Saving United!

Hello! Welcome to my first ever career story! I know, exciting! I would appreciate anyone who can give me advice on how to improve etc.

Couple of things to point out;

• This is an FM12 career, i fell out with 14, so decided to reboot an old career from 12 to get my fix!
• My career actually starts in 2026, following many years traipsing around Europe!
• Torquay are my heroes from when I was a kid (and still are!), hence the need to have them promoted!

I'll post screenshots of my history and of Torquays' history, just for fun!

So yeah, that's about it. To anyone who reads this, enjoy the ride!

Good luck mate! Look forward to reading! I would recommend to use screenshots! And use imgur to post them

Good luck mate

Career Overview Part I – ‘The he’s probably a half-decent coach stage’

Right, 14 years’ worth of a career to post. Challenge accepted!

It all began back in 2011, when AC Milan employed me, a plucky, unknown English manager. Harassed by the press, incorrect tactical decisions and an inability to get Zlatan and Cavani (Damn you PSG, proving me wrong) to work together as a pair led to a dismal season. League standing way below expected, out of the champions league early. I may as well have moved to Manchester and called myself David. I was sacked, replaced by my trusting assistant Mauro Tassotti (I got my own back, I nicked his job at Real Madrid some 12 years later! )

Then began a rather strange year for me and my career. On a whim, I applied for the job of the Great British Olympic team and for some reason unbeknownst to me, I was approached! I took the job, obviously. Having what was probably the third best side at the games, I accidentally developed a tactic that would stick with me throughout my entire career! I went on a run to the final, winning it, against the odds and lifted the trophy! Inspired by Danny Welbeck of all people (Sorry Danny, I just don't rate you ), the media were beginning to take me slightly more seriously!

However this lasted all of 6 months, after I ruined a second chance gifted to me by Blackpool. Resigning in a fit of rage after having my two star players sold over my head at a knock down price , almost cost me my entire career. Down on my luck, I spent the remainder of the season sat on my ass, waiting for an opportunity to present itself to me and present itself, it did!

Peterborough United. Newly-relegated. Filled with players who could comfortably cut it at Championship level with a decent backing financially. With my tactical knowledge improving all the time, we romped to the League 1 title, scoring over 100 times, winning 100 points plus a League Cup final and FA Cup semi-final to boot. I was back.

I now faced a difficult decision, spend the time and money developing my young lads into genuine title contenders or do I gamble on an offer from the Prem? About 3 days later, the choice was made for me, West Brom approached me about becoming successor to the retiring Roy Hodgson! Despite not actually winning anything, I developed ‘The Baggies’ into a top 6 Premier League side, challenging the top 4 when I left! I did enough to earn me the England job! I also had short spells with DR Congo and South Africa. However, all the ambition in the world couldn't match up to the spending power held by the select few at the top! Soon enough, I began to become bored and frustrated at my and the teams’ lack of progress so started the process of deciding where I would want to go next.

If anyone wants to see any screenshots from this or any of the other bits of the introduction, i'd be very happy to oblige, or at least try my best to!

Cheers lads! I'll try and make it as enthralling as I can!

Great career so far mate! Good read!

As George said, brilliant round up of previous seasons, looks like you've had your hits and misses thats for sure!

Cheers mate, always had a soft spot for writing, especially when it comes to football. I've been meaning to do a story on here for months, I just kept forgetting to get started!

Cheers mate, always had a soft spot for writing, especially when it comes to football. I've been meaning to do a story on here for months, I just kept forgetting to get started!

Cheers mate, they have certainly been eventful! The misses may be infuriating but those fleeting moments of brilliance and glory remind me why i always come back to this godforsaken game!

Career Overview Part II – the ‘I fancy a crack at European football’ stage

Much like when I left Peterborough for the Baggies, Lady Luck shone on me once more, an offer from none other than Bayern Munich! Coming in at the start of April, roughly 12 points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, out of the German Cup and a Europa League campaign that was failing more than a Miley twerk, It seemed I had my work cut out! Such an opinion was happily changed around 6 weeks later on the eve of my first ever European final, our half-hearted twerk had become a full striptease normally saved for a the significant others’ birthday. On the domestic front, I’d closed the gap to within 1 point only for a last day draw with Bremen to cost me the title by the narrowest of margins .

So here I was, the same English manager who resigned from Blackpool, stood on the touchline in preparation for kick-off in the biggest game of his short career, sweating ever so slightly in anticipation. Arsenal the opponents, my Bayern side resurgent, roaring like the magnificent predator they had threatened to become throughout my short stay, were ready for anything. They showed it too, doing me proud with a deserved three-nil win over what was a well organised Arsenal side, Thomas Muller being the man to rise to the occasion scoring a brilliant brace and winning the Bubbly for Man of the Match. After much jumping up and down, screaming and admittedly, the odd voice break (probably should still be having them at 19!) we were Europa League champions and I was finally having the trophies to show my recent successes!

The next two years were a happy time for me, after my first summer, the squad had become strong enough to make the title almost a formality before we went into the winter break, comfortably topping the table and showing no signs of being caught in either season. We recorded wins of seven-nil, nine-one, ten-nil on our way to two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup final defeat in extra time and two disappointing Champions League exits in the Quarters. Unfortunately, as much as I was enjoying almost total domestic domination, I again wanted to feel the challenge, the difficulty and ultimately that satisfying sense of success! I resigned from Bayern, at peace with my decision, feeling we had taken each other as far as we could hope and thanking them for a happy two and half years, gracefully departed to pastures new. Oh yeah, I finished as runner up to Argentina in the 2018 world cup with my mighty Three Lions side! I left said mightiness after they perished in the second round of the 2020 Euros but back to the club scene!

Yeah, I shouldn't have done that, the grass is most definitely not greener. In fact it’s a murky shade of brown. Despite my decent success at Bayern, I was turned down from most major jobs, eventually landing at relegation-threatened Brescia in Serie A. I remembered why I joined Bayern in the first place, it was so much easier! With a newly-promoted squad that was horribly thin in some areas (We didn’t have a Left-Winger. At all. In 3 teams. Balls.) Coupled with a crippling wage policy which I could only describe as Manchester City-esque, the club was sinking rapidly. I genuinely thought I could save them. I did, I swear! For all of about 3 weeks. They were shocking, all of them, there was no redeeming factor, no shining star to lead us to Bethlehem, no hope. So I left, packed my bags and left the whole stinking mess to someone else. They were relegated. With 8 points. I accept no responsibility. I did have to dodge the calls of a very angry owner demanded why he'd found a receipt for a one way ticket to Bermuda

I was once again searching the Job Market for a club to satisfy my demands. Based on my last excursion, I began to be a little choosier over my clubs, identifying key players, whether my tactic could work almost instantly. After turning down a few offers (including a very respectable Juve side), I arrived back in England fancying another crack at the Premier League title. North London my destination, White Hart Lane my new home! Granted, the squad was horribly imbalanced, forcing me into a formation I wasn’t entirely comfortable with but with an extended stadium plus brilliant training and youth plus a good financial grounding which I thought would allow me to move forward. After half a season of ‘making-do’, Spurs finished 12th and no European competition for the next year, which for a small squad which needed rebuilding, was actually a blessing.

The European break for a year, helped by a ridiculous amount of luck with fitness and injuries, allowed us to form a strong domestic season which, to my surprise almost ended as a title challenge! Reaching a second League Cup final of my career (we lost, annihilated by a superior Man United side) just added to the success of a fourth placed finish. In the end, we were curtailed by a poor-ish away record and lacking the ability to take on the big sides. I did now have a Champions League campaign to look forward to, plus a huge transfer fund promised by my lovely owner! Plus I still had Gareth Bale, 30-odd and still ripping up the Prem!

200 million. On 5 players. Oops. It was worth it, I scream as the press play havoc with confidence levels in the boardroom after a mass spending spree. The board weren't exactly chuffed either. The sort of look your mum gives you when you've burnt down the kitchen trying to make her birthday breakfast in bed (Disclaimer: I have never COMPLETELY burnt down my kitchen, scorch marks on the counter do not count as burning!). I did shove said look up the jacksie of Liam Cook, my delightfully vocal owner with a first Premier League title in 62 years, A Champions League quarter-final and a League Cup final win! I felt rather smug at this point. Rightly so, I thought. By this point I’d changed the objective of this save several times over (and it would change again in the future) from a short save designed to entertain me for a long weekend to a Journeyman career and I changed it again after my title win in a second country: I wanted to win the top division in all of the top 5 European leagues (England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy). So, with this in mind, I resigned from Spurs not long after the end of the season. I was rather sad to leave White Hart Lane but without investing at least double what I’d already spent into an ageing squad, proper Champions League success wouldn't be achieved, not under my guidance at any rate.

Great career mate! Brilliant work in winning the prem! Good luck wherever you next!

Career Overview Part III – ‘I am the special one mark two’

Searching for my eighth club in just 12 seasons wasn’t really the best stat for highlighting my qualities as a manager but a win percentage of over 60 and 3 league titles certainly weren’t the worse! So the hunt was again, very much on. I tried to keep an open mind going into this search, I didn’t want to fall into a trap of expecting to be wanted by every club in the world top 20! Surprisingly, the response was rather overwhelming, having several clubs state that they’re flattered by your interest does wonders for ones’ ego! I decided Italy or Spain would be my next destination, mostly because I only had them and England loaded, so choice was limited! It took around an hour and several pieces of paper to whittle down my shortlist, eventually plumping for Juve, the club I had turned down not 3 years previous. Turns out, they have long memories in Turin. They didn’t want me. Flat out rejected me. For Lee Keun-Ho. No, I hadn’t heard of him either.

In the end, much like the FA after Capello, I plumped for the less popular choice of AS Roma. Admittedly, the squad I inherited was largely more suited to my needs and systems, the club seemed in a worse state of affairs than their northern counterparts. However, making the best of what you’ve got is something us Yorkshire folk do startling well, that and make fantastic cups of tea. Seriously, you need to try it, come round one day, I’ll stick t’kettle on! I sat down and began to plot my world domination, which wasn’t easy when your best youth player is barely good enough to play in an under-9s side. With careful planning and some of my best ever work in the transfer market, my team took shape. We entered the season with a lot of hope of securing a title at the first time of asking with Champions League almost definitely a step too far, for now anyways! We did, however, lose the Super Cup final, my first competitive game, to Torino, surprise League champions the year before. A Champions League group of Rapid Wien, Celtic and old flame Bayern Munich, punctuated what was turning out to be a brilliant start to my first season in the Italian capital. This was shown emphatically with a 5-1 destruction of Bayern at the Olimpico, in the final group game allowing us to finish first in our relatively simple group.

I wish I hadn’t. We now met a wonderfully crafted side going by the name of Tottenham Hotspur where we were carefully picked off 7-5 over two legs by my two record signings for the club. Resignation never stung as much as this! In the league, we were as good, if not better, than could have ever been expected with a record that deserved the championship, only for Inter to have probably one of the best seasons in their long history in the top flight! We finished second by 4 points, despite having a points total that would have won us the league every other year in Serie A. Add to that an Italian Cup Semi-Final and you have a fairly decent if not spectacular first season

For the first summer in about 6 years, I didn’t spend a large amount of money on improving my side, feeling that with a little more luck and a few better individual performances from my key players and I’d be a shoe-in for that elusive title. I actually made money that summer with a severe streamlining of the squad removing many average fringe players. Keeping together a core of quality key players, I think, helped us in keeping our form going. Don’t get me wrong, the players I had weren’t irreplaceable by any means, but the unity we achieved in such a small time at the club helped to push us towards the title. Even on the back of poor results, we’d come back fighting revealed by the fact that we didn’t go 2 games without a win throughout the entire season. We played pretty much exactly as we had the season before, maybe with a tad more attacking freedom, a freedom seldom seen in a top Italian side. This isn’t to say we were forsaking the defence to achieve it. My Scottish ‘keeper, a steal at £8mil, keeping over 20 clean sheets in all competitions. The league was much more open that it had been last year. At least it would have been had we not existed. Wrapping up the title in April with a five-nil stuffing of Inter at the San Siro just made it all the more sweet.

The crowning glory was, however, our run in the Champions League, all the way to final with some spectacular performances in the process including a lovely four-one win at Old Trafford to secure our place in the final, eight-one on aggregate! It was on the eve of the final that a certain news item just caught my attention through the darkness that was 4am (I was determined to finish the season!):
MAURO TASSOTTI APPROACHES FINAL GAME IN MANAGEMENT;
“Mauro Tassotti, current Real Madrid manager prepares for what will be his final ever game in football management due to his impending retirement. The game, the Champions League final clash with Roma, is one they are favourites to win and would wish to do so in tribute to such a great servant to the club. His opponent on Saturday, Jordan Lee is said to be amongst the front runners for the job should he wish to apply”

Obviously, this was met with about as much pride and happiness as you can muster after a long day at Uni and a FM marathon but I first had to go out there and beat my potential future employers in what was hands down my biggest game in my career bar maybe the World Cup final of ’18. We played valiantly, but ultimately went down to a one-nil defeat to the side that, in my opinion, were the best in the world. That was the end of the season, I had achieved what I wished to at the start of the season and then some but there still seemed to be a small part of me that wanted to win the Champions League, to get the big one. It was decision time again and most of the power rested on the shoulders of Florentino Perez, Reals’ president. For me, it was an easy choice, I’d sacrifice a goat to the God of the mountains if it got me that job so once again resigned happy in the belief that I was leaving a club financially stable with a good setup, ready to push on with a new manager. Then the waiting began, I hadn’t actually checked what date Tassotti was going to retire. I finally did and a dawning realisation hit me like a freight train, I had to wait 2 months just for him to retire, I don’t really remember what time I went to be that night but I’m pretty certain it was light out, I did eventually get a reply to my application though…

…I got it! This was the big one, I told myself, I was going to build a dynasty, monopolise Europe. I really was going to do it, for all of 6 months. I’d traversed an averagely difficult Champions League group, steered us to the Cup quarters and won the Club World Championship when I once again became distracted by my email inbox:
TORQUAY UNITED SACK HEAP;
“Torquay United have announced today that manager Jack Heap has been removed from his position as manager with immediate effect. With the club languishing in 22nd in the Blue Square Bet Premier, Torquay will be looking to appoint someone sooner rather than later to try and revive their fortunes"

Yeah, so long story short, I took the job at Plainmoor, thinking I could save them from relegation. I couldn’t. The first relegation of my career and it came with my boyhood heroes, I was gutted! I am going to be a rather bad manager here and apportion a large part of the blame on to the players! With 7 teenagers in the squad and my top scorer not looking like he could hit the ground with a machine gun, let alone a barn door, we were doomed to fail from the start. Plus my wage bill of 13 grand was mostly taken up by two players both taking home over 3 grand a week! I did say I wanted a challenge though and this is one of the ones right up there with the very best.

So there you have it, my career up until the point at which you see me now, as nuts as its been, it’s been a fantastic save, really pushing me to the tipping points at times but other feelings of absolute elation. Now the real work begins, given a new one-year contract in the summer by the board, it’s time for a complete restart for the club from Devon. For now, my friends…Adios