Club Career - Macclesfield

C

CMurray04

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2018
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Intro

​
Hello everyone and welcome to my new FM18 story! I'm doing this primarily to create a more immersive experience, and of course to share my progress with you guys! I love reading these things and thought it about time I started one of my own!

I'm going to release updates at the start of every month in-game, and do match reports, screenshots of new players, and update you on any other exciting news. Enjoy!

I'm starting this career in England, with Macclesfield, a team expected to finish in the top half of the National League (Tier 5). They have a small, young squad with heaps of potential so the aim is to hold on to those players, finish in the top half first season and then hopefully squeeze into the playoffs in the second season. Interestingly, Macclesfield actually won the league in real life so there's big boots to fill! Anyway, here's a screenshot with some info about the club!

View attachment 48882


Finances are tight, with no transfer budget and a £14,600 wage budget, over £13,500 of which is being used. I'm hoping to add a couple of players but won't be making any major changes. The backroom staff is a different matter however and we'll be bringing in a lot of new additions there. We've got a 6-game pre-season coming up, which will be the next update along with any transfer news.

View attachment 48881
The first game of pre-season is the standard game against our youth team which we won 4-0 (as you might expect). Obviously we can't take too much from this, but for what its worth we looked very comfortable and the four goals all came from different players. Rotated around the team at half team and managed to give 17 out of our 20 players some game time. Added Terry Butcher (you might know him if you follow the lower leagues) as our director of football, and looking to hire an assistant manager still too. See you in the next update!

View attachment 48880
 
July 2017

So, in July we cracked on with our transfer business, utilising the loan market due to budget restrictions. We also got the other 5 games of our pre-season out the way, starting off with a couple of easier fixtures before playing 3 tougher teams. We also got some new data analysis facilities built, costing £100,000.

View attachment 48783View attachment 48782












So, here's our first two signings of the season. I noticed that our defence didn't have a lot of depth so Canice Carroll and Josh Clackstone coming in on loan from Oxford and Hull respectively should help shore that up. Both are exceptional RBs, but Carroll also plays very well in CB which is where I intend to use him due to his good tackling stat. Pretty happy to have these lads come in. We'll be doing some more deals in August I hope, could do with another good striker perhaps.

View attachment 48781

Funnily enough, I grew up 10 minutes away from Westwood Road, the home ground of St. Ives, where we travelled for our next friendly. The 2 and a half hour drive from Macclesfield to the small town near Cambridge was a long way to go for a friendly, but the boys rewarded us with a great performance against a team on the up (now in tier 7). The 3-0 away win reflected a very comfortable performance.

View attachment 48780

We stayed a bit closer to home for our next friendly - Buxton being only 12 miles down the road. It was another good performance against tier 7 opposition, although the goal we conceded was somewhat disappointing. Scott Wilson and Koby Arthur are looking very good for us up top, and Burgess in midfield, on loan from Bury, is looking like he could be our star player this year. Another good win, and that's 10 goals in 3 games.

View attachment 48779

Things getting tougher now as we host League 2 side Lincoln - and get a bit of a drubbing as their superior quality shows through. Really not a good performance here although we did play a rotated side - trying to make sure everyone in the squad gets a good amount of game time pre-season.


View attachment 48778

Another heavy loss at home to Fleetwood, but this one is more understandable against a team who finished in the League 1 playoff spots last year. Ex-Man City forward Jordy Hiwula was devastating with his dribbling. Bradford up next, and hoping for a big crowd due to their huge fanbase!

View attachment 48777

We walked out at The Moss Rose to what could be our biggest gate of the season, as 2,600 is probably more than we'll get in most league games! The bumper crowd saw us put in an excellent defensive performance, as Bradford struggled to break us down, even with our second string keeper Sam Ramsbottom in goal. Eventually they did, but can't fault the lads on this one!


So, overall not a bad pre-season. Won the games we were expected to win, and lost the games we were expected to lose. In August we'll do some more transfer business and play our first 6 games of the league season, starting off with FC Halifax in a game we're expecting to take all 3 points from!

Thanks for reading and do keep an eye out for my international career with Trinidad and Tobago. I like to do one alongside my club career to mix it up a bit!

View attachment 48776
 
Last edited:
August 2017

Welcome back to our non-league journey with Macclesfield! As you've seen, we concluded our pre-season in July, and now for our first 6 league games. Before that however, we did make one new signing to add to our two loanees - bringing in Jason Davis on a free transfer.

View attachment 48700

He's more one for the future, but he does give us a little extra depth in midfield. On to the games, and we start off with what should be a fairly comfortable tie against promoted FC Halifax, who are tipped to go straight back down again by the media.

View attachment 48699

And a comfortable win it was! Very pleased with the goals and the clean sheet - Koby Arthur scoring two was very pleasing. Onwards and upwards!

View attachment 48696

Excuse the different screen for the Bromley game - I forgot to screenshot the post-match review so had to go bsck and do it this way! Regardless, a 4-0 away win is never to be sniffed at! Was especially nice to see our new signing Carroll score (we're playing him at CB even though he's meant to be a RB). Looking good so far! A good trip down to London!

View attachment 48698

So, our last two games have been against teams expected to finish at the wrong end of the table, although the results and performance have still been brilliant. Eastleigh, a team expecting to finish in the playoffs, are a different kettle of fish. It was a tight game, but we edged out a win which is absolutely fantastic. I was expecting to take a loss to a superior team with players such as Reda Johnson, Gary McSheffery and James Constable who are used to playing at a higher level than this, but we played superbly!


View attachment 48695


Leyton Orient are another top team in this division, having recently fallen out of the football league, but they came into this with 0 points from 3 games so I was confident. However, a shocking defensive display meant we got beaten, which was something of a disappointment! Still, our start has been good overall, and they do have a lot of good players.

View attachment 48694

In the middle of a really tough period of fixtures here, playing four promotion contenders in a row. We travelled down to London again to face Dagenham and Redbridge, and left with a solid point after conceding a late goal. Not bad!

View attachment 48693

Another tough prospect away to Aldershot, again in London. We overturned a 1-0 lead to go 2-1 up, but they scored twice in the dying minutes to take the win! really gutting, and very disappointed that we threw away points late on yet again!

View attachment 48692

Here are the player stats for our first month in the league. Durrell has been fantastic, winning both the player of the month and goal of the month awards. Really happy with Canice Carroll, our first every signing in the career, but our second, Josh Clackstone, needs to start improving!

View attachment 48692

Finally, here's the league table after August. 6th position is above where we thought we'd be at this stage, and our 15 goals leads every other team in the division. A very pleasing first month overall - especially considering we had some really tough fixtures. See you In September, and remember to check out my Trinidad & Tobago international career!

View attachment 48691
 
Last edited:
September 2017

Welcome back everyone! Last time we updated this we'd started our league campaign and were sitting nicely in a playoff spot. As we move into September we have a slightly easier run of 6 games to play. But first, we made some more signings, as the transfer window doesn't shut until March at this level. We really wanted to get some more depth in the squad, and used the loan market to do it.

View attachment 48474View attachment 48473View attachment 48472View attachment 48471

Here they are. Four new signings to add to the two (Carroll and Clackstone) we bought in last month. Devante Jacobs is really one for the future, looks like a decent young player. Kristian Brymore, on loan from Millwall, gives us another quality, pacey option up front. Ben Hinchcliffe does the same - as does Justin Amaluzor, both also on loan. Amaluzor's physicals are amazing, with 16 pace! I think our attack is probably of sufficient quality and depth with those three joining.

View attachment 48470

Onto the games. We started the month well, with a 4-1 home win against Maidstone - Touré getting two. Maidstone played well, but we were very clinical.

View attachment 48468
Next up we had one of the most difficult fixtures of the season, as we travelled to the North East to take on Hartlepool at Victoria Park. They dominated the game and were unlucky not to win, but our lads got some goals and a 2-2 draw which I was delighted with.

View attachment 48467
Less pleasing was the 3-1 defeat to Guiseley, who on the eve of play propped up the table in 24th, without a win from their first 8 games. They won their 9th though, and it was a pitiful display from us.

View attachment 48465A much improved defensive performance back at The Moss Rose saw us take a win and a clean sheet from the game with Torquay. Interesting to note that we've scored in every single league match so far.

View attachment 48464
Backup striker Tyrone Marsh had been asking to play, and he rewarded our trust in him with the goal that sealed a 3-1 win at home to playoff challengers Barrow. Very good performance and result that widens the gap between ourselves and the bottom half.

View attachment 48463
Finally, we travelled to Mill Farm to play relegation strugglers AFC Fylde. It was a fairly comfortable match in the end, and Tyrone Marsh again played well. Taking 4 wins out of 6 games in September is exactly what we wanted, and has pushed us up the table. Amazingly, we've scored in every one of our 12 league games so far!

View attachment 48462Here are the player stats in the league. As you can see, most of them have got some game time. Ryan Lloyd has been exceptional, contributing 7 assists so far, whilst Touré and Arthur have been providing the goals.

View attachment 48461
As you can see, we're nicely situated in the upper reaches of the playoff positions, and lead the league on goals scored with 28. Considering the media had us to finish 8th, and the board wanted us to finish top half, we're exceeding expectations hugely! Next month we'll bring you 5 more league games, as well as the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup! Until then!

View attachment 48460
 
Last edited:
October 2017

Hey everyone! So, we're into October where start our FA Cup campaign and make some more progress in the league. First off though, we made one more signing, taking us to a total of 7 for the season so far.

View attachment 48128
Hayden Coulson's a versatile defender and midfielder we got on loan from Middlesbrough - he probably won't play an awful lot but I love having a decent utility man on the bench - especially when our options are usually limited due to only being allowed 5 subs.

View attachment 48127
We start off the month with a very solid 3-0 victory over mid-table Dover, with one of our new signings Kristian Brymora getting his first goal for us. We dominated and deserved the solid win. Job done.

View attachment 48126
What a game this was. We knew it was going to be tricky because Tranmere were top of the table by some way, with only one loss this season. Prenton Park is a pretty tough place to go as well, it's by far the biggest ground in our league. We went behind but rallied and equalised through Tyrone Marsh who's proving to me that he deserves a place in the team. Then, just into injury time at the end of the match we scored - Brymora again! What a win this would be - but with the last kick of the game Tranmere equalised. Can't really complain, they did deserve a point, but so did we, and it's a point I'm very happy with.

View attachment 48125
Now for FA Cup action! We travelled to Guiseley, who are in our league but at the wrong end. Despite this, they'd already beaten us once this season so we were wary. Didn't need to be though as we won 3-0, with the opposition only having 2 shots! Through to the 1st round and in doing so, we've met our board target.

View attachment 48124
And the draw for the FA Cup 1st round pits us against League 2 side Cheltenham away from home. It's a tough tie, and they're in the top half, but we'll so what we can do!

View attachment 48123

A game we fully dominated but just couldn't win meant we drew 2-2 with Solihull Moors in a disappointing result. More goals for Brymora and Marsh though!

View attachment 48122
We travelled to high-flying Sutton Utd next, and our run of scoring in 15 consecutive league matches finally came to an end. What a run it was though - not sure I've ever had that before! A disappointing 1-0 loss and the last two games haven't been great. Hopefully we can pick it up as we move into a tough fixture away to Wrexham.

View attachment 48121A brilliant win in a really tough game for us! 1-0, with Tyrone Marsh getting the goal. Mitch Hancox played fantastically too. Really good stuff to round out the month.

View attachment 48120
Here are the player stats for the league so far. Marsh leads the scoring charts with 8 goals in just 12 games, whilst Ryan Lloyd has been on it with the assists. Durrell and Toure also doing really well.

View attachment 48119
Really happy to be sitting in 4th after 17 games, with 31 points. Our solid playoff challenge has been built on goals, as we lead the division with 36. Everything is going very well, so we'll see each other again for the next update in November!

View attachment 48118
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Top