[FM11] Ommerson's second career attempt. From Cookstown Olympic to ......

[ommerson]

After f*cking up my last savegame (Ommersons journeyman career), probably by closing down my system before the game was thouroughly saved, I have been struggeling what to do for a following save. Usually I buy the game, start a save and play it until the next FM is released a year onwards, etc. But now I have to start over in july in the same FM version. There's a difference..

In the end I decided to try and load some other leagues than the ones I'm used to. Drop all the lower leagues that take up a lot of processing space due to the pyramid-build of those levels (try english 8th level or german regionalliga, thats 16 leagues between them, and just at that level). So I dropped english non-league, german regionalliga, dutch amateur levels, Italian serie C, Swedish and Norwegian lower leages etc. which allowed me to load some leagues of coutries I didn't load before. So my set up is something like this: England (4), Scotland (4), Germany (3), Holland (2), Belgium (3), Italy (2), Spain (2), Portugal (2), Austria (2), Switzerland (2), Turkey (2), Ukraine (2), Czech Rep (2), Slovakia (2), Slovenia (2), Poland (2), Norway (2), Sweden (2), Denmark (2), Finalnd (2), Iceland (2), Wales (1), Ireland (2) and Northern Ireland (3). And the last one was by accident, which will be clarified below.

At first I started out with automatic rep (the lowest possible I thought) just like my last save (unemployed off course), but when I immediately got a job at Valur, a title candidate in the Icelandic Premier League I got a bit suspicious about that thing 'automatic rep'. So I started over (which takes annoyingly long by the way) and chose 'sunday leugue footballer' as a rep.

And then it took a full year of 'apply to all holiday' for the first club to want my services, and that made more sense than the immediate Valur interest (note: they actually won the Icelandic league in this save). I expected a club from Slovenia or something like that, but then I realised that I loaded 3 Northern Irish levels instead of the 2 I was planning to. The club that wanted me were newly promoted Cookstown Olympic FC of the Northern Irish second division (3rd level). I took the job not knowing what to expect.

[ommerson]

COOKSTOWN OLYMPIC FC

Season 2011/2012 : Review

This is all wikipedia has to say about this club: "Cookstown Olympic F. C. is an intermediate-level football club playing in the Premier Division of the Ballymena & Provincial Intermediate League in Northern Ireland. The club hails from Cookstown, County Tyrone."

I found some kind of club-website (funny thing is: they advertise looking for a new manager and await applications. How about FM-realism there, haha) but my search for a picture of their ground (to create a background picture) ended with Google Earth finding nothing but what looks like a public playing field without any facilities of any signifigance. This is probably the most mediocre club I have ever seen. I wasn't aware that Northern Irish football was so low key. In Holland even the most amateuristic clubs at the lowest levels possible (like 12th tier) have a nice sportsground with dressingrooms, some sort of bar/home/canteen, trainig pitch and one (and often more) well maintained football pitches and mostly some kind of youth setup. It seems that Cookstown Olympic have to chase the local kids of the ground and chalk the lines themselves before a match. It seems ther's only one senior team and no youths. I can't imagine players get paid to play here in real life. In FM they do get payed, but not a lot (avg. €60 p/w). But all the more challenge for me as a manager off course, although I fear I will face difficulties ever getting out of this country. I probably need to qualify for europe before clubs in other coutries will fancy me as their manager. But maybe it's time for a different career-stategy aswell. I might go for a "Cookstown Olympic win Champions League" type of career. Pretty hard to realise with a NI-club I guess.. I'll just see what I'll do after a couple of seasons here.

the team I released completely.. All but goalkeeper Kevin Leonard

Winter-update: The players I found at COFC were absolute rubbish so I got a staggering 25 new unattatched players and a complete new staff in (it turned out my rubbish scout recommended some useless players in the starting weeks of my COFC career, so some of the 25 are nominated to get released again). Halfway through the season it seems we definately won't get relegated as the media predicted. I think we could have done better if we hadn't survived a couple of rounds in several cup-tournements, often after extra-time. Fitness cost us some league games, but wins over NIPL teams as Distillery and Crusaders were nice for the club also (my rep is national already). Its february now and are in 10th position at the moment, 12 points clear of relegation- and promotionspots. A fairly good start considering the junk I found when I stepped in. I wonder when the attendances will start to rise somewhat. An average of 90 spectators per game is not a lot, just under 20% of our 'stadiums' capacity.

End of season update: Things haven't gotten much better in the final part of the season. In fact we lost most of the games and it seems we've been lucky to grab a good buffer of points in the beginning of the season. In the end we managed to win the last game of the season to Glebe Rangers, one of the few clubs still lower on the table than COFC, so we ended in 12th position, 34 points from 30 games played. Ballymoney United and Knockbreda got promoted while Annagh United and Dromara Village went down.

There's a lot to be done in pre-season..

Season Team                  Country           League (tier)      Finish                        Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/11  Unemployed            
11/12  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   12th                  

[MattieCoopz]

Great to see your starting out in NI too. My Chimney Corner side are currently top of the NI Division 2 going into December right now and hopefully gonna get promoted, first season of a Home Nations tour right now but I can't work with my hands tied cause were so low on funds. :S

[ommerson]

COOKSTOWN OLYMPIC FC

Season 2012/2013 : Review

pre-season: I've decided to extend my contract by a year, €100 p/w increase on top of my former €300 p/w salary seems good enough. I also released my assitant manager and attracted a welsh guy with some more tactical knowledge to do the job. Now see what players to release and attract..

Hmm, It's july now and it really seems to become a struggle as the financial state of the club makes attracting new players almost impossible. The board anounced losses over 200% of the yearly turnover, mainly due to player salaries. I'm only allowed to pay new key-players €30pw, and it's only logical that they don't seem eager to bite. So it's time to put the knife in the salaries as we dutch say. I've gotten my 2 most expensive players to earn half of what the do now (€300pw) for a year longer contract. I was a bit surprised they agreed, but these 2 players alone save me €300pw already. I'll try the other >€100pw players aswell and get every player under €100pw. If it works I might save about €600pw in total, which is equal to my total sponsoring and tv-income. Hopefully I can then offer some decent contracts to players that really add something to the current team. If not I may arrange some exotic friendlies, see if I can make some extra money that way.. to be continued..

I did arrange some exotic friendlies with clubs I never heard of which earned me around €20k in appearance fees. A fortune for COFC, 10 months of players wages. I released some players and extended some of the big-earners contract for lower wages. That made some salary-space available for some better talents to broaden the squad and at the same time make the club financially stable. I think the side is only slightly better than last season now, but there's certainly more quality on the bench as cover. Fitness shouldn't be as big a problem this season.

Pre-season went well, and we won most games. The first two games of the season went well also. We drew away to newcomers Lower Maze Youths FC (1-1, where we were the better side) and won at home to Lurgan Celtic (1-0) so 4 points after 2 games. A pretty good start considering the expectations (relegation). The intermediate Cup is over after the 1st round (1-2 vs Sport&Leisure(2nd div)) but we're still in the League Cup (3-0 vs Ballyclare (1st div), a real shocker) and the Steel&Sons Cup(?) (4-2 vs Larne (1st div), again a giant killing act).

Winter-update: Oops, this season we have to do well to escape the relegation battle. Since the above we haven't been playing well and have lost most of our games. The only slight successes have come in the several cup tournements although I only have the Irish Cup left in which we surprisingly defeated Lisburn Distillery of the NIP after a replay and penalty shootout. Now we face Oxford Utd Stars in the 5th round. I've found it hard to find some additions to the team that really add something. I'd like a pacey striker for example, but no luck yet. I only managed to get a young creative midfielder in (Fraser Cobb). All that's left for me to do is hope we end the 7 match losing streak soon. Only Lower Maze below me in the table (11 points, me 15) and only Glebe Rangers within my direct grasp (same amount of points, better goal-difference). Two teams drop and at the moment one of them is COFC...

Hmm, lost the cup game to Oxford Utd Stars (non-league) by 1-4 and lost some league games aswell. End of February now and things are getting trickier every week. Still in 15th position and the gap with Lower Maze stays the same (luckily they lose every game to). But Glebe did manage to draw two games so are 2 points clear. A gap that can be closed with one win, but with morale this low I fear that win won' t come soon. I tried to increase moral by playing a friendly to a very low reputation club, but we were lucky to pull that one back from 1-0 down to win it 1-3 in the last 10 minutes, against play. So that wont have helped much I guess.

Brave Cookstown Olympic player fighting for survival

end of season: After 9 games lost in a row, 3 points from safety and 5 games from the end of the season we host our only target left: Glebe Rangers. Lose this game and we're doomed. But luckily the team plays great in my new 4-4-1-1 system and Glebe (on a 6 game losing streak themselves) are nowhere in this game. 2-0 to Cookstown and the gap is reduced to a couple of goals goal-difference. Next game is a difficult away tie to Tobermore United which we manage to draw 0-0 even after striker Moore is sent off. Glebe Rangers lose again and we're above them for the first time since january! Morale is suddenly up again and we confidently send Portstewart back home without points (2-0) and the last two games of the season end 2-0 to us aswell. So no goals conceaded in te last five games and 5 points clear of the drop. Seemed easy in the end, but boy did I sweat.. Glebe Rangers and Lower Maze Youths go down, Wakehurst and Queens University Belfast go up, and I extend my contract by a year and a €100 pw wage rise!

Season Team                  Country           League (tier)      Finish                        Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/11  Unemployed            
11/12  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   12th                  
12/13  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   14th

[iHeadHunta x]

Really like it, look forward to new update

[ommerson]

COOKSTOWN OLYMPIC FC

Season 2013/2014 : Review

pre-season: Pre season went well, although I fear I might have chosen too easy opposition in my friendlies. I found the pacey striker I was hoping for in Jake Kempton, a youngster released by Wolves. Pacey at this level means 12 pace, 13 acceleration, not much maybe, but quite a coup for COFC. I also signed two goalkeepers (as a result I released the last original COFC-player Kevin Leonard) a right winger (Mairtin Connolly), an AMC (Darren Coyle), a position I was lacking completely, a good DC (Stefan Thompson) and an experienced striker (Ryan Harvey). I also occasionally sign a promising younster on very low salary (€20 pw) hoping they will develop in fine players I can use myself or sell.

With all friendlies won and some €25k in appearance fees in the bag the new season started off exactly as it did last season. I drew the first game to newcomers (Chimney Corner) and won my second match pretty easily (Lurgan Celtic, 0-3). And then, just like the year previous it went bad. In the following 10 games I only managed to win one and draw four, so after 12 games we're on 10 points, with a goaldifference of -1, only good for 12th position. This is a little dissapointing as I feel this team is much better than that of last season. Kempton has played well and scored 14 from 17 (including several cup-games, of which I'm still active in 3 out of the 4) already, but still it's not enough to get us higher up the table. Well, it's still early days, and the gaps are still small (one win and we could be in 8th position) but overall I can't be satisfied with how this season is turning out untill now (november). Especially the 3-0 home loss to bottom team Warrenpoint, in which we hardly got a shot on goal, was gutting. Hopefully I can turn things around soon. The team can play way better..

Jake Kempton, my new top-scorer

Winter-update Things seem to be turning. It's the end of Februari now and we won all our matches in 2014, except a dissapointing exit in the Intermediate Cup (Lurgan Celtic 1-4). It all started with a 1-3 win over league leaders Ballyclare followed by a 5-2 Irish Cup win over Crusaders Reserves. The 4-2-3-1 system I tried seems to work. Even games that seem to go all wrong (1-0 down in the 80th minute) we manage to turn around by going "overload"-"pump into box". I've saved 3 games in this manner. Equalise and then even snatch it in injury time. Even now that I've lost my best DC Stefan Thompson untill the end of the season with a broken leg we keep winning. And with every win morale grows. We've let the relegation candidates far behind us and are even within reach (9 points) of promotion spots in 8th position. Jake Kempton is the absolute hero at the moment. What a brilliant find he is turning out to be. 19 Goals so far and he just ended a short dry period (couple of games without a goal) by scoring a fantastic goal (a dribble from our own half) and adding another goal to seal a game we were not expected to win after AML Willis got a red card in the 30th minute when it was still 0-0. only problem is, he's got a €1k "team of the year"-bonus in his contract, and leading the goal charts makes him a prime candidate. That's gonna hurt our fragile financial state a bit. O well, I might just arrange a friendly with 3k appearance fee. Problem solved. Go Jake!

End of seasonThe unbeaten streak only ended 4 games from the end. A petty because we were in 5th position then and finished 7th in the end, but promotion was never within our grasp. Nice achievement for a team tipped for the drop and in dire straits halfway through the season. We giant-killed Glenavon in the Irish Cup in a replay (4-2) but sadly lost to Institute in the Quarter Finals (1-2). Jake Kempton scored some more to become Div2 top-goalscorer with 24 league goals. Evidently named as Div2's signing of the season. I didn't read anything about a Dv2 team of the season though.

Coagh Utd and Ballyclare Comrades got promoted, Warrenpoint and Portstewart got relegated, and I extended my contract by a year and a €50 pw wage increase (€550 pw).

Season Team                  Country           League (tier)      Finish     Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/11  Unemployed            
11/12  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   12th                
12/13  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   14th
13/14  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   7th       Irish cup Qtr-final, Div2 topscorer (J. Kempton (24))

[iHeadHunta x]

Not doing too well mate but you can turn things around

[ommerson]

COOKSTOWN OLYMPIC FC

Season 2014/2015 : Review

pre-season I've released 10 players as we don't have a reserve competition and I had some 30 players under contract. This cost me a couple of k's but made room for some improvements. I've signed 5 new players so far, of whom 3 backup-youngsters with potential and 2 prime candidates for the starting line up (RB and MC). I will see who else I might realease 'cause the squad is still pretty large as it is now. But as most of my current squad have pretty high potential and don't differ too much in current abilities, to decide who can leave is difficult (and not really nescessary at the moment, as I'm under my wage budget already). I also extended the contracts of some high-earning key players like Jake Kempton. They all agreed to a wage of almost half of what they made last season in trade for a year longer contract. Odd maybe, but it saves me another couple of €100's pw so I'm not complaining.

I've arranged no less than 7 friendlies to exotic clubs that offered the most appearance fees. A kind of world tour to Cambodja, India, Samoa, Azerbaidjan, Belarus, those kind of countries. Made a pretty sum of about €50k that way. I tried to mix the rep of the opponents, from very low to very high, but we won them all with ease (5-0, 8-2 and 5x 3-0). I don't know if that means we have a chance at the title this year or that those reps are off a bit...

Almost end of season update: This season is turning out to be the best so far. It might be because of my signings or because we didn't get far in the four cup tournements and are fitter then ever. Anyhow, with only 6 games left we are in the midst of the promotion challenge in third position, only 2 points from number two Wakehurst and 10 from league leaders Dundela who are about to be champions. Behind me is Moyola Park with two points less than us. It's all close together, the team in 8th position only 5 points behind. I've had to miss Jake Kempton due to a couple of injuries (he's only played in 17 games, scoring 6) but I signed a good replacement in winter (Paul Stratton) so we kept up the good work. Jake is about to be fit again, so hopefully he can show his goalscoring skills in the final games and get COFC promoted.

end of season: Sadly the first game after the above update was lost to bottom club Killymoon (3-1), so promotion was going to be difficult to achieve. Still, one game from the end we were still only two points behind number two Wakehurst (and Moyola Park and Lurgan Celtic, who are all on the same amount of points before the last game (exiting finish of the season). We go in front in the away tie to Wakehurst but sadly they equalise 5 minutes from time, so all hope of promotion is lost. It wouldn't have made a difference in the end cause both Moyola Park and Lurgan Celtic won their games. It did for Wakehurst though as they would have gone up if they had won. Dundela and Lurgan Celtic play in the first division next season, Annagh United and Killymoon Rangers play in non-league next year.

In hindsight we can be proud of this season, little by little we climb the ladder of possible promotion candidates. Only four points short of promotion is pretty good considering we had to miss our top scorer for almost half of the season. I'm confident that next year will be a little better again and we might be ready for a step up. The board has shown it's approval by giving me a new 1-year contract worth €625 pw. I accepted as no other club would ever want me as a manager at this point. I have tried to show interest in the bottom most clubs after saving the game, just to see if there would be slight interest in my services, but even Slovakian 2nd tier, Danish 3th tier and Icelandic 2nd tier clubs on the brink of relegation resolutely dismiss my interest. O well, it's nice to build this COFC team slowly, this might very well be the last club I manage in FM11 considering FM12 is released in October. No journeyman-career then..

Season Team                  Country           League (tier)      Finish     Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/11  Unemployed            
11/12  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   12th                
12/13  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   14th
13/14  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   7th       Irish cup Qtr-final, Div2 topscorer (J. Kempton (24))
14/15  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   5th    

[ommerson]

COOKSTOWN OLYMPIC FC

Season 2015/2016 : Ongoing season report

pre-season: I only attracted 4 players this season, which I think is a record low. A DC/WB®, a DC, a DM/MCnd an AMC/ST. Pre season was a lucrative tour across the continents again in which I only lost one game (to brazilian team Oeste). Sadly the first game of the new season was lost away to Portstewart, who are back after a years absence, by 1-0. Luckily we won the next game with relative ease to Chimney Corner (2-0). The first round of the Intermediate Cup was won against Blackers Mill (who also promoted to NI2) and we giant-killed Ards in the League Cup first round on penalties after a 2-2 draw away from home. I think and hope the defeat against Portstwart was a one off and we stand a real chance of challenging for promotion this season.

Tosin Olufemi, the midfielder I got in two seasons ago will have a struggle for his place this season now Mick Harvey has joined us

Season Team                  Country           League (tier)      Finish     Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/11  Unemployed            
11/12  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   12th                
12/13  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   14th
13/14  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   7th       Irish cup Qtr-final, Div2 topscorer (J. Kempton (24))
14/15  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   5th    
15/16  Cookstown Olympic FC  Northern Ireland  2nd Division (3)   5th after 2 games..