AFC Telford - Euro glory in 15 years or bust!

M

MetroiD

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Hi guys,

Usually whenever a new FM comes out, I start with a Championship or League 2 side in an attempt to guide them to the top of the Premiership. I guess I simply find LLM (or average team management, for that matter) much more interesting than managing a top team. My biggest success so far has been guiding Halifax Town from the Conference National to the Championship within 3 seasons, winning each respective league in 3 consecutive season. Howeve, once we started playing in the Championship it became rather obvious that we'd need some major changes and I guess that's when I lost my patience & interest... Have not continued that game.

With FM 09 I feel the game has become a tad bit more realistic, which should turn lower league management into an even more challenging task than it already is. I'm a Chelsea supporter, but the last time I played more than a season with them was CM 03; tried to play FM 09 with them but it's just too **** easy. So i figured I'd take one of the lowest league teams possible and guide them to glory within a certain amount of time.

I chose AFC Telford due to their good training facilities and youth academy. Furthermore, having a good look at the line-up, it was pretty obvious that some of the players could be given full-time contracts and kept at the suqad, so I didn't even hesitate for a moment... Please welcome AFC Telford's new manager, the slightly extravagant, a bit tongue-in-cheek and extremely long-winded... Mr. Mike de Stampers.

In case you find this personal challenge interesting, I'll keep you posted on my progress... hope my experience helps other fellow managers as well.
 
I decided myself to start with Worcester City F.C mainly due to my mate playing for them. I love building the team and also the club. Currently I have a transfer budget of £0 and a wage structure of 6k a week. I love working on a shoestring budget and then sometimes selling players no longer needed for profit.

keep us updated as I like to see how fellow LLM do.
 
i was leeds did well made chapionship first year easy leage1 got 7th in championship season 2 and left on a bossman
 
^ thats hardly LLM. And learn to speak English.

Good luck with Telford and Worcester!
 
I usually do one of these so might do one after this post! Might go up the road to Gateshead, see what I can do with them, got Kettering into League One playoffs last game but due to moving and that never got round to finishing
 
I started an AFC Wimbledon save, got to League 2 but I'm taking a break from it atm, just so I don't get bored of it really.

I recommend loading all players from France and Reunion (a small french speaking island). Then go for a striker called ***** Robert, he's willing to go to any team in BSN or BSS. He's quite good up untill L2. Also if you get a little bit of money sign Galuppo (only on if you have large db I think) for about £7k, he's amazing, probably L1/Lower Championship standard IMO.
 
Great to see that there are other guys who are also into lower league management :) Good luck mates and make sure you keep us posted!

As to AFC Telford, here's what new manager Mike de Stampers has put down in his Manager Diary (no, I did not steal it, but don't ask how I got it...):



8. July 2008

9 AM First day at Telford United, hoorah. I f*ing hate first days at new clubs. Oh well, at least I don't have to fire too much backroom staff - there's a total of 7 of us here, so I should be done with that within an hour.

11 AM There, all taken care of. Guess the assistant manager wasn't too happy, but then again I guess he can always go back to managing... his old butcher shop. At least that would be a promising career for him. Now then, can I get any decent staff members at this club or will I have to pull a one man show...

3 PM At least the lads are looking good for a semi-professional level. But if they want to go up, they'll need professional contracts. We'll need a few additions as well - in the meantime, it's time to try and tie 'em up while reducing my wage bill. Perhaps our ex-assistant manager's butcher shop might also get a few additions starting tomorrow.


8. August 2008

9 AM Pre-season's over. Finally. I thought it would never end... Training fitness week in, week out is boring, but the worst part of it is that I'm a faster runner than most of my players. Hope the new coaches can take care of that.

11 AM On a brighter note, I must admit that was a pretty succesful pre-season. Two draws against an L1 and an L2 side, a defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton and two 4:1 trouncings of fellow semi-professional sides. That does bode well, especially combined with our cheapish yet quite effective acquisitions including, among others, defender Zlatko Yankov, goalkeeper Jiri Havranek and winger Mustapha Hadji - all snapped up on a free transfer. Darren Barnard has joined us from Camberley for 2K and Simon Spender is also hopping on board come January 2009, which should finally solve our wingback problems.

1 PM Time to finally start regular training. We're travelling to fierce local rivals from Stafford tomorrow and by the looks of it, the lads are all fired up. I guess I could have waited a few more days before breaking the news that some of our ex-first teamers will now be considered rotation or back-up players... But it's nothing a few pints won't be able to fix. Now then, where's the local pub?
 
i'm going to start a LL game with harrogate town (only cos i play for them) does any one have any good part time training scheduales?
 
good man tying up your better players as pro's a very important part of getting a strong backbone to the team, however do you try and buy in older talent or are you like me and try to snap up youngsters and get them down the training field?
 
Darren Barnard, Zlatko Yankov and Mustapha Hadji are all crucial to my success, at least at Blue Square level (within the first 2 seasons). Barnard and Hadji are 36, Yankov is 42! They have all done really well and are among my top performers...

Since my aim is to go straight up to the Championship in consecutive seasons, I really can't afford waiting for the youngsters to develop. Hopefully once I get a youth academy and a decent amount of coaches, that will change.
 
i like to go the other way, i dont like to spend my wages on old journeymen player, they soak up alot of money i'd rather have in coaching and a broader spectrum of youth, i think about 1/8th of my wages go on coaches atm with the aim of growing a team rather than buying, also the revenue from training then selling uneeded younger player scan really help out getting more of your squad on pro contracts quicker.

you've got a plan and if it works for you, you will be able to jump a couple of levels compared to the way i would do it, if it dont work your stuck with oldies in your reserves soaking up cash.
 
8. November 2008

Three months, three Manager of the Month awards. As Mike de Stampers aptly put it "That's quite nice, I must say, and once again I would like to thank everybody at the Academy..." In other news, Darren Barnard has been given the Player of the Month award for October, which is hardly surprising given his wonderful stats and performances. Such a shame that he's 36 not 26... Oh yes, and by the way - we're still undefeated. Pure luck in some of those games, but then again - where would anyone be without luck!? Apart from Lady Luck, the manager's decisions (*ahem*) have also played their part in ensuring that we continue to beat every single team we've faced so far. Switching from a 4-4-2 mixed passing game to a 4-3-1-2 direct ball attacking approach has proven to be a revelation for us, with the first game in which the new system was deployed ending in utmost humiliation for our opponents (6:0 vs Droylsden). Our already famous 4-3-1-2 attacking approach has given us the upper hand in two back-to-back cup games against stronger BSP sides. The victories in those matches have guaranteed that we've already exceeded the board's expections as far as cup results are concerned.

What is most surprising is that I found this system to be the best one to use when playing as a Chelsea manager (of course, with a couple of amendments to the tactic I'm surrently using). And no matter how far apart in terms of class or style Chelsea FC and AFC Telford United may be, the 4-3-1-2 tactic seems to be equally successful for both teams... could it be a coincidence?

And, what's best, I've taken a huge gamble on Venezuelan striker Pierre Alexandre Pluchino Galuppo, whom I signed for 2K - of course, without being able to scout him at all. And I must admit he's worth 1000 times more than that - he's twice as good as all our strikers combined, he's only 18, I had no problems in getting a work permit for him whatsoever (he has lived in Italy for 1 year) AND to top it all of, he's scored a hattrick on his debut. It doesn't get much better than this!

Telford1.jpg


Telford2.jpg


Telford3.jpg


That's how things are looking right now. I've brought in no less than 14 players this season with another one joining us in January... And I'm definitely starting to worry about the Reserves team which is gaining in numbers. Basically that should not be a problem, but then again I'm managing a Blue Square minnow and we don't have cash to burn for wages so I really have to consider releasing as many those players as I can come the end of this season - hopefully, we'll be gearing up for a season in the Blue Square Premier League where I'll definitely be needing better players. The worst thing is that I can't even try to sell them, they're so useless that nobody would even consider buying them for free... But well, who knows, perhaps that might have changed by the end of the season.
 
Ive been keen to start with a lower league side and i was thinking of being AFC Wimbledon. Worth trying to get more success than MK Dons!

Iv already done the whole Europe thing on this winning the league, champs league and world club cup in 2 1/2 seasons as Arsenal so i think LLM is worth a go.

Any more tips on the tactics side of things?
 
clubs

i think you need to get a parent and feeder club it would be very benifical as you would get loaned players from the parent club which would probably be a prem or championship club too so good luck with telford


ADDICK TILL I DIE!!!!!!!!!!!:D
 
Telford? bit of a cheat really you should easily get consecutive promotion because of whats actually happened to the club. I started off with Alfreton was favorite to go down in first season but managed to beat the drop easily and were currently 8th in my second season and were still 3rd faviorte to go down.
 
What HAS actually happened to the club? Fair enough, they're expected to go up in their first season, but other than that they're not much better than most other bsn/bss sides. Oh well, cheat or not, I'm pretty much enjoying it and that's what really matters at the end of the day. Furthermore, I have brought in an awful lot of new faces in my first season and relegated more than half of the first team to the reserve squad... So I've definitely rearranged things quite a bit.

Sorry that I haven't posted anything lately, but I haven't had time to play lately. In short, I'm currently midway thru March 09, I've already won the Conference Cup and the BSN. Hopefully, the FA Trophy will follow. Will put up a few screenshots & some more info when I've got more spare time on my hands.
 
Telftord went into administration 3 years ago and got relegated from the conference, now BSP, to the unibond division 1 (2 divisions below the BSN.) However they kept there stadium, fan support and Team because a new chairman bought out their debts. They then earned consecutive promotions and they should get promoted again because they have a team pf players that came form the BSP and enough money to strengthen the squad further. If you look at the BSN they are lieing 3rd 2 points from the top with only tamworth and southport above them. Teams like Southport, Tamworth, Telford and Gateshead have huge potentiall and should get promoted.
 
I've just started as manager of Vauxhall Motors in the Blue Square North. I had £0 for transfers, £3.4k per week wage budget. Board expectation was to avoid relegation, and enjoy playing in the cups.

After having a close look at the squad and endless scrutinising of the transfer lists, I managed to sign the following players:

Darren Barnard (Camberley) - Free Transfer
Dale Tonge (Rotherham) - Free Transfer
Marius Jianu - Free Transfer
Galuppo (Venezuelan) - Free Transfer
 
It's great to see other people managin lower league teams! I can't be doin with the whole 'Check out my fantastic tactic for Man United!!!!!' talk that many people seem to indulge in............It's not as if you need to do much work in turnin them into world beaters.....They already are! The real Football Manager experience comes from the lower leagues, so well done to you guys who are givin it a go :D

There's nothin better than takin over a debt ridden Blue Square South side and totally rebuilding and restructuring them into worthy title winners! (Well...hopefully anyway!)

I've just recently purchased the latest FM (I tend to wait for all the patches to be released before buyin....), and am lookin forward to taking over a non league side.
Who's the relegation candidates in the BSS nowadays?
 
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