Sir Alex Ferguson: The Career

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014

CUP PROGRESS BUT LEAGUE STRUGGLES


First Division

East Stirlingshire 1 v 1 Livingston
Sally

Morton 1 v 0 East Stirlingshire

East Stirlingshire 0 v 3 Hibs

East Stirlingshire 3 v 3 Falkirk
Stirling, Gilfillan, Sally

East Stirlingshire 1 v 2 Ayr
Gilfillan

Rangers 2 v 0 East Stirlingshire


Table

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Our season goals has been decided by our early form – SURVIVIAL! There will be no miracle at East Stirlingshire again this year, unless of course that miracle is surviving relegation.
__________________________________

Challenge Cup

3rd​ Rnd
Albion Rovers 1 v 4 East Stirlingshire
Sally(3), Raofat

Semi Final
Dunfermline 5 v 2 East Stirlingshire
Pettigrew, Gilfillan

________________________________

Scottish Cup

3rd​ Rnd
Berwick 0 v 5 East Stirlingshire
Shepherd, Sally(2), Gilfillan(2)

……draw for the next round: CELTIC AWAY!
___________________________________________

How the others are doing…

St Mirren – 8th​, predicted 9th
Aberdeen – 4th​, predicted 3rd
Man Utd – 2nd​, predicted 2nd
​
 
DTodd said:
Awryt mate really good story ;) keep up the good work :) how's Rhys devlin doing for you? A went eh school with him and was wondering how good he is ?
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He left in the summer on a free. Shame because he was one of my better performers in Div Three and Div Two

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gogogo golem said:
Doing really well considering your rep and resources.
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Was a better than expected start but struggling now!
 
This story/career is suspended indefinitely until either the match engine is fixed or someone releases a tactic that combats its many many bugs.

Opposition players with long shot and finishing stats of 3 or 4 burying goals from 40 yards out.
CBs told to man mark a specific striker yet run away, thats right away, from him as someone passes him the ball.
My CBs must not know the rules of football either as they seem afraid to enter the 6 yard box especially when the opposition winger is crossing from byline.
...etc etc etc

IF I EVER BUY ANOTHER FM AGAIN (AND ITS A BIIIIG IF AT THIS STAGE) THEN IT WILL BE BOUGHT AROUND FEBRUARY TIME WHEN THE GAME IS FULLY PATCHED AND ACTUALLY PLAYABLE! #rantover
 
So after discovering a way to make FM13 playable for the foreseeable future until it is patched (I watch matches in commentary only or in 2D, that way you can’t actually see the awful defensive and ME flaws ;-)) I have ploughed on with this save.

Note: I’m several years ahead of where I left off so updates will be short and sweet on an annual basis. Doing stories/career updates I’ve noticed you spend as much time writing the updates as you do actually playing the game.

So……..

SEASON 3 – EAST STIRLINGSHIRE – SCOTTISH DIVISION ONE

Table

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After a mammoth almost season-long fight with relegation we managed to hit good form right at the death (Wigan-style) and BEAT THE DROP! A fantastic achievement considering two seasons ago we were the whipping boys of the third division.

[One of the great things about FM13 I must say is the added difficulty. In FM08, 10, 11 and 12 when I have tried this Alex Ferguson career I have always managed to get promoted to the SPL with East Stirlingshire following back to back promotions. It certainly didn’t happen in this year’s version!]


Anywho... during the season I was offered the Crawley Town job. Of course I declined. I have my sights set on bigger things.

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__________________________________

A LEGEND RETIRES!

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At the end of season Sir Alex Ferguson finally retired from Man Utd. He’ll be disappointed with losing the league to Arsenal (!) on goal difference but he did manage to sign off with a World Club Cup, League Cup and Europa League treble.

Of course I immediately applied for the job not believing I had any chance of actually getting it.

And I was 100% correct!

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Pep Guardiola was chosen (perhaps a sign of things to come in real life??)

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____________________________

ANOTHER OLD HORSE RETIRES!

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Back up in Scotland Aberdeen manager Craig Brown also called it a day. Now this job I felt I might be in with an honest shout of getting. I would have preferred to have managed St Mirren first (something I have never actually done in 4 previous completions of this career), but after the brutally frustrating relegation battle with the Shire this year I would just be glad to get out now.

So I applied and the Dons board stated they were “flattered” I was interested in the position.

After what seemed an eternity the Aberdeen board finally made a decision on their next manager….and that man was………NOT ME!

Terry Butcher was chosen. I can understand why an experienced pro like him was successful.

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_________________________________

Ah well. Another season with East Stirlingshire at least. With practically the same wage and transfer budget as last year we looked destined for another long hard season fighting relegation.​
 
Glad to see this story back on track.

In my journeywoman story I found those teams flattered all gave the job to others and I received the offer from a team that was not flattered. Liars!.
 
SEASON FOUR – 2015/16

EAST STIRLINGSHIRE – SCOTTISH DIVISION ONE

UNEXPECTED JOB OFFER!
BIG NAME DEPARTURE
SACKED!?!?

The season was barely couple of months old and we were struggling again at the wrong end of the table when the most unexpected job offer arrived at my desk…

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Wow! Scotland must have been desperate to have appointed a novice manager like myself with only barely 4 years’ experience, 1 off which was spent fighting relegation from the Scottish First Division! Anyway, as Fergie had managed Scotland briefly following Jock Stein’s death in the mid-80s, I decided to follow suit and accepted the job. If nothing else it will at least increase my reputation within the game.

PEP SACKED!

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Shortly after the Scotland offer Man Utd manager Pep Guardiola was sacked after only 6 months in the job. Shocking considering Utd went from having one manager for almost 30 years to now about to appoint a second inside 6 months.

Again I applied. Again I didn’t expect to get it. Again I was right. Fatih Terim was hired to get the club back up the table.
_____________________

ANGRY BOARD!!

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After expressing an interest in the Aberdeen job and the Man Utd job (twice) it appeared the Shire board had had enough. I was threatened with the sack!! This would be unthinkable both due to what I achieved for them and for the sack of this career save.

Getting sacked now would mean I’d have no hope of getting the St Mirren/Aberdeen/Man Utd jobs for quite some time and I’d have to wait for the dust to settle and reapply for the East Stirlingshire job when it next became available and start all over again.

Consequently, I made a grovelling apology and left the boardroom with a shiny red bottom.
____________________________________

After all that goings-on it was even Christmas and we were still in the relegation places. As it turned out it was close, VERY CLOSE!!

TABLE

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PLAYOFF

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So we survived again! Sneaking out of the playoffs was a massive relief. I’ve never been relegated before and I certainly don’t want to be now. On a brighter side….

CHALLENGE CUP WINNERS

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We managed to claim the first of my many trophies (hopefully). Perhaps this will give me another reputation boost and increase my chance of getting the St Mirren or Aberdeen job in the future. Time will tell.
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V

ST MIRREN COME CALLING!!

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Well this is a first. As mentioned before I'm yet to manage St Mirren in my previous goes at this career. They've just been relegated from the SPL and so I'll still be in the First Division but with a much bigger squad and wage/transfer budget I fully expect to exit this league via the front door (promotion) rather than the back door (relegation) had I stayed at the Shire.​
 
Death Ball said:
Glad to see this story back on track.

In my journeywoman story I found those teams flattered all gave the job to others and I received the offer from a team that was not flattered. Liars!.
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Yea it must be a bug. Lower league is definitely much tougher in FM13 even excluding the ME flaws.
 
Congratulations on the St Mirrent job. Apart from the improved position, I'm sure getting to go through that step for the first time will be a source of enjoyment.
 
SEASON FIVE - 2016/17

ST MIRREN - SCOTTISH DIVISION ONE

stmirrinBadge_large.jpg


FERGUSON DESTINED FOR GREATER THINGS?
CUP GLORY
LEAGUE GLORY?


The career path is taking shape now...

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League

With the team just relegated from the SPL when I took over I knew the key was keeping most of the squad together and we'll bounce straight back. Luckily I managed to retain most of the SPL squad and added a few players to boost competition for places. Consequently we were favourites to win the division and rightly so.

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CUP GLORY!!

Perhaps rather unsurprisingly we won the Challenge Cup, which made it back-to-back victories for me having won it with East Stirlingshire the year before.

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However what I never expected was an incredible Scottish Cup win and subsequent place in Europe, thus completing an unlikely domestic treble! Unbelievable Jeff!!

saintsHonours2.gif


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A great win against Aberdeen as fate would have it - the club who turned me down for their vacant managers job not so long ago. Perhaps next time they'll snap me up!

Hardly surprising then that a Manager of the Year award followed as did personal glory for several members of my squad.

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Key to our success was undoubtedly out main striker Liam McAlinden. Several bigger SPL clubs and Everton are starting to sniff around. I'll do well to hang onto him.

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A place in Europe is massive! Well done, did East Stirlingshire manage to stay up? Liam McAlinden has some brilliant stats - keeping hold of him will be incredibly important
 
CantGetEnoughOfJelavic said:
A place in Europe is massive! Well done, did East Stirlingshire manage to stay up? Liam McAlinden has some brilliant stats - keeping hold of him will be incredibly important
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They did yes after winning the relegation playoff again. Don't have a screenshot as I'm still a few seasons ahead of this. Will post a few more season updates shortly
 
SEASON SIX - 2017/18

ST MIRREN - SPL

After promotion and a cup double last year I felt that maybe we were better than relegation candidates in our first year back in the SPL. With luck and shrewd signings I felt a mid-table place was possible. Our Scottish Cup win showed we can compete against the big boys.

As it turned out we overachieved!


League

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A 3rd place finish and place in the Europa League next year was more than we could ever have expected. Having said that we were actually in 2nd place for a bit of the closing weeks of the season so I'm somewhat disappointed that we couldn't hold on and secure a possible Champions League spot.

MORE CUP SUCCESS!

I've built up a bit of a reputation as a cup specialist by claiming the League Cup with a famous win over Celtic. That's now 4 cups wins in 3 years. We were unable, however, to retain the Scottish Cup as we lost 2-1 to Hearts in the semi-finals. Close but not quite.

scottishleaguecup.jpg


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EUROPE

Having won the Scottish Cup last year we had an unexpected European adventure. I say adventure but it only involved a short trip to Newcastle!

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We miraculously won at St James Park/Sports Direct.com/Wonga stadium/whatever-its-called-now! However we couldn't see it through and lost on away goals.


ANOTHER MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD

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JOB OFFERS APLENTY!

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STAR MAN AGAIN!

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With Scotland we finished the year unbeaten and made a positive start to our qualifying campaign including a 1-1 draw with auld enemy England.

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Sadly my old club East Stirlingshire got relegated from the First Division. Elsewhere Terry Butcher's Aberdeen finished a lowly 5th despite being expected to finish in the top two. A poor start to the season could well see his job come under threat. Fatih Terim's Manchester United went the season trophyless as well, finishing 2nd in the league. That too is not good enough. Sack him!​
 
Incredibly unlucky with the NUFC result, and not managing to secure second spot. Some good results with Scotland as well! Looking forward to the other season updates. Exciting stuff
 
SEASON SEVEN - 2018/19

ST MIRREN - SPL

BUDDIES ON FIRE!
A BIGGER TEAM COMES CALLING!

With the team on fire last year I entered this season with great optimism. I felt we were either going to have a fantastic season at St Mirren or I might finally get one a move to Aberdeen where I'd have a genuine chance of winning trophies and getting Champions League football. As it turned out I was sort of right on both counts.

At St Mirren we started like a house on fire racing to the top of the SPL in an undefeated start. Our European adventure however looked doomed again at the first hurdle after we were drawn against Dutch giants Feyenoord in the Europa League qualifiers. Unbelievably my fears were not realised as we utterly spanked the Dutch 8-4 on aggregate to claim a spectacular group stage spot.


EUROPA LEAGUE DRAW

ST MIRREN
ARSENAL
BORDEAUX
PALERMO

WOW! Getting anything from this group other than essential prize/TV money would be a bonus! But why settle for bonuses when you can have much much more!

Matchday 1

Palmero 2 v 2 St Mirren

Matchday 2

St Mirren 2 v 0 Arsenal

Matchday 3

Bordeaux 0 v 0 St Mirren

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All was going superbly and I was envisaging a possible SPL title with little old St Mirren when the telephone went...

ABERDEEN COME CALLING!!

In truth this wasnt an easy decision. We were top of the SPL, unbeaten and cutting our way through Europe. Aberdeen, on the other hand, were bottom of the SPL and in complete disarray! I wanted to stay and see what I could achieve. How far could I take the Buddies??

However I decided (for the sake of this career) that turning down Aberdeen could result in their relegation and should I eventually want to manage them before Man Utd I would therefore have to return to the dreaded Scottish First Division and I've had enough of that division to last me a lifetime!

So I reluctantly accepted the Dons job.

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Where I left St Mirren and the club I've took over:

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