Sears — FM 2011, Queens Park — My lower league career begins 2010/11

Hey guys, welcome to my new story featuring Queens Park of Scotland. You probably have noticed that I havn’t posted for a few weeks, that’s because I took a break from FM. Now that my short break is over I’m ready to play FM again and decided to try my luck in the lower regions of the somewhat forgotten Scottish league. This is obviously a huge challenge and will require a lot of time and patience, something I lack but I’m still learning my trade. My aim is try to lead Queens Park all the way to the Scottish top flight, but if lucrative offers come in along the way I may consider them. I’ll try my best to make sure that this is my last story on FM11, but it may not be my last team. Anyway back to Queens Park. Here’s a short background to the club:

I never noticed that were only an amateur club. I’m not sure what effect that will have in the long run but despite it the club have a good set up. Our training facilities and youth facilities are impressive for a Third division side, not forgotten that we play in a 52,500 seater stadium.

Since were an amateur club, the board didn’t offer me the chance to increase our expectations, as the option didn’t even appear when I started the new game. I was given no wage or transfer budget. I then noticed that none of my players are been paid. I’m not even being paid and neither are my staff. However every disadvantage has an advantage. Bearing in mind that none of my players are on a payroll, I was free to sign anyone I wanted and release anyone I wanted without having to worry about the financial side of the business. I’m still working on a few transfers, but here’s who’ve I bought and sold so far:

Transfers out:

I decided to offload many of the players that I inherited at Queens Park. More will be leaving but right now  I can’t locate any more decent players. On top of that I’m failing to get work permits  for the foreign players which therefore restricts me to signing just U.K, Irish and some European based players.   Here’s who’ve I’ve managed to sign, thus far anyways:

A lot of signings but with no wage bill I’ve nothing to lose apart from my job if all these guys flop and we get relegated or something. I managed to bring in some good players, and unsurprisingly some poor ones too as I’m not used to the quality in the Scottish lowers leagues but practice makes perfect. Anyway, let’s see those who’ll wear the black and white jersey of The Spiders next season.

Goalkeeper:

My first choice goalkeeper will be Phil Imray. This Englishman previously played in New Zealand before joining up with us. My assistant rates him as a excellent goalkeeper and at the age of 26, he will be between the sticks for us for quite some time.

Right Back:

I’ve currently got two good right backs, and a decent prospective one. Danny Hutchins will be my first choice rb. Although his physical attributes aren’t the greatest, he has decent mental and technical attributes. Still only 20 he certainly has a bright future at the club.

Center backs:

Dean Lawrence will partner Omar Rezgane in my central defense. Both lack pace thus meaning I’ll have to play with a deep defensive line. However, both have good defensive attributes and should be important players for me this season. Both lads are determined and want success just as much as I do.

Left back:

I managed to persuade a fantastic left back to join me in Scotland. Maybe the idea of not being paid was the main reason this player joined, but either war he is by far the best left back in the division. Welcome Danny Murphy! He’s quick, determined and a great set piece taker.

Right Midfield:

I found it difficult to improve my field, especially my wingers position and I’m still not convinced that the new players I bought are good enough. Anyway the best right winger I found was this 31 year old from Ireland. His name is Stephen Gavin but I can’t see him last more than one season with us.  He’s a determined player that should offer some quality on the right wing.

Left Midfielder:

Again, a position I found difficult to improve but I’m quite pleased with my first choice left winger. His name is Dave O’Conner and he’s a tricky, determined player with good crossing abilities. He’s not that quick but with his dribbling skills hopefully he can provide some magic on the left wing.

Center midfield:

Rob Sissons and Ben Webster will be my center midfielders. Both are hard working and both can tackle good as well. I hope these two guys can perform consistent this season.

Strikers:

My strike partners will be Alan Lee and Ahmed Said.  Both are quick, composed and have decent finishing attributes. Ahmed is better than Lee, or so my assistant says anyway. I think both are good players and will hopefully bang in the goals for me this season.

That concludes my starting XI, and due to lack of depth this first season will be more of a learning experience.  I’m not sure what to expect, but a good start will be essential. I can still sign more players and I’m still looking for new players. I’m not satisfied with my squad yet. We’ve hardly any depth and I need to sign more players… Here’s my squad in full to date:

My pre season fixture were terrible, but bear in mind I was assembling my squad all summer so they were not my number one priority. We were also knocked out of two domestic cups, and with the size of my squad this good be a blessing. Less games means less worry about injuries and fatigue.

Here’s my assistant’s report. I don’t entirely agree with his assignment thus I stacked him and replaced him with a new much better assistant manager :-D

Our opening month is as followed, we’ve some tough games.

My story will consist of monthly updates, and my next post should be ready in a day or two. Thanks for reading.

Sears