I Like My FM With A Side of Realism

[iamauser]

Pre-game info

So I have decided to jump pretty much into the deep end on this years version. I have spent about 4 hours doing pre-season with Liverpool learning all the new features, and now I am going straight into an unemployed save. I am going to try and keep things as realistic as possible, usually doing whats in the best interest of me as a manager, not just the club I am managing.

Database

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Me - The Manager

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So this is me. A 21 year old manager who has played 2 Sunday league matches in his lifetime. I am a Liverpool and Brighton fan, so I am hoping I will be able to manage them at some stage over this career. In terms of manager style, I went one towards the tracksuit manager, with my best attributes being attacking coaching and determination.

So with everything set up, lets find out where I start!

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[iamauser]

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So at the start of the save these were the job available. There were only a few clubs which were looking to hire a new manager, and even less which would even think of hiring me. I also wanted to start my management career in England as I am most familiar with the leagues and players.

A month later I was offered interviews at both Alfreton Town and Bristol Rovers. Unfortunately both of my applications were unsuccessful. I decided to give it another month for a job to come up in England before looking elsewhere.

And I am glad I did, as I got an interview with Bromley, who offered me a contract just a few days later. I managed to negotiate myself a one year deal on £475 p/w. Now my story starts properly!

 

[iamauser]

Bromley First Day

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The first thing I need to do straight away is bring in an assistant manager. Without one, it is going to be very difficult to gauge the quality of my players. There is also a very high number of injuries, so once I do get an assistant come in I will need to bring in a few players on loan or on a free. With just £400 p/w left on wages, I am going to have to negotiate really well to get 3-4 players in.

Tactics

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I have decided to go with a fairly simple 5-3-2 formation, with very limited instructions. I feel that at the lower levels the less instructions you give, the better your players perform. I am hoping that we will have a solid defence that will look to instigate quick counter attacks and let the strikers get the goals.

I am also being thrown straight into the fray, having a game against Eastbourne Boro on day 2 at the club​

 

[Aannddyy]

I love stories like this I'm starting my own unemployed save soon and reading this has really urged me to get it going now!

 

[davegutt0512]

Good luck, doing a similar story currently, Did well at it in 2013, failed miserably last year though.

 

[iamauser]

I think if the fans could chose any word to describe my opening month in charge, I think they would say exciting. Perhaps not always our fans, but none the less. We played 7 games over November, and there were 5 goals on average per game! We had 2 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses which has left us 15th in the table. We also progressed to the first round of the FA Trophy.

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Eastbourne Boro 4 - 3 Bromley

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Not the start I wanted, but offensively at least we played well. Nortei Nortey (LOL!) got us off to a great start, but we were unable to capitalise on it, and ended up losing the match by a goal.

Bromley 4 - 2 Hemel Hempstead

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I decided to immediately change my formation after the first game after noticing that crosses seem to work well in the lower leagues. Now sporting a 5-4-1 formation, we played much better, and striker Birchall got himself on the scoresheet twice.

Hayes & Yeading 1 - 0 Bromley

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The lowest scoring game of the month was one which we lost. Hayes & Yeading were dominant all game, and it was perhaps surprising that they only scored one goal.

Basingstoke 5 - 2 Bromley

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Our biggest loss so far was against Basingstoke. Despite the scoreline, it was a very evenly contested game, but Basingstoke took their chances while my team didnt.

Bromley 2 - 2 Sutton Utd

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Birchall got us off to a good start once again putting us in the lead after just 9 minutes. Sutton went on to have to better chances, and took one of them to make them 1-1. After Amankwaah got sent off on 45 minutes, we pushed forward and managed to make it 2-1. A long freekick in the dying minutes undid us though and the game ended 2-2.

Bromley 3 - 3 Bishop's Stortford

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Another great game for the neutrals, but not so much for me. Sykes has a superb game for Bishop's Stortford and got himself a hattrick. Ademola pick up a serious injury which will keep him out for 2-3 months.

Bromley 3 - 1 Dorchester (FA Trophy)

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Adam Birchall managed to get us back to winning ways with his eleventh and twelfth goals of the season. This result saw us progress to the first round of the FA Trophy ​

 

[minergy]

Nice start and good luck!


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[iamauser]

Things took a turn for the worst after an average start to my managing career. We only managed to win won game this month, and lost three and drew one. Every game we lost had one goal in it. Amazingly, we are averaging almost 2 goal a game, and yet we are still not winning! My job position is already precarious, so it could be a short stint at my first club.

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St. Albans 3 - 2 Bromley (FA Trophy)

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Once again the magnificent Birchall couldnt save us from defeat in the FA trophy against St. Albans. After being 1-0 up in the first half it was very disappointing to then concede 3 in the second 45.

Weston-Super-Mare 3 - 2 Bromley

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Another game, another 3-2 defeat. Birchall wasnt on form today, and squandered several chances which could have got us a win

Concord Rangers 2 - 2 Bromely

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Once again Birchall gets himself on the scoresheet. He has been an excellent players so far, and is keeping me in job single-handedly at times. A tough fought battle this one, but a draw was a fair result.

Bromley 0 - 1 Wealdstone

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Another poor game against an overachieving Wealdstone side. My players lost their discipline towards the end of the match, and got 2 red cards in the space of a minute.

Bromley 3 - 2 St. Albans

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We finally managed to end our 7 winless run streak in the league against St. Albans. Once again Birchall got on the scoresheet twice. A change of formation also helped out this game too, switching to a 3-5-2 seemed to work very well.

League Table

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[Lippo255]

Still doing this mate?
Really enjoying the start & looking forward to more.

 

[iamauser]

Still doing this mate?
Really enjoying the start & looking forward to more.

Yes it is mate Had a busy week so not had time to update it.

 

[iamauser]

SACKED!

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So my first time as manager has come to an end after some disappointing performances at Bromley. After winning just 1 game in January, the board set me a target of winning 4 of my next 5 games. It started off with a 4-4 draw, followed by a 5-2 and 1-0 victory. Things were looking positive in the 4th game too, being 2-0 up in the 85th minute against Sutton Utd. Then, disaster. 2 last minute goals from Sutton meant that we were no longer able to reach the target set by the board.

I was rather gutted as we were starting to play well. Birchall was out injured throughout all of January, was showing why he was missed so much and got 4 goals in the final 4 games.

So now I am jobless, where will I end up next?​

 

[iamauser]

Back in the Fray

I wasnt out of work for too long, with just 9 days between being sacked and finding a new job. The most ironic thing is that I am being hired by the club that got me sacked in the first place! I was set the target of reaching the play-offs by the new chairman, which I think should be achievable. Sutton Utd are currently in 7th place in the league, 6 points behind 5th place.

In terms of my contract, we agreed a one year deal worth £575 p/w, with a bonus of £3k for reaching the play-offs, and a 15% wage rise for promotion and 35% drop if we get relegated.

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​

 

[iamauser]

I could not have asked for a better start at Sutton Utd after the disappointment of being sacked. 4 games, 3 wins, 1 draw and 19 goals scored! There are now just 5 games left of the season, and we have 5 points to make up to reach the play-off position. It is going to be difficult, as I need the teams above me to lose twice. All we can do is win our remaining matches. I have also found a Lower League Beast, Zane Banton, who you will see in a minute.

Sutton Utd 4 - 0 Hayes & Yeading

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I could not have asked for a better start at my new club. A 4-0 win against Hayes & Yeading. Banton was the man of the match getting himself two goals

Bishop's Stortford 0 - 3 Sutton Utd

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Another good performance and another clean sheet. Once again Banton got himself on the scoresheet and got the Man of the match award.

Sutton Utd 8 - 1 Gosport

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My best game so far on FM15! 8-1! Zane Banton what a beast. 5 goals and a perfect 10 rating. Anyone in the lower leagues must sign him. I have a feeling my luck is changing now. Hopefully we can reach that play-off position.

Eastbourne Boro 4 - 4 Sutton Utd

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Another high scoring game, but one that didnt quite work in our favour. Zane Banton once again got himself on the scoresheet, taking his tally to 9 goals in 4 games under my management. It was disappointing we couldnt quite hold on until the end, with Williamson getting a last minute equaliser for Eastbourne Boro.

League Table

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Zane Banton

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If you can, sign him up! Im playing him in the poacher role and he has been epic. Hopefully he will keep up his amazing form until the end of the season. His contract with Luton expires in the summer so I am hoping I will be able to pick him up on a free.




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[iamauser]

We did it! We managed to make the play-offs. And I am yet to lose a game as manager of Sutton Utd. 9 games played, 7 wins and 2 draws. The highlight of the month has to be the impressive 6-1 victory over league champions Bath. That result left us needing a win in our final game against Maidenhead, which we managed to do by 5 goals to 3. That set us up a play-off game against Wealdstone.

Sutton Utd 7 - 1 Chelmsford

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Jamie Smith was the star of this game getting himself a hattrick and an assist. Banton is still on fire though, who also got himself another two goals to add to his tally.

Boreham Wood 3 - 3 Sutton Utd

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It was a last gasp effort against Boreham Wood. It was our turn to get 2 goals in the dying embers of the match. Captain Spillaine set up the enthralling finale, with loanee Alec Raeburn getting the equaliser in the 92nd minute.

Sutton Utd 2 - 1 Basingstoke

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A fairly tame match by recent standards. Banton got the winner of the game.

Bath 1 - 6 Sutton Utd

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When I saw this game, I thought that was our quest for the play-offs over. Bath had already won the league, and were now playing for fun. I was shocked when we came away with a 6-1 victory! Banton was once again the star of the match, getting himself a hattrick.

Sutton Utd 5 - 3 Maidenhead

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With 3 teams all on level points fighting for the last 2 play-off spots, this was a must win game, and win we did. Banton got another 2 goals, meaning that he has scored in every game he has played in for far under my management. That takes his total to 18 in just 12 games.

League Table

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So this is what the final league table looks like. Im very pleased with a 4th place finish. It is also nice to see Birchall finish as top goalscorer.


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[iamauser]

They ******' bottled it! All that effort the lads put in over the last games of the season was wasted by a shocking performance in the play-offs. We drew the first leg 2-2, followed by a disgusting 4-1 loss in the second. The lads just didnt look bothered. I told them exactly what I thought after such a poor performance. Why did you first loss of the season have to come now. Not happy!

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[iamauser]

Just had a bug where my managers stats have randomly become amazing. Only happened over pre-seasons but its really bugged me. Hoping it doesnt make the game too easy from now on.

 

[iamauser]

Ok, as I have monthly saves on, I have gone back a month and they are fixed. As I havent uploaded any pre-season/transfers I will go back a month and hope that it is all fixed

 

[lfcepic]

Unlucky on the play-offs mate! Have you managed to get Banton back?

 

[minergy]

Unlucky mate, good luck for next season. Banton looks a beast!!


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[iamauser]

Unlucky on the play-offs mate! Have you managed to get Banton back?

Unfortunately not. Luton renewed his contract and wont loan him back to me