope next year's summary marks a big leap (forwards), especially with the bigger stadium. I really like your summary table - mind if I nick the format?! feel free. hopefully you'll have more success with it :P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjericho Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 (edited) Nantwich - Sky Bet Championship - 2029/30 As I predicted, we would struggle against the best teams because they have a financial power that we are still far from having. The biggest clubs can afford to buy players for €20m while we broke our transfer record with a €400k signing. Overall it was a satisfactory season. We did well in the league, still a bit far from the playoff spots (although we were 6th for a week) but always out of the dangerous relegation spots. our strikers struggled a lot to score, one of them spent 22 matches without scoring and he finished the season with 7. Other strikers did 19 (a new arrival and our most prolific scorer by far), 12, and 6. Defensively we did ok, we still concede a good amount but that is to be expected with this tactic. As long as we score buckets we'll be alright. In the cups we were decent, even though League Two Blackpool almost had us beat, we had to play two matches and only won the second in extra time. Season Division Position Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Vanarama National League North 13th 2021/22 Vanarama National League North 7th 2022/23 Vanarama National League North 1st Promoted as champions 2023/24 Vanarama National League 1st Promoted as champions 2024/25 Sky Bet League Two 8th 2025/26 Sky Bet League Two 7th 2026/27 Sky Bet League Two 1st Promoted as champions 2027/28 Sky Bet League One 7th EFL Trophy winners 2028/29 Sky Bet League One 1st Promoted as champions, EFL Trophy winners 2029/30 Sky Bet Championship 8th Edited April 9, 2020 by kingjericho Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMU Chips Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 Whitby Town 2034/2035 - More fans, more points, less money Year League Position Cups Training Youth Junior Recruitment Attendance (Cap) Badges Transfers (In-Out) Top Scorer Most Assists Av. Rating Clean Sheets May balance Total wages 2034/2035 Championship 13th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 1st round Average Adequate Exceptional Fairly Basic 12214 (14830) Cont. Pro (+£215k) 8-4 Jordan Chambers - 21 Vassi - 11 Vassi - 7.25 (32) Rakish Kane - 13 £743k £135k p/w Feels like we've hit a major wall here. Started the season with 3 straight wins, but then form turned to alternate streaks of dominating games and barely getting a shot away. Tried a lot of different things tactically and we ended up with the fourth fewest home losses on the season. At the same time, there was only one team with more losses away from home than us, and they were relegated in last place. We can't really pay competitive wages for anyone in their prime who has experience at or above this level, so our transfers are restricted to three areas: loans, old players, and low rep leagues. I tried to move away from loans this year as we finally have decent facilities to develop our own players here, but two of our top players were still loanees. In terms of older players, this is the second straight year we've had one leading our assist charts. Just like last year, this year's leader didn't want to sign a contract extension, so we'll need to go searching again this summer. In terms of low rep leagues, my scout has been finding quality players while watching Europa/CL qualifiers from the Northern Irish Premier League. We got two very good young players on frees from Linfield and Crusaders respectively and I thought I had found an untapped gold mine when he found a third player who will join this summer. Turns out I'm actually late to the party. Northern Ireland has climbed to 44th in the world rankings, has a CB at Barcelona who is amongst the best in the world, and has a 28 year old striker who is on pace to surpass 150 caps and 100 goals. Even though we increased our average attendance to nearly 2.5x where it was last year, we ended up only making a profit of 600k after solidarity payments thanks to increased matchday expenses and our fancy youth setup. This means we got the exact same wage budget with a transfer budget of zero next season. Not sure I can find what we need to push for the playoffs, so it may be another mediocre season in the Championship next year. Late in the season, once we could no longer make the playoffs, I got a chance to play two of our highly rated youth prospects, and one managed a brace in the final matchday of the year. There's a lot of promise there, so it'll be interesting to see if any of them develop into regular starters. League Table - Squad Stats - Transfers - Spoiler Year League Position Cups Training Youth Junior Recruitment Attendance (Cap) Badges Transfers (In-Out) Top Scorer Most Assists Av. Rating Clean Sheets May balance Total wages 2033/2034 Championship 18th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 1st round Average Adequate Excellent Fairly Basic 5500 (5500) Cont. Pro (+£275k) 4-3 Aaron Parkes - 12 Agustín Urzi - 8 Aaron Parkes - 7.09 (32) Rakish Kane - 8 £3.41m £124k p/w 2032/2033 Championship 7th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 1st round Average Adequate Adequate Fairly Basic 5500 (5500) Cont. Pro (£325k) 16-0 Jordan Chambers - 16 Aaron Parkes - 13 Tom Green - 7.18 (38) Rakish Kane - 10 £2.99m £110k p/w 2031/2032 League One 1st FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Adequate Below Average Adequate Fairly Basic 4376 (5500) Cont. Pro (£220k) 8-1 Gareth Durham - 43 Bob Thomas - 20 Gareth Durham - 7.62 (45) Rakish Kane - 17 £1.63m £56.5k p/w 2030/2031 League One 3rd FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Below Average Basic Average Fairly Basic 4763 (5500) Cont. A (+£10m) 16-3 Gareth Durham - 26 Bob Thomas - 19 Bob Thomas - 7.25 (49) Tony O'Flaherty - 11 £5.9m £38.7k p/w 2029/2030 League Two 1st FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Below Average Basic Fairly Basic Basic 2582 (5500) Cont. B (+£275k) 13-2 Shemol Millington - 17 Bob Thomas - 16 Bob Thomas - 7.43 (46) Tony O'Flaherty - 28 £256k £23.6k p/w 2028/2029 VN National 1st FAC: 2nd round, FAT: 2nd round Below Average Basic Fairly Basic Basic 1297 (4000) Nat. A (+£11.5k) 10-3 Ray Malloy - 40 Bob Thomas - 19 Ray Malloy - 7.59 (48) Brian Isherwood - 15 £302k £15k p/w 2027/2028 VN National 9th FAC: 3rd round, FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 1309 (4000) Nat. A (+£1.6m) 10-4 Ray Malloy - 25 Bob Thomas - 13 Ray Malloy - 7.16 (51) Anthony Patterson - 10 £1.6m £10k p/w 2026/2027 VN National 9th FAC: 4th qual., FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 1221 (4000) Nat. C (£0) 6-4 Connor Bell - 23 Connor Bell - 12 Connor Bell - 7.27 (47) Anthony Patterson - 14 £15k £5.9k p/w 2025/2026 VN North 1st FAC: 1st round, FAT: 3rd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 576 (3180) Nat. C (+£8k) 11-4 Joe Ridley - 32 Joe Ridley - 18 Bob Thomas - 7.59 (50) Jonny Orritt - 25 (£583k) £4.9k p/w 2024/2025 VN North 5th FAC: 4th qual., FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 640 (3180) Nat. C (+£150k) 10-2 Cole Kiernan - 29 Connor Bell - 20 Alfie Payne - 7.52 (32) Dave Richards - 12 (£541k) £5.4k p/w 2023/2024 VN North 5th FAC: 2nd qual., FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 565 (3180) Nat. C (+£12k) 14-10 Mitchell George - 31 Dion McGhee - 11 Mitchell George - 7.45 (51) Marcel Wusiewicz - 16 (£443k) £7.4k p/w 2022/2023 VN North 5th FAC: 3rd round, FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 798 (3180) None (£0) 18-6 Mitchell George - 40 Jake Cain - 16 Mitchell George - 7.35 (55) Jacob Carney - 17 (£37k) £6.3k p/w 2021/2022 VN North 8th FAC: 3rd qual., FAT: 3rd qual. Basic Poor Adequate Average 644 (3180) None (£0) 10-1 Mitchell George - 27 Mohammed Sangaré - 11 Mitchell George - 7.33 (46) Jacob Carney - 11 (£174k) £5.9k p/w 2020/2021 VN North 10th FAC: 3rd qual., FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 633 (3180) None (£0) 9-2 Connor Bell - 10 Jordan Barnett -11 Dale Hopson - 7.02 (49) Jacob Carney - 19 (£98.71k) £6.2k p/w Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Haines Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 Whitby Town Championship – 2031/32 –2nd Squad Transfers Overview Premiership here we come! A season after securing promotion from League one we have a second successive promotion into the top flight. It was a rollercoaster ride of a season with an amazing climax on the last day securing promotion by a slender margin. After last seasons impressive title win there was significant interest in my star players. Juan Valencia, Alex Grant and Fernando left for a combined £25m to Championship rivals. I used these funds to finance a shopping spree that saw three Benfica youngsters Joao Lagarico, Jaime Baptista and Hlunur Helgi Benediktson arrive in June for a combined £7m. They would play a significant role in the season but the key signings were Arsenal defensive duo centre-back Charlie Law (£5.75m) and fullback Aaron Davies (£950k) who solidified a defence not cut out for the level. A big gamble was when I spent most of the remainder of my budget on 19 year old Brighton striker Jamie Bateman. Bateman cost an extravagant £4.2m for a striker with bags of potential and the right attributes but who would need patience in the short term. I rationalised that my inside forwards were good enough to carry his and I didn’t have a great expection of promotion anyway. We set off in great form and it was Bateman’s goals that were the catalyst. With an unbeaten run in October through November we were top with a twelve point lead over third place at the turn of the year. At this stage I hit issues prompted by transfers destabilising the site. Two players of interest became available, attacker Mark West at Arsenal and defender Andy Femiola. Both were 23, around the £500k mark and of a quality that would definitely improve me side. At the same time Reading weighed in with a bid of £7.5m for winger Tim Faulkner who had been the stand out player of last season and was regularly weighing in with goals this season. The switch of West for Faulkner made rational sense but in practise West struggled on the wing. He would have been better leading the line but he wasn’t getting the rapidly developing Bateman’s spot. In the end West lost his spot to Bateman’s backup Andrew Daly who consistently delivered but maybe wasn’t up to it long term. These signings along with £1.9m 19 year old Tottenham midfielder (another square peg in a round hole) destabilised a winning team. Following a boxing day win over Rotherham 1-0 our form was disastrous. No wins in January with patchy form to the end of the season. We limped through April clinging on the the leaders as we dropped into the play off zones. We went into the final game away at Bristol City a point behind the top two sides with an expectation that a win would mean we would go up as one of the two sides would surely drop points, especially with Blackburn away at eventual play-off winners Middlesbrough. Failing to win would be fatal though and could have seen us end up outside the playoffs with seven teams in contention on the final day. Away at Bristol City was a tough game and although we dominated, we didn’t create much of note. The game ebbed away from us but we still sat in 3rd place. Then, with just minutes to go the table changed. Preston had scored against West Brom. We had moved up to 2nd place on goal difference, level on points with both West Brom and Brighton. The game took an age to finish but we had made it! A nervous look at the final table showed we had indeed been promoted. West Brom, Brighton, Swansea, Middlesbrough and Reading had all failed to win. A win for any of them would have seen them leapfrog us into the Premier League. It was ours though. Key Players Jamie Bateman – Young English forward signed from Brighton for £4.2m. Developed well and scored 18 goals. Charlie Law – A £5.25m signing from Arsenal, the 24 year old added quality to the defence. Record Season League Position Europe Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Conference North 5th 2021/22 Conference North 2nd Playoff Winner, Promoted 2022/23 Conference National 1st Champions, Promoted 2023/24 League Two 3rd Promoted 2024/25 League One 12th 2025/26 League One 7th 2026/27 League One 4th 2027/28 League One 1st Champions, Promoted 2028/29 Championship 15th 2029/30 Championship 22nd Relegated 2030/31 League One 1st Champions, Promoted 2031/32 Championship 2nd Promoted Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_JHTB_ Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 @Andrew Haines That drop back to league one was a blessing in disguise I think, momentum gathered meaning and decent funds brought in allowing a good season. Mental that none of the top 6 won on the final day of the season, I wonder if that's ever happened in real life. @CMU Chips Given your relatively quick progression upwards since non-league it's probably not an awful thing to have a few years at Championship Level if mainly to increase the club reputation to around a similar level to those around you which will help with signings and keeping players to gear you towards a promotion push. @kingjericho In fairness, 19 goals an 12 goals aren't an awful return for the strikers of a newly promoted team, 71 points I'm sure is usually enough to be 6th or at least close to it seems you had a league of quite a lot of teams with a high number of points relatively, doing the same again next season should work out ok for you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjericho Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 10 minutes ago, _JHTB_ said: @kingjericho In fairness, 19 goals an 12 goals aren't an awful return for the strikers of a newly promoted team, 71 points I'm sure is usually enough to be 6th or at least close to it seems you had a league of quite a lot of teams with a high number of points relatively, doing the same again next season should work out ok for you I agree, but I felt many matches were unlocked by my wingers, due to my strikers' inability to convert their chances. This happened more times than I'm comfortable with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Haines Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 14 hours ago, _JHTB_ said: @Andrew Haines That drop back to league one was a blessing in disguise I think, momentum gathered meaning and decent funds brought in allowing a good season. Mental that none of the top 6 won on the final day of the season, I wonder if that's ever happened in real life. Yeah, sometimes a step back can help. To be fair I was relegated because I was messing about with my tactics and my team was just too strong for League One really. Gutted I didn't get a full season unbeaten. The results were crazy. I knew results had gone my way but I hadn't even noticed that they all failed to win until I came to do the write up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feliks Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 It's been a long time since I've done a proper FM save, been so used to doing youth challenges that I've forgotten a lot about the intricacies of scouting. Taken over my favourite non-league side in Truro City, the only decent side in Cornwall. Hopefully we can do pretty well, on an unrelated note their new logo is ****ing superb. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaNovi Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) Did this challenge maybee 10 years ago or more so. Won it with Kingstonian and Gateshead i remember. Had a lot of fun with it :-) I might try it out again now, but just bought FM20 and trying to figure everything out, the game has changed a lot! Great to see the game lives on :-) Edited April 11, 2020 by kaNovi Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goonergez Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Leatherhead FC: 2020/21 Review Having restarted this challenge, Leatherhead FC have completed a first campaign under my leadership. It was a campaign of false hope really, as we ended up narrowly missing out on the play-off spots and securing a spot safely within mid-table after a strong finish. We kicked off the season having brought in nine new faces and overhauling the majority of the football club. A new back room team was put together and my system and methods were presented before the pre-season had even begun. We started the season brilliantly, going eight games unbeaten before we suffered our first defeat. A spot in the play-off spots was ours until the turn of the year when our form died and we began sliding down the table. We were never in danger of relegation, and were always looking upwards rather than downwards. Summer arrival Jaden Thompson-Brissett bagged 25 league goals, but at times cut a lonely figure. Defensively we started the season really solid, but by the end of the campaign our back line looked exhausted and a little out of our depth. Our league finish comfortably surpassed the expectations of our board, but in the end was a bit of a season of nothing. The cup competitions weren't bad, but could have been even better. Board expectations weren't too demanding, and in the FA Cup we beat Wingate & Finchley (2-0 away) and Hayes & Yeading (1-0 at home) to reach the Fourth and final qualifying round. We managed to take Dover Athletic to a replay, but lost out to miss out on reaching the First Round proper. Irritatingly if we had managed to get through we would've had a nice money making home tie against Salford City. In the FA Trophy we beat Met Police1-0 at home, before narrowly losing 2-3 away at Havant & Waterlooville in the First Round. Both competitions leaving us with thoughts of what may have been. It wasn't a bad season, but it could've been better. We did a good job of staying well clear of any relegation trouble, but that was about it really after a strong start. I'm going to have to make quite a few changes in personnel for us to push on next season. Match day attendances were around 500-600 which really isn't too bad. That helped us to make a loss of only around £100,000 for the season. We're in the red, but not too bad. Even bringing in a number of new players I don't see us losing much more than that next time around. I want to push towards the play-off places next season, and that will involve a large number of new arrivals. There are a few players I would like to keep, but not too many. I'll also be able to clear some room on the wage bill as a couple of big contract players from before my arrival will be allowed to leave. It's going to be a busy summer, but I am confident in my personal abilities to take this side forward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMU Chips Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 (edited) Whitby Town 2035/2036 - One kick away Year League Position Cups Training Youth Junior Recruitment Attendance (Cap) Badges Transfers (In-Out) Top Scorer Most Assists Av. Rating Clean Sheets May balance Total wages 2035/2036 Championship 5th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 2nd round Good Average Exceptional Fairly Basic 13395 (14830) Cont. Pro (+£2.4m) 8-5 Jordan Chambers - 24 Cameron Robinson - 11 Kevin Alexander - 7.26 (45) Rakish Kane - 15 £4.97m £143k p/w We started the season using the same tactic we ended the last season using, with some new players we had brought in. For the first third of the season, we were cruising. At some point, the other teams figured us out as we continued to dominate possession at home but couldn't seem to score. Away from home we looked great at times and average at others. In January I decided to make a sale for the first time in a while. None of my players are valued at anything worth their value, but I got tired of my right back getting suspended even after we had gone to a less aggressive style so I sold him for £1m. Only 20% of that went into my transfer budget and I knew I wouldn't get anything worthwhile using that money, so I just pushed it all into the wage budget and made three loans; starters at CB and RB and an AMC to cover for Robinson who was frequently injured. Two-thirds of the way through the year we had fallen to 7th. No matter how hard we pushed, we couldn't seem to make the playoffs. With just 3 games left in the season, we had our chance. Away to Luton, who had been relegated from the Premier League two seasons prior. They were 2 points ahead in the table, so I knew winning our last 3 guaranteed a playoff spot. The new loan CB got his second goal with the club and an own goal in the second half meant their late score was only a consolation. We took care of business in our last two games against two teams near the bottom of the table and ended the season in 5th. The playoff semi-finals matched us with Bristol City, who we had beaten at home but lost 3-0 away thanks to a red card from our old RB in the first half. It was this suspension that had pushed me over the top and him out of the club. Despite dominating the possession and shots figures in the home leg, Bristol managed to score from a nice counter and after two blocked shots to get the only goal. I was not optimistic about our chances in leg 2 as we usually struggled against the better teams away, but we did have some success with our counter attacks so I thought maybe we'd see another 1-0. We got a goal from a corner just three minutes in and a quick counter goal after 16 minutes to put us within reach of the final. A third in the 59th minute meant I was already making travel plans when they quickly pulled one back. After they scored again in the 80th minute, it seemed another early playoff exit was inevitable. We'd never made it to a final in any of our previous playoffs, why start now? The game went to extra time with them having all of the chances in the last 10 minutes of regulation. In extra time, our loan RB was taken off with a serious injury, so I had to throw in the backup whom I had previously decided wasn't good enough to start (hence the January loan) and he repaid my lack of faith by assisting a goal in the 113th minute. After enduring what felt like six hours of attacks from Bristol, we were into the final to face Cardiff. Both games against Cardiff during the season had gone in our favor, but we were without two of our best players; the loan RB who had been everywhere on the pitch since signing, and our best CM (by average rating) who limped onto the bench at 76% condition after an injury 3 weeks prior. This game did not have the same happy start as our last game as neither team could get a shot on target for the first 20 minutes. Eventually Cardiff was able to force one towards the net and it went off my goalkeeper and in. We trailed for the rest of the first half, but scored early in the second from the oft injured Cameron Robinson. It took Cardiff just 3 minutes to restore their lead, and despite pressing forward we couldn't get anything past their defense for half an hour. Just as things were getting bleak, a fantastic through ball sent our second striker free and with just under 5 minutes left we had leveled at 2. In extra time, both teams seemed pretty cautious, but Robinson fired one in from distance to give us our first lead. Unfortunately someone was left completely unmarked on a free kick just 4 minutes later and it just felt like things weren't going to go our way. I made two substitutions late, bringing on our injured CM and a better penalty taker at RB and despite a late Cardiff corner hitting the bar, it would be penalties. The two substitutes and our best striker scored, but despite getting a touch to one our keeper couldn't keep any out. A save on our next attempt ended up spelling doom as Cardiff got the next two. Because of the unexpected success, the board gave me a wage budget increase of ... 5k p/w. At least they finally gave me a non-zero transfer budget, so I put almost all of it into wages. I'm looking to make 2 or 3 major signings to push us over the top. League Table - Squad Stats - Transfers - Spoiler Year League Position Cups Training Youth Junior Recruitment Attendance (Cap) Badges Transfers (In-Out) Top Scorer Most Assists Av. Rating Clean Sheets May balance Total wages 2034/2035 Championship 13th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 1st round Average Adequate Exceptional Fairly Basic 12214 (14830) Cont. Pro (+£215k) 8-4 Jordan Chambers - 21 Vassi - 11 Vassi - 7.25 (32) Rakish Kane - 13 £743k £135k p/w 2033/2034 Championship 18th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 1st round Average Adequate Excellent Fairly Basic 5500 (5500) Cont. Pro (+£275k) 4-3 Aaron Parkes - 12 Agustín Urzi - 8 Aaron Parkes - 7.09 (32) Rakish Kane - 8 £3.41m £124k p/w 2032/2033 Championship 7th FAC: 3rd round, Carabao: 1st round Average Adequate Adequate Fairly Basic 5500 (5500) Cont. Pro (£325k) 16-0 Jordan Chambers - 16 Aaron Parkes - 13 Tom Green - 7.18 (38) Rakish Kane - 10 £2.99m £110k p/w 2031/2032 League One 1st FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Adequate Below Average Adequate Fairly Basic 4376 (5500) Cont. Pro (£220k) 8-1 Gareth Durham - 43 Bob Thomas - 20 Gareth Durham - 7.62 (45) Rakish Kane - 17 £1.63m £56.5k p/w 2030/2031 League One 3rd FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Below Average Basic Average Fairly Basic 4763 (5500) Cont. A (+£10m) 16-3 Gareth Durham - 26 Bob Thomas - 19 Bob Thomas - 7.25 (49) Tony O'Flaherty - 11 £5.9m £38.7k p/w 2029/2030 League Two 1st FAC: 1st round, Carabao: 1st round Below Average Basic Fairly Basic Basic 2582 (5500) Cont. B (+£275k) 13-2 Shemol Millington - 17 Bob Thomas - 16 Bob Thomas - 7.43 (46) Tony O'Flaherty - 28 £256k £23.6k p/w 2028/2029 VN National 1st FAC: 2nd round, FAT: 2nd round Below Average Basic Fairly Basic Basic 1297 (4000) Nat. A (+£11.5k) 10-3 Ray Malloy - 40 Bob Thomas - 19 Ray Malloy - 7.59 (48) Brian Isherwood - 15 £302k £15k p/w 2027/2028 VN National 9th FAC: 3rd round, FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 1309 (4000) Nat. A (+£1.6m) 10-4 Ray Malloy - 25 Bob Thomas - 13 Ray Malloy - 7.16 (51) Anthony Patterson - 10 £1.6m £10k p/w 2026/2027 VN National 9th FAC: 4th qual., FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 1221 (4000) Nat. C (£0) 6-4 Connor Bell - 23 Connor Bell - 12 Connor Bell - 7.27 (47) Anthony Patterson - 14 £15k £5.9k p/w 2025/2026 VN North 1st FAC: 1st round, FAT: 3rd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 576 (3180) Nat. C (+£8k) 11-4 Joe Ridley - 32 Joe Ridley - 18 Bob Thomas - 7.59 (50) Jonny Orritt - 25 (£583k) £4.9k p/w 2024/2025 VN North 5th FAC: 4th qual., FAT: 2nd round Basic Poor Adequate Average 640 (3180) Nat. C (+£150k) 10-2 Cole Kiernan - 29 Connor Bell - 20 Alfie Payne - 7.52 (32) Dave Richards - 12 (£541k) £5.4k p/w 2023/2024 VN North 5th FAC: 2nd qual., FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 565 (3180) Nat. C (+£12k) 14-10 Mitchell George - 31 Dion McGhee - 11 Mitchell George - 7.45 (51) Marcel Wusiewicz - 16 (£443k) £7.4k p/w 2022/2023 VN North 5th FAC: 3rd round, FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 798 (3180) None (£0) 18-6 Mitchell George - 40 Jake Cain - 16 Mitchell George - 7.35 (55) Jacob Carney - 17 (£37k) £6.3k p/w 2021/2022 VN North 8th FAC: 3rd qual., FAT: 3rd qual. Basic Poor Adequate Average 644 (3180) None (£0) 10-1 Mitchell George - 27 Mohammed Sangaré - 11 Mitchell George - 7.33 (46) Jacob Carney - 11 (£174k) £5.9k p/w 2020/2021 VN North 10th FAC: 3rd qual., FAT: 1st round Basic Poor Adequate Average 633 (3180) None (£0) 9-2 Connor Bell - 10 Jordan Barnett -11 Dale Hopson - 7.02 (49) Jacob Carney - 19 (£98.71k) £6.2k p/w Edited April 12, 2020 by CMU Chips Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamespthomas Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 (edited) Hi, FM player of 8+ years but never posted on forums so thought i'd give it a go now. I've played numerous conference north/south to premier league games; have got Blyth x2, Hereford x1, Concord x1 into the prem/champions league whIch is good going but never been able to win prem / cl as prefer the early seasons and get bored of regens after a while... so I hope FM20 and updates to/support from this forum get's me over the hill! Decided to play as Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough have some great history - they were one of the first clubs in the football league finishing 7th in the football league second division just behind Newcastle and Man City in 1896. They stayed in the league until 1912 but then failed to be elected instead Lincoln city were elected and then Gainsborough dropped down to the Midland League. Time for a resurgence, to outdo Lincoln City and to get back to where we belong! Edited April 13, 2020 by jamespthomas images too small Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goonergez Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Well my previous save has come to an abrupt end as I was sacked after a poor start to the second season. I’ve decided to give this one more go and this time with Bognor Regis. I’ve played through the first season and have started the second. I’ll post an update later on Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
numero uno gunner Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Weston-super-Mare Season 2023-2024 Season summary We started our season similarly to last season, by a mixed start in the league and getting knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the first round, this time to Walsall courtesy of an 84th minute winner to round off a drab game. We fared a little better in the Football League Trophy, making the knockout rounds, only to be thrashed 5-2 by Chelsea's u23 side. It could have been much, much worse, so the less said about that the better. In the FA Cup, we beat Woking 4-1 before knokcing out League One Salford City 2-0 in front of the TV cameras. We were drawn away at Premier League West Brom in round 3. We played really well, and had chances, but our run ended with a 2-1 defeat. Good to make round 3, and I'll be hoping for more of the same next season. In the league, we were playing well, at hit the dizzy heights of 4th in mid-December. We then followed that up with 1 win in 8 to drop to 10th. Typical of us, really. We're quite a streaky team, in that we tend to string results together, both positive and negative. This was definitely the case, as we then won 11 and drew 1 of our next 13, including 8 clean sheets and a win away at eventual league winners Ipswich, to catapult us into the promotion race. Indeed, it was the win at Ipswich which saw us open up a little gap in 3rd. We then proceeded to lose 3-1 to relegation threatened Oldham, before a nervy 1-0 win relegated Carlisle, moved us up to 2nd and set up a huge match with Walsall. A win would guarantee promotion, but we lost 2-1, dropping down to 3rd with Walsall overtaking us, and Notts County now only 1 point behind us in 4th. We travelled to Cambridge on the last day of the season, knowing a win would guarantee promotion. Walsall hosted Grimsby, who themselves needed a win to guarantee safety, and Notts County played Gillingham. An early goal put Notts County 1-0 up, and knocked us down to 4th. News then filtered through that Grimsby had taken a shock lead at Walsall, putting us back into 3rd on goal difference. After 36 minutes, Timmy Abraham (more on him in a moment) scored, and we were 1-0 up, into 2nd and on our way to League One as it stood at half time. Notts County added a second just after the break, but none of the three games saw any more goals, and Grimsby's win teamed with us doing the business meant we went up as runners up! League One here we come! This season I rebuilt the defence, as we conceded 72 goals last time around. This season, we conceded 54. In reality, that is still too high, but the tactic means we create a lot of chances and score a fair few. We were the highest scorers in the league with 79. We did, however, keep 17 clean sheets, which I think is definitely a positive. Carl Rushworth, on loan from Brighton, did an excellent job in goal, and our new look defenece of Harvey Rodgers at right back, Andrew Wilson joining Oliver Denham in the middle, with Seb Revan at left back gave us a good platform on which to build. Bjorn Hardley, our best centre back last season, was sold in pre-season to Rotherham, who met his £250k release clause, which partly prompted the rebuild. Defensive midfielder Jordan Doherty had a strong season, as did George Dowling alongside him. Further forward, David Wang, Taylor Richards and Tyler Frost scored 19 and made 28 goals between them, which is a sizeable contribution. However, Timmy Abraham was by far and away our player of the season. On loan from Fulham, he displaced Victor Sodiende up front fairly quickly, and from then on he couldn't stop scoring. He scored 32 goals in 38(12) appearances, and won the League Two golden boot courtesy of his minutes-to-goals ration being 106.5, which is pretty phenomenal at this level. He's out of contract at Fulham shortly, but isn't short of suitors. I really hope he'll join us permanently, as I want to see what he can do at the next level. League table Finances Transfers Next steps Survival! I'm aiming for 20th. If we achieve that, I'll be a happy man. We really do need a half decent cup run to help the finances as well. Half of the squad is out of contract, so we'll be spending the summer with large numbers of players in on trial, and hopefully we will be able to convince a few of them to come and join our seaside revolution! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 (edited) So I have successfully taken five clubs into the Premier League this season whilst doing this challenge and then I stop, as I get bored with the save. So I am doing this again, but only using youth players produced by the club. ie, I cannot sign anyone. I have finished my first season and it ended in heartbreak. End of Season Review Season 2020/21 FC United of Manchester League Table - A terrific league campaign saw the club finish in the play off spots, in fourth place. Play Offs - We comfortably beat Kettering in the first round before travelling to Hereford and winning 3-1, largely down to our opponents receiving an early red card. In the play off final, We played Alfreton and despite beating them twice during the league campaign, they held us to a draw before beating us on penalties. A heartbreaking way to end the season, but probably a good thing as we are nowhere near ready for the league above. League Fixtures 1, 2 & 3 - I can't complain after a solid season. F. A. Cup - A good cup run that came to an abrupt halt, losing 6-1 at home to Torquay United, who only play a league above us. F. A. Trophy - We made it through to the third round before being outclassed by Aldershot of the Vanarama National League, going down 3-1 at home. Pre Season Friendlies - The usual mix of bigger clubs and smaller ones. A good set of results overall though, Squad - We played above our station all season and a repeat next year will be tough. Squad Dynamics - Following the good season, squad harmony is excellent. Transfers In - None. Transfers Out - None. Youth Candidates - A supposed "Golden Generation" which I just do not see. Sam Murray YP21A1 is the best of the bunch apparently. Finances - A very healthy bank balance. Key Players Tunde Owolabi - The best player at the club by a country mile. I managed to get him to sign a two year contract extension too. A return of 43 goals in his 56 appearances shows why he is relied upon. Jack Lenehan - Solid young midfielder who had an excellent season. Michael Potts - The anchor man in midfield. He had a fine season. Michael Donahue - A key player in midfield. When good, he is brilliant. Too inconsistent though. Curtis Jones - Experienced central defender who marshalled the back four well. Next Season Challenge for a play off place again. Personal Coaching Data Season Reputation Qualifications Att Def Fit GkD GkH GkS Tac Tec Men WWY Ada Det PlK YoK LoD MaM Mot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At start Minimal (0.25*) None 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 2020/21 Minimal = (0.75*) ↑ National B ↑↑ 7 ↑ 6 ↑ 3 ↑ 2 ↑ 2 ↑ 2 ↑ 6 ↑ 7 ↑ 7 ↑ 4 = 1 = 5 ↑ 5 ↑ 6 ↑ 10 ↑ 6 ↑ 6 ↑ Club Facilities Season Training Facilities Youth Facilities Data Analysis Facilities Corporate Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Club Reputation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At Start Basic Basic Poor Adequate Average Fairly Basic Local (1.00*) 2020/21 Basic = Basic = Poor = Adequate = Excellent ↑↑↑ Good ↑↑↑ Local = (1.00*) = Season Record Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2020/21 57 30 12 15 111 67 +44 Overall Career Record After Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Time At Club --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 57 30 12 15 111 67 +44 325 days Trophy Haul Season Competition Won -------------------------- Trophy Cabinet League Titles ------------- Cup Competition Victories ------------------------- Career Overview Season Champions League Europa League League Position F.A. Cup League Cup Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 N/a N/a Vanarama National League North 4th First round N/a Lost on penalties in the play off final. Third round of the F. A. Trophy. Record Number of Appearances (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Appearances --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Nick Ryder YP21D4 4 Record Goal Scorer (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Goals --------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 No one! 0 Record Number of Assists (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Assists ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Nick Ryder YP21D4 1 Edited April 16, 2020 by DazRTaylor Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 So with the club having a mediocre season in the league, I am quite enjoying my cup run. F. A. Cup second round, away to League Two Doncaster. Am I pleased we didn't lose, pleased we scored a last minute equaliser or gutted because we blew a two nil lead with five minutes to go? I will say all three. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 And the replay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Jolicoeur Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 I know I'm late to the scene, but this quarantine has given me a lot of downtime and rehooked me back into playing a lot of FM. I've played off and on since FM12. I've decided to give this challenge a go. I've never been much of forum poster, but I will give it my best shot to keep updated. This will be the story of . . . Here is my manager's initial profile This is the beginning club info. This looks like Hitchin's first foray into the National League level of English football. The board's initial expectations are for us to survive relegation. The initial preseason prediction has us as favorites to be relegated and finish bottom of table. The initial squad is pretty thin. Absolutely no midfield play on the right. I have an initial payroll budget of $246k p/a and only about $60k p/a currently comitted so there's definitely room to work with. No scouts to begin with and definitely need a staff overall. Should be a fun challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 End of Season Review Season 2021/22 FC United of Manchester League Table - We got off to a dreadful start and whilst we did recover somewhat, we were never in a position to challenge for a playoff place. League Fixtures 1, 2 & 3 - Some good form, though the start was appalling. F. A. Cup - A great cup run that ended in heartbreak, losing after extra time, in a replay, to Doncaster Rovers of League Two, who came back from 2-0 in the first leg and equalised in injury time in the replay. F. A. Trophy - Another terrific run, we made it all the way to the semi finals, before narrowly losing to Aldershot Town, 3-2 on aggregate. It was especially pleasing to compete so well considering Aldershot are playoff contenders in the league above. Pre Season Friendlies - Not too bad at all. Squad - It is getting better. I need some of the youngsters to develop otherwise we may be stuck in this league for a while. Squad Dynamics - Very good, as you would expect. Transfers In - None. Transfers Out - None. Youth Candidates - A genuine "Golden Generation" this year, with Kieron Boyd YP22B18 being the best of the group, though Thomas Pieroni YP21A17 & Aled Vaughan Gabriel YP22K27 also look fine prospects. Finances - Good cup runs boosted the banl balance which enabled the board to accept my request to improve the youth facilities. Hence the figure is lower than last year. Key Players Tunde Owolabi - Another fine season from our striker. Not quite as prolific as last season, but 28 goals in his 54 appearances is still an excellent return. Nick Ryder YP21D4 - The youth academy prospect has made the right back spot his own. Jack Lenehan - An anchor in the centre of midfield. One of the first names on the team sheet. Curtis Jones - A rock at the back who also chips in with vital goals from set pieces. Luke Griffiths - Playing at the heart of midfield, the 23 year old has proved to be irreplaceable. Next Season We need to get back into playoff contention. Personal Coaching Data Season Reputation Qualifications Att Def Fit GkD GkH GkS Tac Tec Men WWY Ada Det PlK YoK LoD MaM Mot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At start Minimal (0.25*) None 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 2020/21 Minimal = (0.75*) ↑ National B ↑↑ 7 ↑ 6 ↑ 3 ↑ 2 ↑ 2 ↑ 2 ↑ 6 ↑ 7 ↑ 7 ↑ 4 = 1 = 5 ↑ 5 ↑ 6 ↑ 10 ↑ 6 ↑ 6 ↑ 2021/22 Nominal ↑ (1.50*) ↑ Continental B ↑↑↑ 12 ↑ 10 ↑ 4 ↑ 5 ↑ 3 ↑ 4 ↑ 10 ↑ 10 ↑ 10 ↑ 4 = 1 = 9 ↑ 8 ↑ 9 ↑ 18 ↑ 11 ↑ 10 ↑ Club Facilities Season Training Facilities Youth Facilities Data Analysis Facilities Corporate Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Club Reputation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At Start Basic Basic Poor Adequate Average Fairly Basic Local (1.00*) 2020/21 Basic = Basic = Poor = Adequate = Excellent ↑↑↑ Good ↑↑↑ Local = (1.00*) = 2021/22 Basic = Basic = Poor = Adequate = Exceptional ↑ Good ↑ Local = (1.00*) = Season Record Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2020/21 57 30 12 15 111 67 +44 2021/22 61 27 14 20 103 76 +27 Overall Career Record After Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Time At Club --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 57 30 12 15 111 67 +44 325 days 2021/22 118 57 26 35 214 143 +71 689 days Trophy Haul Season Competition Won -------------------------- Trophy Cabinet League Titles ------------- Cup Competition Victories ------------------------- Career Overview Season Champions League Europa League League Position F.A. Cup League Cup Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 N/a N/a Vanarama National League North 4th First round N/a Lost on penalties in the play off final. Third round of the F. A. Trophy. 2021/22 N/a N/a Vanarama National League North 12th ↓ Second round ↑ N/a Mid table mediocrity. Semi finals of the F. A. Trophy. Record Number of Appearances (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Appearances --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Nick Ryder YP21D4 4 2021/22 Nick Ryder YP21D4 53 Record Goal Scorer (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Goals --------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 No one! 0 2021/22 Dean Curran YP21C3 2 Nick Ryder YP21D4 2 Record Number of Assists (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Assists ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Nick Ryder YP21D4 1 2021/22 Nick Ryder YP21D4 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoalieManPat121 Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Dafuge Challenge - Barwell FC Hired : League History : Manager Profile After taking a break from the Dafuge challenge for a couple years while I tried saves in other European countries, I am coming back to one of the first lower league challenges I have ever tried. This year I chose a team I dont remember seeing up in any previous attempts at the challenge. I have taken the job with Barwell FC! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Jolicoeur Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) End of Season Review 2020/21 Hitchin Town FC League Table If I were to sum up the season in one word it would be inconsistency. Alas, we couldn't get it done, ended up getting relegated with one game to go. I know not many people post about failing in their first job, but I'm going to keep it real. I'm not going to post a bunch of info on players and such, but will give you the basics from the season. A budget of $250k just wasn't enough to make the changes necessary for me. One thing I definitely struggle with is squad bloat. I have a tendency to add too many players too quickly at the start of a save and it cost me yet again. I plan to do better the next time. League Fixtures 1 and 2 As you can see wild streaks of inconsistency FA Cup nice couple of draws for us early saw us almost make it to the 1st round FA Trophy This one really disappointed me. A nice win over a VNN opponent to make it to the first round, and then a first round loss at home to an unplayable league team. Transfers Marcus Day ended up as the top scorer for the team. Ryan Alebiosu was a nice right winger from Nigeria who was 5-star CA and PA for League 2. After getting relegated and fired I just holidayed until June 24 to see if any of the newly promoted teams qualifying for the challenge needed a head coach. Three of them did, so I applied for all three and was offered a job at all three. I chose the one with the lowest reputation from the front page. I start my time at Hednesford with only three weeks left in the preseason. There is no staff, so I am already behind the 8-ball on that. I had some staff shortlisted for my next season at Hitchin so I have already come to terms with an assistant manager and a coach. But I definitely need to fill our a scouting department and the rest of my staff soon. My payroll budget for the season is $400k and it looks like I have about $125k of that still available to me. On to year two . . . Goals for Next Season Don't get fired! We are expected to have another relegation battle on our hands. The board does not have high expectations for the coming season. Career Overview Season Team League Position Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Hitchin Town Vanarama National League North 23rd Relegated; FA Cup 4Q Round; FA Trophy 1st Round Season Record Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 50 14 8 28 55 76 -21 Personal Coaching Data Season(End) Reputation Qualifications Att Def Fit GkD GkH GkS Tac Tec Men WWY Ada Det PlK YoK Dis MaM Mot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Start Minimal None 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2020/21 Minimal National B 5 7 2 2 3 2 7 9 7 6 1 5 6 6 7 7 7 Edited April 17, 2020 by Brent Jolicoeur grammar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Sorry for your hard first season @Brent Jolicoeur. Love your layout by the way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 End of Season Review Season 2022/23 FC United of Manchester League Table - We were never good enough for the top four, though we always kept the playoffs within reach and so it proved as we finished in sixth place. Playoffs - Just like the last time we made the playoffs two years ago, we played Hereford away from home. This time however, we were very poor and lost one nil, thus ending our season. League Fixtures 1, 2 & 3 - Our poor form at the turn of the year nearly cost us dearly as we dropped to twelfth place. We recovered somewhat and finished in the playoff spots. F. A. Cup - We made it through to the first round before Colchester United got revenge on us by beating us comfortably. F. A. Trophy - A poor campaign this year as FC Halifax, who were in the relegation zone in the league above, outclassed us, sending us packing in the first round. Pre Season Friendlies - Just the two defeats, to Millwall & Hearts, otherwise very solid. Squad - We are getting stronger as the young players continue to develop. Squad Dynamics - Everyone still loves everyone else. Transfers In - None. Transfers Out - I trimmed the squad and let a few of fringe players go. Youth Candidates - A fantastic intake this year, with Ryan Jackson YP23E37 already one of the better players at the club. Stavros Sarrigiannis YP23C35 & Anthony Connolly YP23F38 are also players to keep an eye on. Finances - Not as good as last year as we are starting to lose money. I am not worried though as the vultures will be circling over our young talent soon enough. Key Players Tunde Owolabi - Our main striker appears to be declining in ability which is a cause for concern. His returns are also diminishing as he scored 20 goals this season, from his 52 appearances. Alan Benson YP22F22 - The left back has developed so much, he is now regarded as the best player at the club. That said, he had a poor season overall. Dean Curran YP21C3 - Central defender who made himself an automatic starter halfway through the season. Obi Obi YP22E21 - The right back dislodged Nick Ryder YP21D4 as the first choice. Developing rapidly. Özer Demir YP22C19 - A natural as an attacking midfielder through the centre, a position I don't use, he is being retrained to play on the wing and is doing a sterling job. Next Season Another playoff push. Personal Coaching Data Season Reputation Qualifications Att Def Fit GkD GkH GkS Tac Tec Men WWY Ada Det PlK YoK LoD MaM Mot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At start Minimal (0.25*) None 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 2020/21 Minimal = (0.75*) ↑ National B ↑↑ 7 ↑ 6 ↑ 3 ↑ 2 ↑ 2 ↑ 2 ↑ 6 ↑ 7 ↑ 7 ↑ 4 = 1 = 5 ↑ 5 ↑ 6 ↑ 10 ↑ 6 ↑ 6 ↑ 2021/22 Nominal ↑ (1.50*) ↑ Continental B ↑↑↑ 12 ↑ 10 ↑ 4 ↑ 5 ↑ 3 ↑ 4 ↑ 10 ↑ 10 ↑ 10 ↑ 4 = 1 = 9 ↑ 8 ↑ 9 ↑ 18 ↑ 11 ↑ 10 ↑ 2022/23 Nominal = (1.50*) = Continental A ↑ 13 ↑ 12 ↑ 5 ↑ 6 ↑ 4 ↑ 4 = 11 ↑ 12 ↑ 11 ↑ 4 = 1 = 10 ↑ 10 ↑ 11 ↑ 20 ↑ 12 ↑ 12 ↑ Club Facilities Season Training Facilities Youth Facilities Data Analysis Facilities Corporate Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Club Reputation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At Start Basic Basic Poor Adequate Average Fairly Basic Local (1.00*) 2020/21 Basic = Basic = Poor = Adequate = Excellent ↑↑↑ Good ↑↑↑ Local = (1.00*) = 2021/22 Basic = Basic = Poor = Adequate = Exceptional ↑ Good ↑ Local = (1.00*) = 2022/23 Basic = Below Average ↑ Poor = Adequate = Exceptional = Excellent ↑ Local = (1.00*) = Season Record Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2020/21 57 30 12 15 111 67 +44 2021/22 61 27 14 20 103 76 +27 2022/23 53 24 13 16 84 53 +31 Overall Career Record After Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Time At Club --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 57 30 12 15 111 67 +44 325 days 2021/22 118 57 26 35 214 143 +71 689 days 2022/23 171 81 39 51 298 196 +102 1,053 days Trophy Haul Season Competition Won -------------------------- Trophy Cabinet League Titles ------------- Cup Competition Victories ------------------------- Career Overview Season Champions League Europa League League Position F.A. Cup League Cup Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 N/a N/a Vanarama National League North 4th First round N/a Lost on penalties in the playoff final. Third round of the F. A. Trophy. 2021/22 N/a N/a Vanarama National League North 12th ↓ Second round ↑ N/a Mid table mediocrity. Semi finals of the F. A. Trophy. 2022/23 N/a N/a Vamarama National League North 6th ↑ First round ↓ N/a Lost in the first round of the playoffs. First round of the F. A. Trophy. Record Number of Appearances (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Appearances --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Nick Ryder YP21D4 4 2021/22 Nick Ryder YP21D4 53 2022/23 Nick Ryder YP21D4 99 Record Goal Scorer (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Goals --------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 No one! 0 2021/22 Dean Curran YP21C3 2 Nick Ryder YP21D4 2 2022/23 Dean Curran YP21C3 9 Record Number of Assists (Players From The Academy Only) Season Player Cumulative Number of Assists ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Nick Ryder YP21D4 1 2021/22 Nick Ryder YP21D4 14 2021/22 Nick Ryder YP21D4 24 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Jolicoeur Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 7 hours ago, DazRTaylor said: Sorry for your hard first season @Brent Jolicoeur. Love your layout by the way. I've clearly had inspiration from what I've seen from you and other on these forums. I suck at design, so I'll freely admit to it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnoldinho Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) Arnoldinho: Buxton FC 2024/25 League Two Transfers ¦ League Fixtures 1 ¦ League Fixtures 2 ¦ League Table ¦ Cup Fixtures ¦ Finances Offseason and Transfers Ahead of our first season in the football league, there was less transfer action than I had been anticipating. We still had the highest number of signings in the window (we always do) as I added young players and looked to turn over the fringes of the squad, but ultimately turning pro and entering the football league wasn't as much of a draw for players to join us as I had been hoping. I kept holding out for higher quality players only to be disappointed, and so ended up starting the season with a similar squad to that which had won promotion. The main first team signings of note were Tim Penfold, to provide cover for Sodiende up front, and Luke Cundle, as an extra central-midfield option. What was different was our ability to bring in loan players, as with the whopping heights of a £30k p/w wage budget (21st of 24 in the league) we could now afford to pay the wages of a few. Kain Wilson, a promising young centre-mid who had played with new club captain Paul Glatzel in the Liverpool youth system arrived on loan in the summer - five other players would later join us for various periods (and with various degrees of success). Alongside all this I was trying to get Paul Glatzel signed to a new longer-term, full-time deal. While my initial efforts ended in failure, they did also give birth to the Robert Haas saga. When scanning a news story in my inbox, I saw that Glatzel's agent had just picked up a Swiss Under-21 international by the name of Robert Haas. I couldn't see much of his attributes but he looked useful so I brought him in on trial, and he looked more useful, so I decided to offer him a contract. Where Mr Agent was being a royal pain on Glatzel's deal, he was very obliging to sign Haas up to a £230/wk, 12 month deal. Haas joined the under-23s and I thought that frankly the main advantage might have been improving my relationship with the agent. How wrong I was. Haas started tearing up the U23s and when I brought him in to the first team (ironically in Glatzel's place after he picked up a knock) in October he responded with 3 assists in his first match and a string of 7.5+ average ratings. In December I extended his contract for a further 2.5 years, more than doubling his wages to £500 a week. But come January, teams came knocking and over the course of the window the offers went up from about £40k to more than 20 times that! Despite Haas himself being willing to stay provided I promised to sell him at the end of the season, the board understandably couldn't turn down a seven-figure sum and so when Aston Villa offered a cool million off he went to the West Midlands. I couldn't really complain, apart from the fact that the board refused my request to renegotiate and add a sell-on clause. But it was a rollercoaster of a six months. In the middle of that we also had a takeover by a fans trust. It was literally the least interesting takeover ever. The fans wanted to buy, the chairman wanted to sell, and the new board changed absolutely nothing in terms of expectations, budget or philosophies. So on we went... League Campaign In the meantime, our league campaign got off to a very solid start. I thought we were good enough to steer clear of the relegation battle, but 6 wins from our first 10 suggested we might be a bit better than that still. Six wins on the bounce later and I reckoned we could make the playoffs. A winless November cast doubt on those ambitions, but when Paul Glatzel hit form in December with five goals in five games we were not only in the playoffs but pushing for an automatic promotion spot. And then in the new year it was Victor Sodiende's turn to hit form, firing them in from all over the place as we lost just one league game in the first three months of 2025, leaving us top of league 2! Victory over second place Notts County at the start of April would secure our automatic promotion spot and we duly delivered, with none other than Sodiende getting the game's only goal. And then... inexplicably... with promotion secured we completely fell apart. Even if Notts County had won out (they didn't) we would only have needed two victories in our last four matches to claim the title. Instead we had one draw and three defeats, the last to a final day 93rd minute winner for Bradford City that sent them up in 3rd and pushed us down to 2nd. It was a frustrating end to a brilliant season. But still, back-to-back promotions secured! Cups After two seasons of great FA Cup runs this year we came unstuck at the first hurdle, falling to Chesterfield in the midst of our terrible November run. In the Carabao Cup we did slightly better - dispatching one Championship Team in Sheffield Wednesday before losing to another (Cardiff). But it was the Leasing Trophy where we had some real success - going all the way to the Northern Semi-Final. I'm not really sure how this happened - I wasn't all that fussed and was playing a half-rotated squad throughout but somehow we kept stacking up the wins, including three penalty shoot-out victories along the way, all of them after late equalisers in normal time. But in the Northern Semi-Final (which should really be called the Northern Final as its the last round before the national final!) we came seriously unstuck, losing 6-2 to Man Utd's Under-23 side. Still, should help with the scouting for this offseason's signings Finances The £1m from the Haas sale compensated for the lack of an FA Cup run and so we're solidly in the black despite the stadium, youth and training upgrades reported in my last update. Might look to do another round of upgrades this year before the finances tumble again. Looking Ahead I can't recall ever managing back-to-back promotions in FM before! So I'm expecting next season to be tough! Lower mid-table is my aim, steering clear of the relegation battle but not expecting much more than that. A return to form in the FA Cup would be nice as well. I think we are probably going to need to sell Paul Glatzel this offseason, as he is about to enter the final year of his contract and his demands are likely to be unreachable - better to cash in now I think if big teams come knocking. If Haas could fetch seven figures, he ought to too really although the fact he's a few years older might count against him. Because of real life commitments, I'm going to have to pause the save for a little while (or at least play much slower over the next month or so) - but I'll definitely be returning to it thereafter, thoroughly hooked now! Question for the Community Turning full-time I've struggled a bit this year with training. Previously I only had one to two days per week so it was generally some simple attacking and defending options and then if there was a second day we focussed on set pieces (an annoying part of my board's philosophy). Now there's such a myriad of options. Can anyone recommend a good, simple, guide to what works well that I can find on these forums or in the community? Not looking for a guide on where to click etc (I know that), nor some super exploit system, just a good simple way to approach thinking about it. Career Summary Edited April 18, 2020 by arnoldinho Added in career summary section Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoalieManPat121 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Barwell FC - 2020-2021 Roster : Table : Fixtures : Finances : Transfers : Vision : Past Positions : Preview Manager Profile-Attributes : Club : Stats Teams-Players : Awards : Best 11 : Records The first season in charge at Barwell was quite successful. We had a tough start to the season and were in and around the relegation zone the first ten games and then we started getting things together and doing well. We were knocked out of the FA Cup early via Fylde and Notts County got us in the 1st Round of the FA Trophy so no real Cup runs. We did set the league record for draws as we were competitive in most matches. Financially the club spent the season losing money and despite an injection of money mid season from the board we finished a couple thousand in the red. We had good control of the wage budget. A big sticking point was the contracts for Tristian Dunkley and Brady Hickey. Two players on massive contracts for little quality but accounted for almost 25% of the wage bill. I tried to move them all season but they wouldn't sign elsewhere. Roster wise I tried to get a new starter for all positions on free. We constantly had players in on load all through the season. The good news was half way through I was able to get the board to organize a U23 team so all the trials weren't mucking up the first team training. We were able to finish the season in 5th spot and in the playoffs. Unfortunately we ran in Fylde again and lost away ending our season while they gained promotion. A good first season though. Hopefully we can pickup a couple more players now that we can get Hickey and Dunkley off the books. Really want to make a cup run to help in finances next year Top Players: Jake Askew - Came over on free from Chelsea. Had a good season but is looking for a large raise. Not sure if he will return James McQuilkin- Free from Telford. James was instrumental in the midfield setting up the attack. Set a team record with 17 assists on the season. Mitchell George- Free from Burnley. Mitchell was out top scoring threat netting 20 times and setting the team season record. Matthew O'Neill- Free from Burnley. Matthew had a good season on the wing. His numbers weren't fantastic but he came up at important times quite a bit. Fans Goal of the Year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloondawg Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) Season 3 (2022/23) - Vanarama National League Competitions: Overview | End of Season Review Vanarama National League North (Table| Results): Board Expectation: Top half finish. Media Prediction: 5th. Finish: 1st. It was a struggle at first to get a squad together, but we did have some players already signed up from last season. We used the loan market again really well and got some great players in. It's again a worry for next season that all my better players were only on loan. I thought the step up would be bigger this season, but I think it will be a lot bigger in League Two now. We didn't start well because of the limited squad we had but once a few players came in we found our feet. By October we were up to 3rd place and stayed there for a long long time until right at the end of the season. For a long time I didn't think I would catch Scunthorpe because they were too good and Boston Utd were also knocking around too. In the end in came down to a three-way title race and we had to play Scunthorpe. This was a 3-2 thriller and we hung on to leap frog them into top spot. We then beat Ebbsfleet on the final day to snatch the league title! FA Cup (Results): Finish: Knocked out in Third Round by Everton. A great performance in this cup and some much needed cash from a Third Round tie at Goodison Park. We breezed past Whitby and Gateshead before beating bottom of League Two Burton on penalties. This set up a lucrative tie against Everton which we were destroyed in. They were 6-0 up at half time and ended up winning 7-0. FA Trophy (Results): Finish: Runner-Up to Barnet Another great run in this tournament, but sadly we didn't get the trophy before moving up into League Two. We knocked out Grantham, Wrexham, Boston and Bromley on the way to a tough semi final against Aldershot. This was around the time the title race was heating up so I had to play a rotated side and we snuck through after a 0-0 and a 1-0 win in the second leg. I thought we should easily beat Barnet in the final who finished 9th in the league, but had already beaten us 4-0 this season. They dominated us and easily won 4-1 which was disappointing. Club: Squad (End of Season Awards): Again a lot of loan players and we lacked cover in some areas with a thin squad. We were getting a lot of worried messages from physios telling me to rest players towards the end of the season. Luckily we stayed largely injury free though. Transfers: We brought in a lot of players, especially loans. I think it will look similar next season. Club Vision: Expected to avoid relegation. Was offered a new 4 year contract which now extends my stay until 2027. Key Players: Stefan Mols - I kind of took a chance on this guy after seeing the scout report and not being able to see all the stats, but it paid off big time. On loan from Blackburn, the Spaniard played in a DLP role and just pulled the strings in midfield. He weighed in with a massive 10 league goals too with some great strikes from outside the box. Lewis Baines - On loan from my senior affiliate at the time Lincoln. A great loan signing and was solid at the back, had a great partnership with Shotton. Cameron Archer - Again he just could not stop scoring. He struggled to get going and tailed off a bit towards the end but he scored the goals I needed. Finished league top goalscorer with 21 goals. Trying to get him to stay as an impact sub for next year. Callum Jones - After he signed a late contract with Hull and they wouldn't let him join on loan, I thought I would be unable to get him back. However, this changed after a few games and we managed to get him back for another season loan. He was solid as ever and played well a bit deeper for us. Saul Shotton - On loan from West Brom, he had a solid season at the back alongside Lewis Baines. Best Youth Intake Player: I signed one youth player but to be honest he doesn't look that great - Stephen Doherty Overall Best Eleven: McKenna our young keeper this season moves into the best starting XI. Finances: Looks a lot better after good runs in FA Cup and FA Trophy. The club has turned professional, is expanding the stadium to 5,500 and upgrading the training facilities. Exciting times. Manager Profile: The club allowed me to also complete my National B Licence and hopefully I can do the next one soon. Season Team League Finish FA Cup FA Trophy Top Goalscorer Most Assists Notes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Bamber Bridge Vanarama National League North 5th 4th Qual. Round 4th Round Archer (21) White (13) Lost in Playoff 1st Round 2021/22 Bamber Bridge Vanarama National League North 1st 3rd Qual. Round Semi Final Archer (33) Poveda (23) Promoted as Champions! 2022/23 Bamber Bridge Vanarama National League 1st 3rd Round Runner-Up Archer (21) McGhee (15) Promoted as Champions! Edited April 17, 2020 by Cloondawg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superowl90 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Since i got sacked because of a wage bill bug that they still haven't fixed. I'm gonna start a new DC shortly. I'll put up my profile shortly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superowl90 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 New challenge, Starting up with Scarborough Athletic. Predicted finish of 24th. Let's see how i go! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goonergez Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 (edited) Bognor Regis Town FC: Takeover I have not hit much success on this challenge just yet, but I have decided to give it one more crack. This time I have gone for Bognor Regis Town FC, and hopefully this will finally be the time that things will kick in for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed this challenge though, and it really gives you a different perspective on how to play the game. I have found that you really must focus on everything, including the finances of the club if you want to make a long-term success of it. I have chosen to have a go with ‘The Rocks’, better known as Bognor Regis Town FC and based in West Sussex. The club play in the home colours of green and white and play their home matches at the 4,500 capacity (with 250 seats) Nyewood Lane stadium. They were founded in 1883. The club have played a few times within the Conference South, with their best effort being a 9th placed finish back in the 2004/05 season. The 2015/16 season in probably the most successful in the clubs history, although it ended in heartbreak. The side finished 2nd in the Isthmian Premier Division and lost to Dulwich Hamlet in the end of season play-offs to miss out on promotion. They also made it all the way to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, before losing out 1-3 on aggregate to Grimsby Town to narrowly miss out on a trip to Wembley. The following season saw them promoted back to the Conference South, although they finished rock bottom and were immediately relegated back. In the FA Cup the club have somewhat surprisingly reached the Second Round proper of the competition on three occasions, as well as the First Round a further two more. Edited April 18, 2020 by goonergez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goonergez Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Bognor Regis Town FC: 2020/21 Review My first season in charge was all about building my club up and getting set for what would hopefully be a long and successful future. My arrival brought wholesale changes both on and off of the field as I looked to stamp my authority and lay my mark on the football club. A whole new back room staff came in that saw Micah Richards arrive as my number two, and Ben Bulkowski and Chris Millington arrive to form my coaching team. Transfer wise we brought in nine new players and went into the season looking in really good shape. I set up a sort of defensive 4-5-1 formation, looking to make us solid at the back and fluid and fast on the counter. Initially it worked and board expectations of avoiding a relegation battle were quickly brushed aside. We spent much of the season chasing the last spot in the play-off places until a poor end to the season cost us. Eight matches without a victory meant we needed a victory and a whole lot of results to go our way on the final couple of matchdays. That didn’t happen and we ended up finishing in 11th place. Slightly disappointing as a solid start means a kind of missed opportunity. Minus winger Dan Smith and summer recruit Harlem Hale we struggled for goals, and a safe mid-table finish was probably about fair. The cup competitions didn’t provide us with much of an outlet either, with expectations of the board being matched but little else. In the FA Cup we saw off fierce rivals Worthing at home 1-0, before losing in a replay to Oxford City in the Third Round of qualifying. In the FA Trophy we needed a replay to see of Wantage before losing narrowly 2-3 at home to Billericay Town in the First Round. Nothing spectacular but we managed to keep the board happy by matching their pre-season expectations. A solid enough first campaign that sets us up really well for the coming years. We weren’t fantastic but we matched our pre-season expectations and that has to be looked at positively. We brought in some really promising players, and leave us in a good position to have a crack at the play-offs this season without doing too much in the transfer market. I am positive I can make some clever additions and hopefully keep the bulk of this seasons side together. The summer will all be about trying to find some goals. Financially we lost a chunk of money but nothing that a good cup run next season wouldn’t solve. We are in the red, but not alarmingly so. Attendances hovered around the 700-800 mark and so there is definitely something to build upon. I’m confident that we’ve had a good start to life under my management, and hopefully next season we can show some improvements. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfc7 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Wow lots of posts. Good luck to all the new people Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Jolicoeur Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 (edited) SEASON REVIEW: 2021/22 Squad : League Table : Finances : Transfers : League Fixtures 1 & 2 : FA Cup Fixtures : FA Trophy Fixtures Season Recap My first season at Hednesford Town was quite a roller coaster of a season. Having taken over a couple of weeks into the preseason, a number of contractual decisions were taken out of my hands already by the time I arrived. The payroll budget was going to be tight, but at least it was 60% higher than it had been in my previous job at Hitchin Town! I still had around about $125k of space in the budget to work with and hopefully improve the squad. I could tell already that there was going to be dead money in the squad with higher-money players who weren't likely to play in my preferred 4-1-2-3 system, especially a "Star Player" whose only position was M(R) and found himself on the outside looking in. Without a scouting team in place when I arrived, I pretty much invited anyone who offered in for a trial while I tried to build a staff. I really was looking for an upgrade to the AM(L) Winger position, but had a hard time finding one as we started out. The season started off rough as the first wave of Free Transfers came in and began to establish cohesion in the squad. We only managed 7 points in our first 9 matches and 20th position in the table and our next match against the top of the table at the time and eventual champions, York. Just before our 9th match saw Benjamin Mensah come in on loan from Burton to shore up our back line and Brad Young came in on a free to provide the needed upgrade on the left wing. Things took off spectacularly from there. With our new arrivals we stunned eventual champions York with a 2-0 victory at home to kick off a 10-match unbeaten run (new club record!) and a great run of form in the league that saw us receive 26 points in 13 matches. We were playing great football and knocking on the door of the playoffs. Despite the club's financial struggles, the board was so thrilled with our form and league position, they agreed to let me pursue my next coaching license at the time. Things were looking great. I knew we were punching above our weight and that the playoffs were probably not a realistic proposition, but I did not expect the wheels to come off in such a spectacular fashion. We managed to score a total of 5 goals in the next two and a half months. One of those goals produced a 1-0 victory on New Year's Day against Spennymoor that saw us in 10th position and within 3 points off the playoffs, but it was just a mirage as we managed to go our next fifteen matches without a victory (yet another club record!). Striker Lewis Reed managed to go 21 matches without finding the back of the net. We were not conceding many goals either (three 0-0 draws saw us manage to secure a few scant points), but we were in seriously trouble offensively. I switched tactics; I switched lineups; I tried whatever I could to try to snap us out of our funk. We fell from 10th to 20th in the table in 3 short months but finally found a victory at the end of March against Scarborough Athletic. We managed 11 points out of our last 9 matches of the season and secured our safety with two matches left in the season. Cup Competitions We were not very successful with our cup competitions this year. We won our first qualifying round match in each, but played flat in our second match of each competition and were summarily bounced. We really could have used the prize money from a nice run in the cups. Finances Things are not looking good on the financial front. I managed to stay within the payroll budget for the year due to some players renegotiating bloated contracts in January which helped our overall bottom line. The linked financials page above shows only through the end of our season on April 26 because I wanted to make sure it wasn't showing payroll budget information for next year. We only show a loss of ($27,579), but our board injected $334,750 over the course of the year to help with operating costs. I think the biggest thing holding us back financially is our attendance. We were only 20th in the league with an average attendance of 519, only 8% of capacity. Hopefully the fans will start to come out and support us soon as we get our selves established and make a push to move upwards. We have the lowest level (Poor) training and youth facilities as well as basic youth recruitment and fairly basic junior coaching. The board won't even think of discussing improving any of it with our current financial situation. I've asked the board to look for a senior affiliate to provide a little financial help, so we shall see what results of that. Transfers All of the free transfers in this season played significant time for us this season with the exception of Luke Jackson. He was brought in a non-contract as a backup goalie with a lot of potential for the future. He will be my Cup goalie this coming season as well as the spot start here and there to get some experience. Sean Wilson came in on a great contract ($6k p/a as an important player!) through the end of 2024 to provide some depth at fullback. For the coming season 19-year old Aaron Clayton will be coming in as our first-choice goalkeeper and just-released Chelsea youngster Darren Rye will be joining us to provide depth in the back line. I'd love to keep Benjamin Mensah here for another year if possible, but so far we haven't been able to negotiate an extension of his loan. Youth Intake There were only 4 actual players this season. We had a full youth intake this year, but not a whole lot to get excited about. Valdi Naslund_22A and Colin Hewitt_22B were the cream of the youth intake crop this year, each having 4 1/2 star PA. Player Stat Leaders Top Goalscorer: Mitchell Glover and Lewis Reed (10) Highes Average Rating: Lewis Reed (6.91) Most Assists: Mitchell Glover (9) Goals for Next Season I've promised the board we will avoid a relegation battle. Personally I'm hoping for at least a top-half finish. We desperately need to find a scorer or two in the off-season. Overall we just need some cheap depth to the squad. We were very fortunate with our health this year but I don't want to rely on that for sure. I'm promoting one of my U-18 coaches to be my new assistant next year. I will be working to upgrade my coaching staff as well. The first season at Hednesford is in the books. I look forward to building for the future. Stay tuned . . . Career Overview Season Team League Position Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Hitchin Town Vanarama National League North 23rd Relegated; FA Cup 4Q Round; FA Trophy 1st Round 2021/22 Hednesford Town Vanarama National League North 18h FA Cup 3Q Round; FA Trophy 1st Round Season Record Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 50 14 8 28 55 76 -21 2021/22 50 14 15 21 50 62 -12 Totals: 100 28 23 49 105 138 -33 Personal Coaching Data Season(End) Reputation Qualifications Att Def Fit GkD GkH GkS Tac Tec Men WWY Ada Det PlK YoK Dis MaM Mot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Start Minimal (0.25) None 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2020/21 Minimal (0.50) National B 5 7 2 2 3 2 7 9 7 6 1 5 6 6 7 7 7 2021/22 Minimal (0.75) National A 8 10 3 3 3 3 10 10 8 6 1 6 7 7 8 9 9 Edited April 18, 2020 by Brent Jolicoeur inserting links Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goonergez Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Bognor Regis Town FC: 2021/22 Review After a solid opening campaign I was rewarded with a one year contract extension to lead the side. I was already fairly happy with the squad that we had, but felt that we needed to strengthen if we wanted to push further into the top-half of the league. Expectations from the board were for a top-half finish and I was confident in our abilities to do that comfortably. Eight players arrived at the club over the summer although goalkeeper Joshua Owulayemi would depart midway through the season. Defensive midfielder Toumani Diagouraga was probably the biggest name to arrive, although wingers Gael Kileba (released by West Ham) and Amari Miller (released by Birmingham City) were the most exciting to come into the club. I decided to keep the core of last seasons team together, hoping that Jaden Thompson-Brissett could improve on his tally of 13 league goals last season to boost us. We had a fantastic season although really let ourselves down with a poor finish. A superb start meant that we sat top of the league at the turn of the year and looking in really good shape. In the end the title fell from our grasp, although we did compete for it all the way until the end of the 44th matchday. Defensively we were superb all season and up front Jaden Thompson-Brissett was vastly improved from last season. He bagged 24 goals in 42 league appearances as he fired himself to third in the top scorer rankings for the division. A 4th place finish was a significant step up from last season, and meant we had secured ourselves a spot within the play-offs. Unfortunately for us it simply wasn’t meant to be. We played host to Billericay Town in the First Round, a team who had scrambled into the play-offs only by winning on the final day of the season. Jaden Thompson-Brissett gave us the lead from the penalty spot shortly after half time, but we eventually fell behind in the last minute of the game. We threw bodies forward chasing an equaliser, but conceded again to succumb to a 1-3 loss. Again the cup competitions didn’t provide us with an outlet, or provide us with much funds. In the FA Cup we beat Street 3-0 and Chesham 3-1 at home to reach the final round of qualifying. A tough tie at home to Yeovil Town was our reward and despite taking an early lead we fell 1-3 to miss out. A good effort but not quite good enough to raise a significant level of funds. In the FA Trophy we lost out at the first hurdle losing 0-4 at home to Dulwich Hamlet who were flying within our division at the time. A great season for us although for a long time it looked like it may end up even better. We showed significant improvements though, and I am delighted that we got to compete within the play-offs. We have a young squad and the experience may be helpful if we find ourselves in that position again. Financially the club isn’t in a very good place, not helped by the board having to spend £10,000 extending the seating capacity at our ground. Unfortunately that was compulsory to comply with league regulations though. I don’t anticipate a particularly busy summer although will be looking to bring in a couple of new faces. We have a good squad already and I am confident that we can at least match this campaigns effort next time around. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goonergez Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Bognor Regis Town FC: 2022/23 Review After reaching the play-off places last season I was after more of the same this time around. Losing out in them was disappointing, but having the opportunity to play for promotion was a real high. A high that once again I am chasing for my side. I was fairly happy with the squad we had and decided to have a quieter summer and keep the majority of last seasons side together. Disappointingly we lost right back William Warnock and winger Amari Miller who both refused to sign new contracts with us. We brought in six new faces to the club, with young goalkeeper Mike Gregory (released by Bournemouth) and midfielder Louis Corley (released by Brighton & Hove Albion) the two most exciting arrivals. We hit the season running and strung together some strong form right up until the end of the calendar year. We were firmly in the play-off hunt and looking good to compete within the post season. From the end of January things went wrong though. One win in our next fourteen matches saw us drop right down the league table, at one point to a season low of 16th. A brilliant run in our final ten games left us just a point behind Salisbury in the final play-off spot ahead of the final game. We drew our last game although it wouldn’t have mattered anyway as Salisbury picked up a thumping 4-0 victory to clinch the final spot. The cup competitions were yet again nothing to write home about, although we again managed to match the expectations of our board. We needed extra-time to see of Bowers & Pitsea 2-1 and again for Kings Langley away from home 1-0. We played host to Slough Town in the final qualification round and lost out 0-1 to a stoppage time goal. In the FA Trophy we met Hampton & Richmond in our first game, and disappointingly lost 0-1 away from home. A disappointing season although somewhat boosted by a very good end to the league season. Things just didn’t seem to function quite so well this time around, hence finishing off worse than last time. Jaden Thompson-Brissett got just 17 league goals this season, which certainly didn’t help our cause. Winger Harlem Hale had a shocker too, and he will be leaving the club this summer. Central midfielder Jhonnahan Alexander Ruiz actually performed really well this season, slotting in having come through our youth system. I didn't expect much from him, but he performed as well as any of our more established players. In all honesty nobody performed particularly well though. Financially we are £250,000 in the red though and a complete financial mess. We really need a good cup run next season, and also really need to start thinking about promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Haines Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Whitby Town Premier League – 2032/33 –12th Squad Transfers Overview Our first season in the Premiership has to be considered a success. Although we never troubled the European places, we were always safely clear of relegation and firmly in mid-table. I stuck with most of the team who had secured promotion from the Championship (and many of whom had secured it from League One). With little in the way of transfer funds, I had to be creative. The big signings were reserved for the wing positions of my 4-1-2-3 formation. Mickey Strong (£12m from West Ham), Keithroy Williams (£8.5m from West Brom) and Pavel Chotovinsky (£3m from Man City) arrived to compete for the 3 positions. The only other signing of note was midfielder Terry Roberts, an attacking midfielder from Man City (£4m) who I had chased back in January but did not have the fund to complete the deal. Due to the move to a new 15,000 capacity all-seater stadium, we played the season at Lincoln City’s Keith Alexander stadium. We started the season okay with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses from the first six games. We repeated this form consistently all season with few peaks or troughs in form. Note should go to midfielder Michael Summers who established himself in a deep lying playmaker role. He arrived in January of the League One promotion season from Man United for a small fee and did not hold a first XI place through that season or the following promotion from the Championship. He did play regularly across the midfield positions but would always hit the bench if everyone was fit. He had developed very well coming into the premier league season and I felt his excellent passing would be valuable for the Premier League. He played and excelled, averaging a score of 7.16. We go into next season with a massive transfer budget so I should be able to actually do some recruitment next year. Key Players Michael Summers – Welsh midfielder won his place after two seasons as cover for the first team and was excellent. Jamie Bateman – Twenty year old forward has developed well and had a decent season scoring 8 goals. Record Season League Position Europe Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Conference North 5th 2021/22 Conference North 2nd Playoff Winner, Promoted 2022/23 Conference National 1st Champions, Promoted 2023/24 League Two 3rd Promoted 2024/25 League One 12th 2025/26 League One 7th 2026/27 League One 4th 2027/28 League One 1st Champions, Promoted 2028/29 Championship 15th 2029/30 Championship 22nd Relegated 2030/31 League One 1st Champions, Promoted 2031/32 Championship 2nd Promoted 2032/33 Premier League 12th Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Haines Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Whitby Town Premier League – 2033/34 –17th Squad Transfers Overview After a really promising first season in the Premier League, we came down to earth with a bump and spent this season battling relegation. To be honest, the only reason we stayed up was that the competition were so bad. Our points total of 34 shouldn’t have been enough but left us six points clear of relegation as our nearest rivals, Villa and Reading only accrued 28 points each. Having been granted limited transfer funds the previous season, we had accrued a very healthy bank balance. I was able to start the season with a transfer budget of £80m. I spent the majority of this on two marquee signings, both of whom were courtesy of release clauses at relegated clubs. Midfielder Emlyn Thomas was a £44m signing from Crystal Palace and winger Loric Mickels from Middlesbrough for £30m. They were the standout transfer targets but in truth both would play best in the right sided Mezzala role. In the event Mickels had to be deployed as a left sided Inside Forward where he was okay but not spectacular. We were poor all season and in mid-March relegation looked likely and we sat in 18th place. As it proved, Reading in 17th place failed to win any of their final 14 games and Middlesbrough were so far adrift at that stage that catching us proved impossible. In the event we survived comfortably but that wasn’t much consolation. Key Players Emlyn Thomas – The big money signing from Crystal Palace was excellent in central midfield. Loric Mickels – Mickels only did okay despite his larger pricetag. He was hit by injury and had to adapt to an unfamiliar role on the wing. Season League Position Europe Achievements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Conference North 5th 2021/22 Conference North 2nd Playoff Winner, Promoted 2022/23 Conference National 1st Champions, Promoted 2023/24 League Two 3rd Promoted 2024/25 League One 12th 2025/26 League One 7th 2026/27 League One 4th 2027/28 League One 1st Champions, Promoted 2028/29 Championship 15th 2029/30 Championship 22nd Relegated 2030/31 League One 1st Champions, Promoted 2031/32 Championship 2nd Promoted 2032/33 Premier League 12th 2033/34 Premier League 17th Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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