Berwick Rangers: An English Club in Scotland

2030/31 Season Preview

It's our 14th season in charge of Berwick and we’ve made only one key transfer in the summer 2030 window.

Jose Ramon Montero for Free from Espanyol

View attachment 50509

Montero is one of the best free transfers I’ve made. The fact he’s had no Spain caps makes me wonder how Spain got knocked out of the group stages of the World Cup with such a strong squad.

There were no significant transfers out except for perhaps Robert Koeman who left for FC Ingoldstadt for £2.7m.

View attachment 50508

He still holds the record for most goals scored in a Champions League game with 6… but he just simply isn’t good enough for us anymore.

I’ve also continued trying to offload players that are not good enough for us but will be good enough for other teams in the Premiership.

View attachment 50507

All 6 of those players are under 23 and will be in the first team at their new clubs.

Aside from the domestic treble, the board expects us to reach the first knockout round of the Champions League. I want to go at least one better than last season by reaching the quarter finals.

View attachment 50506

Also the media’s dream XI for the SPL are all Berwick players demonstrating the strength of our team now.

View attachment 50505

However we’re still spending far less than Celtic.

View attachment 50502

I could not work out how Celtic were spending so much more than us. Then I realised…

View attachment 50504

They’ve had a bit of a fire sale and sold 3 of their best players this summer, replacing one of them with this centre back for £9m, paying him £110,000 a week! He’s good, but not £110k a week good. The AI confuses me sometimes.

And after employing Russell Martin in the attempt to try and takeover his job as Scotland under 21 boss we’ve now sent him on a coaching course.

View attachment 50503

Great…
​
 
Last edited:
Season Start and Champions League Group

The vultures are already circling after the transfer window was shut as both Barcelona and Real Madrid seem keen on our centre backs and strikers. It looks like a good run in the Champions League is needed to keep them at the club for the long term.

The first competitive game at the new stadium was against Dunfermline in the League Cup.

View attachment 50365

And there could not have been a more fitting scorer of the first goal at Berwick Stadium than George Neil, Berwick and Scotland’s all time highest goalscorer.

View attachment 50363

Just look at all those seats!

Having said that, we still haven’t had a capacity crowd yet with attendances of 14,000 and 15,000 in our two home league games. The full capacity of the stadium is 16,500.

View attachment 50364

It goes without saying that we’ve won all our games so far and are top of the league. Rangers have made a great start after finishing 5th​, 6th​ and 6th​ in their last 3 seasons.

View attachment 50362

We’ve also been given a tough group for the Champions League. However it’s nice to be playing new teams after seemingly coming up against Benfica and A.C. Milan every year.

View attachment 50361

Champions League 2030/31 Group D

Berwick Rangers
Tottenham Hotspur
Futebol Clube do Porto
Real Sociedad de Fútbol

We won all our group games last season but that won’t be happening this year. Spurs were losing finalist last season and Porto are no mugs either so we’ll have to be at our best to progress.

Celtic haven’t got the easiest group either.

View attachment 50360

Hibs and Hearts are both in the Europa League group stage too.

Elsewhere, 17-year-old Lee Murray has become the first player from the Berwick academy to play for Scotland.

View attachment 50359

View attachment 50358

He’ll probably be a mainstay in the squad for a number of years and hopefully at some point I get to manage him as Scotland manager.
​
 
Much rather your champions league group than Celtics.....can't see them getting off the bottom of the group in that one....killer of a group for them!
 
Excellent story mate. Really enjoying it.

Quick question - do you pay much attention to the star ratings on your players?
 
TheNotSoSpecialOne said:
Much rather your champions league group than Celtics.....can't see them getting off the bottom of the group in that one....killer of a group for them!
Click to expand...

Wait until you see how they did against Barca!

ChrisDCFC said:
Excellent story mate. Really enjoying it.

Quick question - do you pay much attention to the star ratings on your players?
Click to expand...

Cheers mate and yeah I do quite a bit as my assistant manager and scouts both have very good judging current and potential ability. But I never sign a player purely based off their star rating, I always look at their attributes and compare them with others at the club if need be.
 
Champions League at Berwick Stadium

The first European night at our new stadium ended with a comfortable win over Real Sociedad. We’re still 700 fans away from a capacity crowd though!

View attachment 50221

Somehow Celtic managed to beat Barcelona 5-1 in their group!!

View attachment 50220

In our next Champions League game we lost 3-1 to Spurs in what was an even game.

View attachment 50219

If Herrera didn’t give away a penalty in the first 5 minutes (he’s the same player that got sent off after 50 seconds against Chelsea last season) and our goalkeeper was able to catch a routine cross then who knows what the score would’ve been.

In our 3rd​ group stage game we got an important victory away against Porto.

View attachment 50216

That left us looking good for qualfication to the knockout rounds.

View attachment 50215

We’ve also won 9 out of 9 in the league as well as reaching the League Cup semi final as we look to reach the final for the 6th​ year in a row.

View attachment 50214

View attachment 50213

I’m more interested in what goes on behind us especially if Rangers can finish above Celtic for the first time in this save.

At the beginning of the save the leagues I had loaded were all the countries in the UK as well as Ireland. This meant people like Paul Baron were included in the database and for a few years he was our assistant manager. He’s now Rangers manager.

View attachment 50212

View attachment 50211

Can’t imagine that being replicated in real life somehow.
​
 
beat Porto at home and your through the group I think. Be interesting to see how far you can take the stadium - unbelievable you cant fill it for Champ League games. a real glitch in the game i think as there would be loads of glory hunters supporting Berwick by now I would think.
 
JT3197 said:
beat Porto at home and your through the group I think. Be interesting to see how far you can take the stadium - unbelievable you cant fill it for Champ League games. a real glitch in the game i think as there would be loads of glory hunters supporting Berwick by now I would think.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've seen people on this story and others comment on how unrealistic the attendances are sometimes. I still struggle to believe that less than 100 Berwick fans go to European away games.
 
Group Stage Qualification and Rampant Rangers

After beating Rangers 2-1 in the semi final we will play Falkirk in the final of the League Cup.

View attachment 50090

It’s the first time they’ve been in a final since I’ve started this save.

However our league game against Rangers did not go as well as they thwarted our attempt of an unbeaten season.

View attachment 50089

We dominated the game despite being down to 10 men for half of it and if we took our chances we would have won 5-1.

In the Champions League we drew our 4th​ group stage game against Porto but beat Real Sociedad in our next game.

View attachment 50088

View attachment 50087

That win confirmed our qualification to the knockout round.

View attachment 50086

View attachment 50085

Our final group stage game against Tottenham will be a decider for who finishes top of fthe group.

Aside from the Rangers loss it’s been business as usual.

View attachment 50084

This is the point in the season where I say that we’re running away with the league and it’s only a matter of time before we win it. But this season we’re far from running away with it.

View attachment 50083

We’re in a real title fight with Rangers. I do expect them to tail off eventually but our former assistant Paul Baron is doing an amazing job there considering they haven’t finished in the top 4 the past 3 seasons.

Next up is the League Cup final and we’ll also find out who our opponents are in the 1st​ Knockout Round of the Champions League… hopefully it’s not Chelsea again.
​
 
WOW - well done. Some going there. Cant believe that guy even got called up to the Italian squad lol but there you go.
 
Is the fact Rangers are putting up a genuine title fight this season reigniting yoir interest in the league again?
 
KLIPPYBO said:
WOW - well done. Some going there. Cant believe that guy even got called up to the Italian squad lol but there you go.
Click to expand...

I signed him from Santos and he was definitely Brazilian back then but all of a sudden for that World Cup he was in the Italy squad haha

TheNotSoSpecialOne said:
Is the fact Rangers are putting up a genuine title fight this season reigniting yoir interest in the league again?
Click to expand...

Unless they're within a realistic chance with 8 games to go then no, they're just having an amazing season so far. Main interest is still in Champions League progression
 
League Cup Final and Champions League Opponents

In our defence of the Scottish Cup we’ve been drawn against St Johnstone in the 4th​ round.

View attachment 49870

They’re top of the Championship and have two 17 year old strikers on loan from Hibs and Celtic who are banging in the goals.

In the other domestic cup competition we faced Falkirk in the final.

View attachment 49869

View attachment 49868

That’s our 4th​ League Cup in a row. Our rotated side dominated the first 44 minutes and then decided to almost bottle the game. We were, however, much the better side.

View attachment 49867

The game actually highlights a problem we’re starting to have which is conceding more goals than we should be. Last season we kept a record number of clean sheets but this season we seem to always concede even if the opposing team only has one shot on target. We’re able to get away with it in Scotland because of our quality but the same can’t be said against teams in the Champions League.

Talking of which, we had our final group stage game against Spurs to see who would finish top of the group.

View attachment 49866

Well that was unexpected. Spurs lined up in a 4-3-1-2 formation so we played with wide players and exploited the flanks, who knew being a football manager was so easy?

And with that, for the second season in a row, we finished top of our Champions League group.

View attachment 49865

Celtic unluckily finished 3rd​ in their group of death and will join Hibs in the Europa League knockout stage.

View attachment 49864

Notice how Barcelona finished second in that group?

View attachment 49863

Euuuggghhhhh. For the second season in a row our prize for winning our group is an opponent who are one of the favourites for the competition. We face a squad with many handsomely paid, world-class players.

View attachment 49862

Still, at least our 13 best players are not all wanted by bigger clubs at the same time.

View attachment 49861

For some reason the value of our players has dropped considerably. A couple of seasons ago we had players valued at £25m+ now we have only two players valued at £10m or more. We’re going to do well to keep all of them in January.

We head into 2031 top of the table with our most recent victory over Rangers being an important one as it gave us some breathing room.

View attachment 49860

View attachment 49859

Now it’s time to make sure we still have our best players at the club by the time we play Barca.
​
 
January Transfer Window

In the January transfer window we managed to let 6 players join other SPL clubs.

View attachment 49578

All 6 are under 21, were bought for little money and are good enough to be first team members for their new club, which is as positive as we aim to improve the overall quality in the SPL.

You might’ve noticed that there’s also been a significant departure from the club, with right back Juan Grecco joining Man City for £16.5m.

View attachment 49577

When he first joined he only played on the left hand side but we trained him up to be a natural right back. After 2 and a half years at Berwick, earning £20,000 a week, he now earns £130,000 a week at Man City.

View attachment 49576

We did however find a replacement for him.

Alejandro Alaniz has joined Berwick for a club record fee of £15.5m from LOSC Lille

View attachment 49575

With the Grecco money we signed Alejandro Alaniz, another Argentine right back. He’s on twice the wage Grecco was on but is an upgrade from him, which means the £15.5m we spent on him is good business even though it’s Berwick’s record transfer.

View attachment 49574

The reason why we were able to get such a high quality player for a price that wasn’t extortionate is because his contract at Lille was expiring in the summer.

Elsewhere Celtic broke their transfer record to sign a player who is only a rotation option.

View attachment 49573

This is a club paying 38 year old Thibault Courtois £190,000 a week so that kind of questionable business is expected.

They did however need to spend in the transfer window as they are almost certain to finish below Rangers for the first time in this save.

View attachment 49572

We’re by no means coasting to the title but for now our attention turns to Falkirk in the 5th​ round of the cup and Barcelona in the Champions League 1st​ Knockout Round 1st​ leg.

View attachment 49571

The plan is not to get smashed at Camp Nou. That might be easier said than done.

​
 
From Cove Rangers and BSC Glasgow to Barcelona

We could not have been in better shape going into the Barcelona game having scored 22 and conceded 0 in our last 5 games.

View attachment 49461

The only problem was our game against Dundee United. How could there be a problem with winning a game 7-0?

Injuries. There’s your problem.

First was key midfielder Stanislav Dimitrov. I was just about to substitute him when injury forced him off against Dundee United. Nevertheless I was hoping it wasn’t that serious of an injury. It was.

View attachment 49460

View attachment 49459

The injuries in the Dundee United game weren’t done there though. Next up was George Neil.

View attachment 49458

View attachment 49457

It’s not as significant or serious an injury but it means that we have no backup strikers for the Barcelona game should we need to go to plan B (which involves a kitchen sink).

Still, we couldn’t let those injuries dampen our mood as we set off for our away leg in Barcelona.

View attachment 49456

The Camp Nou is by far the biggest ground we’ve been to and makes it seem a long time ago since we were playing in front of crowds of 400 in League Two.

View attachment 49455

In a pretty boring game we were undone by one piece of magic.

View attachment 49453

This guy scored a 30-yard free kick to give Barca the advantage.

View attachment 49452

And this guy was man of the match. He’s probably the best centre back in the world.

View attachment 49450

On the balance of play we were unlucky to lose and with a smaller pitch and home support who knows what could happen in the return leg.

View attachment 49448

We had 3 more weeks and 3 more games until the return leg, one of which was the Scottish Cup quarter final against Dundee United.

View attachment 49447

We easily defeated them and that result meant we were paired with Rangers in the semi final.

View attachment 49445

They’ve had a remarkable season and are taking us to the wire in the title race. It’s in no way going to be a formality when we come up against them.

View attachment 49443

The next game is a biggie. Can we overturn a 1-0 deficit and create history?

​
 
Barcelona Second Leg

So Berwick Stadium was host for the 2nd​ leg of our Champions League 1st​ Knockout Round game against Barcelona. We had the difficult but achievable task of overturning a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.

We went into the game with the same 4-3-3 formation as the first leg, only with our inside forwards and one mezzala on attack duty rather than support.

View attachment 49371

Early on David Herrera picked up a knock but, other than that, little happened in the first half. That was until we entered stoppage time at the end of the half.

View attachment 49370

David Herrera scored at the perfect time, despite picking up an injury earlier, and with that one goal made up for getting sent off against Chelsea after 57 seconds almost a year ago to the day.

Things got even better when fellow Colombian John Florez grabbed a second goal for Berwick.

View attachment 49369

2-0! It was happening! At this point we were all over them but at the back of my mind I knew an away goal would change the whole complexion of the game. I didn’t change anything and was too scared to make substitutions.

Then there was a third goal.

View attachment 49368

Game. Set. And Match. It was a good job I didn’t make any subs as all three of our remaining changes were then used to waste time.

View attachment 49367

View attachment 49366

What a result! Our finest achievement yet! We’ve gone from League Two to beating Barcelona in the Champions League!

Incredibly 6 teams from England were into the Champions League quarter finals. Going into the draw either Arsenal or Schalke would’ve been our most favourable opponents.

View attachment 49365

But we were drawn against German champions Bayern Munich.

View attachment 49364

Champions League Quarter Final – Berwick Rangers V FC Bayern Munchen

They’re top of the Bundesliga by 8 points and unsurprisingly are favourites for the tie. But if we can beat Barca then we can beat Bayern.

There's also the small matter of a London Derby and Manchester Derby in two of the other quarter final clashes.

View attachment 49361

Next up is Bayern Munich then. Can the Champions League journey continue?
​
 
Good to see the reward for beating Barca was an easier tie! 6 English sides in the 1/4 finals aint too bad mind!
 
neavie pops23 said:
Good to see the reward for beating Barca was an easier tie! 6 English sides in the 1/4 finals aint too bad mind!
Click to expand...

Haha only just an easier tie! And English teams are ridiculous in this save.. every year an English side has won the Europa League and there's always an English team that makes it to the final of the Champions League if not two
 
Champions League Quarter Final

In between the second leg against Barcelona and the first leg against Bayern Munich we got an important win over Rangers. It means that the title should be ours for the 5th​ year in a row.

View attachment 49205

View attachment 49204

Star striker Vebjorn Aure had missed the last few games with injury but other than that we were well prepared for the clash with Bayern. The only slight negative was that we were at home in the first leg.

View attachment 49203

We came face to face with Zinedine Zidane who has won the Champions League 5 times (twice with Real Madrid, twice with Chelsea and once with Bayern).

View attachment 49202

But we got off to the best possible start with holding midfielder Jose Montero scoring after a bit of a scramble from a corner.

View attachment 49201

We went into halftime 1-0 up. Then there was a moment of brilliance after the break.

View attachment 49200

Vebjorn Aure took on 3 players and smashed home from a tight angle to put us 2-0 up. I thought things couldn’t get any better… but they did.

View attachment 49199

I couldn’t believe it… 3-0 up!!!

And that was it, what an unbelievable result!

View attachment 49198

We absolutely dominated them too, they didn’t have a shot on target and it should’ve been about 5-0.

View attachment 49197

Hector De Anda grabbed 3 assists in the game and has been incredible for us this season in both scoring and creating goals.

View attachment 49196

What could possibly go wrong from here?

Well for starters our first choice centre back Luiz was injured in the game and is out for 3 to 4 weeks. World Cup winner Sergio Paulo will deputise for him.

View attachment 49195

Other than that, what could possibly go wrong from here? Surely a Champions League Semi Final beckons!
​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Back
Top