adineen98
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Posts posted by adineen98
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I'm getting this error when the cities start to populate. I also had the following error when trying to initially create the stadia, '<=' not supported between instances of 'int' and 'str'
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On 08/12/2023 at 19:49, Wolf_pd said:
Very likely unfortunately.
That's a shame. I had been toying with the idea of completely rebuilding the file, but not actually doing it
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Hi all, I'm having a strange issue with my Editor Data file. I'm trying to create the Irish pyramid system, using a file that I've previously created in FM23. I've made some additions to the original file, as well as removing numerous failed changes and duplicate entries which massively reduced the number of changes from roughly 76k down to 45k.
I'm adding to the current nation rules for Ireland (as in, I selected "Add Lower Divisions/Cups to Existing Structure"). Is it possible that the combination of a file originating from an older version of FM and adding to the existing rules is causing this error? Screenshot and file attached for reference.
Apologies if this has been solved elsewhere, I wasn't able to find a topic which helped me fix my specific issue.
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Jack Walsh (ID 2000085084) has the wrong age, he is 30 years old as per Cork City's website, not 24.
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@Irish Researcher just thought that I'd mention that Sean Barron is not currently in the Cobh Ramblers squad, I've noticed that on the ORDB he is marked as NFE. Apologies if this has already been addressed and I've missed it.
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Just out of a matter of interest, it seems as if both Dublin County and Treaty Utd are confident they'll be getting licenses to play in the LOI, but with licenses not being given out until the 23rd of February, will this be too close to the winter update to see them included?
On 23/01/2021 at 03:43, Kloppy said:Drogheda Town seem to be removed?
Drogheda Town currently play in the Leinster Major Sunday which isn't in the game (it's the division below the Leinster Senior 1B)
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Back with Scarborough Athletic again
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Leeside AFC should be in the Munster 1st Division.
Pearse Celtic, Lakewood Athletic, Carrigtwohill Utd, Tramore Athletic, Macroom, Innishvilla and Buttevant should be in the Munster 2nd division after they moved from their respective Cork AUL and Munster Junior divisions recently.
Mallow Utd dropped down to Munster Junior 2nd Division, leaving the senior divisions like Ballincollig, Glasheen and Crosshaven did in recent years.
Temple Utd, Glen Celtic. Village Utd and City Wanderers should be in the Cork AUL Premier Division. Waterloo were relegated to the Premier A Division, while it seems as if Knocknaheeny haven't fielded a team this season.
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Sean Barron and Naythan Coleman should be part of the Cobh Ramblers squad, they signed for them during the summer. They're not currently present in the database, though I'm certain they featured in previous FMs.
Sacred Heart and Firhouse Clover are seperate clubs in the database, but they merged to form one club in 2019.
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On 27/11/2020 at 20:01, Irish Researcher said:
Thanks Alex, all amended and updated now.
On 27/11/2020 at 22:02, Irish Researcher said:Thanks Alex, our data lock was before the end of the Irish league season so we haven't added all the 2020 apps/goals data yet, Cobh is one of the outstanding clubs so Darragh's records will be revised then.
Perfect, thanks.
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Some competitions need histories added
- EA Sports Cup - 2019 Dundalk, 2020 postponed
- Munster Senior Cup - 2020 Rockmount
- Leinster Senior Cup - 2019 St Pat's, 2020 postponed
- President's Cup - 2020 postponed
Darragh Crowley made 10 appearances for Cobh, scoring 1 goal, for Cobh Ramblers in the 2020 First Division
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After a slog with Scarborough last season that only saw me reach the vast heights of the National League, I'm giving this a go with Truro City this year.
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Scarborough Athletic 2028/29 Season Review
"Scarborough had been expected to be in the running for a playoff place but ultimately flattered to deceive and will be disappointed with a top-half finish.
The Seadogs struggled to find their best form at times but were otherwise able to enjoy a campaign which saw them produce a highly respectable finish."
Competitions Summary
A good start to the season saw us floating around the upper playoff spots, but not enough for us to go top as Halesowen were proving too hot to handle early in the season. Unfortunately, a horrendous run of form (how often have I said this now?) due to the tactic I was using at the time, the one which had seen us finish 3rd last season, no longer working saw us go 10 matches in the league without winning between the end of December and February. We actually dropped as low as 16th at one stage, and I was on the verge of being sacked until I tinkered with the tactics, which sparked a run where we won 6 of our last 10 fixtures, but it wasn't enough, as we ultimately finished in 9th place.
We did quite well in the cups; we got the 1st Round of the FA Cup where we took Exeter to a replay where we lost 2-0, and we were knocked out in the 4th Round of the FA Trophy by Woking. The cup runs, combined with some pre-season friendlies, has helped us massively in terms of finances; even though we are currently in the red (mostly due to a loan repayment), we came out of debt for the first time in years earlier in the season. so hopefully now we can do even better next season, allowing the new board (the fans took over the club earlier in the season) to help improve the club both on and off the pitch.
Slightly more concerning is the fact my contract is up at the end of the season and I've yet to be offered new terms. I have to say as well, I'm beginning to get frustrated at the lack of progress I'm making as well. Next season will be my 10th one in charge and so far we've only gone as high as the National League, with our stay there being brief. We just don't have the finances to attract the type of players that can lead us to the title, or even be a force in the playoffs. Fingers crossed that next season will be a glorious one for us.
Squad Summary
Our biggest issue this season was the fact we relied on 4 players for the vast majority of our goals this season. Shane Stratton (who much to my sadness will more than likely be elsewhere next season as we can't afford his contract demands) scored 32 goals, Neil Attenborough, who was signed during the summer transfer window, contributed 17 goals (although he is currently on a long goal drought), while Ronnie Rodriguez and Kieran Yoffe grabbed 11 goals each. As Stratton is all but gone, I'm a bit worried about where the goals are going to come from, so I'm going to be doing quite a bit of searching in the transfer market. Not much else to report in terms of the squad outside of those four, as the rest of the players had solid but unspectacular seasons.
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th 2021/22 | VNLN | 7th | 2nd QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 7th, lost in Playoff Final 2022/23 | VNLN | 15th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 20th, finished 15th 2023/24 | VNLN | 2nd | 4th QR | 2nd Rnd | Expected to finish 20th, finished 2nd, promoted via playoffs 2024/25 | VNL | 20th | 4th QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 20th, avoided relegation 2025/26 | VNL | 23rd | 1st R | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 23rd, relegated 2026/27 | VNLN | 13th | 1st R | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 14th, finished 13th 2027/28 | VNLN | 3rd | 1st R | 2nd Rnd | Expected to finish 12th, finished 3rd, lost in Playoff Semi-Final 2028/29 | VNLN | 9th | 1st R | 4th Rnd | Expected to finish 14th, finished 9th0 -
Scarborough Athletic 2027/28 Season Review
"Scarborough had been expected to finish in the top half of the table and will have been delighted to find themselves finishing in the playoff places.
The Seadogs finished the campaign in red-hot form that propelled them to 2nd place, providing them with the platform to go on and exceed expectations by reaching the playoffs."
League Table | Squad | Tactics | Transfers | Finances
Competitions Summary
As a contrast of last season, this season was one marked by consistency. Never falling lower than 7th, we soon rose to 3rd and stayed there for most of the season, occasionally rising to 2nd and falling to 4th. We had a little bit of a wobble in late January which climaxed in an embarrassing 5-1 defeat at home to mid table Worcester, but we were back on track immediately after that, losing just 3 of our remaining league fixtures. We had some great wins this season; 5-1 at home to Southport, 6-2 away to Halifax and 4-0 away to eventual champions Solihull Moors. We finished as the league's top scorers, scoring 94 times and finishing with a goal difference of +44. Our problem this season was when we lost, we lost comprehensively, giving ourselves no chance of a comeback; 6 of our 10 defeats in the league were lost by 2 or more goals. We eventually finished in 3rd place, getting ourselves seeded for the playoffs. Unfortunately, we faced Halesowen, a bogey team of ours, and they beat us 1-0 at home in the playoff semi-final, scoring in the 5th minute of a closely fought match that didn't have many highlights.
In the cups, we had decent runs; we got to the First Round of the FA Cup, losing 3-0 away to Fylde after taking them to a replay, while Tranmere beat us 3-1 at home in the Second Round of the FA Trophy. The good cup runs of the last few seasons have been a major factor in our debt being hugely reduced, so I'm hoping that another good run next season, coupled with some glamour friendlies in preseason (we've a guaranteed €30,000 coming in from a friendly with Bolton) should see our debts wiped out by the end of next season, hopefully allowing us to invest more into wage budget so I can sign higher quality players.
Squad Summary
It was a great effort from the squad this season, with an impressive 12 players recording an average rating of at least 7.00. I'll mention the top 6 players here:
- Shane Stratton: I can't believe this fella was a free agent for almost 6 months before we signed him last season. A outstanding player for this level, he had a hand in an astonishing 53 goals in 49 appearances, finishing as the league's top scorer on 28 goals. If we get a similar effort from him next season, we can hopefully challenge for the title once again.
- Derek Lowson: A solid left back for this level who can also do a job for us in wide midfield, 6 assists and some brilliant defensive work sees him firmly in my plans going ahead. He's very close to his peak at the moment, so fingers crossed that we get another few seasons out of him.
- Geoff Graham: A man reborn in his new role as a right midfielder, he scored 12 times, assisting a further 12, which he combined with all-round good performances on the wing. Hard to think I was thinking of getting rid of him after his shocker that was his first season; I only kept him in the end because I couldn't find a better right midfielder.
- Stuart Hunt: Similar to Stratton, a player of his quality shouldn't have been a free agent for so long before we picked him up to shore up our defence last season. A rock in the defence who is still yet to peak, he also chipped in with 3 goals in the league.
- Dane Darnborough: Initially signed as a back up player to Jack Middleton, he was soon thrust into first team action when Middleton left us for Tranmere towards the end of August. He ended up doing better than Middleton probably would have, although he may have to take a back seat role next season as I've my eye on a few other right backs, but Darnborough would still be a quality option who I would have no hesitation is using.
- Aaron Connolly: Belying my AssMan's opinion of him, Connolly scored a respectable 11 goals in 35 league appearances from his role as a Pressing Forwards, although he did see less action towards the end of the season with the arrival of Keiran Yoffe. I have to say it's a little bit odd seeing Connolly becoming not good enough for my National League North side at 28 when he should be approaching his peak as he is quite highly rated in real life, but a spell at Blackpool earlier in his career where he hardly played more than likely seriously harmed his development.
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th 2021/22 | VNLN | 7th | 2nd QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 7th, lost in Playoff Final 2022/23 | VNLN | 15th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 20th, finished 15th 2023/24 | VNLN | 2nd | 4th QR | 2nd Rnd | Expected to finish 20th, finished 2nd, promoted via playoffs 2024/25 | VNLN | 20th | 4th QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 20th, avoided relegation 2025/26 | VNLN | 23rd | 1st R | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 23rd, relegated 2026/27 | VNLN | 13th | 1st R | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 14th, finished 13th 2027/28 | VNLN | 3rd | 1st R | 2nd Rnd | Expected to finish 12th, finished 3rd, lost in Playoff Semi-Final0 -
Scarborough Athletic 2026/27 Season Review
"Scarborough had been expected to settle comfortably into mid-table obscurity heading into the season and things went exactly as planned.
The Seadogs slipped to 22nd during a particularly woeful run and it was only a subsequent return to form that eventually saw them climb the table and finish where many had them expected to."
League Table | Squad | Tactics | Transfers | Finances
Competitions Summary
On the face of things, it was a fairly unspectacular season; a respectable mid table finish and a solid showing in the cups. Dig a little bit deeper however, and it was far from unspectacular. If anything, it was the exact opposite. We're all familiar with the phrase "a game of two halves", well, this really was a season of two halves. We lost 18 matches in the league; an incredible 15 of those came in the first 21 matches. It got to a stage where the board gave me an ultimatum: if I didn't pick up 8 points from 5 matches, I was being given my P45. How I wasn't fired sooner was beyond me as at one stage, we were 8 points from safety. After the board gave me my final warning, I changed the tactics from a 4-3-3 which simply wasn't working to the 4-4-2 tactic I'm currently using. My goal of 8 points from 5 matches started off with a 2-0 win over Barrow. This was followed up by a 4-1 defeat to Grantham, a 2-1 win over FC United and a 3-1 defeat to Braintree. This left us with 6 points from 4 matches, meaning I had to win the next match to save my job. That next match was a win away to 5th place Solihull Moors. No pressure. To my astonishment and delight, though, we won 1-0, and after the match, I received a message from the board saying that they were delighted I met the target and had full faith in me to continue managing the side. That win sparked a run of just 1 defeat in over the rest of the season, which included some fantastic wins such as a 5-2 win at home to Altrincham, a 5-0 win away to Hemel Hempstead, and the highlight of the season, a 4-0 dismantling of Chorley in their own back yard, a stunning result seeing as Chorley waltzed to the league title. I worked out that if we had the same form in the first half of the season as we did in the second half, we would have finished 2nd on 82 points.
In spite of our early season woes in the league, we did quite well in the FA Cup. We won 5-0 away to Bishop's Stortford, beat Stourbridge 4-2 after extra time at home, beat Bradford PA 1-0 away, before Doncaster Rovers proved too strong for us in the 1st Round, beating us 5-0. We didn't do as well in the FA Trophy, losing 3-0 away to Stockport in a replay in the 1st Round, but I'm not too concerned about the FA Trophy, to be honest.
Squad and Transfers
Unlike last season, we have 6 players worthy of a mention:
- Shane Stratton: Signed as a free agent, he scored 11 goals in 19 league appearances, assisting twice and getting two player of the match awards. He finished with a 7.20 average rating. Contracted up until the end of next season, I'm looking forward to see how he does over a full season.
- John O'Neil: A loan signing from Scunthorpe, I signed him as I had no out-and-out left midfielder. Despite being rated as a solid player for a Regional Prem Div side, he scored once and assisted 4 goals, finishing up with an average rating of 7.19. His form tailed off a bit in the last few matches, but he's only 19, so that's to be expected. His contract at Scunthorpe is up at the end of the season so I may try and sign him if he is released. If not, I'll see if they're willing to loan him again.
- Derek Lowson: One of the few bright lights in the darkness of the first half of the season who made 5 appearances for Sunderland in the Championship, he was arguably the star of the season despite being the third best rated player overall. One goal, 6 assists and 7 POTM awards means the fans already love him. My one concern is that my AssMan thinks he's pretty much at this potential despite him being only 24, so I think the left back position may need to be revisited soon.
- Wil Pearson: Like Lowson, another player who was able to hold his head high throughout the first half of the season. His prowess from free kicks and aggressive ball winning skills saw him score 9 goals in the league, make 4 assists, win 3 POTM awards and finish with a 7.05 average.
- Jack Middleton: Signed as a more attacking option than Diego Lattie, who was unable to shift him from the RB spot and eventually left fot Halifax. While he didn't contribute at all in terms of assists, he did score 3 goals, one less than Lattie scored in his 4 seasons at the club. I'm hoping for more assist-wise next season, but an average rating of 7.05 isn't bad by any means.
- Mike Evans: Signed on a free as I needed some more quality in centre back, Evans won 83% of the headers he was involed in, and had a tackle success rate of 86%. He also contributed to three of our goals in the league this season, scoring twice and assisting the other. An average overall rating of 7.01 saw him just do enough to be worthy of a mention.
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th 2021/22 | VNLN | 7th | 2nd QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 7th, lost in Playoff Final 2022/23 | VNLN | 15th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 20th, finished 15th 2023/24 | VNLN | 2nd | 4th QR | 2nd Rnd | Expected to finish 20th, finished 2nd, promoted via playoffs 2024/25 | VNLN | 20th | 4th QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 20th, avoided relegation 2025/26 | VNLN | 23rd | 1st R | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 23rd, relegated 2026/27 | VNLN | 13th | 1st R | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 14th, finished 13th0 -
Scarborough Athletic Season Review 25/26
Table | Squad | Tactics | Transfers | Finances
"Scarborough had been expected to be relegation certainties heading into the season and things went exactly as anticipated with The Seadogs ultimately succumbing to the drop.
The Seadogs got off to a terrible start, dropping from 4th to 16th, and somewhat surprisingly found themselves relegated."
Competitions Summary
We got off to such a good start, and we were sitting in 4th place after beating Chelmsford 3-1 at the start of October. However, a rot quickly set in; I changed the tactics to accommodate the signings of Aaron Groves and Bob Lewis who, on paper at least, are two of our better players. In hindsight, that was a terrible decision, as we slowly but surely suffered loss after loss, and won just 3 more times after that win against Chelmsford. What made the form even worse was that we weren't just losing; we were getting hammered. The nadir of the run was an embarrassing 9-1 defeat at home to Hartlepool at the beginning of April, and, while we were mathematically still capable of saving ourselves, it was at that point I realised we deserved to go down.
In the cups, we did okay. We beat Southport 2-1 at home in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round, and we got drawn against Nottingham Forest in the 1st Round. We played very well, and it took them to score in the 92nd minute to deny us a replay. We lost 1-0 to Barrow in the FA Trophy after extra time, which was a poor result seeing as Barrow were a division below us.
Squad and Transfers
Aaron Connolly and Darnell Mintus were two players I had high hopes for, and did as I expected, being involved in 33 of our goals this season. Other players who deserve a mention are Adam Cotton, who we signed on loan from Scunthorpe for the second season in a row and was our first choice left back (sadly, Sam Muggleton left during the season as he was unhappy with the lack of first team football), Joao Rangel, and Dean Colbert, a loan signing from Bolton (who appears to have lost his face). No one else really made enough of an impact to warrant a bit of a more in depth look, to be honest. At the moment, the squad is very bloated, so I will be releasing many players to try and rebuild for next season.
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th 2021/22 | VNLN | 7th | 2nd QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 7th, lost in Playoff Final 2022/23 | VNLN | 15th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 20th, finished 15th 2023/24 | VNLN | 2nd | 4th QR | 2nd Rnd | Expected to finish 20th, finished 2nd, promoted via playoffs 2024/25 | VNLN | 20th | 4th QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 20th, avoided relegation 2025/26 | VNLN | 23rd | 1st R | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 23rd, relegated0 -
Scarborough Athletic Season Review 24/25
League Table | Squad | Tactics | Transfers | Finances
"Scarborough had been expected to be relegation certainties heading into the season and although that was the case, they will be delighted to have finished with their heads above water.
The Seadogs will not want to dwell for long on what was a hard season but, thanks to some performances that surprised many people, they were at least able to avoid automatic relegation."
Competitions Summary
A very difficult season where we survived by the skin of our teeth, mostly due to some decent early season form, but helped by two incredible wins in our last four matches. After 16 matches, we were in 16th place and looking okay. However, on matchday 17, were hammered 6-2 by Aldershot, and that started a very rapid and worrying decline; we didn't win a match from then until matchday 26, and by then we were in the relegation zone. We finally beat Chelmsford 1-0 on matchday 27 to move up to 18th, but 3 defeats in a row saw us fall back into the relegation zone. A 3-0 win away to Guisley saw us rise back up to 18th, and 2 draws against Wrexham and Macclesfield saw us pick up some much needed points. Unfortunately, yet more poor form followed and after matchday 41, we were sat in 22nd place. Matchday 42 saw us draw 1-1 with 10 man Torquay who were also battling relegation, and at this point, immediate relegation seemed inevitable, and this was really hammered home when I saw our last four fixtures; 3 away matches against the then top 6 (Gateshead, Hartlepool and Cheltenham) and home to mid table Solihull Moors. I should point out at this point that I had changed tactics to the one above and, while it had showed some promise, injuries and fatigue meant I was regularly unable to field my strongest XI. So, matchday 43 rolls around, and we make the journey up to 5th place Gateshead. I was expecting a defeat to add another nail into the coffin, but there was life in this old Seadog yet; with our strongest side out, we simply blew Gateshead away, and we were up 5-0 at half time, and eventually ran out astonishing
6-0 winners, moving us back up to 20th place, just outside the relegation zone ahead of Torquay who had lost the same day. Although we did lose 4-1 to Hartlepool in our next match, Torquay could only draw, leaving us a point ahead going into our last two matches. We proceeded to beat Solihull Moors 4-1 and the victory, coupled with Torquay's loss to Tranmere, saw us secure our survival. Our final match was away to 2nd placed Cheltenham, so I fully rotated the squad as we could finish no higher or lower; the fringe players put in a very admirable performance, only losing 4-3 with Cheltenham's winner coming in the last few minutes.Performances in the cups were poor this season. We fell at the first hurdle in both cups; in the FA Cup, we were knocked out in the 4th Qualifying Round, losing 4-0 away to Altincham in a replay after drawing 0-0 at home in a match were we couldn't hit a cow's arse with a frying pan. Similarly, we lost 3-0 away to Guisley in the 1st round of the FA Trophy after drawing 1-1 at home.
Squad and Transfers
Not many players impressed this season as only two finished with an average rating above 7.00; Joao Rangel and Matty Dixon. Ashley Pope also deserves praise for finishing with a career high of 17 league goals, despite a finishing of 7. Shoutouts to both George Willis and Ben Adamson for reaching 200 league appearances each during the season. Aside from that, I don't think the rest of the squad really warrant in depth discussions.
As for transfers, the two notable ones were the departures of Joe Noble, our best youth player to date, to Rotherham for a fee of €3k, with a 50% sell on clause, and Jaden Palmer-Leandre to Shamrock Rovers for €20k (on a personal level, it was nice to fleece them for that much money
). We also have friendlies arranged with the two of them as per the transfer negotiations, which will bring us in about €30k in gate receipts.
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th 2021/22 | VNLN | 7th | 2nd QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 7th, lost in Playoff Final 2022/23 | VNLN | 15th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 20th, finished 15th 2023/24 | VNLN | 2nd | 4th QR | 2nd Rnd | Expected to finish 20th, finished 2nd, promoted via playoffs 2024/25 | VNLN | 20th | 4th QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 24th, finished 20th, avoided relegation0 -
Scarborough Athletic Season Review 23/24
League Table | Squad | Tactics | Transfers | Finances
"All of Scarborough's dreams came true this season as they defied expectation suggesting they would be relegation certainties and instead mounted an almost-unbelievable promotion winning campaign.
It was a season of unlikely yet jubilant success for The Seadogs, who consistently defied the odds from the outset, and eventually clinched promotion."
Competitions Summary
We have finally done it, and to be honest it never looked in doubt; if anything, I'm ever so slightly disappointed we didn't win the title. We finished in 2nd place on 82 points, 4 points behind Guiseley. Looking back, there are 3 results that, had they gone our way, we would have been champions; a 1-0 defeat at home early in the season to Blyth who absolutely robbed us (we had more shots on target than they had shots!), a 0-0 home draw with Guiseley just before Christmas, and a very disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Brackely who were hovering just above the relegation zone in mid January. There are a few more results, but those 3 are the most significant for me. We did get our revenge on Blyth in the playoffs, winning 2-0 at home, before sealing promotion with a very comfortable 1-0 win at home to Chorley (at this moment I would like to spare a thought for poor Chorley; they were comfortable leading the table going into the last 5 matches but ended up drawing 2 and losing 3, including defeats to ourselves and Guiseley, to eventually finish 3rd).
We had much better luck in the cup competitions this season. In the FA Cup, we made it to the 4th Qualifying Round, winning 4-0 and 5-0 at home to Dereham and Nuneaton respectively, and we took Macclesfield Town from the National League to a reply after a 2-2 draw at Moss Rose, where we can consider ourselves unlucky to lose 1-0 at home in a match we edged. We actually dominated the first match, but unfortunately, we were left to rue wastefulness in front of goal. As for the FA Trophy, we made it to the 2nd Round. We beat Harrogate 2-1 away from home in the 3rd Qualifying Round, which was followed up by a 4-0 win over Felixstowe at home. We then lost 1-0 away to National League Crawley, and we were probably lucky not to lose by 3 or 4, to be honest.
Squad and Transfers
One of the key factors to promotion this season was the feel good factor among the players. Morale was constantly high and, unlike last season, I had very little issues with player unhappiness this season. I rotated the squad a little bit more this season, meaning the vast majority of players were pleased with the amount of minutes they were receiving.
The 5 players of the season are:
- Sam Muggleton: Our best player this season, and quickly becoming one of my all time best buys in FM. Since he singed for us back in 2020, he has made 167 league appearances, scoring 9 goals, making 30 assists, and received 15 Player of the Match awards. He has never had an average rating below 7.02, and this season was his best yet in terms of overall average rating; 7.36, while also contributing with 4 goals and 8 assists. Despite him only be rated as a leading player for most Regional Premier Division sides, I believe he still has a part to play next season. He deserves it, after all.
- Diego Lattie: A young and powerful full back who will be more than good enough for next season; Lattie made 40 league appearances, scoring 2 goals and getting 5 PotM awards, with an overall average rating of 7.18. I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops over the next few seasons.
- Matty Dixon: An absolute revelation in the role of a Box to Box Midfielder. An overall average rating of 7.13 and 9 goals in 40 league appearances is a career best for him, which is all the more amazing when you consider he has a finishing of 4 and long shots of 7. Like Muggleton, he's only rated as a leading player for most Regional Premier Division sides but will still be around the squad next season, most likely as a back up player.
- Jean Palmer-Leandre: An excellent player for this division. Signed on a free transfer after his release from Man City, he was by far our best player. Despite being slightly underwhelming on the goalscoring side with 3 goals and 4 assists in 41 league appearances, general all-round excellent performances saw him finish as our 4th best rated player with an average overall rating of 7.11. Shamrock Rovers were interested in signing him on a pre-contract deal, but I've offered him new terms which I'm expecting him to sign. He'll more than likely be the key midfielder next season, and possibly for however long we remain in this part of the league system.
- Ronaldo Brown: Back in the side after a change in formation, Brown was a key player for us this season, with 5 goals and 11 assists in 37 league appearances. Despite finish with an average rating of 6.95 in the league, outstanding cup performances saw him sneak in the top 5* with an average overall rating of 7.07. He'll probably be a back up option next season, but he is still a quality player, and will be at the club for the forseeable future.
Honourable mentions to George Hughes, Mohammed Sangaré, Ben Adamson and Joe Noble (our first youth player to make a notable impact on the squad), who finished with average overall ratings of 7.10, 7.02, 7.01 and 7.00 respectively.
*Hughes actually finished 5th in terms of overall average rating, but because he made just 14 appearances, 6 of them starts, I felt that Brown was a better choice for the 5th place spot due to his greater overall impact.
Finances
Unfortunately, our finances are looking dire at the moment. We are nearly half a million in debt, and despite saving money by signing players onto non-contracts, we are still losing a considerable amount of money. Hopefully promotion will lead to increased numbers through the gate and more favourable cup draws to bring in more money. Plans for the new stadium were also cancelled, which was disappointing; we play over an hour away from Scarborough itself in Goole, which is obviously affecting our attendances. I'm very wary of potential administration, which would be catastrophic for the save, so fingers crossed the finances improve sooner rather than later.
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th 2021/22 | VNLN | 7th | 2nd QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 7th, lost in Playoff Final 2022/23 | VNLN | 15th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 20th, finished 15th 2023/24 | VNLN | 2nd | 4th QR | 2nd Rnd | Expected to finish 20th, finished 2nd, promoted via playoffs2 -
Scarborough Athletic Season Review 22/23
League Table | Squad Part 1 Part 2 | Tactics | Transfers | Finances
"Few will have tipped Scarborough to have been more than capable of avoiding relegation heading into the season but The Seadogs confounded every expectation by achieving a solid mid-table finish
The Seadogs were one of the competition's more unpredictable teams, enjoying an impressive spell of form between November and December that saw them rise to 12th, having sunk as low as 17th earlier in the campaign that ultimately ended with them exceeding expectations."
Competitions Summary
Our seasons are beginning to follow a familiar pattern; a bright start in the first 4 or 5 matches is followed by a massive drop in form in September resulting in early cup exits, which is then followed by an upturn in form towards the end of the year, before plateauing from about February onwards. While I wanted to finish in the playoffs again this season, my tactic which had brought me 6 wins from 9 in pre-season, including wins against Crystal Palace and Bradford City, suddenly stopped working and we went on a 7 match winless run, which included 3 losses in a row. After the 3rd loss, I created a few new tactics which brought us some stability and more importantly, results. We finally managed to get through the 2nd qualifying round of the FA Cup this season, beating Stratford 5-0 away, only to lose on penalties against Nantwich in the next round. We also exited the FA Trophy at the first hurdle, losing 3-2 away to Halesowen. We eventually finished in 15th place, 16 points clear of relegation, but 21 points below the last playoff spot.
Squad and Transfers
I had constant issues with player unhappiness this season due to the consistently below average player morale all season, most of the issues being players who were nowhere near the first team demanding more minutes despite not deserving it. In the end though, I kept the ship steady, and I will be trimming the squad considerably in the transfer window.
Our top 5 players this season:
- Sam O'Halleron (20 goals, 4 assists, 37 (5) appearances, 7.09 average rating)
- Ronaldo Brown (3 goals, 12 assists, 32 (1) appearances, 7.07 average rating)
- Jack Johnson (7 goals, 7 assists, 40 appearances, 7.06 average rating)
- Sam Muggleton (0 goals, 6 assists, 41 appearances, 7.04 average rating)
- Ashley Pope (19 goals, 12 assists, 40 (5) appearances, 7.00 average rating)
In terms of the transfers, I signed O'Halleron permanently after he was released from Fleetwood. Pope was signed on a free transfer after his release from Halifax. They are the only two who really made an impact and are therefore worth discussing. Edon Pruti did okay but not as well as I expected him to. Rangel and Coutts were two loan signings made in January to add an extra bit of quality to the squad but again, didn't do as well as I would have liked. Clarke only made 9 appearances all season, mostly from the bench. Our financial situation means I now have to be very ruthless in who I sign and who I release, so the amount of players I can sign is more than likely going to get smaller until out financial situation improves. Seeing as we sit at nearly half a million in debt though, I can't see that happening any time soon
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th 2021/22 | VNLN | 7th | 2nd QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 7th, lost in Playoff Final 2022/23 | VNLV | 15th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 20th, finished 15th1 -
Scarborough Athletic Season Review 21/22
League Table |Squad Part 1 Part 2 | Primary Tactics | Transfers (Released Players) | Finances | Facilities
Season Summary
For some reason, there wasn't the usual two lines summing up our season in the season review that pops up in the inbox at the conclusion of a season, so obviously, it won't be included in my season review.
Going into this season, I strengthened the squad, particularly on the wings, but to be honest, I was expecting more of the same as last season, and so was the game: we were predicted to finish rock bottom in 22nd place. A mixed pre-season which included a 7-0 defeat at home to Newcastle (I arrange these friendlies solely for finances), we kicked off our season with an impressive 1-0 win away to Telford. This was followed up by a 4-1 win at home to Spennymoor, which led to my optimism for the season ahead increasing. Unfortunately, this was followed up by a run where we won 1 match (a 3-1 win at home to Hereford) in 10, and this run included an extremely frustrating 1-0 defeat at home to Redditch United in the FA Cup, made all the more galling by the fact that we had our strongest side out. In my last season review, I said I was considering going with Harry Hammett as my first choice striker; I had to abandon this idea and sign a new striker (I eventually settled on Dan Maguire) as poor Hammett couldn't hit a cow's arse with a frying pan. The signing of Maguire, coupled with a slight change in tactics, led to a massive change in our fortunes, as we went on a 12 match unbeaten run (although this run did include throwing away a 5-1 lead at home to Kidderminster in the FA Trophy but fortunately for my players, we won the replay). Our run was eventually ended in a 3-1 defeat at home to Halifax of the National League, and we pushed them all the way, with them scoring twice in the last 15 minutes to finish us off. We finished the year in 7th place, just within the playoffs.
In the second half of the season, we were a little bit more inconsistent. We swung wildly from the unstoppable in the form of an 8-3 demolition away to Tamworth (which funnily enough wasn't our moment of the season, our 4-1 win at home to Brackley early in the season was), to the appalling in the form of a 4-1 defeat away to Brackley who were flirting with the relegation zone at this point. Between the 12th of February and the 12 of March, we picked up just 2 points from a possible 15, with both of those points coming from 0-0 draws. It was at this point I began fearing we'd miss out on the playoffs altogether, as we had slid from 5th place to 9th place and we didn't look like improving any time soon. Again, I altered the tactics slightly, favouring a more defensive approach as I sought to grind out wins. We won our next 3 matches, but then lost 2 and drew 1 after that, and we fell to 8th place with Spennymoor overtaken us in the final playoff spot. We scraped past Halesowen 3-2 in our penultimate fixture, leaving us on 64 points, with Spennymoor on 65 points going into the final match. We had a tricky match away to King's Lynn, while Spennymoor had a straight forward match at home to Leamington, so I wasn't confident that we'd get the results we needed to get the playoff spot. We won our match 3-1, and while Spennymoor initially went 1-0 up in their match, the capitulated and had a man sent off, eventually losing 2-1, and we snuck into the playoffs. Needless to say, I was stunned!
Our first match in the playoffs was away to Kidderminster. We were given no hope, but we came away with a 2-1 win, with George Hughes netting both goals. Our next fixture was again away, this time at Hereford. Everyone, myself included, expected us to get walloped by Hereford, but we completely and utterly FM'd them; we took the lead early on direct from a Jack Johnson freekick, and despite them throwing the kitchen sink at us and having two goals ruled out for offside, we eventually grabbed the winner on 81 minutes, and we were through to the final. The final was again away from home, at Telford. We raced into a 2-0 lead, and I was faced with the scarcely believable prospect of playing in the 5th tier of English football, despite being predicted to be relegated to the 7th tier at the start of the season. However, just after half time, Telford scored through Lee Shaw, and of course, it was the transfer listed striker's first goal of the season. It didn't looked to matter too much though, as we were holding out. 5 minutes of added time went up. In the 93rd minute, a long ball over the top ripped our defence open, and we conceded a penalty. Who stepped up to score and level the match at 2-2? Only Lee Shaw. I was speechless.
As not much happened in extra time, penalties was required. We went first. First up for us was Jack Johnson, our best penalty taker by a mile with penalties of 16. He began his run up... and missed. The awful feeling of it wasn't going to be our day was growing. It was as if the game was paying me back for robbing Hereford blind in the previous match. We scored our next 4 penalties, and they missed 1 of their first 5, so sudden death arrived. We both scored our first 4 penalties, and missed the 5th one. It was now time for the keepers. Up stepped Willis, but he hit his penalty straight at their keeper. Their keeper stepped up, composed himself, strode up to the ball... and coolly placed it into the top corner. The Telford players and staff ran off in celebration. We trudged off heartbroken. Telford won 9-8 on penalties. It was such a cruel way to end the season, and ending we just did not deserve. In saying that, we can look back on the season with a lot of pride, and the defeat may also prove to be a blessing in disguise; we really weren't ready for VNL football, so another season of building the squad in the VNN may be just what we need.
Squad and Transfer Summary
Ronaldo Brown, Sam Muggleton, and Finley Shrimpton were our star players this season, with average ratings of 7.24, 7.12 and 7.12 respectively. Brown in particular was outstanding this season; signed prior to the beginning of pre-season, he finished with 15 goals and 21 assists in 47 appearances in all competitions this season, and he won the VNN Player of the Year. Muggleton continued his fine from from last season, further justifying my decision to spend €5,000 on him, with his long throws causing panic among the opposition. Shrimpton, a very good player for this level, was signed on loan from Scunthorpe. I signed him in January to inject some more quality in midfield and also to allow me to play George Hughes in a more advanced role, but he surprised me by contributing 6 goals from a fairly deep position, made all the more amazing when you consider he has a finishing of 2 (it was 1 when i signed him!).
Mitchell Glover, Jack Johnson, Sam O'Halleron, George Hughes and Elliot Newby also deserve some praise. Glover came in towards the end of the season to replace Newby who had started the season very well but a drop off in form and eventual injury finisged his season earlier than expected. Glover made 11 appearances, scoring 3 goals and assisting 4 more. Despite being rated as only a leading player for most Regional Premier Division sides, Jack Johnson started the season as the first choice right back, mainly due to him being deadly from set pieces with corners of 12, free kicks of 13 and penalties of 16. He was actually at the club when I first took over as manager but I didn't rate him to be honest. Now, I'm sorry I didn't include him sooner, as I have the "Play for Set Pieces" instruction selected for my tactics. Sam O'Halleron was signed on loan from Fleetwood Town (who we have an affiliation with but up until this season I hadn't loaned anyone from them) and while I signed him to play in the centre attacking midfield position behind the lone striker, I moved him into the striker's position towards the final third of the season, and he finished with 15 goals in the league. George Hughes again showed why he is one of my favourite players; while he didn't contribute as much in terms of goals this season (8 goals and 4 assists), his all round efforts were crucial to the side, and he as already mentioned, he scored twice in the playoffs. Elliot Newby started the season well, and along with Brown, was one of our best players in the first half of the season, but for some reason, his form dropped off from the end of January after getting a rating of 8.6 against Tamworth, and only on 3 occasions after that did he record a rating above 6.5, the highest of which was 6.9, before an arm injury against Guisely in the middle of April finished his season.
Harry Hammett and Zayn Hakeem were our biggest under performers this season. Hammett scored just twice in 14 league appearances, and didn't get any minutes on the pitch at all from the end of January. While Hakeem mainly came off the bench, I still expected more from him, and an average rating of 6.66 was underwhelming to say the least. That being said, both players are handy players to have around the squad, so I'm considering giving them another chance.
The rest of the squad aren't really worth discussing in detail, as they either performed to expectations without being spectacular, or didn't make enough appearances to have a major effect.
Miscellaneous
- We're currently looking to build a new stadium (it was actually announced last season, I just forgot to mention it), as the board wish to relocate to Scarborough. They have plans to build a 3,000 all seater stadium, but right now, they're still searching for a site. Currently, we play in Goole, which (accordinging to Google Maps) is over an hours drive from Scarborough.
- Our finances are looking very unhealthy, which is why I was surprised when the board announced the new stadium. We are haemorraghing money (mostly on player wages even though I'm not overspending), and are currently €270k in debt. Looks like I'll have to arrange more glamore friendlies to plug the flow somewhat.
- As expected, Will Annan retired after not being able to find a club. F*ck him anyway, he would have been a very good player to have at this level.
- In addition to Brown winning PotY, I won the Manager of the Year award, which was a nice touch to the season, and my job status is currently untouchable. Long may that last!
Next Season
I met 3 of the 4 targets I set for us last season (progression in the cups being the one we failed to hit), so I want to build on that next season:
- Sign a quality striker who we can rely on for the near future and will enable us to finish teams off (we drew 13 matches last season).
- Add some strength in depth to the squad, particularly in centre midfield and and attacking midfield.
- Go on a run in the FA Cup, our finances are gagging for a cup run.
- Make a serious push for promotion, I don't want to stay in the VNN for too much longer or else we'll never get out of here.
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th 2021/22 | VNLN | 7th | 2nd QR | 1st Rnd | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 7th, lost in Playoff Final
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Scarborough Athletic Season Review 2020/21 - Vanarama National League North
"Scarborough had been expected to be relegation certainties heading into the season and although that was the case, they will be delighted to have finished with their heads above water.
Despite getting off to a good start and rising as high as 2nd at one point, The Seadogs weren't able to keep it going, and they eventually found themselves embroiled in a predictable relegation scrap."
League Table | Squad Part 1 Part 2 | Tactic | Transfers | Finances | Facilities
Competitions Summary
Compared to last season, this season was an absolute nightmare. I was hoping to build on last season but we regressed massively for some reason, and it all had started so well. By match day 8, we were in 2nd place, and even though we suffered a little dip in form after that, we were looking good in 4th place after Match 14. Then, the tactic I was using at that point (the same one I had used last season) suddenly stopped working. From the 28/11/2020 to the 6/2/2021, this was our record in all competitions: 0 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses. We finally beat Blyth 2-1 on the 13/2/2021, but by that point, we had dropped to 15th place, and we were well and truly stuck in a relegation battle. After various changes in tactics, the one I've posted above was the one I settled on, and it gave us the results we needed to stay up. We flopped in the cups again; a 2-0 defeat in the FA Trophy away to a strong Hereford was understandable, but a 1-0 defeat at home to Worcester (who play in the Southern Premier Central) was unacceptable. Our moment of the season was a 5-0 victory at home to Kidderminster (who had a poor season, finishing in 11th), while our moment to forget was a 5-1 defeat away to Southport on the final day of the season, but we were safe at this point, and could finish no higher or lower, so I didn't mind too much.
Squad Summary
A massive factor in the spectacular drop in form was an injury to Michael Coulson, our hero of last season; he ended up missing 26% of the season, and scored just 7 goals in the league, compared to 29 last season. The injury has really taken its toll on him; he's now only rated as a leading player for most Regional Premier Division sides. Another issue I had was strikers not scoring; Nathan Blissett, the beast of a man standing at nearly 2m tall and weighing it at 89kg, started the season well, but the goals soon dried up and his 7th and last league goal for the club came in a 3-1 win vs Stalybridge Celtic on the 21/11/2020. Florian Yonsian and Harvey Saunders both flattered to deceive, and in my desperation, I turned to Harry Hammett; despite him having a finishing of 13, he was overall the worst striker in the 1st team. However, he well and truly defied expectations by scoring an impressive 8 goals in 13 matches, and was pivotal in keeping us up, so much to the point I'm really considering going into next season with him leading the line. Another huge factor in the downturn in form was the departure of Will Annan. He was out of contract from last season, wouldn't sign a new contract, and left at the start of September, severely weakening us on the wings. I have since tried to sign him back, but despite us having a close relationship and him having a high level of respect for me, he has no interest in returning due to the "acrimonious circumstances surrounding my departure" (you refused to sign a new contract and left us when we needed you but sure, it's my fault
). For now, he's still a free agent, so I'm keeping an eye on him, but knowing my luck, he'll probably retire at the end of the season.
Our best performers this season were Harry Hammett, George Hughes, Sam Muggleton and Craig Mahon. Hammett's influence has already been mentioned. George Hughes was a player I mentioned in my last review as one to keep an eye on, and he has really blossomed this season; he finished as our highest scorer with 13 league goals and he is our vice captain. A technically gifted midfielder, who scored some belters from long range, he'll definitely be in our midfield for the next few seasons. I'm training him to play as an attacking midfielder for next season; hopefully he will contribute more goals that way. I signed Muggleton from Spennymoor for a fee of €5,000 (a record for the club) to sort out one of the troublesome full back positions, and he did a fantastic job, as he is just such a well rounded player, with his Penalty Taking of 3 his only blemish. What was hugely beneficial was his Long Throws of 20, which I didn't notice when I initially signed him; this led to us becoming deadly from throw ins, with a significant amount of our goals (and noticeably, Hughes' goals) coming from throw ins. He was also quite good at free kick deliveries, scoring directly on 2 or 3 occasions, while assisting a few more. Craig Mahon was signed as a free agent on non-contract terms in January as I was looking for a quality winger at a relatively cheap price, and while he wasn't what I was exactly looking for, he chipped in with 5 goals in 18 appearances, which was a obviously a huge help given our goalscoring issues.
In my last review, I mentioned George Hughes, Mitchell Glover, Harvey Saunders and Jozef Pastorek as players I was hoping would impact this season. Unfortunately, Hughes was the only one who impressed me; Glover scored just one goal and assisted one other in 18 appearances, and was otherwise inconspicuous when he did play. Saunders' form was in the same boat, he finished with 5 goals in 13 appearances, with 3 of those coming in a 5-3 win against Hereford. The issue with Pastorek is his lack of versatility; he can only play as a left midfielder, and I've tried training him in other positions with no luck so far. He's still a very good player in terms of his technical ability though, so I'm going to persevere with him; Corners of 12, Crossing of 14, Dribbling of 12 and Technique of 11 don't come along too often at this level!
Transfer Summary
- Positives: George Willis, Sam Patterson, Sam Muggleton, Josh Thacker, Ben Adamson, Craig Mahon, Kian Ronan
- Negatives: Nathan Blissett, Keaton Wood, Tommy Best, Dan Cockerline
- Inbetween: Khius Mets
Willis, Patterson, Muggleton, Thacker and Adamson formed my new defence for the season and performed solidly for the most part, with Adamson now the best player at the club. Mahon performed well when he came in, while Ronan was a loan signing from Bury, who I'm considering signing permanently as his contract with Bury is up at the end of the season.
Blissett and Best performed well in spurts, but were otherwise underwhelming. Wood ended up only making 3 appearances, while Cockerline, despite being a striker, didn't score once. I'll more than likely be releasing these four.
Khius Metz was an odd one. I didn't expect too much from him to be honest, his only good traits are his acceleration, agility, natural fitness and pace of 14, 12, 11 and 17 respectively, with a Dribbling of 12 being fairly noticeable also. Outside of that, he's a shocking footballer even for this level, with most of his other attributes being 5 or below. Despite this, I feel like his pace offers us something different, so I'm going to monitor his progress over the next season or two.
As for outgoing transfers, the departure of Will Annan was the only one of note, the rest of the outgoing players weren't missed.
Plans for Next Season
- Sort out the goalscoring issues. Hammett is looking likely to be my 1st choice striker, but I've my eye on a few others.
- Add some quality wingers to the squad. I've a few on trial at the moment, and I'm closely following a few others whose contracts are running out.
- Do better in the cups this season; our finances aren't looking healthy, so a decent run in the FA Cup would be welcome.
- Avoid getting drawn into a relegation battle.
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 21st, finished 9th 2020/21 | VNLN | 17th | 2nd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finish 22nd, finished 17th1 -
Scarborough Athletic Season Review 2019/20 - Vanarama National League North
"Few will have tipped Scarborough to have been capable of avoiding relegation heading into the season but the Seadogs confounding every expectation by achieving a top half finish.
The Seadogs were one of the competition's surprise packages, consistently defying expectation and, owing largely to an impressive spell of form in September that saw them rise to 6th, were able to celebrate a successful campaign"
League Table | Squad P1/P2 | Tactic | Transfers P1/P2 | Finances | Facilities | Manager Profile
Competitions Summary
My sole expectation going into the season was to avoid relegation. Instead, a great season saw us finished sixth in the table and, had it not been for a poor spell in January and February, the season could have been the stuff of dreams. In the cup competitions, however, we were disappointing; we were knocked out of the FA Cup in the Third Qualifying Round by Altrincham, who beat us 3-2, while a very frustrating 1-0 defeat away to Oxford City saw us knocked out of the FA Trophy at the first hurdle. Our best moment of the season was our 5-1 win away to Leamington Spa, who were in 2nd place at the time. Our lowest moment(s) was losing 4-0 both home and away to AFC Telford.
Squad Summary
When I first took over Scarborough, I didn't know what to expect in terms of squad, so I prepared myself for the worst. In terms of squad depth, there was very little there (hence my many transfers throughout the season), particularly in the full back positions, which has been a source of many conceded goals all season. However, I did get a very welcome surprise when I saw Michael Coulson and former Hull City player Will Annan in the squad, so unsurprisingly, my tactic was built around those two; Coulson finished as my top scorer with 30 goals overall, while Annan finished with 16 assists in all competitions. Their average ratings for the season were 7.14 and 7.08, respectively. Another player who I would like to highlight is Harry Hammett. When I first signed him, I didn't expect much from him, but because he had an okay CA and good PA, I decided I would start him up top along with Coulson in a Target Man-Poacher combination (they swapped between roles - my primary reasoning for using Hammett as a Target Man was his height), and he rewarded my faith with 20 league goals. He did drop off rather worryingly in form from January on (I don't think he scored a goal since then) but to be fair to him, the entire team was performing poorly, and as a young striker playing first team football for the first time, I couldn't be too annoyed. He did end up winning the Fans' Player of the Season, Signing of the Season and Young player of the Season, so overall, it was a great season from him. An honourable mention should go to Wayne Brooksby, who finished with 12 assists and an average rating of 6.95, despite being played slightly out of position as an Inverted Winger on the left wing (he is a right midfielder primarily, but that position belonged to Annan).
Transfer Summary
Due to the large number of players I signed, I won't speak too much about my transfers for now, other than saying, Hammett was the only player with a noticeable impact this season. Players I signed over the course of the season who I hope will have a big impact: Mitchell Glover, George Hughes, Jozef Pastorek and Harevy Saunders.
Plans For Next Season
- Sort out the full back issue, particularly left back.
- Try and become more defensively solid - we leaked a worrying amount of goals in quite a few matches, which led to situations where I drew a match 3-3 having been 3-1 up two occasions, various defeats by 2-3 goals, and almost letting 3-0 leads slip.
- Add some quality depth to the squad - the majority of the players I signed either played a handful of matches or didn't play at all, so some quality and versatile players to have on the bench would be welcome.
- Go on a deeper run in the cups - I'd like to get to the First Round of the FA Cup next season.
- At minimum, secure another top half finish, but I would preferably like to see us finish in the playoffs
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Trophies/Milestones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 | VNLN | 9th | 3rd QR | 3rd QR | Expected to finished 21st, finished 9th0 -
A little bit late to the party, so I am, but please welcome the new manager of Scarborough Athletic!
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This is a great read, I'm loving it so far
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). We also have friendlies arranged with the two of them as per the transfer negotiations, which will bring us in about €30k in gate receipts.
). For now, he's still a free agent, so I'm keeping an eye on him, but knowing my luck, he'll probably retire at the end of the season.
[FM24] FM Auto Editor Project
in Editors Hideaway
Posted
PM sent. I was trying to create a new one, I've added a suffix of the local region the town is in now. Had the same issue with a different town with a name similar to existing ones, so I presume it is just an issue with similar names breaking the output.