Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
http://www.midlandsrugby.co.uk/images/midlands.JPG


For decades now English football has been dominated by clubs from the North and South; In the North Manchester United and Liverpool have collected every trophy the domestic game has to offer a ludicrous amount of times, Even Manchester City who had played second fiddle to their cross city rivals for most of their existance are now getting in on the act thanks to their new found fortune.
In the South, Top players have always been attracted to fashionable London clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs who have also enjoyed prosperous times in the last twenty years. However the middle ground seems to have been forgotten.

The Midlands

The Midlands was once a proud footballing area, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanders and West Bromwich Albion all have extensive trophy collections, The problem is that those trophies have a layer of dust so thick even Kim & Aggie couldn't shine them, No club hailing from the region has won England's top flight since Villa in 1981, Similarly you have to go back 26 years for the last time one of the area's clubs hoisted the FA cup. (Coventry City)
Villa and Birmingham have both reached the League cup final in the 21st century, Villa losing to Manchester United in 2010 and the Blues beating Arsenal in 2011 to restore some of the lost pride in the region, Both sides however have declined dramatically since then, Birmingham suffering relegation just two months after winning the cup and Villa narrowly surviving in 2011/12 after once again losing their best players to Northern or Southern clubs.

Now I aim to change all that, I am proud to call myself a Midlander and come hell or high water I shall make this region great again...

My Challenge: - To achieve as much as possible using only clubs and players hailing from;
  • Bedfordshire
  • Cambridgeshire/Huntingdonshire
  • Derbyshire
  • Gloucestershire
  • Herfordshire
  • Leicestershire/Rutland
  • Lincolnshire
  • Northamptonshire
  • Nottinghamshire
  • Oxfordshire
  • Shropshire
  • Staffordshire
  • Warwickshire
  • West Midlands Metropolitan Area (Birmingham, Dudley, Solihull, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Walsall)
  • Worcestershire
Wish me luck, I think I shall be needing it!

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/Untitled-2-3.png
Left to right: WBA win the 1968 FA cup, Brian Clough with one of Notts Forests European Cup wins, Dennis Mortimer hoists the 1982 European cup for Aston Villa, Keith Houchen scoring during Coventy's 1987 FA cup final win over Spurs, Alex McLeish with Birmingham's 2011 Carling cup trophy.
Johno
17 years ago
1 week ago
2,643
Premium
Good luck Interesting challenge.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
Here's a quick look at what I have to work with at Gresley...

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/overview.png


As you can see, Very basic set-up which will need improving as we progress, There is no money currently for such a task unfortunately.

My intial squad...
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/squad-2.png


A solid foundation to build upon, However there is some squad renovation work needed if we are to challenge for promotion.

And finally here's the clubs we will be up against this season...
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/clubs-2.png


We are a newly promoted team after we won the Midland Alliance last season, However I'm confident of being competitive in this division, I'm aiming for a top half finish in the first year followed by a promotion push in 2013/14.
This challenge isn't exclusive to one club so I probably won't be taking Gresley all the way up the league pyramid and shall likely leave if a bigger Midlands club should come knocking, However that doesn't mean I don't intend to continue the success the Moatmen have enjoyed since reforming fro the now defunct Gresley Rovers in 2009, Winning three successive promotions. Besides, Big clubs aren't going to hire me if I do crap are they?
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
By Johno | Permalink | On 15 November 2012 - 11:35 AM
Good luck Interesting challenge.

Thanks Johno, I hope you keep reading.
KEZ_7
17 years ago
1 day ago
1,875
All the best mate, do you get FA cup qualifiers at that level?
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
By KEZ_7 | Permalink | On 15 November 2012 - 11:52 AM
All the best mate, do you get FA cup qualifiers at that level?

Yes we do, I think we start from the preliminary round. We are also in the FA Trophy and the Northern Challenge cup.
Dan
12 years ago
4 months ago
16,964
Once again good luck mate!
BOWC
12 years ago
2 years ago
197
Tough challenge for sure considering the players that you are allowed restricts you a lot.

Will be interesting good luck with this!!
Maiden71
12 years ago
9 years ago
83
Interesting challenge, good luck.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
Unfortunately due to a problem with the expansion I created I have had to restart this challenge using the default database down to BSN/S. Thankfully I hadn't really got going in the previous game so its not that big of a deal.

So to kick off my new game I began unemployed with a Sunday league rep and waited for a Midland club to give their manager a P45, It took a while but eventually I did get a job offer...
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/overview-1.png


The Bulls seem like a good starting point for my career, They have a good squad to work with which should be competitive in the Conference following their relegation from League Two last year, Unfortunately for my predecessor Martin Foyle they have not started well and find themselves hovering above the relegation zone at the end of November.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/squad-4.png

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/clubs-3.png
Cheik It Out
12 years ago
7 years ago
208
Same club as usual! I will try this whenever I start a new game (not gonna happen in a long time) with Brackley or Northampton Town.
Charlie M
17 years ago
1 year ago
849
This is a really interesting challenge mate, original!

I'll be following to see how you get on.
Dan
12 years ago
4 months ago
16,964
lets hope this kicks off now

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