Rick's Career

Good first month at the club mate.

2015 started well enougth, we're sitting pretty at the top of division one, level on points with my old club Ross County who look bent on punishing me for ditching them for Rangers as they became the first side to beat my Gers side.

We began the month in style by slaughtering Airdrie 5-1, three of those goals coming from the spot as Dean Sheils scored four times. A 2-1 win over Partick Thistle sent us top before a 2-0 triumph at Raith moved us three points clear.
Next up came the visit of Ross County, and I could have given you the script for this game before the kick off it was so obvious what was going to happen, my side took the lead against the run of play with eleven minutes to play, however my usually reliable defence went to pieces in the final few minutes, allowing my former employers a ludicrously predictable FM victory.

With County now level on points with us we couldn't afford any slip ups against Morton, We lined up with a new winger on the team sheet;

I could have waited until June and had him for free when his contract expired, however I lacked a natural right winger and have been forced to play strikers out wide, so at just £50k I was willing to bring Marc in from Southampton a bit early, he immediately made a good impression, assisting and scoring a goal against Morton on his début to help keep us top with ten games to go.

Finally we welcomed Dundee United to Ibrox for an Scottish cup 5th round tie, Dundee took a first half lead to put us on edge, thankfully Faure levelled to set up a replay next week.

Dean Sheils impressive form earned him an award;




Cheers bud.

Rangers eh!? That's one out of left-field mate!! Good luck with my boyhood heroes.

Good read mate doing well cant wait for the next chapter

February has been a frustrating time for us as the momentum gathered in December and January appears to have fizzled out, allowing bloody Rossy County to go top with seven games to go, if they win the title as soon as I jump ship I'm going to be very annoyed!!!

The Scottish cup replay with Dundee United was a disaster, had three players carried off injured as well as my side exhibiting some truly diabolical defending which handed the Terrors a ludicrously easy win over us, I was furious with my players, tea cups were thrown and boots were kicked after this one I assure you.
After the humbling at Tannadice Park morale was pretty low as we took to the field against Queen of the South where we played out possibly the most boring game ever, with neither side managing a single shot on target as Ross County climbed above us into pole position.
We improved against Livingston, Stevie Ross netting his first goal for the club since I brought him from County last month, however the three points were snatched from our grasp in the 87th minute when Anthony Andrau was allowed a free header from a free kick much to my fury.
Finally, after a run of for games without a win we just about managed to see off Hamilton, albeit via an own goal by former Rangers keeper Neil Alexander, but at this point I really don't care how we win, just that we do.

Things need to improve quickly as we can't afford to allow County to extend their advantage with so few games remaining, we face the Staggies away at the end of April which could be crucial in the title race.
For the second month running player of the month comes from us;


Charlie: Hopefully I'll do you proud!
Dave Tinsley: Thanks mate, keep reading and commenting

Ouch. Very poor month that's seen Ross County move top but I'm pretty sure you'll bounce back.

Sorry to go off topic but do you have any graphic additions to your game, Rick? I've just bought it and it's downloading the now. Thanks!

I have the cut-out facepack, metallic logos and stadium packs, ll of which you can download on here. My skin is Stekklo X3.

Thanks, think I managed to work out what you had in the end. Just getting it all downloaded and installed. I thought I wouldn't get the FM bug, but after reading your story here, it's made me want to give this challenge a go!

There was two or three games in each month between March and May so I thought I would combine them to save time, suffice to say this has not been an enjoyable time for me and has defiantly been the darkest period of my career thus far as we conceded the title that I jumped ship in order to win to the club I jumped from with barely a whimper.

I'm not going to go into individual results this time as it will just put me in a bad mood again but we were woeful when it really mattered and I had to go cap in hand to the chairman after the final game to plead for my job. thankfully he seemed willing to write off my first few months in charge and give me another chance next season, but a good start is an absolute must or I'm going to be looking for my fourth job three years.

I intend to use this summer to overhaul my squad, cut through all the lazy, overpaid players who showed no backbone whatsoever when it was required of them, I began bringing in a few of my trusted old players in January when I signed Steven Ross and Lewis Milne, but you can expect to see many more new faces at Ibrox for 2015/16, I'm utterly determined that I shall deliver a trophy to try and win over the supporters.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for the club though;

Good to see you at Rangers now rick! unlucky in missing out on promotion though

unlucky missing the title rick, ironic it was county that beat you to it! I don't really think that your signings are rangers quality, you really should have a mid table spl side for them in div 1 and the steven ross's of the world won't really help! (just my thoughts!) hopefully you can get some good free transfers in during the summer!

Unlucky with the league, if you had the full season at Rangers I reckon you'd have strolled it.

PS Did McCoits get sacked?

We all know the result that f**ked you off...

Unlucky on failing to earn promotion to the SPL but I'm sure you'll able to gain promotion next season. Who got relegated (or could be) from the SPL?

Cheers bud.


Hmmm, Stevie was a goalscoring beast for me at Ross County and I like signing players who I have previously come across earlier in my career, either at clubs Iv'e managed or players I've come up against and have caused me problems.


Yeah, I think that is the only reason I am still in charge to be honest. Yeah McCoist was sacked after starting badly.


Yes, that result was possibly the most infuriating game on FM I have ever had, particuarly as it was a bug in the game that cost me the title. still, no use crying over spilt milk as they say.
Falkirk were relegated back to division one and the mighty Dumbarton won promotion from division two.

No fewer than 21 players have been shown the Ibrox door this summer as I began to overhaul my squad, let's take a look at the departures list;

Most of the players I've let go do not fit with my philosophy of hard work and determination trumping all else, many were on big wages which in my eyes they were not justifying.

Now allow me to unveil the new Gers for 2015;


Now that we've met the new lads, here's a quick look at the squad as a whole;

Goalkeepers

Gary Woods will undoubtedly be my number one keeper this season but Swede Benny Lekstrom proved himself a very capable shot stopper last season and will be my cup goalkeeper.
Young Adam Locke is a decent backup should anything happen to Woods or Benny although I will likely send him out on loan with the option to recall him should needs be.

Defenders

Probarbly the strongest area of the side which has a good mix of youth and experience, Frenchman Sebastian Faure was the division one player of the season last term, I'll be looking for him to continue putting in the sort of performances that earned him that award this year. Ross Perry and Luca Gasparrotto will be vying to partner Faure whereas young Stuart Urquhart will likely feature predominantly in cup games initially but the opportunity is there for him to establish himself if he plays well.
I am reunited with Chris Heggarty this season after he returned from a two year loan spell with Ross County where he was a solid rotation option for me, which is exactly what he will be again this year as he provides cover for new man Keith Watson at right back. on the other side Adam Eckersley and Brian Easton are very capable left backs.

Midfielders

Kevin Thompson and Ian Black will take turns in the anchorman role, I have full faith in both of them to do what is required there, Lewis Milne will again play the part of play maker after impressing since he moved with me from Ross County, another former Staggie Robbie Crawford will be hoping to become Milne's regular partner in the middle, although he faces stiff competition from the likes of Ross Draper, Lewis MacLeod and Padraig Colbert.
On the flanks, Marc Albrighton and Iain Vigurs are conventional wingers both of whom are blessed with good crossing ability, however should we need an urgent goal Luke James and Dean Sheils excel as inside forwards who both enjoy cutting inside and bearing down on goal.
I am also in the process of training Alistair Carter as a winger, the sixteen year old is a left back at the moment but I think his attributes are more suited for taking players on further forward so expect to see him feature in Challenge cup games.

Forwards

If any area of the squad will let us down this season it will likely be this one, having said that I have a lot of faith in all four of our strikers, Stevie Ross started to show the Ibrox faithful why I rate him so highly towards the end of last season, Ross was named in the divisional team of the year, primarily down to his form under me at Ross County before I brought him here with me.
Ryan Wallace seized his chance in the first team which I handed him last season, scoring eight in fifteen games, young Dean Lindsey can also be sure he will get his chance to break into the team this season.


So that's everyone who is likely to feature this season, I'm happy with my squad at the moment and confident that we have the quality to secure promotion this time as well as to begin building a dynasty with the smattering of talented youngsters within my squad as I look to crack on with the challenge.

We've had a pretty good start to my first full season in charge at Ibrox, just the one defeat thus far has us advancing nicely in all competitions and sitting pretty at the head of division one.

We kicked off the campaign at home to Queen of the South in the Challenge cup, Ryan Wallace gave us a 14th minute lead after being teed up by Lewis Milne before QotS hit back shortly before half time. with the game seemingly heading towards extra time, up stepped 16 year old Alaistair Carter to seize his opportunity in the first team with both hands by firing in with just a minute left on the clock, avoiding having to play an extra half an hour on the opening day.
Carter continued to impress on the left flank despite him being a natural fullback, the Lockerbie born youngster opening the scoring in the 6-0 demolition of Queens Park in the League cup, he also provided the assist for Dean Lindsey's first ever career goal in the 78th minute, earning him the man of the match award.

The league season kicked off with our second meeting in a fortnight with QotS, this time the proved a much simpler proposition as we eased to a comfortable 3-0 win with Steve Ross, Marc Albrighton and débutante Iain Vigurs on target.
Next up we were at home to Hamilton, Kevin Thompson thundered a penalty past former Gers man Neil Alexander in the 19th minute following a foul on Steven Ross before the Accies hit back midway through the second half, Stevie however was on hand to head home the winner nine minutes from time to give us all three points.
The next round of the Challenge cup saw us host third division Annan in a game that could have been a huge embarrassment to us, thankfully after conceding an early goal we managed to take control of the game, Padraig Colbert pulling us level after a mazy run through the opposition defence. however try as we might we were unable to avoid extra time in this one, thankfully Annan had completely ran out of steam by then as Dean Shields slotted home the winner five minutes from the end. *phew*
Back to league action next as we took on Dunfermline, Lewis Milne netted his first ever Rangers goal before his fellow former Ross County man Steven Ross scored twice either side of Sebastian Faure's header to secure a convincing win over the Pars.
Just three days later we were back at East End Park, this time for a League cup second round tie, I chose to rotate the team which won 4-0 in the league quite heavily, however the players who came in still did a good job as they also stormed into a 4-0 lead, including a début goal from Luke James, however this time things weren't so straight forward as Dunfermline came storming back, threatening to turn the game on it's head, when Paddy Carroll made it 4-3 with two minutes of stoppage time to pay things became very uncomfortable, thankfully we managed to hang on though and book a date with Hearts in the last sixteen of the competition.
Finally came the visit of Livingston to Ibrox, which given our good form should have resulted in nothing but a home win, however one of my former players Alex Cooper decided to spoil the party with his 15th minute goal, he should never have been allowed to score it however, he was allowed a free header at a corner, utterly unchallenged much to my fury.

So all in all a very pleasing first month in charge, just the one defeat in eight games which is a ratio I can live with.
Stevie Ross was obviously wounded by dramacydal2002 harsh words about him as he has started the season in blistering form;

There was also an award for yours truly which takes me up to 20 Fergie points.

Still a loooooooooooooooong way to go!

ha-ha I am glad my criticism spurred him on. perhaps I should do it more often for the rest of your team!

September was a mixed month results-wise, not a period I'm going to look back on with any great pride, but on the other hand we are still top of the division after a few challenging fixtures which is the main thing as far as I'm concerned.

First up was a tough game against Partick Thistle on the 2nd, along with Falkirk, Partick are likely to be our main challengers for promotion, as they proved at Ibrox in this game, although we dominated most of the game and carved out some pretty good openings, the Jags held firm for a point, helped by a very solid defence built around Conrad Balatoni who is a player I wouldn't mind in my side.
Next up was Challenge cup action against amateur Queen's Park FC, who you will recall we met in the League cup back in August with us pumping them 6-0 on that occasion, this quarter final tie however almost turned out to be a massive embarrassment as the division three side fought us tooth and nail all the way to a penalty shoot-out, was our inability to finish them off down to the oppositions steely determination or our own complacency? I'd say a 50-50 mix of both. Thankfully I was spared any further blushes by Stuart Urquhart who netted the decisive kick after a mammoth eight round shootout but I let my players know exactly what I thought of their efforts in letting the game get so far.

Falkirk next, I knew this was going to be a tricky tie, but the manner in which we lost this one was infuriating. Ryan Wallace had given us the lead in the 52nd minute after he bundled the ball across the line following a goalmouth scramble and with nine minutes to go it looked as if we were going to edge out the Bairnes, however the referee decided to give a penalty against Robbie Crawford, despite watching a replay of the incident several times I still have no idea what for as Crawford didn't appear to have touched the player who went down. Lewis Small made no mistake in converting the spot kick. at this point I would have settled for a draw and been happy to concede it as a fair result, however up popped Craig Sibbald to rob us of that with a admittedly breathtaking 30 yard lob over Gary Woods to give Falkirk the win and first place as I held my head in my hands.
Robbie Crawford made up for his supposed mistake against the Bairnes (My reaction to which earned me a warning from the FA) by firing in the winner against Raith to keep Falkirk within reach in an otherwise uninspiring game at Ibrox.

We were back in League cup action on the 23rd as we welcomed SPL side Hearts to Glasgow, this was always going to be a hard game that I fully expected to be tight and perhaps be forced into extra time or even penalties, however a disastrous opening half hour put paid to that, Irish forward Cillian Sheridan netting a 27th minute hat-trick to all but knock us out before half time, Marc Albrighton's 69th minute goal did spur a spirited finish to the game but Hearts held firm to put their name in the hat for the last eight. the bad news kept on coming after the final whistle as we discovered our defensive rock Sebastian Faure will be out for two months after limping off just after half time with an injured shoulder, hopefully either Stuart Urquhart or Luca Gasperotto can fill Faure's very large boots at the back.
After the heavy defeat against Hearts it was important to bounce straight back, an what better way to do that then welcoming my old club Dumbarton? who have just been promoted back to division one following relegation in 2013/14. A brace from Steve Ross and a second goal in two games for Marc Albrighton gave us a very straight forward victory which on another day could easily have been by five or six, I'm more than happy with the three however as it got us back to winning ways and I didn't want to see Dumbarton humiliated as I enjoyed my season in charge at the Rock.

Next month kicks off at Airdrie before the Challenge cup semi final against Livingston with either Cowdenbeath or Brechin awaiting in the final, I am determined to finally get my mitts on some silverware this season after having to collect three runners up medals in my career so far, one in this very competition after losing last years final with County...to the team I am now in charge of.

A crap month in the league has seen us slip off of the top of division one, god forbid that my players should actually put the effort in to win two games in a row for a change.

We came from behind to earn a win over Airdrie, albet with a little help from an Marc Warren own goal before Ross Draper fired in the winner with six minutes to go.
Queen of the South was just one of those games, we had 24 shots on target, scored none, they have one, scored one. absolutely infuriating.
Thankfully we made up for it against Livingston in the Challenge cup semi final as we eased through to a Hampden park showdown with Cowdenbeath next month which gives me a fantastic chance of finally collecting my first bit of silverware.
Unfortunatly we were unable to maintain the momentum from that win against Hamilton, just as with the QotS game, we dominated the match throughout but were caught out again by a momentary lapse in concentration to allow Falkirk to nick first place as I slumped back in my seat feeling defeated.

I have to say, after almost a year in charge of Glasgow Rangers now, I'm seriously considering resigning at the end of the season, nothing I say or do seems to motivate my players, I consistently get limp performances despite the team being the best in the league on paper, our biggest problem is underestimating smaller opposition, no matter how much I drill into players exactly what is expected of them they will lose to shit like Hamilton or Queen of the South, usually with the other sides only shot on goal all game which frustrates me to no end as I know we're capable of tearing this league apart if my squad would just step up. I don't know if it's something I'm doing wrong but I'm just not enjoying it here at Rangers any more, I will see out the season but unless something changes dramaticly I think I will be stepping down and heading to pastures new to try and rebuild my reputation and recapture my own enjoyment of my career.

Well after all the disappointment of the last eleven months at Ibrox, I finally have something to take pride in;


A great performance over division two leaders Cowdenbeath, it may have looked a straight forward fixture but with the complacency issue that has blighted my time here there was always going to be a little apprehension going into this one.
Thankfully my players almost immediately put my mind at rest by storming into a three goal lead in the first quarter of an hour, defender Stuart Urquhart opened the scoring by nodding home a Lewis Milne corner from close range before Stevie Ross scored the first of his three strikes from the spot.
Marc Albrighton more or less ensured the trophy was remaining in the Ibrox trophy cabinet with a curling freekick in the 16th minute, Cowdenbeath did pull a goal back through Jordan White (anyone who remembers my AFC Portsmouth game last year will recall how awesome Jordan is) but any hope they may have had of a dramatic comeback was quickly extinguished when Ross tapped in his second.
I was delighted to see my 16 year old prodigy Alistair Carter pop up and grab a goal near the end, the left back turned winger has really shown signs f promise in every opportunity I've handed him so far and he could be a big star in years to come.
Stevie Ross ensured he was going home with the match ball with his last minute header to complete his hat-trick as the party began on the pitch.
It's great to finally collect a gold medal after having to make do with silver ones on three occasions so far in my career, two as runners up in the league and one after losing the final of this competition last year. (to Rangers)

Surely you cant blow it again this year in the league

Don't be so sure.



Well that's a bit more like it!

The month started off as badly as the last one ended with us dropping five points despite dominating both chances and possession stats against both Partick Thistle and Dunfermline, it was an 88th minute strike which condemned us to a undeserved defeat against Partick which was gutting and caused us to slip all the way down to fourth. Clearly we were despiratly missing the injured Steven Ross up front as we hadn't scored in three games, also the stability provided by Sebastian Faure was missing with the Frenchman still out with a shoulder injury.
Thankfully a sudden goal glut against Livingston spurred my misfiring team into life as the irrepressible Ross returned to the side after three weeks out to net a brace, Iain Vigurs also staked a claim to not being utterly useless with two of his own, including a wonderful freekick.
The goals kept flowing in the Challenge cup final but I already covered that in the previous post, leaving our final game this month, a Scottish cup game against Stenhousemuir, the division two side were no match for my team of youngsters who looked eager to prove themselves, all three of the goalscorers were players who have something of a point to prove to me after disappointing starts to the season, hopefully they can go on and begin establishing some stiffer competition for my usual first XI.

The improved form in the second half of the month was definitely encouraging, I sincerely hope that this is the turn around I have been waiting for and that we can finally start showing the rest of the league what we can really do, December has games against all f the top three so if we can use these results as a catalyst for a revival, now is the time to do it!


In other news I have agreed a deal for Kilmarnock's young defender Alan Brown who shows great promise;

I'm well stocked in the defender department at the moment so I decided it would be best if he stayed with Killie until the end of the season in order to continue his first team progress but I'm looking forward to taking him under my wing next year.

We've also agreed a link up with Chinese side Tianjin Teda;

The festive period was a fairly cheerful one for us this season, only the one defeat which we'll put down to tiredness;

We started the month with a crucial game against Falkirk at Ibrox, in which we knew a win would see us take top place from Falkirk but the Bairns would have a game in hand, the leagues top scorer Steven Ross opened the scoring just before half time after chesting down Lewis Milnes long ball and firing into the roof of the net, Iain Vigurs made sure of an important three points in the second half after slipping into the penalty area before firing across Falkirk keeper Artur Krysiak to take us top.
Or good form continued at Raith as the same two goalscorers extended our winning run to five games, unfortunately that run came to an end against Airdrie as we were unable to find a goal despite controlling the game.
Next up was a trip to one of my former employers Dumbarton who have yo-yo'd between division one and two since I lead them to fifth place three years ago, I had not yet lost to the Sons in my previous five meetings with them, that was soon to change though as a 31st minute goal proved enough for what must be considered a major upset, lifting Dumbarton out of the relegation zone, we only had ourselves to blame for this one, we had a hat full of chances but were utterly wasteful in front of goal. fair play to Dumbarton, I hope they can stay up.


With ourselves now five points adrift of Falkirk who had taken advantage of their game in hand it was imperative that we returned to winning ways against Queen of the South and stay within touching distance of the top, which we did to the players credit. braces from Stevie Ross and Lewis MacLeod saw us record a fairly straight forward win over QotS who have impressed me since their promotion in 2012/13 by how competitive they have been at the top end of the table. credit to them, if things don't work out here at Ibrox then I wouldn't mind heading in that direction.
An eleventh minute wonder goal from midfield dynamo Lewis Milne was all it took to secure victory over Hamilton despite being reduced to ten men in the second half, Milne scored a goal almost identical to that which Robin Van Persie scored against Aston Villa in real life, allowing a long ball to drop over his head and unleashing a ferocious volley from the edge of the area whilst running at pace. he really is becoming a great player, the only mn I've signed twice having brought him for Ross County from Cowdenbeath and the for Rangers, with an average career rating of 7.57 you can understand why I rate him so highly.


So with sixteen games left to play we trail Falkirk by five points, not insurmountable by any means but we can't afford any more slip ups like the one against Dumbarton as Falkirk don't lose many games.


I'm proud of my players this month, the Dumbarton result aside, they have really started to play better and are beginning to look like the side everyone expects Rangers to be in this division, I think a change in my approach to team talks has helped, I've tried using the 'relax and the result will come' or 'play your natural game' instructions which are working wonders as opposed to me barking out what I expect of them aggressively.

Finally, the rumour mill is in overdrive at the minute as the transfer window opens next month, look out for a big name signing who appears to be happy with the contract I've offered him, this individual is a former England International with over 150 goals in the Barclay's Premiership for five different clubs.
Any guesses who it is?

Nice to see Lewis Milne doing well!

Looks to be going the distance again. Good luck mate!

If 2015 ended with an air of hope, 2016 has provided nothing of the sort as the coveted title looks to be slipping away again after a run of three games without a win, Falkirk have an eight point advantage with eleven games to play, is there still hope? yes but we really can't afford any more balls up's like we have been, we also need Falkirk to start feeling the pressure in the run in.

Before I run down the results it's time to reveal my new mystery star;

Steven Ross's thirteenth league goal of the season was complimented by Ian Vigurs sixth to give us a well deserved victory over Dunfermline before young Luke James made the most of an infrequent starting place in team by belting in the only goal against Partick Thistle, taking us to four wins on the bounce.
Unfortunately the buck stopped there as we slipped up against Livingston, missing our chance to go top of the table as Falkirk had also lost, frustrating but nowhere near as much as the next game when we travelled to the Falkirk stadium, 16 year old Alistair Carter continued to showcase his credentials by opening the scoring after just five minutes, his strike was however cancelled out just before half time by Gregor Robinson. I would have settled for the point in the 89th minute to be honest that would have kept us within touching distance of Falkirk, however we were robbed of that by Blair Alston's last minute winner, an absolutely gutting moment.

New boy Darren Bent got his first start against Raith at home, he marked the occasion with a goal in the 20th minute, only referee error prevented him from claiming a last minute winner of our own against Rovers, Bent was clearly onside when he headed home Iain Vigurs's cross, however it was wrongfully ruled out just to heap more misery on the team.

You forgot to post the screenie.

I copied the link and you've made a stunning signing - he should score goals for you mate.

What a great signing for where you are at this time, he should bang goals in for fun for you and could become a first-team regular, with him playing for you for a few years.

Oops

I hope so yeah mate, could do with someone reliable in the goalscoring department aside from Steven Ross.

Thanks matey, I'm not sure if I should switch to 4-4-2 and play Bent and Ross together or keep rotating them in my usual 4-5-1 formation.



My career is going to be on hold for a week or so as I set off on my walk tomorrow (see my sig) and I obviously won't be able to play FM. but I fully intend to continue this career which I've thoroughly enjoyed so far when I get back. Thank you all for reading!