[FM24] Tulach Bòide [Scotland Tier 13]

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2028. 

We've got 41 players on the books, (even though I released 8 more last month). 

22 of them are in the U18 Squad and are all aged 15-17. 
19 of them are in the Senior Squad and they range from the youngest at 16 years old, to the oldest at 20 years old, (and there is just 1 non-teenager at the club as of today). 

We don't have many staff and of course our facilities are pants, and as well as that our U18's don't play in a league so last season for example, (when we lost in the 1st game of the FA Youth Cup), there were no other games scheduled and I had to manually create a friendly to allow the U18's to play 1 game per week. 

With regards to the 1st Team squad, my plan is still to run a 1st Team and a 2nd Team, with the 2nd Team playing friendly every week where we don't have a mid-week game. 

Everyone who doesn't start in either the 1st XI or the 2nd XI will be culled or dropped to the U18's squad. 

I will then go through the process with the U18 squad. There is no point having loads of players who can all play in the same position, (and that's what we have at the moment I think). 

Now we have 21 players covering the 1st Team and 2nd Team in the Senior squad. 

2028.1.

2028.2.

We also have 19 players in the U18's squad, (and that seems ok actually), because 11 starters, 5 subs and a 2nd GK is 17, so I don't think we're too far out at all. This is perfectly manageable and I will just have to cull about 16 players before/during/after the next intake. 

[phnompenhandy]

I'd be interested to see the results if you monitor this more closely than me. My general impression is that players are not developing by just playing friendlies, be they first team, or Under 18s friendlies. Only competitive first team experience counts, which is why you're wise to take the cups seriously. If you are seeing any development in the Under 18s, I'd love to know about it!

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2028. 

Friendlies. The only thing I care about here is the fitness. We play 2 games per week, (just like we do during the normal season), so the 1st Team plays on the weekend and the 2nd Team plays during the week. The only restrictions I place on the friendlies are that they are all 90 mins + pens and that there are no fees to be paid to visiting clubs. 

Finances. 23 season tickets to 26 last season was only a rise of 3 and only 13%, but while a rise this season from 26 to 35 is only a rise of 9 tickets, it's also a rise of 35%. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

I'd be interested to see the results if you monitor this more closely than me. My general impression is that players are not developing by just playing friendlies, be they first team, or Under 18s friendlies. Only competitive first team experience counts, which is why you're wise to take the cups seriously. If you are seeing any development in the Under 18s, I'd love to know about it!

I don't monitor it closely at all and I'll tell you why. It just doesn't matter. At least not to me. 

I think it's too simplistic to say that there is zero development from playing friendlies and just training, but I completely agree that there is significantly less development when a player isn't playing competitive games. 

Obviously Facilities and level of Coaching impact this, so while we have horrendous Coaching & horrendous facilities, we're not really giving them much of a chance. Let's be honest here though, the level of competitive football isn't good either, so that's not giving them the same development opportunities that they would get playing at a higher level  either. 

The comparison shouldn't really be Playing to not playing. Or Playing at x level to playing at y level, but are you using what you have to the optimum level?

I can't play extra competitive games, (other than the Cups).
I can't play at a higher standard, (until next season at least).
I can't sign better Coaches yet. 
I can't improve the Training Facilities yet. 

I can set individual training and PPM and I can do the best with what I've got. 
I can throw 15 and 16 year olds straight into the 1st Team. 

The way I see it, I can either just bin them all off and ignore them, (remember there is very little cost associated with them right now), or I can do my best with them in the background until they are called upon when needed. 

I have 2 players for every outfield position in the 1st Team, (which is 21 players), and the reason for the U18's playing friendlies is the same reason that the 2nd Team play friendlies. So that they are fit when they have to play a game that isn't a friendly. 

Development is really poor across the board at this stage of the save. Let's be honest. No matter how much any of them improve, the chances are either the next intake or the one after that will produce a player in their position who has better CA than they do now never mind about better PA. They simply can't develop at the same rate the club is developing. 

With that in mind, I just completely relax about the development and contrary to how I will play later in the save, I'm just focussing everything on CA right now because to do anything else is a waste. 

[phnompenhandy]

^ Yeah, I'm with you 100%. I just have to work that into my ongoing narrative! Actually, on an associated note, I've figured out that my concept of 'Orkney DNA' (or any DNA) is spurious at this level. Having a club DNA requires you to mould players according to favoured attributes and/or personalities. Given the limitations you outline, they can't be 'moulded' at this level. It can be achieved by using the transfer market to bring in -players that fit the profile, but as we run academy-only saves, that one route is closed to us.

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, phnompenhandy said:

^ Yeah, I'm with you 100%. I just have to work that into my ongoing narrative! Actually, on an associated note, I've figured out that my concept of 'Orkney DNA' (or any DNA) is spurious at this level. Having a club DNA requires you to mould players according to favoured attributes and/or personalities. Given the limitations you outline, they can't be 'moulded' at this level. It can be achieved by using the transfer market to bring in -players that fit the profile, but as we run academy-only saves, that one route is closed to us.

Exactly. I just signed a "spineless" player from the Intake. I don't think I would ever sign a spineless player under normal circumstances. I'm having to ignore Det and Pro and just sign players for what they are now. Nothing else matters. 

It's honestly hard not sorting by PA the whole time, but I would just be wasting my time. If there comes a point where we plateau and appear blocked and the intakes are not getting any better then that's the time where I might have to try and work my magic and develop players, but at the moment I'm really just along for the ride. 

I haven't even changed the original HoYD yet, despite the fact that he liked 433. Really can't be bothered. When we start producing players who have the ability to play in the Scottish Pro leagues then I will have a re-think, but at the moment it really does feel like all I have to do is select an XI to play in each game and make sure everyone is as fit as possible. 

Even PPM's are a waste of time, (but I'm still doing it). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2028. 

Season Preview. Troon seem nailed on for the title, with only Hurlford being given any chance at all and everyone else pitched as rank outsiders. 

Competitions. The only competition we have to worry about performance is the Scottish Non League Cup, (where we have to Reach the First Round), and that means getting past a side who are at the same level as us, (so certainly not nailed on). Everything else is either "Be competitive" or "Fight bravely against relegation". Where do I think we will finish in the league? Haven't a scooby. Last season I thought we might struggle and we romped the league by 9 points. 

West of Scotland 2nd Div. We were 1-0 down and 2-1 down and I really thought we were heading for a 4th successive defeat. Thankfully we turned it around and got our season up and running, (finally). 

Scottish Cup. (The big one). I would love to get far enough to play against, (and beat), a Scottish Football League side. 

(The opposition are in the league above us). This is an absolute disaster. I really had high hopes of going quite far in this competition.  It's also a huge blow in terms of lost income because it's the best/only opportunity to play against bigger clubs and the best way to boost our reputation.  The attendance is brilliant, (and shows they are a decent side), but what a disaster this is. 

Scottish Non League Cup. We didn't lose in 90 mins so there is that, but while (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" might be decent at taking pens, he's absolutely rubbish at saving them. We haven't won a shootout in ages now. 

(The opposition are at the same level as us). We've failed in 1 of our board objectives already. 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup. (I think winning this trophy got us into the South & East & West of Scotland Cup so we might have to prioritise it higher). 

(Our opposition are at the same level as us). 3 Cup games. 3 losses. Not the best start to a season we've had.  I think it's fair to say that this game didn't go to plan. 

Junior Cup. Wow!  Another loss on pens and we're out of another Cup. 

(Our opposition play at the same level as us). 4 Cup games. 4 losses. We're nothing if not consistent. 

Board vision. 

Coaching badges. 

Records. 

Goal-Scoring GK's. Of course the only pen that we were awarded was saved. Of course it was. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 20/23 from the spot at 87%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 9/10 from the spot at 90%.

Finances. 

What an appalling month. Easily the poorest month we've had in the save so far. Absolute disaster. 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[phnompenhandy]

Very interesting, this. We're at the same point in the league (I'm a year further on because of my appalling first season), and in the cups. We've both appear to have hit that glass ceiling on the same (real-world) day! Are we (both? one of us? neither?) going to recover?

[Jimbokav1971]

32 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Very interesting, this. We're at the same point in the league (I'm a year further on because of my appalling first season), and in the cups. We've both appear to have hit that glass ceiling on the same (real-world) day! Are we (both? one of us? neither?) going to recover?

I haven't caught up with your thread for a couple of days so didn't realise you were also struggling. 

I'm hoping mine is just a blip and we will be fine in the league, but really not sure. I guess we will just have to see how it goes. I'm actually surprised that I've gone this far without having a blip yet. I was expecting far more of a struggle, especially when we moved up to the WoS leagues. I think what I had failed to consider is that these leagues are so low and of such a poor standard that there is very little difference in terms of quality between them because the game isn't designed to be played at this low level.

I honestly start each season thinking will this be the season that the bubble burst and then we go and start the season on fire. This is the 1st time we have been rocked early in the season like this, but maybe the fact that it's been the Cups rather than the league will still mean that we can recover?

[phnompenhandy]

3 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I honestly start each season thinking will this be the season that the bubble burst and then we go and start the season on fire. This is the 1st time we have been rocked early in the season like this, but maybe the fact that it's been the Cups rather than the league will still mean that we can recover?

Yeah, that's my strategy. The midweek games overextends us, but a schedule of Saturdays only means we can put out our best side for every league match.

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2028. 

West of Scotland 2nd Div. I was only a little worried after the 1st month, but after speaking to @phnompenhandyand progressing another month I think it's fair to say I'm a little more worried. It's not time to panic yet though. If we can get back to winning ways next month, (especially at home where both our losses have come from), then we will be back in business. 

Transfers. We're used to conceding goals, but we're not so used to struggling to score ourselves. 

(26j) McCallum (Pro) 5'7" has been injured and we've looked just a little short up front so I have brought (25a) Wood (L.Det) SRC back in but he has failed to find the net in his opening back with us. 

Goal-scoring GK's. After missing his 1st pen of the season last month, (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" scores his 1st goal of the season this month. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 21/24 from the spot at 88%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 9/10 from the spot at 90%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2028. 

West of Scotland 2nd Div. It's an unbeaten month, and it's better that what went before, but we're not setting the World alight. We feel like we're in 3rd gear. 

The 2 clubs promoted with us last season were Kello Rovers and Vale of Leven, (who are both in the top 6), so perhaps the level of this league isn't a huge step up and perhaps we're just under-performing. We beat these 2 clubs by 9 and 12 points last season and they are doing well this season. I suppose we're doing ok and it's just the morale hit caused by the 3 Cup losses that have rocked us a little. 

Facilities. We only asked for these upgrades in Jun, so they have been completed in 4 months this time, (although it's possible that were completed earlier and I just didn't notice). Either way the facilities are up to 1.1.14.12. which is mighty impressive for a club of this size, at this level and with this reputation. As with just about everything in FM though, the FM Gods giveth and the FM Gods taketh away. While our facilities are brilliant now, (at least for producing talent if not developing it), we're already had 5 players poached and if I expect to go the same way. As we're also quite a long way away from turning Pro, (I think), this is likely to get worse before it gets better, and as soon as I think I can have a positive conversation I will be asking for another upgrade. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 3 goals in 4 games this month for (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is hopefully a good sign for the rest of the season. His performances in goals have also improved. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 24/27 from the spot at 89%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 9/10 from the spot at 90%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2028.

West of Scotland 2nd Div. Things are looking much more rosy in the league, and the 94th min leveller against top of the table Kello was enough to fire us into the promotion places. 

West Of Scotland Cup. We've played 5 Cup games this season and lost them all, (3 of them on penalties).  You could say it's luck, but I believe that some GK's are good at saving pens and others are bad at saving pens. Unfortunately I have no idea of what determines which group a GK falls into, (and I've given it a lot of thought). I've looked and looked and looked and looked, and after looking for ages I decided that I didn't have a clue. 

(Our opposition are in the same league as us). 

Cup results this season. What the hell is going on here? This is an unmitigated disaster!  Maybe I'm overreacting and if we win the drawn games that we've lost on pens it's not as bad, and one of the games we lost we lost by just 1 goal but..... It's really not good. 

New contract. Finally a contract longer than 1 year. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing this month. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 24/27 from the spot at 89%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 9/10 from the spot at 90%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2028.

West of Scotland 2nd Div. A really good month with 4 wins from 5, and the game we lost was only lost because we had a 1st half sending off. We're much tighter defensively and looking a threat at the other end. At the same time as we hit form, our rivals seem to be falling away. Long may it continue. 

Goal-scoring GK's. We had a change in GK this month as (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" fractured his lower arm and was out for a while and (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" took his opportunity well, scoring 3 goals and keeping 2 clean sheets in 4 games. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 24/27 from the spot at 89%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 12/13 from the spot at 92%.

Finances. 

[Thebaker]

Are you semi-pro or still amateur at the moment. You talked about being pro, i last played in scotland 5 fm's ago and had to reach the prem before turning pro. While it might have changed since then i think most teams below the championahip IRL are semipro.

Looking good for another promotion, you might have the expense of building a new ground if you get too many more promotions

Edited December 15, 2023 by Thebaker

[phnompenhandy]

14 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

Are you semi-pro or still amateur at the moment. You talked about being pro, i last played in scotland 5 fm's ago and had to reach the prem before turning pro. While it might have changed since then i think most teams below the championahip IRL are semipro.

Looking good for another promotion, you might have the expense of building a new ground if you get too many more promotions

We went semi-pro ridiculously early (12th or 11th tier). However, the bigger picture is still as you note - hardly any of the SFL clubs are professional. Even clubs relegated from the Premiership often go semi-pro. Going pro would cripple us though, with unaffordable minimum wage regulations.

What sticks in the craw though, is all the other semi-pro managers get a salary, but we're expected to work for free!

I also noted - and I'm not sure if Jim's aware of this - that in the Lowland League the ground needs a stand with a minimum of 50 seats, so investment is required there.

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Thebaker said:

Are you semi-pro or still amateur at the moment. You talked about being pro, i last played in scotland 5 fm's ago and had to reach the prem before turning pro. While it might have changed since then i think most teams below the championahip IRL are semipro.

Looking good for another promotion, you might have the expense of building a new ground if you get too many more promotions

We're Semi Pro now. I think we turned Semi-Pro at the beginning of last season(ish). 

I haven't got a clue when we will turn Pro, (haven't seen a save like this to use as a comparison). If we don't turn Pro by the Highland/Lowland leagues though I can see poaching of our players becoming rife. 

At some point, (when we have more money), we're going to be able to offer PT contracts rather than just NC contracts aren't we? I can't remember if we get compensation/fees for players sold on PT contracts, (but I think we might). That could be the saving of us. 

Not even sure that we own this ground, and I would much prefer an upgrade or even a groundshare in the early periods of the save, (but I don't think groundshares happen enough in the game). 

Would be a disaster to build a new ground when not already turned Pro. Buying this ground I get, (assuming we don't own it already), and developing it to meet whatever min requirements we need to progress is just something that has to be done. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, phnompenhandy said:

We went semi-pro ridiculously early (12th or 11th tier). However, the bigger picture is still as you note - hardly any of the SFL clubs are professional. Even clubs relegated from the Premiership often go semi-pro. Going pro would cripple us though, with unaffordable minimum wage regulations.

What sticks in the craw though, is all the other semi-pro managers get a salary, but we're expected to work for free!

I also noted - and I'm not sure if Jim's aware of this - that in the Lowland League the ground needs a stand with a minimum of 50 seats, so investment is required there.

I wasn't aware that so many of the SFL clubs are Semi-Pro. Really surprises me. 

Completely agree about going pro. The min-wage requirement is almost unmanageable.

No I wasn't aware that there was a min requirement of 50 seats, and I also don't know if we have any, (although I suspect that our capacity of 500 is all standing). 50 seats isn't a disaster in terms of investment cost. When I read this 1st time I thought it said 500 seats, (and that would have been a problem). 

[Vakama2619]

I didn't realise most clubs relegated from the Prem went semi pro, I thought majoirty of the Championship was pro, just from when Arbroath nearly went up because they were still semi pro

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2029.

West of Scotland 2nd Div. It's a poor month, but we've actually been decent. The results just haven't fallen for us. We missed a pen against Larkhall Thistle, (although it should be said that (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" also saved one himself), and we also hit the woodwork in 3 of the 4 games this month. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 pen scored and 1 pen saved from (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" and 1 pen scored from (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1".

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 25/28 from the spot at 90%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 13/15 from the spot at 87%.

Finances. If you wonder at why our bank balance is dwindling so much, it's 1stly because we crashed out of all the Cups at the 1st time of asking so very little prize money and missed opportunities for big attendances and multiple home games. 2ndly because every time someone makes an offer for 1 of our players I have to offer them a new contract to keep them and while they are on no basic wage, their bonuses keep going up and up. 

Most of the players at the club have an appearance fee of less than £10 per game, but there are a few on more than that and particularly (25a) Wood (L.Det) SRC who you might remember I brought in after our appalling opening month. His signing hasn't been a success though as he has scored just 3 goals from 20 appearances, and in fact our highest goal-scorer is (26j) McCallum (Pro) 5'7" on 7. They're not good figures when you consider that our GK's have scored 9 goals between them, (and also misses 2 pens between them). It's clear to see that our misfiring strikers are the problem here. 

Edited December 15, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[phnompenhandy]

23 minutes ago, Vakama2619 said:

I didn't realise most clubs relegated from the Prem went semi pro, I thought majoirty of the Championship was pro, just from when Arbroath nearly went up because they were still semi pro

I'm going by my save. I checked a few. My own club Inverness Caley has dropped into League One and are semi-pro - perhaps understandable that. But Hamilton Academical are semi-pro and only 4 Championship clubs are Professional - in my save.

(nb it hurts that ICT are midtable League One and bleedin' Johnstone Burgh are top!)

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Vakama2619 said:

I didn't realise most clubs relegated from the Prem went semi pro, I thought majoirty of the Championship was pro, just from when Arbroath nearly went up because they were still semi pro

It's news to me too. 

If I look at the Premiership now in my game, this is the current situation. 

Celtic are Pro.
Rangers are Pro.
Hearts are Pro.
Hibs are Pro.
Kilmarnock are Pro.
Motherwell are Pro. 
Livingston are Pro.
Aberdeen are Pro.
Ross County are Pro.
St Mirren are Pro.
Dundee Utd are Pro. 
St Johnstone are Pro.

Championship. 

Queens Park are Pro. (I didn't realise they were no longer Amateur in real life). 
Dundee are Pro. 
Falkirk are pro.
Queen of the South are Pro.
Ayr Utd are pro.
Dunfermline are Semi-Pro.
Arbroath are Semi-Pro.
Inverness are Semi-Pro.
Partick Thistle are Semi-Pro.
Greenock Morton are Semi-Pro.

League 1. 

East Kilbride are Pro. 
Hamilton are Pro.
Everyone else is Semi-Pro. 

League 2.

Johnstone Burgh are Pro.
Everyone else is Semi-Pro.

Highland League. 

All Semi-Pro.

Lowland League. 

Broomhill FC are Pro. 

That's more Pro clubs than I was expecting. 

[Edit]

@phnompenhandy @Vakama2619 @Thebaker

Dropping down to the Regional leagues below Highland/Lowland...

East of Scotland Premier Division. 

All Semi-Pro.

South of Scotland Football League.

Abbey Vale are fully Amateur and must be in real life because they have been so all the way through the save so far. 
Lochar Thistle are Amateur. 
Creetown are Amateur.
Lochmaben are Amateur. 
Wigtown & Bladnoch are Amateur. 
Stranraer Reserves are obviously the Reserves of a Pro Team. 

North Caledonian League.

All Semi-Pro. 

West of Scotland Premier Division. 

All Semi-Pro. 

Scottish Juniors North Premier Division, (I think this is the North Region League Premier Division that should be at this level)? 

All Semi-Pro. 

Scottish Midlands League. 

All Semi-Pro.

I think that's the 6 levels below Highland/Lowland leagues, but I'm not completely sure reality ends and edited database begins here so apologies. There is now promotion from the Highland/Lowland Leagues to League 2, but there isn't promotion from the real Amateur leagues further below. 

Edited December 15, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[phnompenhandy]

We have some variance then. East Kilbride and Broomhill are Pro out of that lot in my save. QP are in the SPL now and so are Pro. But I have a total of 7 (to your 9) Pro clubs outwith the SPL 12.

And I'm a calendar year ahead of you, so it's not that. I wonder what is causing the variance.

 

EDIT - and Forres Mechanics in the Highland League - weird one!

and more down the pyramid - in the WoS Prem, Blantyre Vics and Threave Rovers.

and Winton Rovers in the WoS First Division, and Dalkeith Thistle (EoS D1) both one level above us.  Madness!

Edited December 15, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, phnompenhandy said:

EDIT - and Forres Mechanics in the Highland League - weird one!

and more down the pyramid - in the WoS Prem, Blantyre Vics and Threave Rovers.

and Winton Rovers in the WoS First Division, and Dalkeith Thistle (EoS D1) both one level above us.  Madness!

They are all Pro clubs? 

I never bothered looking below Highland/Lowland. 

[phnompenhandy]

2 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

They are all Pro clubs? 

I never bothered looking below Highland/Lowland. 

I didn't either until your post. Never occurred to me!

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

I also noted - and I'm not sure if Jim's aware of this - that in the Lowland League the ground needs a stand with a minimum of 50 seats, so investment is required there.

Have finally remembered to look and it will be of no surprise to anyone that 100% if our capacity is terracing. 

The stadiums at this level, (Tier 8 now), aren't huge. 

Seeing the plastic pitches there made me wonder about installing a plastic pitch. I'm pretty sure you can play in the SPL on a plastic pitch. I assume that you can also play in Europe? 

Yeah you can definitely play in the SPL on a plastic pitch and you can obviously play in Europe on a grass/synthetic miz, but I wonder if you can play on a full synthetic surface? 

Edited December 15, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[phnompenhandy]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I think that's the 6 levels below Highland/Lowland leagues, but I'm not completely sure reality ends and edited database begins here so apologies. There is now promotion from the Highland/Lowland Leagues to League 2, but there isn't promotion from the real Amateur leagues further below. 

The database doesn't always show it clearly, but at the end of the season check to see if there are play-offs between champion sand bottom-placed sides.

I wonder what's different in my db to cause those small teams to turn Pro. I didn't touch any of those teams.

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2029. 

If you thought I had already had some nice intakes, then wait until you get a load of this one..... 

You might notice however that despite all the CA on show, (and they're all still 5.0 PA by the way), this is only classed as a 4.0 "Good Intake". To my mind that means that the PA isn't amazing, (although I guess we will be able to test that as we go). 

I've signed everyone, (because who the hell knows what this intake means), but what will be interesting is how these 5.0 CA players impact on the 5.0 PA players that were already at the club? Are we going to have existing players who were showing as 5.0 PA yesterday, but who have been downgraded now because of the new arrivals? (I would expect so). 

I'm not going to show you everyone, but here is a selection.

None of the existing players have dropped even so much as a half point PA, but I think that's most likely because the players haven't actually been signed yet. I think if we progress on a few days and wait for them all to sign their contracts, (none bigger than a £10 appearance fee), then we should likely see that PA hit to existing players that I was expecting. 

[Jimbokav1971]

7 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

The database doesn't always show it clearly, but at the end of the season check to see if there are play-offs between champion sand bottom-placed sides.

I wonder what's different in my db to cause those small teams to turn Pro. I didn't touch any of those teams.

Have you checked the club-history-landmarks to see if there is any info? 

[phnompenhandy]

15 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Have you checked the club-history-landmarks to see if there is any info? 

Bingo.

Tycoon takeovers, all (and here's me with spiv the bloodsucker )

I just checked to see if I had a forgotten chaos file in my editor data folder but no, nothing relevant there.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

4 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Bingo.

Tycoon takeovers, all (and here's me with spiv the bloodsucker )

I just checked to see if I had a forgotten chaos file in my editor data folder but no, nothing relevant there.

Where do you get your backgrounds from please?

[phnompenhandy]

1 minute ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Where do you get your backgrounds from please?

Those are all from the Sortitoutsi Backgrounds Megapack, City Backgrounds, and Stadium Backgrounds - it's all on their website. That's separate to the ones I post in my thread, which I get off Google.

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Youth Intake day. Mar 2029. 

If you thought I had already had some nice intakes, then wait until you get a load of this one..... 

You might notice however that despite all the CA on show, (and they're all still 5.0 PA by the way), this is only classed as a 4.0 "Good Intake". To my mind that means that the PA isn't amazing, (although I guess we will be able to test that as we go). 

I've signed everyone, (because who the hell knows what this intake means), but what will be interesting is how these 5.0 CA players impact on the 5.0 PA players that were already at the club? Are we going to have existing players who were showing as 5.0 PA yesterday, but who have been downgraded now because of the new arrivals? (I would expect so). 

I'm not going to show you everyone, but here is a selection.

None of the existing players have dropped even so much as a half point PA, but I think that's most likely because the players haven't actually been signed yet. I think if we progress on a few days and wait for them all to sign their contracts, (none bigger than a £10 appearance fee), then we should likely see that PA hit to existing players that I was expecting. 

4 days after the intake, all the new players have signed contracts and we've already had an initial impact on the CA/PA of existing players. 

Where as there were no players previously at the club who didn't have 5.0 PA, now there are 11. While my initial reaction was to just bin off all 11, I have to be a little more careful here, because as mentioned to @phnompenhandyrecently, I'm not actually looking at PA right now as a main driver to selection, (because it's too hard to develop them). Instead I've been looking at CA. 

Because we're looking at CA and 8 of these players have both less than 5.0 PA AND are being rated in silver stars rather than gold stars, all the silver CA stars on the above list, will immediately be culled. 

I know I often say not to believe the CA/PA ratings, but before released them I made sure that they weren't 1st choice players, (none were), and in fact although 4 of the 8 had made a 1st Team appearance this season, only 1 was even a 2nd Team starter, (28l) Wilson. So I am double checking what I think with what the CA/Pa stars are telling me. 

We've brought in 16 and I've just released 8 by looking at players who were both low CA AND low PA, so now let's have a look at just low CA. 

I must have missed (28k) Maxwell. (Spineless) off the bottom of the list by accident, (he should have been released already), so he is gone. 

The 2x Weir's aren't actually related so they can go. 

(27m) Niven (F.Det) MC is being played as a MC and we're had 3x MC's come through this intake better than him so he can go. 

(27j) Hay (Bal) MC hasn't made any appearances this season so he can go too. 

So 8 culled before and another 5 now brings us up to 13. I would love to get another 3, but nobody is jumping out at me right now so let's not rush it. 

As and when we see CA drop to silver, or PA drop to lower than 5.0 I will have another look and assuming there isn't a strong reason to keep them then they will leave. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

4 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Those are all from the Sortitoutsi Backgrounds Megapack, City Backgrounds, and Stadium Backgrounds - it's all on their website. That's separate to the ones I post in my thread, which I get off Google.

Ok cheers mate.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Vakama2619 said:

I didn't realise most clubs relegated from the Prem went semi pro, I thought majoirty of the Championship was pro, just from when Arbroath nearly went up because they were still semi pro

All 10 of my Championship clubs are pro in Mar 2029, plus 2 in League 1 and 1 in League 2. 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Where do you get your backgrounds from please?

They look great don't they. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Just now, Jimbokav1971 said:

They look great don't they. 

Yeah they do. Really makes the Scottish experience stand out more.

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2029. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb & Mar 2029.

West of Scotland 2nd Div. We started the month well and I thought we were strolling to the title, but although we led in the EK Thistle game for 92 mins, we still only came away with 1 point thanks to conceding in the 93rd min. The Kello Rovers result was just a disaster and as well as a sending off, we also lost GK (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" with a dislocated shoulder. We now find ourselves in a 4-way battle for the promotion spots, and probably a straight shootout with Vale of Level for the title. 

Now is probably a good time to remind you that the 1, 2, 3 as it stands now, are the 1, 3, 2 from last seasons final WoS 2rd Div table. 

Debuts. I think I changed this about a bit too much in hindsight. 

Facilities. I should have done this at the beginning of the season, but I was sidetracked by the poor start and never got around to doing it. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Just the 1 goal from (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" back in Feb. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 26/29 from the spot at 90%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 13/15 from the spot at 87%.

Finances. 

[Thebaker]

3 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

The database doesn't always show it clearly, but at the end of the season check to see if there are play-offs between champion sand bottom-placed sides.

I wonder what's different in my db to cause those small teams to turn Pro. I didn't touch any of those teams.

some sort of takeover?

Edit: answered further down!

Edited December 15, 2023 by Thebaker

[phnompenhandy]

3 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

some sort of takeover?

See up the page - all tycoon takeovers

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2029.

West of Scotland 2nd Div. We were in the advantageous position of going into our last game of the season with Vale of Level having already played, (and lost), and knowing that a win would see us crowned Champions. Unfortunately we just weren't at the races late in the season, and this was by far our poorest season of the save overall. While I'm a little frustrated at missing out on another League title, I'm mightily relieved that we still made it 6 consecutive promotions from the start of the season. To be honest we were really lucky this season because I thought we were awful and the word that springs to mind is "aquaplaning". Because our Facilities have developed so much year on year, I'm not actually developing the squad or players. I'm basically swapping the squad almost every season and I don't actually "feel" in control at all. They don't feel like my players and it doesn't feel like my squad. To be honest the closest thing I can liken it to is playing the 1st season in a save again and again and again. (I really dislike the 1st season in saves by the way). I know I shouldn't be complaining after 6 promotions and I'm really not. It's just that I can see this situation continuing for a few years yet, and that's whether we get promoted or not. I don't think we're reached the upper levels of player that we can produce with these facilities yet and I think we will see better and better players come through in the coming season. 

Records.

Transfers. I'm not used to losing players so quickly after they come through the intake, but in the case of (29k) Teague (ENG) (Bal) 6'0", in hindsight I don't think it should have beena  surprise. There were a few National League clubs (England), in for him and although I offered him a new contract, the side he opted to sign for was Canvey Island who are below the National Leagues. Still, even on a Youth contract he's getting a guaranteed weekly wage. As an adult here he was getting nothing guaranteed and about £8 per game if he played. adding in that he is actually English. I don't blame him for joining them. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 goals for (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" against the Ryal golfers of Troon brings him level with (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" on 6 goals from 7 penalties this season, (so 12 from 14 combined). 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 26/29 from the spot at 90%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2029. 

1st Team squad for next season. 9 of the 1st choice 11 are players who played fewer than 6 games last season, with 5 more in the squad. 

2029.1. Only 3 of the 1st team starting XI have Det less than 9. 

2029.2.

U18's.

Season Tickets. Sale of tickets remain the same, and prices are also frozen. A tiny bit of a surprise considering we have been promoted again.  Maybe this is just the game keeping a lid on it so they don't rise too quick? 

Finances. I mentioned recently that we've got some player who are on quite sizeable appearance fees. With that in mind I'm not sure I'm going to try too hard to keep the likes of (25f) Clements (SCO)(AUS)(Bal), who has a £100 appearance fee clause, should someone come in for him. None of our 4 highest earners makes the 1st Team starting XI and only 3 of the 4 make the 2nd Team. Such has been our improvement with that last 2 intakes. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2029.

Season Expectations. It seems strange that we were expected to "battle bravely against relegation" last season, but after promotion they now want a "top half finish" and it's required. Maybe that's completely reasonable based on the intake we've just had and how much better our players are deemed to be. 

PT contracts. We're able to offer PT contracts now rather than NC deals and I think, (it's been a while), that the PT contracts work in exactly the same way that FT contracts do, (in that it protects the player as an asset), but they only last for 12 months at a time, (again, I think). 

The 1st contract I tried to offer was for £40 pw and that seems fine except that it's over £2,000 per year for 1 player and that's just too much. I think the answer is that I only offer these PT contracts as and when someone comes in for them. The next player I've looked at wants £20 pw and that's approx £1,000 per year and assuming the average is somewhere between the 2, (let's take an average of £1,500), then £1,500 x 21 player is £31,500 and I'm pretty sure that's just not an outlay I want to make right now. Having said that, someone is in for (25f) Clements (SCO)(AUS)(Bal) at the moment, (remember he of the £100 appearance fee_, so would I be better of if I could get him on a PT deal? (The answer is no because he wants £120 pw which is £6,240. No way am I paying that! 

At the moment we've got the following contracts. 

5x Youth on a total of £25 pw.
3x PT on a total of £55 pw. 

Everyone else is on NC terms and I'm happy to keep it like that for as long as I can. 

Reputation. 

We're finally on the 1st page if we only include clubs in the West of Scotland structure, (from the WoS Premier Division downwards). Considering we're in the 3rd tier of this structure, that's decent. 

Average Attendances. Really pleased with this growth. Hopefully we can get it over 200 this season.

Finances. 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2029.

Season Preview. 91-1 on?  They are the shortest odds I think I've ever seen. 

Friendlies. 

PT contracts. £80 pw is WAY more than I wanted to pay anyone, but (26j) McCallum (Pro) 5'7" knows how to score goals and I think we're going to need that. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2029. 

West of Scotland First Division. A decent start in the league. 

Scottish Cup. (The Big one). I really want to win a few games in this competition after the shambles of last season. 

(I'm not sure what level they play at). 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup. I think it was this competition that gained us entry to that end of season Charity Shield threeway thingy competition. It's certainly one that we have won before. 2 comfortable wins is such a better start than last season. 

(Our opposition are from the league we've just been promoted out of). A convincing win, but we should have won by more. 

(Our opposition play at the level below us). 

Scottish Non League Cup.

(Our opposition are from the level below us). In a close game, the difference between the 2 teams was that (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" saved a penalty. 

Junior Cup.

(Our opponents....... I've gotta be honest with you.... I don't know what level they play at).  

Debuts. 

Transfers. 

Season Tickets. I thought the message last month about season tickets was the final count, but it seems as if we have sold 3 more. Any progress is still progress. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 goals in the opening month is a decent start to the season. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 28/31 from the spot at 90%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2029.

West of Scotland First Division. We're unbeaten after 3 games, but our friends from the last 2 seasons, (Vale of Leven and Kello Rovers), are also unbeaten. 

Scottish Cup. (The Big one). Really frustrated to go out and even more frustrated to go out to a club in the league below. Conceding 6 (SIX) goals is just the icing on the cake.  I think I know what happened. The 1st Team play at weekends and this game being played during the week sort of caught me off guard because stupidly I expected the game to be played on a Saturday. By the time I realised they had already played on the Monday, so it took 2 days off their recovery period. This doesn't sound like a lot, but it all adds up. 

(Our opposition play in the league below us). 

Scottish Non League Cup. We smeak through on pens after a close game. 

(Our opposition are in the same league as us). 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup.

(Our opposition play in our league).

Goal-scoring GK's. Another goal to the tally for (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1".

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 29/32 from the spot at 91%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%.

Finances. 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2029. 

West of Scotland First Division. We usually dominate possession against all opposition, but Petershill completely dominated us in the opening match and we had only 36% of the ball. Their 3 in the middle absolutely bossed it. That doesn't happen to us very often. The Vale of Leven game was a close one, but they are a good side and we will do well to hang on to them again this season. We bounced back well after that though to sit 5th in the league, (although we have played 1 extra game than many). 

Junior Cup.

(The opposition are in our league). The 2nd Team played well going forward, but were crucially exposed defensively, and no matter how good you are going forward, you can't expect to win games when you're conceding 5 goals in your own net. 

Scottish Non League Cup.

(I'm not sure which level this lot play at). I thought that we would win when we came back to 4-4 in injury time, but all it did was tease us as we still went on to lose on pens. 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup. We're into the Semi's. 

(Our opposition are in the same league as us). We lost the possession battle again in this game despite playing well. Ahhhh I see why! This is the same opposition who beat us in the league at the beginning of the month. This isn't down to our lack of control. This is down to the way they play and their midfield dominance. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 pen scored and 1 pen missed this month. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 30/34 from the spot at 88%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2029. 

West of Scotland First Division. We're 10 points off the top, but only 4 points off 3rd place with a game in hand, (and that's the goal this season). We're not good enough to win the league, but if we can sneak another promotion then that'll do me fine. 

West Of Scotland Cup. We're into the 2nd Round of a competition that we have never won before. 

(Our opposition play at 3 levels below us). It's about time we gave someone a good hiding. 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup. We are into the Final and in addition to another trophy, the winner of this competition also gains access to the South & East & West of Scotland Cup. 

(Our opposition are 1 level below us). We needed a 91st  min winner, but all's well that ends well. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 4 successful pens from (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" this month, (our best ever total for a GK in a month), brings him to 8 from 0 pens this season and 34 from 38 in total. It's interesting that our best ever season from the spot, (it looks like it's going that way anyway), is coinciding with a period when we're struggling a little, (or certainly a little less dominant).  

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 34/38 from the spot at 89%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2029. 

West of Scotland First Division. The Threave Rovers win was probably the result of season so far. Not just because they were top of the table, but because we had a player sent off after 10 mins and still found a way to win with our 2nd Team. We're actually playing well, but we're not scoring the goals we should and I think that's just down to a lack of quality up front for us. Our 1st choice front 3 are 17, 16 and 16, and I think we've reached the level where they're just not good enough right now. It's possible that there will be some improvement over the course of the season and they might be better in the 2nd half of the season. I've dropped the left sided striker for the 2nd choice left sided striker, (who has been performing better), and we will see if that makes a difference. 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup. I'm pretty sure this is the 1st Cup FInal we've lost in this save and it's fair to say that we were completely robbed, (but that's the way it goes sometimes). We've won lots and Cups and leagues so far and we were probably overdue one of these. 

(The opposition are in our league). 

West Of Scotland Cup. We dominated the ball and the chances in this game, but our finishing let us down again and again we lose. Until we either manage to develop our central strikers, or get someone through the intake who is a step up from what we've got, we're going to continue to struggle. 

(Our opposition are 2 leagues below us). We dominated the ball and chances, but they scored 3 times and we only managed a penalty. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 more goals this month for (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" brings him to 10 goals from 11 pens this season. 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 36/40 from the spot at 90%.
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%.

Finances. 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Jimbokav1971