125 Years and Won F*ck All...

Hey guys,
After the untimely death of my ten year career in Latvia and then a non-league game which I never really got in to I have decided to give FM13 one last go before I give up entirely and wait for 14's release in the Autumn.
I've decided to go back to basics and manage my beloved Walsall, hopefully transforming them from a lower/mid table League One outfit that visiting supporters dread travelling to on a frigid Tuesday night in January, into a serious promotion contender and perhaps take them even higher than that in time.

Targets
This is no easy task, The Saddlers have no money to spend due to outstanding loan re-payments as well as having a very young squad, most of whom have come through the academy ranks, whether they are good enough to help take the club to the next level remains to be seen so I have given myself plenty of time to achieve my goals. As luck would have it this season is the clubs 125th anniversary which gives me a reasonable target of executing my master plan by it's 150th birthday in 2038.

Promotion to the Championship - Within four years
Promotion to Premiership - Within ten years
Win FA Cup or League Cup - Within twelve years
Play in Europa League - Within fifteen years
Play in Champions League - Within eighteen Years
Win Premiership - Within twenty years
Win Champions League - Within twenty five years

Of course if I could do it sooner that would be even better!

Personal Rules

• Financial Security - With the aforementioned debts outstanding as well as having to pay over £400k in rent for the Banks's stadium per annum, it would be all to easy to slip into financial peril, In order to prevent this I will strictly be adhering to a sell to buy policy until we have the debts cleared and have a healthy bank balance built up. I'll also be playing hard ball in contract negotiations not offering ridiculous wages or in particular large bonuses or agent fees. this may hinder the club in the short-term but the money saved will be invested in my long term plans later on.
• Give Youth A Chance - Walsall have a history of producing exciting youngsters, Northern Ireland international Will Grigg, Blackburn's Scott Dann and Hull forward Matty Fryatt are recent graduates of the Saddlers academy, the problem for the club has been keeping hold of their gems as they are quickly poached by bigger sides. My job will be to keep the production line manufacturing quality goods whilst trying to ensure they remain ours.
• Tactical Mastermind - It's all to easy to be lazy in FM and just stick with one formation and hope for the best in each game, I'm going to make sure that I take into account things such as weather conditions, referee leniency and of course the opposition players individual strengths and weaknesses before each game and tweak where appropriate during matches.

I sincerely hope this will be the career that rekindles my love of FM and that you all enjoy reading it as I attempt to guide the club to greater things.

Look forward to reading this, best of luck mate!

History and Facts

Giant Killers
In 1933 Walsall pulled off what is often regarded as the greatest FA cup upset of all time when mighty Arsenal visited Fellows Park, Legendary Gunners manager Herbert Chapman saw his defending first division champions, who at the time were regarded as the best club side in the world, go down 3-0 to their humble third division counterparts in what is still heralded as Walsall FC's finest hour. The two would meat again over half a century later in 1984, this time in the League cup as the Saddlers again put the Gunners to the sword in the fifth round on their way to the semi-final where they were eventually beaten by treble winning Liverpool.


Highest Position
In 1999 The Saddlers achieved promotion to Division One for the first time in their history by beating Fulham to finish second in division two, they were guided by Ray Graydon, an old school manager who believed in strict discipline, refusing to allow modern frivolities such as ear rings, baseball caps or personal stereos within his dressing room, Graydon's side were relegated after a brave fight but returned at the first time of asking after winning the play-off's, Walsall spent three years in the second tier before eventually succumbing to relegation again in 2004.


Nickname
The club are nicknamed 'The Saddlers' in honour of the areas once affluent leather industry. The club is also sometimes refered to as the Swifts in reference to Walsall Town Swifts FC who were one of three clubs merged in 1888 to form the modern day club.


Most Apperances
Jimmy 'Wacka' Walker currently holds this honour, between 1993 and 2004 he made 403 league appearances in goal for the Saddlers before joining Premiership sides West Ham United and later Tottenham where he was largely back-up for the first teams. Following his release from Spurs in 2010 he rejoined Walsall, making his 529th appearance against Bournemouth in January 2012, breaking Colin Harrisons record which had stood since 1981. Walker's popularity proved such that an autobiography was commissioned to coincide with his testimonial season; it proved to be a relative success with fans of Walsall and of West Ham United.
'Wacka' now works as goalkeeping coach at Peterborough United.


M6J9
The Banks's stadium sits adjacent to the M6 motorway, the club car park is home to the Europe's largest advertising board which faces the motorway, eclipsing the three single tiered stands at the ground. Recently Saddlers supporters were outraged when neighbouring Aston Villa used the board to advertise their upcoming kit launch.


Rivals
Walsall maintains many rivalries, the most potent are Black Country derby's with West Bromwich Albion and in particular Wolverhampton Wanderers who have just been relegated from the Championship to League one, meaning the two sides are back at the same level for the first time since 2003. There are also more amicable rivalries with fellow West Midlands sides Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Coventry as well as a strong dislike for Shrewsbury Town.


The Ground
Built in 1990 the 11,300 seat Banks's stadium (still known as Bescot stadium to most supporters) took the place of Fellows Park which was situated just quarter of a mile away, the ground comes complete with it's very own train station. Many say the stadium looks unbalanced with the two tiered Tile Choice stand behind the goal looming above the three small single level stands.

Set-up

Ok, on to the FM side of things, I am using Nik33's excellent Summer data pack which updates transfers as well as adding numerous other things such as new media, wonderkids, types of injuries etc, if your not using it already I thoroughly recommend it. link

As this is a long term challenge with a single club there is no need to load lots of memory draining leagues, these four should do just fine in supplying me with players, I can always add more later if necessary.


I have this game saving on both my computer and onto Dropbox so I have a back-up just in case anything should happen to my computer as was the case with my Latvian career.

My profile;

My Sunday league reputation may make it difficult to inspire the troops to begin with but that should improve pretty quickly in League One.

And finally here's the club's info;

Sixteenth is certainly achievable, in fact I think I would be disappointed to finish as low as that, I'm aiming for the top half of the table this year.

Good luck with this Rick.

You should have added the Northern Irish leagues.

Good luck Rick.

Love your careers.

Mate, brilliant start.

Loved the level of detail in your opening posts. Your making me want to start a Rangers career now! Haha must...resist...

Seriously though, good luck and can't wait to see how you do.

Team Analysis

Let us now take a look at the most important aspect of any club, the players.
Obviously being a Walsall supporter in real life gives me an advantage of already knowing who's a good player, who might be one day and who just isn't good enough, so here's my squad analysis;

Squad Review


Team Report


Goalkeepers
Currently Walsall only have one decent goalkeeper on the books, and he's not even ours technically. Manchester United and England under-19 international Sam Johnstone. Johnstone has good aerial ability's (15) as well as being trustworthy when handling (14), unfortunately his concentration (8), anticipation (8) and decision making (9) don't inspire me with confidence, hopefully they will improve as he gains more experience and attempts to fulfil his potential.
Should anything happen to Johnstone I would have to put my faith in 17 year old Liam Roberts who like Johnstone is a good shot stopper (12) but is let down by poor anticipation (2) and decision making (3).

This is one are of the squad I will be looking to strengthen with a move to bring club legend Jimmy Walker back for a third spell as cover for Johnstone a possibility.



Defenders
Best Defender: Andy Butler
Worst Defender: Matthew Preston
Best Prospect: Malvind Benning
Highest Valued: Andy Butler (£425k)
Highest Wage: Andy Butler (£1.5k pw)

Captain Andy Butler is undoubtedly the rock around which the defence is built, he has all the attributes required to inspire those around him bravery (18), determination (18) and influence (18). he is also a constant threat from set-pieces at the other end of the field, heading (16).
Alongside Butler in central defence I have two main option in either the experienced Dean Holden or the up and coming Paul Downing, Holden is a strong (17) and aggressive (18) 32 year old but is sadly lacking in pace (5) which will make me favour Downing against quicker forwards.

I'm fully stocked in the full back positions, James Chambers is playing for us on a non-contract basis, a great talent to have, particularly as we're not paying him any wages! Like his twin brother Adam in midfield James works his socks off in each game (15) as well as possessing decent technical abilities.
Former Blackburn and Sheffield United left back Andy Taylor is a good first choice on that side, however the exciting youngster Malvind Benning is sure to make is début this season as he looks to begin establishing himself.





Midfielders
Best Midfielder: Adam Chambers
Worst Midfielder: Ashley Hemmings
Best Prospect: Sam Mantom
Highest Valued: Craig Westcarr (£250k)
Highest Wage: Adam Chambers (£1.5k pw)

My favoured formation is 4-5-1 with three central midfielder's and two advanced wingers so this area is integral to my plans, I have a decent starting three in the middle with Adam Chambers protecting the back four, allowing Sam Mantom and Nicky Featherstone to support the attack. beyond those three however there is little competition for a starting place as youngsters Lewis Kinsella (son of former Charlton midfielder Mark), Reece Flannagan and Jake Heath are all a long way from becoming finished articles and I will likely try to loan them out whilst I bring in a couple of loanees myself to add depth.

On the right flank Craig Westcarr will probably set up plenty of goals with his accurate crossing (16) as he competes with 19 year old James Baxendale for a place. however I'm not at all convinced by the left flank which consists of former Wolves reserve Ashley Hemmings and 18 year old Keiron Morris, neither of whom look good enough for this level in my eyes.





Forwards
Best Forward: Jamie Paterson
Worst Forward: Daniel Griffiths
Best Prospect: Jamie Paterson
Highest Valued: Jamie Paterson (£300k)
Highest Wage: Adam Chambers (£500 pw)

With the recent departures of Will Grigg (Brentford) and George Bowerman (released) Walsall are only really left with twenty year old Jamie Paterson up front, Jamie is a capable finisher (12) and should score goals this season, however we desperately need a back up in case he should be ruled out by injury or suspension as youth players Amadou Bakayoko and Daniel Griffiths just aren't going to cut it in League one, at least not just yet. Re-signing Bowerman isn't out of the question.



Squad Strengths

• High Work rate and determination - always the first attributes I look for in my players.
• Solid Defence - Easily the strongest area of my team
• Plenty of pace up front - All of my wingers and forwards are nippy and could cause most full backs at this level serious problems.

Squad Weaknesses

• Lack of depth - Particuarly up front and in central midfield.
• Inexperience - With no fewer than seventeen of my first team players under-23 this could be a real issue.
• Midfield - According to the stats comparision we have the weakest mdifeld in the division, although that may be due to the afforementioned lack of depth.

Cheers bud, I did think about it but most of the top Northern Irish players show up anyway on a large database.


Thanks dude.


Haha, getting fed up with Hansa Rostock then?

Nah nah it's not that, thats a succession game though, which means I only play it maybe once every week or 2 weeks depending.

I can just tell by the effort you put in here that it's down to your feelings for the club so it kinda' reminds me of mines towards the Gers.

Pre-season Review

My first month in charge at the Banks's stadium has been far from encouraging for several reasons, not least of which was a poor set of friendly results as well as missing out on most of my transfer targets thus far. but before I go into detail I shall start with the targets I have set myself for my first season in the Saddlers hot seat;

Mid-table is precisely what the Bookies are predicting for us and what the board expects


Transfers
I set out with four or five players on my short list, Midfielder Richard Taundry and striker George Bowerman were both released by former manager Dean Smith before I took charge, I attempted to re-sign both of them to boost squad numbers, with them both having friends in the dressing room already their returns would have only boosted morale in side, however Taundry chose to accept an offer from Notts County instead and I was unable to agree on a fair deal with Bowerman who was asking for a far higher wage than a player of his stature constitutes.
I also made a loan move for neighbouring Aston Villa's young Jamaican midfielder Daniel Johnson, however Villa were reluctant to allow him to play at our level which was disappointing as he is a prospect I rate highly.
I have however managed to sort out a couple of deals, first is the season long loan of Fulham's Finnish under-21 striker Lauri Dalla Valle who will provide competition up front for Jamie Paterson and Amadou Bakayoko. Lauri is certainlly a player I can see scoring plenty of goals in League one, hopefully boosting his chances of selection by Martin Jol upon his return to Craven cottage next season.

My other signing is on a permanent two year deal after being released from Aberdeen in the summer;

Yoann comes with plenty of experience within the football league having had spells with Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth, he will provide valuable depth to the midfield and should vie for a starting place immediately.
As I have mentioned already I want to keep the squad together this season so I haven't sold or released anyone, although young fullback Ben George has joined Conference side Lincoln City for the season on loan where hopefully he will improve as a player with regular first team football.

Financially I have the wage bill well under control with an excess of over £2.7k set aside should I need it;


Staff
Unlike the playing staff I have made a few changes in my coaching team, I've brought former Saddlers favourite Martin O'Connor back to the club as my assistant manager, a role he held briefly before under Chris Hutchings before the pair were sacked in 2011. Martin has had three spells with Walsall, making over 150 appearances as well as featuring in the 2001 League cup final for neighbouring Birmingham City where he spent six years.
Coach Michael Dobson is another former player for the club who was part of the side that were crowned League Two champions in 2007, however Michaels career was cut short not long after by a reoccurring knee problem.
Both O'Connor and Dobson are both good coaches, however our set-up is still far from impressive, I asked the board for permission to hire another but they refused for financial reasons.


Tactics & Results

4-5-1 has always been my favourite tactic and will likely continue to be so with the above settings, we've also been utilising a box standard 4-4-2 in pre-season games as well as a 5-3-2 formation with wingbacks occasions in which we are forced to play on the break although there is still some tweaking needed with that one. do any of you guys use 5-3-2 and if so how do you get it to work effectively?

As you can see our pre-season campaign didn't go all that well. as I predicted my reputation is hindering my ability to motivate the team, particularly the more experienced lads who looked unmotivated and lazy, fair play to the younger players who I brought on at half time in a complete team change over, they really gave it their and battled away to try and impress me, it didn't go unnoticed.
The defeat to now Premier league Cardiff was to be expected, however losing to non-league sides such as Altrincham and the special kid next door Rushall Olympic were plain unacceptable.

My first competitive game is away to Preston North End in the Capital One cup first round before our League One campaign opens at home to MK Dons the following Saturday.

August 2012

Save for a wonderful cup upset against Premier League Fulham, my first month in charge of Walsall hasn't quite got off to the start I had hoped for, late goals have been a real problem for us, all three of our League games have concluded with the opposition scoring within the final fifteen minutes, this is something that needs addressing ASAP.

As you can see Jamie Paterson has been in an inspired vein of form this month, netting eight times in our five games, Jamie is a particularly useful forward as he can play down either flank as well as through the middle, giving me the option to swap him around interchangeably with the two inside forwards on the wings to keep the opposition guessing and draw them out of position.

This month I have strengthened my squad with a couple of new signings;

Phil is a veteran of football in Oceania having spent most of his career in New Zealand with Team Wellington as well as a stint in the A-League with Wellington Phoenix. He was on trial here in pre-season where he was impressive so I decided to offer him a one year contract to provide backup for Sam Johnstone whilst I loan out young Liam Roberts in order to allow him to gain first team experience at a club lower down the system.


I initially made an approach for Daniel last month but was turned down by Villa who wanted him to play at a higher level, however after they accepted a bid from Gillingham I tried again and was this time successful in bringing him up the road to the Banks's stadium where he should fit nicely into our three man central midfield.

Now for a quick recap of the results;

• Preston 1-2 Walsall (Capital One Cup)
A fifth minute own goal by Andy Taylor got us off to the worst possible start to the season however Jamie Paterson quickly squared the scores with a well placed effort from the edge of the area just three minutes later. It was Paterson who struck again to see us advance into a second round tie with Fulham at Craven cottage when the Preston defence failed to stop Ashley Hemmings from jinking inside them before teeing up Paterson to convert from inside the North End area.
• Walsall 2-2 MK Dons (nPower League One)
A 90th minute 30 yard screamer from Ryan Lowe stole two points from us in a tight game with Karl Robinson's men. Lowe had also scored MK's opener on the stroke of half time just moments after Jamie Paterson had seen a penalty brilliantly saved by Dons keeper David Martin. Paterson did find the net shortly after half time with another placed shot on the edge of the box before being on hand to tap in ten minutes later to give us the lead we held until stoppage time.
• Peterborough 3-1 Walsall (nPower League One)
A bad performance all round, particularly by the defence as they time and again allowed the recently relegated Posh in behind them, Paterson briefly sparked beleif in a comeback by pulling a goal back to make it 2-1, however that was soon snuffed out by Mark Little to send us home empty handed.
• Walsall 1-2 Stevenage (nPower League One)
This was a devastating result to take, we had been leading right up until the 89th minute through Paterson's strike on the brink of half time, however two goals in two stoppage time minutes saw what looked like being three points suddenly become one and then none at all as my defence switched off allowing Harcus Haber and Darius Charles to score their late salvo. truly gutting.
• Fulham 1-2 Walsall (Capital One Cup Second Round)
A wonderful result against Premier League Fulham which supporters can savour for a long time to come, John Arne Riise brought down Paterson in the area, allowing the youngster to open the scoring from the spot after seven minutes, a lead we maintained until just after half time when Brede Hangeland headed in an equaliser for the home team from a corner. My lads refused to lie down to their illustrious counterparts however and were rewarded in the 62nd minute when Paterson was on hand to slide the ball past Martin Steklenburg to win the game, causing a major upset in doing so and booking a third round tie with Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

The league table doesn't mean a great deal after just three games, however we really do need to find a win from somewhere soon as I don't want to have to take part in a relegation fight.


Tactically I have used my 4-5-1 formation which I described in the previous post for every game except Stevenage where I went to 4-4-2 in order to help out Paterson on his own against a five man defence, there is still plenty of work to be done on the training ground before my side reaches full competency with either tactic yet though;


Next month is shaping up to be a hard one with n fewer than nine games to negociate ourselves around;

Rotation is going to be key if we are to come out of that run with a reasonable set of results, if things go badly then we could find ourselves already entrenched in a relegation slog before we even reach half way which would be a disaster. I think I shall be treating the Johnsons Paint Trophy as a reserve competition in order to preserve the legs of my key players, I shall however be employing my stars against QPR in the League cup in the hope of reaching the last sixteen for the first time since 1997 when they lost to West Ham at Upton Park.