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danwhite89
But now I'm back, with the ambition of sending Celtic Nation as far as they can go! Why did I pick Celtic Nation? Well, I'm based in Carlisle and I've been to a few of their games, so I figured what better team to manage. Bit of a cheat I know as they have some very established players, but at least I have some real life allegiance to them.
Criteria
From the 2014/15 season (as I've just thought of this), I can only buy, sign or loan players from Celtic nations. Who are these, may you ask? It's Ireland (Northern and Republic), Scotland, Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. So I can technically have English and French players provided they come from these regions. Obviously this is going to be trickier to manage but it's worth it for the challenge and fits in with the name of the club. Makes it more than just a "take a team from level 9 to the top" game.
CELTIC NATION 2013-2014
As you can see, I've taken charge of the club.
Mr. Schofield letting me know a little bit about the club.
...And if there wasn't history before I signed up, there sure as hell will be history by the time I leave!
Squad list. No Peter Murphy who signed recently, and would have made my job even more easier.
My two main strikers. McMenamin has had SPL experience.
Best midfielder.
Was wanted by Portsmouth at some point.
So, let's start this!
danwhite89
A very mixed bag. Beating Alloa and Gretna were key results, but losing to Tow Law Town and the Auchinleck results were pretty terrible. Ended on a 7-1 howking over fellow Cumbrians (but really dirty Westmorland scummers) Kendal, who are a league above us, I think. McMenamin got five!
First League game was against Guisborough:
FA Cup action now and after getting a buy to the Second Pre-Preliminary round, we made light work of the Oxfordshire based Shrivenham. 4-1, but the scoreline didn't necessarily suggest the way the match went. First half we were dominant but got snagged a bit after the break. At 3-1, the away side got two goals only to be denied by the offside flag, and we then went on to kill the game off. Let's keep going.
But then...
D:
...Okay then. Affected my situation in no way whatsoever to be honest. Nice to be told, like.
An absolute Bobby dazzler of a match followed, that just went on in absolutely crazy circumstances. Six of the eleven goals came in the final 15 minutes, and both defences fell asleep as the strikes just continued to go in. We weren't in any danger of throwing it away with our clinical finishing.
This was followed up with a match that pitted the top two against each other early on. And as a Newcastle fan, it's fair to say the city of Sunderland hasn't given me much joy in 2013...
By the time we made it 2-1, they could have been 5-0 up but we managed to pull it back. Greediness set in after that however, and pushing everyone forward to get the win left us exposed to a counter attack, and Sunderland RCA managed to claim top spot. What's worse was McMenamin's injury. We received the prognosis after the match:
The nature of the season in these lower leagues meant he'd miss out on a large number of games, as we were playing twice a week consistently. Bugger.
But the FA Cup would continue to give me love, against the Suffolk-based Needham Market, who are incidently one league above us in the Isthmian League Division One North. Made light work of them with a great performance, and got to the First Qualifying Round!
However our defensive frailties were clear to be seen, and despite seemingly seeing out this game, Billingham managed to squeeze in two late goals. This was one of those results that sparked me into going into the transfer market, even if I couldn't make any permanent signings. Managed to get a couple of fullbacks on loan, however:
From Hyde
And from Newcastle United. Promising thing about this loan is it shows we are capable of attracting players from Premier League clubs.
More FA Cup action:
Met Police were two leagues above us, and we were desperately unlucky not to go through. We did almost everything we could have to go through, but ultimately had to settle for a replay, which wouldn't be helping our fixture pileup.
Fortunately, we kept the momentum going and bravely went through to the Second Round with a fantastic victory! Laird was on form, we got a third and it eased pressure towards the end, though we still had to make it tough for ourselves by letting the Met score. But we were now in the 2nd Round, it was fantastic stuff.
And Round Two was just ahead...
Woodley Town were actually the equivalent of being a division below us, so it was going to be tricky from being the underdog to the overwhelming favourite. The match also marked McMenamin's return to the side and he duly picked up where he left off with two early strikes. However, we struggled to kill the game off and let Woodley get back into the match, before Taylor coolly wrapped up the match with a one on one. We were just two matches away from the First Round Proper. Imagine that...
Results from the first quarter:
Some interesting results. Battered Hebburn 6-2 in a game where we honestly missed three one on ones and hit the woodwork five times along with our six goals. The Penrith game was a derby match and a very comfortable win, however we lost in the FA Vase despite being 1-0 up with ten minutes to go and failed in the Northern League Cup, again at home, to Willington, a side a division below. I put these defeats down to fixture congestion and having a small squad.
But it was paying off, as we were top of the table with various games in hand. Pretty sweet going so far, but as favourites it is to be expected.
Dan
danwhite89
And it was time for the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup! We'd be playing Stalybridge Celtic. The battle of the Celtics. A chance for history...
And what a victory it was! McMenamin showed off all his previous professional footballing abilities, and we routed the side three divisions above us. What we would receive was either Basingstoke or some team I'd never heard of in the final qualifying round.
But before that, some bad news...
Mac was back, and then Laird decided to go injured during a routine 4-0 league win against Crook Town. Bit of a bugger, eh?
It turns out Basingstoke lost their replay to a team called Brodsworth from Doncaster. They weren't even on the database, and it turns out that they're on Level 11 of the English footy pyramid. I had a home tie, and one where I was incredibly the overwhelming favourites. I couldn't bottle it, could I?
Weeeellll it wasn't as convincing as I'd liked, but we were through to the First Round proper. Incredible scenes. Club legend and part owner Steve Skinner got a marquee goal, and we were celebrating like Irishmen! The run was giving us a very healthy look in the bank, however a chance to make it to the Second Round was looking iffy as we were drawn an away tie at Droylsden. Same league as Stalybridge, sure, but doing far better in the league. Worse, the cup run was starting to take an effect on our league form.
Like a professional gambler, I only like to show the wins. Truth is, this had me screaming at the side as we were once again complacent. The previous three league fixtures had seen us take the lead, only to throw them away and draw. Two of those fixtures were at home, so to finally receive a victory was important for us. At the top, we were battling hard with Shildon and had seen our league lead and games in hand become completely overturned, and were in second place.
No time to dwell, however. It was FA Cup First Round time!
...
...
We dominated in terms of chances, but we were the victims of our own downfall with some sloppy defending, and they punished us for it. Laird was put on the bench but I chose not to use him and I didn't regret the decision, despite the loss. We'd given it our all and unfortunately were knocked out, but to go through something like six wins was an achievement and a half and really helped our struggling finances.
We followed up the FA Cup exit with a disgraceful 3-2 defeat to Bishop Auckland, in which we were leading 1-0 and 2-1. This was followed up with a 2-2 draw at Team Northumberland, despite winning 1-0. It left us with just one league win in six league games, and we were seriously losing pace with the top of the table.
Then this happened:
I think there was a lot of anger vented in this demolition job. We were 2-0 up when Billingham scored, and that just spurred us on, and made is just a little bit mad. McMenamin bagged a hatrick, the first in the league for anyone so far, and we sent a pretty strongly worded letter to the rest of the league. Still, I decided to recruit.
Not fantastic, but could provide decent cover for the centre of midfield.
Then, I was hit with a bombshell:
Gibson had been in fine form and then was refusing to enter contract negotiations. It soon dawned on me that the mechanics of FM and the ambitions of Celtic Nation do not go hand in hand. Basically, the club has some incredibly talented players tied onto short term contracts, but the game therefore sees them as playing for a team far too small for them. Everyone's contract ends in June 2014, and even with promotion I severely doubt many if anyone is retained at the club at the end of the season. Certainly the likes of Hetherington and McMenamin won't stay, as both are already wanted by SPL clubs. I'll be surprised if I still have all my squad by the end of January. Nervous times ahead.
Luckily, I won the remaining fixtures of the first half of the season:
As I mentioned, some iffy form at some parts but I was still top:
Top, and by three points from Shildon. A hilariously wonderful amount of goals are scored in this league as well. I've done a quick count and it's 4.17 goals a game, which is low compared to some of the amazing scores I've seen so far. From now, I won't have any Tuesday games (barring postponements) or any cup games to distract me anymore, so it's all about the league fight.
Dan
danwhite89
...ah.
So far, not good. First time I'd failed to score all season, friendlies and cup matches included. Especially when we were in a top of the table clash in the following game.
Fortunately, we won! 2-1 and we didn't make it easy for ourselves by the end, but we managed to pick up three important points and increase our lead at the top to six points. Says it all about the tightness of the league that everyone in the playoff places had the same number of points.
You know, I'd expect a player to get injured after not kicking a ball properly at this level, but come on Colin, you've scored goals in the SPL....
I also took on this lad from big brothers Carlisle for a bit of centre midfield strength as we pretty much had none.
Another day, another win and the lead at the top now seven points. Consett went from third to seventh, very interesting battle there for the neutral.
Take THAT, mackems.
Mercifully, this was the only major casualty of the transfer window, and I at least had Colin until the end of the season. But face it, I'm not in a position when I can compete with Hibs, am I? Not yet, anyway...
We then had an absolute shocker of a result...
Completely out of the blue, first home defeat of the season and in spectacular failure. I'm not sure what happened here, they were just a lot better than we were. Nothing else to it.
Luckily, we played Crook Town, bottom of the league, and hammered them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Easy peasy. Jack Laird got the nickname "One Goal" from me around this point because of his inability to score more than once a game, save for the odd occasion.
And we followed that up with another thumping victory as Bedlington Terriers were humiliated on their own turf. We eased off at 5-0 which annoyed me, really. I wanted blood, man.
Some disappointing results, such as drawing 1-1 at home to Newton Aycliffe when they were letting goals in left, right and centre. The Hebburn game was also disappointing as by the time I played them they'd already conceded 100 goals. At least we won.
Still top, eight clear. 11 to play...
danwhite89
Eleven games to go and it was in ours hands for promotion, and we were going to kick it off the hard way.
Fortunately, we earned a great win due to two quick goals from Jack Laird, who was refusing to sign a new contract. Going to be a massive shame if I can't keep hold of him.
A cracker at a former Football League side. Was 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 down but we managed to keep pushing and snatch an important point.
Hammered the "rivals" and Jack "One Goal" Laird was getting rid of his nickname rather swiftly! Onwards and upwards.
Another big win, meaning that in our final four games we needed just one point to secure promotion.
Morpeth at home were the side that stood in our way. It was trickier than I anticipated. Buuuuutt.....
Which meant
To be honest, it's our first ever trophy win but you know...
Vital statistics:
Jack Laird went on a free. It's going to be a painful task trying to replicate an 81-goal strikeforce next season :/
The final game of the season saw us 4-0 down in the first ten minues. Incredible stuff, really. At least Laird and McMenamin salvaged something from the match and saw themselves out the club on a high. Good luck!
Also to put things into perspective, I lost 4-0 at home to Billingham. In real life, Celtic won 11-0 in the league.
And there's the table. Interestingly enough, the guy who created the database decided to put all the level 9 playoff sides into a national playoff of two rounds, with all the winners from the second round achieving promotion. Weird, but it's why I'm going to be joined with Spennymoor and Billingham Synthonia in the Northern Premier League Division One North! Also, seven teams achieved triple figures and eight conceded triple figures! Plenty of goals, indeed.
Overall, we drove 3125.76 miles (league only) from Gillford Park, with an average of 142.08 miles per away trip. Penrith were the shortest trip with a round trip of 38.8 miles, with Marske the furthest trip of exactly 200 miles. That's going to increase a fair amount come next season!
Northern League Division One: 1st
FA Cup: First Round Proper
FA Vase: Second Qualifying Round
Northern League Cup: First Round
danwhite89
I've got the dreaded "The save game could not be loaded" message. I think what happened was the game was in the process of saving when we had a power cut, and now the file has been corrupted. You'd think after all these years though SI would make better attempts to protect their save files because it's been a long standing problem for ages now.
It's a shame because I was doing quite well and really getting into this season mode. I guess the lesson here is to always, always back up your save files!
danwhite89