Dooley1990
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- Dec 1, 2009
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Hi everyone! First time poster on this website, although I have posted stories elsewhere. In the past I have reached 2100 on FM2010, come within seconds of the Champions League group stage with B36 from the Faroes on FM2012, and most recently spent 30 seasons traveling around Europe claiming every trophy I could on FM2014.
For this new story however, I am planning to stick much closer to home; just a mile down the road in fact. I will be taking charge of my beloved Ipswich Town, with the aim of replicating the successes of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, however there is a twist. I will only sign players who have come through our own youth academy, which restricts me to only a handful of potential transfer targets, and means I will be relying on the academy graduates to help propel us to the summit of English and European football.
Given the club’s rather fragile economic state, promotion to the Premier League will be crucial, as it will enable us to upgrade the academy to Category 1 status and attract the best talent from around the country. Therefore the aim for the first season has to be to gain promotion to the Premier League. However this would restrict the first team opportunities I can give to our youngsters, so it will be a bit of a catch 22 situation. I did attempt this idea on FM14 a while ago, and managed to earn promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs in the first season before a series of bottom half finishes in the Premier League and then establishing ourselves as European contenders thanks to the development of a few international quality youngsters. So my objectives are as follows:
Short term (1-2 seasons)
- Gain promotion to the Premier League
- Provide first team opportunities to several promising youngsters
- Upgrade our academy to category 1
Medium term (3-5 seasons)
- Survive in the Premier League & establish ourselves as a mid-table team
- 50% of the first team squad to have been developed through our academy
Long term (6-10 seasons)
- Challenge for European qualification
- Win a cup competition
- 100% of the first team squad to have been developed through the academy
I never seem to set myself easy challenges! As the story is so dependent on the academy, I will be taking a keen interest in the progress of the youngsters and have decided to take charge of our U21 and U18 matches. For the U21s this is partly due to the current manager having an appalling record, and partly due to the desire to implement the same playing style as the first team so that any youngsters can slot into the first team if required. For the U18s I'm expecting to be able to identify players with the potential to reach the first team, and to play a key role in developing those youngsters. I’ve also noticed in the past that players tend to get played out of position in youth and reserve games, which won’t happen on my watch! This is something I will review after the first season, and may change depending on how much time it takes up, and if I need to concentrate on the first team.
As I will be focusing heavily on the U18s and U21s in addition to the usual first team responsibilities, I am expecting this to be a relatively slow story. In my previous stories I have done two updates per season, however in order to provide regular updates I am thinking of doing 4 updates per season:
1. Squad introduction, pre-season, August, & September
2. October, November, & December
3. January, February, & March
4. April, May, & End of season review
I’m hoping to be able to get one update out each week, perhaps every Friday, but time will tell if that’s an achievable target. That’s all from me for this introductory post, any questions, support, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for reading, take care!
For this new story however, I am planning to stick much closer to home; just a mile down the road in fact. I will be taking charge of my beloved Ipswich Town, with the aim of replicating the successes of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, however there is a twist. I will only sign players who have come through our own youth academy, which restricts me to only a handful of potential transfer targets, and means I will be relying on the academy graduates to help propel us to the summit of English and European football.
Given the club’s rather fragile economic state, promotion to the Premier League will be crucial, as it will enable us to upgrade the academy to Category 1 status and attract the best talent from around the country. Therefore the aim for the first season has to be to gain promotion to the Premier League. However this would restrict the first team opportunities I can give to our youngsters, so it will be a bit of a catch 22 situation. I did attempt this idea on FM14 a while ago, and managed to earn promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs in the first season before a series of bottom half finishes in the Premier League and then establishing ourselves as European contenders thanks to the development of a few international quality youngsters. So my objectives are as follows:
Short term (1-2 seasons)
- Gain promotion to the Premier League
- Provide first team opportunities to several promising youngsters
- Upgrade our academy to category 1
Medium term (3-5 seasons)
- Survive in the Premier League & establish ourselves as a mid-table team
- 50% of the first team squad to have been developed through our academy
Long term (6-10 seasons)
- Challenge for European qualification
- Win a cup competition
- 100% of the first team squad to have been developed through the academy
I never seem to set myself easy challenges! As the story is so dependent on the academy, I will be taking a keen interest in the progress of the youngsters and have decided to take charge of our U21 and U18 matches. For the U21s this is partly due to the current manager having an appalling record, and partly due to the desire to implement the same playing style as the first team so that any youngsters can slot into the first team if required. For the U18s I'm expecting to be able to identify players with the potential to reach the first team, and to play a key role in developing those youngsters. I’ve also noticed in the past that players tend to get played out of position in youth and reserve games, which won’t happen on my watch! This is something I will review after the first season, and may change depending on how much time it takes up, and if I need to concentrate on the first team.
As I will be focusing heavily on the U18s and U21s in addition to the usual first team responsibilities, I am expecting this to be a relatively slow story. In my previous stories I have done two updates per season, however in order to provide regular updates I am thinking of doing 4 updates per season:
1. Squad introduction, pre-season, August, & September
2. October, November, & December
3. January, February, & March
4. April, May, & End of season review
I’m hoping to be able to get one update out each week, perhaps every Friday, but time will tell if that’s an achievable target. That’s all from me for this introductory post, any questions, support, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for reading, take care!
