London City FC - A City On The Rise

[Tracz]

Its gonna be close mate.
Im hoping you can drag a few more teams in to the mix,
As i dont want you or ipswich to go down.
On a side note, how have ipswich been doing in your save?

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Keep chipping away mate, it's very tense and can't wait to see how it pans out.

The board would never sack you if you did go down would they??

 

[dani3w]

It sure will be close Tracz we can just do all we can and hope thats enough come the end of the season. Time will tell. I've not go the game loaded right now, I think Ipswich have just been in the Championship all along, I'll double check next time and let you know.

Thanks neavie pops23 we're doing all we can at this stage. I don't think they'd sack me, after all our season expectations were to try and 'attempt to avoid relegation' so the board know its a huge possibility.

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London City FC - March 2029[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]We're into the penultimate month of league action now, well full league action as we have the usual one match in May which will be put into Aprils update. Things are extremely tight down the bottom end still and I think there are still five or six teams that are involved in this relegation battle and we're obviously one of those. Five league games awaited us throughout March and there were plenty of 'lower end' clashes which we really need to take advantage from, but could we...[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]We may now be a Championship club, in the second tier of English football but our regen intake and youth days remain rubbish. Our facilities are a long way behind our competitiors and non of these players and likely to make it at this club or ever in this tier.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Well it wasn't a show stopping month, but nor was it one for the bin! We produced a couple good results to try and help our relegation fight this summer. The month kicked off in fantastic style as we shocked Derby County winning two nil at home, Oliveira and Vernon both netting for us. We then narrowly lost out against Fulham before holding Doncaster to a draw, we were reduced to ten men after just fifteen minutes here, still took the lead through Allen but conceded late on, had we held on to all three points we could of dragged them into the relegation battle and tightened things up. And then we blew an early lead against Mansfield, a club just one position above us in the table. O'Loughlin sent us ahead after three minutes but the traveling side hit back twice to take a two one win, easing their own relegation fears. Finally we ended the month by welcoming Ipswich, a game we simply had to get something from. The boys sure did deliver, a two one victory with goals from Oliveira and Allen secured victory for us.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]We're up to twentieth and are set to survive if it was to finish today. However its not, we've got another seven league games over the next five weeks and that'll bring a close to our first ever season in the Championship. As it stands we are three points clear of the drop zone, a good lead to have but not an unbreakable one, our goal difference is slightly worse off than Leeds too so we're by no means safe yet. Nor are the likes of Rotherham, Blackburn, and Doncaster.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - April 2029[/FONT]

 

[bashuijsmans]

Amazing story! Just caught up entirely during studying for my exams. Are there more former Premier League clubs dropped down a couple of leagues like Sunderland?

 

[ChaosBanana]

Made an account on this page just to reply to this Fantastic save, only just got the game myself but I'm really enjoying it! Started my first save with Stalybridge Celtic and it is tough in the Vanarama, any tips for playing with a team that is attempting to avoid relagation? As far as signings and tactics go? Thanks and keep this story up!

 

[dani3w]

Tracz I just looked and Ipswich were relegated from the Championship in the 2019/2020 season and spent two years in League One finishing 8th then 7th before winning the league in 2022/23 to return to the Championship.

Well I hope your exams go well bashuijsmans if not, blame me and the London City FC story! Not really, Wigan, Villa and Birmingham are also all in League One, Sunderland didn't even win the league this year either, but are in the playoffs.

Thanks ChaosBanana its always great hearing new people are signing up just based on my story! Hopefully you have a successful stint with Stalybridge Celtic, I found the Vanarama leagues very tough. My tips are simply to ask the board for as many scouts as you can and get them out there finding players, thats the only way I've done it!

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London City FC - April 2029[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]Here we go then, the final month, the final seven league games of the season and boy, are they season defining games, we either stay up or go down with a fight this season. We've performed well following back to back promotions and proved to the rest of the pack we wouldn't go down without a fight. A month lay ahead where we had perhaps an easier fixture list on the cards. I gave a team meeting at the start of the month, told the boys to fight, show some passion, now it was time to see if they could deliver on the pitch and keep us in the second tier of English football.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]What a month, what a superb response from the boys after the team meeting!! Incredible.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] We showed some brilliant fighting spirit to lose just once in our last eight games this season. A trip to Brentford to kick off March saw us beat them one nil as Borukov scored. Another trip saw us go to Preston and beat them by the same scoreline, Oliveira was our goalscorer this time. Three home games followed, a nil nil against Barnsley first up, seven days later welcoming near relegated Sheffield United, who we smashed four nil and then beating Norwich who are only just outside the drop zone, Whiteman (pen) and a Borukov brace helped secure that victory. We finished the season with two away games, failing to win both, losing to QPR one nil then drawing with Rotherham, another side near the drop zone, this was surely enough...[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Not only did we survive, but we finished up in fourteenth![/FONT][FONT=&quot] It seems all the other clubs around us 'collapsed' towards the end of the season and this saw us jump the pack and clear ourselves from the relegation threat. Sheffield United obviously went down, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Doncaster picked up just one point in their last seven games[/FONT][FONT=&quot]and were relegated, whilst [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Ipswich also go down for the second time in four or seasons despite getting eleven points from their last seven matches[/FONT][FONT=&quot]. Amazingly all three of us that were promoted last season survive our first season in the Championship as Lincoln finish nineteenth, Mansfield finish fifteenth and we top them in fourteenth. At the other end of the table Bristol City win the league, QPR join them in promotion, finishing behind them by a one goal difference and Huddersfield, Brentford, Millwall and Middlesbrough all go head to head in the playoffs.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - Pre Season Round Up 2029[/FONT]

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Knew you'd be fine mate, 14th is a great finish.

 

[NathanITFC]

Quality end to the season, comfortable mid table finish in the end in your first year in the championship is some feat! Looking forward to seeing your summer transfers and how your second season goes. On a down note, gutted to see the tractor boys relegated

 

[wexfordtoffee]

Just read all this story in work last few days. Just finished amazing story. great how far you have brought London city from Non-league to the Championship. Keep it going Premier league champions within 5 years surely.

havnt bought FM 17 (hopefully next few weeks) yet still playing a save on 16 that i started in Ireland in lower league with Wexford Youths (my hometown team) moved club few times currently at Everton(my club) so enjoying it but im only in 2026 i think could be wrong 2027 but a question how are you getting through so many seasons so quick :O are you watching the match on 3D or are you using instant result. i know you were lying up with an injury (hope your recovered now) but where you playing 24 hours a day ha. i cant seem to get through seasons as quick as some people on here

also this is making me want to write a story & started lower league. never wrote a story to be honest only playing since 2012 im a late developer to FM & always struggled with lower league games but this is truly a great story so im thinking i might try on FM 17.

anyway Great story looking forward to more updates

 

[ChaosBanana]

Great finish to the season! Knowing this club I expect you'll be topping the table next season

 

[Tracz]

Great end to the season mate. Well done on the big 3-1 win over the scumbags norwich.
Hopefully you can kick on next season maybe push for playoffs.
Sad news about ipswich, it seems like the way we are going in real life.
Are teddy bishop and andre dozzel still there?

 

[dani3w]

I was surprised just how well we did finish neavie pops23


Thanks NathanITFC this'll be a big step forward for us and hopefully a summer the club can grow. Unfortunately this marks the second time Ipswich are relegated on this save.

Wow thanks Wexfordtoffee I'm always thankful when new people read the story to catch up and find out whats going on, must of taken you a while though. Not expecting a Premier League crown any time soon thats for sure. Promotion to the top tier in the net four seasons is the aim. I play the games on 'only commentary' then just have goal replays on, I don't tend to watch the whole game and I did have a lot of time to play the last month lets be honest. Be good to see you develop a story.

Thanks ChaosBanana I'm not so sure on that though, the media tip us to go down again

Thanks again Tracz, it ended up being an important win and run of fixtures for us somehow. I'm not expecting a playoff push this season, think the ending to last season was some what lucky but we shall see, I'm targeting the top flight within the next four seasons with any luck. Teddy Bishop is now a 33yo free agent, he left Ipswich for Watford in 2020 then joined Burnley in 2026. Andre Dozzell has been all over the place at Everton, Walsall, Sheff United, Fulham, Bournemouth, Bradford City, Fulham again, Crystal Palace, Coventry and now Premier League side Bristol City.

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London City FC - Pre Season Round Up 2029​

I have rather enjoyed this summer just gone, not really sure why as nothing really changed especially compared to last season. However I feel we have moved forward over the summer months both as a club and as players on the pitch as we look to try and top our fourteenth place finish last season. A busy summer transfer wise, news wise and on the pitch. I was just hoping we could start the season a little better this season around to bring a more enjoyable season than the relegation battle we went though over the last nine months of that season.

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It looks like we could be moving home again. Due to our crowd growing and the supporters now flocking in to see London City FC play week in week out the board have decided to begin searching on a new investor and a new site to build the stadium. Surely it has to be named after me. As long as it has plenty of capacity expansion available as we'll be big time one day!

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Even more good news to come out of the summer, the board have agreed to my constant nagging over the youth facilities and we're going to see some upgrades to it over the next few months. The youth facilities are finally getting a lick of paint, actually, I'm hoping its a little more than that, they're getting an upgrade thats for sure. Our Junior budget and youth recruitment process is also being improved. A busy few months ahead for the club.

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Our league finish last season saw the club earn £5.25million if I remember correctly, this took the club from almost two million pounds in the red back to two and a half million in the black or so. We've spent a bit now in the transfer window and the club upgrades above but its nice to be heading forward financially. Won't be long til we're back in the black though I'm sure.

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Onto the transfer window and once again we've made profit in it. Steve Webb, who was considered one of our better defenders by my scout but personally on stats I didn't think he was, has joined Doncaster for five hundred thousand pounds whilst three players leave on free transfers and Connor Cymond retires from football. Coming in this summer saw two loan deals, a free transfer and two transfers costing us money however Joshua Webb and Bert Schepens are definitely big gains for a club like us.

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Here are all the new men this summer. Joshua Webb isn't the youngest defender, at thirty four he does offer us plenty of experience at the back though. William Bolton, also in to strengthen the back line, will gain some much needed first team action from League One Sunderland and will be used as a rotational player. Victor is a good find in my eyes, a strong defensive midfield to sure things up in that hole and a bargain on a free deal. Schepens and McGregor's stats talk for themselves, they'll both be very strong additions to us going forward this season.

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Our squad is beginning to grow in size again this season which should give us plenty of capacity to rotate the side when we can although I doubt that'll be very often if its anything like last season. Our squad is much stronger this season than it was last season though so I'm hoping we are going to take small, pigeon steps forward this year, hopefully beating our fourteenth place finish last season.

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In my eyes this is a strong summer on the pitch for us. We won five out of six of our friendlies, most of them were easy games for us getting the team ready for the new season however the victory over Belenenses was a surpising one, although shouldn't be losing to Bury. Onto the new season, lets see how we can cope.

Next Update: London City FC - August 2029

 

[dani3w]

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London City FC - August 2029[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]Following my enjoyable summer, seeing some money back in the club and seeing the chairman finally pave way to some new youth facilities it seems like its all systems go at the moment here at London City FC. We survived our first ever season in the Championship last season and now faced our second season here. August would throw us up six matches, four of those in the League with the remaining two in the EFL Cup, so you can already guess we've advanced through one round, but here is all you need to know from August.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]I'd say thats a more than adequate start to our second season in the Championship, two wins from four league games along with two wins in the EFL Cup to see us reach the Third Round. The season began at home against Mansfield who, like us, done well to survive last season, we beat them comfortably here though three nil. McGregor, Allen and Oliveira netting, a solid win and start to the season with a clean sheet. We knocked out League Two side Dartford from the EFL Cup First Round, but required an extra time goal from Johnston to seal the win, Bolton had given us the lead early on. Back to the league, promotion chasing Middlesbrough beat us two one before Millwall beat us at home one nil. A trip to Leeds saw us take our chances and beat them five nil! McGregor hit a brace whilst Johnston, Ali and Samuel also found the net. We finished the opening month of the season with a one nil win away at Brentford in the EFL Cup Second Round. Benkassou scoring to seal our spot in the Third Round where we'll face another Championship side in Norwich.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Middlesbrough top the league early on, unbeaten with four wins from four on the board so far this season. We're flying high up in seventh place with six wins from our opening four matches. Its been a very strong start to the season, I'm obviously not expecting this to continue nor us to stay this high, but its a good start getting some serious early points on the table.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - September 2029[/FONT]

 

[dani3w]

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London City FC - September 2029[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]A strong start to the season was made in August as we hit a fifty percent win rate from our opening four league games and were in the Third Round of the EFL Cup where we'd play our fellow Championship side Norwich. A great chance for us to progress to the Fourth Round this month whilst we also faced five more league games. Could we continue the strong form we've shown off the blocks this season.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]The green dots continue to fly in over the season as we go through another month with four more wins and just the two defeats. Five league games saw three wins and two defeats whilst we've progressed through the EFL Cup again. We welcomed MK Dons saw us narrowly win the five goal thriller as Johnston struck twice and Smith also found the target. A trip to Fulham saw us lose two nil before returning home and beating Barnsley by a single goal to nil, that being an own goal. Our second and final draw over September saw us lose to newly promoted Aston Villa, Schepens had netted a penalty for us to level the scores. A trip to fellow Championship side Nrowich saw us require extra time again to progress. Borukov gave us the lead nineteen minutes from time, Norwich leveled buy Smith netted a penalty a minute into injury time. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]We'll face a trip to Arsenal in the EFL Cup Fourth Round[/FONT][FONT=&quot]. The month ended with a surprise come back win over Derby. We trailed early on before Allen leveled for us. We fell behind again before the break. Second half we came back through McGregor twelve minutes from time before Benkassou netted late on.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]I'm not quite sure how, but we're flying up in the playoffs this season so far. Nine league games in and we're up in fifth place with fifteen points alreaedy this season. We have a game in hand which is against Everton which could see us move up to fourth if we can win it. Again, I'm still not expecting us to remain up here, but we'll enjoy it whilst we are.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - October 2029[/FONT]

 

[dani3w]

[FONT=&quot]London City FC - October 2029[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]We're flying into October with our league position its highest its ever been, we were fifth in the Sky Bet Championship although it was only early days of course. Another busy month for us was October and I was expecting it to be a tough one for us looking at the fixture list heading into the month. We had five league games to face which included Everton and Hull, whilst also traveling to Arsenal in the EFL Cup near the end of the month.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]And a tricky month it was with us picking up just two wins from six matches through October. A trip to Goodison Park saw us lose out against Everton one nil. Back at home we beat Lincon three two, a game which saw McGregor strike twice and Schepens also find the net. But it was nothing consistant as Brentford beat us one nil when we traveled their fourteen days later. A draw then followed as we traveled to Hull before returning home and picking up a needed win as we beat Cardiff two nil with second half goals from Schepens and Benkassou. But the month ended sourly but as expected as we traveled to premier League giants Arsenal in the EFL Cup Fourth Round, they stuffed us five nil, with all five goals coming in the second half. Just now hope I [/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]We're on the decline now this season with us down to seventh in the league however it really isn't a big problem especially at this stage of the season, we just need to continue doing what we already are this season and we'll be fine, surviving is our main aim again as the media tip us to finish bottom anyway.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - November 2029[/FONT]

 

[ChaosBanana]

I told you! London City ceases to surprise Poor Everton :/

 

[NathanITFC]

Decent start to the season and some shrewd signings. I was looking at getting Connor Dyamond and Ben Whiteman for Kidderminster whilst in the conference and league 2, nice to see that they remained with you until the second year of the championship .

 

[dani3w]

Long way to go yet ChaosBanana


Thanks NathanITFC a couple of our signings look standouts for us this year around. Good to see we're considering some of the same players.

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London City FC - November 2029[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]With us doing well this season in the league but now out the EFL Cup it was time to turn full attention back to league action for the next two months. We finished the month of October with a heavy five nil defeat away at Arsenal. With just three league games in November it was time to see if it would of affected our confidence and form this season.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]A nightmare month, failing to win any of our three league matches we faced. A trip to Nottingham Forest saw us lose three nil before returning home to lose two nil against West Brom. And it didn't get any better, we lost to Norwich four one to end the month, Oliveira netted our only goal of the whole month.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Another drop in our league position as we move down to thirteenth after seventeen league games. We have twenty two points on the board at the moment. We're only eight points outside the relegation zone so its still fairly tight down the bottom end of the table. We do have an easier month on paper coming up so with any luck can improve things a little through December.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - December 2029[/FONT]

 

[Brane_Orsou]

You have a few points on board already and more than last season. With a few tweaks and maybe a new face or two in Jan you can pick up again and go for another push. Strengthen your hold on mid table this season and the playoffs next season, after all this is your 3rd season of 5 to get into the premier for my bet and I don't lose bets on London City FC

 

[dani3w]

Thanks again neavie pops23 this season has gone very well so far and it'd be very good if we can continue this sort form for the remainder of the season. It is indeed, not sure we'll make those playoffs next year, but if we can strengthen we've got a chance.

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London City FC - December 2029[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]Another calendar year is coming to an end and we're now waving goodbye to the '20s as December is our final month of 2029. December saw things get much busier too after the three game month that was November, we now faced seven games over the wintery month and all in the league as well. [/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]What a month for us, bouncing back from three straight defeats in November to win five of our seven matches throughout December along with two defeats. A win against struggling Blackburn saw Johnson net twice and Oliveira also on target as we won three one. Next up a trip to another struggling side, this time Preston who we beat two nil thanks to a second half Oliveira brace. Two sides above us next and both beating us, Rotherham come to us to win one nil whilst Crystal Palace welcomed us and romped us four nil. But we ended the calendar year with three straight wins which saw sixteen goals, us scoring eleven of those. A three two win came against Mansfield, Oliveira, McGregor and Smith netting for us, Smiths goal just three minutes from time to secure the win. Our final away trip of the year saw us beat Bournemouth four two, Oliveira netting first, Johnston and Allen both netting within a minute of each other before Schepens netted our fourth late on. Finally ending the year with a home game welcoming Wigan and scoring four for the second game running. Oliveira netted his sixth goal in seven games throughout December whilst Chris Smith netted two in five minutes of the second half, O'Loughlin finally scoring and breaking his long drought.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Climbing back up the league table. We end the 2029 calendar year up in eighth place of the Sky Bet Championship. Admittedly we're only nineteen points off the top two but of course thats not something we're targetting especially this season. Four points outside the playoffs, perhaps again not a realistic aim but a strong midtable finish could be on the cards, twenty two league games remaining this season, aiming to stay in the division and with any luck, beat our previous best finish of fourteenth.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - January 2030[/FONT]