Hey guys and welcome to my Football Manager 2012 Scarborough AFC season 4 report. Last season not only saw Scarborough win the Evo-Stik’s top division in style, but we also won the Evo-Stik Cup and broke a number of records throughout the season. The Seadogs are now in more familiar territory, the Blue Square North is where the club went bust and out of business years ago. Having guided my boyhood club to three straight promotions we are back to where it all ended. The quality will be far higher than I have experienced to date, but that will hopefully open the door for more quality players to enter my management. There’s a fair bit to get through, so lets dive straight into Scarborough’s first season back in the Blue Square North.
The board didn’t seem optimistic during pre-season, all they asked was for me to avoid relegation. I personally wanted to aim far higher but the difference in funds made upping my expectations a waste of time. Therefore I settled for a transfer budget of £23K and extra wages of £1K per week. The great budget was certainly down to some excellent finances following Friendly matches and a decent cup run last season.
The media however held us in higher regard, Scarborough were sixth favorite for the title priced around 16-1. Not bad at all considering we are newly promoted.
With the medias expectations riding on my shoulders, I went about offloading the deadwood. Every single player that left were offloaded because they lacked the quality for such a step up…bar one that is. Bridges who has been my most successful signing yet has fallen victim to some amazing regen strikers (I showed you their profiles during the last post), while he is good, I have two brilliant regens to fill his boots and I felt bad keeping the old boy around just to rot on the bench.
Now we move onto my signings, this could make or break the season and decide whether we perform above ourselves. Shepherd is the key striker that will replace Bridges and will be near impossible to keep past two seasons. While the others are all very young as always and should feature in the first team or as rotational options.
Just before the season began I took a glance at my assistants squad depth report. And I must say its the best I’ve seen since starting this save, obviously Scarborough are heading in the right direction and looking at my attacking options…well lets just say the board will be surprised.
Results — August to October
The season started with a bang as Scarborough managed 11 wins, 3 draws and one loss from the first 15 league matches. We also won our way past two FA Cup qualifying rounds to reach the 4th qualifying round not to mention the Friendly I arranged against Hearts to raise some cash. All of this and to think I suffered some major injuries during the first three months including the absence of key forward Shepherd which lasted 7 matches.
Results — November to December
The great start continued into winter as Scarborough pulled off a shock beating BSP’s Fleetwood 3-0 to qualify for the FA Cup first round. We then enjoyed yet more league victories and got lucky in the FA Cup, drawing easy opposition twice to squeeze our way into the third round draw. After some good fortune in the FA Cup the Seadogs also remained in the FA Trophy and will now await the 2nd round draw. As for the league we may have lost twice, but Scarborough won the other 5 matches which pleased me considering our busy Cup schedule.
The good start has led to a 6 point gap at the top with games in hand over the teams below. My boys have only suffered three draws, three losses and still have two cup competitions to fight for.
Results — January to February
This two month period was massive for the Seadogs, we drew just two league games and managed to avoid defeat bar the match away to Halifax, plus we progressed to the semi-final of the FA Trophy beating three teams along the way including BSP’s Gateshead. But none of these matches could even touch what happened in the FA Cup. My boys beat League Two’s York in the third round to setup a fourth round away tie with Premier League side Stoke. Despite a valiant effort Scarborough lost 1-0, but we raised a ridiculous amount of money from that match alone. Going so far meant matching Scarborough’s previous record in the FA Cup when they lost to Chelsea in the fourth round many years ago (and no I didn’t have to google that stat, I was there watching the match in person.) ;)
Results — March to May
The final three months of the season were our best. Scarborough not only won every single league game, but we beat Barrow 9-2 on aggregate in the FA Trophy semi-final to book our place at Wembley.
With the Blue Square North all wrapped up, I was left to examine the table which showed utter domination. The Seadogs finished top by a massive 31 points scoring 116 goals. We gained promotion to the Blue Square Premier which means just one promotion stands between us and the football league. But all of that was in the back of my mind as everyone in Scarborough traveled down to London for the FA Trophy final.
FA Trophy final vs Forest Green
Venue: Wembley
Attendance: 24,008
Starting formations:
Forest Green are my opponents for the FA Trophy final, they finished this season 5th in the Blue Square Premier and then went on to win the play-off for promotion. Obviously they have a very talented side and Scarborough will be seen as underdogs for this match, but if we can lose just 1-0 away to Stoke, then we can handle ourselves today. I will leave you to watch the match highlights below.
Match highlights: Click here to watch the FA Trophy final match highlights
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Match stats:
Shepherd was our star man yet again scoring two and assisting the other. Scarborough dominated this match with 65% possession and 8 shots on target to Forest Greens zero. You would have thought my boys were the team to have gained promotion to League Two and that is the best way I could describe this match. It truly was a fantastic day for the fans.
Stats and finances
After this incredible season so many players deserve a mention, but I’ll leave you to see the squad stats below before picking out my favorite four. All I will say is check out the age of these players, they are insanely young when you consider all that they have achieved already. My biggest challenge will be holding them down while the vultures circle above us.
My favorite four
4th — Oliver Lee (MC, aged 23)
3rd — Nikos Nikolaou (AMR, aged 17)
2nd — Reece Hendrie (AMR, aged 18)
1st — Bob Shepherd (ST, aged 17)
As you can see everything was perfect on the pitch and as a result things off the pitch weren’t bad either. I finished last season with £237K in the bank, but after our amazing cup runs that figure went through the roof hitting £752K. This was an amazing bank balance for a small side like Scarborough and I had to take advantage…
…so I asked the board to build a new stadium. Ever since the old stadium was abandoned (this is where I learnt what football is) I had felt like a part of my childhood left me. Scarborough had to play their games in Bridlington at the Neil Hugdell Law Stadium and still do to this day, unfortunately Bridlington is just too far for me to travel and a real pain to get to. So you can imagine my excitement when the board agreed with me and started making arrangements to move back to where we belong, in the city of Scarborough.
The new stadium will cost £2 million which is a lot for such a small club but only £1.19 million comes from our pockets over a lot of years. The capacity is almost the same as Bridlington’s ground (which we currently borrow for matches) but I’m not bothered, the Seadogs can finally say they own their stadium again…well in 2017 anyway. Lets just hope there’s lots of room for expansion. :)
The board also granted an upgrade to the clubs training facilities which were dyer and had to be improved, this will cost £95K but still shows the boards willingness to help.
Well that about does it for today, I hope you are enjoying the story so far and will be back for my season five update. My journey has been amazing to date and as before, I am happy to report no bugs as Scarborough begin life in the Blue Square Premier. Until next time please feel free to comment below and I’ll leave you with a screenshot of our climb through the divisions so far.
vaibhavc
5 февраля, 2012 at 10:01
What a season mate, you did fantastic in all competitions. Bob Shepherd was definitely your star man this season! Great Fa cup run as well, losing 1-0 to Stoke was a great effort from you guys.
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:01
Thanks Vaibhav, Shepherd is an absolute star…Stoke, QPR and Blackburn are already majorly interested so looks like an uphill battle to keep him.
Ivo
5 февраля, 2012 at 10:27
so impressing… hope you’re going to keep those youngsters :D
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:02
Me too, their contracts run out in two years so I don’t have to lose them yet, but if the money is too much to refuse then I’ll have no choice but to be sensible I guess.
Ben
5 февраля, 2012 at 10:42
How do you play in the baris northen counties league? I play for winterton rangers who are in that league, be great to use myself if i could lol.
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:04
I downloaded them here http://fmadvanced.forumfree.it/?t=59060264
Johnny Karp
5 февраля, 2012 at 10:49
Congratulations Darren, this was a sensational season! The future definitely looks brighter than ever with the new stadium and all, you should be proud! And I’m sure you are :)
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:05
Thanks Johnny, I am very proud indeed as all these achievements mean that much more to me being a fan from when I can’t even remember.
bob
5 февраля, 2012 at 10:52
have you ever lost a final lol
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:06
Plenty, but no one seems to remember the losses as its usually after a league victory or after winning another final…that was the case in my Newcastle save at least.
Bigbaz
5 февраля, 2012 at 10:54
Brilliant utter brilliant
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:07
Thanks mate.
Billy
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:19
Gret season! where’s the best place to look for cheap regens that have quality, like shepherd?
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:31
All you can do is get plenty of great scouts and assign them to roam, they will find some and the rest is through filtered searches for the attributes you want. You can’t possibly search through individual clubs as its random where the best regens land in this level.
Laxeyman
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:21
Incredible again Darren, congrats on the FA Trophy and Blue Square North wins! The young strikers you have are absolutely amazing, they could easily do a job in League 2 already, and hopefully they’ll continue to grow as Scarborough continue to rise :)
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:33
Thanks Laxeyman, as mentioned the young strikers are simply brilliant…I reckon they may even hold their own in L1 so if I can keep them I should be sorted in those areas for a long time to come…though Shepherd is looking near impossible to hold onto.
Minch
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:26
Yet another great season. It very challenging to manage at such a low level yet you’ve once again made the step up look easy. Im just wondering where you keep finding these amazing regens from?
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:35
Thanks Minch, my scouts find some of the regens and the rest I find through many, many filtered searches. That is why my game time in hours is ridiculous compared to the amount of seasons I’ve done…regens don’t just land on your lap and it isn’t knowing some magical spot to look…I probably do the same as everyone else but am persistent with it and don’t give in after 5 minutes of searching.
Kevin
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:27
Hi Darren
That was just an outstanding season. You really blew the oppositon away in the BNN and well done on capturing the FA Trophy too. With a new stadium on the horizon and this kid Shepherd who is just sensational things are only going to get better for you I feel. Well done mate!
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:37
Thanks Kevin, we all hit a point in lower league football where it feels like a brick wall has been built in your way but I don’t see that yet. I think we can keep challenging for a few more seasons yet until our progress stalls…especially with players like Shepherd.
Martin - F.M.J.S
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:31
Congrats on the double Darren. Bob Shepherd has been sensational for you with 45 goals at just 17 years old. I hope you can hold on to him going into the Blue Square Premier. Also you were unlucky in the Stoke game but against stoke is a great result. Good Luck next season.
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 11:47
Thanks Martin, I don’t think Shepherd will stay with Scarborough for long, its more a question of how he leaves, whether its my choice a contract end or the board stepping in. Either way this was a great season.
Srujun Gupta
5 февраля, 2012 at 12:14
Oh, if only Shepherd could stay at Scarborough for longer… He’s amazing talent! Congratulations on winning the BSN and FA Trophy, amazing achievements with a team who’ve won back-to-back promotions!
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 12:34
Thanks, I feel the same about Shepherd but I know the chances of keeping him and I either sell next season/season after or risk losing him for nothing.
Alex
5 февраля, 2012 at 12:25
Another fine season, I can’t really add anything to what others have said. Now you’re into the game’s available leagues are you going to remove the lower, custom, leagues to ensure there won’t be any glitches.
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 13:10
Thanks Alex, I won’t be removing any leagues as I’ve heard horror stories of the effects…like EPL teams been put in the FA Trophy. All is well so far so I think changing the leagues would risk it too much.
ri916
5 февраля, 2012 at 12:25
well done on a great season! i think the biggest step up in class from league to league is bss/bsn to bsp in fm (well, apart from maybe championship to premier league top 6 anyway). well thats the league where people seem to struggle from reading other’s careers’. however, i think with the momentum of 4 successive promotions and the quality regens you have found you will be too strong for the bsp.
would love to see you tackle a welsh team to win champions league challenge or a san marino challenge. with your skill and long playing hours+patience, i think you could complete one of them. Maybe in fm 13? :D
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 13:09
Thanks mate, as for the other challenges mentioned I doubt I’d ever attempt them as for me a successful story can only be a achieved if the team means something too you…that is what will keep me going when things get tough with Scarborough.
Woody
5 февраля, 2012 at 12:44
Another great season Darren best by far
It will be good to see you in your new stadium and progressing even farther in the FA cup
Anyway a cracking season and good luck in the blue square premier
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 13:11
Thanks Woody, its been an excellent ride so far and I’m hoping to keep the momentum.
Juan
5 февраля, 2012 at 13:02
how do i start a fm story
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 13:12
You can start one in the forum https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/forum
denson
5 февраля, 2012 at 13:25
What a season Darren!
This is the best update i have read ever.
Cant wait for next season!!
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 13:29
Thanks Denson, it was a great season and providing we keep the majority of those regens I think the future is promising.
Sears
5 февраля, 2012 at 13:31
Wow, that was an impressive season pal! Reaching the 4th round of the FA Cup was exceptional, and your boys did well against Stoke as well. After such a dominate season, I’ll surely expect to see you dominate the BSP and finally reach the Football League!! Good luck buddy ;)
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 14:16
Thanks Sears, I don’t want to underestimate any league and the standard of player has certainly jumped in the BSP but I can’t help but feel like we have a great chance again.
TheZiggy
5 февраля, 2012 at 14:08
That’s an amazing season, totally dominating the league, great run in the FA Cup, with excellent financial reward from the Stoke game, where they obviously struggled to put your team away. As for the FA Trophy, that’s brilliant stuff.
You’ve really put together a great team, which already looks as though it can do great things in the Blue Square Premier given some of the teams you beat in the cup runs. Hopefully you can keep those talented youngsters, but if you can’t, I hope you get some good money for them.
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 14:26
Thanks Ziggy, this was a great season not only for the results but also the youth we managed to find…I think we’ll hang onto most of the youth but my star striker seems destined to leave.
Tyler
5 февраля, 2012 at 19:23
Wow, your top 4 players are League 2 stars (probably League 1). You should have no problem promoting again with them. Great season!
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 20:00
Thanks Tyler, I agree that my top regens are well worthy of League Two and they are where my hopes lye so fingers crossed we don’t lose them.
Chris Haigh
5 февраля, 2012 at 19:30
The money you are going to get from the sale of Bob is going to be immense and i know that you wont reject that amount of money for you’re small club. I know though that you are going to pull another regen in that can be just as good if not better. It was great to read this update with so much success and an absolutely brilliant run in the FA Cup always helps with finances too :) On a last note congrats for getting a stadium actually based in Scarborough :)
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 20:29
I agree Chris, while I’m nervous about him leaving (as its inevitable due to us been part time) I am also excited about the cash on offer. That one player could secure our future for the next couple of years. Lets just hope the standard of my squad keeps rising with the leagues.
Ana Garcia
5 февраля, 2012 at 20:55
What can I add!
Another amazing season and another promotion, your making this game look so easy!! :)
Well done on getting a new stadium, shame about the name would be nice if your board gave you like the ability to pick the name for the stadium or gave you a list of possible names to choose from.
Naming it after your club has always annoyed me for some reason! Hopefully they will re-name it in a few seasons!
Financially the clubs looks very stable, but with the new stadium planned hopefully it wont drain too much money from the balance.
As always the best of luck!
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2012 at 21:17
Thanks Ana, the stadium name was a little annoying I must admit and considering how far in the future it is I was annoyed to not get a bigger capacity, but as a Scarborough fan I am delighted to finally be back in the city…that is something that can’t be replaced for me.
As for the finances, well lets just say that next season brings a little present :)
Lye
6 февраля, 2012 at 00:56
Bob Shepherd is a real gem and not surprising he scores load of goals for you. All those players you mentioned have the potential to play up to league 1 and i am sure you will still dominate in BSP next season. Wonderful season mate and i guess you will complete the challenge in the next 2-3 weeks time.
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:45
I agree Lye, Shepherd is a very rare gem and hopefully I can hold onto him or at least make a quick buck.
Mitch
6 февраля, 2012 at 01:09
Hi Darren!
Great season. Because you are promoting so fast do you think you will try to take Scarborough all the way to the Premier League? That would make for one awesome story.
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:45
Thanks Mitch, I will attempt to take Scarborough all the way providing there are no glitches yes.
CsAtlantis
6 февраля, 2012 at 02:49
Another promotion, and these amazing youngsters keep coming in, Shepherd could be a major player in the Football Leagues, hopefully he will stay as he will definitely have trophy medals to fill up his cabinet
Nice that the authorities gave you 750k for the stadium, that’s slightly more than one-third of the full cost!
Your finances look strong enough to sustain the loan, and your facilities are starting to be upgraded, you can focus on training facilities as I doubt any youth facility upgrades would help you out if you are aiming for lots of promotions
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:44
Thanks mate, Shepherd is a real gem and if we hold onto him or can find an equal replacement then the goals will keep coming. As mentioned a huge part of the lower leagues is balancing the finances so you can afford to keep upgrading facilities which can hold you back, we have a good balance so far though.
Bhargav
6 февраля, 2012 at 06:34
Hahaha, Darren you can’t win anything with kids!
Just kidding. This is an awesome story and I am loving every step of the journey!
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:42
lol, I love that saying and love proving it wrong even more on FM. :)
Malhar Bhadbhade
6 февраля, 2012 at 08:29
Wow Darren all i can say is that this journey has been fantastic and it isnt over by a long way yet! im quite sure you’ll manage to get your fifth straight promotion to the football league. your scarborough side is dominating every league they play in!! wonder when (or if?) this incredible run will come to an end. already dreaming of scarborough in the premier league :D keep up the good work…cant wait for the next update
cheers!
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:41
Thanks Malhar, I think that we can get promotion again too but once we reach L2 things may change as that is the jump to professional football.
Marcko
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:17
Hey Darren I must say this story has truly inspired me! Just a few questions though! Firstly how do you manage to get such gems of players!? do you get them through looking at their attributes? to be frank I rarely depend on attributes and more on scouting, so I was just wondering about that(: also please stay with this club, and maybe bring them to the Premier League one day! thanks:D
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:40
Thanks Marcko, I get those players through intense searching and I judge them by their attributes. Relying on the scout alone is a bad idea as they are often inaccurate. I’ll stay with Scarborough as long as I possibly can.
Marcko
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:49
ohh okay cos i’m thinking of starting a similar save at a lower league club! thanks!:D
Marcko
6 февраля, 2012 at 11:49
ohh okay cos i’m thinking of starting a similar save at a lower league club!
denson
6 февраля, 2012 at 16:15
Darren, Please can you do me a massive favour, Could you start a game with all the english leagues uploaded like the ones scarborough started in, because im struggling to start a game with those leagues! And post the save here! Please could you do this for me.
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 18:45
No problem heres the link http://www.mediafire.com/?y5meyuw889e8p55
George Stafford
6 февраля, 2012 at 18:34
Sorry it is late but how do you get all those lower leagues???
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 18:47
Easiest way is to download the save game link above your comment of which I provided for Denson.
George Stafford
8 февраля, 2012 at 22:04
Cheers Darren
denson
6 февраля, 2012 at 20:02
One more request, do you know where the badges for all these teams are?
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2012 at 20:08
Yeah you can get them here https://footballmanagerstory.com/forum/index.php?topic=1026.0
denson
6 февраля, 2012 at 20:10
Thanks again!
Rob Clarkson
11 февраля, 2012 at 18:19
are you going to stop once you’ve won npower league 2 or will you go all the way to the prem?
Darren Smith
11 февраля, 2012 at 18:33
I will be trying to make the Prem mate yes, fingers crossed there are no glitches.
Frank
11 февраля, 2012 at 22:23
Hi Darren,
Firstly congratulations on the double, you have made a very strong team. This is a really great story and next season will be tough in the conference. Good luck for the season.
Also if you have time, could you check out my new blog where I am managing New York Red Bulls
thefootballmanagergaffer.blogspot.com
Darren Smith
11 февраля, 2012 at 22:35
Thanks Frank, it was a great season and my next update will be published tomorrow so you’ll soon see how we coped :) I’ll check out your blog tonight.