DaneBramage

I didn't get on well with FM23, so I'm using FM20 for this. At the time, Reading were about to start their seventh consecutive season in the Championship. There had been a bright spot a few years prior, as Jaap Stam led them to third place in the 2016/17 table. Unfortunately this culminated in a trip to Wembley for the play-off final. The day out with a few beers was fun, shame about the football ruining things. The match was a horrendously dull affair, and after a goalless draw we lost to Huddersfield on penalties. It pretty much put me off going to games, think I've only been back to the Madejski twice since then. Back-to-back 20th place finishes in 2017/18 and 2018/19 didn't provide anyone with much joy either, and there wasn't much to be inspired about. Objectives Promotion, obviously. I don't expect it to come quickly by any means, but we definitely need to be looking upwards rather than down. We can't let the real-life events of the next few years be repeated. A trophy of some sort. As mentioned previously, the trophy cabinet has plenty of spare room. Inclusion of academy graduates. Everyone here loves to include youth prospects, and I'm the same. Reading do have a decent tradition of creating talent, with Shane Long, Gylfi Sigurdsson [redacted], Omar Richards, and Michael Olise amongst the most notable. 2005/06 legacy. In line with Steve Coppell's tactics, I will most commonly be using 4-4-2 (also, because it's pretty much all I know). And in recognition of that team, I will only be signing players of the same nationalities - English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, American, Senegalese, and Icelandic. Where possible I will also be trying to match up positions with nationalities, but that's just a bonus.

The Reading Way Okay, so Reading FC perhaps isn't known for having a hugely prestigious history. The trophy cabinet is a little bare, with the Championship trophies from 2005/06 and 2011/12 taking pride of place. And of course, the 1987/88 Simod Cup. Who could forget about that? But let's go back to the 2005/06 Championship win. By anyone's standards, that was a great achievement. Under the stewardship of Steve Coppell, Reading had an incredible season. Losing just twice in the league, Reading set a record total of 106 points, which stands to this day. And what a team it was! In goal Marcus Hahnemann played 45 times, keeping 22 clean sheets . Ivar Ingimarsson and Ibrahima Sonko started every game as the centre-back pairing, as only 32 goals were conceded all season. Nicky Shorey and club captain Graeme Murty started 40 games each, with Chris Makin stepping in when needed. Steve Sidwell and James Harper, both products of the Arsenal academy, created a formidable partnership in central midfield, with Brynjar Gunnarsson a more than capable back-up. Bobby Convey and Glen Little provided skill and pace on the wings, with Stephen Hunt and John Oster regularly replacing them in the second-half of games. And up front the combination of Kevin Doyle and Dave Kitson scored 36 goals between them, with third-choice Leroy Lita also making a significant contribution of 11 strikes.

Reading FC is a shambles of a football club. It hasn't always been that way - Sir John Madejski ran the club very well for many years. But since he relinquished control in 2012, a succession of charlatans and frauds have left the club in a terrible state. A six point deduction in 2021/22 due to failing EFL profitability and sustainability rules nearly saw the team relegated from th Championship, surviving only due to Derby County being in an even bigger mess and suffering a large punishment of their own. But it was only a temporary reprieve. Reading had failed to obey the business plan that had been agreed with the EFL, and picked up another six point deduction in 2022/23. This time it was damning, and Reading were relegated to the third tier for the first time since 2001/02.

February 2025 - Europa Point I got the deadline correct for checking other teams had registered players... and it largely wasn't needed this time. All squads other than Glacis United had their full complement of players added, so I just had to sort out the one squad. --------------------------------------- We made one addition to the team over the winter break, bringing in a Kyrgyzstani centre-back. No idea how he was on my scout's radar. Even with little change to the starting XI, we came back playing like an entirely different team, and not for the better. This was a completely miserable month, the performances against Manchester 6 and Lincoln Red Imps were truly pathetic. There was a silver lining at the end of the month, a goalmouth scramble seeing Luke Evans poke the ball home to grab the win, and in the process saving my laptop from being launched out the window. --------------------------------------- College Europa have pulled away at the top, but we still have a decent gap between us and Lincoln Red Imps. ---------------------------------------

February 2025 - Gibraltar FIFA Nations League 3, Group C: I was really annoyed by the loss to Liechtenstein. When we mounted a few early attacks and took a 15th minute lead it looked like we could make a good start to the year, but we never pushed on to increase the advantage. Shortly after the break they equalised, and when we we got away with a 92nd minute penalty shout I though we'd escaped with a point, but instead we were punished just a few seconds later. I expected nothing from the Lebanon game, they're one of the strongest teams at this level. We sit 9th after the opening fixtures, ahead of only Sri Lanka. Player Milestones: Kelvin Morgan (fresh off of signing with Gibraltar Lions) made his 50th appearance, while Joshua Prescott scored his first goal. ---------------------------------------

December 2024 - Europa Point Confession time - I'm an idiot. I meant to make an additional manager to register players for each of the other teams prior to the season starting... but I wrote down the wrong date, and was too late. So we're playing a bunch of greys and youth players again. Thus there's not a huge amount of challenge, and we've mainly been picking up comfortable wins. College Europa are running us close though. A goalless draw between the two sides is the only game either of us have failed to win, so we're level on points at the top going into the league split. ---------------------------------------

2024 Cup of Nations Round-Up Over the first two years Brazil hadn't really been competing for trophies, so they'll be happy to have got their hands on gold now. The final was a tough affair, and both sides had been through tricky routes to get there, but a Raphinha 95th minute equaliser was enough to take the game to penalties, where Brazil kept their nerve to defeat Italy. There were no real upsets at the business end of the competition, the top 16 mainly made up of sides you'd expect to get this far. The largest victory was picked up by Ghana, 10-0 v Wallis & Futuna in the first round. No surprises, but Erling Haaland (Norway) top scored with 8. ---------------------------------------

2024 Nations League Round-Up - Part Two After the initial season the annual swings have been much smaller, as nations have found themselves at a suitable level. The European sides continue to improve their station though, as they've increased the number of sides playing at a higher tier for a third straight year. ---------------------------------------

2024 Nations League Round-Up - Part One We're only three years in, but Uruguay have quickly established themselves as the team to beat in the new international set-up. Cup winners and Silver League champions in 2022, Cup runners-up in 2023, and now Gold League champions in 2024. Both they and Portugal finished on 39 points, but Uruguay took it on head-to-head record. Norway also continue to impress, with a third successive promotion. I'll say the same thing as last year though, it helps when you have Erling Haaland banging in so many goals (now at 102 goals in 93 caps). And also just like last year, a second Scandi nation saw success, with Denmark also earning promotion. Going the opposite way were Peru and Costa Rica, with a second consecutive relegation. A couple of wooden spoons were handed out for finishing with zero points, to East Timor in League 3 and Kiribati in League 4. --------------------------------------- Note: it's a lot of work screenshotting each individual league, so I'm not going to do it going forward to keep the speed of this save and my interest up. If there's anything in particular you want to see though, let me know. ---------------------------------------

2024 Round-Up - Gibraltar Boing boing! For a second time we've been promoted from the lowest tier, again finishing in 2nd place. Never a dull season. --------------------------------------- The amount of unattached players is a bit of a worry, especially as they're some of my most important performers. I've tried signing them up but none are interested at this time. Bradley Banda was an ever-present in goal and kept an impressive 11 clean sheets this year. Louie Annesley was picked up by Barnet after a year without a club, but he was outshone by his centre-back partner Bernardo Lopes, who finished the campaign with a great 7.46 average rating. At 36 Liam Walker is approaching the end of his career, and I hope that this time unemployed doesn't hasten his retirement. He's a Gibraltarian legend and is still producing the goods. Edit: After advancing a few more days he has retired. Leaves a big gap in our midfield, but he'll still be around as a coach. We'd be in real trouble without the strike pairing of Kelvin Morgan and Tjay De Barr. The former was top scorer this year, as well as the all-time top scorer, could really do with each of them finding a club sooner rather than later. ---------------------------------------

November 2024 - Gibraltar FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: We went into these games with a one point lead over Turkmenistan, so our fate was in our own hands. When we were 3-0 up over Pakistan at half-time we were laughing, but our defence collapsed in the second-half and we very nearly threw it away. Luckily, our attack was playing a lot better and added a fourth to steady the nerves, and ultimately take the win. At the same time Turkmenistan lost to Andorra, so we were promoted with a game to spare. With no pressure against Kiribati, we went out and battered them. Team Milestone: New record win. Player Milestones: The Pakistan game was a bittersweet experience for Bradley Banda (Unattached, GK, 26 y.o.). He won his 50th cap, but played really poorly and very nearly let us all down. Kelvin Morgan (Unattached, ST, 27 y.o.) has now reached 30 international goals. --------------------------------------- After a ropey start to the season we spent a long time outside of the promotion places, but we came on strong over the rest of the campaign and put in some winning performances when it mattered. We finished as runners-up, though Kuwait ended up comfortably clear of us. ---------------------------------------

October 2024 FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: A professional performance, a header from a corner enough to get the job done. Probably should have been a larger winning margin, but that's just being picky. ---------------------------------------

September 2024 - Gibraltar FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: Against Turkmenistan we played okay and were having a few efforts on goal, but were lacking a real clear-cut chance to cause damage. Just as it looked like we were running out of time, Graeme Torrilla stepped up and hit a 30 yard screamer to take the win. The joy of that moment was completely taken away a few days later though, when we looked like a different team entirely against Hong Kong. A shameful performance, and a few players were dropped from the squad with immediate effect. We've fallen to 3rd, one point ahead of Turkmenistan in 4th. Team Milestones: The unbeaten run ended after a record nine games. ---------------------------------------

September 2024 - Europa Point Lincoln Red Imps completed the double last year, so as the league runners-up we were their opposition for the Pepe Reyes Cup. The stats would tell you this was an even game, but in reality we were dead and buried after three minutes, having conceded twice from near-identical free-kick routines. Embarrassing. There's still a long way to go until we'll be competing with them. ---------------------------------------

August 2024 - Gibraltar FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: At half-time I would have bet on this ending as a bore draw, but we looked much better after the interval and a spectacular long-range effort from Liam Walker broke the deadlock. We've moved up into 2nd place. Five points off the top though, and 3rd and 4th are just a point behind. Team Milestones: The record unbeaten run has now grown to eight games. Player Milestones: Another debut, this time for Carlos Richards (Derby County, on loan at Dorking, AMR, 19 y.o.). ---------------------------------------

July 2024 - Gibraltar FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: We lost to both Kuwait and Andorra first time around, so a pair of draws this month was an improvement. There was an element of luck to the Kuwait point, we were hanging on and it could easily have gone against us, whereas we were unlucky against Andorra. We led most of the match and should have won, but the keeper made a hash of coming out at a free-kick and gifted them an equaliser. The win over Macau was comfortable, and saw us jump up into 3rd place. Team Milestones: We've extended our unbeaten run to seven games, a new record. Player Milestones: Three players made debuts this month; Liam Jessop (Fleetwood, ST, 18 y.o.), Sam Marshall (Lincoln Red Imps, MC, 19 y.o.), and Mungo Bridge (College Europa, DLC, 23 y.o.). Shay Jones scored his first (and second) international goals in his 12th appearance. ---------------------------------------

July 2024 - Europa Point Our season started very early, with the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League beginning two months before any football in Gibraltar. Our European adventure was short, just one away day in Ireland, but it did provide some excitement. Dundalk tore us apart at will in the first-half of the away leg, and I gave the team the hairdryer treatment at the interval. That provoked quite the turnaround, and we surged back into the game. A debut goal for Lee Grech (recently released by Lincoln Red Imps, despite being their top scorer last year) set us on the way, and we grabbed a pretty miraculous draw. Unfortunately, Dundalk tore us apart at home as well, and there was no coming back from it this time. --------------------------------------- Still, any result would have been considered a bonus rather than an expectation, so I'm happy with this. And of course, the most important thing is the prize money. We received roughly £215k for our efforts, boosting our bank balance to £177k. Annoyingly, requests for upgrades have been declined for now, but I'll try again next month. ---------------------------------------

June 2024 - Gibraltar FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: A pair of easy wins. Better displays up front than last month too, so I'm happy. Kiribati are the whipping boys of the group and Pakistan are struggling too, so anything other than this outcome would have annoyed me. Team Milestones: Four wins in a row (equalling our record), five games unbeaten. Player Milestones: The battle to be all-time leading goalscorer saw fierce competition this month, but Kelvin Morgan remains one ahead of Tjay De Barr (24 goals to 23). --------------------------------------- Our slow start to the season meant we had some making up to do, but we've just about caught up now. We're still outside of the top three, but in a good position going into the second half of the campaign. ---------------------------------------

May 2024 - Gibraltar FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: I know I shouldn't complain about a win, but this was pretty underwhelming. It was frustrating that it took until the 79th minute to open the scoring, and that it was also our only goal of the game. We managed an xG total of 2.67 and had 22 shots, but our strikers had a really poor game. We stay 4th in the table. Player Milestones: Andrew Buhagiar (MC, Strasbourg, 16 y.o.) made his debut and also became the youngest ever player to represent Gibraltar. ---------------------------------------

April 2024 - Europa Point A lovely little month to end the season. Three wins and a load of goals. The Lincoln Red Imps game was perfectly timed. There'd been a two week gap since the last fixtures, and none of my squad had been away on international duty. But five of their starting XI had been involved with my Gibraltar team, taking part in two or three games each. With fresh legs on our side we ran rings around them. When we conceded a penalty immediately after half-time there was a sinking feeling that we were letting them get back into it, but a save from Dani Tudela in goal kept the momentum on our side. --------------------------------------- We finished comfortably in 2nd place, but after our first loss to Lincoln Red Imps never looked like challenging them at the top. We go into the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League. I'm hoping we get a kind draw, but results are secondary to prize money at this point. --------------------------------------- Our bank balance is a lot higher than it was this time last year, but that's just due to a board takeover where they replaced the negative balance with a loan instead. --------------------------------------- Dani Tudela was voted goalkeeper of the year. Niall Serra was voted defender and young player of the year. Diego Diaz was top scorer, and voted striker, player, and fan's player of the year. This is of course partly due to the fact that we were mainly playing greys and 23s for the first half of the season, but we still performed against full squads after the winter break. ---------------------------------------

Nice going. I'm a long way off that, but it's something to aim for. Definitely something to consider when there's some money in the bank and longer contracts are an option. I guess that's mainly Spanish, Portuguese, British?

April 2024 - Gibraltar FIFA Cup of Nations: There's no shame in this loss to Kosovo. They're flying high in 2nd place in League 2, so we never stood a chance. We did give them a brief scare when we drew the game back to 2-1, but ultimately they were too strong for us. FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: The game against Turkmenistan was very even and a draw was probably a fair result. Both teams had chances to win; their goalkeeper was their highest rated players and out centre-backs also did well, but our goalie Bradley Banda (College Europa, 39 caps, 26 y.o.) was voted MOTM. We've beaten Hong Kong before and did so again comfortably here. That was actually my 50th game in charge, so was a good way to celebrate. We sit in 4th place, behind Kuwait, Turkmenistan, and Andorra. Player Milestones: Bernardo Lopes (Lincoln Red Imps, DC, 30 y.o.) won his 50th cap. Tjay De Barr equalled the all-time top goalscorer award with his 21st international goal (in his 73rd cap). ---------------------------------------

March 2024 - Europa Point The Lincoln Red Imps game made my blood boil. I had to turn the game off in a huff after it and leave it a day. They're obviously a better side than us and I didn't expect a win, but once the game started we really should have. In our first attack we won a penalty, and had a goal and man advantage withing five minutes. We were firmly in control and looking good against ten men, until my midfielder gave the ball away in a stupid position and they scored from their first shot (in the 40th minute). Seconds later they were in the lead, and I was livid. A harsh team-talk was needed and we went out after the break with a renewed focus, and quickly equalised. But we threw it all away late on. Lincoln had a free-kick in a dangerous position, it hit the crossbar and landed at the feet on my centre-back. He dawdled on the ball and was robbed of it inside the six-yard box, and that was game over. --------------------------------------- Lincoln Red Imps have clinched the title with three games to play. We just need one more point to confirm 2nd place and Europa Conference League qualification. ---------------------------------------

March 2024 - Gibraltar FIFA Nations League 4, Group D: Much happier scenes than last month. We absolutely bossed Macau, with over 30 shots and a 3.53 xG. The only disappointment is that we didn't punish them more. The Mauritius tie was just as easy, Tjay De Barr capping off the night with a last-minute hat-trick. After four games we sit 5th in the table. Player Milestones: Lee Grech (Lincoln Red Imps, ST, 18 y.o.) made a great first impression with a winning goal on his debut. Graeme Torrilla (College Europa, MC, 28 y.o.) reached his half-century. ---------------------------------------

I've played through a couple of seasons so thought I'd offer some feedback. All seems to be working fine, and it's fun to play, so big thumbs up overall. But only having three substitutions a game while most competitions now have five feels a bit off. And having four teams in a relegation play-off is a killer. Half the teams in the league are in danger of relegation, and I went down after finishing in 7th. I'm enjoying it. Managing both a tiny nation and a club side feels like something that could make for a good long-term save.