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| CatchFire |
Jul 09, 11 at 7:24am ^
Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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Log in to remove this sponsored message I was made redundant from my job, but having nearly 10 years experience, I expected to walk back into a job. That was 4 months ago. I've cut back my finances. No Sky, no home phone. ASDA Smart-Price food. All I have left now, other than the minuscule amount in my bank, is football. I used to have a bright future ahead of me, a left-winger in the prestigious Crewe Alexandra Youth Academy. Oh clichés, how often they occur. Bad tackle, broken leg and ankle. End of career. I draw £20 from the machine. I've been playing Sunday League football since then. 19 years old, a star on the pitch, but an unknown. 12 years later, here I am, standing in the morning cold, thinking about what could have been. An "illustrious" career of Sunday morning football and Thursday night training, rather than the daily happenings of football in a professional league, a life I so often dream of. For the past two years now though, I have been working on securing an FA license to manage or coach. I love the game. What other requirement is there? In begins to rain, I draw my hood up, pull my hat down over my ears, and continue back home. Shoulders drawn against the cold, I catch a glimpse of Gresty Road, Crewe Alexandra's stadium, as I cross Bedford Street towards my house on Neville Street. Gresty Road has always been my spiritual home, despite being an avid Manchester United supporter. I keep in regular contact with Steve Davis, Crewe's assistant manager. I often enquire about coaching roles at the club, but often I'm beaten to the jobs by more experienced people. I may apply again later today. The rain gets heavier. Game Details: Database: Medium Size: 10 Countries (England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Holland, Russia): 24 Leagues (Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, English Conference, Conference North, Conference South, Scottish Premier Division, Second Division, Third Division, Principality Welsh Premier, Ligue 1, Ligue 2, German First Division, Eredivisie, Jupiler League, Serie A, Serie B, Liga Sagres, Liga Vitalis, Russian Premier Division, Second Division, Liga BBVA, Liga Adelante). Start Unemployed. Used Real Players. Real Fixtures Disabled. Attribute Masking Disabled. Currency (£). Manager: Harley Dalton, 01.05.1977 (32yo), English, Favourite Team (Manchester United), Sunday League Footballer.  Contents WARNING: There will be a ridiculous amount of parts listed here! Season One - 2010/11 - Unemployed, Aberystwyth Town Part I: From Nowhere - Updated 09.07.2011 - Setting the scene. Part II: Applying for Jobs - Updated 10.07.2011 - Harley Dalton begins his career as an unemployed football manager! Part III: Better Than Nothing - Updated 11.07.2011 - Harley Dalton joins Aberystwyth Town Football Club! Part IV: Team Building - Updated 12.07.2011 - Harley Dalton's first game in charge and first signing! Part V: Tomorrow! - Scheduled 13.07.2011 - Aberystwyth Town get a run of good results in the friendlies! Part VI: Coming Soon! - Scheduled 14.07.2011 - The final preparations for the upcoming season! Part VII: Coming Soon! - Scheduled 15.07.2011 - A closer look at the Aberystwyth Town team for this season! Part VIII: Unknown - Scheduled 16.07.2011 - The start of a tough first season in management for Harley Dalton! Edit: Jul 13, 11 2:12pm | |
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| CatchFire |
Jul 10, 11 at 9:30am ^
Applying for Jobs
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Apparently, there is going to be sunshine tomorrow. A light breeze, and with the rain on the ground, it’ll be a nice cool day. It’s a Monday afternoon, and the sun has finally come out, the clouds wispy, the worst of which lie many miles in the distance. Maybe it’s just my mood that’s seeing a multitude of good things about what started as a fairly poor day. I went to see Steve Davis earlier, at Crewe’s training facility. He let me join in with the proceedings, and we had a good chat about life and football and everything. I asked him about coaching roles earlier in the day, but having heard about my financial situation, he has offered to put my name into a number of clubs, and give me a list of clubs I could apply to the vacant managerial roles.
I quite fancied the job available at Chester City, and myself, Steve and Dario Gradi, my former mentor and manager made a telephone call to Stephen Vaughan, the chairman, who accepted my application but stressed that I was not guaranteed the role. Two Russian clubs and Morton later, and Steve wished me luck and we parted company. The walk home was enjoyable, the sun peeking through the dispersing clouds gifting my skin a glorious few seconds of warmth. At home, I searched the web for managerial vacancies, and found four more roles, at Clyde, Droylsden, Rubin Kazan and Aberystwyth. I offered my application at Cylde, Droylsden and Aberystwyth, citing Steve Davis and Dario Gradi as references. Aberystwyth’s chairman almost seemed relieved to hear from someone, and I swear if he could have reached down the telephone and pulled me through, he would have. Some hope perhaps?  All these pictures are of me playing football by the way. I've been practising my editing, these aren't amazing, but they do alright as quite nice little fillers. I'm hoping to update this story everyday, if possible, though I have another season in the FM10 story forum which takes a lot of my time, and I might have a job soon too, so time will be restricted. If I can't provide match updates, I'll just post something small, a training update or something, a bit of descriptive writing if it seems apt. So, see you tomorrow I hope. P.S. Let me know if you think the pictures are a little too big? I've seen the other stories in this forum and feel like my updates need something to stand out in them to separate them from all the comments. Post a comment, let me know what you think. More to come tomorrow, bigger updates, more detailed too. | |
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| seanburns92 |
Jul 10, 11 at 4:06pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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| DeadLine |
Jul 10, 11 at 4:43pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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| CatchFire |
Jul 10, 11 at 4:45pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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| CatchFire |
Jul 11, 11 at 5:17am ^
Better Than Nothing
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Trees and fields blurred into one as I hurtled down the M6 towards Birmingham. I had received a call yesterday evening from an Aberystwyth board member asking me if I could attend an interview at Park Avenue, The Seasiders’ football stadium. 9am was a little harsh though, so I set off at 6am, attempting to avoid traffic. I got stuck just outside Wolverhampton, but once I transferred onto the M56 towards Telford, the traffic cleared up, and it was easy driving from there. I reached Aberystwyth at 8.20am, plenty of time to spare. A sausage and egg muffin from a local café, a glass of freshly squeezed orange, and a drinking chocolate, 1 sugar, milk, to go, and I made my way along the seafront towards Park Avenue. The sun is shining, as it should in mid-July.
The interview with the chairman went incredibly well. I was signed almost immediately. At first, he offered me £270 a week to manage Aberystwyth, but that was quickly increased to £450 and a rented 1-bedroom apartment facing the sea when he learnt I was waiting to hear from Chester City FC on their vacant manager position. I accepted, we shook hands (his were unsettlingly smooth) and I agreed to start the next day. Two hours back up to Crewe, 1 hour packing and loading everything into my friend Josh’s van, informed my estate agent I would like to rent out my house, I was in my local for a final drink with the football lads before returning to my unusually clean house for what could be my last night in my hometown.  The next morning, I drove the route back to Aberystwyth, followed closely by Josh with all my things. The apartment was rather nice, the view incredible, although there was slight cloud cover. The sun was attempting to poke out from behind the blockade, but for the most part, Aberystwyth remained dull and grey. I had a couple of hours till my meet-and-greet with the team, so I bid Josh farewell, and went for a light lunch on the seafront. The sea-air is rather refreshing, and a welcome change from the petrol-fume addled oxygen I was forced to breathe for 32 years in Crewe. The first training session was more of a training game, and I gladly joined in. There were players on the squad older than I, which, on one hand, provided me with a bit of maturity and a like-for-like look at the team and how to play, and their input could be vital this season. On the other, am I going to struggle to get respect off more experienced players, and much wiser men? I will now have to compile a team list based on my first session, and have talks with each member of the squad to see what their feelings are about the team. This will help me improve team chemistry and aid the development of the team. With regards to transfers, I do have a small amount of money to improve my squad, but I feel it is worth giving the players on my team a chance to show me what they are capable of before replacing any of them. However, I will be looking to bring in a few small transfers in order to start to get a team I know, a team I feel more confident managing, and to start developing this teams style, be that attacking or defending. Ideally, as a winger myself, I would like to make this team a pretty formidable attacking force, but I understand that the team I have are not highly rated, even in this rather abysmal standard of league. I will have my work cut out to develop a formation that makes it difficult for opponents to find gaps, and then break on the counter when they are sparsely populated in defence. Based on advice given by the backroom staff, I am playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the traditional back-four, 2 holding midfielders for defensive stability, 2 wingers and an attacking midfielder to feed the sole striker. This is subject to change based on how players play each position, how my team performs throughout the season. I am sure, however, that defence is the best form of defence in this case, and those two holding players could really make the difference in many games. Two of my 4 transfer targets will be DMCs. Do I see myself at Aberystwyth long-term? No, not at all. The Welsh league is not ideal for progression as a manager, and I do one day want to manage a team in the Champions League. It should be every manager’s dream. If I could ever manage England, I would probably cry with joy. Aberystwyth is simply a small stepping stone to bigger things, and hopefully my time here, and hopefully success here, will stand me in good stead for the future as I gain experience and respect in the footballing world. I am 32 now, and I don’t see myself retiring from management for some time, if I can help it. Fifty years seems an adequate amount of time in which to win the Champions League right?  Poor editing on this, but can’t be helped, as Aberystwyth don’t have an available team photo. This is my team photo for our second ever game (about a month ago), complete with blurred out faces to stop me getting arrested. I hope you liked this update, and I look forward to bring you more and regular updates. If you are liking the amount of detail, or perhaps want less, let me know. I’m always looking to improve my writing skills. See you tomorrow. | |
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| CatchFire |
Jul 11, 11 at 5:39pm ^
Season One - Aberystwyth Town FC
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I'm spending more time writing updates than I am playing the game...
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| ho1mesy2011 |
Jul 11, 11 at 5:41pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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| brad2809 |
Jul 11, 11 at 5:41pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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| The Rock 13 |
Jul 11, 11 at 5:44pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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| Tweety Pie |
Jul 11, 11 at 6:06pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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What is it with Crewe and amazing stories?
Keep it up  ------------------- BOSSA NOVA SIMILIS BOSSA SENECA  Small, furry, foreign | |
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| CatchFire |
Jul 11, 11 at 8:36pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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quote The Rock 13Yeah, it's been nice to have a regular commenter, and I've been watching Ipswich very closely for you. They recently sacked their manager, so it's not going as well as last season for the Tractor Boys I'm afraid. Thanks for reading though quote Tweety PieTwo words: Youth Squad. Crewe's is absolutely incredible, and the rise up the leagues and improved facilities make the future look even brighter. The fact I haven't really had to spend big (although I have done) to bring in impact players is due solely to the youth team, and it's turned me into something of a money-making machine. It's good because it allows me now to spice up the story with massive transfers every now and then and not have to worry about the financial implications of such a move. And I plan to | |
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| Tweety Pie |
Jul 11, 11 at 8:42pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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As a Crewe fan and player I have had that very joy myself
 although not as good this year as on FM10 unfortunately, if you are from around Gresty we've probably been to matches together although I moved away last year------------------- BOSSA NOVA SIMILIS BOSSA SENECA Small, furry, foreign | |
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| CatchFire |
Jul 11, 11 at 9:46pm ^
re: Corrupted Save File.. MODS CLOSE. :(
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| CatchFire |
Jul 12, 11 at 12:12pm ^
Team Building
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To know what this team needs, I first need to know what it already has. The team itself is quite large, and not too spread in terms of ability. It’s a fairly young side, something I did not anticipate when I took the job. While there are a few older than I, the majority of the players are below 25. The entire substitute bench suggested by my assistant Martyn Griffiths contains only 3 players out of a possible 12 over the age of 20. Am I pleased about this? In some ways, I can’t help but feel this is how the team, my team should be started – a group of young lads growing, developing and learning about life through the art that is football. Many of these lads will accept they are never going to be on life-changing wages, or in leagues that allow them to take football full-time. However, as I was forced to do, they play football for the love of football, without the financial gains of the big leagues.
In our first season, my Sunday League side finished bottom of the league. We were thrashed time and time again, but we stayed strong, and saw each season out until, on my 25th birthday no less, we clinched the title in a dramatic 3-2 win on the last day of the season. We became dominant for years after that, but you know what? The best years of my life were the fighting years, the losing years. In those years, I grew up, and I experienced life and true friendship, the pain of defeat and the thrill and ecstasy of the rare early victory. The problem today is teams don’t get that long. 6 years before our first trophy? If I tried something like that here, I wouldn’t make it to 3 years. Everything in football is about the here-and-now, and people forget that real teams, memorable teams, take years to build and work with. The classic example of course is the undeniably fantastic Sir Alex Ferguson – it took him 5 years to win a trophy with Manchester United, and they struggled prior to that. He’s now the most decorated manager in history, or incredibly close to said title. He was a single defeat away from the loss of his job, but would United have been where they are today without the Scot? No. The nature of football makes my task all the more difficult, as I have to not only build a mature team of fairly unable players into a team that can challenge for the league title, but I also have to make sure I achieve a relatively good run of success and progression, or else all my work will be for nothing. However, I have laid down a number of rules for myself to follow, in the hope that I can build a team I can be proud of, rather than one the board can use as solely as a money generator. The first and most obvious rule is make sure the club is financially sound, regardless of how much I would like to sign players. If signing a player would improve our chances of progressing in this league, at the risk of jeopardizing our modest finances, then I will not sign that player, period. I will find a cheaper alternative. Secondly, any signings made will not be over the age of 23. My legacy at this club has to be to allow young players the chance to experience and enjoy football, and to have to chance to watch them develop into fine young men. It cannot ever be about what is best for the team, but about what is best for the individuals in it, about giving them the opportunity to reach their fullest potentials. Thirdly, I must give all team players an equal shot at becoming what could be considered my first team. Throughout the season, I must have a rotation policy in place which does not alienate certain individuals, and allows the team as a whole, and not just eleven men, to gel together. If I stick to them, I’ll be alright.  Goalkeepers 1. Steven Cann – (21) – (WALES) 25. David Roberts – (20) – (ENGLAND) Welshman Steven Cann is the best keeper in the squad, at least according to Martyn. I disagree. While I do think Steven is generally better at goalkeeping than David, the position itself is not all about raw ability. What he lacks in technical ability, David more than makes up for in sheer determination and grit, and in the training sessions we’ve had so far, I have noted that David takes a lot more risks than his Welsh counterpart, throwing himself at the feet of onrushing attackers, always diving for the ball in an attempt to make the save. He is keen to rush out to greet attackers on the break, and this have often put off the advancing man, who’s quickly decreased time on the ball played an important part in many clearances and saves from the number 2 keeper. Tough competition for the place. Alternating on a game-by-game basis seems likely. I shall review the other positions when I feel I have them in order. I still wish to make some transfers in Attack, Midfield and Defence. Transfer News I have started early with my transfers, as I know there are some areas of the team I can strengthen even without a great amount of knowledge of my team. The first position is at RB. About two years ago, I attended an international youth match at Boundary Park in Oldham – two teams made up of schoolboys from the countries of Scotland and England who had won their national tournaments would play each other for a trophy, winners medals, and apparently a training session at Manchester United FC. One of the team’s more senior members, 37 year old Mark, a RB, had a son who played for the English school that got the chance to play. It was a poor game overall, Scotland winning 4-1, but my eye was caught, not by the flashy attackers with their attempts at taking on everyone without passing, nor the bulldog-like central midfielders who would charge at each opponent without a thought for making a clean tackle, and certainly not for the goalkeepers, who made about as many saves between them as I did that day, but by a young RB on the Scottish team. He didn’t do any skill moves, or score a goal. There were no clever passing moves, no long and perfect through-balls to the strikers. His attitude seemed close to apathetic, and yet, he didn’t step a foot wrong all game. Each pass was a short one to a team mate, easing the pressure, making the poor English lads chase and chase but to no avail. He was not a dirty tackler, he stayed on his feet, but he got every ball that came his way, and made sure the winger who attempted to do a step-over would think twice before trying it again. When the winger was going forward, he was always in the perfect position for an easy ball to free up space. His positioning and anticipation was top quality. I bought a match-programme afterwards to look at the team sheet: Bradley Leitch. Two years later, I find myself making telephone calls from my office in Aberystwyth, trying to find the boy that was so mature at such a young age. I found out that the boy was released from the youth setup at Dundee United last year, and was given a contact number to ring. I did just that. I won’t go into the dull negotiations that took place, but Bradley had a trial and has now signed a contract, keeping him at the club until 2013, in a similar style contract to myself, i.e. paid accommodation, expenses, etc. Bradley seems like a pretty level-headed young man, so his modest wage will not be flitted away. I really hope now that my faith in him will help this team progress in the future. His trial went brilliantly. I just have to pray he can keep it up. Due to the nature of my formation, and the lack of available players on the team to play in each of the positions I want them too, I am in the market now for a couple of strong defensive midfielders. I have offered contracts to two young Englishmen, Luke Harvey (21) and George Bowyer (18), who were recommended by my scout, Joseph Windsor. Luke used to be in the youth setup at Bournemouth, and George was in the youth setup at Rochdale.  First Game in Charge Aberystwyth Town 2 – 3 Colchester United (Friendly) Aneurin Thomas (41) - - - - - - - - - -Kevin Lisbie (17, 23) Luke Bowen (49) -- - - - - - - - - - - -Patrick Baldwin (75) Ideally, I would have liked better conditions than those seen at Park Avenue for my first game in charge of Aberystwyth Town FC. The rain poured from the sky, distance thunder drowning out the shouts of the Colchester United fans that had gathered to outnumber our own for the first friendly of the season. Luckily, despite the torrential downpour, the temperature climbed to over 20 degrees (Celsius), making it rather easy to play. Warm rain. A rare occurrence in my experience, and one which accompanied the even more unthinkable scenario of my team putting up a damn good fight against the League One outfit. Although we lost, I was not overly disappointed. In fact, I actually saw a team that is already looking the part, which suits me, as there is not much work to be done. Of course, Colchester were first to draw blood, Kevin Lisbie scoring both of their opening goals inside 30 minutes. However, we struck back on the stroke of half-time, a goal mouth scramble allowing Aneurin Thomas to pull one back. Soon after half-time, Luke Bowden scored on the break to level the score. There was some good play, and we passed the ball well, but we were always second best to Colchester, and with 15 minutes left on the clock, Patrick Baldwin popped in a cheeky third to seal the win. I am not overly worried, I saw some good signs. We keep possession well, and are rarely caught out of position. Our attacking could be a little less haphazard at times, but for the most part, it was a fairly solid display, and one I thoroughly enjoyed watching. I am proud of my team. Anyway, that is enough from me. 1700-odd words is just ridiculous. I have just finished writing this after coming back from my own football training, so I need a nice cold bath and a lovely rest for a few hours. I also have a job interview tomorrow, so it’s up and out bright and early, catch the train and hopefully secure a potentially career-starting role in IT. I’ll let you know how it goes. | |
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