Sears — FM11 Queens Park: Can the Spiders Create History? 13/14

Hey everyone, welcome back to my final installment of the 13/14 campaign. This post will contain all my fixtures from December onwards. In my last post you saw as Queens Park and Motherwell led the title challenge, both teams on equal points heading into Christmas but Motherwell were on top due to a superior goal difference. They’ve an extremely talented team, and it will surly take something special to pip them to the title. My bunch of amateurs were showing some potential, and I was remaining confident heading into the latter stages of the campaign as we always seem to perform well during this duration. On top of that, that incredible win away to Rangers in the League Cup gave us a massive boast, especially confidence wise. Unfortunately we lost the quarter final to Inverness CT. We overachieved in the competition so I was pleased with that. We still had to enter the Scottish Cup, a competition we performed fantastically in last season. We reached the semi final only to be beaten by a very strong Aberdeen team. Anyway, here’s how the Spiders ended the 13/14 campaign…

First Division:

December results:

Following two back to back wins in November, our confidence was sky high heading into December. This winning streak continued as we trashed Morton 4-0 at home. Courtesy of two own goals, we defeated Kilmarnock away 2-0. We then saw off Dunfermline 4-1, and mathematically ended their chances to win the title.  Newly promoted Livingston were hammered away 3-0 before we finished the year with a terrific 1-0 away victory against Hamilton.

January began with some bad news, our impressive center back Shikanda signed a professional contract with French side Calais RUFC. He was fundamental to our great season thus far and I must admit, his presence will be greatly missed.

I began my search for a replacement immediately. After considering various applicants, I finally settled on Dutchman Brian Ottenhoff. His physical attributes were exceptional and my scout said he has the potential to become a quality player.

I also signed another Dutchman who could play in numerous positions just to add more depth to the team since all my right backs were injured. He’s extremely versatile and will hopefully do a decent job when called upon.

January results:

Striker Mayulu stole the show in January with an impressive four goals. He scored a hat trick in the narrow 3-2 win over Queens Of Sth. However, title rivals Motherwell halted our 8 match winning streak with a crucial 5-2 victory. This was an extremely damaging defeat and I let my feelings towards my players clear.  I dished out a few fine’s and told my players  to concentrate on our next game against Raith. A penalty from Mayulu sealed all 3 points.

February results:

We went goals crazy in February, destroying anything that got in our path. We began with a 7 goal thriller against Morton. Two own goals and two further goals from Schnitzler and Olumbia saw the Spiders win 4-3. We then had a convincing two gaol win over Ross County away. This game ended 4-2 to the Spiders. Schnitzler continued his goal scoring spell as we netted both goals in a comfortable 2-0 win over Kilmarnock.

March results:

Unfortunately March began with a mediocre performance as we suffered our first defeat in 4 games to Dunfermline.  We then trashed Livingston 4-1 , the 5th game in a row where Schnitzler scored. Hamilton were narrowly beaten 2-1 and we ended the month with a 2-0 win away to Queen Of Sth.

End of season results:

We were heading into the most two decisive months of our lives. This final two months could potentially determine the rest of our careers, well mine anyway. We began with an extremely important match against Motherwell, regrettably my players all performed poorly and we lost… We then suffered another loss, this time Kilmarnock defeated us. Our confidence was low and our morale was dropping, but I told my team to hang in there. When it mattered most, we didn’t show up. Disappointing considering how wonderful season was going up until this time. In a most win game, we beat Raith 4-2 away. What followed shocked me: We lost our last two games, and I saw the title slipping away from us….

Noooooooooooo! This can’t be happening, this isn’t happening! I pinched myself. It really was happening, just take a look at the table and you’ll know what I mean….

Ahahaha! I bet you didn’t expect that?  You don’t have to rub your eyes or refresh the page: Queens Park are the Champions of the Scottish First Division! My amateur side have successfully conquered the Scottish Lower Leagues and we will be playing amongst the elite of Scottish Football next season. What a phenomenal campaign, but it wasn’t over yet. We still had the Scottish Cup to fight for.

You may remember we reached the semi finals of this competition last season, only to be beaten by Aberdeen 1-0.  We entered this year in the 4th round, where we had to play a non league team called ‘Spartans’. A bumper crowd of 1,322 at Hampden Park witnessed us demolish them 4-0. Emre Ozturk took home the match ball with an excellent hat trick. The 5th round tie was kind to us as well, we’d to play 2nd Division side Forfar at home. This obviously could have been a tricky game but thankfully my players finished the job with a 2-0 win. A more formidable team awaited us in the quarter final. High flying Dundee were our opponents away from home. They’d been performing tremendously in the SPL and I’m sure most of Scotland anticipated a comfortable victory for them. Fortunately my players refused to lie down and we came away with a marvelous 2-0 win to set up a semi final date with Ross County, a team in our Division.

Scottish Cup Semi Final: Ross County Versus Queens Park  —  Sunday, 20/4/14 @ 15:00

Bearing in mind that were amateur, it came as no surprise when the media predicated a comfortable victory for Ross County. They were 1-2 favorites to prevail. That didn’t distract us though, we knew what had to be done. Here are the match line up’s:

Everything is set and everyone is ready, let’s see the match highlights:

What an amazing game, it had everything from own goals, red cards, injuries and it was topped off with 7 great goals, 5 of those coming in perhaps the most action packed extra time ever. Joseph Olumbia picked up the man of the match award and he deserved it.He scored two fantastic goals, especially his first goal! I was equally impressed with Reece Hands, he dominated the central midfield area and scored a fabulous free kick. Hibernian were our opponents in the final, they squeezed past Aberdeen in the other semi final.

Scottish Cup Final: Hibernian Versus Queens Park — Saturday, 17/5/14 @ 15:00

Well, I guess it’s safe to say no one expected this at the beginning of the season. My amateur side were preparing to face Hibernian in the Cup Final. What the hell was going on? I’ll be the first to admit that we didn’t have a tough schedule in getting to the final, but complacency didn’t creep into our game either. We did manage to knock out Dundee, they finished 6th in the SPL and have some good players.  Anyway, I decided to send out my strongest XI and both teams can be seen here:

Without any more delay, let’s see who will be crowned Scottish Cup Champions:

We did it! We did it! Against all the odds, for all the doubters, we are Scottish Cup Champions! What a emotional roller-coaster, we experienced the lows before we endured the highs. We suffered semi final heartbreak last season, but this season we took two giant steps for Queens Park and won the competition. Albeit Hibernian did get reduced to ten men, we still dominated and were clear deserving winners of this cup. We managed to create some history as well, first this was the first time Queens Park won the Scottish Cup since 1893. We also qualified for the Europa League! Get in!

A song that illustrates my current feelings:

Let’s see the players ratings and the hero’s that won the double this season:

I’m pleased with the majority of my squad, though I don’t think a lot of them will be here next season if I can sign better players during the summer. Here are the player ratings and below will be a summary of the my strongest XI.

Now I will present you with my strongest XI, not necessarily agreeing with my assistants team report. Anyway here goes…

Goalkeeper:

My goalkeeper is a 20 year old Irishman called Joe Coll. In real life, he is a splendid prospect and that was evident when English giants Manchester United signed him. However on FM, United released him and I signed him and he instantly become my number 1. Despite lacking pace, he’s a superb goalkeeper with great attributes for this level. He will defiantly remain here, and will probably be my number 1 again next season unless I sign a better keeper.

Right Back:

My RB is a former Tottenham Hotspur trainee called Adam Smith. He’s a hard working and a determined player with impressive physical attributes. I signed Scotsman Andy Dowie last summer believing he could be my new right back, but unfortunately  he suffered a nasty injury which ruled him out for four months. Adam stepped up and made right back is own with some terrific performances. He tore his hamstring around Christmas time and was ruled out for 3 months. Despite this injury, his overall rating for the campaign was 7.19.

Left Back:

Soren Halfar bought a wealth of experience to the team. He played an important role in the success we endured this season with a string of excellent performances. His stats are eye catching as well and it comes as no surprise that he’s wanted back in Germany. I really like this guy and I’m hoping he will remain with us next season.

Center Back:

My most consistent center back throughout this successful campaign was Tristan Dingomé. In fairness, he only got his chance after my best center back, Shikanda, departed for France during the January transfer window. However, Dingomé kept new signing Ottenhoff out of the starting XI with continuous consistent performances. His mental attributes are brilliant, and so are his physical attributes.

Center Back:

My other center back, Lasse Sobiech, was phenomenal. He scored 11 goals, mainly from set pieces, and was another consistently good performer. His attributes may suggest he isn’t a talented defender, but he’s one of my best center backs. He’s good in the air and is an extremely competitive individual. He isn’t wanted by anyone yet which is great so hopefully he will be a Queens Park player next season.

Center Midfield:

My most influential center midfield this season was without doubt Reece Hands. This former Blackburn trainee was astonishing all campaign as we clinched the double. He scored and assisted some extremely important goals. His free kick in the Scottish Cup Semi Final was outstanding! I’m optimistic that this exciting youngster will remain a Queens Park player next year.

Center Midfield:

Owain Tudor-Jones was essential to our season with some magnificent performances. He also scored that all important second goal in the Scottish Cup Final. His average rating of 7.53 in the cup matches is incredible! His defensive attributes are immense and that’s why he’s a key player for Queens Park. He will defiantly be here next season.

Center Midfield:

Stans joined us last summer and didn’t disappoint. Although his performances in the league were just average, he came to life in the Cup competitions. His goal in the Scottish Cup Final will go down in history and will never be forgotten. He will be here next season, but I’m not sure if he will be a starter. Hopefully I will be able to sign a more superior center midfielder during the summer.

Striker:

Olumbia’s career with Queens Park got off to a great start, he couldn’t stop scoring. But then he stopped scoring, and he dropped in and out of the starting XI. Overall I was pleased with his season but unsure if he will be here next season.

Striker:

Schnitzler had a sensational campaign! I really didn’t expect to do so well, but he ended the season as my second top goal scorer. His technical attributes are poor,but his mental and physical ones are superb. He will defiantly be a Queens Park player next season.

Striker:

Mayulu was my player of the season, he was just absolutely immense! His pace caused havoc and he deservedly scored 24 goals. His 7 goals in the Cup competitions were extremely valuable too. He will most defiantly be here next season!

Well folks, that’s it for today’s post. I apologize if it’s a bit to long,  but there was just so much to show and say. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment or ask any questions.