I'm starting a new career on FM2013 with FC United. I've been playing this save for some time now but have only just been introduced to this forum so I thought I would share my story with you.
Background
First of all I started a game unemployed and went on holiday for a year as I planned to manage a team that had on just been promoted to the BSN/S. One of the teams that was promoted was FC United of Manchester so I decided that it would be good if I could get them promoted to the Premier League to take on Manchester United and Manchester City.
My first season in BSN was relatively stable, we had just been taken over by a local businessman and so we had a sufficient wage budget to bring some new faces in. I was looking towards buying young promising players that had the potential to play in the higher leagues or could be sold at a profit to enable us to bring more players in. In the end we finished 14th in BSN, no where near promotion but never in fear of relegation either.
In my second season, a couple of new players and staff were brought in and we found ourselves doing relatively well. Things started to pick up in the second half of the season and we were able to secure 4th place in the BSN and a place in the playoffs. We then went on to win the playoffs quite comfortably and we move up to the BSP!
We are now a fully professional club! My first season in the BSP, the year 2015/16, was a relegation battle. We brought in some promising players yet again to try and climb the football ladder. I also upgraded our training facilities and youth facilities so that we could realise the potential of our players while bringing in players through our youth academy. In this season we went on a bit of a run in the FA Cup as well, losing to Swansea in the 4th round. This brought in a lot of revenue that we coudl use to build next season.
Next season, I tried to learn from my mistakes in the previous season by cutting out the amount of draws we were having so I knew I needed to tighten up the defence. This reaped its rewards as we came 3rd in the league, winning a playoff place conceding the lowest amount of goals in the league. We went on to win the playoffs again and FC United of Manchester are now part of the football league! We also followed up last seasons exploits in the FA Cup with a 3rd round defeat to Blackpool.
I knew League 2 would be a much better level than BSP so I brought in some new faces all over the team. I bought a new striker who looked very promising and managed to keep hold of my leading scorer from last season who is now valued at £1.1M but I knew that I would have to cash in on him soon. However, with a strike force to be reckoned with, we managed to scrape into the playoff places in our first season in League 2 coming 7th! This is a remarkable achievement and more than I could ever have hoped for. FC United seem to follow the other Manchester teams in that they finish the season very strongly going on a 12 match winning streak at the end of the season. My squad is looking very promising for the future with an average age of 22.1. This season brought around our biggest cup run as well, taking us all the way to the 5th round of the FA Cup earning us some all important revenue for the League 1 campaign. Our first appearance in the Capital One Cup didnt go so well though, losing in the first round as expected.
So, we find ourselves in League 1 in the year 2018/19. I never in a million years thought we would have progressed this far; usually these journeyman saves end after a few seasons after getting frustrated with too many relegations and not so many promotions. This save has been different though. We have never looked like being relegated and we just find the form when it matters. We have now sold our striker for a measly £300K but this was due to his contract expiring. This season was simply a consolidation of the previous season, coming 13th in League One. No hope of promotion and no fear of relegation. Im very happy with that result.
Our second season in League One was very different. The board are now absolutely in love with me and have given me the financial backing to improve the squad vastly. With a transfer budget of £350K and a wage spare wage budget of £20K p/w I was able to improve all areas of the squad. Again I was looking for free agents who looked very promising. I bought a new GK as the one I have didnt have the ability for League 1, however he has served me well since the BSP. Another new striker, 2 new wingers, a passing midfielder and a left back later my squad is looking like it can progess into the Championship. This season was fantastic. We finished 2nd in League 1 to win automatic promotion to the Championship. However, there is some disappointment to go with this. We were 1pt clear at the top on the last game of the season but could only manage a 1-1 draw meaning that we couldnt win our first title. That first trophy still eludes me! Our cup runs were a little disappointing this season also, going out in the 2nd round of the FA Cup and the 1st round of the Capital One Cup. this may have enabled us to concentrate on the league though so im not too worried about it.
Now we are all up to date! Sorry for the story being so long but I felt the need to fill you in. We are now in the Championship and I am very confident of being promoted to the Premier League very soon where we will look to overcome the other Manchester clubs and win the title! I will be posting 3 updates for every season I play, one pre-season, one after the january transfer window and one end of season report. These will be a lot more detailed than above also as I will be able to remember the details of the season better as Im doing it.
Enjoy!
Background
First of all I started a game unemployed and went on holiday for a year as I planned to manage a team that had on just been promoted to the BSN/S. One of the teams that was promoted was FC United of Manchester so I decided that it would be good if I could get them promoted to the Premier League to take on Manchester United and Manchester City.
My first season in BSN was relatively stable, we had just been taken over by a local businessman and so we had a sufficient wage budget to bring some new faces in. I was looking towards buying young promising players that had the potential to play in the higher leagues or could be sold at a profit to enable us to bring more players in. In the end we finished 14th in BSN, no where near promotion but never in fear of relegation either.
In my second season, a couple of new players and staff were brought in and we found ourselves doing relatively well. Things started to pick up in the second half of the season and we were able to secure 4th place in the BSN and a place in the playoffs. We then went on to win the playoffs quite comfortably and we move up to the BSP!
We are now a fully professional club! My first season in the BSP, the year 2015/16, was a relegation battle. We brought in some promising players yet again to try and climb the football ladder. I also upgraded our training facilities and youth facilities so that we could realise the potential of our players while bringing in players through our youth academy. In this season we went on a bit of a run in the FA Cup as well, losing to Swansea in the 4th round. This brought in a lot of revenue that we coudl use to build next season.
Next season, I tried to learn from my mistakes in the previous season by cutting out the amount of draws we were having so I knew I needed to tighten up the defence. This reaped its rewards as we came 3rd in the league, winning a playoff place conceding the lowest amount of goals in the league. We went on to win the playoffs again and FC United of Manchester are now part of the football league! We also followed up last seasons exploits in the FA Cup with a 3rd round defeat to Blackpool.
I knew League 2 would be a much better level than BSP so I brought in some new faces all over the team. I bought a new striker who looked very promising and managed to keep hold of my leading scorer from last season who is now valued at £1.1M but I knew that I would have to cash in on him soon. However, with a strike force to be reckoned with, we managed to scrape into the playoff places in our first season in League 2 coming 7th! This is a remarkable achievement and more than I could ever have hoped for. FC United seem to follow the other Manchester teams in that they finish the season very strongly going on a 12 match winning streak at the end of the season. My squad is looking very promising for the future with an average age of 22.1. This season brought around our biggest cup run as well, taking us all the way to the 5th round of the FA Cup earning us some all important revenue for the League 1 campaign. Our first appearance in the Capital One Cup didnt go so well though, losing in the first round as expected.
So, we find ourselves in League 1 in the year 2018/19. I never in a million years thought we would have progressed this far; usually these journeyman saves end after a few seasons after getting frustrated with too many relegations and not so many promotions. This save has been different though. We have never looked like being relegated and we just find the form when it matters. We have now sold our striker for a measly £300K but this was due to his contract expiring. This season was simply a consolidation of the previous season, coming 13th in League One. No hope of promotion and no fear of relegation. Im very happy with that result.
Our second season in League One was very different. The board are now absolutely in love with me and have given me the financial backing to improve the squad vastly. With a transfer budget of £350K and a wage spare wage budget of £20K p/w I was able to improve all areas of the squad. Again I was looking for free agents who looked very promising. I bought a new GK as the one I have didnt have the ability for League 1, however he has served me well since the BSP. Another new striker, 2 new wingers, a passing midfielder and a left back later my squad is looking like it can progess into the Championship. This season was fantastic. We finished 2nd in League 1 to win automatic promotion to the Championship. However, there is some disappointment to go with this. We were 1pt clear at the top on the last game of the season but could only manage a 1-1 draw meaning that we couldnt win our first title. That first trophy still eludes me! Our cup runs were a little disappointing this season also, going out in the 2nd round of the FA Cup and the 1st round of the Capital One Cup. this may have enabled us to concentrate on the league though so im not too worried about it.
Now we are all up to date! Sorry for the story being so long but I felt the need to fill you in. We are now in the Championship and I am very confident of being promoted to the Premier League very soon where we will look to overcome the other Manchester clubs and win the title! I will be posting 3 updates for every season I play, one pre-season, one after the january transfer window and one end of season report. These will be a lot more detailed than above also as I will be able to remember the details of the season better as Im doing it.
Enjoy!