So! Time to chronicle my adventures. Replies are optional, I enjoy typing them up.
I played Football Manager 2008 off-and-on for some 6 or 7 years. I was with one team only, Barrow. I took charge of them from the 6th tier, and over the case of 15-18ish years I took them to the top, winning the Premiership twice, the Champion's League once and the League Cup twice. I may post a screenshot up sometime. But now, time for a new challenge!
Football Manager
Re: Football Manager
Last month I bought Football Manager 2015. It's quite a jump from 2008. There's enough things the same to feel familiar, but enough things are different to be interesting, and an improvement on before, such as being able to watch matches in 3D (rather than 2D) and the revamped tactics system (I like).
This time round, I will be following a similar pattern, taking a team from the bottom to the top. Leamington are the team this time, as they are my local team, and represents a bigger challenge than Barrow, due to a much smaller stadium and fan base. They are forecast to finish 20th out of 22. I also created myself as a former Sunday league player with no coaching badges as a further handicap.
The first season was up and down. Straight out of both cups, but doing OK in the league. Then as the season was drawing to a close, I went on a scarcely believable 8 game losing streak. In the end I had to reload the last few games in order to stay up (this will be the only reloads I will do).
The team is financially unsustainable as it was. Too many so-so players on contracted terms (where they get paid per week, rather than per game - but can't be signed instantly by other teams). Thankfully they were all on one year contracts, so over half of them were shipped out at the end of the season. I also got rid of my top scorer - although good, his £400 a week salary was simply unaffordable (over twice the next best paid player!). I looked everywhere for new talent, who would be willing to play for me for not very much. Youngsters released from premiership/championship academies were good sources. The best ones were given 2-3 year contracts. I finished the season some £35,000 in debt, and with an extra £1,000 a month obligation due to having to repay a loan the board took out to expand the stadium - this was necessary to meet the minimum requirements of the league I was in. I cut the wage bill by around 25% - 30%, which would stop me losing money but I needed extra cash from somewhere to clear the overdraft. I also released the head of Youth Development (really pointless employee to have in the 6th tier, especially with almost no youth facilities too!).
Targets for season 2 (2015-16):
- Fix finances with the help of some cup wins
- Make some progress in the league - be well clear of the relegation fight
This time round, I will be following a similar pattern, taking a team from the bottom to the top. Leamington are the team this time, as they are my local team, and represents a bigger challenge than Barrow, due to a much smaller stadium and fan base. They are forecast to finish 20th out of 22. I also created myself as a former Sunday league player with no coaching badges as a further handicap.
The first season was up and down. Straight out of both cups, but doing OK in the league. Then as the season was drawing to a close, I went on a scarcely believable 8 game losing streak. In the end I had to reload the last few games in order to stay up (this will be the only reloads I will do).
The team is financially unsustainable as it was. Too many so-so players on contracted terms (where they get paid per week, rather than per game - but can't be signed instantly by other teams). Thankfully they were all on one year contracts, so over half of them were shipped out at the end of the season. I also got rid of my top scorer - although good, his £400 a week salary was simply unaffordable (over twice the next best paid player!). I looked everywhere for new talent, who would be willing to play for me for not very much. Youngsters released from premiership/championship academies were good sources. The best ones were given 2-3 year contracts. I finished the season some £35,000 in debt, and with an extra £1,000 a month obligation due to having to repay a loan the board took out to expand the stadium - this was necessary to meet the minimum requirements of the league I was in. I cut the wage bill by around 25% - 30%, which would stop me losing money but I needed extra cash from somewhere to clear the overdraft. I also released the head of Youth Development (really pointless employee to have in the 6th tier, especially with almost no youth facilities too!).
Targets for season 2 (2015-16):
- Fix finances with the help of some cup wins
- Make some progress in the league - be well clear of the relegation fight
Re: Football Manager
Season 2 - up to the end of October
I continued to sign players as the season started. The plan was, give contracts to my best 12-13 players only, then sign other players on non-contract terms (ie pay as you play) to act as cover. This worked pretty well as a concept. I also gave players nicknames, a tradition from my Barrow career. Aristotle graced my left flank, Will "Giggs" Roberts on the right (he's Welsh and a winger), and Malcolm Melvin is my box-to-box midfielder (his name sounds great as it is). Nabil "Pep" Guédioura was up front along with Aron "Gwynt" Wint. (You'll need your Welsh dictionaries for that one). In defence are the likes of Andy "Deck The" Halls, Paul "Ice Cream" McCone and Mitchell "And Webb" Lund.
After an extended pre-season, the season proper kicked off. Amazingly I was 8th after 6 games, with goals flying in at both ends (I had the worst defence in the league by a distance in 2014-15). However things then started to go downhill. Some losses were quite unfortunate, but by the end of October I was in the relegation zone again, with only 3 wins. I've managed not one but two 3-6 defeats, as well as a 2-5, but at least nothing on the scale of last year's 11-0 defeat to Tamworth...
The FA Cup, however, was a different cup of tea. First match was away against lower league opposition, Bury Town (not to be confused with Bury the league team). I fell behind but some great play saw us turn it round to a 4-2 victory, despite a missed penalty. Next up was home to Hyde, who are a few places above me in the league, and who I had lost every meeting against. Not today though - I dominated the game and won 2-1, again coming from behind with 20 minutes to go. The gate receipts and prize money from these games had almost fixed the overdraft. Fourth qualifying round gave us another home tie, against Boston, who are 3rd in my league, and I had lost all my previous matches against them. They were in charge for long periods, but my defence surprisingly did a good job. Eventually, I somehow sneaked a 3-1 win, with the one coming in the 88th minute. More prize money and the bank balance hit £10,000! Huzzah! Mission accomplished. A "glamour tie" to come as well, away to Bury (the league team). I'll probably get stuffed but I don't care.
FA Trophy draw has been made, I will be away against Altringham, the only team below me in the league. Who, co-incidentally, are my next league opponents.
I continued to sign players as the season started. The plan was, give contracts to my best 12-13 players only, then sign other players on non-contract terms (ie pay as you play) to act as cover. This worked pretty well as a concept. I also gave players nicknames, a tradition from my Barrow career. Aristotle graced my left flank, Will "Giggs" Roberts on the right (he's Welsh and a winger), and Malcolm Melvin is my box-to-box midfielder (his name sounds great as it is). Nabil "Pep" Guédioura was up front along with Aron "Gwynt" Wint. (You'll need your Welsh dictionaries for that one). In defence are the likes of Andy "Deck The" Halls, Paul "Ice Cream" McCone and Mitchell "And Webb" Lund.
After an extended pre-season, the season proper kicked off. Amazingly I was 8th after 6 games, with goals flying in at both ends (I had the worst defence in the league by a distance in 2014-15). However things then started to go downhill. Some losses were quite unfortunate, but by the end of October I was in the relegation zone again, with only 3 wins. I've managed not one but two 3-6 defeats, as well as a 2-5, but at least nothing on the scale of last year's 11-0 defeat to Tamworth...
The FA Cup, however, was a different cup of tea. First match was away against lower league opposition, Bury Town (not to be confused with Bury the league team). I fell behind but some great play saw us turn it round to a 4-2 victory, despite a missed penalty. Next up was home to Hyde, who are a few places above me in the league, and who I had lost every meeting against. Not today though - I dominated the game and won 2-1, again coming from behind with 20 minutes to go. The gate receipts and prize money from these games had almost fixed the overdraft. Fourth qualifying round gave us another home tie, against Boston, who are 3rd in my league, and I had lost all my previous matches against them. They were in charge for long periods, but my defence surprisingly did a good job. Eventually, I somehow sneaked a 3-1 win, with the one coming in the 88th minute. More prize money and the bank balance hit £10,000! Huzzah! Mission accomplished. A "glamour tie" to come as well, away to Bury (the league team). I'll probably get stuffed but I don't care.
FA Trophy draw has been made, I will be away against Altringham, the only team below me in the league. Who, co-incidentally, are my next league opponents.
Re: Football Manager
Love FM and the new one is simply the best! Love the player roles system and how it affects the team shape. I usually play Liverpool as they're my team. I feel really filthy if I play other teams.. >.>
Re: Football Manager
Season 2 part 2, to end of January
League : After being in a precarious position at the end of October, the team went on a fantastic run in November, with me winning 2nd place in the manager of the month competition. Since then form has dipped slightly, but I remain 7 points / 5 places clear of relegation. I did manage a 1-1 draw against the runaway leaders of the league though which I was quite proud of.
Tactics : I have been deploying a 4-1-4-1 formation versus teams that are a lot better than me, rather than my normal 4-4-2. The team seem used to it now and it's earned me the odd point against superior opposition. The usual formation is 4-4-2 though, which works OK.
Cup : The FA Cup run ended as expected in the first round proper, a very credible 2-1 away defeat though. Then came the FA Trophy, which was one heck of a roller-coaster. I somehow made it through three rounds, via winning a match where I had 2 clear cut chances and the opposition had 13, next came a 4-4 draw against inferior opposition then winning the reply despite being a man down, then I played a team in the league above me, winning 5-2 after extra time. After 90 mins I encourages the team telling them they only needed one more goal, which they promptly disregarded by scoring 2 goals in 2 minutes :p The run came to an end in the last 16, against the team 3rd place in the league above mine. Two fantastic cup runs which brought a lot of excitement to the club, and turned my bank balance round from minus £40k to plus £40k. This along with the wage constraints I have brought in have turned it into a sustainable club.
The future : stay well clear of relegation for this season. Season 3 I would hope to push on a bit but it's so hard getting properly good players who want to come to a club with such a low reputation and with so little money. Perhaps this will be less of an issue in the future, as hopefully my reputation will improve as a result of this season's antics.
League : After being in a precarious position at the end of October, the team went on a fantastic run in November, with me winning 2nd place in the manager of the month competition. Since then form has dipped slightly, but I remain 7 points / 5 places clear of relegation. I did manage a 1-1 draw against the runaway leaders of the league though which I was quite proud of.
Tactics : I have been deploying a 4-1-4-1 formation versus teams that are a lot better than me, rather than my normal 4-4-2. The team seem used to it now and it's earned me the odd point against superior opposition. The usual formation is 4-4-2 though, which works OK.
Cup : The FA Cup run ended as expected in the first round proper, a very credible 2-1 away defeat though. Then came the FA Trophy, which was one heck of a roller-coaster. I somehow made it through three rounds, via winning a match where I had 2 clear cut chances and the opposition had 13, next came a 4-4 draw against inferior opposition then winning the reply despite being a man down, then I played a team in the league above me, winning 5-2 after extra time. After 90 mins I encourages the team telling them they only needed one more goal, which they promptly disregarded by scoring 2 goals in 2 minutes :p The run came to an end in the last 16, against the team 3rd place in the league above mine. Two fantastic cup runs which brought a lot of excitement to the club, and turned my bank balance round from minus £40k to plus £40k. This along with the wage constraints I have brought in have turned it into a sustainable club.
The future : stay well clear of relegation for this season. Season 3 I would hope to push on a bit but it's so hard getting properly good players who want to come to a club with such a low reputation and with so little money. Perhaps this will be less of an issue in the future, as hopefully my reputation will improve as a result of this season's antics.
Re: Football Manager
I always like to Grub about in the lower leagues so start with my team walsall FC. Who are now Pretty shit in the game to start with.
Way back when it was Championship manager (5 I think) The Walsall team was pretty awesome and started with 2-3 players who you could happily use up to Prem level. Pedro Matias, Jimmy Walker and Darren Wrack played for me in the Champions league
happy days....
Way back when it was Championship manager (5 I think) The Walsall team was pretty awesome and started with 2-3 players who you could happily use up to Prem level. Pedro Matias, Jimmy Walker and Darren Wrack played for me in the Champions league
happy days....
<Remember to put something witty in here>
Re: Football Manager
notjarvis wrote:I always like to Grub about in the lower leagues so start with my team walsall FC. Who are now Pretty shit in the game to start with.
Way back when it was Championship manager (5 I think) The Walsall team was pretty awesome and started with 2-3 players who you could happily use up to Prem level. Pedro Matias, Jimmy Walker and Darren Wrack played for me in the Champions league
happy days....
I get attached to players who rock the world in the lower leagues. You get promoted a couple of times and they really aren't good enough for that level... but I don't want to get rid of them as they were simply legends for me. Sometimes they hang around for 2-3 reasons longer than they should because of my sentimentality...
Season 2 Part 3/3
A part of the season that was just about staying well clear of relegation actually turned into somewhat of a playoff-race. I was always a rank outsider, but won 3rd place for manager of the month in Feb and won manager of the month in March as the team kept alive the chance for quite a while. In a spell of 10 games, I won 7, drew 1 and lost 2. It fell apart a bit at the end, finishing LLD (though scoring the equalizer in the 93rd minute was nice). Those last 3 were against proper good teams, so I don't think my team is really there yet in terms of a serious promotion challenge. However they got better as the season went on so maybe my young guns are improving with age?
Final record W16 D10 L16, 12th position, 58 points. A decent improvement on last season's 48 points. Alas I had the worst defence in the league again with 92 conceded - but again improvement here as the previous season was 101! Luke "Ups and" Downes scored 29 goals for me and made it onto the league's player of the season shortlist.
Next season's plans...
- maybe relax my financial rules slightly if I can find a player to take me to the next level.
- decent cup runs again for fun & money though not sure I can top the 9 cup games I played this season.
- a top-half finish and hopefully a play-off push but it may still be too early for that, for a club with the 2nd smallest budget in the league.
Re: Football Manager
Season 3
The season was satisfactory, but no more than that. The end of year report basically read "satisfactory in all matters" - but in more detail...
League : I had good runs and bad runs, but stayed 13th-16th basically the whole season, grabbing 12th place on the last day. I had 2 points less than last season. My defence has improved markedly - with many more clean sheets and about 40 fewer goals conceded - however my goals scored count has gone down similarly.
Cup : I made it through 1 or 2 rounds in both cup competitions but ultimately suffered rather disappointing defeats in both. The circa £80k I missed out on compared to the previous season really hurt.
Players : Half way through the season I signed Reese Styche, a striker and also a full international for the mighty Gibraltar! Aside from the novelty of having an international, he's actually not bad at scoring, when he isn't injured (which, unfortunately, is quite often). I somewhat broke my wage structure to bring him in, but I had spent an age searching the world for a striker who would a) improve my team and b) willing to join me, and c) didn't ask for completely stupid wages (as in, 2-3 times my highest-paid player). When at long last I found someone who met these criteria I was very eager to sign him, even though the improvement over my next best striker isn't that great.
A couple of my high-potential players have come on quite a bit. Unfortunately all but 3 of the squad's contracts end next season - and a lot of them want twice as much money now they are better players, which I simply can't afford. I still have the second-lowest wage budget in the league, and even that is unsustainable without some good cup runs. My balance is back at £0 now the previous season's cup money has run out. I'm tempted to quit if I can't get promoted (or make the play-offs) next season as I will have to let loads of my players go on financial grounds. It would be like starting from scratch again.
Success depends largely on key players not getting injured, and getting some good loan signings in to cover my weak positions. The rest of the league seems to have little trouble getting decent players to come in on loan, but no-one wants to come to little old Leamington FC...
Game of the season : It has to be this rather unlikely draw I got....
Beating Chorley 2-0 was nice too, after they destroyed me 8-2 earlier in the season.
The season was satisfactory, but no more than that. The end of year report basically read "satisfactory in all matters" - but in more detail...
League : I had good runs and bad runs, but stayed 13th-16th basically the whole season, grabbing 12th place on the last day. I had 2 points less than last season. My defence has improved markedly - with many more clean sheets and about 40 fewer goals conceded - however my goals scored count has gone down similarly.
Cup : I made it through 1 or 2 rounds in both cup competitions but ultimately suffered rather disappointing defeats in both. The circa £80k I missed out on compared to the previous season really hurt.
Players : Half way through the season I signed Reese Styche, a striker and also a full international for the mighty Gibraltar! Aside from the novelty of having an international, he's actually not bad at scoring, when he isn't injured (which, unfortunately, is quite often). I somewhat broke my wage structure to bring him in, but I had spent an age searching the world for a striker who would a) improve my team and b) willing to join me, and c) didn't ask for completely stupid wages (as in, 2-3 times my highest-paid player). When at long last I found someone who met these criteria I was very eager to sign him, even though the improvement over my next best striker isn't that great.
A couple of my high-potential players have come on quite a bit. Unfortunately all but 3 of the squad's contracts end next season - and a lot of them want twice as much money now they are better players, which I simply can't afford. I still have the second-lowest wage budget in the league, and even that is unsustainable without some good cup runs. My balance is back at £0 now the previous season's cup money has run out. I'm tempted to quit if I can't get promoted (or make the play-offs) next season as I will have to let loads of my players go on financial grounds. It would be like starting from scratch again.
Success depends largely on key players not getting injured, and getting some good loan signings in to cover my weak positions. The rest of the league seems to have little trouble getting decent players to come in on loan, but no-one wants to come to little old Leamington FC...
Game of the season : It has to be this rather unlikely draw I got....
Beating Chorley 2-0 was nice too, after they destroyed me 8-2 earlier in the season.
Re: Football Manager
Season 4 part 1
An exhaustive pre-season of scouting a ton of players to try and improve my squad ended with moderate success, fighting against the twin issues of a lack of money and a tiny reputation putting players off joining. A Welsh-U21 international goalkeeper joined after I persuaded him that he could become a legend at the club. He's a pretty good goalkeeper, replacing my previous "alright" goalie. One of my coaches suggested a winger from a team in the league above, he was actually pretty good and happy to join without completely breaking the bank, so on he came. I got a striker on loan from Stockport and another on a free leaving me with 4 middling-to-good strikers which I guess will have to do. Finally and most excitingly for me, ex-Coventry City legends Gary McSheffery joined, though he inexplicably wanted to coach my woeful U-18 team too. Whatever floats your boat mate. True he's 35 and not a certain first-teamer, but it's exciting to have a player I've heard of in the squad. Plus he's an awesome free-kick taker. Unfortunately he got crocked 20 minutes into his first friendly and missed the first month of the season...
The pre-season optimism was quickly extinguished as I lost my first game. However a couple of wins and I was near the top of the league, but after 6 games I was mid table, with 2 wins 2 draws and 2 defeats.
I didn't play the game for a week or two, but just today I fired it up, played 4 league games and a cup game and won them all!!!!!
This puts the Leamington boys in second place in the league! Surely I can't keep this up?! I'm not thumping anyone but my young and growing defence seem to have come of age (plus I have a good goalkeeper now) and I'm a tough nut to crack, joint least goals conceded so far - a long way from the avalanche I conceded in my first two years. Scoring goals is hard but I usually get a chance or two a game, often from set pieces. So much so that of my first 4 goals of the season, 3 were scored by defenders and one by a midfielder (!!!) My strikers are starting to pull their weight a bit more now, my Gibraltan striker even got a hat-trick recently.
An exhaustive pre-season of scouting a ton of players to try and improve my squad ended with moderate success, fighting against the twin issues of a lack of money and a tiny reputation putting players off joining. A Welsh-U21 international goalkeeper joined after I persuaded him that he could become a legend at the club. He's a pretty good goalkeeper, replacing my previous "alright" goalie. One of my coaches suggested a winger from a team in the league above, he was actually pretty good and happy to join without completely breaking the bank, so on he came. I got a striker on loan from Stockport and another on a free leaving me with 4 middling-to-good strikers which I guess will have to do. Finally and most excitingly for me, ex-Coventry City legends Gary McSheffery joined, though he inexplicably wanted to coach my woeful U-18 team too. Whatever floats your boat mate. True he's 35 and not a certain first-teamer, but it's exciting to have a player I've heard of in the squad. Plus he's an awesome free-kick taker. Unfortunately he got crocked 20 minutes into his first friendly and missed the first month of the season...
The pre-season optimism was quickly extinguished as I lost my first game. However a couple of wins and I was near the top of the league, but after 6 games I was mid table, with 2 wins 2 draws and 2 defeats.
I didn't play the game for a week or two, but just today I fired it up, played 4 league games and a cup game and won them all!!!!!
This puts the Leamington boys in second place in the league! Surely I can't keep this up?! I'm not thumping anyone but my young and growing defence seem to have come of age (plus I have a good goalkeeper now) and I'm a tough nut to crack, joint least goals conceded so far - a long way from the avalanche I conceded in my first two years. Scoring goals is hard but I usually get a chance or two a game, often from set pieces. So much so that of my first 4 goals of the season, 3 were scored by defenders and one by a midfielder (!!!) My strikers are starting to pull their weight a bit more now, my Gibraltan striker even got a hat-trick recently.Re: Football Manager
Awesome reports Gandalf, keep it up
Re: Football Manager
Very well then! You shall have more...
Season 4 part 2
It turns out those 5 wins in a row weren't a complete fluke. I sit here half way through the season and I've only lost 2 more games. I was briefly top and spent quite a while in 2nd. I'm currently 5th but if I win my game in hand then I will go back 2nd. Only the champions get promoted automatically, but 2nd to 5th have a play-off to get promoted. A top 5 has to be the aim given how the season has gone so far.
The cup games have been interesting. In the FA Cup, I won the 2nd qualifying round and faced the mighty Stockport in the next round (seriously, they get 4,000+fans and are playing in the 6th tier?!). I snuck a draw at their place so had a replay at mine. I went 2-0 up, subbed off some of my better players then went 3-2 down! I got a late equalizer but lost in extra time. Still, I got loads of money for it and had my first ever attendance of over 1,000, so that's OK. Around here I noticed that my finances were doing better than usual - my attendances were about 200 more than the previous season. It seems my strong league performance was attracting more fans to my game, excellent. I spent some of this extra money on an excellent striker - he scored 10-15 goals a season for a team who finished in the bottom third of the league above me for 3 seasons in a row. £300 a week... so expensive....
As the end of November came, it was FA Trophy time! I was up against a decent team but one I should probably be beating. I was playing away and went 2-0 down! Some all-out attack earned me a 2-2 draw, so a replay at my place which I won 4-2. The next round was a home match against a really bad team (St. Neots), but again my team ballsed it up and got a 2-2 draw. The replay came by, I went behind but it was 2-2 after 90 minutes (a common scoreline eh) and thankfully I scored the winner in extra time, against a team who was completely and utterly exhausted - they had 9 people left on the pitch (they kept getting injured and ran out of subs) with a max condition of about 30% come the end of it all.
A series of postponed league matches meant I actually played those 4 cup matches in a row, and that along with my cup matches (and replays) have built up some epic fixture congestion. I have 2 games in the last 3 days of December, followed by 9 in January. Urgh. Still, I have been remarkably injury free this season, which has been a key reason for my success. If I can keep injury free, I should manage January, including my last 32 match in the FA Trophy, versus a team in the bottom half of my league. I'll be the favourite in that, but I'll expect a replay given the team's draw-tastic cup performances thus far....
Top Goalscorer : Reese Styche (Gibralatan), 15 goals. 2nd top scorer : "Rock" Tank, 6 goals, he's a CENTRAL DEFENDER for goodness sake! I almost expect him to score from every corner I have now...
Season 4 part 2
It turns out those 5 wins in a row weren't a complete fluke. I sit here half way through the season and I've only lost 2 more games. I was briefly top and spent quite a while in 2nd. I'm currently 5th but if I win my game in hand then I will go back 2nd. Only the champions get promoted automatically, but 2nd to 5th have a play-off to get promoted. A top 5 has to be the aim given how the season has gone so far.
The cup games have been interesting. In the FA Cup, I won the 2nd qualifying round and faced the mighty Stockport in the next round (seriously, they get 4,000+fans and are playing in the 6th tier?!). I snuck a draw at their place so had a replay at mine. I went 2-0 up, subbed off some of my better players then went 3-2 down! I got a late equalizer but lost in extra time. Still, I got loads of money for it and had my first ever attendance of over 1,000, so that's OK. Around here I noticed that my finances were doing better than usual - my attendances were about 200 more than the previous season. It seems my strong league performance was attracting more fans to my game, excellent. I spent some of this extra money on an excellent striker - he scored 10-15 goals a season for a team who finished in the bottom third of the league above me for 3 seasons in a row. £300 a week... so expensive....
As the end of November came, it was FA Trophy time! I was up against a decent team but one I should probably be beating. I was playing away and went 2-0 down! Some all-out attack earned me a 2-2 draw, so a replay at my place which I won 4-2. The next round was a home match against a really bad team (St. Neots), but again my team ballsed it up and got a 2-2 draw. The replay came by, I went behind but it was 2-2 after 90 minutes (a common scoreline eh) and thankfully I scored the winner in extra time, against a team who was completely and utterly exhausted - they had 9 people left on the pitch (they kept getting injured and ran out of subs) with a max condition of about 30% come the end of it all.
A series of postponed league matches meant I actually played those 4 cup matches in a row, and that along with my cup matches (and replays) have built up some epic fixture congestion. I have 2 games in the last 3 days of December, followed by 9 in January. Urgh. Still, I have been remarkably injury free this season, which has been a key reason for my success. If I can keep injury free, I should manage January, including my last 32 match in the FA Trophy, versus a team in the bottom half of my league. I'll be the favourite in that, but I'll expect a replay given the team's draw-tastic cup performances thus far....
Top Goalscorer : Reese Styche (Gibralatan), 15 goals. 2nd top scorer : "Rock" Tank, 6 goals, he's a CENTRAL DEFENDER for goodness sake! I almost expect him to score from every corner I have now...
Re: Football Manager
Season 4 part 3
The season entered a bit of an up and down period here. I realised part of the reason I was doing so well in the league was that I had played 13 home games compared to 10 away games - and that I had a spell of 5 away games in a row. One of these was my FA Trophy last 32 match, which unfortunately I lost, even though I had much the better of the chances. They won 1-0 thanks to my goalkeeper punching the ball into his own net :/ Still, 9 cup matches in total during the season helped the finances out a lot, and was good fun too.
My new striker went from strength to strength, scoring on average 0.8 goals a match. What a purchase! However he got injured along with 4 other players. Thankfully none for more than 3 weeks so they are all back now, but I did lose a couple of games during that tough spell. Also Reece Styche got a 7-9 month injury! Although he remains my top scorer, his form had dipped considerably, and negotiations for a contract extension had failed a few times (his agent hates me) so it looks likely he will leave in the summer. He's on a decent wage so that will free some money up for a quality replacement.
My dip in form looked like it was going to send me tumbling out of the play-offs but February saw a return to form, as well as some slip-ups from teams nearby, so I am back in second, about 6 points clear of 6th. With 12 games left, my points total is 1 behind my records total from the previous 3 seasons If I can win at least 6 of them, I'd almost certainly end up in the play-offs. There is also still a chance I could finish top - I was 4 points behind them and they had 3 games in hand, but they had some poor results so now I am 3 points behind and they have 1 game in hand. However - the counter-point to all this is that I have some REALLY difficult fixtures coming up.... it looks like it's going to be a close nerve-shredding end to the season....
... TO BE CONCLUDED....
The season entered a bit of an up and down period here. I realised part of the reason I was doing so well in the league was that I had played 13 home games compared to 10 away games - and that I had a spell of 5 away games in a row. One of these was my FA Trophy last 32 match, which unfortunately I lost, even though I had much the better of the chances. They won 1-0 thanks to my goalkeeper punching the ball into his own net :/ Still, 9 cup matches in total during the season helped the finances out a lot, and was good fun too.
My new striker went from strength to strength, scoring on average 0.8 goals a match. What a purchase! However he got injured along with 4 other players. Thankfully none for more than 3 weeks so they are all back now, but I did lose a couple of games during that tough spell. Also Reece Styche got a 7-9 month injury! Although he remains my top scorer, his form had dipped considerably, and negotiations for a contract extension had failed a few times (his agent hates me) so it looks likely he will leave in the summer. He's on a decent wage so that will free some money up for a quality replacement.
My dip in form looked like it was going to send me tumbling out of the play-offs but February saw a return to form, as well as some slip-ups from teams nearby, so I am back in second, about 6 points clear of 6th. With 12 games left, my points total is 1 behind my records total from the previous 3 seasons
If I can win at least 6 of them, I'd almost certainly end up in the play-offs. There is also still a chance I could finish top - I was 4 points behind them and they had 3 games in hand, but they had some poor results so now I am 3 points behind and they have 1 game in hand. However - the counter-point to all this is that I have some REALLY difficult fixtures coming up.... it looks like it's going to be a close nerve-shredding end to the season....... TO BE CONCLUDED....
Re: Football Manager
Season 4 part 4
With 12 games to go, it was Leamington-Brackley in a top of the table clash, both teams with the same number of points. I fell behind twice but got a 2-2 draw out of it, which was alright. I then got stuffed by a ludicrously talented Hednesford team - I had 1 shot, they had 15. That team eventually lost in the FA Trophy final on penalties after beating 3 teams from the league above on the way. Honestly they should've won the league at a canter with the players in their teams but they only managed a play-off challenge.
As the season started to draw to a close, I was mostly keeping pace with Brackely whilst keeping a healthy lead ver the 3rd placed team. I hired a scout for the rest of the season and he informed me that bona-fide lower league legend IRL James Constable was without a club! I chatted with is agent and he was happy to come on the wages I was offering, around £250 a week. Amazing! What with him and Dan Fitchett I had a strike partnership that would not be out of place in the next league up.
However my form wavered a little in the last 6 or 7 matches. Constable didn't score at all, Dan "a goal a game" Fitchett mostly forgot how to hit the back of the net and I finished in 2nd place, 3 points behind Brackley. I scored 80 points - a record for a 2nd placed team in the previous 4 seasons. So, it was onto the play-offs. On paper I clearly had the weakest team of the 4. I was up against Altringham while previosuly-mentioned Hednesford were playing Barrow.
I had lost to Altringham in my penultimate game of the season and my record against them was pretty poor, so I set up defensively. In the away leg I ground out a 0-0 draw, whilst Hednesford won 1-0. In the home leg, I got a massive 1,660 people turn up. Again it was a very even game and I decided penalties were no bad thing. Some hairy moments but we made it to the penalty shootout. And it started off well. After two penalties each I was 2-0 up. Three more successful penalties and it fell to the goal-less James Constable to score the winning penalty, which he duely did I was into the play-off final, which would be played at my ground (it's at the ground of the team who finished highest).
Impresively, Barrow had beaten the mighty Hednesford on penalties too, so it was me vs. Barrow in the final. 2,700 fans filled into my 3,000 capacity stadium, what a payday for the club. 8th minute and Dan Fitchett scored! 1-0 to Leamington. 20th minute and a long ball forward from midfield found Constable 20 years out, who smashed it first time into the bottom corner! Amazeballs. What a time to score his first goal. I then enabled "park the bus tactics" - that, allied with some poor finishing from Barrow, led me to a 2-0 victory (They had about 19 shots to my
and promotion was attained! I was very happy, as was the board and the local press. The play-off had also doubled the club's bank balance, to around £120k.
In the close-season, The club took out a £65k loan and got a £65k grant to bring the stadium up to Conference Premier standard. I also encouraged them to invest the large bank balance we now had. However they weren't interested in going full-time, or upgrading the coaching facilities. Eventually I persuaded them to improve the youth facilities, thinking this would be £20k-£40k, but then the news article came through saying it would cost £140k!!!! Calamity. Way to abandon financial stability... The other disheartening thing about close-season was that signing players was difficult/expensive. I had players I was trying to sign from the league I just got promoted from, saying they didn't think my squad was strong enough to play at the level they wanted to play at??!?!?!! Also many players seemed to think I would be loaded after promotion. I had some teenagers who were on £200 a week with their current squad asking me for £1,200 a week (currently £350/week is the highest salary I am paying anyone). Get real guys.
With 12 games to go, it was Leamington-Brackley in a top of the table clash, both teams with the same number of points. I fell behind twice but got a 2-2 draw out of it, which was alright. I then got stuffed by a ludicrously talented Hednesford team - I had 1 shot, they had 15. That team eventually lost in the FA Trophy final on penalties after beating 3 teams from the league above on the way. Honestly they should've won the league at a canter with the players in their teams but they only managed a play-off challenge.
As the season started to draw to a close, I was mostly keeping pace with Brackely whilst keeping a healthy lead ver the 3rd placed team. I hired a scout for the rest of the season and he informed me that bona-fide lower league legend IRL James Constable was without a club! I chatted with is agent and he was happy to come on the wages I was offering, around £250 a week. Amazing! What with him and Dan Fitchett I had a strike partnership that would not be out of place in the next league up.
However my form wavered a little in the last 6 or 7 matches. Constable didn't score at all, Dan "a goal a game" Fitchett mostly forgot how to hit the back of the net and I finished in 2nd place, 3 points behind Brackley. I scored 80 points - a record for a 2nd placed team in the previous 4 seasons. So, it was onto the play-offs. On paper I clearly had the weakest team of the 4. I was up against Altringham while previosuly-mentioned Hednesford were playing Barrow.
I had lost to Altringham in my penultimate game of the season and my record against them was pretty poor, so I set up defensively. In the away leg I ground out a 0-0 draw, whilst Hednesford won 1-0. In the home leg, I got a massive 1,660 people turn up. Again it was a very even game and I decided penalties were no bad thing. Some hairy moments but we made it to the penalty shootout. And it started off well. After two penalties each I was 2-0 up. Three more successful penalties and it fell to the goal-less James Constable to score the winning penalty, which he duely did
I was into the play-off final, which would be played at my ground (it's at the ground of the team who finished highest).Impresively, Barrow had beaten the mighty Hednesford on penalties too, so it was me vs. Barrow in the final. 2,700 fans filled into my 3,000 capacity stadium, what a payday for the club. 8th minute and Dan Fitchett scored! 1-0 to Leamington. 20th minute and a long ball forward from midfield found Constable 20 years out, who smashed it first time into the bottom corner! Amazeballs. What a time to score his first goal. I then enabled "park the bus tactics" - that, allied with some poor finishing from Barrow, led me to a 2-0 victory (They had about 19 shots to my
and promotion was attained! I was very happy, as was the board and the local press. The play-off had also doubled the club's bank balance, to around £120k.In the close-season, The club took out a £65k loan and got a £65k grant to bring the stadium up to Conference Premier standard. I also encouraged them to invest the large bank balance we now had. However they weren't interested in going full-time, or upgrading the coaching facilities. Eventually I persuaded them to improve the youth facilities, thinking this would be £20k-£40k, but then the news article came through saying it would cost £140k!!!!
Calamity. Way to abandon financial stability... The other disheartening thing about close-season was that signing players was difficult/expensive. I had players I was trying to sign from the league I just got promoted from, saying they didn't think my squad was strong enough to play at the level they wanted to play at??!?!?!! Also many players seemed to think I would be loaded after promotion. I had some teenagers who were on £200 a week with their current squad asking me for £1,200 a week (currently £350/week is the highest salary I am paying anyone). Get real guys.Re: Football Manager
Haha im still playing FM11 and James constable is a mainstay of my league 1 Oxford team (they started in league 2. I got them oromoted and we are at the moment flirting with another promotion)
<Remember to put something witty in here>
Re: Football Manager
Yeah he's pretty good. In my game he stayed with Eastleigh for 3-4 years (which is where he went in real life after Oxford), scored 20+ a season for 3 years, then was unemployed all the way through until Feb-March. Don't know why he wasn't picked up by someone. The length of time he was unemployed was probably a major factor in him accepting relatively pathetic wages. I just hope he can remember how to score next season. I just need to sign Matt Tubbs and then I will have probably the two most prolific tier 4-5 strikers from the last decade.
I just remembered something else! I took a club predicted to finish 14th, with the 4th smallest wage budget, to 2nd place and promotion... and I wasn't even in the top 3 for manager of the season in my league!!!!!
Not sure when I'll get back to this with gusto. I might leave it until post-baby. It's a satisfying point to leave it, but on the other hand I always get excited post-promotion about finding the players needed for the next season and the challenge of staying up.
I just remembered something else! I took a club predicted to finish 14th, with the 4th smallest wage budget, to 2nd place and promotion... and I wasn't even in the top 3 for manager of the season in my league!!!!!
Not sure when I'll get back to this with gusto. I might leave it until post-baby. It's a satisfying point to leave it, but on the other hand I always get excited post-promotion about finding the players needed for the next season and the challenge of staying up.
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