Frozen In Time

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

I've spent most of the last 10 months using the editor more than playing a save in FM23. I've now finally settled on my database and found this forum. I've sometimes dropped in to have a read, so I'm hoping that posting here will maintain an interest for me and to help me "get into" my save. So I will give this a go and if I put any steps out of line then please put me right. 

The world that my save will be set in is one that harks back to the 1980s. I thoroughly recommend the trilogy of books by Steven Scragg, one of which, is where I have stolen the title of this thread! 

I will be using my 80s database which reverts back to the old style European Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup, and the UEFA Cup. I am also using my 6 team Club World Cup, as I hate the new format being introduced by FIFA. It's the same format as the 7 team version just minus the hosts. I have removed the compulsory Wembley FA Cup semi finals so that club grounds can be used again, and replays are present in every round including the FInal. To make the old ways complete I am using an enjoyable file from @Tonton-Oni, which does away with the new formats of International football and rewinds the clock back 15 years. To complete my world I am using the Around the Globe megapack by @DaveTheEditor, and most of the files from @Daveincid's Increase Realism megapack. Also Northern Ireland, and England have been extended so that lower leagues are active below what the vanilla game offers.

My play will not be high speed, so don't expect me to zip through the seasons at pace. I plan on carrying this save into FM24 if the new feature works as it promises to. I have many leagues loaded and the countries active will change each season, with 9 permanent countries. Active countries are all dependant on what nations have representatives at certain stages of continental competitions. Each nation's divisions will be active, and I will have the top division and the top domestic cup competition on full detail, along with full detail for all the continental and international matches. See why I told you my seasons won't fly by 🙂. At the end of the day, I am looking to get a realistic game-world. Well, as realistic as I can by replacing most of the modern day competitions!!

I always start with no coaching badges, and a Sunday league reputation. Northern Ireland is where I begin, as this is where I have lived for the last 21 years. Unemployed of course, and looking for a job in the 3rd tier. The countries i have begun with are as follows: 

I holidayed for one season to September 2023, to bring me to around now. Here's a little bit of background of what happened in that season. Germany are the World Champions, defeating France 1-0 in extra time. Real Madrid did a treble, winning the European Cup, La Liga, and the Club World Cup. Real Betis beat Liverpool 2-1 to lift the Cup WInners' Cup, but were soundly thrashed 7-0 by Real Madrid in the Super Cup in August! The UEFA Cup final was an all English affair with Tottenham defeating Man Utd 2-0 on aggregate to finally give Harry Kane a winners medal!! Something of interest in the UEFA Cup was the quarter final clash between Tottenham and Arsenal. 2-2 after both legs saw Spurs triumph on penalties. Can you imagine the atmosphere around North London that evening?!

Arsenal won the Premier League with a 90th minute winner at West Ham, when the title was otherwise going to Anfield, reminiscent of the 1989 Michael Thomas "it's up for grabs now" moment. Inter, Bayern, PSG, Benfica, and Feyenoord won their respective leagues, and will all be representing their nations in the European Cup next season.

And so, with me up to date I am now on the lookout for a job. Every 19th December* I will be using the add/remove function, and by the June the next year some countries will come and go. I won't remove a nation I am playing in, but my only rule is I can only apply for a job in an active nation (ie I won't add a nation unless they have met my own qualification criteria). Once I get my first job in N Ireland I will allow myself to move anywhere in the world. I am English, by the way, so that is my nationality in the game.

* (the exception is this first season as I missed my imposed deadline as the save overwrote itself. It's ok, in Dec 2023 I will add new nations, and things will revert to normal the year after.)

Game date has now reached 18th December 2023, and a job has become available in the N Ireland 3rd tier. I have applied and await a reply. Tomorrow's game date is when I will add new nations to this save.

Thanks for reading this far!!

[Sizeman21]

Sounds like a awesome adventure. Eager to see where the journey takes you!

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Thanks @Sizeman21, I am looking forward to this!

Armagh City have offered me an interview. They currently sit bottom of the Premier Intermediate League, which is the 3rd tier of Northern Ireland.

They want me to avoid relegation, and be competitive in the cups, and get to the latter stages of the Mid Ulster Cup. I agree to everything including working with a Director of Football. I await their decision. I have added and removed some nations, and they will kick in between January and June. 

In other news, England hosted the Club World Cup, and the Final was played at the London Stadium. Real Madrid beat Flamengo 3-0 to retain the trophy they won last season. 

Edited September 17, 2023 by \'Appy \'Ammer

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

I am now the new manager of semi pro outfit, Armagh City. I was offered £250 per week but I managed to negotiate it up to a whopping £325 per week! My contract will last until May 2025 so hopefully I will get the time to turn things around. In between the job interview and being offered the role, the team beat relegation rivals PSNI, so the gap at the bottom is only 3 points now.

Out of the 4 cup competitions we had to be competitive in, we have already been knocked out of 3 of them! Our next match is 4 days away where we are at home to Ballymacash Rangers. A brief look about the club shows we are financially screwed, with a club debt of £-48,580. The debt graph is only going in one direction, a bit like the team at the minute. We have a large squad that has only 1 goalkeeper, no reserve team, and 10 players in the under 18s. The youngsters are not in a league this season, and so will only be playing friendlies. It looks like I am going to have my work cut out.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

So my tenure as manager has begun. Here is my profile.

In a very surreal FM moment, I discovered that I actually know 2 of the staff at this club. The Assistant Manager, Alex Clifford, is a coach in women's football over here, and he has coached my daughter when she was younger. Also one of the first team coaches, Mickey O'Neill, was a player at Irish league level, and I played with him at a lower league team in the last few years of my footballing days. It's very strange seeing his picture come up as he is in my face pack. I'm not sure if I'll keep them both, as it just feels weird LOL!!! 

Anyway, back to the non reality of my game.... I asked the assman to select the squad for the first match. There's already a couple I may change as the stats seem to back them up, but for the meantime I'll go with his choice for the first match. I have successfully managed to upset all the players, yes the whole squad, with my first meeting with them. I dared to suggest that they were good enough to avoid getting dragged into a relegation battle, and also promised them strengthening the defence and goalkeeping areas. Well now I have apparently heaped too much pressure on them. Great! 

My first press conference went without hiccups, and I have settled on my usual 442 formation. Players to note are a 19 y/o midfielder, Harry Norton, who has got better tackling and interception stats than Alex Clifford's choice of Gary Henderson in the middle. There's also a 17 year old Scottish striker, Billy Cummings who has 3 goals to his name and could prove competition for the experienced Stefan Lavery up front. Lavery is joint top goalscorer with 4 (yes FOUR) goals, with 16 year old Aaron Parker. Parker has impressed the staff by the looks of it this season, and has much potential. Overall the squad is thin in places but seems to have a healthy blend of youth and experience. I'm hopeful, that with a few additions we can get ourselves out of trouble. I have a transfer budget of £1 😊, but that is life at this level. I've also put an early request to study for a coaching badge, and will hear back in due course. And so our first match is 2 days away and is the last of the calendar year.

[oche balboa]

Enjoying this. Great to see a throwback to past competitions (As it should be) 

What skin are you using? looks really good

 

KUTGW mate 

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Thanks @oche balboa. The skin is from @keysi, but it was one he didn't release this year. This is one of his earlier versions and he was kind enough to let me use it. I changed the font to be like his fm22 skin. I find his skins very easy on the eye. 

Edited October 23, 2023 by \'Appy \'Ammer
corrected Rensie's username

[DomD]

Love the concept of using the old European Cup formats. Good luck. I'll following to see how far you can take your career.

[Vakama2619]

Also following along!

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Thanks for the interest in the thead.

Mr Murphy, the Chairman, got back to me about my request to study for my first coaching badge. Initially it was flatly rejected, as he was concerned the training would fall behind. I ended up having to promise that all training areas would be covered and no coaches would be overloaded with too much work to do. Mr Murphy said that he will monitor how things go in the next 4 weeks, if he is satisfied that I have kept my promises then he will allow me to start my coaching badge. This wasn't really how I planned my initial request would end up going, oh well!!

So matchday arrived and here are the line-ups for my first match.

Unusually for me I decided to watch the full game in a speeded up version. We started off brightly and took the lead after Parker was pushed over in the box. He got up to score the penalty for his 5th goal of the season. Parker was the provider 11 minutes later with a delicious through ball to Stefan Lavery who fired in from the angle of the 6 yard box, also for his 5th of the season. By the 68th minute I had got bored of watching the full 90, as I was struggling to keep tabs on things, so I switched to comprehensive highlights. Things went wrong after that, I suppose it was inevitable, all my fault! An 80th minute free kick swung into the box met the head of an unmarked Ballymacash player, who laid the ball neatly to another unmarked Ballymacash player! With 5 minutes left to play they broke down the left and whipped in a cross which was met superbly on the volley by Man of the Match, Ferguson. Corrigan had no chance in goal as it rifled past him into the back of the net. I thought we had won it in the 88th minute when Henderson lobbed the ball over the Ballymacash defence for Aaron Parker to run on to and put it into the goal, only for the linesman to flag him offside. It was a very debatable offside, and he looked on to me. Not happy about it. Final Score 2-2, and the points were shared.

In the grand scheme of things we actually managed to gain a point on the three teams above us, as they all lost. A tough match awaits us next week as we travel to 3rd placed Banbridge Town.

(I kept my counsel in the press conference when asked about the referee!!)

 

 

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

On New Year's Eve the under 18s travelled to Cullybackey Blues. I'm sure the lads were delighted to be playing a match before seeing the New Year in with a few Diet Cokes LOL! The suspended Billy Cummings and the unselected Rhys Emerson were drafted in to play for the youngsters to keep their fitness up. Both notched a goal each in a 3-3 draw. I have been keen to see Billy Cummings play in the first team, so it was good to see him score a goal in this match. He will miss the Banbridge game after being sent off against PSNI before I arrived at the club. Unfortunately the day before the Banbridge game, Crusaders from the Premiership, have put in a bid to sign him. This is a blow. He won't play for their first team, but I'm pretty sure he will be a Crusaders player come mid January.

Having looked at my squad this week, and with the transfer window opening, I sent a scout out to look for a Goalkeeper and a Central Defender. I won't be signing anyone unless they have been scouted, so I'm hoping the scouts come up with something in the next 4 weeks. In preparation for the Banbridge match, I promoted 16 year old Henry McKenna (DC) as I have no central defenders on the bench and one of the current central defenders, Rhys Sharpe, is unhappy as he would rather be playing left back. I need him in the middle of the defence at the minute but I'll see if I can gradually drop McKenna in and see how he fairs. I made 3 changes to the squad from the last game. Caolan Reilly was dropped from the subs bench as he hadn't trained well enough, Mckenna took his place. In the starting 11, Harry Norton replaced Henderson in the middle of midfield, and Ruairi Duffy slotted onto the left wing in place of Jordan King.

The match against Banbridge Town is the first of three away games. Here's the teams.

Things didn't start well as Harry Norton brought Robb down just inside the area to give away a penalty in the 3rd minute. The spot kick was a good height for our keeper and Corrigan saved and hugged the ball to his chest. 3 minutes later we had a penalty of our own after Parker was cruelly hacked down by Banbridge centre back Patterson. Aaron Parker got up to take the penalty and slotted it home neatly into the corner of the net. Things got even better in the 29th minute. The lively Duffy ran with the ball from the half way line and was taken down from behind, 5 yards outside the edge of the box. Spencer Beattie placed the ball down and curled a free kick round the wall and past the keeper to make it 2-0!

I was ecstatic on the touchline but also wary as we had blown a two goal lead in our last match. The match was effectively wrapped up though in the 63rd minute, when Stefan Lavery scored quite an audacious goal. Duffy lofted a long cross field ball over the Banbridge defence from just inside his own half. Lavery had made a run past the last defender into the penalty area. He actually controlled the ball with his left foot, without letting it touch the floor, and then his second touch was a right foot volley across the keeper into the goal off the far post. What a goal!! Needless to say that sent our 20 fans into delirium!!!! I brought the young McKenna on after 73 minutes to give him some game time, all in all this was a good day at the office. Jonathan Corrigan saved a penalty, kept a clean sheet, and went home with the Man of the Match award.

Losses for PSNI and Limavady now means we have closed the gap at the bottom of the league. Next up is an away trip to 4th placed Immaculata up in Belfast.

 

In other news.... across the water, in England, the league is like a throwback to yesteryear. 4th placed Liverpool beat the reigning champions Arsenal to get within 6 points of them with 3 games in hand. They are also pitted against each other in the semi finals of the League Cup this month. The other semi final is between 2nd placed Chelsea, and 3rd placed Man Utd. Man Utd have 4 games in hand on Arsenal and are only 5 points behind them, so at the half way stage it looks like the Premier League will be hotly contested this year. Vincent Kompany's (!) Man City are in 6th spot which is a surprise.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by \'Appy \'Ammer
forgot the league table, and poor grammar

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

The expected news that I feared....

Bugger 😒

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

The loss of Cummings is a disappointment, but as soon as Crusaders came in for him I knew we wouldn't be able to keep hold of him, even though he has only joined their youth outfit. Our own u18s were in action the day after the Banbridge game. Rhys Emerson scored one of our goals in a 4-2 loss away to Antrim Eagles u18s. That's 2 in 2 matches in the youth team for the 20 year old striker.

There's been interest this week from 3 teams in the league below us for our central midfielder Spencer Beattie. I don't expect him to leave but he is on a non contract, so he holds the aces. I've gone for the same team and squad that played so well against Banbridge last time out. 

This was a disappointment. We didn't create enough, and failed to contain right winger Brad Jackson who contributed 8 key passes in the game. Nelson Agho scored 2 goals for Immaculata, the first was a header that came from a whipped free kick into the box. The second was a neat finish when one on one with Corrigan, after Jackson punted a long ball over our defensive line. Norton is now suspended for our next match against relegation rivals Knockbreda next weekend after picking up a yellow card.

No points from this away day, and we remain bottom on goal difference after PSNI lost their fifth consecutive game in a row.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

In the build up to our crucial relegation clash with Knockbreda, I was pleased to hear that Spencer Beattie rejected any advances from any teams by saying he is staying with Armagh. His performances were also superb in training, far exceeding any of his team mate's efforts. Rhys Sharpe hasn't trained well at all and I'll be watching his performances closely. Another week has gone by without the scouting team recommending anyone. We are now two thirds of the way through January and I am starting to get twitchy that we will be left short in defence and goalkeeping positons. 

And so to match day, away to 10th placed Knockbreda. I considered McConnell playing in the middle but in the end I opted for Henderson to replace the suspended Norton. 

I told the players before the match that I wanted a win today, and we duly started the brighter of the two teams. Excellent work from Watkins down the right flank was rewarded when, Stefan Lavery side footed us in front with a neat finish past the keeper on 8 minutes. Spencer Beattie was struggling with a potential groin injury and was signalling after about 15 minutes to come off. We didn't get the substitute on quick enough as Liam Corr scored a goal mouth scramble, which involved the injured Beattie.

I mentioned Rhys Sharpe's poor training earlier, well he was totally at fault for their 2nd goal on 26 minutes. A long ball from their defender drifted over Sharpe's head just outside the area, and he failed to react. Kanwei did react however, and as a result of Sharpe's inability to clear a ball, the Knockbreda forward found himself one on one with our keeper. He nestled the ball neatly into our goal for 2-1. We had a couple of good chances, from both Lavery and Henderson before the break to equalise, only to find their keeper in fine form.

I usually remain fairly calm but I lost the plot in the dressing room. A few water bottles went flying and I sent them back out motivated. We were huffing and puffing but really getting nowhere. The turning point was on 77 minutes when Corr lunged in recklessly on Geraghty, who received a straight red card from Louise Thompson. Thankfully our player was unhurt in the challenge. As a result of having the man advantage, we tried to spread the play into the wide areas and to pass more to each other to keep the ball, and tire them out in the process.The Knockbreda defence was finally broken in the 88th minute. A free kick from the half way line was lobbed in by the young Henry McKenna, who had replaced Rhys Sharpe earlier in the half. Aaron Parker jumped clear of the defender and headed the ball over the keeper into the net for a deserved equaliser.

A draw was possibly a fair result, and with only 2 games in the league this weekend, we have climbed off the bottom of the table.

Our next league game is not until the 17th February, almost a month away! We take on Bangor in that match, just as we do next weekend in the 3rd Round of the Intermediate Cup. I just hope we have a couple of additions added to our squad before that transfer window closes.

Edited October 5, 2023 by \'Appy \'Ammer

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

The post match press conference was an upbeat affair and I heaped praise upon our team for getting a late equaliser. Rhys Sharpe, of all players, was very pleased with my comments! I wonder if he is feeling guilty for being at fault for one of the goals and for being lazy in training sessions? 

The under 18s had a good 5-0 win away to Lisburn Rangers. Rhys Emerson scored again! On the recruitment front things are moving very slowly. I've asked the scouting team to focus on a goalkeeper and central defenders, and so they have recommended 2 strikers!!! (all be it good ones!). My Deadline Day recruitment meeting left me feeling quite deflated.

Tuesday morning this appeared in my news inbox:

 

By Wednesday morning this was in my inbox:

By Friday morning we had this news:

The transfer embargo is a bit frustrating. Great idea to do this in the last few days of the transfer window! What I don't know is does a transfer embargo include signing players on non contracts or not? We didn't have a transfer budget as it was, so I was only ever going to sign players on non contracts or loans. I suppose I will find out exactly what it means if I get the opportunity to bid for any players of interest in the next few days. 

And so my attentions now turn to tomorrow's cup match against Bangor...

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

On Saturday morning I was greeted with this message in my inbox: 

The new Chairman informed me that there will be no immediate investment in the club, but fortunately our transfer embargo has been lifted.

Harry Norton returned to the starting XI after serving his suspension. Henderson dropped back to the bench with Reilly making way, McCormack and McCrea were also not selected as the Intermediate Cup rules state only 5 subs allowed on the bench.

The match started well as we took the lead on 4 minutes. Watkins travelled from right wing to left with the ball into the Bangor half, a pass to Geraghty, and an immediate pass to Duffy took the ball deep into their territory. Duffy crossed from the byline where the ball found Lavery, who had lost his man, and scored with a precise, simple finish. Jordan Hughes had the ball in the net for Bangor on 31 minutes but was deemed offside.

On 53 minutes Beattie produced a great diagonal ball out to Duffy on the left wing. Man of the Match, Duffy, immediately crossed and found the unmarked Lavery (again) who made it 2-0 with a rifled shot from 8 yards out. Hughes had the ball in the net for Bangor 60 seconds later, but was again flagged for offside. The unfortunate Hughes ended up being offside on NINE occasions throughout this match! Parker almost made it 3-0 fifteen minutes later when through one on one with the keeper, only for the Bangor stopper to pull off a decent save.

The match was totally wrapped up in the fourth minute of injury time. Sahid Watkins produced a magical curling free kick from 25 yards out to seal our passage into the next round. 

   

A very pleasing win, and one that I hope we can repeat in our next match against the same opposition in 3 weeks time.

Edited October 8, 2023 by \'Appy \'Ammer

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

The down side of the Bangor win were the yellow cards received by Sharpe and Geraghty. Both are now suspended for our next league match against the same opposition. Welcome news, however, was the new Chairman informing me I can start studying for my National C License badge.

With no first team match due for three weeks, there's a lot of news items popping up and clicking to do. The new week saw the Under 18s draw 1-1 away to Chimney Corner, Stephen Beggs the goalscorer. The next round of the Intermediate Cup has paired us with a trip to Rathfriland Rangers. They are currently 5th in the Northern Amateur League Premier Division, a level below our tier 3. Sharpe and Geraghty will be available for that match as it is scheduled to be played 3 days after the Bangor match.

We had a recruitment team meeting during the week, 2 days before the transfer window closes. The scouts have come up with no suggestions, so this prompted me to check out what they have on their lists so far. For the record we have 2 scouts, so this could be slow progress. There were only a handful of players where scouting was in progress. One or two looked promising according to the information gathered so far, but I want to stick to my realism principle and only bid for a player once fully scouted. I checked out the league rules on transfers and we are able to sign free transfers up to the 31st March. That is useful, as we won't be getting anyone in during the final 2 days of the transfer window, unless our Director of Football supplies anyone for me as a surprise gift!!!

I am encouraged with the gameplay Quality of Life information about transferring careers from FM23 to FM24. I had prepared myself to be disappointed but it actually looks like I will be able to move this edited database into the new version. 

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

 

This one was totally unexpected, he was only signed by the club in July!!! What is very surprising was he was getting lots of game time, he was performing well, but he has chosen to drop down a level to tier 4!

This is a blow. Beattie was one of our main players and will be sorely missed. H & W Welders are 10th in the Championship and are in a relegation battle. He's moved up a level and he will be tough to replace immediately.

I'm not sure just how worried I should be, even though the transfer window has closed. The players are all on non contracts, and unless I have misunderstood the rules, are free to leave at any time. I'm hoping I will be able to add to the squad using the freebie system in the next month or so. During January we had the most players leave the club in our division. How is this going to effect our immediate future for league survival? Time will tell.