Hey guys and welcome to my FM 2012 Scarborough AFC season 7 report. I hope you like the new image above, I have been learning how to use Photoshop recently and thought I’d give some text a go. Anyway back to the story and we have a lot to get through today, so grab a cuppa or can of fizzy drink, sit back and enjoy the ride. We last left off with a very successful sixth season as Scarborough won League Two and enjoyed some decent cup runs but with every league we rise through the quality of opposition rises too. To counter that we need to be keeping hold of all the best talent and finding more to boot. Obviously that responsibility is largely down to me but the clubs owners can help too and help they did…well kind of, read on…
Pre-season had just begun in the best possible way, the board confirmed we are officially back in Scarborough. The new stadium is complete and while it only holds just under 3,000 its still something to call our own again.
The board also showed their support by offering a transfer budget of £492K in return for a top half finish…they originally wanted us to avoid relegation but I feel we are capable of more and the extra cash made the risk worthwhile. The media seems to agree with me suggesting Scarborough are capable of pushing the top teams.
So all looks rosy and well…until this happens!
I was expecting this to happen far sooner than it has to be honest, but I am still annoyed to lose my prize asset in Southern (click name to see profile.) He is the second top regen I have lost, you all may remember me selling Bob Shepherd when we were in the Blue Square Premier to Genk, well he just made it big with a £6.25 million move to Manchester Utd.
As you can imagine I was very busy during the transfer window. A lot players left and good ones at that but it was all with the aim of improving the squads standard. I managed to raise a total of £3.2 million not to mentioned the extra £500K we are owed for Southern (which is due after 20 league goals.)
I went about making the squad stronger straight away, my first move was replacing Southern, so enter Man Utd youth product Louis Bartlett. Some of the other top signings are new left back Chukwudi, along with my two new central midfielders Schulz and Hylton. (Click any of the name highlighted to see their profiles.) So now you have an idea of the players we signed, lets move onto the season itself.
Results — August to September
The first two months were simply perfect, Scarborough won all our leagues games, progressed to the Carling Cup 4th round and JPT second round.
Results — October
Our great form continued as we won 4 league matches and drew just one, we also beat Lincoln in the JPT but our Carling Cup run came to an end against Birmingham. My old striker wasn’t playing but he was in the bench and I felt aggrieved to have been in front until the dying seconds and then lose in extra time.
Results — November to December
It took us a little time to get over the Carling Cup exit as we lost our next game to Watford and then drew to Barnsley, but the form soon picked back up. After the poor start my boys lost two more games from eight, progressed to the JPT Northern final and also to the FA Cup third round.
We are at the halfway point and looking very strong, this season isn’t as easy as the last but to think we are still top by 12 points is just crazy. After losing my star striker I thought this would be a long campaign but Bartlett has fitted in like a glove.
Results — January
The new year started with victory but January wasn’t our finest month in the League, we won 3 and drew two matches. The most disappointing result was losing at home to Chesterfield in the JPT Northern final first leg. But I was delighted to beat Premier League’s Southampton in the FA Cup third round.
Results — February to March
February to March was when the season really turned crazy, we upheld the usual league form going unbeaten but it was our Cup exploits that provided a shock or two. Firstly we beat Championships Peterborough 4-2 in the FA Cup fourth round meaning I’d guided the Seadogs further than we’d ever been in this competition. Then we came back from the JPT first leg loss to thrash Chesterfield 4-0 away from home reaching the final and Wembley. If that wasn’t enough we also beat Blackburn 2-0 in the FA Cup fifth round and then came back from 2-0 down to draw with Cardiff in the sixth round. The replay went into extra-time as my boys walked away 4-1 victors!!
Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final vs Wycombe
Venue: Wembley
Attendance: 36,770
Starting formations:
I had a full strength XI available and Wycombe found themselves around mid-table in League One, so obviously I wanted to win and even dominate this final. I won’t describe what happened, instead I’ll just leave you to watch the match highlights below.
Match highlights: Click here to watch the JPT final match highlights
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Match stats:
I think the result pretty much speaks for itself but the match facts show our domination and the first goal was outstanding. This is the first time we’ve lifted the JPT and I’m delighted to add this to our trophy collection. But I had to switch my mind straight back to the league for our final months of competitive Football.
Results — April to May
The final few months of league football went well, as Scarborough won 9 games and lost just two. But it was in our Cup form that we really excelled beating Birmingham in the FA Cup semi-final 1-0 to setup a showcase final against the English champions and current leaders of the EPL, Arsenal!!!
So with the FA Cup coming up lets just breeze through my League One standings. We completed the campaign with 111 points, an impressive 21 points clear of Nottm Forest in second.
FA Cup final vs Arsenal
Venue: Wembley
Attendance: 90,000
Match stats:
Wow, the FA Cup final! I honestly never expected us to get even close but here we are and against the best team in England. Looking through the lineup Arsenal don’t have their best XI out but the likes of Dampha, Neville, Kovacic and Mawangi are all first team starters. Looking at my starting XI, we have a full strength squad bar an injury to our key left winger. The highlights are below.
Match highlights: Click here to watch the FA Cup final highlights
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Match stats:
You may be thinking, ‘ahh so close, ow well good effort’. But I was absolutely livid, we were utterly screwed over in this match, the amount of chances we just missed was unbelievable. Just look at our possession of 54% and shots of 29 to Arsenals 8, my boys completely dominated this match and then to rub salt into the wound…
It certainly looked like a penalty to me, but its hard to tell from those little 3D men running around. I know I should be delighted by our efforts, but we should have won this match easily on our performance. A tough pill to swallow but it should prove to those who accuse me of cheating that I don’t, because I reckon giving this match another go would have finished in victory! Ow and for those who are wondering, finishing runners up didn’t lead to European qualification…damn :)
One other piece of big news is that the board were looking to sell the club, but the negotiations had gone on for 5 months!! This meant I couldn’t start lining up any free transfers which will have me at a disadvantage come pre-season as I’ll have already missed out on some of the top talent. The talks are still going on and I have my fingers crossed our future will be decided soon so I can get strengthening for the Championship.
Squad stats and finances
This has to be one of my best seasons ever playing Football Manager and the players are to thank. Heitor was brought in on loan in January and made the difference for our FA Cup run with 5 goals and 6 assists. Hendrie really stepped up to the plate from the right scoring 9 and assisting 25 while Nikolaou chipped in with 20 goals and 21 assists from the same position. The real hero though was new striker Bartlett who stepped into Southern’s shoes with 36 goals.
After selling our star asset, winning the league, JPT, reaching the Carling Cup fourth round and FA Cup final Scarborough were bound to hit it rich. My bank balance now reads £5.2 million and that figure would have been far higher was it not for our tiny stadium which has led to losing money every month we weren’t earning prize money or big away day payouts.
Thankfully the board put this cash to good use and decided to convert the terraces to seating in our recently built stadium at a small cost of £270K. While this development takes place we will play our football at the McCain stadium which is where I grew up watching Scarborough as a kid so I’m very excited about that.
Well that is all for today and season 7, I hope you enjoyed the read and will be back to see if my transfer embargo is lifted in time for our pre-season in the Championship. The journey has been fruitful so far and I think next season should go well provided I can invest again. Until then please feel free to comment below.
P.S. For those of you who haven’t followed our Facebook page (which you can do by visiting here http://www.facebook.com/footballmanagerstory) I recently posted a status update which read ‘ Just at work dreaming of someday reaching Europe in my Scarborough story. Gave me an idea, if more than 200 people like this post, I’ll wear a suit if and when I reach the champions league final for the entire match with the mighty seadogs. I’ll get some pics of the whole thing for your amusement :) just click like!!!’ Within 24 hours more than 200 people had clicked like so I am obliged to stick by my promise, if Scarborough ever reach the Champions League final I will be sitting in my games room, wearing a suit and playing FM like a real addict. :) Now that’s something to wish for lol :)
Johnny Karp
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:01
Another outstanding season Darren and you really deserved to win the FA Cup as well! But that’s just a postponement of a celebration that I’m sure will come very soon. Looking forward to seeing you in that suit :P
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:17
lol, thanks Johnny. We have a lot of seasons to go before I’ll be in that suit but its looking possible with every season.
Adam
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:05
Wow that’s absolutely incredible! I can’t believe you are still on back to back (to back to back to…) promotions! Championship is going to be the toughest yet though, but based on what I’ve seen so far it’ll be no challenge at all!
I’m still amazed at how you find all these amazing players, what’s the secret? ;)
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:21
Thanks Adam, there is no secret to finding great players its just common sense and effort. I have a massive amount of scouts that include knowledge in different countries, I search for players under specific attributes, positions, value every week and shortlist any findings. Basically you can’t expect to look at an unfiltered search twice a year and find what I do, nor just rely on scouting reports, you need to be actively searching continuously and expanding your scouting knowledge at every opportunity.
Martin F.M.J.S
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:39
Another great and successful season Darren. It was a shame to see Bob Shepherd leave but you got a very good price for him and a good replacement. Congrats on the Johnstone Paints Trophy and getting to the Final of the FA Cup. I felt you deserved the win looking at the statistics. I think you have a strong side for next year and should be able to compete for Promotion in Championship.Good Luck
P.S some nice Photoshop work. :)
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:49
Thanks Martin, it was actually Southern that left this season and I just showed Shepherd because of his move to United. I think we had a great season and while the FA Cup was frustrating I can’t believe we even reached the final on reflection. :)
Martin - F.M.J.S
27 февраля, 2012 at 08:50
Sorry Darren I was mean’t to put Jonathan Southern and was thinking Southern but typed Bob lol :D
Tegar Triemanudigdo
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:42
Wow! Absolute incredible there! Too bad you didn’t won the FA cup, seeing that Arsenal used mostly 2nd team (I don’t know if they use full team or not, but this is my opinion though) and lost only one-goal margin. Oh well, at least you got yourself rich there though for the takeover thing kind of annoying there and I hope it was settled before transfer window open.
Can’t wait for your next adventure in championship!
P.S: I saw Bob Shepherd move into Man Utd and I have feeling he will be the next England star if things goes well.
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:51
Thanks, Arsenal did play a very weak XI considering some of the players at their disposal…so it was a great opportunity to shock everyone but not to be unfortunately. I agree that Shepherd could be an England star but theres actually better forwards for England than him at the same age so competition is keen.
jordan
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:50
how do you get those leagues
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 11:52
From here http://fmadvanced.forumfree.it/?t=59060264
CsAtlantis
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:22
Wow, Shephard has gotten a big move to Man Utd (how nice that you found a new striker from there too), the money from Southern will be very useful in your Championship campaign, congratulations on winning League 1 and the JPT (too bad about the Arsenal result, and Sagna was playing left back too, :P)
Who is that Arsenal goalkeeper? (the O’Kane guy)
Good luck for next season Darren, hopefully your stadium will expand quickly, you’ll get more than 5k seats for next season
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:34
Thanks mate, it was a great season and Arsenal almost threw the trophy away with their team selection but EPL class shone through. O’Kane is a regen keeper as are most the Arsenal players now, he’s quite good but not their first choice. I don’t think we’ll have a 5K stadium next season but maybe for the EPL.
John Martin
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:24
Great stuff mate, i just dont know how you do it! Just a quick question, when you finished your malaga seaason what other teams were you considering? And also have got any other seasons going on?
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:36
Thanks John, when I finished the Malaga season I started a game with Newcastle and Charlton, those two were just for fun really but I was considering them until I tested this database and thought I’d give Scarborough a go. At the moment all other games are a no go though as this one is proving very addictive.
saltwater
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:28
My mouth was left hanging open as Scarbourough progressed through the F.A Cup, which even by your standards is simply impossible. And a SEVENTH consecutive promotion is bordering on ridiculously fantastic, but a fitting tribute to a manager that had a talant that was good enough to go to one of the best teams in England.
I may just put on a Scarborough shirt come the champions league final myself!
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:38
lol, thanks mate…I am dreaming of Europe and while it will take years and years to wear that suit, I think its possible and who knows, maybe I’ll do the whole thing live via chat on the site and we can exchange photos of me wearing the suit and everyone else donning red shirts ;)
TheZiggy
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:33
Another superb season, which I thought might happen. So far, in league two and one, you’ve pretty muched mirrored what I’ve done with Torquay, also lifting the JPT as we did. You did however go further than us in the FA Cup, and very unlucky that you couldn’t produce a victory.
I’m sure at times you’ve sat there hardly believing how your team are playing, as I’ve done. Sometimes I’m left thinking, that some people are going to find it hard to believe. So much is about micro-management of situations, both before and during a match. Once you can get the squad harmony over about 70%, it seems almost anything is possible.
Hopefully the board will sort out this take-over one way or another, for you soon. I think the current squad can be decent in the Championship, but there I’m sure to have another really good season, you could do with a few more key signings to strengthen a few areas.
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:44
Thanks mate, I am exactly the same as you, just gobsmacked by the way my team can play under the highest of pressure. Its all about the harmony and the fact that four of my key players have been the foundation for many years has helped enormously. When I beat Birmingham to reach the final of the FA Cup, I was ecstatic then felt a little regret as I know critics and gamers that haven’t enjoyed such success may well question it been legitimate, which would be annoying as that can take away from an incredible achievement but thats what we sign up for when blogging I guess. :) The saving grace is readers like yourself that can read this and fully believe it after experiencing similar success.
We definitely need reinforcements next season and I can confirm the takeover finished in pre-season, but there was a twist in Winter. ;)
Luke N
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:36
I’ve only recently discovered this site but have been reading this story with some interest. I also recently started with a lower league team (Poole Town) after discovering a similar mod. It’s interesting that you also found players like Abalimba, McArdle and Hodgkinson who have been impressing me with consistently good performances, although starting in the level above Scarborough I had the good fortune to also enlist the services of such class lower-league players from older versions of FM as Oliver Nicholas and Omar Koroma.
Keep it up and I will aspire to equal your success, I’m hoping I find more such regen talents as you’ve managed to get (my first batch was rather disappointing from what I can see). I’ve got several leagues to catch you up on but good luck in the Championship and here’s hoping we manage to hold onto our stars through increasingly more bearable transfer windows!
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:48
Good to hear you are enjoying the read Luke and its always far more interesting when you enjoy a similar save yourself. Those players mentioned were awesome for me and Hodgkinson is still a club icon today. :) I tried to sign Koroma but had no chance due to wages. Good luck for your save mate and I look forward to hearing back on your progress, keeping the stars is very tough but I think knowing when to cash in is just as important with restricted funds.
Luke N
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:55
That’s true, I too have suffered from the woes of a tiny stadium. Playing Scottish teams at home is so far the only way to solve the problem and the fact that I managed an honestly surprising run in the FA Cup (beat two BSP teams, eventually crashing out at League Two promotion contenders Gillingham) last season worked wonders.
I did mean to ask this in the first post as well, but how do you motivate your players to win again so quickly after a defeat? The early leagues are of course piss easy but I reckon when I get up to the real leagues having a couple of half-hearted draws following every unlucky loss could have a very negative impact on what could turn out to be a successful season overall. I understand morale is very important but don’t understand how quickly it can be uprooted with just one defeat.
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:27
One defeat isn’t too bad, its when you hit a run of three or four games without defeat that its tough. But when my boys screw up I tell them I’m disappointed to make sure they keep some motivation for the next match then I encourage them for the following game. Basically if you lose and really expected to win they need to know you’re disappointed but near the start of the season, no matter what, you need to encourage them and try to build up their confidence.
sachithyoda
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:47
wow you beat arsenal in the final!!
congrats
did you change your tactics for the final or after scoring the goals? and did you use some specific shouts for the game?
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 12:49
No we lost to Arsenal in the final unfortunately but it was a good effort by my lads and we probably should have won. For the final I used a counter strategy and didn’t change anything as we didn’t score but played very well.
Ana Garcia
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:05
Congratulations Darren!
Only you can get to an unbelievable FA cup final with a team from the lower leagues meet a massive club like Arsenal lose and then be angry! :)
I would have been delighted to get to like the quarter finals, guess I have pretty low expectations!
It seems you are making short work of these promotions and every season is almost a breeze for you. Losing Southern was a blow but it only took you nine in game days to sign a replacement who is probably just as good.
Am sure next season under your guidance you will make it to the premier league, I would wish you luck but it seems you dont need it!
But I will anyways! Good luck!! :)
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:32
Haha, your first comment made me laugh because it sums up how demanding I am sometimes, maybe I should chill a little more. :)
Thanks for the well wishes Ana, I think this season will be a little different to the rest, I expect to challenge but we won’t be walking away with the league anymore.
Kevin
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:06
Hi Darren
Another incredible update and it was kind of ironic that Southern goes to Birmingham and you beat them in the semi final with his replacement scoring the only goal of the game. Unlucky against Arsenal so does that men though you are in Europe next season? You really are just too good for this game :)
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:40
Thanks Kevin, I didn’t really think about the Birmingham game that way but you’re right and Southern was playing too. I was so excited with the hope of Europe, but I am well into the next season and it turns out we didn’t qualify for some reason, not sure why as Arsenal qualified for the Champions League anyway. :(
Woody
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:28
Wow another mind blowing season and a cup win and another 2 great cup runs and an FA cup final
Just out of interest who won the premier league and champions league and world cup and euros
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:45
Thanks Woody, it was a crazy season for sure. Arsenal won the Premiership, Barcelona won the Champions League, Argentina won the 2018 World Cup and Germany won the 2016 Euro Championships.
Minch
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:46
Another amazing season! Reading this story has given me the end goal for my story, although Ive only just got into the Blue Square North. Just wondering if you could give an example or a hint of the type of search you do as Ive only really managed to find one player who has premier league quality
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:54
Thanks Minch, it isn’t about the type of search I do its about doing every single search you can think of. The problem most gamers have is they want to do a search and expect the players to pop straight up but it doesn’t work that way. I do maybe five or six different filtered searches in one session and search through every player that pops up. But one example would be maximum age of 23, contract expired, pace minimum of 13, determination minimum of 13 and then the other attributes I stick in there vary on position I’m looking for and what other searches have come up with.
Neil Birkitt
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:50
there is only one word that describes your achievement and that is WOW.
awesome stuff mate
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 13:54
Thanks Neil, its been a crazy ride so far and its no where near over yet.
James
26 февраля, 2012 at 14:53
Congratulations on getting to the Championship Darren, and I’m sure you will be in the Pl the season after next! I really enjoy reading your posts and I hope you can continue delivering success with Scarborough in the future.
Great Job! Keep it up! :)
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 14:56
Thanks James, I think next season should go well but getting promotion again may require some luck. So fingers crossed.
vaibhavc
26 февраля, 2012 at 16:07
Wow, what a season Darren. Each season I think you might struggle next season, but you always win the league instead. What an FA Cup run Darren, even though you lost, you still did a fantastic job getting there.
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 16:30
Thanks Vaibhav, I am the same in that every season I brace myself for a possible struggle but the players I keep finding are good enough and the squad harmony is great due to not switching the entire team around every season.
Malhar Bhadbhade
26 февраля, 2012 at 16:14
hey darren,
congrats on reaching the fa cup final!!! you’re achieving such great results despite being in league one, i can just picture you winning stuff left, right and center once you settle down in the epl. i didnt have any doubts that you would gain promotion to the championship and congrats on winning the league! well done in the JPT too…silverware is always awesome…cant wait to see Scarborough in the Championship…7 promotions in a row..one more and you’ll be mixing it with the likes of Manchester United and City, Chelsea and Arsenal! good luck!
cheers!
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 16:54
Thanks Malhar, it is a great feeling to know that my little home team will be mixing it with Chelsea and United if we gain one more promotion. The story has gone much better than I could have hoped for so far.
David Faithfull
26 февраля, 2012 at 16:29
Darren i knew that you was going to do very well in league 1 but i didnt expect you to reach the FA Cup final that is amazing and to see that you was robbed of glory must have been hard to take but im sure you will bounce back and in the seasons to come you will be in the final again but winning it this time :D
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 17:39
Thanks David, next season will be tough but I’m still soaking up this season…lets just hope the progression continues.
Mark
26 февраля, 2012 at 17:30
Darren You are the Greatest Manager I have ever seen! Getting to the FA Cup final with a League 1 team is a huge achievement and I am sure you will get into the Prem next year. Good Luck, Mark :)
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 17:59
Thanks Mark, its been a real ride so far and I am hoping to challenge next season too.
Gbolahan
26 февраля, 2012 at 17:46
Hi Darren, great story! I was just wondering is you could upload the gave save to a website as I really want to try it.
Mitch
26 февраля, 2012 at 18:36
Brilliant season Darren!
Unlucky in the FA Cup final :(
Make sure you show us Southern’s progress, he’s an awesome player. Also can you take a screenshot of your backroom staff?
Thanks
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 19:14
Unfortunately I am way ahead of this stage in my game so I cannot get a screenhsot of the exact staff but here is a good idea https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/wp-content/uploads/imgs/2012/02/staff.png
Mitch
28 февраля, 2012 at 02:34
Thanks! I wanted to see how many staff you have generally. On the other subject I was just saying to notify us if Southern makes it big like Shepherd did ;)
Darren Smith
28 февраля, 2012 at 11:46
I will do.
Liverpool
26 февраля, 2012 at 19:57
OI ? pitch size ? very very very good career
Darren Smith
26 февраля, 2012 at 20:04
Thanks mate, OI is left to the assistant as he does a good job and I personally find the pitch size irrelevant and pay no attention to it.
Joe Lance
26 февраля, 2012 at 21:58
Wow Wow Wow! Looks like this is the first time i’m commenting on your story but i’ve eagerly waited for and read every single post. Tough Luck in the FA Cup final. Why didn’t you qualify for Europe if Arsenal finisheed in the top 4? NIce story and great run of promotions. Can’t wait to see you in the Champions league.
Darren Smith
27 февраля, 2012 at 11:50
Thanks Joe, good to know you’re following what has been a crazy ride. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t get Europe after Arsenal finished first in the league but it seems as though the game awarded that place to the next place down in the EPL…quite frustrating.
denson
26 февраля, 2012 at 22:29
Brilliant season!
Sorry forgot to comment on the last posy, your new striker looks good again and i hope you get to the CL final to see you wearing a suit lol.
Good Luck!
denson
26 февраля, 2012 at 22:30
Post**
Darren Smith
27 февраля, 2012 at 11:49
I hope we reach the final some day too mate. :)
Alex
26 февраля, 2012 at 22:49
Another incredible season, I don’t think it’s possible to accurately describe how amazed I am. I think the only thing that will adequately challenge your team is trying to win the Premier League in your first season (when you get there).
I have one question though; do you have player attribute masking enabled? If you do, I applaud you even more, you achievements are definitely unrivalled. If not then I believe that is largely contributing to the ease with which your are progressing. With it enabled far fewer players appear in search filters are a large number of players’ profiles cannot be viewed (when out of scouting regions). The game is too unrealistic with it not enabled.
Darren Smith
27 февраля, 2012 at 11:48
Thanks Alex, I see winning the EPL in my first season as impossible to be honest and just think next season will see things change, we can challenge but not like I have so far.
I do not use attribute masking as it seems pointless…it doesn’t control the players that enter your filtered searches, it just covers up certain attributes of less known player, but those players aren’t visible anyway if you don’t have the scouts or scouting range, so all it actually does is mean you must scout most players to see there full attributes when you know they are there anyway. I actually think its more realistic with attribute masking unticked, as the the players you can see are down to your scouts and scouting range anyway.
Alex
27 февраля, 2012 at 17:02
Yes, next season, in the Championship, will be very interesting. I believe you will be able to pull off a promotion for sure.
Fair enough, I see your point. However, suppose this extremely simplistic case; say you filter the player search to only show players with finishing at least 15, many players will have the finishing attribute masked and as a result will not shown up, thus remaining unknown. When I started a test game using this database, without any real effort I was able to find players who were good enough for the Championship (I was in the 11th tier, I think) when player attribute masking wasn’t enabled. I actually believe the way to make the games realism peak is to remove the whole concept of attributes, they don’t exist in real life. Players should have to be judged by you or your scouts in matches, over a period of time. The scout report will then be used to judge a player. But that’s for another time.
Anyway I don’t want to take anything away from what has been, to date, the exponential rise of Scarborough Athletic FC.
Darren Smith
27 февраля, 2012 at 18:23
I do see what you mean Alex, but the attributes are there because its impossible to judge a player without them, you couldn’t watch every single game all over the country to see a player, and the game can’t simulate heresy, newspaper talk, YouTube, sky TV…etc, etc. There are so many real life ways for a player to catch your eyes that the attributes are probably the nearest way of simulating the collective network of knowledge that travels around in real life. While what you are saying is correct, having to judge the players yourself is literally realistic, I just don’t think its possible to invest that much time in watching matches etc.
Alex
28 февраля, 2012 at 18:21
That is a very good point. The issue arises due to the fact the game is played much quicker than the speed of real life. Once you were into the game far enough that there weren’t many real players left it would take so long to judge the regens that it difficult to get through a season before the next FM game came out! I think it would make a nice optional extra through, there could just be a tick box at the start: «hide all players’ attributes». Maybe that would make the game sufficiently more difficult that it would be fun to manage top teams (barca, madrid, arsenal, man city, milan, inter, bayern etc.) without it getting boring.
MRDNRA
27 февраля, 2012 at 01:07
Well if you can outperform Arsenal like that I see no reason why you shouldn’t go and get promoted again next season. Your side is looking pretty much unstoppable still, and hopefully that’ll carry on.
Darren Smith
27 февраля, 2012 at 11:44
Thanks mate, I feel unstoppable at the moment but the next two divisions are very high in class compared to what I have played so far. I had the underdog element in the cup runs but that is now gone so will have to win matches on our tactics and quality alone.
Sears
27 февраля, 2012 at 01:16
Such a shame you lost to Arsenal Darren, nevertheless, to reach an FA Cup final while managing a League 1 side is nothing short of a miracle. I’m 100% sure that you’ll be able to secure automatic promotion from the Championship, although it won’t be an easy journey.
I decided to download the league expansion, and took charge of AFC Liverpool, the only club I felt I had a connection with lol. Not sure if I’ll continue with the save for long, as I can never keep on top of the financial side of the business when managing a lower league team. (Although with Athletic I’d about €220 million in the bank before I left, and with Atalanta in a short save I’d €22 million in the bank after nearly just two seasons so I am quite sensible with my money lol) But with Liverpool I’m already over 100 euro’s over my wage bill, yet I’ve no depth whatsoever in my team and can’t sign anyone else. Have you any tips to counter this?
Darren Smith
27 февраля, 2012 at 11:43
I agree Sears, it was amazing to get so far in the FA Cup but just frustrating to play so well and lose.
Managing the finances is difficult but with proper use of high profile Friendlies and good cup runs you can maintain the finances until L1, however beyond that feels impossible as the stadium just can’t support the outgoings in wages.
Afraid I have no tips for the Liverpool save other than selling a high value player but that is very risky. You could ask the board for more wage budget but that may be turned down too.
tom
27 февраля, 2012 at 08:11
wow wow wow…another incredible season…i just dont know how u do it…i fort u had bitten off more than u cud chew…how wrong i was to question the master!!!
Shame u lost ur regen…i have simialr problems with my west ham team…they have incredible regens that r sold by my chairman…which is great for realism…and frustration as u can see why clubs get so annoyed at their youth being pinched after uve trained them and built them into the players they are…
Darren Smith
27 февраля, 2012 at 11:39
Thanks Tom, it has been an incredible journey but I think there’s still more to come yet. Thankfully I have only lost two regens that wren’t through my own accord in like 6 years so that isn’t bad I guess…but it’ll probably get harder ti keep em soon.
Davy Doyle
27 февраля, 2012 at 11:47
Unbelievable. Simply fantastic. Quick question though. Who would Scarbouroughs fiercest rivals be? Is there a possibility of playing said team in the future?
Darren Smith
27 февраля, 2012 at 11:52
Thanks Davy, Scarborough don’t officially have fierce rivals on the game but I’d say our nearest thing would be the likes of York, Leeds or maybe Sheffield.
Davy Doyle
27 февраля, 2012 at 12:21
I see. Thanks for the quick reply!
Ad
28 февраля, 2012 at 04:04
hye darren,can u upload your save game file..would love to play it
Darren Smith
28 февраля, 2012 at 11:47
Sorry mate I never do that until the story is complete and I’m not sure if even that will continue due to some people who use the save for the wrong reasons.
Callum Stewart
28 февраля, 2012 at 12:26
Brilliant story so far!,
i done the same thing with Radcliffe Borough..i’m still playing the save now year 2028.
i juat hope you get the same satisfaction i did after gaining promotion to the Premiership :)
good luck for the rest of your save!
Darren Smith
28 февраля, 2012 at 20:24
Thanks mate, this has been very rewarding so far and to reach the EPL would be amazing, I just hope we can keep going past that too.
Federico
28 февраля, 2012 at 19:08
Wow! I’m really impressed. I usually play with low leagues teams too, but from blue square north/south. I’m not shocked for the continuos promotions, I believe you need only a couple of good players to reach championship. Here is the first step between categories, and a bigger step will be in premier league.
I’m really amazed by 2 things.
1-Reaching FA Cup final and outplay Arsenal. Too unlucky there, almost 30 shots and no goals. Where you down to 10 men for the injury in the 90+1 minute?
2-Your youngsters. I never had players in lower leagues that could be sold on those amounts! Selling 2 players for around 5 million is no joke! And how do players agree to join your club with that potential?
Darren Smith
28 февраля, 2012 at 20:33
Thanks Federico, I think it can be simple to get the straight promotion proving you can handle the wage rises and find the right talent, its just making the right decisions at the right time really. Reaching the FA Cup though was a huge shock to even myself, I hadn’t even thought of that injury until now but I think you are right, we went down to ten men because of it as I always make my subs before 80 minutes. Those youngsters were just hanging around in clubs way below mine so they were interested in moving because for them at the time it was a big jump up, but I don’t think anyone else noticed them due to been so low down in the ladder…now that is my assumption and could be wrong of course.
Andrew
29 февраля, 2012 at 00:37
What do you do to find amazing regens? Like what attributes? And you seem to find them on frees for team way below your league?
Andy
Darren Smith
29 февраля, 2012 at 11:50
I’ve already answered this in the comments above and answer it every post, so if you wouldn’t mind looking further up the comments for the answer.
Richard
29 февраля, 2012 at 12:28
I love your story, think maybe because I can relate to the story, as I usually start my game in the non league and hopeful rise to the top of the premiership. I love reading the peoples stories on here including the Youth to Gold and the Stoke set piece tactic. It s just a thought and you probably wouldn’t want to do it, however I think a lot of people would like to see how you scout players as I think it would be a cracking read, just a thought!!! keep up with the great story
Darren Smith
29 февраля, 2012 at 18:48
Thanks Richard, glad you are enjoying the story. As for the scouting guide, its something I’d like to do but just have no time to get through at the moment…I may eventually but time is preventing me of late.
silva
1 марта, 2012 at 00:44
well done with your incredible job wiv the seagulls, how did you find so many good regens
Darren Smith
1 марта, 2012 at 11:41
Thanks Silva, I have already answered this question above, so check the comments above this one for my answer.
silva
2 марта, 2012 at 11:46
sorry to ask but is there another place to download the lower leagues easier , simple and quicker i dont know how to use the website u recomended
Darren Smith
2 марта, 2012 at 21:12
You can download this save game http://www.mediafire.com/?y5meyuw889e8p55 and move it to documents/sports interactive/football manager 2012/games…then load the save as you would any other…it will take you to the start of the game if though you’d started a fresh save with the database loaded.