Diamonds In The Rough

[JoeyShinobi]

I proudly present to you my Rushden and Diamonds story. I've actually been playing this for a while now, but I'm at a point where it's almost like starting again. This opening post will hopefully help you all get up to speed. Let me know if you like it and if you'd like to hear more...

Premier League new boys will hold no fear


by Luke Ingood - 2nd July 2018


As meteoric rises go, there are few that compare with that of Rushden and Diamonds. Their fairytale story began in 2009 with the appointment of former England midfielder Joe Franklin. Despite many believing the club to be incapable of finishing anywhere above mid-table, he and his squad defied the odds to achieve promoton via the play-offs, and the Nene Park faithful took what they believed to be their rightful place in England's professional structure.

Franklin, however, had other ideas; his ruthless culling of players he deemed lacking the sufficient ability to progress the club at first had its critics, but a 9th place finish in their first season back vindicated him. With no transfer budget and fairly meagre wage allowances, Rushden were always reliant on free agents and the goodwill of others; namely Chelsea and Portsmouth, who allowed several young stars to cut their teeth in professional football in Irthlingbrough. The club also forged a footballing partnership with Fulham, and players such as Adam Pepper got to shine in League 2.

Promotion into League 1 was achieved in 2012, winning the League 2 Championship on goal difference from Gillingham. For a side priced at around 200-1 to win the title that year, it was a monumental effort. The side's success was put down to a competitive squad - consistent performances sprinkled with some magic from some young Premier League starlets with points to prove. The formula continued to work, and after a strong debut season in League 1, Rushden achieved the impossible; a second-placed finish in 2015.

The Championship would surely prove too much for Franklin and his happy-go-lucky team, but after establishing themselves as mainstays, Franklin turned his eye to a promotion charge. His young squad was tempered by some experienced heads, such as midfielder Jimmy Smith and full back Yassin Moutaoukil. The stars of the show were keeper Martin Kelly, already being courted by several European clubs, former Chelsea trainee Luc Castaignos and Manchester Utd loanee Omar Daems. 2018 was the fruition of years of hard work and dedication; finally, a ticket to the promised land.

Their task this season isn't easy, to say the least. With by far the smallest ground (only 10,700 capacity), the smallest wage budget (just over £100,000 a week), and by far the youngest squad, Franklin faces a real battle to even register points with a squad that has surely been punching above its weight for a considerable period. It goes without saying the price of failure is high, and a club as small as Rushden could see themselves plummet without trace within a couple of seasons should they be relegated. This hasn't put off Franklin, nor the board that has backed him for so long. A £13 million transfer purse has been made available, and Franklin has vowed to spend every penny of it.

Chances like this don't come along very often for clubs as small as Rushden. With the fans, the board, and most importantly, the players firmly behind him, Franklin promises to lead this club into battle with no fear - all or nothing. Even if they fail, they can look back and say 'we gave it everything'.

​

So...that's basically how we got to where we are. If there's demand, I might do a few flashbacks and try and put together a few season reviews, but I thought I'd crack on with a bit of future history.

Rushden and Diamonds: The Class of 2018

Manager: Joe Franklin
Stadium: Nene Park (10700 all-seater)
Club captain: Martin Kelly
Star players: Martin Kelly (GK), Josh Payne (CM), Luc Castaignos (RLC AM/FC), Peter Devlin (LB/LM)

Last season: PROMOTED from Championship - debut season in Premier League

Media Prediction: 20th

Here goes nothing...
​

 

[Chris]

Brilliant read. I love this type of story. You have a follower.

 

[Nick.]

good luck with this

 

[ben1250]

This stories really good, any chance of few screenshots of your history and achievements ?

What players have you got in ?

Would love to be able to do this with my hometown club Shrewsbury but i always fail to get promotion from Championship.

 

[JoeyShinobi]

I've started the season now, but I'll run through the squad, transfers and pre-season shortly. Here's some screenshots of our last two successful promotion tables, a list of our league finishes, and my Best Eleven over the last 9 years. Some are names you might recognise - my OP didn't really do justice to the likes of Danny Nardiello, Dan Subotic, etc - like I say, if you want to read about a specific season, let me know.

So...this is the Championship league table 2017-18.

...and here's the League 1 table after we finished second in 2015.

Here's our league finishes for all 9 seasons...

...and here's the Best Eleven for 2009-2018.

 

[ben1250]

Thats absolutely superb achievement with such a small club, maybe with your managerial skills you could achieve european glory ?

I will certainly be following this

 

[JoeyShinobi]

Chapter One:
Calm Before The Storm...

​

July 2018

After leading his team to promotion from the Championship play-offs, Joe Franklin disappeared for three weeks to mull over his future. Interest from abroad, as well as Manchester United (whose manager, Juande Ramos, was expected to leave at the end of his contract), gave him food for thought. This was the man who turned down a lucrative post at The Emirates in 2017 - wanting to carry on his work at Nene Park. His decision vindicated, could he leave the club he had guided from the obscurity of the Blue Square Premier back in 2009?

The eventual decision was 'no', and he returned a week before the end of the World Cup to Nene Park to begin planning for the club's inaugural season in the top flight. It was a season expected to be full of disappointment for his team, but with a decent transfer kitty at his disposal, Franklin got to work, scouring the market for bargains. In particular, he needed a quality striker, as well as some creativity in midfield. An extra defender or two would also be helpful. Elsewhere at the club, there were changes afoot. A new kit deal with Nike was announced, as well as a two-year extension to their agreement with Smeg, ensuring work could finally begin on the modernisation of the East Stand - the terraced seating giving way to make Nene Park an all-seater stadium.

​

Transfers - Out

Trainee Jason Lowe, once touted as the future of the club, was let go, as was former skipper Mark Byrne. Byrne had joined the club in January 2010 after a successful loan spell from Nottingham Forest. An integral part of the squad for much of Franklin's reign, he had found himself on the periphery in recent seasons and was let go in search of first team football. Efforts to keep exciting left-back prospect Ray Burke proved futile, as he moved on to Wolves for £3M. Young striker Paul Tonks moved onto Bolton for £1M, and Liam Weber, after accusations he was being forced out of the club following a raft of signings, departed to Leicester for £600K. £4.5 million recouped on players, only one of whom could really have made a difference in the Premier League.

Transfers - In

The club's ranks were boosted by an injection of young, precocious talent. With several arrivals from Spain (midfielder Alfonso, left back Ignacio Meléndez, centre-back Julio César and Mario Robles, a defensive midfielder) on cut-price deals and several free signings (defender Paul Robson, Brazilian right-back Pablo, and midfielder Lee Gibson), the quality the squad was desperately lacking following the departure of Omar Daems back to Man Utd was re-added in the form of, first, John Doherty, the Ireland right-sided midfielder from Valencia for £4.5M, and exciting Czech Republic striker Ludek Kopic, aged just 19, for £1.8M from Marseille. However, the charity once shown by Premier League managers to Franklin was no longer on offer, and loan signings were much harder to come by. Instead, Franklin turned to his younger players, and invited the likes of Contreras, Stratford, Devlin and Jonathan Terry to step up to the first team squad at the highest domestic level. Rushden spent more than £14 million on new signings - it goes without saying, a club record. However, it was left bereft of any Premier League experience to speak of, a fact pointed out by many rival managers. Can this young Rushden squad pull together and prove the naysayers wrong?

Pre-season

Five friendly fixtures were arranged, despite the World Cup, and there were some stern tests for the Rushden squad. First up at Nene Park were FC Bayern, who fielded a strong team. A 4-1 defeat for Rushden did no justice to their encouraging performance, young Cypriot Andreas Dimosthenous grabbing the consolation goal. A confidence-boosting rout against the GH Academy ended 4-0, with Castaignos, Kopic, Parsons and Robinson all scoring. Next up was the annual Smeg Challenge, a three day league hosted at Nene Park, supported by Rushden's sponsors.

This year, Wigan, Lazio and Rangers came to play. In previous years, this would be used as a money spinning exercise for the club - it would attract large gates, boosting the club financially. This year, Rushden could compete, and their opening game against Wigan proved that. A 2-2 draw could easily have gone their way, as Derek Beck and Peter Devlin scored for the home side. A Steve Owens strike in the 91st minute rescued Wigan. Unfortunately, it was all downhill for Rushden, as they fell 1-0 to both Lazio and Rangers. However, they played some attractive football, and were especially unlucky against Lazio. But the time for talking was now over. Saturday 18th August 2018 was the day this small town couldn't wait for; the visit of Newcastle United, and the start of what would surely be a memorable season in the Diamonds' history.
​

---------- Post added at 08:52 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 10:46 PM ----------

Chapter Two:
Start As We Mean To Go On...​

SATURDAY, AUGUST 18TH 2018
10:25PM
​

BBC One Introducer: Now, on BBC One, the waiting is finally over...

​

About halfway through the broadcast...

Gary Lineker: Now then, to Nene Park for the first ever Premier League match for new boys Rushden and Diamonds. Their nine-year fairytale journey to the top flight was completed last season, and today they welcomed Newcastle United to start their year-long party. Could they manage an opening-day upset against the perennial slow-starting Magpies? Guy Mowbray was there to find out...

Guy Mowbray: An illustrious day for all those involved at Nene Park, Rushden and Diamonds taking their bow in the Premier League. Manager Joe Franklin has been busy this summer in the transfer market, and his starting line-up today featured four debutants, including right midfielder John Doherty, and Czech international Ludek Kopic up front. Newcastle were confident of victory, however - with Steven Taylor back to lead the side, and Aaron Spear recovering in time from a groin problem.

These were the line-ups;

Rushden: Kelly; Moutouakil, Devlin, César, Fraser; Doherty, Payne, Smith, Townsend; Castaignos, Kopic.
Subs: West, Finch, Terry, Weber, Alfonso, Tonks, Meléndez.


Newcastle: Forster; Taylor, Digne, Prodl, Perna; Daniel, Baltham, Guthrie, Juarez; Spear, Alessandrini.
Subs: Koliqi, Hassim, Kightly, Simpson, Stancu, Wagemans, Agger.

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 7,626
Venue: Nene Park

GM: The Toon Army wasted little time in getting started - six minutes in, and a break down the left led to problems in the inexperienced Rushden back line. Guthrie's ball from the headed clearance found Spear just onside, and he finished clinically.

Rushden are not a team to be put off by an early setback, however, and chances for Luc Castaignos and Beau Fraser came and went. Their best chance fell to Fraser from a corner - his run not picked up, but his header could only balloon over Forster's goal. Rushden's lack of a cutting edge proved costly after 31 minutes, again, down the left hand side, this time a deep cross swung in and met by Daniel, who headed home from four yards to make it 2-0 to the visitors. Despite carving open the Newcastle defence twice more before half time, Rushden struggled to find a way through.

After the break, Rushden tried again, and seemed far more comfortable on the ball. As the game opened up, the chances came thick and fast, as Smith and Payne came close for Rushden, and fir Newcastle Stancu hit the bar, as well as Guthrie forcing a quality save from Rushden captain Martin Kelly. Rushden were asking questions, and finally they managed to breach the Newcastle defence. On 73 minutes, Kopic was well found 25 yards out by Payne, and the Czech teenager managed to turn and unleash a shot of the unstoppable variety past the helpless Forster. 2-1, and Rushden were back in it.

They continued to pose a threat to Forster's goal, but the Magpies held firm. Newcastle will be pleased to get off to an opening day win; for Rushden, a lack of experience coupled with an apparent deficiency in composure will need to be addressed. Encouraging signs for the Premier League's new boys, but they fell short here. Rushden 1, Newcastle 2.

GL: So, Rushden seemingly up against it at the highest level. A lot's been said about the inexperience of the Rushden squad, Alan, do you think they can overcome the odds this season?

Alan Hansen: Well, I'll never write off anyone who insists on playing kids, as you know, Gary. I've got into trouble before for that, but if I'm honest, Joe Franklin's got a lot of work on to get this lot up to scratch. Time and time again we saw Spear and Guthrie open them up, and a better finishing side would have dismantled this team. But, they've obviously got some talented players, it's up to the manager and his coaching team to harness that and get these boys into some good habits - stop leaving space between them and the strikers, they need to be aware of who they're up against, and where these players are. César had no idea where Daniel was for the second goal, and Moutaoakil seemed to go missing both times.

GL: John, attacking-wise, Rushden didn't look too shabby though, did they?

John Terry: Well, Gary, I have to say, at times they looked dangerous going forward - I know Luc Castaignos from his Chelsea days, and while he was always a bit wiry, he was always a tricky customer. He has his off days with his finishing, and unfortunately, today was one of them for Rushden. This Kopic fella looks like a find though - that kind of composure, the kid's only nineteen years old! Wonderful turn to make some space, and look at that finish...spectacular stuff. They seem to have the right idea, but you have to worry about that lack of experience in the squad.

GL: Solid start from Newcastle, Alan?

AH: Very. Slipped a bit in the second half, but overall they deserved the win. It could have gone another way, on another day, but they did enough today.


​

Rushden's dreamers were brought right back down to earth with a thump, as Newcastle showed them what life in the top flight was about.

A week later, Diamonds were left in no doubt as to what they were up against. Another home match, and despite taking the lead against Spurs thanks to an own goal by keeper Lacroix, second-half goals from Huddlestone, Poncelet and a Kelly own goal handed Spurs a comprehensive 3-1 victory. 19th place after two matches was not the start Franklin had hoped for, but he could have no complaints thus far.

His team had a chance to regain some confidence and form in the second round of the League Cup, against AFC Wimbledon, who had finally clambered into the Football League. Despite taking a shock lead at Nene Park, The Dons were pegged back and eventually Rushden ran out 3-1 winners. The fans went home happy - their expectations met, and a chance to make some noise in the next round against Notts Forest.

Their attentions turned back to the league, and two away matches; first against Ipswich, then a trip to a newly-redeveloped Goodison Park. Rushden came away empty-handed from both, losing 2-0 to Ipswich before being humbled 4-1 by Everton. Four straight league defeats, and the relegation candidates were propping up the table come mid-September. The worst news from the Everton game was the news that Josh Payne would miss the next seven weeks with two broken ribs, following a challenge with Marouane Chamakh. Things were looking bleak already at Nene Park, and the season was just four weeks old. With some of the squad unhappy with Franklin's half-time team talk at Goodison, he now had a player backlash to deal with - with some of his most inspirational players voicing their discontent, there was now an uphill battle to keep his squad onside and positive.

​

 

[Eds]

Superb update. Really top quality. Bookmarked.

 

[JoeyShinobi]

Thanks guys. Tell a friend...

European glory is the ultimate aim, but I think I've got a long way to go. Not sure how much they can develop the stadium by, and that might be the biggest obstacle to developing the club. I know another guy did something similar with Rushden, and he got a new ground when he got promoted, but I'll just have to wait and see.

I think I've made a real blunder by only getting in youngsters - it was a real struggle to attract players with Premier League experience to the club who would actually improve the squad. Just hope we can pull together - can't seem to get a result out of anything at the moment.

Still...hopefully it'll make a change to all you guys winning everything!

 

[scotland forever]

could you upload this

 

[JoeyShinobi]

As in upload the save?

 

[JoeyShinobi]

Chapter Three:
Clinging On For Dear Life...​

Many a manager has said, 'this is the toughest league in the world'. They weren't wrong.

Rushden and Diamonds did not register a single point until the visit of Southampton in late September. A 0-0 signalled the first clean sheet of the season, but it was more down to the incompetency of the Saints' strikers than any great organisation in the Rushden back line. Results and performances were beginning to show the inexperienced squad were badly, woefully inadequate at this level.

"It's a real shame, but with the market the way it is, the more established players want assurances that they will be playing at the top level for seasons to come. I couldn't give them that assurance - we're a small club, we're growing so quickly, but it seems we've grown too quick. These boys need some experienced heads around them, but unfortunately for us, we can't offer the security that teams like Villa and Everton and Sunderland can", Joe Franklin said to a Sunday Times journalist.

"But we knew that, and while we did what we could to assemble a squad that could compete, we had to accept the reality early on in the summer that we can't attract the big players yet. We have to keep relying on the things that have served us well - young talent, be it ours or from bigger clubs farming out their youngsters with something to prove. We haven't got the loan stars in this year though, because we'd be in direct competition. I think that's hurt us.

"But we're planning, for this season, for next season. I don't want to write us off yet, because this club will not give up, we will give it everything in every single match. I've told the boys, if they aren't prepared to try in each game, no matter how tough it gets, I don't want them here. If we lose, fine; I just have to know they gave their all out there.

"If we do go down, and most of you seem to have decided we will, we'll go down swinging."

Franklin's brute honesty is something that has served him well, and has made him popular with fans, players and peers alike.

But life after the Southampton game did not get any easier for Rushden, as fixtures against Chelsea, Man City, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Arsenal and Sunderland came in succession. Rushden lost them all; they were also knocked out of the League Cup by Newcastle in a heartbreaking penalty shootout. Rushden weren't humiliated in any of those defeats, but they were coming up consistently short when it came down to it. The squad seems to be badly lacking leadership - when things begin to go wrong, there doesn't seem to be anyone in the squad who can take the game by the scruff of the neck and turn it around. Instead, heads go down, and while their spirit won't let their opponents completely overwhelm them, Rushden do not seem to be able to break down their opponents. As the club heads towards the Christmas period, the outlook is very, very bleak.

Results:

Rushden 0-0 Southampton
Chelsea 2-0 Rushden
Rushden 3-1 Nottingham Forest (League Cup 3rd Round)
Rushden 1-2 Man City
Aston Villa 2-1 Rushden
Rushden 1-3 Liverpool
Rushden 0-2 West Brom
Rushden 0-0(p) Newcastle
Sunderland 2-0 Rushden
Arsenal 3-1 Rushden
​

Needless to say, Rushden were dead last in the Premier League standings on November 10th.

Despite the club's lowly position, Franklin was being consistently linked with moves to other clubs; the departure of Alan Curbishley from St James' Park fuelled the fire, as well as a move to Anfield. Such moves never materialised, and Franklin's focus seemed to be on trying to find a formula to haul Rushden out of the mire. In mid-November, Rushden announced two new signings.

Transfers - In

The first was former England international Darren Bent, who had fallen out of favour at Everton, for a fee estimated to be around £325,000. The veteran goalscorer was signed on a 6 month contract from January, with the hope that his know-how could poach Rushden some vital points.

Also joining on a short-term contract was Edgar Barreto from Atalanta, for £425,000. His experience in holding together the Paraguayan midfield was seen as potentially vital. Both players will be joining the club on January 1st; on that day, Rushden face Tottenham, one of Bent's former clubs.

However, with six weeks until their arrival, it was damage limitation time for Rushden; Franklin dispensed with his wingers to field a defensive 4-5-1 to try and stop the rot. Could they scrape together enough points to mount a survival challenge? Only time will tell.

(This isn't going very well, as you can see. However, I will be updating, I'm not going to let this all fall apart - if this team isn't good enough, I'm going back to the Championship to try again. If you read this, and you liked it, let me know. If you think it can be improved, let me know. Thanks!)

 

[flamindamon]

Unlucky about the results. But I especially like the Match of the Day theme, never seen a story with that before

 

[JoeyShinobi]

I will update this soon, the really real world is slightly in the way.

Thanks for all the positive comments so far - I'm trying to get into the habit of doing monthly updates!

 

[djh1878]

My best FM game ever started with the Diamonds in FM2008, got them to the Premiership from the Blue Square in 5 years - had a soft spot for the club ever since!

I'm following, good luck!

 

[jthamrun]

Great story mate, will be following

 

[DanWalsallFC]

Superb!

 

[Scarfake]

I just looked at your title and my instant thought was that you should hire Naomi Campbell as your assistant manager