The Elgin City Story

[Falcon_182]

Ok... been reading this for a while and I hope you don't mind me telling you my story.

The Elgin City Story.

Objective ---

Elgin City to win the Scottish Premiership and do well in Europe.

Introduction ---

Elgin City... are pretty much a rubbish team. They have little or no equity, they are part-time, they have nothing going for them and are in a financial mess. This is one of the hardest clubs to manage yet I am going to attempt to put all of my years of hard challenges in previous FM/CM games to try to do the unthinkable. I have no help, just experiance in this game. There are no Genies, no Editor... no nothing. This is from scratch with no help.

Season One --- The beggining.

This is the most important part of the game. I need to see who in my squad can and cannot make it and I need a brand spanking new coaching staff to get the best from limited resources that are available. Promotion in Season One? No... This is purely a long term strategy game. It's all about youth development yet I need a team that has at least the foundations to score and defend. Therefor I am looking for two young strikers, a goalkeeper, a playmaker and a central defender. In the short term... welcome to ****!!!

Ok, first things first... I need to ***** the squad... I already have a goalkeeper on loan from Dundee United... John Gibson. Handling 8 and Kicking is 7. Not good. But, there is potential there... yet I have an idea who might be a slightly better replacement but lets not go into that just yet.

I have £5k to spend and a wage budget of £2,100 a week. I'm already spending £1,800 a week so I need to free up some wages. The £5k will go onto the wage budget...£2,186... wonderful. So everybody over the age of 20 is for sale or loan for £0. I dont care if they are my best players, they are not for me. I have my own ideas on who I want to sign and I need to sort this out right now. But that leaves me with still a slightly large squad. 17 players, 1 loan in and 1 loan out who has been recalled.

I now mutual terminate the assistant and the coach. £2.5k it's cost me but I do need better coaches and that is my first priority.

First up I need to remember that there is a limit, so player coaches are ideal but sign as players first before I maximise my coach spaces then change their contract to player coach. Roger Freestone is the ideal candidate for a Goalkeeping coach. 16 in Goalkeepers, 12 in youth development... ideal... for now. I offer him a part-time deal of £35 a week. Fine. Three more interesting coaches that are players that offer me 11 on the fitness side of things are Alban Hysa, Paddy Connolly and Jamie Speare. Jim Weir is another one for the defence side of things. Whilst Ally Maxwell is a good full time tactical coach with high marks in goalkeeping, tactics and youth development. Ryan Casey is a good technical coach but again sign him on as a player and Paul McLean is a good technical full time coach. Now for my assistant manager. There I have plenty of new coaches at my disposal and my two allocated full time ones and now it's time to appoint my assistant. Vinny Perth, Player/Assistant manager.

Now before I continue on the game, my wage budget will be gone if I continue and sign these players. I'm not expecting a quick turnaround in players so it's time to look for some talent.

Micheal Nardiello and Izet Zahirovic are two former Manchester United youth strikers and should have enough fire power in their lockers to score goals for Elgin. Now for the creative midfielder... Salif Diao-Jimanez. What about defenders? Ben Starosta and a personal favourite of mine... Stephen Emelina. The Goalkeeper? James Gilpin.

With that sorted out... it's now time to continue and see where this takes me.

Pre-Season games I let my assistant do it... it's not important at the moment... or I go on Holiday for the game.

My first real competative game is a cup game and this is how it looks in my team. I missed out on a couple of signings on the coaches... Alban Hysa and Ryan Casey but... I got all of the young players that I was after. Yet I'm still short. I need a left back, a left midfielder and an attacking midfielder. Unfortunately I cannot let my finances get out of hand at this moment in time... I Need to use what I have available to me which means youth players.

Tactics... well here's mine.

Go onto the advanced and full backs defend... wide midfielders become wingers and attack, you have a ball winning midfielder and a midfielder that attacks the other defends and you have a target man that attacks and a poacher that also attacks.

There you have it. A good all round set up with a reasonable coaching capability given the situation that I am in.

So now... what do I do... well I teach the players how to play. The first season matters little to me, it's all about getting to know each other now. So, sod the results, it's a consolidation season from the board so It's going to be one game after another, no change in anything and a set first eleven week in, week out for as long as I can. This is the basis for my new squad.

First part of the season --- September 18th.

I cant believe this. I expected to be near the bottom but i'm 4th. Played 5, won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1. Got to the second round in both the league and challange cups which is fantastic, especially after beating higher league opposition. Morton 1-0 at home and Queen of the South 3-2 away. Hope I can continue this form but we will wait and see. Only the league to concentrate on now but still a good start. I predict mid table.

Second part of the season --- December 1st

Still 4th. Played 13, won 5, drawn 4 and lost 4. Predictions change to just outside the playoffs as Nardiello was injured for a peroid of time and my team felt vulnrable. Also Nardiello and Zahirovic have 22 goals between them... I told you they were good, if either one gets injured we dont score... there a partnership made in heaven. Got a Scottish Cup 4th round tie away to Dundee United to look forward to though... again the cup runs have been good and despite the large squad to which I have had no success in getting rid of anyone, I've made £13k profit but that's due to the cup runs... so far, so good and better than I expected yet I've lost my playmaker Salif Diao-Jiminez for three months... so this could be as good as it gets, still a good, solid start to the season and I am happy so far.

Third part of the season --- February 28th

This is one **** of a season. Elgin are 2nd... 6 points clear of third on 46 points... although automatic promotion/champions is a fair way off it's a very possitive season so far. Losing 3-0 in the scottish cup 4th round was no digrace but two careless defeats are a problem. 4-1 defeat away to Stranrar and a 2-1 away defeat to Forfar is a cause for a little concern... especially when Stranrar are second from bottom and Forfar are third. Still it's been a possitive season. Consolidation is they key here... it's not about promotion this season but it would be an added bonus but a struggle next season in Division Two. Zahirovic has 21 goals, Nardiello has 18 goals. Jaminez is back but assists have been coming from all over the place. Starosta 5, Jaminez 4, Perth 4 yet goals from other positions are quite low. Emelina has two and Perth has 5. Set peice goals, the rest, 0's and 1's and not many. Gilpin in goal is doing ok but now it's about sustaining a suprise title challange.

Again no transfer's out... but a £70,000 profit this season has been unbelievable and a real bonus. This season has gone above all expectations and at the very least is a season to build on! 10 games to go... Can Elgin get automatic promotion????!

Forth part of the season - May 5th.

Second place, one game to go and the playoffs to look forward to. Unbelievable season. Either the result I'm already planning for next season. I need to start to trim the squad and players will be offered mutual termination of their contracts and several young players will be given full time contracts to top up the squad to around 16 players. If I go up then I reckon I may go into the market to get a few more players, if not I'll use what I have and hopefully build up the financial side of things. Either way this has been a season to remember and it looks as if I'm some sort of demi-god at the club for now.

I'm unfortunately without Starosta and whilst a defeat to bottom club Annan is not important... to lose the first leg of the playoff semi to Albion Rovers is dissapointing. Ok I was away from home but I need to turn it around. The main important thing to remember here is that I am not changing my tactics just yet. The side needs to blend well together and learn to play this way... you dont really need a plan B or C until you are struggling and the way this season has gone I am not struggling at all and it takes time for players to learn the tactic so we'll keep playing this way. Second leg I stuff Albion 3-0 at home and will play Alloa in the final. This is again a two-legged affair so hopefully I'll be able to keep it tight away from home and do the business at home. Unfortunately my creative winger Salif Diao-Jiminez is once again injured and my right full back Starosta is not yet fully fit. Not good at all as my whole right hand side is now in turmoil but I soldier on. Alloa are also from the Second Division and not my division so in theory it's a relagation playoff for them. They lose then they are down. I go down 3-1 away from home and I've just lost my left back now to injury. I'm more or less consigned to staying down. I lose 3-2 in the second leg losing 6-3 on aggregate. It's unfortunate but it enables me to trim my squad to the way I want it to be.

With everything sorted out it's time to wait and see what my youth team offers me. I have a side that should be gunning for the Division 3 Title this upcoming season. Top two marksmen, a settled squad, the young and hungry squad and some good coaching and stable finances.

More to follow soon. Hope you enjoyed and hopefully the Photo links would work... it looks as if they are not so here is a link to some photo's of this season.

http://s1045.photobucket.com/albums/b459/Mr_Falcon182uk/Elgin1/

 

[Falcon_182]

The Elgin City Story - Part 2.

A new season draws near and I'm not changing a thing. I've lost two coaches due to completelyf forgetting to renew their contracts and wont be able to get any more. My first team squad are all on full-time contracts and the youth players who were here at the beggining are slowly coming along well although they are not exactly world beaters they have improved on their mental attributes. I've got a few big home game friendly's to build up the finances but this season is all about promotion by using what I have got at my disposal. Unfortunately it's a horrible start as Michael Nardiello broke his leg against Reading and I'm also out of both the League and the Challenge cup although that is not important the heavy defeat to Ross County was a disgraceful performance. This slow start to the season may prove to be a little bit costly. Zahirovic and a 41 year old Paddy Connolly are leading the line.

September 30th ---

I'm top of the league and Nardiello is back. Played 7, won 5, drawn 1 and lost 1. The game that I lost was a heavy away defeat to Peterhead. 6-2 and they are second. Vinny Perth who is by far the best player that I have and my assistant manager is injured for a month so more problems are emerging but I'm determined to go up this season with what I have at my disposal. With the Scottish Cup to look forward to I hope that a good cup run will inspire my team to keep going. Financially I'm losing £10k a month but profit for this season with the added friendlies and prize money has been £34,000. After the summer holiday last seasons profit fell to £73,000 and I'm hoping once again for an end of season profit somewhere around that margain. I have £6k that I can spend but once again I'm going to put that into my wage budget which currently stands at £2,860 and I'm spending £2,495 a week on wages. With the transfer funds gone on the wage budget it now stands just shy of £3,000 a week. An interesting thing to note is that players have wage increases every season especially the likes of Nardiello, Zahirovic and co. as it was the only way that I could get them here in the first place. I need to be able to afford to keep them and when at the lower leagues Finances are vital. I will be making signings later on as I advance through the divisions but when I do that I will be looking to have a reasonably sized warchest at my disposal with enough wage money to compensate for the new arrivals. So it all effectively starts right now.

November 2nd ---

Already this is turning out to be a very tense title race. I'm now second as a 4-0 defeat at home to Montrose was a big body blow for Elgin and despite a 6-2 win at home against Stranraer a recent 2-1 defeat away to Annan is giving me a real frustrating headache. Scottish 3rd Round tie to Livingston coming up but Forfar, Peterhead and East Sterlingshire are before that. November really is a pivitol month. Nardiello and Zahirovic are going well, 8 goals a piece but something is seriously wrong with the side and it maybe due to losing the two coaches in pre-season. I wont be looking at this until the end of the season as if I dont make it up this year then my plan will be to simply purchase a few newer players with that little bit of extra quality instead of relying on what I have here.

December 12th ---

The season is crumbling away as I have not won a game since beating Stranraer 6-2. Draws and defeats have left me in a horrible situation of 6th in the league, four points off the playoff spot. Left winger Danny MacLeod is having a nigthmare season and has only created one goal so far so I'm going to sign a new winger. He is the weakest link and has burnt quite a lot of his bridges with me. He wont be on the transfer list but he will be on the bench due to having a full time contract which I dont really want to terminate. After looking for literally five minutes I cannot believe who I have just found available as a free. The one and only Steve Torpey and I offer him a full time contract. He signs and just in time to go straight into the squad for Saturday's match away to Montrose. Another imporant aspect with regards to signing Torpey is set pieces. Now I have to admit that I've just allowed the team to get on with it but considering Torpey is a 10 with his free kicks at this level that is pretty good. Unfortunately I lose 2-1 to Montrose and the gap is now 5 points from the playoff places. Some seriously dodgy defending allowed for a late winner after Zahirovic equalised with a calmly placed goal. This season is turning into a disaster and a turn around in fortunes is a must if I have any hope of salvaging anything at all. Maybe the left hand side was not the weak link but perhaps It is the defence. To be honest the goals that have gone in have been preventable as Emelina has not lived up to his expectations, Starosta runs around like a headless chicken and the two youth defenders that I have may just be nothing really special. Already I'm contemplating using that **** FM Genie to find some serious talent but I know full well that I can turn it around as in a previous game I took Leeds United (IRL) into the Champions League Final without signing a single player in ten seasons howeverI think the squad may need some fresher faces. A few players are most certainly playing for their jobs this season. It is Promotion or be sacked... it is that simple as I'm beggining to lose patience with the squad.

January 31st ---

Unbelievable. It looks like my harsh words may have just paid off. Three wins in Three games rounding off with an Emphatic 5-1 victory at home against Annan which was selected as a fan day. Steve Torpey is playing out of his skin and makes it look so easy and has no doubt built a rapport with the few young female teenage fans but with Zahirovic who had been scoring for fun quite recently now injured for a month it's looking like I'll fall short of the playoffs once again. Injuries and suspect performances from one season wonder players have put a big fail on this season. It should have been a title challange and now it's a playoff scrap which despite an improved run of form a draw to Forfar at home then two defeats to Peterhead and East Sterlingshire have left me in the exact same position as I was on December 12th. 6th and five points adrift of a Playoff spot with games running out. I'm already thinking about next season but I still have not given up hope on this season. A real dissapointment that there was no title challange... I suspect that 6-2 panning away to Peterhead early on should have warned me that there was a long, long way to go.

March 31st ---

Although the gap from the playoff places is now just 4 points I'm pretty convinced that this season is pretty much over. With trying to find a little bit of consistancy my team only went and lost to Annan away from home 5-0. Strange that... So where does the problem lie? I have no idea at the moment but come the end of the season there will be some serious changes to the side. It's the league title or doom next season. Torpey and Perth are injured so my midfield is now a shambles so I'm more or less just seeing the season out.

May 9th ---

Season ends a disaster. 6th and 14 points off a playoff place. That is an absolute disgrace from Elgin. So it begins... the re-shaping of the squad. Players are released at the end of their contracts most noticably Salif Diao-Jiminez. His performances were not that bad but I need somebody who is a little bit better than 6-8 assists and one goal a season. Nardiello and Zahirovic are staying with both of them signing new contracts but I lost my goalkeeper James Gilpin so a new goalkeeper and right winger is needed. I make an offer for Ben Muirhead and I gamble on a Spurs reject Mirko Ranieri. Financially it could be better, it's not a profitable season but a loss and there is nothing to show from it. Next season Elgin have to get out of this division. The strike force is more than capable but this season below par performances and injuries have ruined what I had hoped to be a title challenge. Towards the end of the season I sign a new Physio and striker Callum Bagshaw on a free after being released by Celtic. The financial side though ended with a loss of £40,000. Things have got to change next season. Promotion or its over.