Building A Nation: Wales

My other career is going to be on hold for the time being as I have found something else which I really want to give a go. After reading @Shedender's career regarding the 'Build A Nation' challenge, it was something that I really wanted to try. I had a career a few seasons back with TNS in the Welsh league which I really enjoyed so I have decided to give Wales a shot. In terms of the league, the Welsh Premier League is 117th in the world so yeah, it will be a challenge.



After looking at all the teams in this league, I have decided to start with Bangor City. Bangor are predicted to finish 2nd in the league but all the teams in this league are a long way off TNS. We are a semi-professional outfit so it will be a struggle to topple TNS.



The first challenge will obviously have to be to topple TNS. I want to stay at Bangor for a considerable amount of time so hopefully I will be around to see them become the best team in Wales. The gap between TNS and the rest of the league is astronomical. They have a much bigger budget and should win the league with ease. They have a wage budget of £800k a year while we have the second largest budget at £200k. I am not expecting to win the league immediately but I have set myself a few goals which I would like to achieve.

I would like to win the league with Bangor in the space of five seasons. I would also like to see us turn professional as soon as possible as that will help us in terms of transfers and training. I am hoping in a few seasons that I will be able to entice some players from England to come join us in Wales. At the moment, even players in the Conference North/South aren't interested but hopefully in the future that will change.

In terms of updates, as I expect this to be a long term save, I will be doing seasonal updates.

Oh yeah, one final thing... #FuckTNS.

So, overall we finished 3rd in the league which to be honest, was a little bit of a disappointment. We were 2nd pretty much the whole way through the season but Bala managed to catch up with us in the end and take our second placed spot. The standard of defenders in this league is atrocious so we managed to score a hell of a lot of goals [as you'll see by the player stats], but conceded too many for my liking.

The five year plan to win the league is still on and to be fair, losing 6 games isn't that bad really. TNS managed to finish 12 points ahead of us, I'll be looking to cut that down next season. Going to look to turn the club Professional in the summer, hope the board will allow it. If we turn Professional, I am sure we can bring in some good quality players from England. If not, we may struggle to fully strengthen the squad for next season.

League Results Stage One: In the Welsh League, you play 22 matches until the league is split into 2: the top 6 and the bottom 6. In this first stage of the season, we lost 4 matches which wasn't really good enough. As you can see by the results, we had no problem scoring but just couldn't defend at times. In the four matches we lost in the first stage, we conceded 18 goals. We were in 2nd place going into the next stage of the league.

League Results Stage Two: In the second stage of the season, we actually did quite well. We lost to TNS, which was expected and we picked up some silly draws. The loss to Carmarthen was because I played a weakened side as we couldn't finish 2nd. All in all, I think we are definitely good enough to get second place next season if we strengthen right in the summer.

European Places Play Off: Not too sure how it works but I think we have qualified for the Europa League. The top two have qualified [I think TNS Champions League] but this play off consisted of 3rd,4th.5th and 6th placed team. We went on to win it so I think we have Europa League next season [low qualifying round] but it might be a pull for players to join us.

JD Welsh Cup: Out of the two cups, I think this cup is the more important of the two. We managed to get into the semi finals before TN*Fucking*S beat us by three goals to two. We were two-nil up with five minutes to go which is even more frustrating.

Nathaniel MG Cup: Surprisingly we battered second placed Bala 7-0 in the semi final. We managed to beat to beat TNS on penalties to come away with my first trophy as Bangor City manager.

Player Stats: So in my 44 matches as Bangor manager, we have managed to score 122 goals which is obscene. Annoyingly, we have also conceded 61 which was our main downfall. Key highlights were obviously my front players. Former Bury striker Daniel Nardiello was a key man for me and managed 35 goals. Former FM wonderkid Jamil Adam was signed at the start of the season and also scored 35. Former Wrexham striker Rob Ogleby also managed to score 15 for me. If anybody wants any specific screenshots of any of my squad then please let me know.

I haven't given out any new contracts yet so I am in for an interesting summer. I will update again at the start of the new season.

#FuckTNS.

Up the Bangor though it's nice to see someone manage our Welsh "brothers". Decent enough first season in Wales @Fola but I can also completely understand why you're a little disappointed not to have secured second place, I'm a little surprised you managed to beat TNS once in the four league fixtures. KIU pal.

#FuckTNS. We had another good season but unfortunately TNS were too good once again. We managed to close the gap this time round and only finished 6 points behind them. We will catch them soon, I am sure of it. I did ask to turn the club Professional but the board were having none of it so for now, TNS has major leverage in this league. The league rose from 117th to 112th which was a nice feeling to see. I just hope the league can keep progressing. Last season I gained Manager Of The Year which was nice, especially in my first season. I was offered job interviews at fellow Welsh side Bala, Irish side Drogheda United and English Non-League side Chester. I turned them all down though, don't want to leave this side any time soon.

Transfers: If I start with the outgoings, I was gutted to lose Henry Jones. He was a key man for me in CM last season but obviously decided that he was too good for us and this league. The weird thing is, despite having a few English sides such as Portsmouth and Scunthorpe interested in him, he didn't sign a deal all season and is still a free agent. The rest of the players I decided to let go as they probably weren't good enough.

Ibraim Sa Sani joined us after his release from Cardiff. It was my main intention to snap up youngsters from Welsh sides such as Swansea, Cardiff and Wrexham etc. I managed to sign him and former Swansea striker Sean Hanbury on three year deals. They are both two very promising strikers who I am hoping can play a big part in the future of this club. Joe McNulty is a young Welsh CB who joined from Bristol City and is definitely another one for the future. I also signed Kaid Mohammed, Ashley Young and Rhys Williams but they didn't play much so pointless to post screenies. Former Welsh international David Pipe joined us after his release from English side Eastleigh and was immediately named our new captain. Class player at this level. Jack Challis also joined us from Bristol City, another young solid Welsh CB Macauley Southam was the final player to join the club after his release from Cardiff. All in all, really happy with the players brought into the club. Young and Welsh and bags of potential, will definitely help us in the future.

League Results Stage One: We started off really well in the league but then as you can see, we had a blip and that really cost us come the end of the season. We have a young set of lads so I'm not too disheartened as they will definitely learn from it. It didn't help that Daniel Nardiello was ruled out for 4 months near the start of the season.

League Results Stage Two: We only lost two matches in our final stage of the season which is a good return. The annoying thing is that if we would of won these two matches then we'd of come joint top. Frustratingly we actually did really well against TNS this season so I just hope we can keep it up for next season.

Europa League: Less said about this the better. We gave it a go but were outclassed. Hope we can do better next season.

JD Welsh Cup: Lost in our first game of the competition. Not really too bothered about this cups if I'm honest.

Nathaniel MG Cup: I know I just said I didn't care about cups but it was nice to win this one. We won this last season so nice to win it again. Another bit of silverware added to my belt which is a good feeling. It's a shame that the board don't care about this cup.

Player Stats: Connor Roberts was our starting keeper again and did well. Managed to sign him up to a three year deal. In defence, the new lads did well, especially Pipe and Challis. Looking to re-sign Wilson onto a new deal who did really well at LB. In CM, Danny Gosset was the star man and really improved on last years performances. Jamil Adam unfortunately couldn't replicate his form from last season but Nardiello, Ogleby, So Sani and Hanbury impressed for me. Again, if anybody wants any specific screenshots then let me know.

Player Of The Season: Daniel Nardiello. What a player. In 24 starts, he managed 26 goals which is brilliant for a player of 36 years old. He managed 35 goals last season and 26 this season. I have signed him up to another one year deal and I just hope he can keep this up. Very special player for this league and a great influence for Ibraim Sa Sani and Sean Hanbury.

love the idea of this save, i went to Bangor university and while i was there watched City play often great club with gd support cmon the Citizens!

What an absolutely terrible season. The past two seasons we have been quite unlucky and looked to be closing the gap on TNS but this season, we were embarrassing at times. As we came so close last season I decided to keep with many of the squad from last season. That was obviously a regret as we went on to lose nine matches in the league which is a terrible return from a team with our quality. We actually have a good side but I just don't have a clue what went wrong. I somehow was given a new deal which I am thankful about but I will be making big changes this summer.

Transfers: I only decided to bring in 5 players this season. Adam Orme joined from fellow Welsh side Airbus. He scored a shed load of goals over the previous two seasons, including a few against us. Sam Jones joined after his release from English side Gateshead. He didn't play for them for two seasons but he's a player who did quite well for me. Kane Owen came in as back up to Laurence Wilson at LB from fellow Welsh side Bala. Jay Gibbs also joined from Bala but hardly ever featured. Stuart Fleetwood joined from English Conference South side Bath but didn't really manage to have much of an impact for us.

League Results Stage One: Out of 22 matches in this first stage of the season we only managed to win 10. Overall, that is absolutely terrible for a side like ours.

League Results Stage Two: Well, I thought the first stage was bad but take a look at this. We only managed to win once out of our last ten matches and to be honest, I was very lucky to keep my job. Overall, the league form was an embarrassment last season.

European Places Play Off: No Europa League for us next season. Terrible from us and especially in terms of recruitment for next season. The lure of Europa League football was a big pulling factor to bringing players over from England. We now no longer have that.

Europa League: This was the best part of my season. This obviously happened before the season kicked off so after this I was buzzing for the new season. We managed to progress through the first round of the qualifying and then won the first leg of the second but in the end lost on away goals.

JD Welsh Cup: Crashed out after an embarrassing defeat against Port Talbot.

Nathaniel MG Cup: Apart from the Europa League, this was the only positive part of this season. We managed to win the trophy for the third season running. Always nice beating TNS in the final too.

Player Stats: Connor Roberts was again our starting keeper and will be again next season. He didn't do great last season but he is a good keeper at this level. We have a defender called David Mcguiness who came through the youth side who I tried to play a little this season. I think he'll be a big player for us. Leon Clowes did well at CB. Unsure whether to keep David Pipe and Wes Baynes but depends who I can bring in to replace them at RB. Danny Gosset and Sam Jones did well in CM for me but we definitely need some more depth in this area. Up top, Sean Hanbury had a great season and ended up as the top scorer in the league. Daniel Nardiello had another brilliant season for me but unfortunately, he is retiring at the end of the season after a great three seasons at the club. Adam Orme was a big disappointment following his move in the summer.

Player Of The Season: Sean Hanbury. The young striker had a great season for us and finished as the top goalscorer in the league. He's only 19 and regularly gets caps for the Welsh under 19 side. He's got a bit of interest from a few sides in England so may be a struggle to keep hold of him. He's out of contract next summer.

Next season will be a huge season for us. Massive changes will be made this summer.

So, firstly for some reason we have qualified for the Europa League. I think it must of been because we won the MG Nathaniel Cup. So yeah, really happy about that. However, my season expectations have just come through and it says that I am in the Scottish League Challenge Cup... Surely this is a bug? Or am I missing something here...



EDIT: Ignore this... Wikipedia just helped me out.

'Traditionally contested by members of the SPFL and its predecessor, the Scottish Football League (SFL), below the top level of the Scottish football league system, the Challenge Cup is being expanded to 54 entrants for the 2016–17 tournament with the inclusion of under-20 teams of the twelve Scottish Premiership clubs, and four teams each from the Highland League and Lowland League. There will be also be two teams each from the NIFL Premiership and Welsh Premier League, the first time the competition has featured teams from outside Scottish football.'

Not a clue why we've qualified for it though.

You playing in the Scottish Challenge Cup has confused me a little, especially when you finished the campaign in fourth place because I always thought it was supposed to the top two clubs hence why in real life both TNS and Bala qualified from Wales & Crusaders and Linfield from Northern Ireland.

I'm not too sure either mate. I will see what happens next season.

God I hate TNS. They have won the league once again, with this league win taking them to their NINTH successive title. We actually came really close this season and there were times where I thought we were going to do it but it just wasn't meant to be. It was a two-horse race for the majority of the season but in the end, TNS were just that little bit too strong for us. We lost a few silly matches, with two losses coming against surprise package Ton Pentre. We are no where near the finished article so hopefully we can continue to improve again next season.

Once again I asked the board to turn the club Professional but they were having none of it. Really feel that we need turn Professional if we are take the club to the next level and catch TNS. #SackTheBoard

Transfers: Last season was a terrible season so I decided to make some big changes. Daniel Nardiello was our key man over the past three seasons before he retired in the summer. Filling Nardiello's shoes was always going to be a big step but I decided to give that job to eighteen year old Nigel Allen. Allen scored regularly for Aberystwyth last season and looks like a star for the future. Greg Draper scored a few goals against us for TNS and was brought in to bolster our front line. Llyr Griffiths came in from Wrexham and looks another good player for the future. Former Wolves youngster Declan Weeks joined the club midway through the season. He had previously been a regular at English Conference National side Southport and looks a brilliant player at this level. Richard Peniket also joined us midway through the season after leaving English side Halifax. I made a few other signings but they didn't really feature this season.

League Results Stage One: Good first stage of the season and much improved on last season. Silly losses against Ton Pentre and Connah's Quay were the only disappointments in that first stage of the season.

League Results Stage Two: Only two losses in our last ten matches but it still wasn't enough for us to catch TNS.

Europa League: Another good run for us in the Europa League as we managed to win the first match before losing to Swiss side Vaduz. Hopefully we can get past this stage next season. As a league we are now the 94th best league in the world. We need to keep improving in Europe to ensure the reputation of the league gets better year on year. The rest of the Welsh lot are doing OK in the Europe too. No better than us but its pleasing.

JD Welsh Cup: #FuckTNS.

Nathaniel MG Cup: Were crowned winners of this trophy for the fourth consecutive season. Happy days.

EDIT: We also played in the Scottish Challenge Cup where we lost in the first round 4-2 to Scottish Championship side Falkirk.

Player Stats: Overall, this was probably the strongest squad we have had since I joined the club. Connor Roberts was promoted to club captain this season and was once against was starting goalkeeper. Dave McGinness and Jack Challis were my starting CB's and did well. McGinness is reportedly interesting English Conference side Newport so they may be sniffing around for him. Aaron Williams has progressed through the youth team and was our starting LB this season. He was subject of a bid from English side MK Dons but he signed a new deal with us instead. In midfield Danny Gosset was our best midfielder once again. Declan Weeks also impressed me since he joined the club from Southport. Up top, Ibraim So Sani was absolutely fantastic. His contract is up this summer and he is refusing to sign a new deal. He is way too good for this level and I hope he can earn himself a move to a Football League side in England. Sean Hanbury signed a new deal and was once again very impressive. Nigel Allen, Jamil Adam and Greg Draper also got amongst the goals.

Player Of The Season: Without a doubt, Ibraim So Sani was our POTY. In 45 matches, the former Cardiff youngster managed 43 goals which is a fantastic return. He is only 21 years old and obviously fancies himself to do well in England. I have been trying to sign him up to a new deal all season but he's having none of it. He has been fantastic for us and we are definitely going to miss him. I hopefully will be able to find someone in the summer to come in and replace him. I really hope he doesn't fuck up his career and end up rotting in someone's reserves, he's way too good for that. What a great three seasons at the club for the lad.

In my first post, I stated that I wanted to win the league by the 5th season at the club. Next season is the 5th season... No pressure.

It may suck at the moment and see like your miles away from TNS @Fola but im sure as soon as you overtake them it'll all go your way

Seems it's going to take an absolute miracle to dethrone TNS @Fola.

#FuckTNS. WE HAVE ONLY GONE AND WON THE LEAGUE!

When I took over at the club, I set a target of five years to win the league and we have achieved that target. We were fantastic this season and TNS didn't stand a chance. As a league, the Welsh Premier League moved up to 83rd in the world. I asked the board twice to turn Professional but once again, they were having none of it. I really need the board to step down sooner rather than later if we are to progress. Also, some massive news was that Ibraim So Sani signed a new three year deal at the club. I really thought we were going to lose him but I agreed a deal to make him the highest paid player at the club earning £600 a week. I put in a number of clauses that I knew I would never be able to keep but all in all, he signed a deal so I will deal with the repercussions when they occur. I am hoping he'll be pissed off for a bit but then he'll settle down and want to stay.

Transfers: I brought in a lot of players over the summer, mostly youngsters. I managed to pick up a lot of young Welsh players who had been released from Swansea and Cardiff. Unfortunately none of them really stood a chance this season as we played so well. Hopefully they will be big players for me in the future. Three players that we brought in over the summer managed to play a role for us. Rollin Menayese arrived from Cardiff. He can play at either CB or CDM and should be a key player for us over the next few years. Marcus Wood arrived from TNS. He didn't really feature too much but he's still young, he definitely will be a good player for us. Bradley Reid was the player I was most excited to bring in. He had been released by Championship side Wolves a few years back and was plying his trade in the English Conference for Dulwich Hamlet. He's only 25 so he's still a good age and has great stats for this level.

League Results Stage One: Really good first stage of the season. We lost three matches which was disappointing but managed to beat TNS twice which was great.

League Results Stage Two: Unbeaten in our last ten matches in the league. Championes, Championes, Ole, Ole, Ole!

Europa League: Not only did we win the league but we also got the furthest we have ever got in the Europa League. We managed to get through the first two rounds before losing to Sunderland in the third qualifying round. Unfortunately though, because the board won't turn us Professional I doubt we will get any further than this as a Semi Professional side. Will be interesting playing Champions League football though next season though.

JD Welsh Cup: Champions of the league and battered TNS in the final to win the JD Welsh Cup. What a time to be alive. #FuckTNS.

Nathaniel MG Cup: Lost in the semis to TNS. We had won this competition the past four seasons so it is a tad disappointing to miss out on this one.

Player Stats: Conor Roberts was fantastic in goal for us. It's his fifth season at the club and he will be our starting goalkeeper again next season. We were solid at the back which Aaron Williams doing really well at LB. Jack Challis and Dave McGuiness were brilliant at CB for me. Wes Baynes was our starting RB for us and had his best season in a Bangor shirt. Danny Gosset again had a really good season, as did Declan Weeks. Up top, Ibraim So Sani ended up the top goalscorer in the league as he bagged 39 goals. Bradley Reid managed to score 32, Nigel Allen bagged 30 while Sean Hanbury found the back of the net 19 times. GOALS!

Player Of The Season: What a player and what a man. In order for him to sign a new deal, I promised that he could become captain, take free kicks and penalties. Last season he managed 41 goals, this season he got 39. He signed a three year deal so we have got him for the next two seasons and if he wants to leave after that, then he can leave. He's slowly becoming a legend at this club and rightly so.

Bring on the Champions League.

Congratulations on topping TNS but now here comes the hard part @Fola, trying to retain the title.

Well done knocking TNS off their perch @Fola , as shedender said, now retain that title

What an amazing season and definitely my best at Bangor manager. We won the league by 20 points ahead of TNS and managed to win the quadruple. We won the Welsh Premier League, the JD Welsh Cup, the Nathaniel MG Cup and also the Scottish Challenge Cup. We also had a great run in the Europa League which saw us reach the group stages for the first time in the club's history. As a league, the Welsh Premier League has risen to 80th which again is really pleasing.

The finances of the club are the highest they have ever been thanks to our run in Europe. We are without a doubt the richest club in the league and here is the big news... WE ARE TURNING PROFESSIONAL! For the past six seasons I have been asking the board to turn Professional but had no luck. Thanks to our fantastic season, we will be turning Professional next season. This will work wonders for the future of this football club. More training for my players and also more 'pull' to bring players into the club. The future is looking bright at this football club. Bangor City are on the up.

Transfers: In terms of transfers, I didn't bring many players into the club. I am really happy with the squad that I have and decided that they would have the chance to impress me and as you know, they definitely did that. Out of the five players that we brought into the squad, only two managed to feature regularly and both were brought in from arch rivals TNS. Omar Sowunmi can play at either CB or ST and grabbed some crucial goals for us. He's a proper targetman and plan 'B' for us. Fahad Rwakarambwe is a good, solid CM and adds depth to our midfield. In terms of outgoings, I mainly just loaned out a few youngsters for some valuable game time.

League Results Stage One: We only lost one match all season and that came against f*cking TNS. Apart from that, we were brilliant, no complaints at all from me. Scored a massive amount of goals too which is always pleasing.

League Results Stage Two: Eight wins out of the last ten matches meaning we won the league with four matches to spare. 20 points ahead of TNS... What a feeling.

Champions League: This was what really made my season. We managed to get through the first two stages of the Champions League and despite losing to Copenhagen, we qualified for the Europa League group stages.

Europa League: What a great experience for the club. We lost every game in the group stage but it was great to play against sides such as Chelsea. We actually went 2-0 against Chelsea which was a brilliant feeling. Unfortunately they came back and beat us but all in all, fantastic experience for the club.

Scottish Challenge Cup: Despite being large underdogs, we managed to win the Scottish Challenge Cup. We beat Scottish Championship side Inverness in the final where we were huge underdogs.

JD Welsh Cup: Beat Port Talbot on penalties after battering TNS in the semis.

Nathaniel MG Cup: Tight win in the final against Ton Pentre saw us win this cup for the 5th time in the last 6 seasons.

Player Stats: Conor Roberts was again our starting goalkeeper and has recently signed a new 3 year deal. At the back, Paul McGinness and Caio Gowans were immense for me at CB. Both of those players have come through our youth team. Aaron Williams, who also through our youth team was a regular at LB. Wes Baynes was great at RB for us but we may need to replace him in the future. Danny Gosset and Declan Weeks did well for me in CM but I may look to strengthen the MF in the summer. Like I said, as we are turning Pro, we may be able to tempt some better standard of players to the club. Up top was where we absolutely excelled... again. Ibraim So Sani- what a man. I know I have gone about him a lot of this thread but he is without a doubt, my favourite player on this game. He managed to score 57 goals in 55 appearances in a fantastic season for the young Welshman. Sean Hanbury managed 43 goals, which is his best return at the club. Bradley Reid managed 24 goals while Nigel Allen found the scoresheet on 22 occasions. All in all, the strikers were the reason we did so well this season.

Player Of The Season: The best player for us and without a doubt, the best player in the league. Ibraim So Sani's contract is up at the end of next season and I am hoping that now we have turned Professional, I will be able to make sure he stays at the club. He has now scored 162 goals in six seasons at the club (in all competitions). He's my captain and player that I would love to be at the club for the rest of his life. Kenny Jackett is now Wales manager and he has watched So Sani on a number of occasions. He hasn't been called up yet but maybe in the future. He is bound to have interest from elsewhere but I am hoping that he can stay with us and help us build this legacy here.

The future is bright, the future is Bangor.

Now the gun begins @Fola turning professional and being 'that rich club' in the league should allow you to dominate the league for seasons to come and hopefully soon have a say on European results rather than being the boys who are there to be beaten

Fantastic progress, met your target of your first title and slowly improving in the European qualifying too. Well done, @Fola.