BOT Brad - Comments

Thanks . I am using THIS downloaded through Steam Workshop. It runs great, aside from the first few rounds of the FA Cup Qualifying taking bloody ages to process through!

December 2013

Postponements across the league saw 2 of our games called off, so we have even more fixture pile-up next month which is great.

A shocking 2-1 loss to mid-table Bashley shows how our confidence dropped following the defeat to bloody Biggleswade last month. We went in level at the break, and despite playing well in the second half, we couldn't find another goal, and got hit with a sucker punch in the 81st minute to inflict our 3rd defeat of the season.

Arlesey were next, another middle-of-the-pack team. We played pretty poorly, which fortunately wasn't reflected in the scoreline as we rode out 2-1 winners. Their midfielder's own goal was bloody hilarious. We drifted a cross into the box, their defender headed it out, only for their midfielder on the edge of the box to attempt a backpass to the keeper, but he hit it a bit too hard, and produced a thunderous effort into the bottom corner.

Next were Bedford, and yet again another poor display, but 3 points. We played well for about 10 minutes from the 30th to the 40th minute, and we scored 2 goals in that time. They scored shortly after the 2nd goal but we rode our luck a little, and with thanks to some shoddy finishing from their strikers, managed to take the win.

Hemel Hempstead away was a game I was dreading. They were 7th in the league, but they have some good players as almost all my scouts ever seem to do is tell me how good their players are, and that I should sign them all. It might surprise you when I say the game was fucking boring as hell, with about 3 shots on goal all game. Abdellah scored a scrappy goal at the start of the game, but nothing else happened all afternoon. 3 points, whatever.

Next we play St. Neots, a team we beat 3-0 before. So obviously we go and lose. We played ok first half, and were 1-0 at the break. But second half we were atrocious, and conceded 3 goals in 25 minutes to record our 4th defeat of the campaign.

To be honest our play has noticably dipped since our streak ended. It's just a little fortunate that we had that streak to put us so far ahead in the first place, and that we have still ground out some wins that we need.

The League

Again, although 57 points from 25 games is a good return, we also can thank the fact that no other team seems to win more than a few games in a row for our current position.

November 2013

A rather comprehensive home win versus Hungerford to open the month, with Ryan Mattos grabbing a hat-trick, and becoming the leading scorer in the league.

A tricky away tie against Burnham followed. 2-1 up with our own late goal from Broadhurst, but a late free-kick conceded was eventually bundled into our net following a melee in the box.

Two rather comfortable wins over St. Albans in the Red Insure Cup 2nd Round, and Truro in the league saw us extend our lead in the league, and also advance in the Red Insure Cup....whatever that is.

A very scrappy away win over Romulus in the Birmingham Senior Challenge Cup 2nd Round followed, where we definitely rode our luck at times. Our keeper Dominic Comrie who has been great so far got injured right at the end, and was out for the last 3 games of the month.

Another scrappy 1-0 away win at Bideford, and although we don't really play amazing football, we do have a bloody good knack of grinding out wins regardless of if we dominate or get dominated.

However, we were brought back down to Earth after a 1-0 loss to Biggleswade Town, which ended our 17-game league unbeaten run. To be fair they are the other 'form team' of the division, and are on their own 6-game winning run.

Finally, a home 'banker' against Weymouth ended in a comfortable 3-0 win. It could have been 6 or 7.

The Table

It seems no other team is able to put a run of results together like we did, but Cambridge are theoretically only 6 points behind if they win all their games in hand, which they probably won't.

Cheers. Having a lot of fun with this save so far, plus we have somehow made a small profit so far this season, even with a £2,000pw wage bill! No mean feat this far down the pyramid.

October 2013


Following a great start to the season, and unbeaten since the opening day, a bumper package of 9 games, of which 5 were league games, and the rest cup games...

First up were Corby at home who were lingering in the lower mid-table. Yet another scrappy, boring game was interrupted by Abdellah sticking the ball in the back of the net on 22 minutes, but aside from that there was virtually nothing else of note. I'll take it!

Just 3 days after, a trip to Evesham, a team in the league below was on the cards. A pretty drab first half was followed by a pretty interesting second, where we went 1-0 up 2 minutes into the half. A penalty for Evesham just 3 minutes later was missed, and then in the same passage of play, we gave another penalty away! They subsequently scored this time, but within 10 minutes we were back infront, only to suffer the agony of late goal against, forcing a replay.

The replay was played on the following Wednesday, but we forgot to turn up. 1-0 down after 20 minutes, we nicked a fortunate goal on 32, but they were almost immediately back infront and scored late into the 2nd half to take a 3-1 win, and knock us out of another cup competition.

Following this, we had a lovely trip to arguably the best team in the league, Cambridge City (apart from us ). We were leading 2-0 going into the second half, but had struggled to control the game. This showed after the break, with Cambridge pegging us back to 2-2. Fearing the worst, I admit we went pretty defensive from the 70th minute onwards, but it worked and the rest of the game was a snoozefest. Good away draw.

Next in town were Redditch in the Red Insure Cup 1st Rnd, a team we had already beaten comprehensively away from home. However, they put up a good fight this time, but we went 2-0 up before they remembered they could shoot on-target. We just about had enough about us to keep them out 2nd half, and we finally won a cup game, HOORAY!

Poole Town came into the game just outside the play-off spots, and that's where they remained following a late, late goal to seal all 3 points. Yet another boring as hell game with only 3 shots on target all game.

A trip to Burton, to take on the Burton U21's was next on the cards, in the Birmingham Senior Challenge Cup, a competition I think we can win. 1-1 at the break, they dominated second half, but couldn't find the back of the net, but Mr. Broadhurst showed them where it was with a late goal to take the win. A very credible result!

To finish the month, we had Frome and Chippenham in the league, at home & away respectively. Another bore fest v Frome, where Frome played very defensively all game and limited us to 5 shots on target, of which we converted 2. They scored a consolation with virtually the last kick of the game. Chippenham are another decent team, yet they hadn't won in 3, and had dropped out the playoff spots too. They were low on morale and fitness, and it showed as we cruised to a 3-0 win.

The Table

Shear domination in the league, and unbeaten in 13 league game, with 11 wins in that run. Manager of the Month in both September & October too!

September 2013


So after the good opening month, September saw us play 4 league games and a FA Cup 1st Qualifying game.

First up were Chippenham, who had lost their last 2 games after going 3 wins in a row to start the season. An early penalty, and then a great counter-attack from a corner saw us 2-0 up in the first quarter of an hour. We crumbled a little 2nd half and conceded a penalty of our own on 74 minutes. Some good defending saw us hold onto the narrow win.

Next up was a home tie against Burnham, who were sitting 10th with 2 wins from 7. The supporters only need have turned up for the first 38 seconds, as Ryan Mattos scored a great individual goal from kick-off to put us 1-0 ahead. And then basically nothing else happened for the remaining 89 minutes, with only 4 shots for BOTH teams for the rest of the game. Oh well, a win's a win!

Now we hit the FA Cup 1st Qualifiying Round. We had been drawn at home against Daventry Town, a team below us in the Calor Southern Division 1, where they currently sat in 16th out of 22. Annoyingly, we dominated the entire game, but went in 0-0 at half-time. Some motivational words were said ("Come on for fuck's sake!", and we promptly conceded 2 goals in about 8 seconds straight from the restart. Despite then re-dominating for the rest of the 2nd half, we only got 1 goal and promptly got dumped out the FA Cup before we had even bloody really entered the thing.

After the humiliation of losing the last game, I wanted to get back to winning ways in the league. An aggressive approach to the next game, away against Hungerford was necessary. We were really struggling for the first 40 minutes and just as the ref was about to blow for half-time, their centre-mid scores a ridiculous shot from about 35 yards out. Another motivational speech at half-time saw us managed to nick a goal in the 2nd half, despite being 2nd best for the entire game, and take a somewhat lucky point.

The last game of the month saw us travel to St. Albans. They had dropped into 20th place and in the relegation zone, so I decided to try and dominate from the start. It worked, as we forced an own-goal on the half hour mark, before Broadhurst scored in his 3rd straight game around 10 minutes later. We went a little more defensive 2nd half as St. Albans tried to come back into the game, but their awful finishing meant we left with a clean sheet and the 3 points.

The Table

Still top, and a bit of breathing space now as we are 5 points clear.

August 2013


An opening day defeat to Totton was fully deserved. The players were quite obviously still not quite on board with the new 4-1-2-1-2 tactic, and despite holding out until ht at 0-0, we conceded 2 quick goals in the 49th and 55th minutes of the game, and despite a good last 10 minutes, the game was lost.

With just 3 games until the St. Neots game, I decided to scrap the 4-1-2-1-2 and go with the standard 4-4-2 which the team were more comfortable with, despite having no true RM or LM players. It worked wonders, with 2 early goals from new signing Hicham Abdellah, before a 3rd from Ryan Mattos culminated in a solid 3-0 win.

The Chesham game saw me stay with the 4-4-2. A much closer game, with each team having about 10 shots on target, however clinical finishing was the order of the day, with 2 first half goals sealing a 2-0 win, but on another day it could have easily been the other way around.

Going to Redditch away was something of a respite, as they were bottom of the league at this point with 2 losses and a draw. I decided to go with the 4-1-2-1-2, and boy did it pay off. A scrappy 1st half finished 1-1, with neither side really able to get on top. Second half was undoubtedly the best half we have played so far this season. 66% possession, and almost every shot we took looked destined for the net. A superb win despite Redditch being pretty awful.

A bit of a break before the next game allowed the 4-1-2-1-2 tactic become much more familiar, and it showed against Bedford. A fantastic hat-trick from Hicham Abdellah sealed a 4th consecutive win. The game was pretty close, and we only had 4 shots on target all game compared to Bedford's 6. A good away win, despite Bedford being 2nd bottom from the league, they gave us a tougher game than Redditch.

The Table

And we are top! Admittedly, Cambridge have a game in hand, but 12 points from 5 games is a great start to the season, but there is still a long way to go!

Friendlies


2 wins, 3 draws & 2 losses. Overall not great, but not bad either. We conceded 1 goal exactly in every game, which is astounding when you think we only just signed a goalkeeper, so Luke Benbow (a striker) was playing in goal, but the defense is almost entirely composed of new players, so will also take time to gel together.

Signings

A lot of new players injected into the squad thanks to the increased wage budget (Currently using £1,879pw now, a bit more than I planned but oh well ).

So here is the team heading into the new season.

I am happy with the squad balance, and am going with a 4-1-2-1-2 as it suits the players quite well. I don't plan on signing any more players as the wage total is already a little higher than I wanted, but we made a bit of cash from the friendlies which should cover the extra ~£390 a week (£20k pa) plus we are due to play in quite a few cup competitions also...

Phew, I like this new board, as;
1. They haven't sacked me (yet)
2. They increased the wage budget slightly (From £624pw to £886pw)
3. They have me £18k to spend on transfers, which about 2/3rds was promptly converted into wage budget money!



So the wage budget is now a whopping £3,821pw!, with £5.5k left for paying agent fees, etc.
Obviously I doubt I will go ahead and fill this wage budget, as we would be losing far too much money each week. I plan on hitting the £1,500pw or so limit and stopping there. The new chairman has also invested £90k into the club, so running at £1.5k a week, we will be at around £80k total cost for the year in terms of wages. Hopefully some good cup runs will help offset this balance, but I really want to take advantage of this new-found 'wealth' to try and get as far as possible while it remains.

Well, so much for signing players.



Please don't sack me, please don't sack me, please don't sack me, please don't sack me...

Unfortunately it seems I probably wont continue this save. I had got through virtually the entire 2nd season and was about to post some updates, but FM decided to freeze on me as I alt-tabbed out to take screenshots.
Long story short, I again finished 3rd in the league, and towards the end had accepted an offer with HamKam in the Adeccoligaen (the league above)...

Oh well, I downloaded the EEE data update earlier and plan on starting a new save in the lower reaches of English football, with DAILY autosaves.... (ok, maybe not daily, but you get the gist).

Good luck, looking forward to seeing how you do!

2013 Season: Kvik Halden, Norwegian Second Division Group 1
Media Prediction: 7th
Board Expectation: 1st
Final Position: 3rd





Such a tense last few games, with 6 teams in with a chance of winning the league on the final day of the season, with just 3 points seperating 1st thru 6th. If only we had won our final game, we would have won the league! Instead we are 3rd, and the board aren't too happy, the swines!

Our season was definitely boosted by the fact that Ole Stromsborg brought in a HUGE amount of cash for the team. Around 150k was upfront, so that promptly went into the wage budget, boosting it from around £3.2k a week up to around £6k a week with some transfer money left over. The rest 900k is over the next 18 months, in a plan to bankroll the club as we went into the higher division. Unfortunately, we will have to try for promotion again next season, but no worries. I managed to bring in some much needed extra talent with the extra budget, and will look at expanding the squad a bit more over the break until next season.

Season Verdict
Overall, I am happy with the way we played throughout the season, but ultimately a little disappointed we couldn't push a bit harder towards the end, with just 3 points from our last 4 games, we had the league in our grasp and we let it go.

Cheers. I actually got right into it and am nearing the end of the season, so I guess the first season will be a one-off where I only sum up the season as a whole and my thoughts on how I am going forward!

Pre-Season

A few good results in there, but also a worrying trend whereby we either score goals by the bucketload, or score none at all.

Unfortunately with the wage-budget already being maxed out, and the squad being in a semi-decent state, I haven't made any signings yet, or released/sold anyone. I plan on getting through the first season, and assess the players after that. I have been able to tie down a few of my better players on longer contracts, so that's a bonus...

JamieTG100, your 2 images overlap slightly, if you check the last dates and goal scorers, they are all the same from where the image is cut in 2!

Wow, I never had a bid that high. If I remember correctly, I had a £2m bid for Pickering after the 2nd season, but nobody has made a bid for Dunn, aside from the usual media questions where so-and-so club are reportedly interested, and then I say they can get lost and he ain't for sale!

Here were my 2 good regens;




Had suprisingly little interest in either of them to be honest. A few bids here & there but nothing major.

Nice to see somebody else get the best out of Harry Kewell, MarkC1984.

Yeah, I had 2 really good youth players after my 1st season (Shane Pickering who scored a lot of goals in my last 2 seasons, and Theo Dunn a centre-half), both of whom were first-team regulars pretty much straight away. Had another decent youth player in my final season too but he got injured in a youth game and missed the rest of the season.

Yeah that's what I was talking about, but I couldn't find anywhere which said what the cap was, or how far under it I was. I agree, I had to go through the last season with just 17 players because a few decent regens I had wanted bigger contracts.

Great turn around in your 2nd Round Champions League game DanW19. Coming back from a 3-1 home defeat is impressive. Also, do you happen to know what logo pack you are using? All your team logos look nice & glossy!



Is there anywhere you can actually see your current wage budget? I couldn't find where the actual allowed amount was displayed, only my overall weekly wage spend which included marquee players & youth players.

Yeah that really did my head in too, plus the fact that none of the domestic games were re-arranged whenever international games would roll around. I had 6 or 7 first-teamers out on international duty every few games and it was infuriating.



Thanks! I'll be interested to see how others fair in the Champions League because the quality gap of teams I faced was usually quite high, with me being favourite for every game I played. Even the final I was expected to heavily beat the opponent.

Really? He was even better for me in my 2nd season playing him behind Simon Pickering, however he missed a few games with injury.

Just about to wrap up my 3rd season now and although he has been nowhere near as good as the previous seasons, he has still scored 14 goals in the league and assisted 8 more.

So how will we count up our points for the 2017 AFC Champions League? The furthest you will be able to get is to the Quarter-Final stage as the Quarter-Final matches don't take place until October (after the July 1st 2016 deadline).

Wow, cannot believe my luck. Just won the league again, but it was close! Tied for points with Wellington Phoenix who lost on the last day of the season, but we had superior GD! Thanks Adelaide for helping us out! Ill post up my season summary once the AFC Champions League for Season 2 is over because I have qualified from the Group Stages and have matches throughout the summer to play.