The Rise of Wales - Carmarthen Town

Nomadic

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Unfortunately my save file for http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...ies/350074-emile-heskeys-managerial-bout.html got corrupted yesterday and with the back up being a few months back, I couldn't face redoing it.



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I have therefore decided to start a new long term challenge and will be taking charge of the Welsh side Carmarthen Town.

I have absolutely no idea about the Welsh Premier League or Carmarthen Town, but am relishing the impossible task of making them a household name across Europe.

Ultimately I would love to win the Champions League, but realistically I wont be able to achieve that, even if i had the time to play 30 years, which i don't. I will therefore just play and see how far I can raise the reputation of Welsh Football and Carmarthen Town.

Wish me luck! I am going to need it!


Club Information:

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The Welsh Premier League is currently ranked as the 118th most reputable competition in Europe, sitting just above Serie D.

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So here is the squad i have inherited, and it doesn't make a good read!

Here are the main issues in terms of positions (lets not start on ability):

- 1 Central Defender
- 3 right wingers and 0 left wingers
- 5 Strikers
- 2 Central
Midfielders

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I think the best formation to aim for is going to have to be a 4-4-2. It is a pretty safe formation, and seems to be more successful in the Lower Leagues. In order to adopt this formation I am going to have to delve into the transfer market and try scoop up a couple of CB's, ML's and another CM.

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I have £500 p/w salary to work with along side 3k transfer budget. It doesn't sound a lot but looking at my current squads wages, I should be able to bring quite a few players in on that budget. Let's just hope there is some talent out there!


 
After looking through my squad in more detail, I did just about manage to identify 3 standout players and will be looking to them to drag us through a tough first season.


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Lee Idzi - by far our best goalkeeper. He has fast reflexes and a decent aerial reach and looks a decent player for this level of football. His ability has also caught the eye of Airbus UK, who are rumoured to be interested in him, although i will be very reluctant to sell him.



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Carl Evans - The only CB currently on the books. He is a strong lad and am confident he can cope under a high ball. Although i will be looking to strengthen this position, I am confident he will be a key player in that defensive line.



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Mark Jones - Our best striker and will be looking for him to lead the line. He is a good finisher of the ball and will likely be our best outlet for scoring goals if he can stay fit.
 
I've done something like this before, easy to get them to the top but competing against the European ginats is another kettle of fish! Very excited to see how this unfolds.
 
Good luck, shall be following as I play for the reserve team :)
 
I've done something like this before, easy to get them to the top but competing against the European ginats is another kettle of fish! Very excited to see how this unfolds.

Thanks mate! Yeah its going to be quite a challenge, but am looking forward to giving it a go :)

Good luck, shall be following as I play for the reserve team :)

Awesome! Are you on the database? If so i will give you a run out :D
 
Pre Season

So Pre-Season turned out to be rather short, with just the 2 matches being played. I would ideally have liked to play a few more friendlies to get the squads fitness levels up, but left my assistant in charge of arranging/managing friendlies and he only arranged the 2 games. I was a bit too focused on assembling a squad ready for the season, that i went blissfully unaware of the pre season.

We played 2 amateur sides and won both games rather convincingly, which wasn't exactly surprising. Although it is hard to assess the players based on these games, Mark Jones performances certinaley caught the eye as he scored 5 goals in the 2 games. I thought he would be our greatest attacking threat and will be hoping he can continue that form into the start of the season.

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Lee Idzi managed to dislocate his shoulder in the first pre season match and
is likely to miss the first 7 weeks of the season, which is a huge blow to the team going into the start of the season.

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We have been drawn against Cefn Druids in the first round of theWord Cup (I keep reading it as theWorld Cup). This should hopefully be a pretty straightforward managerial debut for me.

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Transfer Round Up

It was a rather busy transfer window for us, as we made our preparations for the start of the season. A total of 7 players have been brought in; 2 MLs, 3 CBs, 1 CM and 1 GK. This is likely to conclude our summer business as their is very little budget remaining and i like to keep a bit aside for contract renewals.

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4 of the players brought in are on amateur contracts, despite being better than a number of players on part time contract and so are not on a salary, which is very useful for adding some much need depth.

I wont bother showing all the players profiles as they aren't that exciting but the 2 more key players i managed to bring in are:

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Mamadou Diallo -Our only foreign player in the squad, although has played his whole career in Wales. He is a talented midfielder and looks to be pretty consistent across all attributes. He is a Cardiff Youth product and have high hopes for him here at Carmarthen.


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Alex Evans - Another talented CB to play alongside Carl Evans at the heart of defence. He is another Cardiff youth product and looks to be a useful acquisition to the squad.​
 
Season Expectations

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Both the board and media expect us to be fighting against relegation this season, although I feel confident of achieving a mid table spot. It is hard to tell at this moment in time, but i feel we have made some good acquisitions to the squad and can compete in the league. Only time will tell....


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theWord Cup 1st Round

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Despite the headline, this match was far from a confident performance! Despite having 21 shots, only 2 actually managed to hit the target, so I think i will be retracting the instruction to shoot on sight!

Diallo scored a screamer into the top left corner, from 25 yards. An on goal from their keeper gifted us a second. Despite some heavy pressure from Cefn Druids we managed to see the game out, but there is much work ahead.

We have been drawn at home to fellow premiership side Bangor City, which is sure to provide a greater test in the 2nd Round.

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De-Vulgt Testimonial: Port Talbot 1 - 1 Carmarthen

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Leigh De-Vulgt's played 3 years at Carmarthen before moving to Port Talbot where he has just started his 12th season for the club. My assistant took charge of the match, in match which I saw mainly as a fitness booster. I was delighted to see Diallo score another goal and pick up MOTM, looks a good signing so far.

Welsh Premier League, Game 1: Airbus UK 2 - 2 Carmarthen

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A very good point considering our heavy underdog status. Mark Jones fired us into a 2 goal lead, as we dominated the game. It was therefore frustrating not to come out with all 3 points, but i would have taken this result before kick off.



Welsh Premier League, Game 2: Carmarthen 0 - 1 Connah's Quay

Connah's Quay are predicted to come 3rd in the League this season so were always going to be tough. Our performance was actually pretty good I thought, despite not getting a result.



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September Review

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September was a busy month for us, featuring 7 matches. The squad are only on part time contracts and fatigue has been a bit of an issue. Therefore the squad had to be rotated fairly regularly, which isn't ideal when you don't have the strongest of squads.


theWord Cup 2nd Round: Carmarthen Town p0 - 0 Bangor City

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We managed to scrape through to the 3rd round of theWord Cup, after a very dull Wednesday nights football was decided on penalties. The midweek game, coupled with extra time didn't help with fatigue, as a number of players ended the match with around 40% condition.

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Our shootout victory sets up a 3rd Round tie away to Aberystwyth. Another tough draw and midweek fixture to contend with.

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Welsh Premier League, 3rd game: Carmarthen Town 4 - 0 Bala



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Easily our best performance of the season so far. We dominated the match from start to finish and both strikers remembered their scoring boots, each bagging a brace.

Unfortunately our first choice LB took a bang to the head and will be resting him for at least the next fixture.


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Welsh Premier League, 4th game: Bangor City 0 - 3 Carmarthen Town

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The scoreline flattered us today. We played well but it was a much closer game than the scoreline suggests. Mark Jones scored 2 late goals on the counter as Bangor pushed to get back in it. A very good result none the less.

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Welsh Premier League, 5th game: Carmarthen Town 1 - 1 Aberystwyth

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Not our best performance, as we allowed Aberystwyth to control the game. We struggled to keep possession for large parts of the game, but Mark Jones once again found the back of the net to get us a point.

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theWord Cup 3rd Round: Aberystwyth e2 - 0 Carmarthen Town


Again we were forced to go to extra time in theWord Cup, but this time the fatigue began to show and we conceded 2 goals. We had played well up to that point, so was disappointing to go out, but in a way I am glad to just focus on the League.

After the match I was greeted with the good news that No.1 Keeper, Idzi was fit enough to resume training. I wasnt going to rush him back, as backup keeper, Luke Flemming had been performing pretty well in goal.



Welsh Premier League, 6th game: Carmarthen Town 2 - 0 Newtown​

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We bounced back from the disappointment of 4 days ago with a win at home to Newtown. We scored 2 goals in the space of a minute during the first half, before the game dragged by with little action at either end.

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Welsh Premier League, 7th game: TNS 4 - 0 Carmarthen Town


Diallo managed to pick up 2 yellow cards in the space of as many minutes midway through the first half, leading to an inevitable hammering by the League Favourites. We looked good up until the red card, and we were never going to be able to hang on for 3/4's of the game.



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It has been a decent start to the season for us, considering we were tipped for relegation. From my understanding of the League, it splits after 22 games into a Championship and Relegation Playoff Conference. If we carry on this form we will be in with a shot of making the top 6 and Championship Playoff group.






 
Tough luck with Lee Idzi's injury, but you've started exceptionally well for a team whose predicted finish is in the relegation zone. Keep it up, you've made some cracking signings also.
 
Tough luck with Lee Idzi's injury, but you've started exceptionally well for a team whose predicted finish is in the relegation zone. Keep it up, you've made some cracking signings also.

Thanks mate!

Yeah it was a big blow before the season even started, but to be fair Flemming played pretty well as a back up keeper. Am really pleased with the start we have made although I must admit October went a bit downhill...
 
Keep up the awesome work :) Will learn a bit from your story!
 
Love this idea mate, I did something similar with Cork City in Ireland!

Takes a long time but hopefully Carmarthen Town will be at the top of Europe in the not so distant future.
 
Great start! Love a small country challenge and have family in Carmarthenshire so will follow with great interest!
 
Keep up the awesome work :) Will learn a bit from your story!

Yeah will be interesting to see the true impact of Jesus! haha

Love this idea mate, I did something similar with Cork City in Ireland!

Takes a long time but hopefully Carmarthen Town will be at the top of Europe in the not so distant future.

Thanks man - I was deliberating over choosing a side in N Ireland or Ireland, but decided to go for Wales. It is going to be a real challenge to compete in Europe. How far did you get in your Cork save out of interest?

Great start! Love a small country challenge and have family in Carmarthenshire so will follow with great interest!

Cheers - Glad you are following! Yeah small country challenges are really fun, just hoping i stick with it.
 
October


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After our exit from theWord Cup, we could focus solely on the League this month and had just the 6 matches. The JD Welsh Cup starts in November for us, so our schedule may well get a bit busier next month.

Welsh Premier League, Match Day 8: Haverfordwest 2 - 0 Carmarthen Town

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Not a great performance today. We conceded 2 goals in the space of a minute, which included a spectacular own goal from Alex Evans. Haverfordwest thoroughly deserved the 3 points today.




Welsh Premier League, Match Day 9: Carmarthen Town 2 - 2 TNS


A much better performance today, and was frustrating not to get the win. We were the better side and led the game on 2 occasions, but failed to see out the match.




Welsh Premier League, Match Day 10: Rhyl 2 - 1 Carmarthen Town

Our inability to hit the target cost us dear today and we ended up losing to the bottom placed side. I had expected nothing less than a draw, considering Rhyl had failed to win a game this season.... until they played us.

To add insult to injury or I should say injury to insult, we have lost 2 player for just over a month. Prosser has been a regular up front for us this season and will be a big loss, whilst Walters has been in and out of the team, but has been a useful rotation player.





Welsh Premier League, Match Day 11: Carmarthen Town 2 -0 Haverfordwest

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So the reverse fixture against Haverford produced the reverse result and we got our revenge and beating them 2-0. It was a much improved performance from last time out.

So the back up striker, Liam Thomas, who came into the team for the injured Prosser managed to pick up a thigh strain and will be out for around a month.


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Welsh Premier League, Match Day 12: Llandudno 1 - 1 Carmarthen Town

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A pretty even game ended in a draw. Not a huge amount to talk about really.




Welsh Premier League, Match Day 13: Carmarthen Town 0 - 1 Airbus UK


We had a couple of chances to equalise in the game but failed to take them. Again we have lost against a team down in the relegation positions, allowing them to make up ground on us. Not a good result.


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Not a great month for us unfortunately and we have dropped down to 7th in the table. We only managed to get 5 points from a possible18. We are still in a good position to make the top 6 with 9 games to go, but we will need November to be a better month!
 
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