Rick87

Good luck with Charlton. as you say, it's hard to believe it's been twenty years since they were in the top flight.

That was our chance to keep them on the ropes and go for the throat.we sat back and invited them onto us

Wow, a very bitter sweet final day. Congratulations on the cup win. Build on it and get that promotion next time.

11th - 17th September 2023 Monday: *Kitt Nelson is named in the Divisional team of the week. *Connor Tinnion is back on the training pitch, albeit with a lightened workload as he recovers from a knee ligament injury. Friday: *Three changes to the team for tomorrow's trip to Ilkeston; Bobby Carroll starts in central midfield in place of Brad Hubbold who struggled against FC United, Charlie Birch returns at left back at James Best's expense and Aidy Roxburgh is back from suspension at right-back, Greg McCarragher gives way for him. Bobby Carroll Saturday: *I made the late decision to drop Jim Atkinson in goal in favor of Danny Eccles, Jim got a dreadful 4.6 rating in training this week, I have warned him before about lack of effort in training, so he only has himself to blame. *Caitlin passes Tinners as capable of playing 45 minutes, I decide against selecting him for today's game as I'd prefer he got some action with the reserves first, he might feature against Whitby next week though. *Our FA Cup journey is over for another year, again we found ourselves going behind early and having to rally. In fairness my players gave it a good go and would have forced a replay had Steven Rigg's 90th minute effort not come back off the post. Liam Short came off the bench to score his first Reds goal late on. *Former Stoke and Birmingham defender turned Hanley Town manager Ryan Shotton was in the crowd, apparently watching Ciran Casson who he's interested in signing. He can do one, my policy is never to do business with anyone associated with Birmingham City. Next Week: It's a double header this week, first, on Tuesday we travel to the Yorkshire coast to take on Whitby Town who are currently 7th in the NPL, and also go into the game on the back of elimination from the FA Cup, in their case by Radcliffe Boro. Then, on Saturday we welcome 11th place Marine to Cumberland, they defeated Bradford PA 2-1 in their last game.

4th - 10th September 2023 Wednesday: *Ilkeston Town defeated Guisborough 2-0 in the FA Cup, meaning we will travel to Derbyshire in the second qualifying round. 37-year-old James Perch, a familiar name to Newcastle, Notts Forest, and QPR fans was on the scoresheet for Ilkeston. *I've been tinkering with my training routines, the club atmosphere is low at the moment, so I've penciled in some team bonding every week for the next month to hopefully brighten everyone's mood a little. Friday: *Two changes for the FC United game tomorrow. Greg McCarragher comes in at right-back as Aidy Roxburgh still has one game left of his three-game ban and I'm not convinced by Adam Walton yet. Preston loanee Kitt Nelson returns to the line-up having been dropped for Liam Short in the previous game. Goalkeeper Jim Atkinson keeps his place between the posts after his good showing at Marske in the cup and the players remain in a 4-4-2 formation. Saturday: A cracker of a game, it's just a shame about the result! To be fair, my lads responded well after conceding two goals early on, not letting FCU out of reach, Steven Rigg was on form with a brace, and Scott Allison really should have had two as well, he had a golden opportunity to make it 4-4 late on but fired wide whilst clean through on goal. The late penalty put to bed what had been a spirited effort in the second half. We were never likely to beat the league leaders, but we did put up a good fight so I'm happy. Unfortunately, it doesn't help our league position, still propping up the table. It also can't be ignored that we have conceded five goals for the second consecutive league match. Whilst changing to 4-4-2 has improved things at the top end of the field, we look just as shaky at the back, something that badly needs remedying before we find ourselves cut adrift in the relegation zone. Next Week: *We are back on the FA Cup trail next weekend as we go to Ilkeston's New Manor Ground. The Robins are currently third in the Northern Premier League, whereas we are dead last currently. Can we upset the form book and continue on our cup adventure?

Good luck, South America is fun to play, I had a enjoyable save in Bolivia with Club Aurora but bitterly regretted leaving to move to Argentina when Racing came knocking. Anyway, good start, that stadium looks pretty spectacular with the steep sides and mountains nearby!

28th August - 3rd September 2023 Monday: *Our monthly staff meeting yields little in the way of workable advice, in terms of backroom staff, there is just myself, coach Jamie Devitt and physio Catilin Gribbon. I would like to hire another coach/assistant manager but everyone I've contacted wants a higher wage than I'm prepared to give. Tuesday: *Weekly injury update from Caitlin; only the one lad on the treatment table currently. Conor Tinnion is between 2 and 4 weeks away from returning from his knee injury. Friday: *First of the month, the chairman sends through our financial update; It's a concern to see us lose nearly £18k in a month, especially as I am operating with skeletal backroom staff, non-contract players, and no scouting. * I've made a host of changes for tomorrow's game, including a formation switch from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. Only four players (Steven Rigg, Brad Hubbold, Dav Symington, and Sam Smith) keep their places from the drubbing at Macclesfield. I feel we need to freshen things up as we have simply not created anything going forward which has left the fragile defence badly exposed. Saturday: *Much, much better! not just the result, but the overall performance, and creativity were greatly improved. having a second forward helped us in transition, with just Steven Rigg to aim for up front we were constantly losing possession and inviting pressure, however with Scott Allison playing off of him in a poacher role, and Dav Symington overlapping from the left flank we countered much more fluidly. *21-year-old James Best made his debut at left-back, the former Penrith man got a solid 6.9 rating on his Reds bow. *We receive £2.25k for winning in the first qualifying round, which goes some way to negate the loss the club made last month. Sunday: *The draw for the next round of the FA Cup is made, we will travel to either North Yorkshire to face Northern League Division One side Guisborough Town, or Derbyshire to take on Ilkeston Town, who are currently third in the same division as us. Our trip to Whitby town has been moved to accommodate the cup fixture. Next Week: *We have the visit of FC United of Manchester to Borough Park next Saturday with the two sides bookending the Northern Premier League Table, FCM are top, having beaten Bradford PA, Ashton United, and Matlock, whereas we are bottom of the pile with just the one point so far.

Thank you mate, Hope you like the skin also!

Good career progression, good luck in the competitive games. It's always tough recruiting at that kind of level, something I think the game struggles to simulate realistically. Anyway, hope you manage to find a winning formula on the shoestring and continue upward.

Congratulations on your double. I know you aren't looking to stay as a one-club manager, but how high is it possible to promote? Is there a glass ceiling between the Juniors and semi-pro leagues as in real life?

21st - 27th August 2023 Tuesday: *NPL Division One West team Avro makes a loan offer for midfielder Ciaran Casson. I consider myself to have good football knowledge and it isn't often I haven't heard of a club in England before, but this is one of those occasions. After a quick Google, I discovered they hail from the Oldham area. Every day is a school day! Anyway, I reject the offer as Ciaran is part of my first team and I don't feel he will gain anything by dropping down a division. * Aidy Roxburgh accepts his fine following his sending-off against Bradford PA last Saturday. There was no point appealing as it was a justified dismissal for an awful challenge. Thursday: * I've had the team working on transitions and chance creation following our limp display last weekend where we managed just a single shot on target. Friday: * Setting things up for the visit to Macclesfield tomorrow; I have one compulsory change as my summer signing Adam Walton comes in to make his Reds debut at right-back, in place of the suspended Roxburgh who's ban has been extended to three games today. Macc play in a possession-controlling manner and like to try and play out from the back, which in my opinion is always a risk at this level, so I have instructed the players to close down more and changed Steven Rigg to a pressing forward role for this game in the hope of forcing some mistakes in their defence. I'm also instructing left-back Charlie Birch to be more attacking to hopefully add some firepower in the attacking third which was missing against Bradford PA with Connor Tinnion out injured. *A feeble training performance by keeper Jim Atkinson, a 4.6 rating for the veteran. He hasn't featured in either game yet, I plan on putting him in for the cup game against Marske next week, but he will have to up his game on the training pitch over the next seven days or I'll stick with Danny Eccles. Jim Atkinson Saturday: * We were expected to lose, however, this was embarrassing; Dreadful, from the first minute to the last. We were behind after just 30 seconds, which set the tone for the rest of the game, Macc could have won by even more, being denied by the woodwork several times. John Rooney (Wayne's younger brother) ran the show, scoring once and assisting his teammates twice. I tried several times to stem the tide by making substitutions and changing formations and instructions, but nothing seemed to work as Macclesfield breached our defenses time and again. I can handle losing when we at least have a go, however, this was just lying back and letting them walk the ball around us with minimal effort. I let my displeasure be known in no uncertain terms at full time, not holding back with my criticism. There will be changes as a result of this performance. We drop to the foot of the NPL with that result. While I don't want to overreact after just three games, I am worried I misjudged the squad that I assessed before the season started to be good enough to avoid a relegation battle based on their performances in the friendlies. I may have a look around for defensive reinforcements as we look very weak. Sunday: * The players, quite rightly agree to refund the 69 supporters who made the 360-mile round trip to Macclesfield. I don't remember ever seeing this on FM before. *I talked to Adam Walton personally after he rated 5.9 on his debut yesterday. I need him to up his game as Aidy Roxburgh is still suspended for another two matches. He disagrees that he played badly despite being the lowest-rated player. Not a good sign. Next Week: * Much improvement is needed as we take a break from league action and embark on what will hopefully be a decent FA Cup run. We take on Marske United for the second time this season when we meet in the first qualifying round. We drew 1-1 last time.

Just read through this, great start to your glorious and realistic rise through the ranks comrade. I enjoy a realistic career.

14th - 20th August 2023 Tuesday: Physio Caitlin Gribbon updates me that Conor Tinnion is out for 4-7 weeks following his knee injury against Marske. Greg McCarragher and Danny Eccles with the Cumberland County cup the club won last season Thursday: I decided early that Greg McCarragher will be the man to step in for Tinners this weekend against Bradford Park Avenue, Carra is slightly more creative than the other options I possess in Brad Hubbold or Bobby Carroll, and thus is more of a like-for-like replacement for the captain. Friday: Liam Short has done well in training this week, the winger who signed for us from Gretna in pre-season, achieved a 7.75 rating. I am sticking with Kit Nelson in my first XI tomorrow after his good performance against Marske last weekend, though I will try to give him an opportunity from the bench. Saturday: A disappointing showing at home to Bradford PA. After a decent performance last week, I was hoping we could follow up with another strong showing, not to be however as the visitors completely dominated us throughout. They scored by some very slack defending at a corner, Charlie Birch only half cleared the cross, returning the ball to the taker, Will Longbottom who cut inside, bearing down on goal. Keeper Danny Eccles should have done far better as Longbottom's tame-looking shot squirmed past him at his near post. I gave the team a talking-to at half-time, we were creating nothing and hardly got out of our half of the field. Unfortunately, things worsened almost immediately after the restart as full-back Aidy Roxburgh was sent off for a dangerous tackle. Forced into a tactical shift by the dismissal, I brought on Finn Wallbank and switched to 5-3-1. Target man Steven Rigg tried his best, but he was just too isolated up top to stand a chance of turning the game around. Eccles did well to keep the score down with some good saves to make up for his mistake earlier. But it was a weak performance all around. Sunday: The league table doesn't mean an awful lot a this point, but here it is anyway. The point we picked up in the draw with Marske prevents a slip into the relegation zone. Just to remind you, dear reader, our expectations are to avoid relegation this season. Speaking of Marske, we have been drawn to face them in the FA Cup first qualifying round next month. Next Week: A tough one next Saturday as we travel to Macclesfield, who are amongst the favorites for promotion.

Thanks mate, keep reading!

Don't forget a child who supports which ever team is behind in tears.

As excited as I am for the final, the news coverage has been incredibly cringeworthy, interviewing bloody Jessie Lingards dad, kicking a ball around cardboard cutouts of the players, and waffling on about basically nothing to fill time.

You know when to put the bet on first goal scored on then. 😉

Arise Sir Gaz of Southgate.

Ollieeereereeeer

Come on Ollie!

Good save

Much, much better by England so far.

F*****

Unlucky foden