It's About The Journey...

[Werrett]

Hello all and welcome to my new long-term Football Manager story where it's not about the final destination, but the journey itself. During this story I'm going to be taking you for a stroll as I document my climb from the bottom of the ladder to the top, but I'm not going to be using any custom made databases meaning I'll be starting in the Vanarama Conference North with Barrow AFC.

I'm not going to restrict myself to using a single club in a 'Road to Glory' attempt but will instead be open to offers from other teams if the move benefits me as a Manager.

As for the story itself, I'm going to be playing as myself. I'm hoping this will give the story more longevity as I don't have to research/look up information but an instead give you my own thoughts and opinions. But to make the save more interesting I will of course be starting from the very bottom, this means no badges, and Sunday League reputation (Being a Sunday League player myself).

I opted for the Tracksuit outlook as it gives me more influence over the fitness and the coaching in general during the early stages where coaches may not be affordable, but I have however given myself some good mental attributes as well. Don't be deceived by the adaptability, although it is set at 1 I'm not against the idea of managing abroad!

But moving on..

Just Who Exactly Are Barrow AFC?

Founded in 1901, Barrow AFC are a Semi-Professional club who currently play their football in the Vanarama Conference North, during the 2013-14 season they finished in 11th place, this was their first Conference North finish since being relegated from the Conference Premier the year before.

Barrow participate in fierce rivalries with clubs such as Morecambe and Workington.

Due to their classic kit colour combination of blue and white, Barrow AFC are known as "The Bluebirds".

Perhaps a sign of things to come..(Flying High)

Barrow AFC currently play their home games at Holker Street, a stadium that has a capacity of 4,414, 1000 of which are currently seated.

The record attendance for this stadium was 16,784 against Swansea City back in 1954 with the average sitting at around 900.

Barrow themselves enjoyed 50 years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972 but have since been residing in the top two non-league divisions. They have won the FA Trophy (The most prestigious non-league trophy) twice in 1990 and 2010, this makes them the only team to have won the trophy in both the old and new Wembley.

Paul Casson is the current Chairman of Barrow AFC having taken over the club back in Septeber 2014 for approximately £600,000.

Doesn't he just look delighted?

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I hope you'll enjoy reading this thread. I'm not 100% sure on how I'm going to present the content but it's something I'm looking into. Monthly updates are probable as they allow me to play through the seasons at a sufficient speed to keep the game ticking along.

If you're new to FM-Base and haven't read my old thread, find it here: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...0207-all-aboard-managerial-rollercoaster.html

Join 'The FM Addicts Community' on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/690798811032843/

Add me on Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/DermicsAW/

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[Werrett]

Assessing The Squad

Having just taken over at Barrow my first order of business was to assess the squad. To my delight we have a good squad here, plenty of talent in the attacking areas with plenty of solidity at the back. The only issue is the depth, there's not much depth here at the club meaning injuries will be all the more frustrating, which is why I'm setting out on adding some players to the team.

The weakest position overall is between the sticks, Tony McMillan and Aaran Taylor are extremely poor for this level which puts our promotion hopes at bay..If we're to succeed in the Conference North we're going to need to try our best to keep clean sheets, which is why a new #1 is my main priority!

In central defence we have two good candidates in Danny Liversey and Simon Grand, however these are the only central defenders at the club meaning we're going to need to add some depth there too.

The Full-back positions are looking good, we have plenty of depth and look like we can be a really strong side when attacking and defending down the flanks.

Alex Ray-Harvey, Sam Sheridan and Karl Ledsham will provide the strength in the middle of the park with a possibility of one or two extras to bolster the midfield, these players will be responsible for both attacking and defending meaning they are essentially the core of our team. A position I'm keen to improve!

As for our attacking players, things are looking much better! Danny Pilkington and on-loan Andy Hamworth will be providing the width down the right-wing with Johnny Gorman and Lewis Guy on the other side. All 4 of these players look capable of setting up, scoring and providing a constant threat from the wider positions so I'm delighted in that sense!

Finally, Andy Cook Jason Walker and Anthony Wilson will be the three players responsible for putting the ball i n the net, they all look very capable at this level and will be vital in helping us secure promotion back to the conference premier, but only time will tell if they're successful or not!

The notes I have gathered are that my main priorities lie solely on adding to the backbone of the team, a Goalkeeper, Central Defender, Central Midfielder and possibly an extra Striker are on the top of the list.

As for youth prospects, Liam Willis, Patrick Lacey and Alex Newby all look as though they could one day feature in my Barrow plans, but for now they'll be developing with the Under 21 squad, but they're definitely under my watch.

Tactic(s)

It's still early days for me but having assessed the squad, I feel that our best chances lie in utilising a form of 4-4-2..This formation allows for defensive solidity while providing an attacking threat with effectively 4 attacking players. There are gaps between the midfield and the attack/defence but hopefully at this level we won't find ourselves being exploited in those areas too often.

With Gorman and Pilkington/Hamworth looking incredibly good on the ball I've decided to move them into a more advanced wide-role. This allows for them to pick the ball up from midfield before either whipping in a cross, or attacking the box themselves.

I'm still messing with the roles and instructions, but I'm happy with the formation.

Pre-Season Schedule

With the tactic picked and the team assessed here's a look at how our pre-season is going to be set-out, so far I've already overseen the match against my U21s in which we won 2-1 but I played this early on to further allow me to analyse the team. But we now look to take on Burnley's Under 21's before playing Stocksbridge, Coagh United and Lancaster. While the results aren't overly important the pre-season will allow our players to bond, the tactics to gel and myself to become familiarised with the club.​

 

[Werrett]

Pre-Season

Heading into the pre-season I had a list of players I was hoping to bring in, but being in the Conference North finances are always going to be an issues, this is why I decided to seek an Affiliate Club, not only for the loan-signings but the financial benefits as well.

In the search for an affiliation my board suggested two clubs, Shrewsbury Town of the Football League Two and Peterborough United of the Football League One. I gave both a considerable amount of thought but figured the higher quality of facilities and finance meant that Peterborough would be a suitable long-term affiliation.

As you can see a £13.5k annual fee is nothing shabby at this level with the option to loan players in as well. My aim is to save as much money as possible so the free-signings will really help!

Transfers

With the affiliation of Peterborough United I decided to loan in Central Defender Ricardo Santos and Attacking Midfielder Liam Marshall, these two players will help strengthen the depth in the core of our team with former Manchester United prospect James Derbyshire coming in on a Free Transfer to bolster the midfield.

Sadly we've been unable to sign a suitable Goalkeeper but a lot could change between now and the end of the window so I'll be sure to keep you updated!

No players have left the club as of yet.

Staff Changes

In terms of changes to the backroom staff, John Milton and George Rooney have come in to help the Scouting department, with 3 scouts now at the club we have a much higher chance of locating some hidden gems!

Obviously Darren Edmondson left his role at the club with me coming in as the replacement but Neil Doherty has also left to take up a Head of Youth Development role with Eastleigh. I offered him a new deal in hopes of tying him to the club but ultimately was unable to keep him.

Results

Pre-Season itself went very well, we only lost one of our 5 matches which was to Lancaster away from home, but we managed to pick up 3 victories and a draw. The team played very well and the tactic seems to be working well but we'll have to wait until the competitive fixtures for a proper analysis.

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Season Objectives - 2014/15

Vanarama Conference North - Achieve Promotion
FA Cup - Reach the First Round (Surpass Qualifying)
FA Trophy - Stay competitive, at least 2nd round.

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As for the content, it'll either be monthly updates or one every 10-15 games depending on how things go!
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[roberdooo]

Loved the Roller coaster story, looking forward to this. Just a note on your tactic, Wouldn't it be better to swap your striker roles so that the attacking winger makes runs off the target man.

 

[Werrett]

Loved the Roller coaster story, looking forward to this. Just a note on your tactic, Wouldn't it be better to swap your striker roles so that the attacking winger makes runs off the target man.

Glad you enjoyed that thread, just felt it was time for a change! I reckon you're right there, but I did make the tactic at 1am so you'll have to excuse the mistakes, I'll change it when I next go on! Thanks for noticing.

 

[Hireax]

Awesome to see a new career from you mate. I'm currently attempting LLM myself, although in tier 9 with an extension. Will follow this with keen interest

 

[Enrico Pucci]

Good luck. I've always had fun navigating the nether regions of the English lower leagues!

 

[AJ0207]

Definitely be following this, best of luck!

 

[Werrett]

Awesome to see a new career from you mate. I'm currently attempting LLM myself, although in tier 9 with an extension. Will follow this with keen interest

That sounds like a good challenge! I thought about going with my local team King's Lynn Town in the Northern Premier but went against it! Keep me updated on your progress and thanks for the comment!

Good luck. I've always had fun navigating the nether regions of the English lower leagues!

Must be hard to fit LLM in with your story on the run! Been a fantastic read I must say, keeps me entertained at College! Thanks for the kind words.

Definitely be following this, best of luck!

Thanks friend, hopefully it'll be a good adventure!

 

[JamesScott2908]

Love a good LLM story! Look forward to the updates!

 

[Werrett]

For anyone who's wondering where the updates have been..Well..Something happened yesterday.

I was roughly 18 games in with the first update coming up at the mid-way point but once again I've been stopped in my tracks by save corruption. I don't ever back-up saves which ultimately puts me at risk so I can only blame myself.

My only question now is whether I really want to start it all up again or whether I'll make a new story..

There's thinking to be done!

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[Lippo255]

Just cant catch a break mate, whichever way you go look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Werrett]

Just cant catch a break mate, whichever way you go look forward to hearing more from you.

It's been a terrible week for me, haha! This has really knocked the stuffing out of me but I'll ponder my next move.

 

[xJamieWilliams]

It's getting us all! haha, really has stopped my motivation to do updates they mine did it 3 times! I will be following whatever you do