Football Manager Series Catch-All

Godzilla Blitz wrote:

Wow, that sounds like a nice start! That goal is a banger. Do you know a good place to learn tactics/formations for the game? I don't want to just download and use good ones that others have made. I feel like I need to understand how to set them up in the game better in order to do better.

I generally try to put my tactics to match where my biggest strengths are. At the moment, with Darlington, I have some really fast wingers who are the best rated at my team, so I distribute to the flanks, as an example. I also had a 6ft4 target man with 15 heading, so then I changed up to float crosses. I get the ball to the flanks and the

Also worth considering the risk/reward with tactics. Generally you take more of a risk to get more goals when you:

- Play with more width
- Play more direct (although saying that, I often think playing standard passing at lower leagues is worthwhile).
- Play a higher line
- Press more
- Overall mentality (be aware, that playing attacking will set a default of going slightly more direct, so if your team is poor at playing a direct game then this won't exactly benefit you!)

There's more, but these generally make more space on the field, which stretches the play and should mean you're able to see more action. Again, it's worth taking into consideration who is in your team. I also look at the panels on the tactics screen - you'll notice that even if you play someone who is, for example, a left back, but they're only 1 star, there'll be a lot of red in the panel. That's the first port of call to balancing the team, in an attempt to minimise the red panels. This is all done by trying to put your best players into preferred roles.

On top of what Bismarck said as well, there's a lot of analysis from games such as heat maps and average player positions, which can reveal a lot. For example, I noticed that my striker was, on average, a bit isolated up top, particularly from the centre midfielders. I changed one to a mezzala (as I noticed on the tactics screen it shows that role as slightly higher), and then managed to see a bit of an improvement for space on the field being filled.

This is really helpful, thanks Clusks!

One of the things I notice is that I'll get something really good going for a run of games then all of a sudden it just stops working. I'm guessing that the AI is adjusting to my tactics?

I'm starting to feel like I should be spending a bit of time looking at the formation and tactics that the other teams are using.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:

This is really helpful, thanks Clusks!

One of the things I notice is that I'll get something really good going for a run of games then all of a sudden it just stops working. I'm guessing that the AI is adjusting to my tactics?

I'm starting to feel like I should be spending a bit of time looking at the formation and tactics that the other teams are using.

I've seen this before. I played as Parma on last year's game and was dominating my first 10 or so games. Then, all of a sudden, we would have games where we'd barely register a shot on target. I think I actually won my first game 6-0, and then by the 11th we would be lucky to get a single shot on target.

I think keeping the same shape is fine, it's more you have to start playing with the instructions a bit more - the high level stuff (cautious, positive, etc) is maybe the most important one; I change mine almost every game. Although I'm guessing it'd be worthwhile having a second tactic to switch to as a plan B (providing it works).

Clusks wrote:
Godzilla Blitz wrote:

This is really helpful, thanks Clusks!

One of the things I notice is that I'll get something really good going for a run of games then all of a sudden it just stops working. I'm guessing that the AI is adjusting to my tactics?

I'm starting to feel like I should be spending a bit of time looking at the formation and tactics that the other teams are using.

I've seen this before. I played as Parma on last year's game and was dominating my first 10 or so games. Then, all of a sudden, we would have games where we'd barely register a shot on target. I think I actually won my first game 6-0, and then by the 11th we would be lucky to get a single shot on target.

I think keeping the same shape is fine, it's more you have to start playing with the instructions a bit more - the high level stuff (cautious, positive, etc) is maybe the most important one; I change mine almost every game. Although I'm guessing it'd be worthwhile having a second tactic to switch to as a plan B (providing it works).

Yes, that's exactly it. I went from getting 10-20 shots per match down to less than 5.

I've been starting to lean toward a second tactic as an alternative, so I can switch and keep teams guessing.

Season 2: MBi Llandudno - April 2020
The Part Where We Fade with a Whimper

We start on the month like we left off the previous month, as we demolish 3rd place Cefn Druids 3-0. We’re looking good in our next match too, but then we give up a late equalizer and have to settle for a 1-1 draw. Going into our last match, we could end up anywhere from 4th (if we win) to 6th (if we lose). Tied 0-0 with just 10 minutes to go, we again lose our composure late and give up a goal. We push everyone forward in an attempt to equalize, which backfires miserably. We lose 3-0 and end up the season in 6th place. Damn it.

It’s frustrating to hold 4th place for a month only to falter in the last ten minutes of the season, but on the whole we’ll have to be happy with how our regular season has gone.

On a side note, the board has let me know that the wage budget will be similar next year, but they’ve reduced our transfer budget from 18k to 3k. I mainly transferred the 18k to scouting funds and wages anyway this year, and we stayed within our limits. So, if push comes to shove and I’m still managing here next year I think we’ll have just enough money to do most of what we want to do financially.

Having said that, I’m checking the job openings in the Vanarama National League and South and North leagues. At the moment there is only one at Brackley. I quietly send off my application. As much as I’m having fun managing this team now, the financial issues, the lack of opportunities to go on coaching courses, and the miserly 230 pounds per month salary have me thinking I need to find a place with a better future.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves slightly, as there is still football to be played. We’re waiting to learn the result of the final of the Welsh Cup on April 2 to determine the teams and seeds for the playoffs for the last Europa League qualifying match spot. The drop from 4th to 6th means we’ll have to make it on the road if we are to achieve success. I’m not quite sure what the significance of winning this will be in the game, but apparently in real life a Europa League qualifying match nets Welsh teams in excess of 100k pounds. If the game mirrors that, winning this playoff tournament could take us from 90k in debt to 10k in the black. That’d change things in a hurry.

Season 2: MBi Llandudno - May 2020
So Close...

The playoffs for the 100k Europa League qualifying match start off early in the month, and we have to play in against the 7th place team to become one of the remaining four teams in the competition. Playing at home as the higher seed, we roll to a comfortable 2-0 win. We follow that with a strong 2-0 road win against Cefn Druids, and suddenly we find ourselves in the final!

We head to Bally with all sorts of confidence, and are further bolstered by the news that their best player, midfielder Tom Fry, will miss the match with a twisted ankle. We jump out to a 1-0 lead, but from there it’s all downhill. Bally pile on three unanswered goals and we lose 3-1. We were sooooo close to a big jackpot. With that, our season ends.

___

I take a deep breath and assess my life as the days roll forward in May. It’s decision time. Do I want to stay in Wales for another season or should I move on, ideally latching onto something in England?

It’s tempting to stick around. We’ve got the core of a solid young team signed already at reasonable wages until the end of next year. And just in case I do stay, I tender contract offers to the remaining handful of players who would be valuable to us next year. Everyone is happy to re-sign, as our clubhouse atmosphere is good and they like playing for me. Additionally, we’ll have about 900 pounds--about a third of our wage budget--off the payrolls come June 30. With that money we could shore up our central defense, which has aged badly this year, and add some outside midfield power. The big negative,however, is the financial situation. We’re 100k in debt, and it’s projected to hit 160k by the end of next year. I can’t take coaching courses, so I’m fairly stuck in my growth.

But the reality is that in order to have options, I’ll need job offers. There are only two openings at the moment in the bottom three English leagues, at Brackley Town in the Vanarama North, and at East Thurrock in the Vanarama South. I get interviews at both places, and before May ends I get a rejection from East Thurrock, who looked to be in a right mess anyway. Just for kicks, I apply to a handful of jobs in Scotland’s lower leagues as well, who appear to have cleaned house with some of their managers.

It’s also worth noting that the Llandudno board haven’t approached me to sign a new contract, and my contract here expires in a month. With our drop to 6th place and our failure in the playoffs, my status here has dropped to “pleased”, which appears positive enough that I feel like I should be hearing something from them about getting a new contract next year.

May draws to a close. I’m waiting to get interviews from Scottish clubs, and I still haven’t heard from Brackley. However, I notice that there is a little “Wanted” icon by my name with “Brackley” on it...

Season 2: MBi Llandudno - June 2020
Llandudno … Round 2!

As soon as the month opens, Llandudno offer me an extension at exactly the same wage I got this season. Seriously? I exceed expectations, stay under the wage budget, build great clubhouse morale, and don’t get offered any sort of raise? Damn, that’s harsh.

I ask to delay for a week and quickly fire off a bunch more job applications to random jobs in random countries. It’s getting real now.

As this happens, I get an unfortunate rejection email from Brackely Town, who decided to go in a different direction as well. Bastards.

June moves on. I get a slew of interviews with teams in Scotland’s Ladbrokes League 1, but one by one they notify me that they’re going in a different direction. Other clubs don’t grant me an interview. I do get one job offer from the bottom of Northern Ireland football, but the total wage budget is a mere 160 pounds per week, and it’d be a big step down. I think I just haven’t done a strong enough job yet with Llandudno to be able to get myself back into English football yet. I’m more and more resigned to the fact that I’ll need to spend another year here in Wales.

Llandudno come calling again and force the negotiations on me. I really don’t have any other good options. They also force the negotiations down my throat, as they simply won’t budge on a wage increase. I ask for 275 pound per week, up from my 230 this season, but they refuse and hardline back to 230 pounds at every request. After three rounds I finally manage to squeak out a 10 pound per week raise, to 240 pounds per week. It’s insulting, really, and doesn’t leave me in a grateful mood.

But nevertheless, I have a job for next year, and team that is two-thirds built. It’s time to get busy!

Season 3: MBi Llandudno - Offseason
Stronger than Before?

On to Season #3!

We sit down to take a look at our roster as the offseason starts.
- At keeper, we’re set. I’ve got two keepers I can rotate and both played well.
- At defense, two of our three strong central defenders aged over last season and their play declined as they did so. Central defense is a priority, and we’ll want to sign two strong ones. We can also use a back up at right back.
- For midfielders, I’m thinking we’ll train the 4-3-3 some in addition to a straight 4-4-2, so I want to add attacking mids on both sides. We’ll also need regular mids for both the right and left sides.
- At striker I think we’re set. We’ve got three good ones, and an attacking mid who can play in a pinch.

That leaves us with seven immediate targets: 2 DC, 1 DR, 1 ML, 1 MR, 1 AML, 1 AMR.

We get busy over the next six weeks trying to fill positions of need on the team. We have some good success picking up Danny Reynolds, a strong attacking right mid who can also play our other attacking positions. We also pick up solid signings at central defender, central midfielder. We upgrade a bit at right mid, and then out of nowhere we land a fantastic left midfielder who was playing in England up until last year. He should make an immediate improvement to our team in the 4-4-2.

We don’t have any luck finding a second strong central defender, and as the season draws close I pick up a passable fill-in who should be able to back up our three existing central defenders. I’ll keep looking for better at this position.

I also notice that I missed a half dozen job openings in the Vanarama North and South. I just wasn’t paying attention, which is kind of a bummer, as I’m thinking it’s possible I could have landed one of those jobs. Oh well, I’ll have to remember to keep paying attention to the job centre.

All in all, as the season comes around, I’m happy with our offseason. We should have the ability to play a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2, and outside of some thinness at DC, I’m liking our team. The media predict a 3rd place finish; our board wants to finish in the top half, and the players largely feel the same way. I, however, am hoping for a Europa Cup qualifying match. To get an automatic berth we’ll need to finish 1st or 2nd, 3rd might do it depending on who wins the Welsh Cup. So really, I’d like to make top 3.

Let’s go “Dudno”!

My Blyth game went through one of those FM moments, where the AI decided to just assassinate one of my positions and combine that with an inexplicable loss of form for, well, everyone.

We had hit the top of the division, dropped off and bounced back to first and then Right Midfielder Jarrett Rivers broke his ankle.

I put pocket sized, (5'3"), Adam Wrightson out on the right and he immediately strained his Achilles.

So then I put AM/FC Jack Robson on the right, not because he could play there but because he could run with the ball and might accidentally cross it to one of our players.

Dislocated shoulder.

I was tempted to just play without a RM at that point as it was obvious the game was going to injure whoever I put there, but instead made the mistake of putting wunderkind Sean Reid on the right only to watch him badly sprain his ankle.

I ended up putting a right back at right midfield, just through desperation really. Then started offering trials to anyone with a right foot and no job and went begging to the board for the extra few Euros it would require to sign someone.

At the same time my pair of forwards - Fewster and Maguire - both fell through a black hole into an alternate universe. Each put in a run of just over a thousand minutes between goals.

I tried the old psychological gambits of warning them in one-on-one chats and then pumping them up before games, but although both responded well to "I have faith in you!" neither scored.

At the end of September I'd collected the Manager of the Month award and we'd been top by a point. Ten games later we were fourth, seven points off leaders Curzon Ashton.

Oh, and Brexit has been announced. Foreigners aren't going to be banned outright, but there are minimum wage restrictions. If you want to start a non-UK player in your first 11 he has to be on at least €8,000 a week, or €3,000 for under 23s. So we will have to be entirely home-grown under those rules.

Damn, that's a lot of injuries at one position. I've had some clustered runs of injuries, but never anything like that at one position.

I'll have to check what my Brexit is like. I know I have something similar that happened.

I've been messing about with the idea of turning my save into a Let's Play video format starting with next season, and have been working on a beta video. I hope to post it in a bit.

Season 3: MBi Llandudno - August 2020
Better than Before?

The season starts out with some easy matches for us, so we try out our 4-3-3. I’m a bit nervous to switch to this formation, but our friendly results were promising. In our opening match, we roll to a comfortable 2-0 win over newly promoted Penybont, then crush a lower league team 6-0 in the opening round of the Nathaniel MG Cup. We fight to a hardfought 0-0 draw against last year’s 2nd place team. We pick up another 2-0 road win against the other team promoted from last year. As we close in on the end of the month, we’re in 2nd place, undefeated and unscored on. But we have one match left, against The New Saints, the ogres of the Welsh Premier League.

For this match, I decided to test out a Let’s Play of the match and post it here...

I've put this "beta" version as unlisted for now, but I'm thinking to move to a full video format for Season 4. Feedback welcome! I feel like there is a lot to improve.

That match takes us to the end of the month!

I will never say no to more FM content to put on in the background while I play FM.

Having watched the TNS game I'd say you need to move your defensive line back using the "out of possession" screen when you're playing them specifically. Two of their goals came from simple passes over the top into space between the defence and your keeper.

You could close some of that gap by switching the keeper to the "Sweeper Keeper" role, but not everyone is suited to that.

Pulling your team back towards your own goal would also mean TNS are further up when they lose the ball, meaning there could be chances for your team on the break with the long ball over the top, which is classic play against better sides.

They're still Total Network Solutions to me.

Season 3: MBi Llandudno - September 2020
Grinding Away

Job History
Season 1: Nuneaton Boro 21 of 22 - Relegated, fired
Season 2: Llandudno 6 of 10
Season 3: Llandudno (in progress)

We start out the month with an excruciating loss in PKs in the Nathaniel MG Cup to Connah’s Quay. Up 3-2 with mere seconds left, we give up an equalizer. Up 4-3 with a minute left in extra time, we give up another equalizer. We go on to lose in PKs and get knocked out. Argh!

With four games in 9 days, we have no time to commiserate or recover, but surprisingly we rebound with a 91st-minute goal to win 1-0 in our next game, then grind out a solid 2-0 win three days later. The stretch of matches leaves us exhausted and with striker Liam Thomas injured for five weeks. Nevertheless, recharged after some rest, we pound out a 2-0 win against mid-table Carmarthen. Our last match of the month pits us, sitting in 2nd place, against Barry Town, sitting in 3rd place. Once again they have our number, as they thrash us soundly 3-0 to drop us to third place at the end of the month. I’m growing to really dislike Barry Town.

All things considered, I’m satisfied with our progress so far this year. 5 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses in league play, sitting in 3rd place. The only two losses we’ve got are to teams above us in the standings, and we’ve had 6 clean sheets in 8 matches.

I do wonder if we could make a powerful jump in offensive output with a big striker who has immediate talent. Our current strikers are works in progress, and as much as I’d like to be patient with them, I’m tempted to see if I can bring an impact striker in who can light up our average offense.

On another note, I shot another Let’s Play video of a match, and felt like it went better than the first one. Then I went to check the video and realized that I had the microphone on mute the whole time. Lesson learned. I’ll try again soon.

Prederick wrote:

I will never say no to more FM content to put on in the background while I play FM.

I've been watching some fun FM Let's Plays the past month, and it was fun to make that first video. I feel like it'll take a while to get smoother at them, and I have a better sense of appreciation now for people who consistently turn out good stuff.

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Having watched the TNS game I'd say you need to move your defensive line back using the "out of possession" screen when you're playing them specifically. Two of their goals came from simple passes over the top into space between the defence and your keeper.

You could close some of that gap by switching the keeper to the "Sweeper Keeper" role, but not everyone is suited to that.

Pulling your team back towards your own goal would also mean TNS are further up when they lose the ball, meaning there could be chances for your team on the break with the long ball over the top, which is classic play against better sides.

Yes, totally agree. Until they went up 2-1, I think both the defenders and the attackers were set deep, if I'm not mistaken. Lynch, the keeper, is set to a sweeper keeper role as well. Lewis, our left-side center back, is a two-star current ability player, so I think he might have been fairly overmatched against Byrne, the guy who scored those two counter goals. Byrne led the league in goals last year and has a good toolset. I wonder if it would have made sense to have one of the center backs or a midfielder man-mark Byrne?

Prederick wrote:

They're still Total Network Solutions to me.

They're always in a blob, mob-handed for me.

(Sorry, gratuitous Half Man Half Biscuit reference...but "TNS in the Blob, mob-handed" really is a line in one of their songs).

He's not kidding. (About 1:15)

He also says Standard Liege while riffing on "You're So Vain".

The sheer amount of UK culture I have learned from loving football.

The non plus ultra of their football references has to be "supercallifragelisticBorussiaMoenchengladbach'.

Now back to your regular programming.

Season 3: MBi Llandudno - October 2020
Where are all the Goals?

Job History
Season 1: Nuneaton Boro 21 of 22 - Relegated, fired
Season 2: Llandudno 6 of 10
Season 3: Llandudno (in progress)

In what is a disappointingly middling month, we sandwich 1-0 and 2-0 wins around a 1-0 loss and two draws. Normally I’d be satisfied with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, but 4 of our 5 opponents are at the bottom of the league table. We should have done better. The results are decent enough to leave us still in 3rd place in the standings after 13 matches. With 9 tough matches to go before the break, though, we’ll want to right the ship to make sure we finish in the top half.

We’re struggling offensively. The front three of our 4-3-3 just aren’t clicking and I’m not sure how to fix it. When we use that formation, our striker and two wingers get lousy ratings and rarely score. That obviously makes it tough to get positive results. In our last match I switched to a more attacking 4-4-2 and got better results, so I may lean more toward that for the near future. I feel like there is something I’m missing tactically, though, and if I could just figure it out we’d be doing a lot better. We’ve got better players than their ratings are showing, so I tend to think the failure is on me.

In any case, we’ll keep plugging away trying to fix things. November brings us some rough matches though. We have our first Welsh Cup match. Last year in our second game we drew The New Saints on the road, which was the worst possible draw out of our possible 15 opponents. This year we drew The New Saints for the first match, out of 31 possible opponents. Clearly the Welsh Cup Gods hate us. We follow that with a league match against The New Saints, and tough opponents right after them. Mojo, where are you?

Season 3: MBi Llandudno - November 2020
Oh, There’s Our Mojo!

What a month! Get this: We beat The New Saints. Not once, but twice! Unreal! After six butcherings at their hands, we score a late goal to tie 1-1 in the Welsh Cup opening round, then hang on in extra time and come from behind in PKs to win. Unreal! Then in league play a week later we play them 0-0 for 88 minutes before we land a header off a corner and go on to win 1-0! Unbelievable! Two wins against the mightiest team in the land, in consecutive weeks.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/8p9Tttk.jpg)

Honestly, in both games we were outshot, outplayed, and somewhat lucky to come out with the win, but just the fact that we can get lucky and beat them is a huge step forward. Last year getting lucky would have meant losing 2-0.

We follow those games with a draw and a win to end the month in 2nd place by 2 points. We trail The New Saints by 5 points and it’d be hard to imagine us threatening for the championship, but 2nd place would be an amazing place to end the season. Still a long long way to go though.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/BE8pUaY.jpg)

However, all this may be a moot point. There have been a number of sackings in the Vanarama North and South Leagues, and I’ve been applying and getting interviews at a number of places. There was just a news article released saying that I’m the fan favorite to get the Gainsborough job. They sit in last place the North, but only 4 points away from safety with half a season to go. I’m also waiting to hear from Chester, who have promised a 907k pound transfer budget and an 11k per month wage budget. Are they joking? The transfer budget would be enough to buy every player in the entire Welsh Premier League 20 times over. That’s an insane amount of money!

The Llandudno board have approached me, asking me to commit to staying, and they want some sort of discussion on the issue. For the moment, I’m not talking. They offered me a measly 10 pound per week raise after having an above average season last year, and they deny all my requests to go on coaching courses. Got to give a little, guys, before you get my heart.

So it might be decision time. Should I stay or should I go?!?

Started a new game with Rayo Vallecano and somehow have won our first two games against Valencia and Leganas by a score of 6-1. Raul de Tomas is the f**king truth (he's got 4 of our 6 goals, and should have more).

Prederick wrote:

Started a new game with Rayo Vallecano and somehow have won our first two games against Valencia and Leganas by a score of 6-1. Raul de Tomas is the f**king truth (he's got 4 of our 6 goals, and should have more).

That sounds like a good start! Those big wins are incredibly fun.

Season 3: MBi Llandudno - December 2020
An Irregular Beat

Well, the whole “Should I stay or should I go?” dilemma never amounted to anything, as once again I get rejected after an interview. I’m starting to wonder if I need to sharpen up my interviewing skills. I think I’ve been rejected in 90% of the interviews I’ve had now, and the only offer I’ve gotten since Llandudno was to a tiny club way down the system in Northern Ireland.

On the pitch, we have an up and down month, with mostly ups and one big down. We rack up a draw, and finish with a couple of wins, but mid-month 3rd place Barry obliterates us 6-2. It was a massacre. We simply couldn’t stop their attack. We’ve given up 18 goals in league play all season, and 9 of them have come in the two matches versus Barry. For whatever reason, they have our number. I’ll have to come up with some sort of a different plan for next time we play them.

As we head into 2021, we’ve got two matches left before the split. We sit in 2nd place, 10 points behind The New Saints and comfortably safe to be in the top six teams at the 22-game split. That guarantees us a top six finish, but we’re aiming higher. I’d really like to hold onto 2nd place and get an automatic Europa League qualifying match. That’d be sweet.

Like a cat in a motivational poster, we're hanging in there.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/sOhrju0.jpg)

Our last five games of DWDLW is really indicative of how our season is going now - generally positive, but eight points from a possible fifteen isn't going to be enough to challenge upwards and will probably require us to grimly hold on to make the playoffs.

The second draw was especially frustrating. We were completely dominant at home to Chorley but went into halftime only one-nil up. I told the team to avoid complacency and then gave them the "demand more!" shout after the break, but we never found the second goal and Chorley punished us with a scrappy equaliser in the 90th minute.

The loss was against York who are above us in the table, but that was also frustrating because we were 1-0 ahead when our high-potential CM got himself sent off for a two-footed challenge. York then scored three goals in the last seven minutes to put us to the sword.

Worse; that game was on Christmas Day.

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Like a cat in a motivational poster, we're hanging in there.

(snip)

Our last five games of DWDLW is really indicative of how our season is going now - generally positive, but eight points from a possible fifteen isn't going to be enough to challenge upwards and will probably require us to grimly hold on to make the playoffs.

The second draw was especially frustrating. We were completely dominant at home to Chorley but went into halftime only one-nil up. I told the team to avoid complacency and then gave them the "demand more!" shout after the break, but we never found the second goal and Chorley punished us with a scrappy equaliser in the 90th minute.

The loss was against York who are above us in the table, but that was also frustrating because we were 1-0 ahead when our high-potential CM got himself sent off for a two-footed challenge. York then scored three goals in the last seven minutes to put us to the sword.

Worse; that game was on Christmas Day.

Nice work! You've got the highest scoring offense, with 51 goals! I need lessons.

New game called Football Drama has been released on Steam. Certainly looks a pretty game, I'm tempted to give it a go. Looks like it's another management game, from what I can tell.

Looks like a mobile port though?

Season 3: MBi Llandudno - January 2021
Wins and a Yet Another Dilemma

We finish the first segment of the season with a 2-2 draw followed by a comeback 4-2 win. Over the 22-game first segment, we end up with 12 wins, 6 draws, and 4 losses. We’re in 2nd place, 4 points up on the 3rd place team, and 9 points back of The New Saints.

All in all I’m very happy with how things are going. We’ve already equaled our win total for our season last year and we have 10 matches left to play. If we can keep up our form and finish second, we’ll get a guaranteed Europa League qualifying match, which would be a fantastic accomplishment.

We have a gap before the last 10-game segment of the season begins, so we schedule some friendlies and hunt the transfer market. I’m happy with the team, but I do try to make a couple of nice signings. Unfortunately, our worsening financial situation doesn’t allow me to offer them enough salary, and they slip away. We’re now over 100k in debt.

With our deteriorating financial situation constantly on my mind, I’ve been actively hunting the job market. My interview skills still suck, though, because I’ve probably had 20+ job interviews and gotten zero job offers.

But just as I’m starting to wonder if I’ll be spending the rest of my career in Wales, I get two offers from Irish Division 1 teams, and one of them is incredibly tempting: 1.5-star reputation Limerick FC offers me a contract. It’d be slightly more money, but the club draws ten times the fans of Llandudno, they have good players, a large budget, better facilities, everything is better. The Irish season starts in February, so I’d be taking over the team at the beginning of their season.

It’s a huge dilemma, and I spend a whole week deliberating the decision. In the end, though, I decide to finish the season with Llandudno. I want to see this season through, and I want to see if I can land my next job in England, not Ireland. I turn them down.

We finish the month with a comfortable 4-1 win in the Welsh Cup, and next month we'll be on to the Quarter Finals against a non-league team that on paper we should beat comfortably. With TNS and other good teams already knocked out of the competition, we might have a chance to go all the way with this too. A Welsh Cup win would be a second way to get a Europa League match, so that could be a good direction to push as well.

With our finances so bad, though, I’m 90% sure that I’ll finish this season, resign here, and move on to someplace else. I really want to get back to England and start climbing up the leagues.

Clusks wrote:

New game called Football Drama has been released on Steam. Certainly looks a pretty game, I'm tempted to give it a go. Looks like it's another management game, from what I can tell.

Thanks for sharing this. I like the art style. It looks part text adventure, part sim, part card game.

And yep, it's a $5 app too.