FM 20 Dungannon Swifts

[DrChristopher]

November 2027

Schedule

A rough month with only 3 wins, none of which occurred in the league. We did get a surprising Irish Champions Cup tie against Dundalk who we played the first leg at home and won 2-0. If we can score or hold them to under 2 goals we will officially be the number 1 team on the Island of Ireland.

Competitions

The board don't care about that though. They are more peeved about being knocked out of the Bet McLean Cup during the quarter finals. We have had 20 more injuries in two months. I don't tend to get too involved in training, but I may have to if even my 28-man squad can not keep up with our fixture congestion.

Medical Centre

Unfortunately combined with some disciplinary trouble we have struggled to field consistent line-ups. Therefore some partnerships have not had a chance to flourish. We may push to a 33 man roster next year. As we don't want the side to continue to struggle. Furthermore Rapagna has also become upset about playing time. So we are now playing him at AMC and starting Glendinning at ST. Hopefully that will stop the bleeding until we can reorganize the squad in the winter window.

Resignees

Furthermore we have made some offers for a new central midfielder. If he signs he will undoubtedly be the best player at the club. However, due to his big wages. We may struggle to resign the remaining 6 senior squad players. Amos and Lika included. Also we have roughly 5-6 reserve players also needing a new contract. Hopefully the board will release more funds. As we have doubled the bank balance this season.

Club Vision

As you see we have drifted down to a B grade with the board and are using any tool of loyalty bonuses to help minimize the pulls on our wage budget.

Danske Bank Premiership- Reputation

On the bright side the Premiership has been continually moving up the reputation charts. Starting at lower than 100th place when the save began. By next year it is likely to become a 2.5 star reputation competition.

European Coefficients

This is followed by our outstanding coefficients. We may move from 20th to 18th in Europe if our rankings hold. This puts us one spot shy of a improvement to our starting Champions League placement. As well as 2-3 spots shy of one of our Euro 2 teams playing in the Europa league instead. Both of these would really aid us in going deeper in any of these competitions. Next year I really hope we get 2 teams in the group stage again, or we may begin to go backwards.

As for our next match that will be away against Dundalk for the coveted All-Ireland Champions Cup. Wish us luck, as 2 starters and 4 reserves will be unavailable due to suspension or injury.

Go Lurgan Blues!

[Lodi Lemmer]

1 hour ago, DrChristopher said:

November 2027

Competitions

The board don't care about that though. They are more peeved about being knocked out of the Bet McLean Cup during the quarter finals. We have had 20 more injuries in two months. I don't tend to get too involved in training, but I may have to if even my 28-man squad can not keep up with our fixture congestion.

 

Doesn't it frequently seem that the board cares little for whatever competition is going the best? I empathize with your injury situation. Hope you get to lift the cup!

[DrChristopher]

December 2027

Danske Bank Premiership

As you can see were still doing well in the league in 2nd. Wait a second... That's right we have switched teams. Signing for relegation struggling Ballinamallard United. (Since FM 20 is really nearing its end run we wanted one more run with a team in need. I also normally play with hidden attributes able to be seen, but we are turning all that off and deleting all downloaded tactics. This will be the true test of if I can be a great manager without the add-ons.)

Ballinamallard United

No financial help to start off the winter window. We will see if we can make our route one dreams come true.

Schedule

We also have inherited a rough run of form. We will have to turn this around right away if we want to have any hope of staying up.

Tactics - Route One

I really like route one style football, but have never been able to get tactics like that to work. I want to spend the rest of FM 20 trying to make it work.

Squad View

This is the team I have inherited. Unfortunately no familiar faces. I might have to bring in a loan or two.

Tim Kelly

This is our key player. I think I may play him at striker and he can play really well at midfield too. I like the idea of a front 3 that score. With a striker that can bring the wingers into the attack. Kelly may be that type of player until we can bring in reinforcements.

Next up we play against Institute at home. It will be a telling performance as I think we can definitely compete with them, but I don't know if the team is in that mindset yet.

Wish us luck!

[Lodi Lemmer]

Best wishes for success with the new team!

[DrChristopher]

January 2028

Schedule

We are in trouble. Not a win in sight except in the cup. To be honest this team is likely of 2nd tier quality. We even lost to relegation fellows Warrenpoint. We have to really change our tune in the last 6 games before the split. Even two wins would give us a chance at the relegation playoff.

Competitions

If we could just make the semi-finals of the Northern Irish Cup, we could gain another 50k in appearance money.

Club Vision

The board are equally unhappy with our run. We need to pick up the form if we want to stay employed.

Player Stats

Here is the player stats for the senior squad so far. As you can see we brought in two new faces. Including former golden boot winner Chris Hassan.

Conor Cahill

Our new prospect that is ticking all the boxes is Conor Cahill. He is our new backup right back. He has started 3 games since his signing and has not let us down, but also not given us a huge boost either.

Chris Hassan

Luckily, Hassan slots in perfectly as our starting left winger. He has had two poor showings right out the gate, but arrived nowhere near match fit. Hopefully he can get back to his old form soon to aid us in our relegation battle.

Transfer Window - Premiership

Dungannon has unfortunately continued their transfer policy of selling great players to foreign leagues. With no new talent being brought in.

Next up is our first game against our former team Glenavon.

Lets hope we don't get smashed.

[DrChristopher]

February 2028

Schedule

We are just barely starting to help our form. With 6 games left this season he have to win at least half to give ourselves even a shot at the relegation playoff. We are most likely going to be relegation if we aren't fired.

Danske Bank Premiership

Most of our squad appears to be of Bluefin Championship quality. Perhaps if we stay in this position we could go back up at the first time of asking.

Defensive Midfielder - Regista

Today I wanted to review our defensive midfielder depth. We have never used a DM before, but I was always interested in Registas.

Scott Purcell

First is our starter. Scott Purcell he is our best player and the only one playing at premiership level. However he is injury prone. So if he ever go professional that will become a factor. He was convinced out of leaving the team, in the winter window. I don't think we could hang on to him if we go down.

Steven Scott

Our backup and great prospect is Steven Scott. He is more comfortable at midfielder, but as this is our focal position I thought his potential would help him thrive well at DM. As you can see in the coach report says he is only Bluefin Championship quality. So if we do get relegated he may get a chance to really thrive.

Our last game before the split is against Institute away. If they win they could head to the champion group and a possible European berth. So we are gonna have to play for a draw. Wish us luck.

 

[coady]

On 05/05/2020 at 06:58, DrChristopher said:

August 2021

God damn Larne. They finished in 7th both of the last two seasons. Spending over $300,000 on transfer fees on players last season. What did they do you might ask? Surely spending that much money in this division would be untenable? No they only went and spent over a half a million dollars on player transfers this window alone. Easily eclipsing 1st in media predictions.

Just caught up with this thread, brilliant read! I'm so glad you pointed this out, as I noticed the exact same thing and it was doing my head in! Larne are spending half a million on players that should put them a class above every window in my save too, yet they continue to struggle and go through countless managers. They finished 10th in one season in mine! 

Keep up the good work! 

[DrChristopher]

3 hours ago, coady said:

Just caught up with this thread, brilliant read! I'm so glad you pointed this out, as I noticed the exact same thing and it was doing my head in! Larne are spending half a million on players that should put them a class above every window in my save too, yet they continue to struggle and go through countless managers. They finished 10th in one season in mine! 

Keep up the good work! 

Thanks for reading. I wanted to post this for you. This is Larne in my save right now. As you can see they stole my best talent from Dungannon once I left. I don't know if its the skin I have, but I can see their balance despite not being their coach.

They have been up and down, but are set to win only their 3rd championship in 10 seasons.

Euro Cup 2, 2nd round qualifier in 2025.

Euro Cup 2, 3rd round qualifier in 2027.

They have made the 4th round qualifier in the Euro Cup 2 in 2022 and 2024.

Euro Cup 2, 2nd Round Knockout round in 2026/27.

If I could take them over some day down the line, that 13 million dollar budget would be nice.

[DrChristopher]

March 2028

Schedule

A decent opportunity to make the playoffs. We unfortunately got a rough draw with only two home games. Hopefully we can turn these fixtures into 8 points.

Danske Bank Premiership

Youle and Parker still leading the league in assists. Luckily we got a decent youth intake that could definitely get us back to the Premiership next year, if worse comes to worse.

Club Vision

As you can see the board is pissed. The media however, hasn't been too harsh so far. I imagine with 5 games left that will pick up if results don't come soon.

James Kerr

Our first youth intake that slots right into the backups is James Kerr. He displaces Ben Mitchell who doesn't appear to ever be good enough to play in the Premiership.

Ciaran McKnight

Next is McKnight, eclipsing Colin McNicholl who immediately went on the the transfer list. He was signed by Dergview and will join them in the summer.

Our first fixture of the group split is a crucial home tie against Warrenpoint. It is a must win to stay in the league.

Thanks for reading!

[DrChristopher]

April 2028

Schedule

Horrendous season. The board surprisingly did not fire me. So, I'm about to smash the 2nd tier of Northern Irish Football.

Danske Bank Premiership

We managed to win the last game of the season, but we needed to win every game to even get close to saving our season.

Player Stats

Awful. With no player in double digits for goals. That won't fly in the Championship.

Board Vision

The board don't even thing we can win the Championship next season. We better beat those expectations.

Sorry for how brief this is, but it is frustrating as hell to lose.

See you next month.

[DrChristopher]

May 2028

Club Overview

We are still over the wage budget. Which leads to our biggest story of the off-season.

Squad View

Here is our full 22 for the next season there is only one position that might change. That is the coveted number 9 position.

Colin Steele

The biggest transfer target is Steele. He is the win now guy, but he may only be just good enough to match what we had before. He may not be the man for the future.

Albi Idrizaj

Idrizaj is the future star. I think he can really become something special if we fix his determination. If Steele wont sign, I think this may be our second coming.

Thanks for reading!

[DrChristopher]

June to August 2028

So, it has been 2 years since I have touched this save, but I recently found it again and reuploaded it to my new laptop. Last we left off I was recently relegated as Ballinamallard United manager. I was moving for the first time to the second division of Northern Ireland and I fell out of love with the save. 

Time past and I reread this forum and decided I wanted to continue this exact save. I have been out of practice so forgive my awkward updates until I get the hang of this again.

At the end of June 2028 I disliked the club at Ballinamallard United, their board, and decided to resign. It was unceremonious and the media were baffled, but I didn't like the prospect of playing against amateur sides.

Luckily for us an open was soon found at Newry City A.F.C.

Club Overview

I joined the team just as they made their promotion to the Premiership, their first return since the 2025/26 season. Fans of this series will be pleased to see that Alex Dawson our former striker at Dungannon and Newry's all-time highest transfer fee is still their first team captain. He has averaged 9 goals a season for the last several yo-yo years. However, at 25 and probably only leading Championship (Division 2) quality, we have a lot of work to do if we are going to stay up this season.

Club Vision

The board was just as weary of our chances to avoid relegation. Luckily they had provided roughly 50% more wage budget to help us acquire a competitive team.

Transfers

So, that is what we tried to do. We are trying out a 3-3-2-1-1 or a 5-3-1-1 WB DM formation for this season. So, a majority of our signings were to help us bolster the defense. Our first and best signing was Brian McCrum.

Brian McCrum

A former Glentoran captain he led them to two promotions to the top flight of Northern Ireland. At 26 years old he appears to be a decent Premiership quality player. However, I am certainly tempted to use him a wingback this next season.

Ryan Carlin

Next up is by far our best potential young talent. Acquired for only a $2,800 transfer fee from Carrick in the championship, and has already claimed Newry's record of youngest debut player and youngest goal scorer at the club ever. Ryan Carlin at just sixteen has the potential to be a leading Premiership talent. I think any future midfield for our organization must include Carlin. I will begin monthly positional reviews of our pipeline and outlook beginning in my September 2028 update, but for now I have a lot to cover so I will leave you with that.

Squad View

However, it wouldn't be an update without a squad overview screenshot. Selected is out current starting XI and the second string players at their respective roles. Happy to see we have inherited a fairly young organization though. 

Manager Profile

Also since it has been awhile. I wanted to give you an update on our managerial progress. Our star level has not increased much (mainly as we started with international reputation), but we are still well known for our winning ways with Dungannon and Glenavon as well as our constant acquisition of young players and talent. I am happy to also note our former player Steven Davis is still at Larne as manager and still a friend. Now that we are back up with the big boys hopefully we can make some enemies.

Media Predictions

As always are purchases have not gained us any sway with the media and still have us longshots to even stay in this division. It is however, very cool to see numerous former signings in the media dream 11. The Big 4 as it stands is Larne, Dungannon, Glenavon, and Linfield. They are all professional status and have much higher budgets then most of the league. For example, we had zero transfer budget unless we used some wage money. Whereas Larne spent 1.22 million this transfer window alone! (Jim Parker our first signing of the save was one of those transfers from Dungannon to Larne. SO, very interesting to see how that plays out.)

Competitions

As always we have our 4 competitions this season. We got off to a bad start so far sitting 11th in the league, but I am optimistic we can turn this club around.

Schedule

As you can see we had two tough teams to start, but we will certainly need some points from the next 3 games if we are to generate some momentum.

Finances

Lastly, is the financial outlook. We have been given very little so we will need to make money ourselves. Interestingly though we have had a couple takeover news articles come through about our club, but the owner has refuted them all so far.

Anyways that is it for this combined June/August Update. Going forward I will update this forum again each month of in-game play. I hope to restart the prospect pipeline updates as well. I haven't played FM in a minute so I will need to remake some fancy squad views, but I will attempt to find nice screenshots to share in these updates as well.

Thanks for following along for our new run with City (Newry City AFC). Best of luck in your own FM saves.

Cheers!

Edited August 30, 2022 by DrChristopher

[DrChristopher]

September 2028

Schedule

So, September has gone by and we were hoping to get at least 6 points from our 5 games, but we continued to struggle. Aside from Dungannon though all of our last 7 previous games have been within striking distance. We just need a win to change our momentum.

Competitions

To add insult to injury we have been knocked out of the Bet McLean League Cup despite playing our starters. Which I think goes to show that we are just not Premiership quality yet. However, with our finances strapped it may be loans in the January window. 

Team Salaries

Larne continue to be the cash cow of the league. Meanwhile we are frugally managing our roster to stay in the division. It is interesting to see how we effected Glenavon and Dungannon long term as they are competing well despite being a ways off Larne financially.

Goalkeeper Pipeline

This month we will be reviewing our keeper pipeline. 

First is our starter James Moran, he is still young, but hasn't improved much in the last two years despite having great potential.

Backing him up this season is Simon Walsh, he is the youngest, but still way of the pace of being able to be played in the cup games. Plus with our bad form I don't feel comfortable playing him in the league.

Third is Lee Healy who has a little better potential according to the assistant report. Plus other staff are noting he could be much better than Moran. Unfortunately he is currently Division 4 of Northern Ireland quality, which means no one is really interested in loaning him out.

Last Ricky Matthews who will most likely never make the first team, but he may be able to be sold for a profit in a few seasons. He may be the first to be let go if he can't improve however.

James Moran

Moran has been the starting keeper for City for the last 5 seasons with a team best personality being fairly professional. He also has the record for most clean sheets in a season for Newry City AFC with 14 clean sheets in the 27/28 season. Unfortunately that record was set in the Championship and he has never achieved more than 7 clean sheets any season in the top flight.

Lee Healy

We just acquired Healy from Glentoran on a free, and he feels like he will be a good premiership quality in the future. Hopefully he is able to go out on loan in the next season or two. Mainly he is starting for the reserves alongside Walsh when he needs sharpness.

Danske Bank Premiership

Amazingly we are the 44th ranked league in Europe. Making huge strides in the last several seasons. On a personal note and standings-wise we were not able to pull off a win against Portadown in our first meeting, and that can't happen again if we are planning on trying to stay in the top flight. However, if we get 11th place we are eligible for the relegation playoff.

League Rules & Prize Money

Which may be the best way for us to stay up and get another round of TV and prize Money. This may be a longer rebuild then we thought. Now that we have created a bigger chasm between the top and bottom of the league. On a positive note it is great to see how many European spots we are starting to acquire in Northern Ireland. Especially cool is the ability for the top relegation group side to have a chance to make it into an European place.

Anyways that all the updates for this month. Thanks for reading along, and wish us luck as we face Larne next.

Cheers!

Edited August 31, 2022 by DrChristopher

[DrChristopher]

October 2028

Schedule

A short month with only 3 games played. Amazingly we managed a draw against Larne away! Conversely, we missed another chance to win an easy game (in which we were favored) against 11th place Glentoran at home. Capping the month off with a cringe lost to Linfield. The organization had an emergency team meeting in which the players and I got back on track. However, I doubt it helps we play powerhouse Glenavon next.

Competitions

Amazingly Portadown are having as bad a start as us, but with our first win ever elusive we are losing ground on 9th and 10th place. Bafflingly both organizations have our managerial roles as stable.

League Transfers

League wise I want to give you an idea of how far the top flight in Northern Ireland has come. With many former prospects of ours going for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I remember early in the save when I player went for over 10 thousand it felt like a team was frivolously throwing around cash. Good to see the reputation of sides and players climbing. Which hopefully means more money is coming into Northern Irish football.

Team Goals in Premiership

Along with this run of form we have gone back to a 4-2-4 formation, which I think has helped as we are now 5th in goals scored! This is really good to see. All we need to do now is sort out our possession and defense and I think we can turn this form around.

Sponsorship Income by Team

Perusing through some of the stats by team led me to this graphic on team sponsorship money, and an evident chasm emerged. I thought Dungannon had a heck of a sponsorship deal, but Larne's money is crazy!

European Qualification Places

I also wanted to show the huge strides we are making in European competitions. We are 4 spots away from a 5th European spot. Unfortunately with only Larne making it to the group stage this season in the European II Cup, we may have to wait a few more years till we secure any Europa league places.

Right Back Pipeline

On to our players...

First is Brian McCrum our starting right back and probably our best player. Unfortunately only averaging a 6.63 rating across the 12 games he has played this season. We need a better showing from him as Carlin and Walsh are putting in time at midfield, but we may have to change that if he can't perform.

Second is Ian O'Neill slightly younger. Picked up on a free from Warrenpoint just before I arrived. He is not averaging much better and is at risk at losing his backup role to our third stringer...

Matthew Campbell, 23 with loads of potential we are hoping he can improve. He is so far not had an outstanding performance in the reserves, but perhaps a couple sub appearances maybe what he needs.

Crazy enough Harry and Danny Hughes are actually computer generated brothers. They are both never likely to crack the first team, but they are currently kicking around in the reserves and U18s respectively.

Brian McCrum

He has good mentals and decent physicals, but needs some help technically. Particularly that crossing, but I don't see him getting much better at 26.

Ian O'Neill

He has great versatility. I have been training him briefly at attacking winger to hopefully make use of that pace and acceleration, but the unambitious personality is disappointing.

That concludes our update for this month. We have four games next month and I am optimistic we can get a win. At least if I want to stay employed we need one lol.

Thanks for reading and lets go Newry City!

Edited September 2, 2022 by DrChristopher

[DrChristopher]

November 2028

Competitions

November was great as we finally got our first win against Institute after two tough losses. We are roughly half way to the split for the league and if we can get 9 points in the next month I think we can maintain 11th place and a hold on the relegation playoff. Of course we want 10th to be free and clear, but our form is still inconsistent.

Squad Stats

Dawson has been a leader for us averaging 7.05 with 7 goals so far this season. However, with 9 games set to be played next month we will have to have some other players step up and give us depth. Ryan Carlin in particular I think can make a big stride this coming month as he has shown well in sub minutes.

Center Backs

Center back is are most difficult position to take stock off. We have a lot of versatility here, but for the most part it goes...

1. Mullan - Second best scorer and headering machine. He is a must keep for me. Luckily I was able lock him down for two more seasons, but he is the highest salary on the team. 

2. Abas - A loan in from Glenavon, he has not been resigned yet by his parent club and I hope we can continue to loan him or steal him for a free as he has tremendous upside. He would really secure our back line if we could get him permanently.

3. McLaughlin - Regular starter for Newry the last 3 seasons, but he has not performed to his potential in his numerous spot starters so far this season. He still shows room to grow so perhaps we can sell him if we can ensnare any buyers.

4. Allen - Deceptive potential as most of the staff think he is already near capped. He was picked up last year on a free from Banbridge, but that was the same season he lead them to relegation to the 3rd tier of Northern Irish football. So that says a lot. 

5. Morgan- An academy prospect with great physicals, but most of the staff say he will only get as good as Abas is now. Alternatively, he is averaging a 7.09 rating in his starting role in the reserves. So, he may certainly have a shot at a backup role next season. Most likely we will try to capitalize on his at-first-glance potential in the transfer market. Problematically we have still been unable to secure a loan out for any players. 

6&7. Maguire & Lee - Both are significantly behind the pace to meet their potential and if they can't get loans they will most likely be released. Positively, both players have played solid minutes in the U18s this season, and have currently keeping that squad mid-table in the U18 league.

Danny Mullan

3 year starter at center back and last season's "Player of the Year" in the second division. Mullen is probably the best we could ask for to inherit. He has been incredible as an aerial threat in set pieces.

Daljit Abas

Without realizing it Abas has actually been loaned to us each of the last three seasons by Glenavon. He was also a big part of our title campaign last season and won a medal with Glenavon when they won the Premiership back in the 26/27 season. So he is a proven winner and really my primary transfer target at center back.

Schedule

Like I mentioned before we have a brutal December that will really test our depth like never before. I would like back to back wins against Portadown at home, but if I have to choose one I hope to win our league matchup. Likewise I think Glentoran and Ballymena look very winnable as they are both dropping in form. If we can get hot next month I think we can catapult ourselves out of a automatic relegation battle permanently.

Next up is Coleraine the big dog of the relegation group. Wish us luck at we try to steal some points. 

Go City!

Edited September 2, 2022 by DrChristopher

[DrChristopher]

December 2028

Schedule

December is in the books. 4 wins, 5 losses. We finally broke free of last place in the league. We even got up to 10th and clear of relegation until our last big loss against Glenavon. Looks like I also jinxed myself as we beat Portadown in the cup and loss to them in the league. Luckily that does mean we have a much easier quarter finals matchup against Hanover.

Competitions

Which finds us in 11th and a good run away from being free of relegation. With any luck I think we can also win our next two cup matchups against Glebe and Hanover. The board have grown no fonder of us in the meantime however as we are still C+ in their eyes, barely clinging on to stable.

Left-back

Our least exciting position of note so far is left back. Our starter is Alan McCabe, a Glenavon loanee. He was in the seasonal best eleven for Dundela in the Championship last season, and has already received a team of week honor in the premiership for us. We have good news as Glenavon have preliminarily allowed us to have him back on loan next season. (The contract isn't finalize yet though.)  Unfortunately the club can take him back anytime.

Our backup is Ian O'Neill he is 24 and not progressing quickly which makes me feel like me don't currently have any permanent players that can surpass McCabe. (Fletcher can certainly play at left back but he has been getting more minutes at left attacking midfielder.

Further to note, Gary Allen is a great utility defender, but can't be guaranteed to specialize anywhere. Conversely I don't foresee him holding the starting job in any progressive future.

Lastly, is Ross Todd. He is a fringe player who is at the height of his career. He may stay around for this year, but if he can't hold on to the backup spot he may find himself being sold next summer.

Alan McCabe

McCabe is a former Dungannon youth player who was bought by Glenavon, and has been loaned out ever since. This is his first spell for a top flight team. He would make a great signee, but he hasn't shown any interest in signing rather than on loan for brief spells. He isn't a perfect fit and has been in poor form the last couple matches but I do trust him at that position more than any other player.

Ian O'Neill

O'Neill was signed by the previous manager from Warrenpoint and was a squad player for them in the premiership for 4 seasons. I think his physicals have served us well so far as a reserve, but I think if we get the money to upgrade at this position I will probably jump at the chance to add new talent.

Danske Bank Premiership

We remain one of the leakiest most high carded sides in the league, and as we go forward this season that may make or break us. We have 10 more games before the split. 6 of next month's 8 games are in the league. So, we will need to get at least 8 points from those games to keep an eye on 10th, if history is any indicator. We want it to be our position to lose. Rather than hoping games go our way at the end of the season.

Ryan McAllister

With the January transfer window now open, and most of our resigning players agreed but not finalized we have a couple hurdles to overcome. First is Ryan McAllister. He remains our only natural right attacking midfielder, but has been reported by all staff as barely 2nd division quality. Our strikers are versatile and Dawson can definitely play there if we can find a new starting striker, but the bigger problem is with what money?

Finances

We are likely to be twenty thousand plus over in our wage budget and it will likely look worse with all the loyalty bonuses we agreed to. However, there may be one answer and we have met him before.

Rhys Emerson

Emerson was our reserve striker with Glenavon and has recently been released. He would easily fit in the starting lineup and give us some more offensive fire power. He is happy to come play for us and doesn't want much money, but it may still be too rich for us, as the board have turned down every request we have put in for financially or facility-wise.

Next up is at home against Crusaders. Hopefully we can start our recapture of form there.

Thanks everyone for following along. Go City!

[DrChristopher]

January 2029

Schedule

January ends our stressful congested part of the season, and we killed it! 6 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss. 13 points in the league, we are now flying high in 9th. 9 points clear of the relegation playoff spot, and a full 16 points clear of the automatic relegation. We are now just 4 games from the split, and 9 games left total in the league. We have 30 of 40 points that normally keeps teams out of relegation. I think 3 more wins would theoretically have us feeling pretty safe. Amazingly we are 3rd in the league in form.

Competitions

We also won both cup games, despite playing 2nd teamers. I feel from here on out I want to keep our foot on the gas in the league. So we will most likely be knocked out shortly as only 9 of our 11 players are premiership quality as it stands, but that is a huge improvement to the 2-3 players at the beginning of the season.

Club Vision

The board are also thrilled with us, but I'm not sure if they have the finances to extend my contract right now. It will be quite interesting to see what the board will be demanding next season. As I am fairly confident we will be able to remain in the top flight.

Rhys Emerson

In the January transfer window we have done some great business. Not only have the board allowed us to resign all of our top and expiring talent but we were also able to get some great additions to the club. First is Rhys Emerson. He was really lacking in match sharpness when he arrived so we haven't got to see his full potential yet, but I like what I see so far.

Shane Lavery

Next is our single loan for the window. Lavery is a Dungannon youth talent who was bought by larne this season for $190,000, possibly raising to $450,000. He has never played a minute for any senior side until now. Here. Where he undoubtedly comes in as our starting striker alongside Emerson. How 17 year olds have that kind of touch in front of goal is incredible. If all bodes well I hope to extend his contract through to next season.

Daljit Abas

Last was our dream signing at center back. Abas was expiring with Glenavon and they allowed him to join us at the end of his contract. So come next season he will be a permanent fixture here, and with those mentals thank god.

Finances

We do have some headaches on the horizon however. We are over our projected wage budget already for next season. Meaning we will have to sell some players or we will be roughly stuck in the same spot in the table.

Central Midfielders

This month we will be looking at our central midfielders. We currently run a two man midfield. So, our current starters are Lynch and Gorman. Gorman has been a long time starter for the club. Both players are most likely playing at the top of their game, and so we may need new talent to fly to any new heights. 

Carlin was originally our midfielder for the future, but has been playing mostly at right back the last two months.

Walsh and McLaughlin are our second teamers and are both great injections off the bench. However, despite Walsh's apparent potential, several staff are claiming he will never surpass 4 stars of talent. So, tough to tell what the depth we have with him.

Lastly are Cristea, Doran, and O'Toole no doubt in that order. They are playing well with the Reserves and U18 respectively and are helping led both sides to mid table finishes.

Paul Lynch

We purchased Paul on a free from Larne, when we arrived. He is certainly a solid Premiership midfielder, but with the state of the league on the rise, we will need to continue to arm ourselves with talent.

Next match is our 6th round Northern Irish Cup clash against Glentoran. They will certainly be trying to avenge our last win against them. Hopefully we play them well here and again in the league just before the split.

Thanks for reading along and happy FMing wherever you are!

Edited September 5, 2022 by DrChristopher

[DrChristopher]

February 2029

Schedule

My plan to loss my cup games failed. We played our weakest 2nd string side against the mighty Dungannon and won... In fact we are now in the Mid Ulster Cup Final! However with Glenavon awaiting us at the top, I'm afraid the dream run ends here as Glenavon have been dominate so far this season. Particularly against us.

Competitions

Nonetheless our great form has earned us 8th with one more game before we play against the relegation group split. Institute play a hard game against Larne before the split so I hedge that they will join us as 7th, but you never know. I think we are safe however as I cannot see Glentoran winning 4 of their last 6 games, and our side not securing at least 2 points somewhere. Which means we will most likely play our heart out in the cups to finish the season and secure as much prize money as we can. I just hope the board will give us more scouting and wage budget as we really could use it.

Transfers

I wanted to link the final transfers by price as we end the season. A noticeable tread has appeared. We continue to sell for higher fees, but we are occasionally letting perennial talent go to China or England. Furthermore I had hoped that players would slowly trickle down the leagues in Northern Ireland but we are the only team outside the big 4 that are spending any money on players. Perhaps that is because the Championship has remained a 0.5 star reputation league while the top flight is now 2.5 stars. Either way I think the new design of this save will be to try to make Northern Ireland into the greatest league in Europe. To do that though we are gonna need to drive to the top, and get some transfer money to start bringing in talent from abroad.

Right Attacking Midfielders

Meanwhile we must maximize the talent we have. We are very light at right attacking midfield. Alex Dawson our best scorer is moved to the starting position, but is unfortunately not getting much better now that he is nearing 27. Tuffey is good, but is playing striker. Ryan McAllister was our former starter, but his performances forces us to find other options in the market. He is a great option in the cups though, and he has been playing well in that capacity.

Our real joy is Sergio Malandro, he is expected to be better than everyone except perhaps Abas and Carlin, but he has played well thus far in the reserves and in some cup ties. Time take time though and I think he is still a year or two away from making the starting lineup.

You may say but coach what about Kane? What about him? He was struggling at the U18s level before he aged out and without a team interested in loaning him. I am happy to release him at the end of the season.

Alex Dawson

Dawson has been playing well, but that has been helped strongly by his penalties in which I feel like he has missed numerous. Either way he has now become a club icon so I will keep him around until the wheels fall off.

Sergio Malandro

Brazilian brought through the youth setup at Limavady United when they were just a 3rd division squad. He never played for a senior team until he joined us, but his professionalism was a huge win. Alongside his blistering pace he was impossible to pass up despite having to pay a price tag for him. Undoubtedly we will be giving him every opportunity with playing time and via team leadership roles. 

Danske Bank Premiership

That leads us to the final 6 games of the season, we haven't got the schedule. Nonetheless I think this would be a great time to test out some of the reserves at senior level to see who we want to be around the first team come the start of next season.

Our next matchup is in a quarter final Northern Irish cup match against Ballymena United at home. We have been inconsistent against them so far this season with two draws and a loss. So wish us luck at we attempt to secure a $65,000 appearance fee for making it to the semi finals.

Go City!

[DrChristopher]

March 2029

Schedule

A win, a loss, and a draw. We had an incredible run but were unable to keep Glenavon off the scoreboard in extra time. Therefore they will walk away with the Mid Ulster Cup. We do make the Northern Irish cup semi though. So once that is played we will be collecting some nice appearance money. 

Competitions

We remain 11 points ahead of 10th in the league. One more win will likely secure us relegation safety. Typical, our final 5 games scheduled in the league were not kind, as all 3 teams below us are away and both team above us are at home. Meaning the games we should be winning are that much harder and the games we likely won't win are gonna hurt worse at home. We never manage to be the team that get 3 home games of the 5, but I digress. 

Finances

We continue to trickle in small sums as the season rounds out. Which bodes well as we really want some better budgets than the equal budget they are projecting for next season.

Resigned as Manager

The team also resigns us to another two-year contract, but I was hesitant to sign for a 10k increase as we really could use the funds elsewhere. Either way its good to have that item over with and the media can move on.

Youth Intake

We also had our youth intake and I figured each season I'll review this by showing the U18s with the youth prospects included. This year our particular highlights are Riley and Petrovski. Riley is suspected of being better than anyone at the club in potential except Carlin. Whereas Petrovski is projected to be better than McCabe our starting left back. The last real signing of note is Fitzpatrick who may eclipse Alex Dawson in skill when he is older.

Henry Riley

Balanced with decent mentals for a young player. Plus after having lack luster youth intakes in the past having one stand alone talent that will lead the team for seasons to come is more than welcome. He will have his work cut out from him in a crowded midfield.

Riste Petrovski

Petrovski is exactly the personality you love to see which was the reason we signed him despite his very low current ability. His passing out of the back field should be a real treat to watch as he grows.

Starting XI

Also once a year I want to show you the 30ish players that hang around our senior team. First the starters. Guided well by our two new signings. Moran in goal has also been lights out throughout our good form the last couple months.

Second XI and Reserves

Other notable players in the backups and reserves include Mullan and Tuffey. I wish both weren't getting up in age, but they add a lot of security when playing the reserves or needing help off the bench. Furthermore Ryan Campbell has really not had the current ability to be play often, but he has been incredible every time.

Next up we play Dungannon again in the semi finals of the cup. If we can pull off another miracle win we will secure $180,000 in prize money just making it to the next round. Money we could really use to make a splash with as that is easily 60% of our wage budget for this entire year.

Thanks again for following along! 

Cheers and best of luck in your own saves.

Edited September 7, 2022 by DrChristopher

[DrChristopher]

April 2029

Schedule

April was a wild month that nearly saw us eclipse Crusaders for 7th on the last day of the season. Portadown will find themselves in the Championship next season alongside either Warrenpoint or Glentoran, whoever losses that Relegation Playoff. Also, a closer game than we would have guessed against Dungannon in the Northern Irish Cup saw us nearly miss out on two finals appearances this season.

Danske Bank Premiership

We really managed to ditch our bad goal differential by the end of the season. The board gave reasonable expectations to "avoid relegation" for next season as we are projected by the media to finish 8th/9th. Hopefully they won't make the cup expectations too high to compensate, as they usually do.

Club Vision

They finally are allowing as to have a 3rd coach. I as soon as the board approved I threw out some staff searches.

Finances

All this to say they wrapped these expectations all in a nearly $100,000 wage increase. We immediately went out and signed three players, 2 of which you meet now.

Daniel Brown

First is Daniel Brown. Any long time reader of this series knows he was our starting center back with Ballinamallard two seasons ago. For some reason he was let go and we nabbed him on a free. He will slot straight into a starting role.

Left Attacking Midfielders

This month we will be covering our team at Left winger.

Our newest signing Callum Campbell was also picked up on a free and will be our new starter. He was former a youth product of ours at Dungannon, but had been playing regularly for Crusaders the last three years until January when they released him.

Stephen Lindsay was actually starting for us for a majority of the season after coming in on a free from H & W Welders in the Championship just before I arrived. A bit of rocky start, but if we can hone him in on getting better at a single position, I think he could easily become a solid rotational player for seasons to come. We may outpace him if we continue to secure better and better talents however.

Fletcher and R. Campbell are both great prospects, but I don't ever see them being anything more than spot cup starts on occasion. Fletcher nonetheless was one of our best utility players off the bench this last year. 

Irwin, Brennan, and the rest will be moving on at the end of this season, as none will be premiership quality.

Callum Campbell

Callum is a cool part of this series as we are getting some players from Dungannon and Glenavon that weren't good enough there, but are still certainly solid premiership players for us here at Newry now. I was glad to see his physicals were training well as we could use some speed on the wings.

Stephen Lindsay

Lindsay is a little less fitting as a player. We really could use him as rotational player at AML but he has very poor crossing. We are gonna have to help him along in that category if he is going to be depended on decently next season.

We have no matches upcoming until new fixture lists generate. Hopefully I don't spend every last cent by next month. Incredible 1st season all around. Really looking to try for mid-table next season. Just don't tell the board. I want it to be a surprise.

Go City!

[DrChristopher]

May 2029

MVP

Some end of season awards. None for our team of course, but no doubt we recognize many of the winners and runner ups. Almost all of which we brought in personally or coached at one point.

Golden Boot

Never got my hands on Smyth, but he appears to be single-handly keeping Linfield relevant.

Top Young Player

Colin O'Conner will be a new one to look out for. Keeping Coleraine in the top flight.

Newry City AFC

I found my old skins for FM 20, and with them they have a beautiful breakdown of all teams finances on club overview. Here is where we stand. Amazingly our Icon Alex Dawson is nearing the end of the starting XI in terms of current ability. Just goes to show the improvements to the squad we have made since we have been here.

Larne

Meanwhile Larne are filthy rich. 10 mil in transfer spends and 36x our wage budget. If anyone is getting to use that money I am glad it is our old friend Steven Davis.

Glenavon

Ruscoe and Glenavon have been losing money a bit, but still have 10x our budget. However, they still won the league title with 4 points to spare on Dungannon. So, maybe that champions league money will give them a second financial life.

Dungannon

Dungannon and young manager Emanuel have been selling heavily the last two years so they look pretty good financially, but we certainly remember signing their key player Kamga.

Linfield

Last of the top 4 is a very human looking Linfield. Only 3x our budget they look the most beatable of the European bound sides. Also surprisingly Smyth is no longer their star player. Glad to see the original aim of this series (which was to dethrone Linfield) has certainly been achieved.

Strikers

This month we will be looking at our strikers. Shane was secured for another 6 months, but after that if Larne don't resign him you know we will. 

This is followed by Dawson who will most likely slot back at striker next season as that is where he plays best. Both players will be our starting striker partnership.

Next is Emerson and Tuffey both seemed to have actually regress a little and now both only "Leading Championship" quality players. We will most likely be selling them on this year if possible. Slowly though as the beginning of the season always needs the extra depth.

Then its a 3 way tie for reserve striker. Lehane has my vote right now, as he played spot minutes for us all last season. Dempster more or last can still be a utility reserve and likely will top out as that. Ryan Campbell is as I said last month interesting. Maybe even a little more capable of breaking in as a striker, but I need to be shown while he plays out on loan, but he could be recalled if needed.

Quilty is the lad we took a flyer on last youth intake as his "fairly professional" personality made him look the most likely to seize his potential, but no big jumps as of yet.

Shane Lavery

Averaging a 7.39 rating for us Shane is awesome. He was a huge boost to us as we finished out the season, and I look for more of the same as we strive for mid-table and a play-in spot for Europe.

Eddie Lehane

Lehane has my blessing to go and earn the next promotion from the reserves, but with 3 goals from 25 appearances last season. I need to see more. I don't want to send him out on loan, but we may see if the championship or the PIL can recharge his passion. 

Hope you guys don't mind a look around at the other teams in Northern Ireland's top flight and players. We are waiting on our incoming 7, possibly 8, signees to arrive next month. As well as dive into who is getting the first team nod.

Thanks for reading, happy FMing wherever you are!

Edited September 10, 2022 by DrChristopher

[DrChristopher]

June 2029

Club Vision

The signings have all arrived and the board didn't miss a second to inflate our expectations. We didn't even get starters, most of the talent coming in were young players that will need to improve. Nevertheless, they are now expecting a mid-table finish and late cup runs! This is gonna be a rough season. We cannot afford a slow start like last year.

Daljit Abas

First to return this time on a full contract was Abas. Those 5 full stars of potential are good to see, but we are gonna have to get the board to improve our facilities and raise our level of play to make sure he reaches that. His 26 appearances and average rating of 6.89 out of the defense was definitely a strong aid to us last year. So, he will continue to start this season at centerback.

Jim Beattie

Jim was cut from Warrenpoint, but refused to sign outright for us. Glenavon snapped him up and luckily he agreed to join us on loan. He is the only loanee added, but unfortunately that does push Dawson to the second team. He is still the first name off the bench, but kind of sad moment to see us surpassing a legend.

John Connolly

Connolly is our keeper of the future he was originally scouted as 5 star potential, but has drifted to 4 stars, he is expected to be much better than Moran, but he will need a few developmental years before he can take that mantel. 

Robert Evans

Evans was a great bit of business. We talked Warrenpoint down to $9,000 transfer fee for this superstar looking talent. He already comes in as a reserve midfielder. Further more he immediately was winning team of the week awards in the championship for Warrenpoint last season, as soon as he was generated in the youth intake. Then he leads them to narrowly missing out on promotion. He is one of several of our young players the top 4 sides have tried to buy off us since he came in.

Muhammed Fatai

Let go by institute after 3 matches in the premiership last season. We jumped on him and got him for free despite a couple competing clubs for his signature. He seems to still have loads of potential. First though we will sent him out on loan to get some experience with Dergview in the Championship. He will be their starting left winger there. He is third in the depth chart so, if we run into any injury concerns don't be surprised if he is back in the senior team.

Albi Idrizaj

Another familiar face from Ballinamallard United. Idrizaj was out on loan in the JD Premier where he caught fire, then was recalled only to help Ballinamallard promote at the first time of asking last season. He was astonishingly not given another contract and so we yanked him into our reserves where is currently sitting as our 5th best striker. So if any injuries happen he may see some significant cup time.

Gary Larmour

Gary was a bit of a reach. Don't get me wrong the potential is there and he did average a 6.99 for this old side last season. However, that seasonal best 11 and other accolades came at the Police Service of Northern Ireland side, while they played in the Bluefin Sport Premier Intermediate League in division 3 of the Northern Irish football pyramid. Nonetheless he has impressed coaches massively and he will start right away at the right wing. 

Robert Pritchard

Robert is a winner he won his first season in the reserves league, got Limavady United promoted to the Championship, then went to Ballinamallard and helped get them promoted to the Danske Bank Premiership. So he is the Jamie Vardy of this save, and he will come in as easily our best right back. Plus, I like collecting players with great professional personalities.

Starting XI

That brings us the the starting 11 as it stands. It is also good to see that our starters include only 4 players over the age of 21. I think this will help us greatly build for the future. Also nicely our top wage is Danny Mullen at $24,000 a year. However, with 6 of the starters' contracts ending this year. This may be the year of reckoning and require us to cough up some major dough for the lads as they get better.

Ryan Carlin

Carlin has become far and away our best player in my eyes. The top 4 teams are still putting in unsettling $0 bids for him. Luckily he hasn't pitched a fit about not going yet. I think this will be the year he claims top young player in the premiership.

Schedule

Fixture list was also released alongside the media optimistically suggesting we will able to obtain a comfortable 6th place finish. I just wish the board didn't see that new article. From first glance though we have 2 home games against Glenavon, Ballinamallard, and Dungannon. Which should help us quell or at least play better in those hyped up media rivalries.

Thanks for following along! I know its a lot of pictures, but hopefully there will be more substance next month.

Cheers!

Edited September 11, 2022 by DrChristopher