davey247 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Decided to start a new save after finding an add-on which allows teams down to level 9 of the English pyramid. This means I can start a game with my team - Darlington! If you are wondering what Darlington are doing that far down, this time last year they were almost wound up. Saved by a £50,000 fan cash injection they were until the end of the season. When that came it was announced they would liquidate the old company and establish a new one - standard for a team coming out of administration. Unfortunately the FA saw this as the formation of a new club as they believed the former chairman held the football rights for the club. The result, an additional 3 demotions into the Ebac Northern League Division 1. We have also left our cash sapping 25,000 seater stadium and began a ground share in Bishop Auckland at Heritage Park. Capacity is 2000. Plan is to move back to Darlington in 2 years, possibly in a share with the rugby club. I have written this move into the game edit as well as some of the players and back room staff that weren't on the downloads level 9 database. I know some people shun the editor, but I only made the updates that the database was lacking. Within the level 9 to Champions League mission, I'm going to stay with Darlington until League 2 or so then move where I have to in order to progress. Leagues loaded are as follows: England Scotland France Spain Italy Portugal Russia Germany All bar England are viewable only for now. Once I'm in the conference I'll make them all active. COME ON DARLO! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 1 tycoon and about 30 fans! One game this season was played in front of just 27 people.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I was thinking this would be a good challenge with an obscure team. I'll be honest I'm a little disappointed that you chose Darlo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 I was thinking this would be a good challenge with an obscure team.I'll be honest I'm a little disappointed that you chose Darlo. Its my team though Lenzar. Was historically always a decent challenge being Darlo in L2 or the conference. Will get them there then see what I can do them. Best hope would be L1 at a push I reckon before moving on to get in with the big boys. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iHeadHunta x Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Good luck with the old boys Darlo! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 First month of the season done and started as strongly as I would expect. I had hoped Spennymoor would be as competitive as they are in real life - drawn 4 and won the rest so far - but its not to be. Transfer activity so far: Not too much needed doing to be honest, just a bit of strengthening here and there. Looking forward to Michael Clarkson coming back from injury. Was mighty suprised when I saw I could loan a player from Stoke!! Not a great player, but is sure to do a job for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Straight through September without any problems. 5 games, 5 wins. The 3 cup competitions I am eligible for all start in October. Need to decide whether I play full teams, or concentrate on the league in full. I know I should walk the league without any issues, but a good run in each cup could add 10-12 games to the season..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 October done and again a clean sweep. Admittedly a little embarrassing trying to make a story of a career starting like this, but realistically it is going to be Evo Stick Prem/Conference North when I'll be coming up against the more challenging. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Impressive start, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Good start. I will be following close, as an AFC Rushden and Diamonds fan i know what your going through! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Season Review 2013 Final Position : 1st (media predicted 1st) Durham Cup: 2nd round League Cup : Semi Final FA Vase: 4th round Transfers : Players In : 11 (Cost of 0) : Players Out : 6 (Cost of 0) Current Transfer Budget : 0K Wage Budget : £2021 Wage Total : £2330 Average Attendance : 1341 Top goalscorer : Neville Thompson 28 Most assists: Chris Emms 21 Best AV Rating : Leon Broadhurst 7.38 (45 apps) Fans player of the year: Leon Broadhurst Other Notables : Neville Thompson - best signing in the league A season that match expectations, to the point where when I won title with 5 games remaining, the board's message was not to celebrate too much as there is still a big job to do. I started the season with a pretty strong first 11, so the signings I needed to make were more to bolster the numbers rather than a rebuild. Best 2 signings were forward Neville Thompson (from Newcastle Town) and centre mid Leon Broadhurst (from Stourbridge). The league started a frantic pace, not losing until Jan. There was only one further loss, but the second half of the season was peppered with draws as well. Not that I can complain too much after recording 116 points for the season. The cup competitions, I used for rotation. I didn't really want to get too far in them as the fixtures really start piling up if you commit. Even without pushing they gave me an extra 11 games which meant play Sat & Wed every week from Nov to mid-Mar with only postponements giving me a rest. As for next in Evo-Stick Div 1, I'm hoping for a simiarly easy season. I have scouted the top 8 teams and according to scout Harry Dunn, there is only a few players between them that would better my team (a fact which is probably shared IRL). I have naturally assinged these as transfer targets. In terms of my team for next season, big target is to get a keeper and hang on to Joe Tait who is my main man at the back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 This is next message after the season review: This is waaaaaay too early. I'm moving into level 8, still 3 promotions from the conference. Ideally I would have looked to go pro in the Conference North but if I was looking competitive enough to gain promotion. Very worried what this might do to the finances this year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Thought this might happen. To be honest though, top earner in the club and worth £35k. Will try and get at least £50k as L2 clubs are sniffing about. Mega bucks at this level. Will easily find a solid replacement, just maybe not one who can come through the leagues with me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iHeadHunta x Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Bit strange going pro so early. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Hope it's not a massive financial problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 The media expects..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
berty1978 Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Excellent start, interesting to see how turning professional too early pans out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Pre-season and August update. Ins and outs: ....yes that is THE Jari Litmanen. 42 years young and maintained all of his stats bar his pace. Plan is to tuck him in behind the front 2 and pull the strings. Best signing is striker Greame Armstrong scoring 5 in 5. Only one player is on a full time contract at the moment, but going to play with the team I have and try to avoid players signing full time contracts until well into the 2nd half of the season. In terms of results...... had a bit of a shocker! Just lost 2 on the spin. Assistant Brian Atkinson puts in down to lack of knowledge in tactics, so focus that on training I think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 Sept & Oct Update In brief, I sucked in the cups and I'm drawing way too many games. I wasn't too bothered about the league cup, but really fancied an FA Cup run, so was a massive disappointment to be knocked out in the 3rd Qual round. My team has been playing well, but I'm having 14-20 shots per game and only getting a max of 4 on target. To try and remedy this I'm going to try setting everyone's long shot bar to 'rarely' and have all strikers set to focus on finishing or composure. See how that works. It cant get much worse, I really should be scoring 4/5 each game. In league, luckily I'm still top. I dont have a great record and almost dropped as many points as the whole of last season. Cup competitions finished now though so wont have much of a fixture pile up in the new year like I did last season. Jari Litmanen - I decided to release. He wasn't playing bad, averaging 7.01, he just wasn't improving my team while being the top earner on £450 a week. My squad has enough depth, so rather than keep him, I'm using the money to convert some players to full time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyepye Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 So many draws, hopefully you can get back to winning ways. I once tried a game like this on FM11 with my local team Ely City who are level 9, to say it was hard was an understatement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Managing alright down there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Nov/Dec update. Back to winning ways, but still not getting a good solid run together. Very disappointed to lose to mid-table Bamber Bridge. This means they did the double on me. Turns out I struggle against 4-5-1, so I think some new tactics will have to get trained to pack out the midfield when needed. Still 3 point in the lead. Hoping to stretch that out a bit and put me in a safer position. Maybe smash a team by 5/6 goals too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Season Review 2013/14 Final Position : 1st (media predicted 1st) FA Cup: 3rd Qual Round League Cup : 1st Round Transfers : Players In : 10 (Cost of 0) : Players Out : 6 (Cost of 0) Current Transfer Budget : 0K Wage Budget : £5125 Wage Total : £5004 Average Attendance : 1444 (up 103) Top goalscorer : Graeme Armstrong 22 (league top scorer) Most assists: Chris Emms 12 Best AV Rating : Joe Tait 7.31 (39 apps) Fans player of the year: Leon Broadhurst Another league, another domination, though not to the same degree as last season. At no point in the season did I win more than 3 in a row which I found a little disappointing. In terms of the players, Joe Tait was a rock at the back and now secured on a 3 year contract. Armstrong up front was a massive signing. In a level 8 league, his finishing stat of 14 is colossal so hopefully keep on for another year or 2. Most of the players are now on full time contracts with the full transition taking place over the pre-season. Already I have been giving a huge wage budget of £16k per week - a figure that matches some Conf & L2 teams. Therefore vital I dont flounder in the next 2 seasons and get back to the conference ASAP! New season, moving into the Evo Stik Prem. Transfer targets include a ball winning midfielder, a right back and more depth up front. From scouting the top 8 teams in the league I have a strong first 11 for the league, but not much after that. Plan is to bulk out the reserves a bit with players who are 18-20 and rated 2/3 stars ability, 4/5 potential as those types just aren't coming out of the youth recruitment at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyepye Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Easy peasy in the end You'll be playing League football in no time at this rate! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 August & Pre-Season Update With my wage budget being trebled, I've found myself going into competition with Conference teams for players and winning the odd one. I just hope the board have done the figures properly and we can actually afford it!! Here are the players in this year: The key 3 players here are: Ian Miller - DC - 31 - Darlo captain in their 2011 FA Trophy win. Not great stats, but loves the club, will provide good experience and can serve into the Conference. Jim Campbell - GK - 19 - Signed on a free from Celtic. Stats all between 9-12 in the key areas which is cracking at level 7. His career will go one of 2 ways - I'll keep hold of him for years or I'll sell him for a lot of money! John Miles - MC - 19 - Signed on a free from Bristol City. Good all round stats and a great 16 on technique, a stat that always gives me hope that there is bags of potential in the player! Start of the season has been a little mixed - W3 D1 L1 - the loss being my worst so far do to a silly tactic change, going for the 4-1-2-2-1 system rather than the standard 4-4-2. Just stick to what the team knows from now on I think. In terms of league/cup priorities this year - I've gone for awarding a high cup bonus this year. I really fancy a decent run in the FA Cup and FA Trophy to try and gain some extra income. Very important given the wage structure now. Board expects 1st round of the FA Cup and the semis of the Trophy. Best crack on and get playing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 September done and its been a very good month in both league and cup. Despite the 3-1 loss to Leek last month, I've decided to stick with 4-1-2-2-1 as I find it a bit more dynamic, able to flip between playing wide and narrow quite easily. In the FA Cup, a couple of fairly easy victories including a local derby against Blyth Spartans has put me into the 4th Qual Round with a tie against Conference side Braintree. It'll be a really good test to show where exactly my team is at the moment. In terms of signings, I've bought right back and released a right back. Squad now feels as complete as I can make it for the season and should be able to take me though next season given the performance against Conference North side Blyth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 October done and possibly my most successful month of the game so far. Won every game, conceding only 2 goals and getting into the 1st round proper of the FA Cup. In the cup, the team put in a very solid display against Braintree. My defense putting in a superb shift. The prize was a 1st round game away at Oxford United who are mid-table L2. Scouting their team, their first 11 all gain 5 stars against my current level, so unsurprisingly I'll have my work cut out. Game plan will focus on being solid at the back and playing a counter game. Even a replay will be a bonus, not really expecting to progress in all honesty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Defeat expected, but 5-0 is a bit disappointing.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Asymmetric formations are cool. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Asymmetric formations are cool They are, i've used them for the last couple of FMs now but when they go wrong they go very wrong!! November was a very big, but also a very busy month. Even with 2 players in each position I've struggled with fatigue in the squad. A point which has shown in the last few games. Cambridge United in the Trophy - I didn't really expect to get past them. A team challenging for promotion from the Conference, they are probably favourites for the cup. A 6-0 defeat however provoked an angry team talk from me and dragged down the morale going into the Sheffield game. Hopefully this is just a blip, luckily I'm in a very decent position in the league 4 points ahead with games in hand. Management of the fitness of the team in the next 5 weeks will be vital as I'm playing Sat/Tues/Sat until mid-Jan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I had a friend make a formation which mostly had all the wide men crammed down one side. It wasn't too bad actually but I thought he was mad! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iHeadHunta x Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Positive career so far, on the upwards! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 December and I've had a good return to form. The 3 draws at the start of the month took me to 7 games without a win. Reduced training and sent a few players on holiday to reduce the strain of the busy period. Slowly played my way back into form and stretching my lead at the top. Going into Jan, I'm not expecting to lose any players. Despite the good season, none of my players have become transfer targets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 Perfect month in Jan!! Won every game with all challengers faltering. Given my lead and the fact that all matches are Saturday only, I'll now play a decent side in the league cup. So far played 2nd string and got to the 1/4 finals. Nice to get an extra bit of silverware. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 Only 3 games in Feb. Won all 3 to take my winning streak to 9. Best streak was 16 back in season 1, so 7 to go. Big ask but more than possible! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Season Review 2014/15 Final Position : 1st (media predicted 1st) FA Cup: 1st round proper League Cup : Winners FA Trophy: 1st round Transfers : Players In : 13 (Cost of £10k) : Players Out : 21 (Cost of 0) Transfer Budget : 20K Wage Budget : £14256 Wage Total : £14035 Average Attendance : 2041 (up 967) Top goalscorer : Corey Gameiro 23 (league top scorer) Most assists: Chris Emms 15 Best AV Rating : Joe Tait 7.29 (42 apps) Fans player of the year: Joe Tait Despite only 1 win the last 6, managed to win the league by 16 points. A very solid mid-season helped me along nicely before my defence packed up for the pre-season in mid-March. I had my worries at the start of the season about the massive increase in my wage budget. I stuck within it and I'm £575k in the red!!! The board's response for the new season was to increase the wafe budget by another £7,500!! I need a DM and some backup up front, but I cant blow my wage budget this year for the sake of the club. I cant run a L2 in the Conference North. Incidently, the jump to the Conf N will probably be the biggest jump in qulaity I have faced as yet, however the reality is that I'm a full time team in a part time. I think the media and board will still expect me to walk the league. In terms of players, Joe Tait has again been the main man at the back with the highest AV rating and most MotM awards with 5. Playing one striker in my 4-1-2-2-1, last season's top scorer Armstrong bagged 19 while Gameiro got 23. Both should be able to make the step up, but will bring in someone else to challenge too. Goalkeeper Jim Campbell was an ever-present in my 56 games, keeping 25 clean sheets, great show for the 20yo! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 New season started and thru August. Not a good start at all!! really struggling to finish anything infront of goal and as a result I've lost a couple and not scored many goals. For the 3-0 win, I changed back to 4-4-2 and found that Gameiro's long shots were set to 'often'. Would explain the 10-15% shot accuracy in the first few games obviously need to step up this year though. In terms of signings, although I've signed 8 players, only 2 are over 18. My youth intakes have been awful, so snapped some rejects from higher clubs with the hope they put pressure on the first by the end of the season Although I have £5k left in the wage budget, given the state of the finances I'm only going to dip into this should I find myself struggling mid season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paolo Willenté Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Doesn't seem very challenging, this...? Ha Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Doesn't seem very challenging, this...? Ha Admittedly levels 9, 8 and 7 have been a little like taking Rangers up through the Scottish leagues, but there is still a long long way to go. As I said in the intro, Darlington is my team and looking to get them back to where they belong before making my way to champions league by any means. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Better month in September. The team has settled down a little and started to put in some real decent performances. Within about 20min of writing the words "given the state of the finances I'm only going to dip into this should I find myself struggling mid season" I signed my on loan midfielder Tyler Denton for £35k after a shift in the wage budget, but I'm sure I can be forgiven with this return: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmytiger69 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Good luck in the BSN mate. I've got a similar save going with Newbury FC. Got them all the way to League 1 at the moment, and found exactly the same thing. Levels 9-7 aren't all that challenging, but the step up from the Level 7 Premier Divs to the Conference Levels i found a noticeable difference. But its the step from semi-pro to Pro in the Conference National I found, the hardest step up. KUTGW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 October was a fairly average month. A couple of disappointing results, but the important thing is getting into the FA Cup 1st Round for the 2nd year running. Great draw against Southern Premier's Dorchester City so the 2nd Round is a real possibility! Finances are becoming a real problem now. I've tried to ignore it a little and just work within the guidelines set by the board, but just received this dreaded message: As it happens I'm now £700k in the red. Not a lot I can do about it until January. My 2 most valuable players are Joe Tait and Sam Gainford both at around £65k now. Decent run of form from both, I may be able to stretch them out to £100K if I'm lucky. Certainly something I'll have to be proactive about though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardog Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 By the looks of it this financial issue was created years ago with the move pro. Your board seems to have thought their a sugar daddy, without actually being a sugar daddy lol. Hope you get the financial stuff sorted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Great progress so far, shame about the finances though, hope it doesnt slow you down. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Big 2 month update for Nov & Dec. Pretty solid league form at the moment with only 2 loses and 2 draws in November and December, But Gainsbrough Trinity are running away with the league! To win the league, I'll have to take a leaf out of a stereotypical Man United season and win pretty much every game in the run in. Luckily though I dont have the fixture pile up in the new year that I've had in previous seasons. This means I wont have to rotate like I normally do with fitness issues, only to manage form and injuries. Much better position to be in! The fight is on! In the cups, I once again drew Oxford United, this time in the 2nd Round. Last I was smashed 5-0, but this time around I managed to take it to a replay and only lost 1-0 to a late goal. Much better showing and brought the extra cash in from the replay. In the trophy I came up against top of the Conference Stockport. Again we went down fighting with Stockport only scoring in the 87th after I was down to 10men. On the finance front, despite the extra income from the cup in December, I still lost £45k! Going to take a HUGE injection of cash or a takeover to sort this out I think. The running costs of the club are massive. Even if my wage budget was halved I'd still be losing money. May have to see how much I can get for Joe Tait.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Jan and Feb update. Drawn way too many games and as a result still 10 points behind Gainsbrough even with my win against. Looks like I'll be doing this the hard way - the playoffs!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 One thing I forgot to mention - signed Andy Reid on a 3 month loan, no cost involved. Gives a bit of additional cover and creativity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazza22299 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Looks impressive! Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardog Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Promising despite the finances. Does look very worrying when you say you could half your wage bill and be losing money. Sounds like you could use 2 more back to backs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey247 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 I've zoomed through the last batch of games in the season and all of a sudden things have got interesting. Only 1 game left and the 10 point gap is down to 2! This is thanks to a really poor run from Gainsbrough that has let me make 8 points back in 3 games. In the last game of the season, they have 4th placed Stalybridge Celtic while I have 3rd placed Altrincham. Game on!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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