FM12 - Thames Valley Rovers

[Grover]

A new challenge, thanks to critch!

We are Thames Valley Rovers, led by manager Jude Langford, a 38 year-old former semi-professional footballer.

The club has no history, no favored personnel, legends or icons. No rivals, no players, no coaching staff.

There is only Chairman Jon Hall and manager Jude Langford.

TVR play their games at Middlesex Stadium, a small 4,000 seater located in Hillingdon in western London. The reserves play at Grosvenor Vale, Ruislip and the club possess good training facilities, an adequate youth setup with good junior coaching and average youth recruitment.

Chairman Hall has generously given Langford a £40M transfer budget and a £499,000 per week wage budget. With a reputation similar to that of a minnow, Langford will have his work cut out for him, hiring staff and a full playing squad with six weeks before the first Premier League match.

In the early going, we'll look at each coach and player signed, how they'll fit into the squad and how tactics will shape up once enough players are in. We will look to get 20-25 players in to serve as first team players, a core of 18, the other 2-7 will likely be fringe players to make up the numbers. We'll look at potential loan signings to help conserve some of the transfer and wage budget. We'll scour Europe for quality players who can help us survive the first season, which should indeed be most trying.

Come On You Rovers!

[Grover]

Tue. July 5, 2011
Thames Valley Rovers: A Background
Founded in 2000, Thames Valley Rovers are a professional English club about to embark on their first full season in the English Premier League. The club play their home matches at Middlesex Stadium and possess good training facilities and adequate youth facilities. The reserve team play at Grosvenor Vale. The club also has good junior coaching and an average youth recruitment network.

With no competition history of note, Thames Valley Rovers are a club with a trophy cabinet waiting to be filled.

TVR Hire Obscure Langford
Thames Valley Rovers chairman Jon Hall has announced the appointment of relative unknown Jude Langford as the club's new manager. Langford is said to be relishing the opportunity to coach at Middlesex Stadium and the TVR supporters are sure to be hoping he can make a difference.

Wed. July 6, 2011
Rovers Add Assistant Manager
Thames Valley Rovers have appointed 41-year old Brazilian Sidnei Lobo as an assistant manager.

Lobo is terrific! His two weaknesses (to me) are motivating (see below) and working with youngsters (11). Other than that, he's the perfect right hand man to get this ball rolling.

Essential Skills, Coaching:
Man Management: 18
Tactical: 17
Technical: 17

Essential Skills, Mental:
Determination: 17
Judging Player Ability: 18
Judging Player Potential: 18
Level of Discipline: 15
Motivating: 12
Tactical Knowledge: 17

Thu. July 7, 2011
Langford Secures Scouting Staff
Paul Montgomery has agreed to terms with TVR to become a scout with the club.

Essential Skills, Mental:
Judging Player Ability: 17
Judging Player Potential: 16

Alan Miller has also agreed to terms with the club to join the scouting staff.

Essential Skills, Mental:
Judging Player Ability: 16
Judging Player Potential: 17

Erich Beer has agreed to terms with the club and becomes the club's first non-British scout, bringing with him an extensive knowledge of Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Holland and Switzerland.

Essential Skills, Mental:
Judging Player Ability: 15
Judging Player Potential: 16

David Mills also joins the growing scouting staff.

Essential Skills, Mental:
Judging Player Ability: 16
Judging Player Potential: 18

Jack Chapman is the fifth member to join the scouting staff.

Essential Skills, Mental:
Judging Player Ability: 16
Judging Player Potential: 16

Dave Fallows is the sixth member to join the scouting staff.

Essential Skills, Mental:
Judging Player Ability: 16
Judging Player Potential: 16

Steve Martin (not the actor) has joined the nearly complete scouting squad.

Essential Skills, Mental:
Judging Player Ability: 16
Judging Player Potential: 17

Sbragia, Farrell Joins Coaching Staff
TVR have appointed 55-year old Ricky Sbragia as a coach.

Sbragia is solid across the board in terms of what he offers us as a coach. His role in training the players is undefined until we get a few more coaches on board.

The club have also appointed 40-year old Tosh Farrell as a coach.

Farrell excels as an attack minded coach and should fit in well somewhere along those lines. We need a decent sized staff in to really determine where these men will fit in for training.

[Poli]

What's the challenge, if you don't mind me asking?

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Poli

What's the challenge, if you don't mind me asking?

We have an absolutely empty roster.

[Grover]

Fri. July 8, 2011
Coaching Staff Grows
TVR have added a goalkeeping coach in Simon Smith.

While his discipline is terrible, I feel the rest of his skills more than make up for it.

Essential Skills, Coaching/Mental:
Goalkeepers: 18
Determination: 16
Level of Discipline: 3
Motivating: 16

We follow the signing of Smith up, with his partner in goalkeeper coaching crime, Stuart Murdoch.

Essential Skills, Coaching/Mental:
Goalkeepers: 16
Determination: 12
Level of Discipline: 9
Motivating: 14

The club has also added Blackburn Rovers coach Phil Cannon to the staff. TVR will pay a compensation fee of £75,000 to acquire the coach.

Cannon is essentially the perfect coach for us. He'll be very versatile.

Essential Skills, Coaching/Mental:
Attacking: 16
Defending: 16
Fitness: 15
Goalkeepers: 17
Tactical: 15
Technical: 16
Working With Youngsters: 20
Determination: 14
Level of Discipline: 14
Motivating: 12

Rovers Add Another Scout
Steve Nickson has agreed to terms with the club and will join the scouting team.

Essential Skills, Mental:
Judging Player Ability: 15
Judging Player Potential: 20

Sat. July 9, 2011
Langford Makes First Signing
Thames Valley Rovers have signed Portuguese experienced midfielder Maniche on a free transfer. Maniche, 33, has only been available for a short time on a free transfer since his Sporting (POR) contract expired.

Fans of TVR have applauded manager Jude Langford for bringing the Portuguese international to Middlesex Stadium. They feel the veteran central midfielder will bring vital experience to their team and could help the development of the club's youngsters.

Club Take: Maniche brings loads of experience to the club and will anchor our midfield for the season. He can pass and still has pretty solid mental skills, though his physicals have started to wither away a bit. He's on a contract of £1.1M per year, which I considered more than palpable for his experience.

Mon. July 11, 2011
Langford Adds Second Player
Queens Park Ranger's Rob Hulse (31) becomes the second player to join Thames Valley Rovers, after the club agreed to a £1.5M transfer fee.

Club Take: Hulse lacks pace, isn't strong mentally, but can finish from the air. He is by all accounts an average player, but at this point we are striving to be an average team.

Spearing Becomes The Third
TVR have signed Liverpool's Jay Spearing for a fee of £725,000. The young central midfielder had been transfer listed at Anfield as the club felt it was time to allow the 22-year old to move on.

Club Take: Spearing should make an excellent complement to Maniche. He's defensive minded and strong defensively. He's not strong technically, but can provide enough for us to be an effective ball winning midfielder. He'll be on £875K per year.

[Grover]

Tue. July 12, 2011
Soares Joins Midfield
TVR have completed the signing of Stoke's former England Under-21 international Tom Soares for a fee of £1.1M. Soares had been disappointed to find himself transfer listed at Britannia Stadium, but the central midfielder will now have a chance to re-establish himself at his new club.

Club Take: Soares will be a solid third midfielder should we need to rotate on a regular basis. He's not mentally strong and can't be leaned on too start too often. His £575K per year salary won't hurt us too much.

Langford Adds Keeper
TVR have signed Jamie Ashdown from Portsmouth for £1.1M. The goalkeeper was part of the Portsmouth team that won the FA Cup in 2008.

Club Take: Ashdown will make a bit more than I'd like at £1.3M per season, but he should be a fairly quality keeper for the club. He's not necessarily the guaranteed starter though, depending on who else we can bring in.

Second Keeper Joins
TVR have completed the signing of Bolton's former Hungary Under-21 international Adam Bogdan for a fee of £2.6M. Bogdan made just four league appearances for Bolton during his five seasons at the Reebok Stadium. The new TVR keeper has spoken of his relief at the move to Middlesex Stadium. The 23-year old revealed that he had been extremely frustrated with the lack of first team opportunities at Bolton and was looking forward to getting his career back on track.

Club Take: Bogdan will absolutely be competition for Ashdown to start and I may rotate the two depending on who has got the hand hand. He's on £875K per season and can hopefully break into the Hungary first team under our tutelage.

Thu. July 14, 2011
Kelly Newest Rovers Member
Thames Valley Rovers have signed Fulham's Irish right-back Stephen Kelly for a fee of £1.5M. Kelly had been disappointed to find himself transfer listed at Craven Cottage, but it said to be relishing the challenge of helping take his new club forward.

Club Take: Will be our starter on the right side of the defense from day one. Fairly solid player, not outstanding. Will make £1.3M per season. A very determined player, something we need a lot of for what will surely be a relegation scrap.

[Grover]

Sat. July 16, 2011
Wilson Joins On Loan
Liverpool's Scottish central defender Danny Wilson has joined TVR on loan until the end of the season. Wilson, who has made two appearances for Liverpool, looks set to have a bright future at Anfield and has recently said that he is optimistic about his chances of cementing a first place team.

However, Wilson has declared himself delighted to be at Middlesex Stadium and is looking forward to getting some invaluable first team experience. The 19-year old said that he was looking to do well and hoping TVR would get a few wins during his time there.

Club Take: No loan fee, no wages to cover. This is the epitome of a bargain signing as he's essentially free. He's athletic, determined and has a lot of room to grow. Very, very pleased with this loan deal.

Mon. July 18, 2011
TVR Add Staff
TVR have appointed Celtic's Miodrag Krivokapic as a fitness coach. Celtic will receive a compensation fee of £75,000 as part of the deal.

Essential Skills, Coaching/Mental:
Fitness: 16
Determination: 10
Level of Discipline: 18
Motivating: 14

The club have also appointed Liverpool's Mark Hulse as a fitness coach. Liverpool will be due £60,000 in compensation fees.

Essential Skills, Coaching/Mental:
Fitness: 20
Determination: 15
Level of Discipline: 13
Motivating: 20

Tue. July 19, 2011
Final Staff Member In
TVR have signed Derby County's John Metgod as a coach. Derby County will receive £60,000 in compensation.

Metgod will be our defending coach and should do a bang-up job.

Essential Skills, Coaching/Mental:
Defending: 17
Determination: 11
Level of Discipline: 13
Motivating: 10

Thu. July 21, 2011
Campbell Joins Rovers
TVR have snapped up towering centre-back Sol Campbell on a free transfer. Campbell, 36, has only been available for a short time on a free transfer since his Newcastle contract expired.

Club Take: I hope he never has to start. Purely a depth signing for one season, because he's very affordable at £170K per season. He still has plenty of skill and mental ability, but his physical skills have greatly eroded.

Fri. July 22, 2011
Cunningham In On Loan
Manchester City's Irish left-back Greg Cunningham has joined TVR on loan until the end of the season. Cunningham, who is valued at £1.6M, currently has three years remaining on his £425K per year deal at Etihad Stadium.

The youngster is delighted that TVR have given him the opportunity to gain some first team experience. The 20-year old told Football365 that he was still learning his trade and that he felt the loan move would be a good step u p from playing in the reserves.

Club Take: Like the Wilson deal, this is completely free to us. He'll start and hopefully develop along the way.

[Grover]

Sat. July 23, 2011
Dragutinovic Signs
TVR have signed Serbian veteran centre-back Ivica Dragutinovic on a free transfer. Dragutinovic, 35, has only been available for a short time since his Sevilla contract expired.

Club Take: Pretty solid despite his age. One year at £245K is easy to swallow and he may just start with Danny Wilson. Another extremely determined player.

Sun. July 24, 2011
Broadfoot Joins Rovers
TVR have signed Rangers' Scottish central defender Kirk Broadfoot for a fee of £850K. Broadfoot was part of the Rangers team who were crowned Clydesdale Bank Premier League Champions in 2011.

The Ex-Rangers defender has told his new club that he can't wait to test himself on a bigger stage.

Club Take: Another cheap deal, £275K for the season. Broadfoot is on the slower side, but is a strong marker, and is yet another determined player with a fantastic workrate.

Wed. July 27, 2011
Rovers Add Paloschi
TVR have signed Chievo's Italian striker Alberto Paloschi for a fee of £3.5M. The youngster previously had 11 months remaining on his old £1.1M per year deal. The new signing has described his move from Chievo as the 'best moment of his life.' The 21-year old forward told journalists that he hoped to get his chance at Middlesex Stadium as soon as possible and make himself a firm favorite with the club's fans.

Club Take: Big signing. Paloschi will be our top forward and has a lot of potential moving forward. He'll make £1.3M per season and we've got him locked up for four years. Excellent anticipation, composure, pace, agility and work rate. He's the type of poacher we want.

Thu. July 28, 2011
Hammill Joins TVR
TVR have signed former England Under-21 international Adam Hammill from Wolves for a fee of £1.5M Hammill, who joined Wolves only six months prior, is said to be eager to join up with his new teammates and impress his manager.

Club Take: Hammill will likely be our number to left midfielder. An average player, he can throw in a cross and get down the wing fairly quickly. Will be a top sub as he can play either wing. He'll make £1M per season.

[Grover]

Fri. July 29, 2011
Volatile Diouf Joins TVR
TVR have signed Senegalese winger El-Hadji Diouf on a free transfer. Diouf had been without a club for awhile and is said to have welcomed the opportunity to get back into soccer.

Club Take: Will be a backup at MR in all likelihood. Still a useful player, but has a tendency to get himself in trouble.

Rovers Sign Phillips
TVR have signed Matt Phillips from Blackpool for £3.7M.

Club Take: Only 20, will absolutely start on the right. Good pace and can cross. Needs to work on some of his mental skills, but he'll have all the opportunity in the world to develop.

Mon. August 1, 2011
TVR Add Vossen
TVR have signed Genk's Belgian striker Jelle Vossen for a fee of £2.2M. The 22-year old ex-Genk striker has told his new club that he can't wait to test himself on a bigger stage. He explained it had long been his dream to play at a higher level and he now had the chance to prove himself.

Club Take: He's slow, but he's a deadly finisher and should complement Paloschi perfectly. If they can dovetail well, we'll be able to score some goals. He'll be on £1.1M per season.

Tue. August 2, 2011
TVR Splash the Cash
Rovers have splashed the cash on West Brom's Chris Brunt. The deal bringing the 26-year old Northern Irish left midfielder to the club is thought to be around £6.75M, spread out over 24 months. TVR manager Jude Langford is currently enjoying the adulation of supporters after securing Brunt's signature. They are delighted the player will soon be strutting his stuff at Middlesex Stadium and cannot wait to see him in action.

Club Take: It's a big transfer fee, but we needed to get in an very good midfielder and this is it. He's excellent on the ball and has the make-up to be club captain. Very pleased with this addition. £1.5M per season is not a bad price to pay at all.

[Grover]

Sun. August 7, 2011
Rovers Sign Ameobi
TVR have signed Shola Ameobi from Newcastle for £1.6M. The ex-Newcastle forward has gone public with his appreciation for the support he received from the Magpies fans while he was at the club. He commented that the level of encouragement he received would be his lasting memory of his time at St. James' Park.

Club Take: Will be solid off the bench, but too unreliable to start. I like the deal and think he'll do a nice job for us.

Mon. August 8, 2011
Captains Named
Chris Brunt has been named Thames Valley Rovers captain, while Sol Campbell has been named vice-captain.

McArthur Joins TVR
TVR have completed the signing of Wigan's 23-year old Scottish central midfielder James McArthur for a fee of £3.5M. He has spoken of his joy at finally completing his move away from DW Stadium and had been frustrated at being frozen out at his former club. He said he's now relishing the opportunity for first team football at Middlesex Stadium.

Club Take: Will likely be the top backup to Maniche to supplant him next season. Only making £725K per season is a steal for an excellent passer with strong vision. A bit slow in midfield, but he has good mental ability and on the ball skills.

Johansson Joins Rovers
TVR have signed 19-year old Swedish right-back Mattias Johansson from Kalmar FF for £1.3M.

Club Take: Johansson has a lot of potential, but even more room to grow. We'll take it slow with him and let Kelly start most games, but Johansson has the long term promise.

Wed. August 10, 2011
Carling Cup Draw
TVR will face Leyton Orient in the Carling Cup second round. The game will be played at Brisbane Road on August 23rd.

[Grover]

Wed. August 10, 2011
Carling Cup Draw
TVR will face Leyton Orient in the Carling Cup second round. The game will be played at Brisbane Road on August 23rd.

Sat. August 13, 2011
Premier League Match Day #1
Citizens Dominate Rovers At Etihad
Manchester City 2 – 0 Thames Valley Rovers
Goals: City: Tevez (33), Aguero (47)
Shots/On Target: City 21/7, TVR 3/2
Possession: City City 52/48
Cautions: City: Dzeko (Y 90+2)
Man of the Match: Sergio Aguero 8.3 (City)
Attendance: 47.196

Form: Bogdan 6.8, Kelly (off 67) 6.7, Broadfoot 7.3, Wilson 6.6, Dragutinovic 6.7, McArthur (off 67) 5.9, Spearing 6.8, Maniche 6.2, Brunt 7.1, Paloschi (off 67) 5.8, Vossen 6.4, Ameobi (on 67) 6.8, Johansson (on 67) 6.8, Diouf (on 67) 6.8

Sun. August 14, 2011
Rovers Add Ostrzolek
TVR have signed Bochum's German left-back Matthias Ostrzolek for a fee of £2M.

Club Take: Ostrzolek has decent potential and is cheap at £525K er season. He'll get a chance to rotate with Cunningham. He also represents our final signing of the transfer window.

We spent £34.56M and still have £124K per week available in wages. All told, not too bad.. as long as we stay in the Premier League anyway.

Season Ticket Sales
The club have announced they have sold 3,240 season tickets for the opening campaign. We should handily sell out every game.

[Grover]

Sat. August 20, 2011
Premier League Match Day #2
Rovers Earn First Point
Thames Valley Rovers 1 – 1 Everton
Goals: TVR: Vossen (25) Everton: McAleny (50)
Shots/On Target: TVR 6/2, Everton 16/5
Possession: TVR 51/49
Cautions: TVR: Brunt (Y 20), McArthur (Y 41), Ostrzolek (Y 44), Vossen (Y 79) Everton: Baines (Y 72)
Man of the Match: John Heitnga 7.4 (Everton)
Attendance: 4,000 (sellout)

Form: Bogdan 7.2, Kelly 7.0, Broadfoot 6.9, Wilson 7.2, Ostrzolek 7.2, McArthur (off 72) 6.5, Spearing (off 72) 6.1, Brunt 6.8, Paloschi (off 72) 5.9, Vossen 7.4, Soares (on 72) 6.6, Hammill (on 72) 6.6, Hulse (on 72) 6.6

Tue. August 23, 2011
Carling Cup (Second Round)
Leyton Orient Embarrass Rovers
Leyton Orient 3 – 0 Thames Valley Rovers
Goals: Orient: Cox (22), Blumstein (47), Tehoue (50)
Shots/On Target: Orient 8/5, TVR 18/6
Possession: TVR 65/35
Man of the Match: Gil Blumstein 8.4 (Orient)
Attendance: 5,377

Form: Bogdan 6.4, Johansson 6.8, Broadfoot 6.6, Wilson 6.7, Cunningham 6.9, Phillips 5.9, Spearing 6.7, Soares 6.8, Hammill (off, inj 32) 6.5, Paloschi 6.3, Hulse 6.5, Brunt (on 23) 6.6

[Izulde]

Exactly how do you set up an empty roster and a complete blank slate team? I'd love to try this at the lowest levels.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Exactly how do you set up an empty roster and a complete blank slate team? I'd love to try this at the lowest levels.

Without knowing the answer to this, I can think of a way to present you with a similar situation. Create a game and a coach, elect to start unemployed, wait a full year, then hire yourself on at one of the teams newly promoted to the BSR -- they'll probably only have 8-12 players of marginal quality, holes in the staff for you to fill, etc.

[Izulde]

Oh, but I'd rather go completely empty, with no history at all. Just formed out of the blue and be able to create and grow the club (Of course there'd have to be a never get fired option to pull that off).

[Grover]

I got the file from Critch, I know it's done through the FM editor.

[Grover]

Sat. August 27, 2011
Premier League Match Day #3
Reds Run Riot Over Rovers
Liverpool 8 – 2 Thames Valley Rovers
Goals: Liverpool: Carroll (6, 14, 74), Suarez (8, 50), Coates (20), Downing (76), Carragher (89) TVR: Paloschi (10, 90)
Shots/On Target: Liverpool 23/15, TVR 8/5
Possession: Liverpool 52/48
Cautions: Liverpool: Pelosi (Y 72), Suarez (Y 82) TVR: Vossen (Y 34, Y+R 48)
Man of the Match: Andy Carroll 9.6 (Liverpool)
Attendance: 45,023

Form: Bogdan 5.9, Kelly (off 45) 5.6, Broadfoot 5.7, Dragutinovic (off 45) 5.1, Cunningham (off 45) 5.6, Phillips 6.8, Spearing 6.8, McArthur 5.7, Brunt 5.2, Paloschi 8.8, Vossen (off, red 48) 6.3, Ostrzolek (on 45) 5.8, Johansson (on 45) 5.2, Campbell (on 45) 5.7

This match was televised.

Wed. August 31, 2011
Premier League Table
1. Liverpool 9
2. Manchester United 9
3. Newcastle 7
4. Tottenham 7
17. Thames Valley Rovers 1

Early days, but we're not in the relegation zone quite yet. Of course, thanks to the Liverpool match, we have allowed more goals than anybody else in the league save for Norwich City.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Grover

I got the file from Critch, I know it's done through the FM editor.

It's pretty straightforward in the editor, the editor is much better than it used to be. Create a new club, fill in the relevant details, then go to "competitions" menu. Find the division you want to start in and "swap" one of the teams with your new team and it should be good to go.

One thing to remember is don't set the year founded too recently because the FA Cup only admits teams who have been around for a few years. Three or five, I think. Hence why TVR were set to be founded in 2000 and not 2010.

Also there's no "never get fired" option, but if you do get fired there's nothing to stop you retiring the fired guy and adding a new manager and taking over your team again.

Good luck, Grover. Tough schedule to start to the season. I'll be reading along.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Grover

A new challenge, thanks to critch!

We are Thames Valley Rovers, led by manager Jude Langford, a 38 year-old former semi-professional footballer.

The club has no history, no favored personnel, legends or icons. No rivals, no players, no coaching staff.

There is only Chairman Jon Hall and manager Jude Langford.

TVR play their games at Middlesex Stadium, a small 4,000 seater located in Hillingdon in western London. The reserves play at Grosvenor Vale, Ruislip and the club possess good training facilities, an adequate youth setup with good junior coaching and average youth recruitment.

Chairman Hall has generously given Langford a £40M transfer budget and a £499,000 per week wage budget. With a reputation similar to that of a minnow, Langford will have his work cut out for him, hiring staff and a full playing squad with six weeks before the first Premier League match.

In the early going, we'll look at each coach and player signed, how they'll fit into the squad and how tactics will shape up once enough players are in. We will look to get 20-25 players in to serve as first team players, a core of 18, the other 2-7 will likely be fringe players to make up the numbers. We'll look at potential loan signings to help conserve some of the transfer and wage budget. We'll scour Europe for quality players who can help us survive the first season, which should indeed be most trying.

Come On You Rovers!

Nice. Good luck!