SuperMikey
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- Joined
- Mar 30, 2009
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I love LLM, and I think it's the best thing about FM. Anyone can win the Premiership with Man Utd or Man City, but taking a team that could only be described as 'bottom feeders' and turning them into a class act is a whole different ball game. This is what i'm trying to do with the Blue Square South team Staines Town. I've not fiddled with their finances or anything as some people do, the team is as you would find them on a normal default database, so no complaints saying that I must've given myself millions to spend! And I didn't load French and Reunionese players either, which is another old trick! 
Game Details
Database Size: Large (All players loaded from UK & Ireland)
Leagues Loaded: England (Premiership - Blue Square North/South), Scotland (Premier League - Third Division)
JULY 2009
- Rookie manager Michael Macdonald is appointed as Staines manager. He aims for promotion, and is given a reasonable transfer and wage budget by the board to do it with.
- The clearout begins, with 12 players being released on free transfers or being sold to other clubs.
- 10 players are then brought in on free transfers, such as Andrej Pernecky from Southampton, Marios Agathokleous from Niki Polygyrou and Sean Doherty, who was a free agent.
- All staff at the club also have their contracts terminated, and a completely fresh backroom staff is brought in, including Mick Hickman as Assistant Manager and John Durnin as Coach.
- Staines have a good pre-season, winning all their matches except two, against Brentford and lowly Tonbridge.
- Staines announce a link with Harrow FC, which includes an annual friendly and financial benefits, as well as potential loan deals for Staines reserve players.
AUGUST 2009 (WWWDWWW)
- Two more players are brought to the club on free transfers, Steven Campbell joins from Northern Irish side Dergview for £85 and Fraser Franks joins on loan from Brentford until the end of the season.
- Staines have a good start to the season, remaining unbeaten for the entire month and winning all but one game, including a 4-1 thrashing of Welling.
- Youngster Frazer Douglas is released on a free transfer.
- Michael Macdonald is awarded Manager of the Month for August, and Marios Agathokleous comes second in Player of the Month after scoring 7 goals in 7 appearances.
- Staines are sitting comfortably at the top of the Blue Square South heading into September.
SEPTEMBER 2009 (DWWWW)
- All is quiet on the transfer front, with no players joining or leaving Staines.
- Staines triumph 1-0 over Northwood in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round.
- Michael Macdonald is again awarded Manager of the Month, and Marios Agathokleous comes third in Player of the Month with 3 goals in 2 games and an average rating of 8.10.
- Staines remain top of the Blue Square South at the end of the month.
OCTOBER 2009 (LWLDWW)
- Two defeats early in the month against Lewes and Braintree bring Staines' unbeaten run to an end, and prompt major changes in the playing staff.
- Staines beat Hampton & Richmond in the FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round.
- 7 players are released on free transfers or sold by Staines, and 7 brought in on free transfers, including towering striker Pavol Suhaj and experienced winger Jerome Vareille.
- Staines' form levels out at the end of the month with two solid wins over Maidenhead and Thurrock.
- Staines beat Maidenhead in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round after a replay, which sets them up for a juicy tie at home with AFC Wimbledon in the 1st Round.
- Michael Macdonald doesn't even chart on the Manager of the Month award for October and neither do any of his players on the Player of the Month awards.
- Staines slip to 2nd place in the Blue Square South heading into November.
NOVEMBER 2009 (WDWDWWWW)
- A busy month for Staines, with 8 matches played in only 30 days.
- Staines are in blistering form as they obliterate memories of their poor previous month with famous wins against Bath (4-0) in the Blue Square South, AFC Wimbledon (2-0) in the FA Cup 1st Round Replay and then against Bradford (1-0) in the FA Cup 2nd Round, and then a thrashing of Blue Square North side Eastwood (6-0) in the FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round.
- Staines players and fans alike are delighted to see that they have drawn Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers at home in the FA Cup 3rd Round in January.
- Marios Agathokleous wins the fans hearts after bagging 11 goals in 8 games this month, and also wins a callup to the Cyprus national team for their World Cup Qualifying games.
- Unsurprisingly, Michael Macdonald regains his title as Blue Square South Manager of the Month, and hot-shot Marios Agathokleous comes second in the Player of the Month award, with an average rating of 8.17.
- Staines are looking comfortable at the top of the Blue Square South, with a considerable points lead over the chasing pack, consisting of teams such as Eastleigh, Chelmsford and Lewes.
DECEMBER 2009 (WWWWLWD)
- December starts with 4 straight wins for the Staines boys, taking their win streak to 8 games altogether.
- Staines continue their solid cup run in the FA Trophy, with a convincing 2-0 win over Maidenhead in the 1st Round, before losing to Newport County in the league 2-1.
- The team then bounce back with a 4-2 victory over Hampton & Richmond in the league, only to be held to a draw by the same team in the league again (odd fixture list) 4 days later.
- Michael Macdonald is once again named Manager of the Month for December, although no Staines players make it into the medals for Player of the Month.
- Staines are sitting strong at the top of the league, with a big points cushion over second placed Chelmsford going into January.
JANUARY 2010 (LLWWWWD)
- The January transfer window opens, and manager Michael Macdonald frees up some room on the wage bill by getting rid of a few reserve team players on absurdly high wages, freeing up about 1k p/w in the process, which allows him to bring in Xavier Barrau on a free transfer to cover Sean Doherty who picked up an injury in late December and David King on loan from MK Dons for 3 months to shore up the defence.
- Unfortunately, Staines' cup dream comes to an abrupt end with a disappointing 4-0 loss at the hands of Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup 3rd Round. Despite the heavy loss, the Staines board are still delighted that the team managed to reach the 3rd Round, but manager Michael Macdonald feels that the team could have gone further.
- To add insult to injury, Staines are then defeated by second placed Chelmsford 3-1 a mere 4 days after their heavy loss to Wolves in the FA Cup. However, the team are back to winning ways with a 3-0 win over non-league side Aveley in the FA Trophy 2nd Round, continuing Staines' silverware dreams.
- Michael Macdonald doesn't chart on the Manager of the Month awards, but top scorer Marios Agathokelous does, sneaking into third place in the Player of the Month award with 3 goals in as many appearances and an average rating of 7.50 for the month of January.
- Staines are still sitting comfortably at the top of the table, and seem to be running away with the title already, with an astonishing 13 point lead at the top of the table.
FEBRUARY 2010 (WWWLWWW)
- February brought with it more advancement in the FA Trophy, with a 3-1 victory over Forest Green Rovers in the FA Trophy 3rd Round Replay and a 3-0 revenge victory over Chelmsford in the 4th Round, taking minnows Staines through to the FA Trophy Semi-Final, where they would play Merthyr.
- The only disappointing aspect of February was an anomalous 5-2 loss to Blue Square South strugglers Bromley, who caught Staines off guard with a lethal strike force of Warren McBean and Stefan Morrison, who each bagged 2 goals.
- Michael Macdonald gained another Manager of the Month trophy, while Marios Agathokleous finally got his Player of the Month award, leaving Warren McBean and David Gilroy in the dust with 6 goals in 5 appearances and an average rating of 7.94.
- Staines also seem to have wrapped up the title with chasers Chelmsford and Lewes slipping away, and a 16 point lead separating Staines and the nearest club, second placed Lewes.
MARCH 2010 (WWDLWD)
- March was another inconsistent month, with two back-to-back wins against Woking in the league, but then a draw in the FA Trophy against Merthyr and a defeat at the hands of relegation candidates Havant & Waterlooville put doubts into some supporters minds about whether Staines would last the distance.
- Those doubters were proved wrong however, when Staines emerged victorious from a 4-3 thriller against Merthyr in the FA Trophy Semi-Final 2nd Leg and qualified for the final.
- In the league, there was also some fantastic news, as results favoured Staines and although they didn't play in the league on that particular match day, they had secured the Blue Square South title with 6 games left to play! The board were delighted with the spirit and determination shown by the players and the staff, and morale at the club was at an all time high.
- This didn't affect league form however, as fans were subject to a bore draw against Braintree to finish the month, but were relishing the prospect of a visit to Wembley in May for the FA Trophy Final against Blue Square Premier side Barrow.
Hope you're enjoying reading so far, sorry there's so much to read but I wasn't originally going to post this as a story so there's lots to catch up on! I'll put some screenshots up at the end of the season with the usual League Table, Squad Screen and Transfer Centre screenies, plus any others you'd like to see such as Player screenshots or particular result screenshots. I've only played up till the end of March at the moment, but I ought to have finished the season by the weekend, so i'll post another update and all the screenies then.
Game Details
Database Size: Large (All players loaded from UK & Ireland)
Leagues Loaded: England (Premiership - Blue Square North/South), Scotland (Premier League - Third Division)
JULY 2009
- Rookie manager Michael Macdonald is appointed as Staines manager. He aims for promotion, and is given a reasonable transfer and wage budget by the board to do it with.
- The clearout begins, with 12 players being released on free transfers or being sold to other clubs.
- 10 players are then brought in on free transfers, such as Andrej Pernecky from Southampton, Marios Agathokleous from Niki Polygyrou and Sean Doherty, who was a free agent.
- All staff at the club also have their contracts terminated, and a completely fresh backroom staff is brought in, including Mick Hickman as Assistant Manager and John Durnin as Coach.
- Staines have a good pre-season, winning all their matches except two, against Brentford and lowly Tonbridge.
- Staines announce a link with Harrow FC, which includes an annual friendly and financial benefits, as well as potential loan deals for Staines reserve players.
AUGUST 2009 (WWWDWWW)
- Two more players are brought to the club on free transfers, Steven Campbell joins from Northern Irish side Dergview for £85 and Fraser Franks joins on loan from Brentford until the end of the season.
- Staines have a good start to the season, remaining unbeaten for the entire month and winning all but one game, including a 4-1 thrashing of Welling.
- Youngster Frazer Douglas is released on a free transfer.
- Michael Macdonald is awarded Manager of the Month for August, and Marios Agathokleous comes second in Player of the Month after scoring 7 goals in 7 appearances.
- Staines are sitting comfortably at the top of the Blue Square South heading into September.
SEPTEMBER 2009 (DWWWW)
- All is quiet on the transfer front, with no players joining or leaving Staines.
- Staines triumph 1-0 over Northwood in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round.
- Michael Macdonald is again awarded Manager of the Month, and Marios Agathokleous comes third in Player of the Month with 3 goals in 2 games and an average rating of 8.10.
- Staines remain top of the Blue Square South at the end of the month.
OCTOBER 2009 (LWLDWW)
- Two defeats early in the month against Lewes and Braintree bring Staines' unbeaten run to an end, and prompt major changes in the playing staff.
- Staines beat Hampton & Richmond in the FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round.
- 7 players are released on free transfers or sold by Staines, and 7 brought in on free transfers, including towering striker Pavol Suhaj and experienced winger Jerome Vareille.
- Staines' form levels out at the end of the month with two solid wins over Maidenhead and Thurrock.
- Staines beat Maidenhead in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round after a replay, which sets them up for a juicy tie at home with AFC Wimbledon in the 1st Round.
- Michael Macdonald doesn't even chart on the Manager of the Month award for October and neither do any of his players on the Player of the Month awards.
- Staines slip to 2nd place in the Blue Square South heading into November.
NOVEMBER 2009 (WDWDWWWW)
- A busy month for Staines, with 8 matches played in only 30 days.
- Staines are in blistering form as they obliterate memories of their poor previous month with famous wins against Bath (4-0) in the Blue Square South, AFC Wimbledon (2-0) in the FA Cup 1st Round Replay and then against Bradford (1-0) in the FA Cup 2nd Round, and then a thrashing of Blue Square North side Eastwood (6-0) in the FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round.
- Staines players and fans alike are delighted to see that they have drawn Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers at home in the FA Cup 3rd Round in January.
- Marios Agathokleous wins the fans hearts after bagging 11 goals in 8 games this month, and also wins a callup to the Cyprus national team for their World Cup Qualifying games.
- Unsurprisingly, Michael Macdonald regains his title as Blue Square South Manager of the Month, and hot-shot Marios Agathokleous comes second in the Player of the Month award, with an average rating of 8.17.
- Staines are looking comfortable at the top of the Blue Square South, with a considerable points lead over the chasing pack, consisting of teams such as Eastleigh, Chelmsford and Lewes.
DECEMBER 2009 (WWWWLWD)
- December starts with 4 straight wins for the Staines boys, taking their win streak to 8 games altogether.
- Staines continue their solid cup run in the FA Trophy, with a convincing 2-0 win over Maidenhead in the 1st Round, before losing to Newport County in the league 2-1.
- The team then bounce back with a 4-2 victory over Hampton & Richmond in the league, only to be held to a draw by the same team in the league again (odd fixture list) 4 days later.
- Michael Macdonald is once again named Manager of the Month for December, although no Staines players make it into the medals for Player of the Month.
- Staines are sitting strong at the top of the league, with a big points cushion over second placed Chelmsford going into January.
JANUARY 2010 (LLWWWWD)
- The January transfer window opens, and manager Michael Macdonald frees up some room on the wage bill by getting rid of a few reserve team players on absurdly high wages, freeing up about 1k p/w in the process, which allows him to bring in Xavier Barrau on a free transfer to cover Sean Doherty who picked up an injury in late December and David King on loan from MK Dons for 3 months to shore up the defence.
- Unfortunately, Staines' cup dream comes to an abrupt end with a disappointing 4-0 loss at the hands of Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup 3rd Round. Despite the heavy loss, the Staines board are still delighted that the team managed to reach the 3rd Round, but manager Michael Macdonald feels that the team could have gone further.
- To add insult to injury, Staines are then defeated by second placed Chelmsford 3-1 a mere 4 days after their heavy loss to Wolves in the FA Cup. However, the team are back to winning ways with a 3-0 win over non-league side Aveley in the FA Trophy 2nd Round, continuing Staines' silverware dreams.
- Michael Macdonald doesn't chart on the Manager of the Month awards, but top scorer Marios Agathokelous does, sneaking into third place in the Player of the Month award with 3 goals in as many appearances and an average rating of 7.50 for the month of January.
- Staines are still sitting comfortably at the top of the table, and seem to be running away with the title already, with an astonishing 13 point lead at the top of the table.
FEBRUARY 2010 (WWWLWWW)
- February brought with it more advancement in the FA Trophy, with a 3-1 victory over Forest Green Rovers in the FA Trophy 3rd Round Replay and a 3-0 revenge victory over Chelmsford in the 4th Round, taking minnows Staines through to the FA Trophy Semi-Final, where they would play Merthyr.
- The only disappointing aspect of February was an anomalous 5-2 loss to Blue Square South strugglers Bromley, who caught Staines off guard with a lethal strike force of Warren McBean and Stefan Morrison, who each bagged 2 goals.
- Michael Macdonald gained another Manager of the Month trophy, while Marios Agathokleous finally got his Player of the Month award, leaving Warren McBean and David Gilroy in the dust with 6 goals in 5 appearances and an average rating of 7.94.
- Staines also seem to have wrapped up the title with chasers Chelmsford and Lewes slipping away, and a 16 point lead separating Staines and the nearest club, second placed Lewes.
MARCH 2010 (WWDLWD)
- March was another inconsistent month, with two back-to-back wins against Woking in the league, but then a draw in the FA Trophy against Merthyr and a defeat at the hands of relegation candidates Havant & Waterlooville put doubts into some supporters minds about whether Staines would last the distance.
- Those doubters were proved wrong however, when Staines emerged victorious from a 4-3 thriller against Merthyr in the FA Trophy Semi-Final 2nd Leg and qualified for the final.
- In the league, there was also some fantastic news, as results favoured Staines and although they didn't play in the league on that particular match day, they had secured the Blue Square South title with 6 games left to play! The board were delighted with the spirit and determination shown by the players and the staff, and morale at the club was at an all time high.
- This didn't affect league form however, as fans were subject to a bore draw against Braintree to finish the month, but were relishing the prospect of a visit to Wembley in May for the FA Trophy Final against Blue Square Premier side Barrow.
Hope you're enjoying reading so far, sorry there's so much to read but I wasn't originally going to post this as a story so there's lots to catch up on! I'll put some screenshots up at the end of the season with the usual League Table, Squad Screen and Transfer Centre screenies, plus any others you'd like to see such as Player screenshots or particular result screenshots. I've only played up till the end of March at the moment, but I ought to have finished the season by the weekend, so i'll post another update and all the screenies then.