When They Kick At Your Front Door: A Brixton FC Story

[BrixtonFC]

“When they kick at your front door, how you gonna come?”
That is the opening line to the song “Guns Of Brixton” by The Clash. I bet the writer, The Clash’s bassist Paul Simonon, never imagined that the line could be interpreted the way I have. “Kick” could be a reference to kicking the football and “front door” could mean football being played professionally right there in Brixton, on the former ground of HM Prison Brixton. And I hope the fans “come” in droves.

What is this all about?
This a Football Manager 2014 Dynasty Report inspired by my love of English music. I’ll discuss Football Manager in my second post.

Eh?
My long fascination with England is rooted in my love of bands from there. My two favorite bands are New Model Army and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. Other English acts that I love are XTC, The Clash, Pop Will Eat Itself, Queen, Gary Numan, Billy Bragg, and The Streets.

There are many connections between Brixton and the music I listen to. First and foremost, the song I mentioned above, “Guns of Brixton.” Another reference you might be familiar with is Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue.” Many Carter USM songs make reference to areas like Tulse Hill, Clapham, Peckham, New Cross, and of course Brixton itself. Several musicians were born there (David Bowie, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon), lived there (Mike Skinner, Jimbob, Fruitbat) or spent time in Brixton Prison (Glenn Danzig, Mick Jagger).

Speaking of Brixton Prison, in the fictional story (in my head) of the team’s origin, their future massive stadium will be on the former site of the prison spreading up into Windmill Gardens, its name sake. (Brixton Prison was closed due to its upkeep becoming too expensive for the local government and the Brixton club owners agreeing to build a new facility outside the city.) Windmill Gardens is scheduled to open on 1 July 2018 and thus the club built a small stadium on the westside of Brockwell Park; it also functions as the training ground/reserve stadium and will remain so after the move in 2018. City Heights Academy in the real-world is where the Brixton Youth Academy is.

I’m not being too original but the nicknames for Brixton will be Mortars and Guns. I made Guns the second nickname because those bastards at Arsenal are already the Gunners and I don’t want too much confusion.

Other Inspiration
This Dynasty Report was directly inspired by three people:

Jim Gindin. http://www.solecismic.com/ Of course it starts with him. In the late 90s he took sports simming to a new level. I guess over the years I spent around $150 on his products. From around Christmas 1998 to Halloween 2007 I played FOF or FOF:TCY (mostly TCY) just about every day. For 2 to 12 hours per day. Money very well spent. You’re a legend, Jim! Newsflash! FOF Nine comes out later this month!!!

Scott Brown. Football Manager 2014 When I finally got my act together and stayed with FM for more than a month, I was struggling to understand position combinations. While researching I found this wonderful Let’s Play by accident and learned some stuff. More importantly, I was entertained. I’ve read it in full probably four or five times since October 2019. I wonder how he feels about Wrexham getting two Sugar Daddies.

Loki Doki. Loki Doki - YouTube A YouTube personality (and what a personality!) who lives a simple life of playing Football Manager for profit. Not a lot of profit, mind you. He’s always entertaining and keeps me out of the FM doldrums; I watch him to get a good laugh and get inspired to get back into the game.

Next
Next post I’ll delve into what Football Manager is and discuss the database I used to create the experience.

[Young Drachma]

Niice

[BrixtonFC]

Welcome to Football Manager 2014. If you don’t know what Football Manager is, read the next paragraph. If you already have devoted your life and soul to Football Manager, skip the next paragraph.

Football Manager is THE premier sports simulation computer game for managing football clubs. Clubs not teams, I’m talking association football, or as us ‘mericans call it, soccer. You can choose to manage a club in your nation of choice, though for some of the smaller nations you have to download custom databases from Steam Workshop. Everywhere in the world except ‘merica the football leagues have a promotion/regulation pyramid structure meaning that bad teams get dropped to a level below and the good teams get elevated to a level above. To put it in U.S. terms, the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions would have been dropped down to Division 1 and Alabama and Georgia would be in the NFL.

Let’s Talk Pyramid Schemes
For this story I am playing in England in the 9^th level of the English football pyramid (English football league system - Wikipedia). Essentially, at that level it’s a bunch of guys in their late 20s and early 30s trying to (re)capture that glory that eluded them. FM doesn’t come stocked with that many leagues for England (you can go down to the 6^th level) so I had to download a databased called “England lower leagues” by FloddyJump. Mad props, dude! (Because the base hair styles are very limited, I downloaded from FM Scout the FM2014 hair pack, titled “OLT Expanded Hair Pack v4.0 – No Shirts”. As an early 50s balding man, I'm absolutely not jealous of some of the hair styles. Or Harry Styles.)

However, because Brixton is a fictional club, I’ve had to add them to the database. The scenario I’ve chosen is that Brixton is owned by a Sugar Daddy who has pumped loads of money into the team, built a highest-quality Youth Academy, built a 7,000-seat Reserve Stadium (that will act as the Senior stadium for now), and is building a 25,000-seat stadium, which will lie on the grounds of real-world Windmill Gardens and HM Prison Brixton, set to open on 1 July 2018.

I’ve also granted Brixton a full complement of coaches because despite loving the endless scouting for players, I just cannot stand scouting for staff. I’ve got an assistant manager (hereafter known forever and ever as an AssMan), a head of youth development, two goalkeeping coaches, two fitness coaches, and five regular coaches.

I added Brixton to the Southern Counties East League, swapping out Phoenix Sports because they had the lowest Reputation (1). I’ve given Brixton a reputation of 1,001 (out of 10,000), which is just 1 better than the highest team in the SCE, Whyteleafe.

I have not added any players to the database for Brixton as I wish to start what is known as an Empty Cupboard Challenge. I plan to simulate through the season until Youth Intake Day, which in 2014 should be 13 March. This means I’ll only have grey players on my team. Grey players are filler and worthless. Sure hope I have a good record by 13 March so I can get promoted!

Game Setup
As far as other playable leagues, I added Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I also added Belorussia so I could have a late-February start in order to have enough time to find players before the start of the season. However, I changed my mind on simming until Youth Intake Day but then I screwed up and forgot to remove Belorussia. Once I realized my mistake I removed them from the database but it’ll take several month of game time for them to disappear. (This is because you have to let a nation finish its season before it can be removed.) So with a start date of 20 February 2013, it’s time to start the fun.

Next
We’ll do a little bit more of introduction and then we’ll “start” the game by simming until 13 March 2014.

[Chas in Cinti]

Ok, I'm here for it!

[BrixtonFC]

The Story Begins

Welcome to Brixton. I hope you didn’t take the Victoria line to its end at Brixton Tube Station and then walked to the stadium. That’ll work in the future but for now it’s best you take the Thameslink to Herne Hill station. Then walk across the fields to get to Brockwell Park, the home of South London’s greatest football club.

Brockwell Park stadium has a capacity for 7,000 football fans (5,000 seated & 2,000 standing for now) and is the current home of Brixton. By 1 July 2018 the 25,000-seat permanent home of Windmill Gardens will open.

Brixton formed on 1 January 2011, starting as a Youth Academy but not actually joining the FA officially until the start of the 2013/2014 season, when they entered the Southern Counties East Football League.

Gamewise, I really didn’t want to start by signing players and then come March having my Youth Intake go straight into the U18 team. So I went on Holiday until The Day and from there started.

[BrixtonFC]

Youth Intake Day
We join our heroes on 13 March 2014. Despite having only grey players and no coaches (I’ll get to that later) with just my AssMan to run things, we are top of the table! After 27 games (of 36) played, we have 17 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses for 55 points. We have scored 44 goals and conceded 28. Three teams are only 3 points behind us: Canterbury, Holmesdale, and Whyteleafe. Only the top team gets promoted so I better damn well lead this team to enough victories to seal that.

I do not have a Head of Youth Development (I’ll get to that later) to tell me we have “possibly one of the best players of his generation” or “a golden generation” but I do have an AssMan who “is excited by Gary Allan whom he feels has the potential to be one of the most gifted players to come through the youth ranks at Brixton in recent years.” Let us take a look at Mr. Allan!

[BrixtonFC]

Gary Allan
Gary Allan, ST (Stars: 4.5/5.0) As Loki Doki would say, “Tasty!” It’s pretty clear that I’ve over-powered Brixton’s youth system. To balance that, when you are in the 9^th level of England’s football pyramid, you don’t get the best descriptions on a player’s potential. My AssMan believes Allan’s Current Ability is that of a “leading player for most Southern Counties East sides” but his Potential Ability “can improve a lot in the future.” Unregardless™, it’s quite obvious that he’ll be our right-side Striker for years to come. The trick will be keeping him long enough to get easy promotions until at least League 2. 16 finishing on a 16-year-old!!! Wowza. I like to use my Strikers as Defensive Forwards when I’m defending a lead and I think he’ll do just fine with that. Oh, and AssMan reports that he is a Consistent player and his personality is Resolute. Tasty indeed.

[BrixtonFC]

The second player in the intake is Abdulhay Mumba, a right Central Defender who has dual English-Zambian citizenship so you know I’m going to lose him to lots of international matches. What’s the over/under on when his first U18 match is?


Abdulhay Mumba
Abdulhay Mumba, DC (Stars: 4.0/5.0) He’s a giant for his age and I wonder if he’ll grow any more. I love players who have high Teamwork so I’m very pleased. His Marking is great too but his Heading is a bit of a concern. He has the same AssMan report as Allan, well, they all do, for his CA and PA. Luckily, he is also Consistent and Resolute.

[BrixtonFC]

The next Candidate is Paul Mellor, a tall, 15-year-old Goalkeeper.

Paul Mellor
Paul Mellor, GK (Stars: 3.5/5.0) Beggars can’t be choosers but sure would have liked his Handling, One On Ones, and Reflexes to be higher. I also prefer my GKs to have an Eccentricity below 10. I guess his Teamwork makes up for that? He’ll probably be my Cup Goalkeeper as he has a strong Important Matches rating. I think he’ll improve nicely as he is Fairly Ambitious. Another interesting note about Mellor is that right out the gate I’m his Favoured Personnel.

[BrixtonFC]

Next item up for bid is our likely starting GK, Micky Madley. If he had a really high Eccentricity I probably would nickname him “Mad Micky.”


Micky Madley
Micky Madley, GK (Stars: 4.0/5.0) Luckily, his Eccentricity is lower than 10. And his Handling and Reflexes are higher than Mellor’s so I’m happy. Just wish he had higher Teamwork. At nearly 6’1” at 16 is also promising; I hope he grows another 2 inches, at least.

[BrixtonFC]

Next is Mumba’s left-hand man, the left-footed Central Defender Lee Osborne.


Lee Osborne
Lee Osborne, D LC (Stars: 4.5/5.0) Unlike Mumba, Lee can actually head a ball! Also very pleasing is his high Bravery. Concerning, just like Mumba, is his lake of Aggression. I guess the general theme with him is that where he lacks in one place, he makes up for it in another. He is weak in Consistency and strong in Important Matches. Oddly, he is the first kid whose Favoured Club is Brixton. I guess the others are ingrates.

[BrixtonFC]

Our first midfielder is Wayne Walker. Coincidentally, I just started watching Game of Thrones so I think his nickname shall be obvious.

Wayne Walker
Wayne Walker, DR, DM, MC (Stars: 3.5/5.0) “White” Walker is the first player I’m not quite sure what to do with. I ultimately plan to use a 4-2-4 as my primary tactic, 4-4-2 Diamond for my counter-attacking formation and 3-2-3-2 for closing out games or as an attacking formation against really weak opponents. Ergo, I like my Wingers to be able to play as Midfielders too. And I like my Midfielders to also be Defensive Midfielders and Attacking Midfielders. He’s a bit short for what I like my midfielders to be. He’s fast and has good defensive attributes so DR/WBR seems like a good idea but he can’t cross to save his life. I guess time will tell. Did I mention that he’s Professional and Consistent? He’s a dual English-Northern Irish citizen so he too like Mumba might get poached for some U18 games.

[BrixtonFC]

Our next star-in-waiting is Left-back Gary Miles, the tallest 15-year-old DL I’ve ever seen.

Gary Miles
Gary Miles, DL (Stars: 4.0/5.0) Gary will definitely be a DL/WBL but I’m thinking of adding DC to take advantage of his Heading and Jumping Reach. In a three-centreback formation he’ll be DC l and Osborne will slide to DC c, most likely in a Ball Playing Defender Role. I do like that his Aggression is above 10 but at 18…if his Sportsmanship or Dirtiness are high, he’s going to be a card magnet. He’s also the second player whose Favoured Club is Brixton. Yeah! (I wonder, is that an indication of a high Loyalty? I’ve never looked into that before.)

[BrixtonFC]

Our next youth is a speed-merchant but I think I’ll keep Shaun Smith as a Midfielder.

Shaun Smith
Shaun Smith, DM, MC (Stars: 4.5/5.0) I wonder what the over/under is for when he reaches 20 for Pace? Before his 18^th birthday? With a high Determination and Leadership, I think he might be the Captain in the future (with Allan the Vice-Captain?) so I’ll keep him in the middle so he can dictate things. I’ll get his Defensive Midfielder up to Natural and later worry about doing the same for Attacking Midfielder. You know, for a 15-year-old, there’s no real weakness in his game except for Long Throws, which really doesn’t matter for someone who won’t be on the wings. (Third player who is a Brixton Supporter.)

[BrixtonFC]

And now we meet our likely second Striker, Sean Dunne.

Sean Dunne
Sean Dunne, DM, MC, ST (Stars: 2.5/5.0) Upon further review, I’m not so sure about him now. I’m going to play Allan on the right as an Advanced Forward so I’m hoping to find a worthwhile left ST as a Deep Lying Forward in a Support Role. Dunne doesn’t fit that bill. So he’s destined to be my third option and might not last long with the team if I can find a better option. (His height would make you think he might make it as a Target Man but I don’t use that Role in any of my formations.)

[BrixtonFC]

In think I know who will be my MR/AMR; Paul Ward

Paul Ward
Paul Ward, D/M/AMR (Stars: 1.0/4.5) Ward is the first Candidate who does not have 5.0 Potential Ability. Aside from Natural Fitness, no Attributes stand out. With a Balanced personality and lacking Consistency, he won’t be a shoe-in past this year. But he can play 3 or 4 positions on the right side so he’ll get plenty of game time to reach his max potential.

[BrixtonFC]

Here we have our second midfielder, Reece Egan, who is more suited for Advanced Midfielder while “White” Walker is more suited for Defensive Midfielder.

Reece Egan
Reece Egan, M/AMC (Stars: 1.5/5.0) This Spirited player is rated as Consistent and has some good technical attributes. I can see him as being a creator and will likely play as a right Advanced Playmaker in the 4-2-4. (Fourth player who is a Brixton Supporter.)

[BrixtonFC]

We have our first non-English player! Mark Bodin is a Welshman who won’t get many starts.

Mark Bodin
Mark Bodin, DC (Stars: 5.0/2.0) Poor Bodin, he’ll probably never get a start. He’s got somewhat fine defensive skills but for a DC he’s short, can’t jump and can’t head. He does have Pace and Acceleration so maybe I’ll convert him to DR and hope his Crossing gets to a respectable level.

[BrixtonFC]

Oh, hello there, Mr. Steven Bowerman! Would you like to be our left Striker?

Steven Bowerman
Steven Bowerman, AML, ST (Stars: 2.5/5.0) This spikey-haired cherub with high Consistency will easily be our starting Deep Lying Forward. Look at that Teamwork! Look at that Natural Fitness! -Takei voice-Oh myyyy -Takei voice- That 6 Stamina means he’ll be hard-pressed to finish out matches but he’ll be ready two days later. Oh and look at that Flair! Really good Finishing and Composure too. And I’m already his Favoured Personnel! I’ll probably eventually train him to be Natural at AML just for versatilities sake.

[BrixtonFC]

Seems we have our third option at MC with Leon Hill

Leon Hill
Leon Hill, DC, MC (Stars: 1.5/5.0) Boy, just look at that Dribbling…he’ll have to get by on his Passing and Physical attributes. I’ll add DMC before working on AMC. Might even try to get DC to Natural if he grows another inch or two. (Fifth player who is a Brixton Supporter but I’m not his Favoured Personnel, my AssMan Sam McCarthy is.)

[BrixtonFC]

Great! Just what I needed. Another DR. Welcome, Gerald Barness.

Gerald Barness
Gerald Barness, D RC, DM (Stars: 5.0/4.0) He can’t mark, he can’t cross, he’s too short to be a DC. I don’t know what I’ll do with him but he sure is fast. I guess for now he’ll be option 3 at DR. (Sixth player who is a Brixton Supporter.)

[BrixtonFC]

Did I mention I have an endless amount of DRs? Throw Chris Mason on the pile over there.

Chris Mason
Chris Mason, D RC (Stars: 1.5/5.0) Well, I guess he’s Option 2 if “White” Walker is starting in the midfield. I mean, he’s not bad but kinda slow compared to the other options. I guess by the end of the season or the beginning of the next season I’ll know who I want at DR. He’s the first Englishman not from London, he’s from Enfield. (Our Welshman is from Cardiff.)

[BrixtonFC]

There we have ‘em folks, the 2014 Brixton Youth Candidates. We’ve got a lot of major winners and pretty good depth with only a few “duds.” You may have noticed that their Determination ranges from 11 to 19 and Natural Fitness from 9 to 19, which is pretty amazing. On the down side, only one player (Gary Miles) has a Stamina in the double digits. Dems da breaks! Luckily, the Southern Counties East only has 18 teams and the FA Vase is the only cup we remain in so fixture congestion is not a worry. They’ll be tired on Sundays but ready for training on Monday.

[BrixtonFC]

Remember how I said earlier that I had no coaches but in the database post I said I did? Also remember saying I had Belorussia originally but changed my mind? Well, combine that will the whole simulating until Youth Intake Day thing, I didn’t get the chance to see that all my staff except my AssMan had contracts that expired on 30 June 2013. So the first order of business was signing coaches and a Head of Youth Development.

Well look at that! All my old staff are just sitting out there with no team to work for. I offer them contacts and luckily my HOYD agrees immediately. The rest of the staff sign the next day before the Youth Candidates take on the U18 team. The Youth win 3-0 with Gary Allan getting Player of the Match for scoring 2 goals. Paul Ward got the other playing from the Right Midfielder position in a 4-4-2.

I had planned on going with the Shaun Smith as Captain and Gary Allan as Vice Captain but quickly decided I need an extra body or two and someone who could mentor some of the youths.

Meet our Captain, Neil McMath. (Shouldn’t that be McMaths? We’re in England after all.)

Neil McMath
Neil McMath, DC, DM, M/AMC (Stars: 2.0/5.0)I was drawn in by his Determination, Leadership, Teamwork, Work Rate and physicals but he’s really not skilled at playing football. His Stamina will allow him to play full games and he should be ready for the next match quite easily. He’ll end up being a Core player, Core in this case being what I call my midfielders who can play DMC, MC, and AMC. I use Cores because ultimately I’ll be playing 4-4-2 Diamond and two self-created formations I call Arrow and Anchor, which I’ll explain once I get the right personnel for them.

Now let’s get to our first match!

vs. Canterbury City, 15 March 2014
vs. Canterbury City, 15 March 2014

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control
Starting 11: Madley, Mason, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, Ward, Egan, McMath, Dunne, Allan, Bowerman
Subs: Barness, Walker, Bodin, Hill, Smith

Allan’s first goal was a nice header from a Paul Ward cross, simply effortless. Egan’s freak goal looked like a cross attempt about 6 yards toward the sideline from the corner of the 18-yard box. I think he was aiming for Dunne who was at the opposite corner of the goal all by his lonesome. Allan’s second goal was an early cross from Mumba, about 12 yards deep into Brixton territory. Canterbury’s DC l completely misjudged the flight of the ball and Allan chased it and sent a screamer in from about 10 yards out. Canterbury’s goal was well-deserved with their ML beating Mason then Madley from a very tight angle. Bowerman got his goal with an easy header from a rebound off the crossbar from Barness’ long-range attempt in the aftermath of our corner attempt.

On the downside, new-signing McMaths was injured the 40^th minute but he was able to see out the game. Luckily it’s just a dead leg so he’ll only be out 3 to 4 days.

The Week Between
I was also thinking I would just stay with the original 16 players (plus 1) but another fallout of having simmed so much of the first season is that I missed the opportunity to opt-out of the U18 and U23 leagues. Ergo, I need bodies. Over the next two weeks I’ll sign several youths to round-out the U18 team, who I’ll introduce later.

[BrixtonFC]

vs. Tunbridge Wells, 22 March 2014
vs. Tunbridge, 22 March 2014

Starting 11: Madley, Walker, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, Ward, Smith, McMath, Dunne, Allan, Bowerman
Subs: Mason, Barness, Walker, Bodin, Hill, Egan

Allan once again with two goals and PoM award! It’s a pretty straightforward play coming along the left wing with a Bowerman low cross right to Allan’s feet who just taps it in as the goalie is in no position to defend. Bowerman’s goal is a forceful hit from 6 yards out. It came again from the left with Dunne feeding Bowerman. Tunbridge’s goal comes down the middle with their two forwards out-smarting and out-pacing Mumba and Osborne. Allan’s second goal again comes from a deep cross from Brixton territory, this time about 3 yards deep and coming from Ward. It goes straight to Bowerman who nods it on to a streaking Allan, who blasts it from the 18-yard line.

The Week Between
Here are the 15 players I signed for the U18 team. I expect a couple will graduate to the Seniors team by the start of next season. I make a point of only signing players with Determination and Natural Fitness in the double-digits. I try to avoid bad personalities but I did take a stab at two.
· GK Josh Hancock: Strictly filler, no future.
· DR Ryan Metcalf: Can play a lot of positions and is a Model Professional but really has no future. I’ll keep him around so long as he’s cheap and productive.
· DC Andrew Hammond: Can only play one position but will try to add DR. No real future.
· DC Derek Kinniburgh: Can only play one position but has loads of potential. Is Unambitious so I’m hoping the McMaths tutoring will turn him around.
· DC James Davies: Is left-footed but is Competent at DR. I will try to add DL but not convinced he’ll be around many years.
· DC Matt Anderson: Can also play DMC and MC but is also Unambitious. He’ll be tutored by McMaths after Kinniburgh but probably won’t stick around.
· MC Nick Mason: Can play a lot of positions down the middle and DR in a pinch. Has a 20 Determination and some potential so he should stick.
· WBL Lewis Williams: I’ll eventually have a need for Wingbacks and maybe he’ll get to play. Probably not.
· MR Gary Spence: I’ll eventually have a need for Attacking Midfielders and maybe he’ll get to play. Probably not.
· ML Conall Lamont: Ultimately, I’ll need players who can play attacking wingers in the Arrow formation who can then slide into central midfield in the Anchor formation to close out the game. Lamont will probably get some starts in the future.
· AML Kyle Blair: He’s Professional, he can play AML and ML, and has loads of potential. He’ll eventually start for us.
· MC John Breen: Future Core player but that at this moment cannot play DMC.
· ST Lee West: He can play AMC and MC too and has a boatload of potential. Definitely gonna be around a long while.
· ST Ian Collins: Very Ambitious and can play AML. Going to be good I feel.
· ST Jim Murdoch: He’s just filler. A Resolute filler, but filler nonetheless.

We didn’t have a match set for Saturday, 29 March 2014 so I arranged a friendly with the U18 squad to see how the new arrivals fare and keep my Seniors match fit. It was a 3-0 drubbing with Allan and Bowerman once again shining. None of the U18s did well with Kinniburgh and Collins being especially stinky.

[BrixtonFC]

The Week Between

We signed another player after the transfer window closed so he won’t actually join the team until 6 June.

Richie McConachie
Richie McConachie, DC (Stars: 2.5/5.0) This Scottish wonder is going to have a long stay with us. At 16 he’s already got a 13 Heading and Jumping Reach, and 16 Natural Fitness. He’s two-footed and I envision him as my DC c in a 3-centerback formation.


I guess this is a good time to talk about my scouts. The board won’t allow me to scout beyond the UK and Ireland so I have my four scouts rotate around the four countries until they have full knowledge of each. I probably won’t be able to scout outside this area until we reach the Championship so despite being allowed up to 7 scouts, right now I’m just rocking with 5; the 4 roamers and 1 Chief Scout, who scouts the next opposition.


On 3 April the board offers me a new contract. I’m currently making £950 and they’ve given me a £31,000 weekly budget. (Sugar Daddies are great! But I may have overpowered things by making mine the Foreground variety.) I don’t go hogwild because I really don’t deserve a new contract having simmed for so long. I now make £1,000 per week. They’ve upped the weekly budget by £1,200 but I’m currently only spending £3,800. The advantage of having nothing but a bunch of teens on the team, I suppose.

At Ashford, 5 April 2014
at Ashford, 5 April 2014

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control
Starting 11: Madley, Walker, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, Ward, McMath, Smith, Dunne, Allan, Bowerman
Subs: Mason, Bodin, Walker, Barness, Hill, Egan

It’s our first away game since I “took over” but the result remains the same. Mumba from just inside Ashford territory launches a long ball to the right wing where Ward awaits to send a short pass to Allan, who has an easy shot. The second goal also comes from the right where Allan gets a pass from Ward who sends it to the far post for an easy header by Bowerman. We catch Ashford sleeping for the third goal, hitting them with a counter-attack with only four passes: McMath-Ward-McMath-Bowerman. Bowerman hits a screamer from just inside the arc that just clears the goalkeep’s outstretched hands to go into the upper right corner. After that I slow things down and just try to kill time. Ashford gets off four shots all game but none of them are on target.


Not only has Allan scored in every game, he’s been the one to draw first blood each time. Also of note is that we’ve only had two yellow cards so far. I was worried that youthful exuberance would lead to more so I’m very pleased on that front. And one more note, no major injuries so far!

[BrixtonFC]

at St. Helens, 9 April 2014

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control
Starting 11: Mellor, Walker, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, Ward, McMath, Smith, Lamont, Allan, Bowerman
Subs: Madley, Mason, Barness, Bodin, Hill, Egan, Dunne

Our first mid-week game sees us in the in the semi-final of the FA Vase. Dunne was pretty spent from Saturday’s game so I brought Lamont in from the U18s and he did a fine job. Not as fine as Allan as he gets his first hat trick! First goal: about 40 yards out, his free kick goes into the far top corner, the goalie never had a chance. Second goal: It takes a while to get it but it’s “classic” Control football. Thirteen touches by five players then we eventually lose possession but Bowerman recovers from his mistake, steals it from a St. Helens defender and crosses it to Allan who heads it in from about six yards out. Third goal: Lamont sends a prayer into the box from a free kick in Outer BFE with no hope of making anything of it but our opponent’s MC l mugs Allan, throwing him to the ground. Allan has no problem completing the penalty kick.

Of note, a whopping 13 fans showed up to watch St. Helens crash and burn. Also, I hope you noticed that I used Mellor in goal, just like I said I would. But now that we are in the final for the Vase, I’ll probably go back to Madley. The final, by the way, will be our final match of the season. We only have one home game left but the FA Vase final is at Wembley. We’ll get to keep half the concession (I think) and half the gate receipts so I hope it’s a good turnout. We could really use the money as we’ve barely made a profit for the season; only £55,000. We only have £12 and three quarter million in the bank. < insert joke about budding mega-bastards here :-D >

The Week Between
I realize that I really don’t have a good solution at left wing. In the league games I’ve had to move Miles up to ML and bring Barness in at DL to close out the games. That’s not sustainable so I went looking for someone young and cheap.

Glenn Farquhar, M/AML (Stars: 2.0/5.0) Oh, hello! He is only 15 and can cross like a Champ and dribble like a Premier League player. The 16 Determination outweighs the Balanced personality I suppose. He’ll for sure be my starting left winger come next season; he doesn’t join us until 6 June.

(Why was he on the trash heap? I don’t know but I’m sure glad so many players are. Actually, I think it really comes down to the size of the database I’m using. If my calculations are right, and they rarely are, there are 732 English teams in my database. Throw in the 43 from Scotland, 20 from Ireland, 42 from Northern Ireland, 12 from Wales and the unfortunate, still lingering 28 from Belarus…let’s see…carry the 7…that’s 877 teams! The game has to have about, what 36 players per team, give or take, that’s 32,000 players! The law of averages in a simulated world means there will always be plenty of cheap good players for the teams in the very bottom of the pyramid.)

Welcome, Farquhar, I’m sure you’ll be around for a while bringing us glory.
Also this week, Sam McCarthy, my AssMan elects to start a coaching course at his own expense. Coaches need these courses to gain better licenses, which is how the game engine determines whether or not staff will reach their full Potential Ability. I’ll have to remember to have the club cover the cost of his next course.

[BrixtonFC]

at Holmesdale, 12 April 2014

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control
Starting 11: Madley, Mason, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, Ward, Smith, Walker, Blair, Dunne, West
Subs: Barness, Bodin, Hill, Egan, Allan

You know, a two-nil defeat is not a hammering. Don’t know why the programmers chose that. The players’ lack of Stamina has really caught up to us. McMaths and Bowerman don’t even suit up and Allan rides the bench. Speaking of bench, because we are using 2014 rules, I can only use three subs, which sucks because sub Egan got injured in the 83rd minute and I have to pace the touchline nervously for 10 minutes while a man down. Luckily it turns out Egan’s injury was much ado about nothing.

Our first goal comes after half-time after some beautiful passing I’ve come to expect in this 4-4-2 Control formation. The second comes from a chipshot by Ward on the right onto the feet of a forgotten West who slips past the stunned centrebacks and launches a missile from 17 yards. From that moment until the 83rd it’s just a bunch of keep-away.

The Week Between
I also want someone who can play all the wing positions because this far down the pyramid you can only name five substitutes. Versatility is key!

Brian Veale, ML, AMRL
Another 15-year-old with random great Attributes. He’s gonna be awesome so long as I can get his Pace up to something respectable. Again, he won’t show up until 6 June.

[BrixtonFC]

Saturday, 19 April was also a hole in our fixture list so I arranged a friendly. Ideally, in the future when we get to the Premier League, Crystal Palace will be our archrival so I chose them. But there is no way in hell they’ll accept a friendly but their U21 manager was amenable. Also, I have hopes of making some extra cash and want some fans to show up.

Well look at that! I made £13,007! I guess that’s what happens when 1,177 fans show up for a friendly! Which we won, by the way. We got a free kick in the middle of the field about 40 yards out from the Palace goal. They were snoozing so Allan took a quick kick to a streaking Ward who was collapsing in from the wing. He sends in a screamer from about 15 yards out. I get a good scare from Miles who goes down in extra time in the first half. Turns out it was nothing. Harrumph!

The Week Between
Gary Todd, AML, ST (Stars: 4.0/4.0) I was still looking for U18 bodies and found this unemployed Norn Iron lad. Aside from the nice Attributes, he is also Professional. I think he might have somewhat of a future but there’s one thing that really stands out: his low Balance. I’ve noticed this a bit, especially in FM2022, where a player looks pretty damn good but the Balance is out-of-character low. I’ve wondered if it’s an indicator that they really aren’t that good. Maybe that their CA is really close to their PA. Maybe I’ll keep him around just to test that theory. He too will join on 6 June.

at Deal, 26 April 2014
Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control
Starting 11: Madley, Walker, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, Ward, McMath, Smith, Dunne, Allan, Bowerman
Subs: Mason, Bodin, Barness, Egan, Hill
Ho-hum, another Two-Nil “hammering.” Another easy header by Allan off a simple cross from Bowerman opens the scoring. Late in the game, Mason tries to cross to Bowerman who is on the six-yard box line but gets sandwiched between two goons. Allan easily scores from the spot.

And best of all? We win the Division! We’re going up! I can take my foot off the gas now and start more squad rotation to get more youngsters experience for next season. Maybe even shoe-horn in a new formation.

It’s been a good season since Youth Intake. No losses, no ties. We’ve outscored our opponents 21 to 2. And six straight shutouts. Allan leads the scoring with 10 goals while Bowerman has 4, to go along with 5 assists. Also of note, both gentlemen have an average rating above 8.00. Pretty darn good, if I say so myself.

The Week Between
Dale Dunphy, DC (Stars: 2.5/5.0 ) Another week, another body for the U18s; meet Dale Dunphy. Well, actually I think he might be better than Bodin. I’ll probably use him as a DC c when I add a 3-5-2 formation if McConachie is Tired. And probably second-choice DC r in my four-back sets. I mean, look at his Heading, Bravery, Jumping Reach, Natural Fitness, Strength and height! Still can’t believe all these youths are on the scrap pile. Maybe he never pans out for the Premier League but for sure he’ll get us up the pyramid. He’s Fairly Ambitious so if I can find him a mentor to get that Determination up he’ll be perfect and reach his max potential. See you on 6 June, Dale!

This week also sees us entering into May meaning we’ll finally get some progress bars of players’ Development. So the month training report indicates that Dunne, McMaths, and Barness made good progress in Tactics, while Egan, Bowerman, and Hill regressed in Fitness. McMaths improved A LOT, not surprising really. Hill’s drops are vast and significant. This is where FM14 really falters and I think the programmers of FM really did a disservice to the fans. When you have really good coaches (Brixton does) and phenomenal facilities (Brixton does) we shouldn’t have to wait until the end of the month to find out someone is struggling bigly. It’ll be months before Hill recovers his Attributes back to the beginning point, if not a year or more.

[BrixtonFC]

vs. Cray Valley, 3 May 2014
Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control
Starting 11: Mellor, Walker, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, Ward, Egan, Smith, Blair, Allan, West
Subs: Metcalf, Kinniburgh, McMath, Lamont, Murdoch

This 2-0 hammering business stuff needs to stop. At least there is some variance in the game: Allan doesn’t score. Matter of fact, his form is only 6.7 and he gets yanked after 64 minutes and Murdoch gets his first match. Unregardless™, Miles gets his first PoM award along with his first career goal, a powerful header from about 12 yards out that went through loads of traffic. West’s goal comes from the 18-yard line after the teams play give-away for exactly a minute. It was like nobody wanted to play football properly. Oh well, it was nice to get a league home game in and the 1,300 fans certainly helped out the bottom line. Our profit for the season is down to £30,000 now.

And true to my word, I did some rotation. Mellor gets a League start! Kinniburgh and Metcalf also get their debuts.

The Week Between
Well, it looks like I was a little off on who would get the first international call-up. It’s “White” Walker! Northern Ireland have three matches to qualify for the Euro U19 Championship against Israel, Switzerland, and Germany. Do well, Walker, and come back healthy! (Matches are 12, 14 and 17 May.) He’ll miss our final League match of the season but should be Fully Fit for the FA Vase Final.

May 10th was another hole in our fixture list so I again arranged a friendly with a Premier League U21 team near Brixton; this time versus Fulham. It was another 2-0 win for us but this time it wasn’t a “hammering!” But is brought out 1,251 fans into the London rain and we made a whopping £653! We now only have £12.7 million in the bank. Bowerman scores the two goals, 8 minutes apart half-way through the first half. It’s kind of weird how I’m playing a Control mentality but we get a lot of launches from deep. McMaths launches from about half way into our territory to about half way into Fulham territory where Allan heads the ball over the head of the Centreback trying to outrace Bowerman, who buries it from the 18-yard line. Second goal is off a simple Allan cross from inside the big box to Bowerman who has an easy header from two yards out.

Sunday, 11 May sees a whole slew of coaches, seven in all, start coaching course, all covered by the club.

Walker gets 50 minutes in his first international, getting an assist with a 7.6 match rating against Israel. Pretty damn respectable for a debut. I don’t have this competition set to a high amount of detail but it looks like he played as a left Central Midfielder in a 4-4-2. I also notice for the first time that he’s drawing attention from a club. It’s Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Championship.

[BrixtonFC]

vs. Whyteleafe, 14 May 2014 (Final League match of the season)

Starting Formation: Arrow
Starting 11: Madley, Mason, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, McMath, Smith, Ward, Bowerman, Allan, West
Subs: Barness, Bodin, Hill, Egan, Dunne

Now That’s What I Call Hammering! Of the starters, the lowest rating was for Madley at 7.7. The lowest outfielder rating was 8.4 and five players were 9.0 or higher. Bowerman got things started in the 3rd minute and we are up three-nil after 12 minutes. Bowerman and Allan both had two goals but Allan took his sweet ass time, getting his just before the half and 70th minute. West, Osborne, and Smith also score. Oh, and Bowerman got Player of the Match. We end the season with 76 points.

A lot of why we got this hammer, I believe, is that I finally rolled out my favorite formation. When I got into FM2014 back in October 2019 I struggled to remember all the nuances of positions from my youth days. More notable, I was kind of obsessed in figuring out pairings for Central Midfielders and Strikers. I finally settled on Advanced Forward with Deep Lying Forward up top but struggled longer in the middle of the field. My research eventually led me to Andrea Pirlo and the Regista role.

(Trust me, there are many videos out there of this Pirlo and you need to watch them. I really wish I was into football back in his heydays so I could watch more of his action.)

So I decided that I want a formation with a Regista but I also wanted two Strikers and by this time I warmed up to the idea of forward wingers. But I also wanted an MC. Hence the Arrow. Also around this time I learned about the counter-press. It works like a charm. The Regista never really gets great match rating and the statistics aren’t amazing but the wins are pretty much guaranteed. I may have found a loophole in the match engine accidentally.
Arrow Counter Press

One last note about this match: I got the Whyteleafe coach fired! Too bad that isn’t a Steam Achievement! I find the firing odd as Whytleafe were third in the league table but I guess the Chairman has a low Patience rating.

The Week Between
Walker gets his second U19 start but Northern Ireland lost to Germany, 2-0. He got a 6.9 rating so that isn’t too bad. Looking as his player card reminds me of something…

A brief look at what interest my players are getting:
• Lee Osborne is drawing interest from MK Dons (League 1)
• Sean Dunne is drawing interest from Ebbsfleet (Conference South)
• Mark Bodin is drawing interest from Worthing (Isthmian Division 1 South)

Also, some end of season stats:
• Goals: Allan (12), Bowerman (6), West (3)
• Assists: Bowerman (6), West (3), Ward (3), Allan (3)
• Key: Passes – Bowerman (9), Headers – Mumba (12), Tackles – Osborne (5)
• Avg. Rating: Allan (8.61), Bowerman (8.45), West (8.33)

[BrixtonFC]

vs. AFC Rushden & Diamonds, 22 May 2014 @ Wembley (FA Vase Final)

Starting Formation: Arrow
Starting 11: Madley, Walker, Mumba, Osborne, Miles, McMath, Smith, Ward, Bowerman, Allan, Dunne
Subs: Mellor, Mason, Barness, Bodin, Hill, Egan, West

Now That’s What I Call Hammering II! I was actually a little worried about this match seeing as AFC R&D are a league above us and has something to play for. Luckily, a seven-minute, 4-goal blitz in the second half sealed the match.

Again, Gary Allan got things started with a 13th-minute powerful kick from 8 yards out that came from a counter-attack; Dunne supplied the assist. Dunne’s first goal came from some simple short passes on the right side touched by about half the team. Rushden pulled one back after McMath fails to understand that we’re the ones in red jerseys and then Miles is caught staring at the pitch-side adverts.

Then begins The Blitz. 52’ Ward sends in a corner kick right to Osborne’s head. 54’ Miles makes up for his earlier error, beginning a counter-attack culminating with Bowerman sending in a cross to the far side where Ward makes an easy header. 58’ another Bowerman header but this time at the near post where Dunne gets an easy header. 59’ another Bowerman cross, another Dunne goal, but this one off his left foot. Booyah! We win the FA Vase! One season, two trophies! I am the best ever!

I was expecting a bigger crowd but it was still large enough to net us almost £22,000. That allows us to only lose £5,645 for the season. We still have over £12 million in the bank!

In the year-in-review for the FA Vase, we are listed as the Biggest Overachievers. We had already made it to the Semi-Final before I returned from my “holiday” with a bunch of youth talent in tow, so I would say were we overachieving considering it was the “greys” who got us there.

(For those not in the know, “greys” are procedurally-generated players automatically added to your squads if you don’t have enough players. They are called “grey” because they don’t have actually faces but just a dark gray outline of their heads. They are not the aliens that are stored at Area 52.)

(For those not in the know, Area 52 is like Area 51 but one better, like Angus McSix.)

Additionally, Steven Bowerman is the Top Assists producer for the cup with 4. Gary Allan scored 4 goals but some shmoe playing for Shildon scored 6.

Some of you astute ones in the audience may have noticed that I have made no mention of the FA Cup. That’s because you cannot enter the FA Cup until your club has been in existence for 5 years. In the initial database I set the founding year as 2011 which I believe means we won’t be able to participate until the 2016/2017 season. I think we’ll be in the Conference South by then.

[BrixtonFC]

End of the 2013/2014 Season

The season is over and I have some decisions to make. I have to hold an End of Season Team Meeting and decide on the start of the pre-season. I screw the pooch on the team meeting; 5 players reacted poorly and their Morale dropped from Superb to Good. Jerks. The board are pleased with my performance and thus my Job Status is Very Secure. The board suggested that I start the pre-season on 7 July but I’ll be bringing in a lot of new players and introducing some new formations so I’ll need as much time as possible; I elect to start on 23 June, one month from now.

I also learn that the board has decided to upgrade our training facility. Or maybe I asked them to. Unregardless™, they are spending £2.5 million to keep our facilities in line with some of the top clubs in the world.

Queens Park Rangers make a deal with the Brixton board to become some kind of weird parent company. We get to host a yearly friendly (and keep all receipts) and they get to use our training facilities, all for the reasonable price of £14,000 per year. Q.P.R. are currently in the Championship. It seems weird that they would choose us. Brockwell Park is 6 2/3 miles from Q.P.R. That’s nothing in western Oklahoma but in London?! That’s a 40 minute drive in the late evening. Probably much worse during the London rush hour.

Finances
A lot of financial emails come in on the 25^th. We avoid a tax hit due to our season loss of around £2.35 million, thanks to the outlay for the facilities upgrade. We also get a new kit sponsor and luckily it’s only for a year as its £9,750; hopefully we’ll get more next year. The board also inform me of the initial budget: £105,000 per week and £5.84 million transfer budget. I won’t need anywhere near that amount. We are currently spending £3,851 p/w and I’ve barely spent any money in transfer fees as I’m finding worthy players for free. And any way, if I were to find a player worth spending big bucks on, he wouldn’t want to play this far down the pyramid.

Scouting
I spend a lot of the month looking a pretty much every youth player with double-digit Determination and Natural Fitness; can’t let those scouts loaf about! Much as I expected, I found some good players but they don’t want to come to Brixton.

New Arrivals
The five aforementioned lads finally show up: Gary Todd (AM L, ST C), Richie McConachie (D C), Brian Veale (M L, AM RL), Dale Dunphy (SW, D C), and Glenn Farquhar (M/AM L).

Awards
Some player awards make a late arrival.
· Fans’ Player of the Year: Gary Allan
· Best Eleven: Madley (GK), Walker (DR), Mumba (DC r), Osborne (DC l), Miles (DL), Ward (MR), Smith (MC r), McMath (MC l), Dunne (ML), Allan (ST r), Bowerman (ST l)

World Cup 2014
England waltzed through Group H, scoring 7 goals while conceding only 1. Romania was the only team to score. Australia also made it out of the group, having beat Mexico on the final day. That must be considered a major upset! Mexico was 12^th in world rankings with Australia ranked 46^th. USA is out, having only 1 point from a draw with Algeria. Italy and France made is out of Group B. Other upsets include Holland not making it out of Group E, with Chile and South Korea making it.

On their way to beating Spain 2 to 1 in the Final of the World Cup, England beat Uruguay (3:1), Chile (2:1), and Switzerland (3:0). The Swiss took 3^rd, beating Argentina 4:3 in extra time.

Other News
It was only a matter of time before offers started flowing in for our players. Hamilton came-a-calling for Gary Allan. Hamilton are in the Scottish Championship with Okay Financial Status yet they offered me the whopping amount of £0. On 1 July Colchester (League 2) also came in with a £0 officer. Come back when you’ve got at least £1 million.

Other offers that come in:
· Sean Dunne by St. Johnstone (Scottish Premiership) for £0
· Gary Miles by St. Johnstone for £0
· Shaun Smith by Dundee (Scottish Championship) for £0
· Wayne Walker by Hamilton for £0


So ends the 2013/2014 season. Thank you for reading about my adventures. I should be posting soon about the 2014/2015. Until then, Kick On!

[BrixtonFC]

Pre-season
When the new season started I got an email that the board expected me to win the league, Isthmian Division One South, but they dropped the weekly budget down to £104K p/w. However will I survive?! (Spending as of 25 June 2014 was £4,374 p/w.)
As the pre-season drew to a close, the board allowed me to offer £91,000 for a squad win bonus if we take the league. That oughta motivate them! (By the way, we are 4:6 odds to win the league.)
I totally forgot to set up friendlies until 23 June, whoops!
Pre-season schedule:
· 29.6.2014: Hosting Havre Athletic Club Reserves (they’re French)
· 2.7.2014: Visiting Charlton
· 5.7.2014: Hosting AFC Wimbledon (Brian Lane's favorite club)
· 8.7.2014: Visiting Raunds
· 11.7.2014: Hosting Buckingham
· 13.7.2014: Visiting Oxford City Nomads
· 16.7.2014: Hosting Letcombe
· 19.7.2014: Hosting Q.P.R.
· 23.7.2014: Visiting Enfield
· 26.7.2014: Visiting Barton Rovers
· 29.7.2014: Visiting Wokingham
· 1.8.2014: Hosting Wealdstone
· 4.8.2014: Hosting Wootton

For those of you who are not up on their English geography, all the teams above are in the London area (less Le Havre). I keep travel costs down and it gives me a sense of realism as a real team this low isn’t going to try to bus up to Newcastle.
Brixton also gets invitations to join U18 and U21 leagues. I accept the U18 invite but reject the U21. I of course accepted the U18 because I enjoy the man management aspect of Football Manager and the board insisted I do so too. But I don’t have the bodies for U21 this season so I pulled out.

New Players
I’ve been scouting like a champ the whole off-season but either the players suck or they want way too much money or they have absolutely no interest in joining us. I mean, I’m generally happy with the team but have realized I could do better at MR/AMR. Hence:

David Connolly
David Connolly, M RC, AM C (Stars: 2.0/4.5) Finally found another player with great Stamina. He’ll be a fixture for years. He’ll be our first choice for AMR and will be able to slide into MC r (BBM) if we have a late lead and need to switch to the Anchor formation. He has a Resolute personality and is Consistent. Doesn’t have much in the way of Technical skills but at this level it shouldn’t matter too much.

Formations
I added the Arrow and 3-3-2-2 formations to the repertoire for the pre-season. Eventually I’ll replace the 4-4-2 Control with a 4-4-2 Diamond Counter-Attack, and 3-3-2-2 with the Anchor. In the meantime, the learnings are going so well. I use the Arrow for all our friendlies to get the players comfortable with it.

Friendly Results
· Havre: 2-0. A mediocre performance except for Dunne and Farquhar.
· Charlton: 0-4. Mostly U18 who stink up the joint including a 5.5 from Anderson
· AFC Wimbledon: 3-5. Another disaster except for Bowerman.
· Raunds: 2-0. Much better all-around with Todd getting POM.
· Buckingham: 8-3. Yes, things are clicking now. Allan finally scores.
· Oxford City: 3-1. Still learning the new formations but things go well.
· Letcombe: 2-2. And then a step back. Bodin and Barness have been particularly putrid.
· Q.P.R.: 0-0. Not too bad considering we get off 1 shot to their 17. They should have slaughtered us. And we made £35,809.
· Enfield: 6-1. Another Bowerman hat-trick. Great first half by the expected starters, mediocre second half by the back-ups.
· Barton Rovers: 1-2. A slight step back by the U18s.
· Wokingham: 8-0. Now that's what I call a pre-season hammering! With an Allan hat-trick!
· Wealdstone: 6-5. What a fun match! Back-and-forth the whole match. Mcconachie saves us in the 87th minute.
· Wootton: 4-1. The starters do a great job and the back-ups allow an 89th minute goal.
· Aldershot U18s: 5-2. Not all my yutes were match fit so I dropped them back down and went after a local teams’ yutes.

An acceptable pre-season considering we are introducing two new formations and I used U18s in the Seniors a lot. Our familiarity with the Arrow is all Accomplished or Fluid, except Creative Freedom, which is only Competent. The 3-3-2-2 is barely improving but I haven’t focused on it at all.
Here’s a look at our Tactical Familiarity as of 5 August, the day after our last friendly.

Tactics at End of Pre-season
So concludes the 2014/2015 Pre-season. I'm feeling very confident. Our 4-4-2 Control formation is our strongest but I'll want to use the Arrow as soon as possible.

[BrixtonFC]

So Long, Farewell

So do you remember in my second post when I talked about how I set up the database? Well, I screwed something up somehow, majorly.

I play this game at a quicker pace than I post which means that I was in the 2015/2016 season when some form of savefile corruption manifested. I got to the end of the season and I never got an end of season email or season expectation emails or best players email or beginning of the season emails. I loaded up an older save file and simmed through May and June, which produced the expected results. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t play one Continue click at a time and get the normal experience. This happened when Brixton was going into the Conference South and I guess the disconnect happened there. I surmise the game engine is expecting certain things from the database but when the database is bad from the get-go or gets corrupted somehow along the way, weird things happen.

I proceeded anyways and most things seemed to work except Brixton wasn’t invited to any cups, tactical familiarity was improving glacially, and I started having really drastically bad training results. I proceeded all the way to 1 April 2017 when I just couldn’t take having bad training results anymore. The problem has driven me to abandon the game.


And We Were So Loaded

It’s quite a shame. On Youth Intake Day for 2015 I got the most amazing Romanian right wingback, Gheorghe Steop.


He was an incredible crosser, great in the overlap, and that low Flair is a lie. An absolute game-changer.

On Youth Intake Day for 2016 I got this field general. Another game-changer. He and Steop combined many times to get attacks going. And when he scored I got to write about the other team, “You just got Roasted!” Le sigh.


And worst of all, on Youth Intake Day 2017 I believe I got one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He doesn’t look like much generally but him having 14s and 15s for Handling, Reflexes, Bravery, Concentration, and Positioning at age 16 is just otherworldly.


Moving On Up
Despite all the great players Brixton has, I just found FM2014 had run its course in my life. My final complaint was the difficulty of getting players trained for new positions while playing in the U18 team. No matter what I’d try to do, the U18 manager would play youths in positions I didn’t want him to. I was trying to get one right centreback trained up for right fullback and no matter how many centrebacks I would have in the team, and only having the one player in the team for DR (Accomplished at the time), that youth would end up playing central midfielder or leftback. And to get that one player qualified for DR to be on the roster, I would have to move players up to the U21 on game day and back to U18 after the match. Very frustrating.

Around the beginning of December 2023 in real life I started dreaming of a Football Manager reboot. Something that addressed the following concerns.

So I started firing up the other versions of Football Manager I have. I had certain requirements:
· The old style training module where you set up things for the week, not the 3 sessions per day thing.
· The old style tutoring module where you have one-on-ones, not the grouping methods.
· The old style of Youth Intake Day, not the preview four or so months before the actual day.
· Squad dynamics: I know it adds some work for the manager but I think it adds realism.
· New positions: I’m intrigued by the idea of having three DCs, two WBs, three MCs and 2 STs so long as the left and right MCs are Mezzalas. Also, I’d like to employ Pressing Forwards.

One other thing I considered was graphics, at first. Every FM after 2014 has the absolute worse graphics for player faces so my hand was forced there. I don’t understand why SI ditched the FaceGen module for those atrocious 3D faces. Another poor Myles decision. Even in FM2024 they look amateurish. Sort it out, SI!

So given all the above, I ultimately settled on FM 2018. It took me almost all of December to reach this conclusion and start setting up a new database. By January I had set everything up and started simming seasons. I did a lot of extensive testing of the database to make sure I don’t have the same problems when Brixton advances to Conference South. I also had to make sure I didn’t get hosed over Brexit.

I’ll be starting this all over again soon. I hope people will tune in when I get this Dynasty Report set up on FOFC and my personal website. See you on the other side!

[Chas in Cinti]

I'll be watching, good luck!