[FM24] A Roman Regionnaire

[mannojunior]

A Roman Regionnaire

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The Romans must rise again. King Bladud will see to this.

Here we are, the start of another FM24 save and not one I thought I would be embarking on so soon. For those unfamiliar with a 'Regionnaire' save then I cannot take any credit for it. It has recently been brought to the forefront of FM blogs and saves by 5StarPod member MaddFM who has written this very handy piece on what it is and how it works. I'll save the characters (wait this isn't X?) and you can check out MaddFM's written guide here. Throughout this save, I won't be going for a complete overhaul of the squad from day one. The restriction will be that any new signing must be from the region of choice and we will slowly phase out the non-regional players at the club.

For those looking for a TLDR the premise is simple, we can only sign players who are born in the South West region of England. Why the South West you may ask? Well, I am not mad as I am fully aware that of all the regions in England, the South West appears to pose the stiffest challenge of all when it comes to the Regionnaire challenge. I am based in the South West and a season ticket holder at Bath City FC, which is the club we will managing throughout this series. Hang on, I don't get the Roman reference?! Well, Bath's nickname is the Romans giving the historic significance of the Romans in Bath in times gone by. Let's get one thing straight from the off, I am a slow player of FM and often don't have a lot of spare time to play. Updates will be short and sharp and may we be sporadic, we will see. Oh and if things don't go well then posts will be non-existent. On with the show!

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[Bay Hudson]

As a fellow South-Wester excited to follow this mate!

[mannojunior]

3 minutes ago, Bay Hudson said:

As a fellow South-Wester excited to follow this mate!

It's going to be tough! Only about 40 players interested in playing for me at the moment and that includes all players at the club!

[Rick87]

Good luck, had some nice visits to Bath in the past, so I've a soft spot for the city.

[mannojunior]

A Roman Regionnaire

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So here we are, we have taken up our post as manager of the Romans as we replace the outgoing Jerry Gill. Things are going to be tough as after setting up the player search filter we are currently only attracting around 40ish players who would be interested in talking to us. Oh and that includes players that are already at the club. This is certainly going to be interesting!

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After some extensive trialling of various players and searching the player search filter with a fine tooth comb we have managed to make four additions to our squad. 

F

First through the door is Joseph Wragg who joins on a free transfer following his release from Bideford. The 19 year old winger was born in Exeter and was on the books at Exeter for three years as a youngster before he was released. He's not elite by any means but he's young enough to improve and he is fairly quick. With virtually no wingers at the club he is a much needed signing for squad depth. 

Next up we welcomed Josh Leslie-Smith to Twerton Park after he was released by Weymouth. A very solid centre back who has spent the last two years playing in the National League so he adds huge quality to our back line. The 23 year old was born in Bournemouth and came through the ranks at Poole Town. 

A surprise signing of sorts as we were able to finalise a loan deal for Jack Endacott. When he eventually showed up on the the player search as being interested I could see he had huge interest from National League clubs but both Jack and Plymouth were keen for his development to be with us and we were able to secure a one year loan deal. Endacott was born in Plymouth and he adds more squad depth as he's able to play at both left wing back and left attacking midfield. He will get plenty of game time for us.

Our final signing of the summer was the arrival of Jack Carter on a season long loan deal from Forest Green Rovers. More of a depth signing as we didn't have a replacement right back but he will do a job. Born in Swindon the 18 year old has come through the ranks at Forest Green and spent last season out on loan at Melksham Town. 

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With our summer business seemingly done here is how our squad has taken shape. Plenty of options in all positions but the squad is still quite small which means that if we start piling up the injuries we could be in trouble. I'll be looking for the likes of Elliott Frear, Jordan Dyer and Cody Cooke to put in some big performances for us this season. Ignore George Dowling being in the squad, he has been on trial with us but he wants £900pw and that is not happening. 

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Just before we round off this post, here is the system we will look to play. Nothing special and certainly nothing complicated given the level of football we are operating at. We will look to use the width and play balls in behind with some quick wingers. Cooke is quite a physical presence up top which means that we can use mixed crosses to vary our delivery. 

[mannojunior]

August 2023

Quite the up and down month. Our season started with two losses which left me questioning whether this was a good idea or not. With a few tweaks to our tactical approach and formation we were then able to win three out of the next four games. Despite a heavy 5-1 loss to Eastbourne where we had to play with an outfield player in goal as Will Buse dislocated his shoulder after 20 minutes, we were pretty convincing. Elliott Frear playing wide left and James Alabi operating as a Target Forward up top appear to be forming a very nice partnership. Alabi leads the way with 3 goals and Frear is top of the assists chart with 4 assists.

6 games in to a very long National League South season and we are sat in 9th and hovering around the playoffs. We really can't read anything into this right now as we are only a month into this campaign and there is a lot of time for things to go wrong...or right! Our aim from here will be to maintain within touching distance of the playoffs or even sneak into a playoff place. The board want a top half finish so that's the bare minimum required to keep our job. 

An impressive August from Elliott Frear who has notched 3 goals and 4 assists in total. He finishes 3rd for POTM behind the winner Bradley Barry who scored two free kicks against us earlier this month.

Interesting. Not sure much will happen but something to keep an eye on.

[mannojunior]

September 2023 - A tactical conundrum

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Welcome back to another instalment of the Roman Regionnaire where I question my sanity and why anyone would think this was a good idea. After a moderately positive start to the season, I had to make a few tweaks to fit square pegs into round holes. Nobody said this challenge would be easy but I may have underestimated what I am working with. A set of pretty dire finances means that there is no room to recruit any local talent on a permanent basis but I am continuing to monitor the 'big' local clubs such as Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham and Swindon in case we can pick up any youngsters on loan.

I feel this shape and tactical setup is one that suits the squad I have. A pretty standard back four that is unlikely to change unless we pick up injuries. Our midfield two also picks itself, although Luke Russe is a talented defensive-minded midfielder but has failed to impress so far. There will no doubt be plenty of rotation between Smith, Clark and Russe. We are at our strongest in attack and I think our move to a 4-2-4 shows that. It's certainly nothing flashy, we are simply asking our wingers to stay wide and play as traditional wingers and go direct. What's not to like about watching a winger take on his man and knock it past him. That's what we want, direct football. Alabi and Cooke up top are giants and the Target Forward/Advanced Forward combination is perfect.

A solid month. Nothing more and nothing less. James Alabi and Cody Cooke continue to be a force up top. A huge disappointment for us as we exit the FA Cup in the Third Qualifying Round to lower division Hastings. We really could have done with some FA Cup money to strengthen the squad. 

5th place and a playoff place? It's early days but I would take that if offered. It's a steady start and our aim has to be to maintain a playoff position throughout the season. 

No prizes for guessing who tops the goalscoring charts. Big James Alabi has 10 goals, with strike partner Cody Cooke not far behind on 6 goals. Elliott Frear also started the season well but has tailed off. 

Loanee Jack Endacott is living up to the hype as he has registered 5 assists alongside Elliott Frear. 

Edited July 19 by mannojunior

[mannojunior]

                                                     

October 2023

A real mixed bag for us in October. I think what's hitting home as I pick up this save again is just how limited we are by the players we have. The board are unwilling to give me any more wage budget and all of the 'deadwood' are reluctant to leave the club on a free. Understandable I suppose, but frustrating for me as there are a couple of South West players available on a free that I'd really like to bring in. Yeovil and Worthing were the biggest tests and we ultimately failed in both. At home to Yeovil we just were not at the races and were comfortably beaten. Worthing was quite the opposite. They headed to Twerton Park sat top of the table and one lapse in concentration from a cross in the 90th minute meant we didn't earn what would have been a deserved point. Disappointing. However, a win against Taunton and draws at Tonbridge and Braintree keep our points tally moving in the right direction.

                                                         

Despite the defeats to Yeovil and Worthing, we retain our position in the playoff block. To be in this position after 15 games is a testament to how well we've been able to setup and play with the players at our disposal. The National League South season is a long and arduous slog, so 15 games is still fairly early days, however, our aim has to be to stay in and around the playoff places. If we can do that, I will class the season as successful. 

I'm not doing a deep dive into player statistics and performances as this is still not my team. I've inherited a crop of players who, for the most part, are square peg filling round holes. Lots will leave at the end of the season in line with the 'regionnaire' transfer policy and we will then be able to shape a squad I would class as mine. There have been positives so far, with our strike duo of Cody Cooke and James Alabi hitting the ground running. Cooke has 10 goals to his name whilst Alabi has 11. Sadly, Alabi will be leaving in the summer regardless as he is not South West based. Luke Russe is an interesting one as on paper he should be one of our stronger performers and certainly a top level DM for the NLS. So far, I've failed to get the best out of him as a BWM and so I've switched him to a CM(D) to see if we can solve the conundrum. Statistically, he's struggling with metrics such as pass completion (86%), tackles won (2.44 p/90) and blocks (0.46 p/90). 

                                                  

For those tactically minded, this is how we setup. With a plethora of central defenders, I've opted far a back three with my wingbacks offering the width. Given we are in the National League South, I'm not trying to play expansive football. The aim is to keep it relatively simple with a sturdy defence and a tall strike force. It's by no means the finished article but it's certainly a shape I see us using for the long term at the lower levels. I just need time to bring in the right players to plug the gaps where we have obvious weaknesses - e.g. central midfield.