Tivvy18

End of Season Competition Updates The Pride of the West Country Everyone's favourite part of this save. The table has been updated and obviously the big news is that we are creeping up the table into the National League. Bristol City have managed to make good on their promise in the last few seasons and have finally been promoted into the Premier League. Bournemouth at one point were rooted to the bottom of the Championship but climbed to midtable. Leagues Premier League Champions - Tottenham Champions League - Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea Europa League - Man Utd, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace (finished 17th, won the Europa Conference League) Europa Conference League - Fulham Relegated - Leeds, Birmingham, Blackburn Championship Champions - Southampton Promoted - Bristol City Playoff winners - Brentford Relegated - Watford, Barnsley, Wycombe League One Champions - Bolton Promoted - Preston Playoff winners - QPR Relegated - Colchester, Rotherham, Swindon, Tranmere League Two Champions - Notts Co Promoted - Doncaster, Walsall Playoff winners - Shrewsbury Relegated - Barnet, Scunthorpe National League Champions - Southend Playoff winners - Carlisle Relegated - Boston Utd, Solihull Moors, Barrow, Bath City National League North Champions - Chorley Playoff winners - AFC Telford Relegated - Lowestoft, Marine, Alfreton, Redditch National League South Champions - Eastleigh Playoff winners - Truro Relegated - Dover, Chesham, Carshalton, Hendon Domestic Cups FA Cup Chelsea 0 - 1 Liverpool League Cup Liverpool 2 - 1 Newcastle (after extra time) Community Shield Man City 1 - 2 Chelsea EFL Trophy MK Dons 0 - 2 Bolton FA Trophy Oldham 0 - 3 Carlisle Continental Cups Champions League Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City Europa League FC Midtjylland 1 - 0 Napoli (after extra time) Europa Conference League Valencia 0 - 2 Crystal Palace Super Cup Milan 2 - 5 Arsenal

Season 27/28 Review Squad I think this is the first time I've shown this tactic but this is what we have played this season. The only settled change has been that the DR has swapped from a WB-D to an IFB-D. The striker has gone between P-A, AF-A, DLF-A and PF-A trying to get a bit more output from them. I even tried out playing a support duty up front but just didn't seem to click. And here are our playoff heroes. The first XI are the ones starting, the second XI are the subs in order of position. The final three subs are players who are third choices in their positions. Just from a quick look you can see that the assists tended to come from out DL and the AMR. The midfield has offered some important on a fairly even split but it's been our second choice AP-A that has offered the most. Goal wise the main two of the front three were the SC and AMR. The first choice BBM, Marroni, also showed that he can pop up with goals. It's worth noting that these are bumped up by our cup run. It's still the same trend but when it comes to the league our figures are a bit more disappointing. I was being a bit sentimental this season and I think it actually ended up harming us. Tyler Harvey is an icon at the club and is reaching the end of his career. He is now 32 and is the last player standing from the start of the save. He has been our most technically gifted player and I have been aiming to build the tactic around him from the start. Unfortunately this season I have opted against using an AM and, whether because of age or it just not suited him, he just hasn't done the business for us. Goals and assists are both down. Meanwhile our second choice Watson contributed 10 assists in slightly fewer appearances. I noticed this very early on and what I should have done was swap the two over, with Harvey second choice and Watson first. Given this was likely to be Harvey's last season as a player I could potentially build the team around I was reluctant to do that and so didn't. With that change could we have gone one better and win the league? But now he has had his last season, and scored the opening in the playoff final, I think it is safe to say that the sentiments have been satisfied and his time in our squad will be winding down. Team performance As I said, the stats above are inflated from some high scoring games in the FA Cup. The league tells a bit of a different story when you sort it by goals for and against. Though it didn't feel like it at times, we were pretty solid at the back and conceded less than a goal game. Where out problems really lay was that we didn't have that great a season scoring goals. I think it is safe to say that our success this season was primarily due to our defence. In comparison, our top goal scorer got 13 in the league. Our top assists was 11. Apart from the odd games where we put on our scoring boots we mainly got results from scoring one or two goals. Something to work on and think about next season. The big summer ahead Last season I focused on overhauling the midfield. This season I think the plan is to try and overhaul the front three and ideally get some defenders who are more comfortable on the ball. Purkis, Harvey and Donnelly are all 32 and I would rather find their replacements sooner rather than later if I can manage to find someone. Sentiment is completely out of the window this summer. There's some players who just haven't done enough to convince me they deserve a shot in the next league up. So apart from general strengthening, the shopping list for this summer: Need: SC, DL, DR Want: AMR, DC (of the ball playing variety), MC (of the attacking playmaker variety) Club news We're adding 500 seats to our 3000 seater stadium. Not only will this eat up a big amount of our fund for other upgrades, we still won't meet the 4000 minimum requirement when completed

The Playoffs Final WE ARE GOING UP! The score line doesn't tell the story of the match as we were under pressure for most of the match. Even at two up I was nervous but come the 80th minute and our third it was clear that the momentum was clearly with us. I think I'm more pleased with the clean sheet than I am with the three goals. Just shows what happens when we take our chances! So what's next? Analysis and proper planning for the next league up will be coming shortly. We've shown this season in the FA Cup that we are able to take advantage of bigger teams so maybe it suggests we are part way there. There's a big difference between a one off match and a season long campaign, though. Plenty to think about before we start the new season. Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to celebrate promotion with a drink and the snooker.

The Playoffs Semi Final That feeling where you concede a penalty and think it's all over. Our keeper saves and then it a few minutes later we score a counter attack. The story of our season really. We generally have the possession but just can't convert it into goals. I'll try to remember it for the final bit of analysis but our goals scored vs goals conceded paints quite a picture. But that's for another post. Who awaits us in the final? We play Basingstoke who clearly had a bit more fun in front of goal in their tie. Not that I feel it counts for much but this is how we've done against them this season. We lost against them earlier in the month to a very late goal. We've got home advantage in the final so hopefully that counts for something.

Thank you for the encouragement! I love these sort of saves because I can get attached to the club and that offsets the frustrations of not progressing as quickly as I would like. It's a good shout about the "dummy" save. That's how I settled on this season's tactic by playing about with a few as Sporting in Portugal until something started to work more often than not. Maybe I should do something similar with a more limited team but the 4-3-3 that I've been using this season hasn't been too bad. Just needs a bit more firepower.

April 2028 League We're really running out of steam and failed again to take our chances when they fell to us. In the end we finished 6 points off Eastleigh and ended the season as runners up. At least we've got a break before our first playoff tie. You'd think I'd be more optimistic but I'm really concerned that the momentum is not with us. It won't be an all South West final though as we play the winner of Billericay and Weston-Super-Mare in the semi final.

March 2028 League We used up all of our goals against Braintree and the rest of the month felt like a struggle. Those two draws may become a case of what if... We've got the playoff spot wrapped up. Can we topple Eastleigh? With four matches left there is still time for some drama to unfold... Youth Intake Investment in youth recruitment seems to be paying off as we've got some decent potential coming through based on stars. The three choice players from this years intake. Still not saying much and given our limited development opportunities they will probably remain too rough to feature going forward if the club makes any progress.

February 2028 League Another slow month and I think our problem is going to end up being that we aren't playing well against the other teams in the playoffs. Despite struggling Gloucester have a striker having the season of his life and we could only salvage a point. Eastleigh are doing their best to make the run in a proper title race but we are doing our best to not take advantage of their slip ups. With 9 matches to go we have to overturn the six point gap and improve our goal difference as well. On current form I'm not optimistic... Oh and to top it off our goalkeeper is out for two months. This is how he celebrates a new and improved contract offer. We'll have to wait and see how this is going to effect us going forward but this could be a pivotal moment as we enter the run in.

January 2028 League An unbeaten month but a painfully ground out one. The goals haven't been flowing as much as I'd want and most are coming from set pieces. I've tried to play a 4-4-2 in the last three matches as I'm a bit jealous of so many teams having their strikers scoring massive amounts. It's not worked out quite the same for us though and it may be an experiment to try again at a future point. We aren't giving Eastleigh much peace and the chase is definitely on. FA Cup The final score line doesn't reflect the match. We held our own in the first half, only being 1-0 down from a penalty, and then their two goals came from the gulf in class between our defence and their attack. This has been an utterly wild FA Cup run, probably the best I've had in this sort of save. Finances That's a tasty amount in the bank, with around a £300k boost from the Leicester match. I don't really know what the best thing to do with it all is. I'd like to try and upgrade the youth side of things as much as I can as the last training upgrade drained our finances a fair chunk. The rumours of a board takeover are going around again and I don't want to get into a situation where we get someone in who refuses to inject cash.

December 2027 League A mixed month. Eastleigh could have been a draw right at the death but we couldn't make the most of our late game momentum. On the whole we've been off the pace this month but I'm hoping that is a response to the fairly hectic November. We're still in the mix at the top of the league though and hopefully will keep ourselves in a position to pounce on any Eastleigh slip up in the future. FA Trophy We just aren't fearing anyone at the moment. We couldn't match the 90th minute equaliser with penalty heroics this time. I'm not going to complain too much as I feel any success in the FA Trophy realistically will come in the National League and will help with fixture congestion in the future. Injuries Two fairly big injuries over the Christmas period. Harvey is coming to the end of his time as our star man, I feel, so I wasn't willing to spend money on a specialist or protective equipment, and plays in a position that we have enough cover for. Olly Thomas is a bit more of a problem as we are short of cover at AML.

November 2027 League Our good form continues as the fixtures come thick and fast. Our first XI only played twice in the league this month as we rotated with the FA Cup and Trophy. Eastleigh are running wild with two players at the 20 goal mark at the half way point. We sit a fairly distant second as it looks like the fight may end up being who finishes with a bye in the playoffs. It's still quite close with 5 points separating us in 2nd and Eastbourne in 10th. FA Cup We saw off League Two Bromley easily in the replay and then went one better by utterly thrashing League One Tranmere in the next round. I don't think their manager was able to handle just how badly their away day to Cornwall went. He says robbed. I say utterly outclassed. Premier League Leicester away in the Third Round so I'm hoping for a relatively good payday. FA Trophy We couldn't take our chances in either of the back to back matches against Chesham but we managed to get through on penalties in the end. Goalkeeper Margetson being the hero with a couple of saves.

September and October 2027 League September was frustrating. October was less so. Things clicked with a few tactical tweaks and all of a sudden the flood gates opened for us. Welling were 2nd when we played them and only a penalty separated us in the end but I'll take the win. FA Cup Our cup run so far has faced two teams in the lower leagues, relegation battlers Dover and then League 2 Bromley. Poor decisions at the back threw away our lead against Bromley and so we go to a replay at home. Club vision I take full credit for this. The fact that the board have put in over £500k so far this season in completely irrelevant. Personal League One promotion hopefuls Charlton want me. This save is still intended to be firmly Truro focused but I just wanted to point out that I am being praised for my tactical acumen in the game world. Clearly I've got some sort of reputation as a non-league Pep, despite my best achievements being surviving relegation somehow and being thrashed in the playoff semi final last season.

August 2027 League A fairly decent start to the season but nowhere near as dominant as the last few seasons have been. A worrying trend is that we can dominate a match but just not take our chances. Carshalton pretty much FM'd us and it took a late equaliser to salvage something. If we can find a goal scoring touch we may be in for a good season.

National League South 27/28 Preseason It's taken a while to get going but I'm back. I don't think any of the results against league opposition were actually bad. Most of the goals conceded just came from better quality but apart from Bristol City I think we held our own. Transfers These are just the signings since the league reset. I released 11 players from last season as part of a massive squad overhaul. Only Tyler Harvey remains from the very beginning at this point just because he remains one of our best players, though getting on in age. I'm in super serious mode now. If I can replace someone then that is exactly what needs to happen. Finances We sit at an 'insecure' £300k, helped continuously by the board injecting funds. I'm not complaining and if this is how I meet the challenge of repairing our finances then so be it. Still don't understand what's going on here. The League The bookies are serious about us. The board are less ambitious only asking for mid-table which suits me fine. The league has either got much weaker or we have got much stronger. Whatever it is, the challenge is to get us playing. The Pride of the West Country update I have got no idea if anyone is actually interested in this but I will continue doing it as I'm finding it interesting how the South West clubs are doing as a whole. If clubs do better it will benefit us as it means the players they produce should be better. Promoted Gloucester join us in the National League South this season. Teams continue to move around us be we remain planted where we are. Bournemouth could lose top spot now they are in the Championship but given what usually happens I fully expect them to go straight back up.

End of Season Competition Updates The Pride of the West Country As the permanent fixture of the National League South we watch as the names change around us but we stay put. The big news is Bournemouth have been relegated from the Premier League which means for the first time this save the South West has no representation at the top. Leagues Premier League Champions - Chelsea Champions League - Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal, Man Utd Europa League - Leeds, West Ham Europa Conference League - Crystal Palace Relegated - Bournemouth, Brentford, Southampton Championship Champions - Birmingham Promoted - Reading Playoff Winners - Blackburn Relegated - Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol Rovers, Wigan League One Champions - Derby Promoted - Lincoln Playoff Winners - Barnsley Relegated - Fleetwood, Shrewsbury, Bromley, Wrexham League Two Champions - Stockport Promoted - Salford, Leyton Orient Playoff Winners - Bradford City Relegated - Newport, Barrow National League Champions - Barnet Playoff Winners - South Shields Relegated - Dag & Red, Weston-super-Mare, AFC Fylde, Gateshead National League North Champions - Blyth Playoff Winners - Boston Utd Relegated - Nuneaton Boro, Oxford City, Gainsborough, Hemel Hempstead National League South Champions - Torquay Playoff Winners - Wealdstone Relegated - Weymouth, Hampton & Richmond, Tonbridge, Enfield Town Domestic Cups FA Cup Man City 2 - 1 Liverpool League Cup Chelsea 0 - 2 Crystal Palace Community Shield Man City 1 - 2 Man Utd EFL Trophy Blackpool 1 - 4 Derby FA Trophy Ebbsfleet 1 - 3 Yeovil Continental Cups Champions League Borussia Dortmund 0 - 1 Milan Europa League Chelsea 1 - 3 Arsenal Europa Conference League Gent 1 - 0 Frankfurt Super Cup Tottenham 0 - 1 Newcastle