[FM24] Tulach Bòide [Scotland Tier 13]

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake Day. Mar 2043. 

Usually I wouldn't sign a casual player, but he's a MC and we're already short of them with 2 more posturing for a move so I really don't want to leave myself short and he looks reasonable. 

[Edit]

It's worth looking at the personalities of this intake. 

Also, all Scottish born players born in Alloa again.

7x Good personalities. 
2x Light-Hearted has good pressure so it could be good or bad but is a decent start.
1x Unamb has High Det (17)
3x F.Sport have to have double-figure Det. 
2x Bal at least have decent Det.
1x Casual. 

Edited January 24 by Jimbokav1971

[erik45]

3 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

A promising wing-back with high CA, I didn't know this was possible in FM?! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2043. 

Scottish Championship. Oh wow we've imploded. Why does this always happen in March?  Is it me getting too caught up with the Youth Intake? 

Debuts. 

Internationals. We've got 2 players in the SCO U21 squad and interestingly they're both GK's. We really have produced some quite good GK's already in this save. 

The game against Raith Rovers on Sat 28th March has been postponed until......Wed 1st April when we will only have 2 players unavailable. 

Takeover. It's a bargain at £800,000. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 from 1 from the spot for (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" *. 

(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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 22/37 from the spot at 59%.
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%.

Finances. Well our positive bank balance didn't last long. We're back in the red. 

[Jimbokav1971]

12 minutes ago, erik45 said:

A promising wing-back with high CA, I didn't know this was possible in FM?! 

Really pleased to get him too. Think we've struggled at WBL for about 8-9 years now. He's obviously already made his debut. 

[turnip]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Mar 2043. 

Scottish Championship. Oh wow we've imploded. Why does this always happen in March?  Is it me getting too caught up with the Youth Intake? 

Could it be that the new players impact Team Cohesion? 

It's why my players always seem to play worse towards the end of transfer windows and shortly afterwards - when the players I wouldn't let leave are kicking up a stink

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2043.

Scottish Championship. We turned our form around and I thought we had done enough going into the last game against bottom of the table Queen of the South, (who were already relegated). We were sitting in 4th and a win would secure us our 1st Championship Playoff finish. Unfortunately we failed from the spot on the way to a 2-1 defeat and I thought we had blown it, but Queens Park could only manage a draw and so WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS! 

Debuts. 

Records. 

Internationals. 

Takeover. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 pens scored from 3 attempts by (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * 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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/40 from the spot at 60%.
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

12 minutes ago, turnip said:

Could it be that the new players impact Team Cohesion? 

It's why my players always seem to play worse towards the end of transfer windows and shortly afterwards - when the players I wouldn't let leave are kicking up a stink

I think I remember checking this in the past and I'm pretty sure it doesn't, but I will make a point of proving it either way for a fact next season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2043. 

Scottish Championship Playoffs. 

Championship Promotion Playoff. First Round, 1st Leg. 

Championship Promotion Playoff. First Round, 2nd Leg. 

Championship Promotion Playoff. Second Round, 1st Leg. 

Championship Promotion Playoff. Second Round, 2nd Leg. 

Premiership Relegation Playoff Final. 1st Leg. 

Premiership Relegation Playoff Final. 2nd Leg. 

Debuts.

Records.

Internationals. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 failed pen from (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * 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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%.
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%.

Finances. 

[TIR669]

LOL perfectionist 5 finishing, 5 pace and 2 strength striker. At least Wills at LB looks fantastic, plus a tall CD in Strachan and a BWM in Severin.

I'm baffled you'd play them in the playoffs though, surely they're not stronger than your starting XI!? Shame about the finals but an obvious step up from all previous seasons. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, TIR669 said:

LOL perfectionist 5 finishing, 5 pace and 2 strength striker. At least Wills at LB looks fantastic, plus a tall CD in Strachan and a BWM in Severin.

Ahhh, but there is a method to my madness.  Let me show you his profile now.

He doesn't get near the team as a striker. You missed the "MC" that I added to his nickname to remind me that he is to be only played as a MC and not a striker. 

This is the clubs depth chart at MC. 

(37i) Morrison (Pro) * is a SC.
(42b) Potter (F.Amb) * is 1st Team MLC.
(38b) Jayes (SCO)(Unamb) 6'4"* is a DRC.
(40a) Brass4 (F.Pro) * is a SCR.
(40b) Stewart (SCO)(IRL)(Pro)* is 1st Team MRC. (But broke his ankle in the 1st leg against Dunfermline). 
(40l) Robertson (F.Pro) * is 2nd Team MRC.
(38i) Waddell (Res) * is 2nd Team MLC. (But pulled his calf in the 1st leg against Dunfermline). 
(39f) Foth6 (IRL) (F.Det) * is a SC.
(38g) Reid (L.SB) * is a SC.
(36h) Stewart (Bal) MC * is an MC, but is just lower down the pecking order and I almost released but have just offered a contract to keep him here. 
(43g) Severin (Casual) is an MC but although I don't like him, injuries to just 2 midfielders meant that he came off the bench in the 2nd leg of the playoff Final.
(43b) Bradley (Perfect) * MC is the player you're talking about and he got into the team when 2 players ahead of him got injured. 

He scored on his debut in the league against Partick Thistle and then started both the Away Legs of the Quarter and Semi-Final of the Playoffs. 

He then started both legs of the Playoff Final, (scoring in both games), and in particular was very good in the home game. 

I know he's not amazing, but at the moment he's about the 6th best MC we've got, and with our rotation policy when we have 2 games a week, (worked pretty well in the Playoffs I think you would agree),  it meant that we had to play every 2nd game and then both legs of the Final when someone else was unavailable.

I must admit my eye is drawn to him by his Perfectionist personality, but it's hard to ignore 3 goals in 5 appearances. 

I'm much less keen on (43g) Severin (Casual), but the fact that I have given a Casual player a contract tells you that I must think he has something about him, (or I',m just scared of being left short if/when the 1st choice MC's leave. 

(43e) Wills (F.Sport) * does indeed look great and was a big part of our Playoff campaign with 4 assists from 7(1) appearances during the run-in. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, TIR669 said:

I'm baffled you'd play them in the playoffs though, surely they're not stronger than your starting XI!? Shame about the finals but an obvious step up from all previous seasons. 

Hopefully it makes a little more sense now you know (43b) Bradley (Perfect) * played as an MC, and even then because we had 2 injuries and I think there was a suspension/3rd injury meaning he had to play both legs of the Final. He is 5th/6th choice MC when everyone is available. 

(43g) Severin (Casual) is probably 7th/8th choice.

The rotation was needed anyway with 2 games per week, but especially so as we're a PT Team playing against fully Pro Teams who have recovery sessions between games. Even with no injuries, if I don't rotate 2 different XI's I don't think we win any of the ties. 

I'm not upset at all about the Final. 

St Johnstone won 8 games and drew 6 more in the Premiership this season. They are a proper Premiership side rather than a yo-yo side. Next season will be their 13th consecutive season in the Premiership. I'm really chuffed to have got to the Final and at least been competitive against them. Both legs of the Final were actually quite close. They just had more quality and were able to take their chances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Stats. Jun 2043. 

Squad by Appearances. 37(5) appearances for (31j) Fullerton (Unamb) * is right on the upper edge of what I want to see. I'm less concerned about playing him more though because he's 27 years old and will be more accustomed to the demands placed upon him. Of more concern is the 35(15) appearances made by (37i) Morrison (Pro) *, but again, he's 22 years old so doesn't have the same risk attached to this number of games. With our GK's playing 52 games between them, it gives you an idea of the amount of rotation involved. 

Squad by Goals. While (37i) Morrison (Pro) * hit 20 goals, they're also pretty well shared around the squad with 3 players scoring 10+ goals and 4 more scoring 5+ goals. I would like to see (37i) Morrison (Pro) * hit 20 in the league alone next season, would like to see (31j) Fullerton (Unamb) * hit 20 in all competitions, (41b) Gourley (NIR) (F.Det) * to hit double-figures and our GK's to score 15 between them. 

Squad by Assists. Our WBR (33b) Skrzyński (POL)(F.Pro) * and our SLC (33c) P.McCormack (Unamb) * leading the way here, but I look down the list and see new arrival (43e) Wills (F.Sport) * with 4 from 7(1) appearances and think he might have a significant impact next season. 

Squad by Avg Rating. 

Squad by CA. Although he is on a 2+3 contract, (42b) Potter (F.Amb) * is one of our brightest prospects and most key players. I can see the interest in him growing further. 

Squad by PA. 16x 5.0 players + 14x 4.5 PA players. 

Squad by INT Team. 

Squad by Youth Caps. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2043.

Reputation.

Facilities. This isn't a huge disaster. We've proved that we're producing players plenty good enough for this level and we just need to keep taking little steps forwards. 

Internationals. 

Awards.

Commercial Summary.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2043. 

GK. We've always seemed to have good PA GK's available, (apart from the very early years of the save), and because of that I'm quite happy to let (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * go, (even though it wasn't my choice), because we have others who can step up. We're a selling club at the moment and there's no point pretending otherwise. 

1st Team. (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" *
2nd Team. (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) *
Loan. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" *
U19's. (42g) Niven (Bal) 5'11" *
U19's. (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" *
Sell/Release. (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * looks to be on his way as El Chieftain accepted a bid for him over my head. 
Sell/Release. (35d) McGinlay. (IRL) (Unamb)

DL. Although the arrival of (43e) Wills (F.Sport) * was heaven sent, I think it's fair to say that we all expect interest to be high in him. He looks amazing. He's signed to a 3+3+3 deal, but there's no way he's going to be with us when he's 25. 1 season as a minimum and ideally 2 seasons should see significant direction and then maybe we will get a proper fee for him rather than having to rely on these poxy sell-on clauses. 

1st Team. (43e) Wills (F.Sport) *
2nd Team. (38d) McMullan (NIR) (Unamb) * 
U18's. (41d) Dichev (BUL) (Bal) *
U18's. (42c) Ross (IRL) (L.Det)

DR. Our best right back is ranked lower than our 2nd best left back, but we actually have more depth and PA on this side. 

1st Team. (33b) Skrzyński (POL)(F.Pro) *
2nd Team. (37d) Romanis (F.Sport) * 
U18's. (43a) Quinn (F.Pro) *
U18's. (42f) Johnstone (Unamb) *
Sell/Release. (40p) Tomaszewski. (Bal)

DC. El Chieftain keeps selling our centre-backs before we have a chance to develop them. If we can just hold onto 3-4 of the better one's for a few years we might be able to do something. 

1st Team DLC. (41g) Thomson (F.Loyal) 6'1" *
1st Team DC. (40c) Villanueva (PHI)(F.Det)
1st Team DRC. (38b) Jayes (SCO)(Unamb) 6'4"*

2nd Team DLC. (40i) Paterson (IRL) (Spirit)
2nd Team DC. (34f) McMullan (Unamb) DC 5'11
2nd Team DRC. (36e) Dickson (Unamb) 6'2" *

Loan. (37l) Williams (TRI) (F.Pro)
Loan. (39o) Urquhart. (Bal)
Loan. (42d) Curran. (IRL) (Resil)

U18's DLC. (43j) Strachan (Det) 6'3"
U18's DC. (42m) Martin (Fickle) 5'9" *
U18's DRC. (43h) Wills (Pro) 6'0"
U18's Backup. (42l) Severin (Unamb) 5'10"

Sell/Release. (34e) Breslin. (F.Pro) 5'11"

MC. We've got a little depth in this area, but as you can see by my recent responses to @TIR669 one of our U18's played a significant part in our playoff campaign simply because we had 3 serious injuries at the same time and a smaller one, (or it might have just been a suspension), ruled 3 of the 4 players ahead of him out for both legs of the Final. I don't moan about this. It's just the nature of the save. I personally think it's brilliant that I was able to give him that exposure to 1st Team football so early. 

1st Team MLC. (42b) Potter (F.Amb) *
1st Team MRC. (40b) Stewart (SCO)(IRL)(Pro)* (out for 3 months with a broken ankle). (40l) Robertson (F.Pro) * to cover).

2nd Team MLC. (38i) Waddell (Res) *
2nd Team MRC. (40l) Robertson (F.Pro) * (36h) Stewart (Bal) MC * to cover. 

Loan. (42a) Pittman. (IRL) (Real)
Loan. (41n) Stevenson. (Fickle)
Loan. (42p) Donald (L.Det) (Out for 3-7 months). 
Loan. (41l) Aitken (F.Amb) *

U18's MLC. (43b) Bradley (Perfect) * MC
U18's MLC. (43g) Severin (Casual)
U18's Backup. (43i) Roberts (CAN) (F.Pro)
U18's Backup. (43l) McKay (F.Sport)
U18's Backup. (43k) Craig. (Pro)

SC. This is always tough simply because we have so many bodies, but now we're also just starting to add a little depth of CA to the depth of PA we've had over the years. I'd personally love nothing better than for (37i) Morrison (Pro) * to win the Golden Boot this season, (scoring 25+ goals), fire us to promotion and then leave in a £1M+ deal. 

1st Team SLC. (33c) P.McCormack (F.Pro) *
1st Team SC. (37i) Morrison (Pro) *
1st Team SRC. (31j) Fullerton (Unamb) *

2nd Team SLC. (37c) Brass3 (F.Sport) *
2nd Team SC. (41b) Gourley (NIR) (F.Det) *
2nd Team SRC. (40a) Brass4 (F.Pro) *

Loan. (40g) Paterson (IRL) (F.Pro) *
Loan. (37j) Hanley (IRL) (Fickle)
Loan. (39f) Foth6 (IRL) (F.Det) SC *
Loan. (40o) Banner (F.Amb) *
Loan. (41j) Bell (Bal)
Loan. (42e) Walker. (Sport)
Loan. (42j) Luke (IRL) (Unamb)
Loan. (41o) McAuley. (L.Det)
Loan. (42k) Mackenzie (F.Pro)
Loan. (42h) Govan. (Bal)
Loan. (41p) Bell. (F.Amb)

U18's SLC. (43o) Davidson (L-H)
U18's SC.
U18's SRC. (41i) Davidson (Bal) * & (43m) Doherty (NIR)(IRL)(Bal)*
Backup. (42i) Innes. (Bal)
Backup. (43c) Ross. (Bal)
Backup. (42o) Patterson (Bal) 6'2"
Backup. (43f) Stewart (Unamb)

Sell/Release. (39b) Christie. (L.Det)
Sell/Release. (40j) Denholm. (Bal)
Sell/Release. (40m) Paz. (Temp) (PER)(SCO)

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2043. 

Season Preview. Depending on how many players we lose in the Summer window, we might actually have a chance of competing for the title this season. (Famous last words I know). Key will be if we can get off to a good start. We can't afford early injuries. 

Friendlies. 

League Cup. (Premier Sports Cup). I'm pretty sure we have never qualified from the Group before, and I didn't actually know you could qualify in 2nd, (but we did).  We have Aberdeen in the next round and we're likely to lose but this is still a group of glorified friendlies. (I will tell you in advance when that's no longer the case). 

Debuts. 

Injuries. We've lost 2 of our front 3. 

(37i) Morrison (Pro) * has got 4-7 weeks left on a broken toe. 
(31j) Fullerton (Unamb) * has got 2-4 weeks left for a twisted ankle. 
(40b) Stewart (SCO)(IRL)(Pro)* is still out with the broken ankle he sustained in the Playoffs last season and won't be back for 5 weeks to 2 months.

Transfers.

I actually don't mind (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * leaving. We have 2 decent options to replace him with. They're obviously not good enough but maybe they will be in 12 months time or so. I did ask the board to negotiate a loan back, but they said Falkirk wouldn't be interested as he was bought to be a starter. He leaves us having scored 24 career goals for us, (which sounds good until I tell you that he only converted pens at 59% which is the lowest conversion rate of any GK to take a pen for us in this save). Before the bid was made I was hoping for more than £500k(£700k) + 25%, but now the deal has gone through and I look at his valuation I wonder if we actually did pretty well out of it. In hindsight I wish I had asked for more on the "per league appearance" line. I only went £2k and should have gone higher. 

Shortlist.

Goal-scoring GK's. 

(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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%.

Finances. 

Edited January 25 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2043. 

Scottish Championship. It's been a decent start to the league campaign, but it could have been better as we lost our GK after 23 mins in the Dunfermline game with the score still at 0-0 and didn't have a GK on the bench. The goal we conceded was basically our left back, (playing in goal), catching a cross and throwing it into his own net. 

League Cup. (Premier Sports Cup). Well I wasn't expecting to beat Aberdeen.  (Still, it's only a collection of friendlies and I will let you know in advance when that's going to change).

(The opposition are in the league above us). 

Season Tickets. 

Shortlist. 

Goal-scoring GK's. No change 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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%.

Finances. 

[BML]

13 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Is Dick (32e) worth a punt at 8 grand? I remember him from earlier in the save (likely due to his name rather than ability I'll admit) and you saying you wanted to bring him back on loan a few pages back (I looked back for this) but if he's upset where he is, he could be a cheap squad player for season.

Edited January 26 by BML

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, BML said:

Is Dick (32e) worth a punt at 8 grand? I remember him from earlier in the save (likely due to his name rather than ability I'll admit) and you saying you wanted to bring him back on loan a few pages back (I looked back for this) but if he's upset where he is, he could be a cheap squad player for season.

I did look at this, (because you're right, £8k is nothing), but there was a reason I didn't go through with it and I can't remember what it was now. 

For starters there is the fact that we have some players at MC with good potential and what I don't want to do is bring someone in who's going to clog up their pathway to the 1st Team starting positions. @TIR669commented recently about (43b) Bradley (Perfect) * MC and others playing for the 1st Team way before their time, (and he's right), but better play them before their time than leaving them to stagnate and missing out on developing players fully. (43b) Bradley (Perfect) * MC has made 9 appearances already this season for example. If I bring (32e) Dick (Bal) * in then (43b) Bradley (Perfect) * MC probably doesn't make any appearances.

I was about to say that I think he wanted a fair sized wage to sign, but whether he did or not then, he certainly doesn't seem to want it now and demands are pretty reasonable. 

£375 - £475 pw is pretty reasonable. 

I "think" that my thinking at the time was that I didn't want to bring him un unless 1 of (42b) Potter (F.Amb) *, (40b) Stewart (SCO)(IRL)(Pro)* or (40l) Robertson (F.Pro) * left in this window, (and they didn't), and if they did then I could just go and sign him pretty quickly as a direct like-for-like replacement. 

As well as clogging up the pathway for the youngsters, we're only paying 1 player more than £350 pw, so while £475 pw doesn't sound like a lot of money, it is to us and even more so when the player would effectively be the 4th choice MC. £475 pw is £24,700 pw and that does seem a small amount to me, (in the grand scheme of things). 

I think I will look at the situation again in Jan, and whether or not he comes in will probably depend of whether we have any MC's leaving. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2043.

Scottish Championship. We're been in really good form. The Falkirk game was close, and there wasn't much in it, but they got a late pen and that was enough to give them all 3 points. I'm still more than happy with how we're going in the league considering we've been without 3 key players for periods of the early season. 

League Cup. (Premier Sports Cup). 

(The opposition are 1 league above us). That's a deserved away win if ever I saw one. Right? 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy). This is still just a bunch of friendlies grouped together, but it was actually quite a pleasing experience for a change. 

(The opposition are not in a proper league). A really dominant win. 

Internationals. 

Board Takeover. They want to replace me? 

If Andy Kirkpatrick wins he's going to install a new Manager! 

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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%.

Finances. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2043.

Scottish Championship. We might have lost to Livingston, (they deserved the win), but 5 wins on the bounce after that propelled us to a 7 point gap at the top of the table as nobody else has any sort of form over the last 5 games period. 

Board Takeover. Come on Mikely Kelly! Get the deal done. (The other bloke has said he will sack me if he takes over). 

They've actually given us some cash.  It's not loads of cash, but it's better than nothing. 

They're more ambitious though. The last bloke just wanted me to avoid relegation. This bloke is starting with mid-table and wants to keep it at that level. 

New contract. It's a 3 year deal, (which I love). They're not actually paying me, (which I don't love), but 3 years is 3 years. 

Clauses. We've got deals for 3 clauses available right now, (see the light blue colour areas). I'm interested in the (36a) Cunningham (IRL)(F.Det)* clause, (because the offer is approx double that of the estimated value), but it's steadily rising and he's starting to make appearances for Frosinone in Serie A, (after being out on loan in Serie B). He's 23 years old and has approx 20 months left on his contract, (now with a +1 I note). I think I will hang on until Jan and look again.  

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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%.

Finances. 

I don't mind the cost of our Youth Setup rising in line with our ability to pay, just so long as the quality of the intakes also rises. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2043. 

Scottish Championship. As comfortable as we were in the home game against Falkirk, they were as comfortable in the away game. We've only dropped 3 points from the last 27 available though and that's why we're still ahead of Queen's Park who have won their last 3 

League Cup. (Premier Sports Cup). 

(The opposition are a league above us). We gave it a good go but Rangers were on a different level and probably deserved to win my more. 

Internationals. 

Goal-scoring GK's. A 2nd success from the spot this season for (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" *.

(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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 6/7 from the spot at 86%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2043. 

Scottish Championship. We were well beaten by Dunfermline, but I don't care even a little but because we won the other 3 games  and we're now 9 points clear at the top. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy). I'm not prioritising this competition, but while we keep getting lower ranked opposition we have a chance. 

(The opposition are in the same league as us). We smashed them. 

Transfers. After the recent question from @BMLand the research I did for my answer, I asked the DoF, (or someone), to see if (32e) Dick (Bal) * was available on a free at the end of his contract. We sold him to Motherwell for almost £0.5M back in 2035 when £0.5M was a lot of money, (£0.5M is still a lot of money), and he's since played in the Premiership for both Motherwell and Dundee. Let's see if we can make us the 3rd Premiership side he makes an appearance for. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 out of 3 from (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * 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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 8/10 from the spot at 80%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2044. 

Scottish Championship. It looks like 3 simple 2-1 wins, but a 1st half red card against Raith made thing more interesting than they might have otherwise been. We're now 11 points clear at the top. 

Scottish Cup. (The Big one). I can't believe that we have choked in the Cup. Again!  

(The opposition are in our league). You can't afford to have a player sent off in the 7th minute and expect to win against someone playing in the same league. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy). 

(The opposition are 1 league below us).

Apologies. Forgot to take picture of 6-1 win. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 4 from 4 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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 12/14 from the spot at 86%.

Finances. 

Edited January 27 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2044. 

It's a bit of a strange intake. Yeah we have 3x 5.0 PA players, (and the 1st proper FGN starlet possibly of the whole save, but more on that in a minute), but it's a poor intake in terms of personality and in particular (Amb/Det). 

There are 4 players who are (Unamb) but who also have (L.Det), and also 1 more player who is just (L.Det), but I have made the brave/stupid decision, (and I'm sticking with it this time), that I'm not signing any of them. 

(44c) Antoniazzi (AUS) (Res) is the 1st player in the save, (I think), who has come through with a FGN Nationality, (that isn't local like Britain and Ireland), but who also don't have a British/Irish 2nd Nationality. The difference when that's the case is that there is no reason for this player to be here. What is the link for an Australian born player with Italian heritage who...... oh hang on..... 

He's Scottish as well. Cancel what I have just said. He's just a normal player. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2044. 

Scottish Championship. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 from 1 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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 13/15 from the spot at 87%.

Finances. 

Edited January 27 by Jimbokav1971

[TIR669]

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2044. 

Scottish Championship. 2 decent wins followed by a thumping from Dunfermline still leaves us with a 10 point lead at the top of the table with a game in hand on our vanquishers Dunfermline. With just 4 games to play for our nearest challengers, we could just be 1 win away from the title. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy). This competition really wasn't a priority, but we got pretty favourable draws, (with the exception of Falkirk), and even the Final was played against a League 1 side rather than a Championship side. Even the 49th min sending off, (2 yellows), of (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 * couldn't stop the juggernaut that is the Tullibody Express.  

(The opposition are 1 league below us). 

Records.

Debuts. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy). 

Team Cohesion. @turnipcommented in the thread last season that our post-intake drop in form, (which often seems to be a thing), could well be linked to a drop in Team Cohesion. To play devils advocate, I could say that "yeah but everyone, (or almost everyone), has new intake players at some point in the season", but of course not everyone signs all 16 of them, (or most of them as we do). 

This is what our Team Cohesion looked like on 1st Mar 2044.

A couple of weeks later in mid March, this is what our Team Cohesion looked like on Youth Intake day. 

While I think it was actually a good shout by @turnip, (completely makes sense to me),  the evidence doesn't seem to support it, (which is really surprising actually).  If it's not Team Cohesion, then what exactly is it? Fatigue is the next one that jumps out, and more so than any other season I have played in this save, particularly, (and this is a real surprise), within 1st Team centre-backs!  If you had asked me who I would have expected to be most fatigued I would have said WB's, (because of the work their asked to do), or possible sentral midfielders because of the sheer ground they have to control with just 2 of them in there, but I think what I wasn't considering is that centre-backs are rarely subbed where as our WB's and 2 MC's are often subbed. 5 subs from 9 can be used, and more often that not the Ass Man does 2x WB, 1x WB, 1x MC and 1x SC subs. I'm surprised that the 2 wide strikers aren't more fatigued than the DC's. 

Maybe the drop in form after the intake is a complete coincidence and has nothing to do with the intake. It could be that my focus is drawn to the intake and the problem is mine when I try to introduce the new batch of players to the 1st Team too early? I won't have that problem this season, (if such a problem exists), because there are really only 4 players from this intake even close to stepping up, (in (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 *, (44b) Harvey (Spirit) *, (44a) Neill (F.Pro) * & (44h) Lemetti (IRL)(F.Amb)6'2*). Although (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 * might be thrown straight in, I don't think the others will be unless we have unavailabilities. 

Internationals. 

Club vision. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 goal from 3 attempts 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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 14/18 from the spot at 78%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, TIR669 said:

Don't jinx us! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2044. 

Scottish Championship. We won the league with 4 games still to play. Complete and utter dominance.  We were flying until we won the league, and then the wheels sort of came off. 

Turning Pro. 

New contract offer. They've offered me a new 3 year deal, but still not willing to pay me anything. I will wait until we have turned Pro and then sign whatever they offer me. 

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 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 14/18 from the spot at 78%.

Finances. 

It's gone up again.  The more we have. The more we pay. 

[Rikulec]

Now the real fun begins. 

[TIR669]

Congratulations.

You dominated the league, not sure what happened exactly since you lost couple of regulars in last few seasons as well... But for sure having proper strikers helped. Club history screenshot please, I wanna see how long you stayed in Championship.

Youth intake looks good again, that not-really-Australian DC has a weird skills distribution, not a pure stopper imo.

Very excited for summer transfer window, I expect you'll be able to bring some old faces at least on a loan.

[theBlackPrince]

Fantastic season to get the League won with games in hand. Now to see what the team is made of in the Prem next season!

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Now the real fun begins. 

It's hard to know what to expect from next season, but I'd like to think we have a reasonable chance of avoiding auto-relegation at least. 

I've purposefully not checked what the prize money is now, and £1.27M even for finishing bottom seems phenomenal when you consider what our gate receipts are going to be like for the season, (much bigger than season just gone). 

Our TV money in the Championship was just £19,375 this season, (and £18,750 the previous season), and if we compare that to Dundee, (who finished bottom of the Premiership), they received £574,722 from Premiership TV money this season, and I have a feeling there is parachute payments in Scotland too.

St Mirren finished 2nd bottom in the Premiership this season and they received.... (and I'm hoping that this is slightly higher than £574k to suggest that the TV is weighted according to league position),.... and it was £574,772 so it could be slightly higher than that of Dundee, or I could have just made a typo. 

Livingston were the Premiership team who finished bottom of the Premiership last season, (so spent this season in the Championship), and they received £250,000 in Championship TV money that I think is actually a parachute payment, (but not 100% sure). 

If we look back for who finished bottom of the Premiership the previous season then that's Queens Park and yeah, they received £250,000 their 1st season in the Championship, (under Premiership TV money), and then £125,000 this season so it definitely goes on for at least 2 years. 

Even if we ignore increased gate receipts, then I think it means we can look forward to the following. 

£1,270,000 Premiership prize money for finishing 12th.
£574,772 Premiership TV money. 
£250,000 Premiership Parachute payment1.
£125,000 Premiership Parachute payment2. 

£2,219,722 is the total amount of guaranteed income that we get from next season, (but some of it paid over 2 and 3 years). That's a lot of money for us at this stage. 

The change in minimum wage for FT players will obviously have an impact, but I don't plan on actually transferring everyone over to the FT contracts. U18 players who I don't expect to make the grade will just be left as is.

On the flip side, I think the gate receipts will soar simply because of the away fans. Having said that, with 4 sell-outs in the league this season, (and 2 more close to sold out), that's 6 of 18 with little/no room for improvement, so we could really do with the council expanding the stadium, (and paying for it themselves of course). 

I also think the valuations of our players are going to rocket as soon as they sign FT deals, (and if they don't I'm going to be absolutely spewing!). 

Edited January 27 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, TIR669 said:

Congratulations.

You dominated the league, not sure what happened exactly since you lost couple of regulars in last few seasons as well... But for sure having proper strikers helped. Club history screenshot please, I wanna see how long you stayed in Championship.

Youth intake looks good again, that not-really-Australian DC has a weird skills distribution, not a pure stopper imo.

Very excited for summer transfer window, I expect you'll be able to bring some old faces at least on a loan.

Thanks. 

I think there were a few key areas of gradual improvement. 

1. We managed to have 3 experienced striker who stayed fit for most of the season and they weren't "kids", they were 28, 23 & 26. Not playing "kids" who are still developing physically makes such a difference and why we've scored so well the last couple of seasons. 

2. The backup trio of strikers were also good enough to play in the 1st Team on their own. At 22, 18 & 20, they were just old enough to have already developed enough to cope physically. It makes such a difference when you're talking about fatigue, (and obviously consistency). 

3. The WBL from last season's intake, (43e) Wills (F.Sport) *, went straight into starting for the 1st Team and was fantastic over and above the 7 goals and 13 assists he created. He was phenomenal and is still only 16. 

4. We only conceded 6 fewer goals than the previous season, (still improvement), but we scored 11 more goals than the previous season meaning there was a swing in goal difference of +17, (and that's significant). 

5. We also drew only 3 games this season and winning 3 points makes such a big difference when those around you only draw. 

All in all I would say that the old Dave Brailsford mantra of "marginal gains" was key. It was lots of little things that added together rather than 1 big thing. 

7 consecutive promotions. 
Then 2 years in Tier 7. 
Then 3 years in Tier 6.
Then back to back promotions again. 
Then 2 years in Tier 4. 
Then 2 years in Tier 3. 
Then 5 years in Tier 2. 

The Championship was tough simply because of the gulf in standard between the top half of the table and the bottom half. It's like 2 different leagues within a league. 

Edited January 27 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, TIR669 said:

Youth intake looks good again, that not-really-Australian DC has a weird skills distribution, not a pure stopper imo.

Our 1st choice Libero is (40c) Villanueva (PHI)(F.Det)* and although he's the 1st player to be capped at International level while still playing for the club, he's not performing well, (largely by his inability to defend). His match ratings are consistently low in a winning team because he loses so many headers. 

Our choice Libero, (34f) McMullan (Unamb) DC 5'11, is shockingly bad, but actually performs better. 

Because of the way we boss the ball, in some ways their defensive abilities are not as important as their ball-playing ones, but lots of weaknesses all over really. 

My plan is for (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 * to come straight in over both of them to be 1st choice next season, (despite getting sent off in the Cup Final). 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, TIR669 said:

Very excited for summer transfer window, I expect you'll be able to bring some old faces at least on a loan.

Yeah, me too. 

(32e) Dick (Bal) * will already be joining us as an MC, but we have a few players who are unhappy so there might be some leaving too. 

These 4 players want new deals, (and I want to offer each of them a new deal), but it remains to be seen whether I can afford what they demand. Once I do the Depth chart then at the very least I want all 1st Team and 2nd Team starting XI's on FT contracts plus as many 5.0 PA youngsters as I can get done. 

(34a) McGrandles (F.Det) * is the Scottish International (41 Caps 9 Goals), but he's always available for loan and I'm not really sure why. I wonder if he would come to us once we are in the Premiership? 

To be brutally honest though, I'm not hugely keen on bringing players back and playing them ahead of youngsters. I'm not saying I won't ever do it, but we can't block the pathway for youngsters and even now I'm looking at our 2 front 3's and wondering do I let some of them go to create space for the next players coming through. I suppose it depends on how much someone will pay us for them. 

[Jimbokav1971]

51 minutes ago, theBlackPrince said:

Fantastic season to get the League won with games in hand. Now to see what the team is made of in the Prem next season!

Yeah, it was pretty easy in the end. 

I'm quietly confidant, (rightly or wrongly), and while I don't expect us to be able to compete with the big boys in the top half of the table yet, (or for quite a while), I do think that we might be pretty competitive with those in the bottom half of the table. Because of the way the Premiership splits and we play more games against 1 half of the table, I think the ability, (or inability), to beat those around us, will be key. 

All of this depends on how many players, (and which players), we lose in the Summer though.

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Stats. May 2044. 

Squad by Appearances. GK (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * started 42 of our 49 games this season, scoring 9 goals. 

Squad by Goals. I can't remember how many goals I expected (37i) Morrison (Pro) * to score, (I think it was 20+ in the league), but although he only managed 18 league goals, he scored 25 goals in all competitions. The only surprise is that his valuation isn't higher, but then again that's down to our Semi pro status. It will be interesting to see what his valuation is when/if I can get him on a FT deal. 

Squad by Assists. It would be have been great for (43e) Wills (F.Sport) * to have come in and topped the assists chart straight away, but (33b) Skrzyński (POL)(F.Pro) * managed to hang on.

Squad by Avg Rating. Considering we won the league with games to spare and also won a Cup, our average ratings are not amazing. Only 8 players with 7.0+ ratings and 2 of them only made 4 appearances between them. 

Squad by CA. For the 1st time in the save I'm noticing that we've actually got a significant amount of CA in the squad. It's a LOT more than in the past. You've already seen top goal-scorer (37i) Morrison (Pro) *, so he's (42b) Potter (F.Amb) *.

Squad by PA. 13x 5.0 PA players. 

10x 4.5 PA players. 

11x 4.0 PA players. 

Squad by International Team. 

Senior Caps. 

U21 Caps.

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, TIR669 said:

that not-really-Australian DC has a weird skills distribution, not a pure stopper imo.

I'm just going through my Squad Depth list for the coming season and I noticed this. 

Since I started playing 3/5 at the back and using a Libero role, this is the 1st time that I have actually had a player who was specifically suited to playing as a Libero. I've had Libero's in the past when I wasn't using a Libero, but never when I actually was. Interesting. Very interesting. I've really just been plugging away with sticking square pegs in round holes because even though they're not very good at what I'm asking them to do, it's just so key to the whole tactic and it doesn't work without it. This bloke could be a game-changer. I'm not sure if he came through as a Libero and I just never noticed, before now, but this has really got my attention now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. May 2044. 

GK. 

1st Team. (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) *
2nd Team. (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" *
Loan. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" *
Loan. (42g) Niven (Bal) 5'11" *
U18's. (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" *
U18's. (44f) Gordon (F.Amb) 6'0" *
Sell/Release. (35d) McGinlay. (IRL) (Unamb)

DL.

1st Team. (43e) Wills (F.Sport) *
2nd Team. (38d) McMullan (NIR) (Unamb) *
Loan. (41d) Dichev (BUL) (Bal) *
Loan. (42c) Ross (IRL) (L.Det)
U18's. (42n) Murray (F.Pro) * WBL
U18's. (42h) Govan. (Bal)
Sell/Release. 

DR.

1st Team. (33b) Skrzyński (POL)(F.Pro) *
2nd Team. (43a) Quinn (F.Pro) *
Loan. (41d) Dichev (BUL) (Bal) *
U18's. (42f) Johnstone (Unamb) *
Sell/Release. (37d) Romanis. (F.Sport)
Sell/Release. (40p) Tomaszewski. (Bal)
Sell/Release. (42d) Curran. (IRL) (Resil)

DC.

1st Team DLC. (41g) Thomson (F.Loyal) 6'1" *
1st Team DC. (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 *
1st Team DRC. (38b) Jayes (SCO)(Unamb) 6'4"*

2nd Team DLC. (40i) Paterson (IRL) (Spirit)
2nd Team DC. (40c) Villanueva (PHI)(F.Det)*
2nd Team DRC. (36e) Dickson (Unamb) 6'2" *

Loan. (43j) Strachan (Det) 6'3"
Loan. (42l) Severin (Unamb) 5'10"
Loan. (42m) Martin (Fickle) 5'9" *

U18's DLC. (44e) Henry (F.Pro) 5'10" *
U18's DC. (44h) Lemetti (IRL)(F.Amb)6'2*
U18's DRC. (43h) Wills (Pro) 6'0"

Sell/Release. (37l) Williams. (TRI) (F.Pro)
Sell/Release. (34f) McMullan.(Unamb) DC 5'11
Sell/Release. (39o) Urquhart. (Bal)

MC.

1st Team MLC. (42b) Potter (F.Amb) *
1st Team MRC. (40b) Stewart (SCO)(IRL)(Pro)*

2nd Team MLC. (38i) Waddell (Res) *
2nd Team MRC. (32e) Dick (Bal) *

Loan. (40l) Robertson (F.Pro) *
Loan. (43g) Severin (Casual)
Loan. (41l) Aitken (F.Amb) *

U18's MLC. (43b) Bradley (Perfect) * MC
U18's MRC. (44b) Harvey (Spirit) * PPM
U18's Backup. (43i) Roberts (CAN) (F.Pro)
U18's Backup. (43l) McKay (F.Sport)

Sell/Release. (36h) Stewart. (Bal) MC
Sell/Release. (42a) Pittman. (IRL) (Real)
Sell/Release. (41n) Stevenson. (Fickle)
Sell/Release. 

SC. 

1st Team SLC. (33c) P.McCormack (F.Pro) *
1st Team SC. (37i) Morrison (Pro) * 
1st Team SRC. (31j) Fullerton (Unamb) *

2nd Team SLC. (37c) Brass3 (F.Sport) *
2nd Team SC. (41b) Gourley (NIR) (F.Det) *
2nd Team SRC. (40a) Brass4 (F.Pro) *

Loan. (40g) Paterson (IRL) (F.Pro) *
Loan. (40o) Banner (F.Amb) *
Loan. (39f) Foth6 (IRL) (F.Det) SC *
Loan. (41j) Bell (Bal)
Loan. (42j) Luke (IRL) (Unamb)
Loan. (42h) Govan. (Bal)
Loan.(42i) Innes. (Bal)

U18's SLC. (44a) Neill (F.Pro) *
U18's SC. (43d) Brass5 (L-H) SC
U18's SRC.

Sell/Release. (37j) Hanley. (IRL) (Fickle)
Sell/Release. (39b) Christie. (L.Det)
Sell/Release. (42e) Walker. (Sport)
Sell/Release. (41o) McAuley. (L.Det)
Sell/Release. (40j) Denholm. (Bal)
Sell/Release. (41n) Stevenson. (Fickle)
Sell/Release. (42o) Patterson (Bal) 6'2"

[Jimbokav1971]

Awards. May 2044. 

Championship Player of the season. 

Championship Golden Boot. 

Team of the Season.

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2044. 

Trophy Cabinet. 

Favoured personnel. 

Best XI.

Wages. We haven't really had a problem with the wage budget, (except when they cut it from about £10 pw to approx £4,500 pw), and even then we muddled through, but I'm encountering a little problem with wages now. 

If we assume that the average wage for a 1st Team player is £500 pw then at £11,000 pw budget that gives us scope for 22 players. 

Just the 1st Team and 2nd Team starting XI's come to 22 players so that's basically our budget used up and we've got no space for any youngsters outside of the 1st/2nd Team.

There's a little bit of room to play with because not everyone is moving to a FT contract and even then, not all who are will be paid £500 pw, (although some will be paid more). Our 1st choice WBR (33b) Skrzyński (POL)(F.Pro) * wanted almost £1k pw, so he's simply not getting a new contract. I will just have to sell him. 

Ticket Prices. I'm delighted the prices are going up. I think we're going to sell-out a lot of games next season. 

Commercial Summary. 

Internationals. 

Clauses. The offers that were available to us have dropped, but we have a new offer in place for a pretty sizeable fee. 

We've got a 40% profit clause on 20 year old (39a) Banner (Bal) * who is at Salernitana and made 16(20) appearances last season scoring 6 goals and 2 assists. He did have a £24M release clause, but he mist have signed a new contract because the release clause is now £11,750,000. 40% of that is still approx £4.7M, so I don't think I'm going to accept the £2.59M offer. Especially not when I see that 4 big Premier League clubs are after him.

Finances.

[Jimbokav1971]

European Competition Rankings. Jun 2044. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Reputation. Jun 2044. 

I will show you this again after the season ticks over and we are in the Premiership.

[Edit]

Table after season has ticked over and we're in the premiership. 

Edited January 28 by Jimbokav1971

[Johnny-Trotter]

20 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

 

New contract offer. They've offered me a new 3 year deal, but still not willing to pay me anything. I will wait until we have turned Pro and then sign whatever they offer me. 

I understand this is a bug, and if you start on with a club on Amateur status with an N/A contract, they will never offer you a semi-pro or professional contract, as long as you remain at the club. They will continue to offer you N/A deals. Obviously if you moved to a new club, they would offer you a deal on some money instead. It just means that Tullibody have gotten 22+ seasons of your services for free 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2044. 

Season Preview. Avoiding relegation is a big ask, but more importantly just look at Celtic predicted to finish 5th!!!!! What the hell has gone on?       

Season Expectations. 

New contracts. Same 3 year term, but this time with actual cash money for a wage. 

Transfers. The 1st big clause of the save has been triggered, but it should be pointed out that we turned Pro and got to the Premiership without it. It's still very very very welcome though. 

Clauses. We had the option to sell the (39a) Banner (Bal) * deal for £2.7M, but stayed strong and eventually got £4.7M for it. 

The 30% profit on (41c) Hogarth (Res) 5'9" * is also available to sell, and Hibs have offered us £3.87M to do so. He's got 3 more years on his contract so I'm in no rush to sell. The player was out on loan in Hungary of all places last season. 

U18's league. Finally. 

Season Tickets. 

Finances. 

This is what the budgets were. 

And this is what they are now after I have swapped things around a little.

Edited January 28 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

28 minutes ago, Johnny-Trotter said:

I understand this is a bug, and if you start on with a club on Amateur status with an N/A contract, they will never offer you a semi-pro or professional contract, as long as you remain at the club. They will continue to offer you N/A deals. Obviously if you moved to a new club, they would offer you a deal on some money instead. It just means that Tullibody have gotten 22+ seasons of your services for free 

Well I have just signed a 3 year FT deal on £725 pw with them so.... 

[Johnny-Trotter]

6 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Well I have just signed a 3 year FT deal on £725 pw with them so.... 

Ah - thanks for the correction then! Glad to see you finally get paid.

[Jimbokav1971]

Scottish Premiership. Jul 2044. 

The big surprise isn't so much Rangers becoming dominant over Celtic, (because that's just what happens), but it's very much a surprise to see 1st Aberdeen and then Hibs win the league, but the most surprising thing of all is that Celtic finished 3rd in 2039/40 and then haven't even finished in the Top 3 for the last 4 seasons. 

Rangers in Europe. 

2023/24. Europa League Round of 16. 
2024/25. Europa League Knockout Playoff Round. 
2025/26. Europa League Round of 16. 
2026/27. Europa league Quarter Finals. 
2027/28. Champions League Group phase. 
2028/29. Champions League Knockout Playoff Round. . 
2029/30. Champions League Group phase. 
2030/31. Europa league Round of 16. 
2031/32. Champions League Quarter Final.
2032/33. Champions League Round of 16. 
2033/34. Champions League Round of 16. 
2034/35. Champions League Round of 16. 
2035/36. Champions League Round of 16. 
2036/37. Champions league Group phase. 
2037. FIFA Club World Cup 2nd Round. 
2037/38. Europa League Champions. (Against Celtic). 
2038/39. Champions League Knockout Playoff. 
2039/40. Champions League Knockout Playoff. 
2040/41. Champions League Knockout Playoff.
2041/42. Champions League Knockout Playoff. 
2042/43. Champions League Knockout Playoff. 
2043/44. Champions league Group phase. 

Celtic in Europe. 

2023/24. Champions League Group phase. 
2024/25. Champions League Knockout Playoff.
2025/26. Champions League Group phase. 
2026/27. Champions League Knockout Playoff. 
2027/28. Champions League Knockout Playoff. 
2028/29. Champions League Group phase. 
2029/30. Champions League Knockout Playoff.
2030/31. Champions League Knockout Playoff.
2031/32. Europa League Round of 16.
2032/33. Europa League Round of 16. 
2033/34. Champions League Knockout Playoff.
2034/35. Europa League Semi-Final. 
2035/36. Europa League Round of 16. 
2036/37. Europa League Semi-Final. 
2037/38. Europa League Runners Up. (Lost to Rangers). 
2038/39. Europa League Quarter FInal. 
2039/40. Champions League Group phase. 
2040/41. Europa League Round of 16.
2041. FIFA Club World Cup Quarter Final. 
2041/42. Europa League Knockout Playoff. 
2042/43. Champions League Group phase. 
2043/44. Europa League Champions. (Beat AZ Alkmaar). 

Aberdeen in Europe, (only progress past Group Stage shown). 

2026/27. Europa League Round of 16.
2028/29. Europa Conference Champions. (Beat Ajax). 
2030/31. Europa Conference Knockout Playoff. 
2036/37. Europa League Knockout Playoff.
2037/38. Champions League Round of 16. 
2038/39. Europa Conference Runners Up. (Lost to Newcastle). 
2039/40. Europa League Round of 16. 
2040/41. Europa League Runners up. (Lost to Chelsea). 
2041/42. Champions League Round of 16.

Hibs in Europe, (only progress past Group Stage shown). 

2029/30. Europa Conference Semi Final.
2031/32. Europa Conference Champions. (Beat Union Berlin). 
2032/33. Europa League Knockout Playoff. 
2033/34. Europa Conference Champions. (Beat Brighton). 
2039/40. Europa League Round of 16. 
2040/41. Europa League Quarter Final.
2041/42. Europa League Round of 16. 
2042/43. Champions league Knockout Playoff. 
2043/44. Champions league Knockout Playoff. 

Hearts in Europe, (Only progress past Group Stage shown). 

2024/25. Europa Conference Knockout Playoff. 
2025/26. Europa League Knockout Playoff. 
2026/27. Europa Conference Round of 16.
2027/28. Europa Conference Semi-Final. 
2030/31. Europa League Round of 16. 
2031/32. Europa League Knockout Playoff. 
2034/35. Europa league Round of 16. 
2036/37. Europa League Round of 16. 
2038/38. Europa League Round of 16. 

Motherwell in Europe. 

They only got to the Europa League Group stage once. 

Kilmarnock in Europe. (Only progress past Group Stage shown). 

2027/28. Europa Conference Round of 16. 
2039/40. Europa Conference Round of 16. 
2041/42. Europa League Round of 16. 
2042/43. Europa League Quarter FInal. 
2043/44. Europa League Round of 16. 

Ross County in Europe. (Only progress past Group Stage is shown). 

2035/36. Europa Conference Round of 16. 

Falkirk in Europe. 

2034/35. Europa Conference Round of 16. 

Dundee Utd in Europe. 

2037/38. Europa League Knockout Playoff Round. 
2043/44. Europa League Knockout Playoff Round. 

Dundee FC in Europe. 

2042/43. Europa League Knockout Playoff. 

Summary. While Rangers have been the dominant force in domestic competition, AND they beat Celtic in the Final of the 2037/38 Europa league Final, Celtic have actually made 2 European FInals, (winning 1 and losing 1), but Aberdeen have made 3 European Finals, (winning 1 and losing 2) , but the best performers in Europe have been Hibs who have made 2 Finals, (winning both). 

It means that Scottish clubs have won 5 European Finals between them over the course of the save, and been beaten Finalists on 3 occasions.  

2028/29. Europa Conference Final. Aberdeen beat Ajax.
2031/32. Europa Conference Final. Hibs Beat Union Berlin. 
2033/34. Europa Conference FInal. Hibs beat Brighton. 
2037/38. Europa League Final. Rangers beat Celtic. Can you imagine the absolute carnage!  
2038/39. Europa Conference Final. Newcastle beat Aberdeen. 
2040/41. Europa Conference Final. Chelsea beat Aberdeen. 
2043/44. Europa League FInal. Celtic beat AZ Alkmaar. 

It could be argued that the Scottish clubs had an advantage in the early seasons of the save because they were the only active structure, and just for clarity the new leagues were only activated for the 2040/41 season. 

What I've noticed though, (with the exception of Celtic & Rangers), if a Scottish club has a good season in Europe, then there is a fair chance that they missed out completely on Europe the following season, (or at the very least crashed out in the qualifying stages). For most of the save they have struggled to put together back to back European campaigns. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Johnny-Trotter said:

Ah - thanks for the correction then! Glad to see you finally get paid.

I think you're right in so much that there is a bug. It's just that it's finally resolved at the Fully Pro stage rather than the Semi-Pro stage as should be the case.