FM 2012 Charlton AFC story 2031-32: The final hurdle

Hey guys and welcome to my FM 2012 Charlton story update from the season 2031/32. After three consecutive promotions I face another daunting campaign, the scenery has now changed to that of the Championship but the aims are all the same…try to establish ourselves and maybe even challenge the top six. Today’s update maybe a little brisk, unfortunately time is very scarce for me of late as I am training for my first Triathlon. I need to get in shape for the end of August and lets just say my muscles have been dormant for the last few years lol :)

Every season begins with the boards expectations so we’ll start there. Due to a slight difference in the budgets on offer, I pushed my usual expectations claiming I could guide the team to a mid-table finish…this earned me very little transfer money but around £13K per week extra in wages which is incredible compared to seasons gone by. The media seem to think we can mount a promotion challenge providing things go our way so hopefully that is a positive indication of things to come.

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There wasn’t too many players I wanted rid of this season, I saw the majority of my bench warmers and reserves as important backup for injury issues. So just three players left this summer, all due to been overstaffed in their respective positions.

I did however make a lot of first team signings, due to the jump up in quality I felt there was a need to inject a little more class. The best of these were my new supporting CM Jimmy Hoey and star striker Kouassi. Both players will be huge this season while the other 5 players will be used as rotation.

Results — August to September

So I think we are all expecting Charlton to struggle this season…well struggle in comparison to the domination that usually follows pre-season. The Championship really is a grade above the other lower leagues. But to my surprise there was no such hangover during our introduction to the league, my boys won 7 and drew just two of the opening 9 matches. We were knocked out in the Carling Cup second round, but that didn’t bother me.

Results — October to December

October carried On in the same vein with 4 wins and a draw, while November saw one draw and one victory (a very short month, I know.) December was brilliant also seeing Charlton win 6, draw 2 and lose just once.

This immaculate form saw my boys rise top of the table, four points clear of Everton in second and 9 points clear of Berrow in third. Please do note that Berrow and Newport have risen through the lower leagues like Scarborough to challenge in the Championship for a good few seasons now…crazy!

You may expect me to be very happy with the team I currently have and keep things the same in order to avoid any disruptions. But I see this as the perfect opportunity to strengthen for the Premier League…assuming I can hang onto top spot of course. Before we look at my new signings there was one departure, out of favor Billong was a fairly promising youngster in League One, but he’s out of his depth for the top flight and I took the opportunity to cash in on Hull’s £250K offer.

I then went about signing some incredible talent. The first was a new striker in Con Kiely, he will be a rotational option due to a lot of players leaving next season on free transfers (I will moan about that in the next post ;)) I signed Brazilian youngster Gilmar who could be a leading star in the EPL. Then I signed Hugo who could play for any side in Europe after a few more years of development, he is by far my best player at the age of 20. Then there’s Leandro who will be my star striker next season after he’s spent the next few months settling in.

Results — January to March

My new signings need a lot of time to settle (especially the three Brazilians) so won’t feature too much over the coming months. But judging from the results we certainly don’t need them just yet. Charlton won 10, drew one and lost one match from January to March. We also beat West Brom and Birmingham in the FA Cup before losing too my old side Scarborough 1-0 in the fifth round.

Results — April to May

With all competitions out of the way, I could concentrate on finishing the Championship campaign on a high. And that is exactly what Charlton did winning 7 and losing just two of our remaining 9 matches.

Needless to say I breached the 100 point barrier with 112 points scoring an impressive 113 goals. Everton also gained promotion in second 12 points behind me while Berrow and Seven Acre lost in the play-offs.

Squad stats and finances

Another brilliant season and another promotion will see Charlton battling it out with the big boys next season. I won’t talk too much about the player ratings but new boy Kouassi was vital with 26 goals as was left winger Craig who scored 14 and added 14 assist. A lot of my key players over the last three seasons will be departing The Valley next season. None of which are by my doing, some left on a free while others had their minimum fee clauses activated…very frustrated but what can you do. :(

The finances look pretty grim at the moment and next season may get slightly worse as I need to invest in the squad to survive. The balance finishes at £3.2 million in the red, a little worrying but you all know my philosophy, spend what is needed to get European football then start recouping some cash with the Y2G system so it will be OK in the long term.

Lets take a small break from Charlton and take a quick look at Scarborough’s season. The Seadogs finished top of the Premier League, won the Carling Cup, FA Cup and Champions League…that’s right they did the quadruple. Incredible achievement and just shows what I’m up against. Guess a new challenger couldn’t have entered the EPL at a better time :)

Well that is all for today, I hope you enjoyed the update and please feel free to comment below. My next post will feature Charlton’s first season in the top flight so until then, thanks for reading.