bennymc2007

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I'm a Man Utd fan, and I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but when you choose to play as Man Utd on FM it's easy, way too easy. So much so, that if someone tells me they've won everything with Man Utd, it doesn't even surprise me, I don't care.

So for the latest version of FM, I decided to be bold and try a new team, I chose Spurs. They are however, a crock of sh*t and after 8 months with them I was unceremoniously sacked.

I was gutted, I even considered starting a new game with Man Utd to repair my tattered ego. But no, I ploughed on, I checked the job vacancies at every opportunity, I was prepared to take anything; Blue Square Premier League, MLS, I didn't care.

many months passed, but in January 2010 Northampton Town came knocking. I'd found my new home.
They were a rag-tag bunch of miscreants at the time, with very little money, terrible coaching staff and even worse facilities, not to mention the players. I knew I had a job on my hands to sort out this mess, but I wanted to repay the faith they'd shown in me.

Out with the old, I sacked 13 players to reduce the wage bill; mostly reserves on very little to start with, but every little helps. I signed better scouts and sent them around Britain to find some hidden treasures. One reported back on Zoltan Harsanyi, a Slovakian at Bolton Reserves looking for a new start, it was a risk, but I blew over half of my transfer budget on bringing him in; perhaps a Premier League player could turn this team around.

I also managed to broker a deal with Man Utd to become Northampton's parent club; HELLO FREE LOANS!

Securing a relatively comfortable 19th place in League One, I knew next season would be our year. It was a struggle, but by the end of 2011 Northampton had made the League One playoffs with a +30 goal difference thanks to Zoltan Harsanyi and Man Utd's Daniel Drinkwater, Corry Evans and Davide Petrucci; as well as Ben Amos in goal.
Easing through the semis against Cardiff, we faced Huddersfield in the final, a chance at a place in the Championship for the first time since 1966/67. An edgy 90 minutes followed, the only goal coming from substitute John Cunliffe (a liability all season), 1-0 will do.

Now it was all about staying up in the Championship, but a rag-tag squad of mid-table League One players wasn't going to be able to do that; the scouts were deployed again. A total of 29 players were brought in over the course of the season, including 14 free transfers, with 19 rejects going the opposite way. (£650k spent, £350k received)
A remarkably successful season followed, and 15th place was the reward.

Another season, another army of signings, the busiest transfer period in Northampton Town's history (probably). In total, 41 players joined over the year, and thanks to the sale of Harsanyi for £2.5m among others, and the Championship's TV money, Northampton Town's financial status was finally secured. Thanks to the new, talented blood in the mix, as well as the already built up core, Northampton rocketed to 11th place in the Championship; could the Premier League soon beckon?

Then the summer came, and sh*t hit the fan. Seemingly loyal players wanted out citing a desire to play for a "bigger club". "We want to match your ambition!" I cried in vain, but it was not to be. Rather than let the "bigger" clubs stomp all over our hard work however, I decided Northampton Town would not be taken for a ride. I demanded crazy money for players, and to my surprise, they were all accepted. the sale of only 6 key players brought in over £10m;
- Adam Osborn D R/L, signed for £6k, sold for £1.7m
- Eric Sanz M R, signed for £110k, sold for £1m
- Jesús M C, signed for free, sold for £2m (didn't want to sell him, but the board couldn't refuse a £1.2m bid, and so I offered him to everyone else for £2m; luckily he chose one of them and not the original accepted bid)
- Daniel Alcázar AM L, signed for £120k, sold for £2.5m
- Mushaga Bakenga S, signed for free, sold for £1m
- Paco Borrego D C, DM, M C, signed for free, sold for £2.5m

We were on cloud 9 financially, but what about the team? 6 players isn't a lot on paper, but it creates a huge dent in a side's ambitions to lose a dearth of players in one go. Taking a look at the squad however, I realised that the foundations of a strong Championship side were already there, despite the losses; all that was missing was a striker; in came 17 year old Paul Dawson for £4m. A risk, no doubt, but risks have paid off in the past for this team.

So now, with the 2011 January transfer window approaching, Northampton Town lie in 17th place in the Championship and things are looking up for the side. I hope to push for the Premier League within the next 5 years, by which time I'll have been in the hotseat for almost 10 years; good stuff.

One thing that really winds me up though is when players you've nurtured from when they were 17 and rotting in a Premier League reserve team want to move to a "bigger club". You're 20! Stay with us and help us win trophies!

But it could be worse, I could be at Man Utd, bored out of my mind at the ease of victory and the lack of challenges. COME ON YOU COBBLERS!
 
with all of those signings, Im surprised you can remember any of your squads names.
 
with all of those signings, Im surprised you can remember any of your squads names.

Most of them are to replenish the dead youth system. They're nearly all free's who I either groom into decent players and sell on or promote to the first team.

This season, spending 4m on Dawson is the first time I've spent big.
 
sorry mate i want you to get relegated cos being a posh fan i hate the wobblers lol
 
thats it mate your off my crhistmas card list lol
 
lol, I am currently managing a lot lower, with Braintree Town! Coming 6th in BSS. Congrats on doing so well with Northampton! Looking like you could make them a very successful club!
 
lol, I am currently managing a lot lower, with Braintree Town! Coming 6th in BSS. Congrats on doing so well with Northampton! Looking like you could make them a very successful club!

Yeah I'm really pleased at how things are going!

It's really hard to keep hold of the talent you've nurtured though, but it's fun to offer wantaways to clubs for stupid amounts only to see them accepted.
 
lol! Some of your sales were fairly amazing, even if the players were good you made a lot of money for them!
 
lol! Some of your sales were fairly amazing, even if the players were good you made a lot of money for them!

Yeah! I don't know if it's a bug, or the club's just have money to burn; but I figured these players aren't on the transfer list, and they're worth more to me than their actual value suggests, so I'll just make a crazy offer and see what happens.

It worked with Harsanyi first of all, and in fact I probably got ripped off for him when I thought I was doing the ripping off!

Since then, I've just tried it for the sake of trying. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
 
Yeah! Sounds like Harsanyi was class for you though!
 
Yeah! Sounds like Harsanyi was class for you though!

At first the fans hated him because he couldn't find his shooting boots; but by his second season they were loving him.

He bagged 26 goals in his first season in the Championship, and then he wanted to move to a bigger club. It sucked, because I didn't want to lose him, but there's no point in keeping a player who doesn't want to be there. the £2.5m was helpful, too, lol.
 
This is the current status if anyone cares. In fact, I don't care if nobody cares because I'm going to post anyway.

My superstar striker, Billy Lovell, wanted out. Rather than sell him, I doubled his wages. He cheered up. Towards the end of his season, he learned a preferred move I'd asked him to learn; placing shots. He got 7 goals in 2 games.
Because of Lovell's return to form, we rocketed up the table and even had a push at the playoffs. We ended in 7th place (the dreaded 7th), 3 points behind Portsmouth in 6th. Gutted, but confident about the team's future, I set about making some changes.

I sold Jószef Bán, a prone to mistakes central defender who'd done something of a Vidic and turned into a defensive rock by the end of the season, helping me push for the playoffs. Because of his rise, I squeezed £4.7m out of a French side for his services.

I also noticed that one of my youth products, a regen named Chris Bell, has performed superbly while on loan to Doncaster in League 2, and by the time he returned to the club, was almost as good as my current number 1, Jason Brown. With that in mind, I sold my talented (but not as good potentially as Bell) reserve keeper, Marek Stech, to Man City for a cool £5m.

Season 2014/15 has started with a bang, we've destoryed teams we struggled against last season, and only come unstuck twice so far; against Charlton Athletic (lost 1-0 away) and Norwich City (lost 2-0 away); other than that it's all wins and 2nd place in the league.

But even more exciting, I got this today;
sweeeeetgj1.jpg


How cool is that?!?! I could be looking at a mammoth transfer budget soon!
 
I don't know if anyone else cares but for the love of god keep me posted! Your game rocks! Well done! Premiership football :D:D:D:D:D
 
legend, I'm a cobbs fan, glad to know someone else gets as much pleasure as me managing the mighty Northampton Town up the table!

would love to know you opinions on how the squad play, and if any of the younger plaers in the starting squad are still with you

**** the posh!
 
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