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Thread: Football Manager 2020

  1. #351
    Senior Member Gray Fox's Avatar
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    Save file looks good, but it does have 53 leagues loaded. I'll go on add/remove and get rid of all but the English ones and that should sort it.

  2. #352
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    I'm not sure you can until the end of the current season?

  3. #353
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    You can't, no.

  4. #354
    Isn't he banned? Baz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gray Fox View Post
    Save file looks good, but it does have 53 leagues loaded. I'll go on add/remove and get rid of all but the English ones and that should sort it.
    Why would he do that!
    I'm a twit

  5. #355
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    Maybe he works at CERN.

  6. #356
    Fuck like you cook.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spikey M View Post
    Maybe he works at CERN.
    The things I would do for a machine capable enough to run every league in the world whilst maintaining the speed of 0102 or something.

    I can rattle through the season or two on FM Touch a day but I do wonder if I miss much from the full fat version. Scouts probably.

  7. #357
    Senior Member Gray Fox's Avatar
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    The date he's left it at means I can get rid of some.

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    I'll lose 17 leagues before a ball is kicked in my save and the rest by the end of the season.

  8. #358
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    I'd download the pack I linked to if I were you. Unless your computer is shit hot your processing time is going to be disgusting.

  9. #359
    Senior Member Gray Fox's Avatar
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    Checked up on it and that one does seem good. A few people have noted they've got a bug 5 or 6 seasons in that means basically everyone sits a year out and no games happen.
    Seems it can be solved by simming a year, but who knows if I even last that far.

  10. #360
    Pretty Much Amazing Mike's Avatar
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    You could always use the editor to just move your club up a division.

  11. #361
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    the dishonesty

  12. #362
    Pretty Much Amazing Mike's Avatar
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    Ha, can you just load the league they’re in up or if you use thar file is it right down to level 9 or whatever?

  13. #363
    Isn't he banned? Baz's Avatar
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    I’m always opposed to using files cos I’m a stickler for the Steam leaderboards. Does mean I end up with FCP and the like in Portugal, but I don’t mind.
    I'm a twit

  14. #364
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    Oxford City - 2021/22

    The Squad

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    Summary

    We managed to extend the deal of Virgil Gomis which at the time was our most important bit of business but with his strike partner Janneh preferring to stay at Bristol City so we went into the market looking for a suitable replacement. Oof! Talk about a big name.



    Connor had spent the previous season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday but parent club Palace decided to release in the summer and he was happy to join under the premise of guaranteed games. I like to think the division sat up and took notice but if they didn't then they did a few weeks into the season as it became clear that we would definitely be at the right end of the table again.

    Our first League Two game was away to Macclesfield Town and the 2-0 win was a good start which we followed up by dismantling AFC Wimbledon 8-1. It would kick start our unbeaten start to the league campaign, a run that never ended until November 20th and even then it was due to resting numerous first team players in anticipating for the FA Cup. Our attacking throughout the season belied our level but it came at a financial cost due to the wages of most the new arrivals.

    Transfers In.



    Toggle Spoiler


    As it is, although in hindsight perhaps, it was money well spent as our rise continued and whilst it's a minor gamble to play with the clubs future, I feel the level that we play at allows us to get away with it somewhat.



    The media had tipped us for the play offs but despite Wycombe's best efforts, we were just that bit too good and it was a relatively easy campaign. It's difficult to get attached to the players though given none are really long term options unless they develop and reach their full potential, no more so than winger Deji Sotona who was released by Man United. It was less expectation and more hope that we'd manage to pull in a player who could be resold later down the line as the finances are reliant on our success at the moment and that's an iffy game to play.



    Domestic Cups

    Carabao Cup - Promotion meant we would compete in the countries second domestic cup which is always pleasing as it's an extra opportunity to draw some big teams. As it happened we were drawn against Championship side Birmingham City in the first and Bobby Kamwa's double helped us on our way to a 4-1 win at St Andrew's but it was swiftly ended in the second round against Premier League outfit WBA who beat us 2-1 in front of 12,000. The Albion would find themselves relegated by time the season ended. Still a yoyo club. Nothing ever changes.

    FA Cup - Again our promotion mean we now qualified for the FA Cup proper by default and the entire competition had a familiar feel to it as we raced past Barrow 5-0 in the first round before following it up in the second with a 1-0 win against Solihull Moors. As we awaited our third round opponents we were naturally hoping to get a top flight team with a big stadium again as our draw against Newcastle last season pretty much saved us financially and so it was a surprise when history repeated itself and we once again drew the Toon Army at St James Park. Last season we lost 1-0 and Ilounga Pata got dismissed....this season? Again we lost by a single strike as Newcastle recorded a 2-1 win and again Ilounga Pata got himself sent off. Summer signing Corey Jordan joined him on this occasion but we were so close to a giant killing. I felt sick afterwards.



    EFL Trophy - Our group contained Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Tottenham Reserves and for me it was and always has been a nothing competition but we gave it a go due to the league season seemingly taken care of itself but after beating Orient and losing to Stevenage, we went into the final game needing to beat Spurs, unlikely I thought but a 2-0 win in front of 212 hard core supporters put us through to the 2nd round. Swiftly ended by MK Don's who proved more of a challenge and battered us 4-1. Cunts.



    The huge jump in finances was down to the clubs need to build a new stadium which will be completed by the end of next season.



    5,000 is the minimum required but I hope it's got enough space to expand as I fully expect to be a top flight team in the next 3/5 seasons. I don't know if that's optimistic or not but we're going to spend our way there. At least in terms of wages.

    We do need to keep looking into ways to ensure we're financially secure so it's important to find it where we can. Same applies to our commercial dealings. Long term I want the club to be self sustainable which I imagine will be easy enough if I don't go OTT with the wages. I already know we'll impose a cap later down the line.



    Next Season

    The temptation is to go bigger in as far as bringing in released youngsters from Premier League clubs whilst I want to push the boat out a bit in regards to loan deals and if we can bring in one or two similar to Connor Wickham's level then I imagine we'll push again at the right end of the table. I don't really see much difference in terms of quality as we're already above our level in that respect. We'll also be playing at Adams Park in High Wycombe which is a 9,000 capacity stadium so I want to try filling that on a regular basis hence the need for another 'name' or two. Time to prepare for a busy busy summer as I want promotion again but I also want to stop the huge turn over of players so it's important they might be able to play Championship football in the near future too.

  15. #365
    Senior Member Gray Fox's Avatar
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    It's always a bastard when they build a stadium too soon. Though on the flip side of that, if you hit premier league you should be able to pay that off almost immediately.

  16. #366
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    It's a requirement for the division to have a minimum of 5,000 so it was unavoidable tbh but you're right, I just hope it doesn't mess with my wage budget as I'm reliant on that for the quick rise. I am trying to be restrained in terms of players as I didn't realise the option to make all players interested meant every player is actually 'interested' but most don't even want to get around the negotiating table. We could even push the boat out and bring in a released former international, I tried for Yaya Toure last season or the season before last and he at least listened but then I bottled it.

  17. #367
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    I am still immersed in Hungarian football with Ferencvaros, it is a glorious shitshow. Can't pronounce anything and the football ranges from functional to truly dire. No one has any money, so the only way to compete is to try and nick bargains from other shithole nations, or develop from within.

    First year we came 3rd by a single point losing out to relative money bags FC Vidi, and champions Debrecen, who I'm convinced were the worst side of the three. Second year we have been absolutely terrible and yet somehow still only three points off Vidi's lead in November (November is later in Hungarian terms than it is in England). First year we did quite a bit of giant killing in Europe and went out 3rd in Europa group stage, including a 3-0 win over Sevilla. Second year we just got too many injuries in the key August fixture rush and ended up going down to PAOK Salonika in the last qualifying round.

    I'm not reallly sure what I'm trying to achieve, but the process is great fun.

  18. #368
    Senior Member Gray Fox's Avatar
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    Stafford Rangers: An Introduction


    I thought I'd do a little intro to the save in the hope it'll get me more into it. I live in the pokey old Town of Stafford. Your local support here is largely split 4 ways. Geographically Wolves and then Stoke are the closest 2 league teams. Depending on which part of Stafford you're in, depends on which one is actually closest.
    Then comes the glory hunter team of years past in United and the current flavour of the month, at present this is Liverpool.

    However inside the Town is where my journey takes place. There are 3 teams in the Town of any note. Firstly we have Stafford Town FC who play in the Midland Football League. This is the 10th level of English football.
    Beside them there's a team called Brocton. They're in the same division as Stafford Town. Down here is very tough to get out of. It's where you'll find the likes of Coventry United or Hereford FC. Reformations or fan versions of other clubs.

    However today we will be joining Stafford Rangers. They are the the Towns main club and they play in the Northern Premier League, this is the 7th level of English football. Recent Champions of this league include FC United, Blyth Spartans and Altrincham for context.

    Established in 1876, the club is semi-pro at present but I hope to change that and we have 4 rivals.
    Hednesford Town are listed as our only fierce rivals and are in our division. Instant rivalry . After this we have Tamworth in the division below and Telford United potentially in the league above us. I say potentially because I believe Stafford is in a border territory, so we could either go up to the North or South of the National League.
    Lastly we have Burton Albion. Though I'd wager it'll be a good 5+ years before we meet them.

    The club has never been massive, but you'll know this as it'll be 50/50 if you've heard the name or not at any point. Their biggest moment came in 2005/06 when they achieved promotion into the National League(conference to some). However after scraping by the first season there, they slipped back where they came from the year after. It was about this time the clubs biggest problems started.
    When they were in the National League/Conference attendances went up to 1000. Due to this there was a temporary stand erected behind one of the goals at the Shed End. The quick relegation back saw interest drop again and the stand was removed and the Shed End partly redeveloped. The whole venture cost around £180k and was nearly the end of the club.
    However there was a venture set up for fans to "loan" the club £200 each in order to save it. The club was saved but relegated twice more soon after, before popping back into the Northern Premier League in 15/16.

    This is all part of Marston Road, the clubs stadium. I go by it every day to work and back.

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    The main stand there holds about 530 people and the seats in it were I believe taken from Leicesters old ground Filbert Street. Hence the blue, while the clubs official colours are black and white stripes. There's standing room all around and the end where the photo is taken has the club bar. Home and away fans are welcome in there.

    The game has capacity at 6,000 with 4,264 seated, but I know this is wrong. It's actually 2,530 seated(with shed end seated) and closer to 4,000 overall.

    The rest of the facilities are listed as poor.

    As well as the Northern Premier League, we will play in the FA Cup, The FA Trophy and The Northern Premier League Challenge Cup. I see those as unimportant any time soon, though the latter may be a good chance of silverware.
    The club is predicted to finish 11th in the table of 22 teams and the board wants a top half finish.

    In real life, the club at present sit rock bottom of this league and are relative no-hopers. However COVID-19 has saved them somewhat as the league has been null and voided. Though I see this as more of a stay of execution.

    Assuming the database works and I keep up with it, the goal of the save is to continue on until Stafford Rangers is the biggest club in the world. I will consider this achieved if/when we win the Club World Cup or sit 1st in the world club rankings.

    I have no idea what I'm doing in LLM though so whether we get there or not is another matter.

  19. #369
    Bookie P_3's Avatar
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    Really enjoying all these reads. Keep it up all.

  20. #370
    Senior Member Manc's Avatar
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    As I'm sure we all know Ligue 1 was prematurely ended this season (how very French). What you may not know is that Toulouse relegated as a result went down with a 0.46 PPG record, abysmal. With just 3 wins from 28 matches, I fired up fm to see if I could fare any better. With the summer transfer window disabled and the squad in need of greater depth, I hired Wenger favourite Gilles Grimandi and sent him into the free market. Gilles came up trumps and the following experience was added to the squad: Yoann Gourcuff, Mo Sissoko, Ze Ondo, Adil Rami, Bagayoko, Sankhare & Diafra Sakho. Former PSG assistant Zoumana Camara was brought in as my #2.

    Further acquisitions were made in the form of Yohan Cabaye via the joker ruling and Samuel Moutoussamy for £6.75m (winter window), the latter signed solely after running a game for Nantes at the TFC.

    Believing this was a league full of great players rather than great teams, I decided to park the bus and implement my Scotland 5-3-2 formation. My assumption was spot on. We spent the majority of the campaign flirting with the European places and come Spring relegation wasn't possible. Unfortunately for me the squad then went to the beach and we endured nine games without a win. A little pressure from the board was swatted away with two wins in the final month and we finished 10th with a 1.36 PPG record. We had an outside chance of French Cup success however, our run was abruptly ended by the Parisians who completed a successful treble.

    I'm quite content with the squad and am enjoying the African talent we have: Max Gradel, Issiaga Sylla, Ibrahim Sangare, Kalidou Sidibe and that's before we delve into the dual nationals. I'll be consciously pursuing players from the continent with the help of Grimandi and the board who have given me a £16m budget. I'll also be pursuing veterans who can do a job as the mentoring benefits are monstrous for our youth players, in particular Bafode Diakite & Kelvin Amian.


  21. #371
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    He is another who makes the top 20 Frenchest Frenchmen ever.

  22. #372
    Pretty Much Amazing Mike's Avatar
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    Playoffs Baby!

  23. #373
    Fuck like you cook.
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    Oxford City - 2022/23

    The Squad

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    Summary

    We went well over the top in the summer in bringing nineteen new arrivals to the club but again it was the loaned players that made the biggest difference. Whilst Connor Wickham continued finding the net on a regular basis, it was the performances of Rhian Brewster and Ben Gregory that impressed the most as both were clinical and in the instance of Gregory, he's clearly got a future at the highest level.



    Rhian, not so much. His loan spell at Swansea was hardly a roaring success with just 4 goals in 8 games and his return to Anfield saw his opportunities restricted to reserve team football. I wouldn't make the plunge on him.



    One of the surprising outcomes of the summer was bringing in Virgil Gomis in on a free after his release from Nottingham Forest. Virgil had scored 53 times for us in the previous two seasons but he could manage just two appearances this time round, owing to the form of our front three. Special mentions to Alfie Whiteman our sole goalkeeper and Marc Albrighton who was the coup of the window. I thought that would be Brewster.

    David Kay, a full back released from Man United looks to have a bit about him but it's difficult to gauge as his weaknesses are also glaring and cost us on occasions. Kilian Gomez was signed purely in memory of Kilian Doda on the save I lost.

    The season itself was nowhere near as easy sailing as last year with Charlton refusing to go away and with our inability to string wins together I had given up on the title and hoped for automatic instead but a resurgent Rotherham had ideas of their own.

    With four games to go we faced Hull City who beat us on our own turf and before even seeing the results of other games I assumed that was game over until it transpired that Charlton had also lost to playoff contenders Crewe. The very same Crewe we smashed 7-1 in the following fixture (more to come on Crewe). Gregory grabbing four of the goals and Charlton once again dropping points by losing 1-0 to Wycombe. Was the bottle job on?

    If we won our game in hand against Peterborough, another team chasing the play offs then we would head the table for only the second time during the campaign, the first coming in the 2nd week and we did. 3-2 courtesy of Brewster and Gregory. Another title? Probably not as with two games remaining we lost to Ipswich Town, again another home defeat and again at the worst time possible.

    But.....again no one capitalised. Charlton who had been so strong throughout gaining just a point after a 0-0 draw and Rotherham could only manage a 1-1 scoreline with Luton Town. It would go down to the final game of the season in a three way tie for the title. At half time during that final set of fixtures we were the only side winning of the three. By full time that was still the case. I did not enjoy that season one bit.





    Domestic Cups

    FA Cup - As far as the countries better domestic cup goes we started off in great style by smashing Coventry in the first round 4-0 and were given Fleetwood, another home tie in the 2nd. We were confident going into the game as we expected to beat most in our own division and we weren't disappointed as again we scored 4 to progress.

    We had now reached the FA Cup third round in three consecutive seasons which was fantastic but instead of a big club (or rather, Newcastle), this time we drew fellow League One side Crewe and absolutely dicked on them 6-1. Nice funds were brought in but also the opportunity for another big club away in the 4th.....we drew struggling Championship side Bristol City. It looked as though we were going to come undone once again....but....



    We went wild. I went wild. It was way more than anticipated. Surely we must now draw a Premier League club? No is the answer. We drew another Championship side in Leeds United who had at least been relegated from the Premier League last season.

    Rhian Brewster opened the scoring and as part of the familiar double act Ben Gregory doubled it. What on earth was going on?! I wondered. Was actual cup glory on the cards or something? Well, that feeling didn't last too long as Leeds came back from the brink but Kamwa. Bobby bloody Kamwa.



    Quarter finals here we come! Of those we could have drawn, only Sunderland and Fulham remained as the Championship sides whilst unsurprisingly we were League One's sole representative. Would it be them? Would it be Man City? Man United? Arsenal? Southampton or would I get to go to Anfield......

    Toggle Spoiler


    EFL Cup - We started round one against Wycombe and qualified after a 2-2 draw and penalties to set up a game against Fulham. I wasn't expecting much but it looked as though they fielded a weakened team themselves and got caught short as a 2-0 win sent us through to round three where we would draw Tottenham. Unfortunately that also meant one half of our strike team was automatically ruled out due to the terms of the loan but a 3-0 loss suggested he wouldn't have made much difference. 48,000 attended though which was pleasing.

    EFL Trophy - Finally, the competition I will be glad to leave behind although one that now grates a little. We qualified from our group beating Gillingham, Ipswich and Watford Reserves scoring 9 and conceded 0. Northampton were put away 3-0 in round two, Luton came and went in round three by the same scoreline and by time we come to face Brighton Reserves in the Qtr's I had assumed that would be all she wrote but alas, a 4-0 win meant we were through to the semi's. 19 goals without reply. Swindon arrived and broke the clean sheet run but we replied with seven. Seven. We were on our way to Wembley!

    But.....how shit that only 6,801 attended to see us lose the chance to lift some more silverware as Liverpool Reserves beat us 2-1. What a waste of time that was.



    Fuck you, HMRC.



    On the plus side however, the commercial side was pleasing. Or rather the prize money.



    Next Season

    It's a tricky position because I am expecting a jump in quality but we also brought in so many players this year that I'm apprehensive about doing the same this time round and so we have a decision to make. The temptation is to do another round of mass buying of youngsters whilst loaning as many of those brought in this season in the hope they can realise enough potential to be able to sell on. The good thing is that any transfer fee is a profit minus the wages.

    I want to get away from loan deals a little bit so we'll need two new strikers at least, perhaps two midfielders and I think the defence can look after itself for another season given tactically we're always going to score. Stumped a little bit but until I hit the Premier League then I sense wholesale changes are always going to be abound. I would like to challenge for playoffs at a minimum but I feel like I'm walking into the unknown, really. I mean, was it Fa Cup magic or are we actually good enough to be beating Championship sides? I guess we'll find out next season.

  24. #374
    Pretty Much Amazing Mike's Avatar
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    Won the playoffs in an utter thriller, 0-0, won on pens.

    Made it to the Premiership without spending a penny!

  25. #375
    Isn't he banned? Baz's Avatar
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    And I watched it LIVE [on Twitch].
    I'm a twit

  26. #376
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    Did you post about it on reddit, by any chance?

  27. #377
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    Imagine the carnage.


  28. #378
    Pretty Much Amazing Mike's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thommo View Post
    Did you post about it on reddit, by any chance?
    I did

  29. #379
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    Oxford City - 2023/24

    The Squad
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    Summary

    Our unintentional transfer policy of bringing in released youngsters was ended during the summer as we brought in a more finished article. We did bring in a few youngsters too but the focus had to go on the first team as we aimed for our final promotion before we reached the promised land.



    The signing of Neal Maupay and our agreement with Tottenham that we would keep Ben Gregory for a second season filled us with confidence that we would ignore the media's 14th place finished and challenge for the play offs instead. As the season progressed it proved that that would definitely be all we would have a stab at as West Ham and Norwich ran away with the top two spots. The Hammers winning it on the final game of the season in fact. Sam Byram's season ended in March with a 5 month injury. Sad.





    We faced Fulham in the semi's of the play-offs and lost the first leg 1-0. I still fancied our chances in the 2nd leg as we were at home in front of our 5,000 supporters. We fill it every week but financially I just can't take the hit and so I decided to leave it to the board to decide when that gets done.

    Toggle Spoiler


    Domestic Cups

    EFL Cup - Knocked out in the first round by Crawley Town after a 0-0 draw and penalty loss. This was going to be the season that kept on giving.

    FA Cup - Stevenage were our third round opponents and a 2-1 home win was enough to set up another home encounter this time against Southampton. With our measly 5,000 capacity stadium I hoped for a draw and so achieved just that. 1-1 in front of the cameras. ££. The replay I anticipated elimination but our Fa Cup magic moment was finally achieved.



    Deji. Our Waterford born winger winning it in style.

    But all good things could must come to an end and our 5-1 drubbing away to Tottenham in the following round was only softened by the revenue it brought in.

    I still haven't activated the Golden Generation as our facilities are still way too crap so I imagine another 4/5 seasons before it's even considered but hopefully something good crops up here.



    ^^^ But of course, my expectations are low.





    Phew.



    Next Season.

    Sign what I can and go again. I'm so miffed.

  30. #380
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    I'm managing Billericay. Got back to back promotions to League 1, spent 2 seasons there, now in my 4th season in the Championship. Mid-table each season.

    Struggling with low attendance figures, income and reputation. Starting to get pissed off with this now.

  31. #381
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spikey M View Post
    I'm managing Billericay. Got back to back promotions to League 1, spent 2 seasons there, now in my 4th season in the Championship. Mid-table each season.

    Struggling with low attendance figures, income and reputation. Starting to get pissed off with this now.
    Out of curiosity, what is your stadium capacity and wage bill?

  32. #382
    Fuck like you cook.
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    Oxford City - 2024/25

    The Squad

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    Summary

    We decided to go a completely different route in the transfer window and brought in a whole host of supposed wonder kids from Liverpool, City, United and Chelsea whilst adding experience in Chris Smalling and Sigurdson, you might see they are missing from the squad and that's because both lasted no longer than January before they were off loaded. It was our outgoings that ensured the summer was hectic, mind. Saddening too.



    Painful.



    Telling.



    Minimum release. Urgh.



    Silver lining.



    Cheeky bastards.



    You're killing me.

    But we soldiered on and despite and tough start to the campaign which I put down to so many of the new arrivals being unfamiliar with one another, we started putting together a couple of runs and claimed 6th place with barely any games left at Sunderland's expense.



    We drew Crystal Palace in the first leg. A tough one given they finished above us in the league whilst beating us 3-1 home and away too so it came as a surprise to see us make light work of them.



    Our first half onslaught far too much for them and although Lookman scored against us once again, (that's six now) it was of no concern. We weren't throwing away that lead.



    Not even bothered. We would be off to Wembley to face Southampton for a shot at the big time. Oooo yeah. Favourites too.



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    Next Season

    God knows. I don't know if it's bed time or go again. I hate this division.

  33. #383
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smjffy View Post
    Out of curiosity, what is your stadium capacity and wage bill?
    Capacity is 7000 but only ~5000 seating. Wage bill I'm not sure, but it's towards the upper end of the budget they gave me.

  34. #384
    Fuck like you cook.
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    It don't matter no more. Three clicks later.




  35. #385
    Senior Member Manc's Avatar
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    Juan Foyth clearly had better plans come the final.

  36. #386
    Senior Member Gray Fox's Avatar
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    Finally got into the game today. The virus combined with school returning has reduced my playing time somewhat but I still intend to carry on.

    Immediately lost my best CM as he was poached before a ball was kicked. I can see that getting tiresome. Still, 6 games in and it's 2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses. Even at this early stage, I'd take a play-off place gladly but I don't think it'll happen.

    Still getting to grips with the lower league stuff though so hopeful of turning it around.

  37. #387
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    Oxford City - 2025/26

    The Squad
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    The Results
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    Summary

    If we didn't make moves in the January transfer window then there is absolutely no way we would have finished anywhere near the playoffs as we were useless for much of the first half the season but the arrivals Jeff Maddison, Sergio Riquelme and Johnny added much needed quality. The only downside is once again our squad was made up mostly of loaned players.





    35 league goals from January onward's as our rise up the table finally came to fruition although at what cost long term, I don't know. I know we're going to make major changes in the summer both for the first team and the reserves as we attempt to build an actual squad moving forward because....



    For the third successive season we reached the playoffs, ending the season in 3rd place and not too far off the automatic spots which would have been amazing given where we were at the turn of the year.



    But at the third time of asking we achieved our goal of top flight football.



    We drew the first leg 2-2 with Ipswich but truth be told we failed to beat any of the play off finalists during the season so we weren't overly confident in any fixture but a 1-0 win in the return leg set up a final big money clash with Derby who again, we'd failed to beat in the league drawing both games 0-0. But you know, Jeff Maddison init.

    Promotion achieved but we have plenty of work to do.



    One or two downsides albeit temporary is our stadium was almost completed but alas, we're going to be homeless for a few seasons.







    It feels like we've brought in way more players than just 66 but matching Mike, we've done so without spending a penny on transfer fees although god knows how much in wages over the years.

    Again I anticipate wholesale changes as I want to build a team now that the aim of top flight football has been obtained and updates should no doubt slow down now I'm where I want to be as I've absolutely mauled the game this last week. I'll leave the update here and do a historic update next detailing the clubs rise but from hereonin it's about survival first and foremost, then European football, then to challenge for the top four whilst hopefully starting to chip away at the top teams so we can challenge for the title ourselves in our bid to become the biggest most successful club in the world.

    What a slog. I appreciate the updates have lacked in quality so I'll make it up now I'm where I want to be. It's hard when you're rising up the tables to get overly attached to players who aren't going to be with you moving forward.

    Either way. Game on.

  38. #388
    Senior Member Manc's Avatar
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    Onwards to the summer of 2020 and with the squad in need of a polish, I dived head first into a mountain of player reports Grimandi had collated in the previous 12 months. Firstly came the youth in the form of Rayan Cherki & Amadou Onana. Cherki at just 16 years old is I'm told the next big thing to come from the famed lyon academy, perhaps France itself. £6.25m is a large outlay for a player who may not make his mark in the south of France for some years, but it's a calculated risk. Onana, a rangy midfielder capable of operating as a 6, 8 or 10 will no doubt get many more minutes. He's the best thing since a sliced baguette according to Grimandi, £2.1m then could be a real bargain. Away from youth our priority was the defence and we secured Chancel Mbemba, Pierre-Gabriel & Dimitri Foulquier for a combined £18m, magnifique. Returning to the club from loan deals were Corentin Jean and South London road man John Bostock, both of whom will be playing for a new deal. Departing Toulouse were Ze Ondo, Mo Sissoko, Gourcuff, Quentin Boisgard and record signing Wesley Said. Veterans Rami, Cabaye & Diafra Sakho would stay on and were joined by a 36 year old Valbuena.

    On the pitch and my anti-football principles were hitting home as we kept eight clean sheets in our opening ten games. From this base we built a consistency that would see us in competition for a European spot come the winter break. I had planned to make no moves in January, but when Tottenham came calling for home grown talent Kelvin Amian and matched my £20m asking price, the hunt for a centre back was on. Grimandi had heard through the grapevine a certain Manuel Akanji of BVB was available and more importantly Toulouse was an option for the young Swiss. After bending my finances over backwards, £20m & £85k p/w was enough to secure his services. Shortly after Adel Taarabt was secured for £1m to increase our creativity going forward.

    The new and improved squad led us to an 2nd place finish with a 1.97 PPG record. PSG lay 10 points ahead and Monaco & Lyon a point behind. In keeping with domestic matters, we once again reached the French Cup quarter final falling to Saint-Etienne. The Coupe de la Ligue has been binned. Rejoice.

    No silverware to speak of as of yet, but I have proved my managerial credentials by successfully implementing a midfield containing both Bostock & Taarabt. Take that Harry!


  39. #389
    Senior Member Gray Fox's Avatar
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    Am I wasting my time asking my players to play any kind of passing game in the lower leagues?

    I'm also considering making a 3/5 at the back tactic. My team keeps scoring first then doesn't end up winning the game.

  40. #390
    Senior Member Manc's Avatar
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    Shithousery all the way imo.

  41. #391
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    The Squad

    Goalkeepers

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    Defenders
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    Midfielders
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    Strikers

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    We've got Liverpool on the opening game of our league season and quite frankly if we don't get relegated with this shower of shit then we've done well. We've spent £40M in the window so there should be some left in January if we're struggling too much but if I can consolidate whilst building the youth facilities I'll be buzzing.

    But yeah...shit squad.

  42. #392
    DEATH TO THE WEIRD Raoul Duke's Avatar
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    Good write-up Smiff. Strikers look great but I'd worry you're missing a shitkicker in midfield - doesn't look like there's anyone really there to win the ball back regularly? Surely there's gotta be some absolute units you can pick up from Ivory Coast or whatever?

  43. #393
    Isn't he banned? Baz's Avatar
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    Oliver Walker is rubbish.
    I'm a twit

  44. #394
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    Quote Originally Posted by Baz View Post
    Oliver Walker is rubbish.
    Who needs Oli when you got Pepe.



    I don't want to continue. End the season!

  45. #395
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    Liverpool have Mbappe, you say?
    I'm a twit

  46. #396
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    Quote Originally Posted by Baz View Post
    Liverpool have Mbappe, you say?
    Patience is needed.

    Toggle Spoiler

  47. #397
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    Ferencvaros.

    Things weren't going too well in year two as we looked to close the gap to moneybags hustlers FC Vidi. We cunted up November to fall 8 points behind their league lead at the winter break and into a chasing pack, along with spawny reigning champs Debrecen, and purple-clad underachievers Ujpest. In the January window, Vidi decided to go even more balls out by spunking £1.1 million (a HUGE sum in Hungarian football) on Debrecen's best youngster, while a fancy Brazilian too good for the league also joined them.

    Not to be deterred, I changed up our faltering 3-5-2 formation and moved to a 4-5-1, which made a huge difference for reasons I can't really discern. We started putting away the shit on a regular basis - something we'd struggled to do throughout my tenure - and quickly moved clear into 2nd place, albeit still 8 points behind Vidi, who by this point were spanking everyone left, right and centre. We went to their place needing to win to keep any sort of title race open, and 1-0 down in a soggy piece of shit game at half time was not the way to start. I responded by throwing on veteran carthorse Böde to spearhead a guerrilla 4-2-4, and it changed the game, as we ravaged the wankers second half and won 4-1, closing the gap to five points with one eleven-game round-robin to go (it's three times through the pack in Hungary).

    Well, all it took was that one mad 30 minutes of football and our friends at Vidi subsequently folded like a row of deck chairs. Meanwhile, we and our weird front three ('Little Nicky', 5 foot 5 midget teenage centre forward from the academy; 'Ivan the Terrible', genius on-loan Ukrainian winger who never passes; and 'Andy Cole's son', son of Andy Cole) managed to keep winning, and playing with a sheen that had been completely absent earlier in the season. Five games after ambushing Vidi, we took the league lead, and we never lost it.

    Vidi, having been 8 points clear with 12 games to go, ended up finishing NINE points behind us. It was a proper avalanche of a bottle job from them, one of the great collapses. We also lolled them out of the cup semi-final with our reserves, before beating the Puskas Academy in the final to do the double. Vidi, Debrecen and Ujpest will join us in Europe next year, but it's the mighty green and white hoops of Ferencvaros who will get a first run at the Champions League in my tenure. At stake is not only glory, but also the twin jackpots of the money that comes from getting into the European autumn (a HUGE deal for a Hungarian club) and the coefficient points that could propel ourselves and Hungary up the pecking order in the future.

    The next stage is to try and build a squad for 20/21 that can get us, if not necessarily to the CL group stage, then far enough down the qualifying route to make an EL group stage appearance a breeze. One of the challenges in Hungary is that you can only have 10 non-Hungarians in your registered league squad, and then from there, only 5 non-EUs in your on-pitch XI. That makes it a nice challenge trying to fill your 10 foreigner spots with a strong mix of EU and non-EU players, while also needing a decent flock of good Hungarians.

  48. #398
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    Covid?


  49. #399
    Senior Member Manc's Avatar
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    Splendid scenes, Jim. Where are Hungary in the coefficients?

  50. #400
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    Really fucking low. Started mid 30s and even after two decent seasons are still 31st. There are a few loser nations ripe for the plucking in the next couple of years, but getting higher than 20th will be hard as we will need help from our dickhead local rivals.

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