Iantiger

Hi, and this is my update thread of my Yeading road to success - or not as the case may be, with me being one of the worst Football Manager players in history. Why Yeading? Well I have absolutely no idea. I thought they had a cool name perhaps. That's probably it. Without further ado, please proceed and enjoy.

~Ian



Yeading - 2006/07

A few new players were signed on free transfers at the start of the season, including a right-back, and a couple of decent central midfielders, to bolster the squad. I was really looking for a good keeper too but I sifted through the player list for a while to no avail.

The season started terribly. We struggled to find form, the team wasn't gelling, and 7 games into the season we'd only won a single game - and subsequently we were amid the early season relegation battle as predicted by the media (18th place finish predicted). However, after testing out a variety of tactics and formations, the team suddenly clicked and we started to climb the table steadily. We went on to win 3 of the next 4 games, and soon found ourselves sitting comfortably in lower-mid table, safely above the relegation scrap for the time being. On top of this, we seemed to be showing good form against sides near the top of the league. We held then-league-leaders Sutton United to a 1-1 draw at our ground, and later in the season we would go on, to pull off the same result at their place.

The cups were a disaster. We went crashing out in each during the 2nd Qual round, both times to teams who weren't even in Conference N/S. The league was becoming a different story though. With some decent form, where we recorded very few losses, we were snapping at the heels of the play-off spots - but not quite breaking into them. Instead we spent most of December through early February occupying 7th-10th positions, having decent results, and edging slightly closer to that all-important play-off zone.

Suddenly in mid February, our form went from good to fantastic. We went on an unbeaten run of 9 games, 7 of which were victories. We clambered above the playoff contenders to claim 2nd spot, only 3 points away from Lewes who had been leading the league for a fair few months by this time. We were also quite comfortably inside the play-off zone, with a guaranteed spot becoming a distinct possibility if we could keep the run going for a few more games - the end of the season was 6 matches away. Unfortunatley the wheels of the bandwagon inevitably started to come loose, and we picked up just a single win in the last 6 games, also registering 3 losses. This may have been partly due to injuries. Although we had our fair share throughout the season, during the final couple of months we lost two of our three first-team strikers, and a couple of other key players from around the field, the most particularly notable would be one of our fantastic players on the left wing - who was out for 2 months with a shoulder problem.

The final match of the season was a home game to Eastborough - currently in 21st and almost a certainty for relegation unless all the results went the right way for them. We were in 5th spot, knowing that a win would take us up, no matter what the other teams did. The team were nursing their recent bad form, having suffered a 4-0 thumping by fellow promotion contenders Dorchester in the not too distant past, however I felt we could beat Eastborough. Alas I was wrong - Eastborough beat us 2-0, and we slipped out of the playoffs for the first time in a couple of months, on the last day of the season, to finish 7th, two points behind 5th. The lads had just missed out on the chance to fight for promotion, and needless to say - I was gutted.

The board were happy though. For a team predicted to finish in 18th, we did remarkably well and far exceeded everyone's expectations. I was rewarded with a 3-year contract which I greatfully accepted. Lewes ended up winning the league, by quite a large margin (5-10 pts). The playoff finishers were Newport County, Sutton United (both having been up there all season) and then there were Havant and W, and Dorchester (both sneaked inside the playoffs on the very last day at the expense of Yeading, and some other poor sucker team, though I can't remember who). Havant and W ended up victors and gained promotion.

League: Conference South
Final Position: 7th W18 D12 L12 GD+2 Pts66
FA Cup: 2nd Qual Round
FA Trophy: 2nd Qual Round
Highlights: 9 match unbeaten run, lifting team from relegation to playoffs over course of season



Yeading - 2007/08

As with last season, the first thing I did was to hire a few new players. All in all, I signed 4 new players, two of them goalkeepers - who were both twice as good as last season's first team keeper. So I put both my old keeper and my old backup keeper on the transfer list and immediately inducted the new signings into the squad. A couple of deadwood players were released on various free transfers, or mutual terminations to keep the wage budget down (although the board had in fact increased it slightly this year which was a nice cushion to have). The third player I signed was a striker/attacking midfielder right who was solid, and my final signing was a wingback and defender who could play centre, right and left which added some great flexibility to the squad.

Unfortunately, since last season, the very annoying conference system meant that Yeading would be playing in the Conference North this season, instead of the Conference South (Fisher Athletic were another team consigned to play their football up North for this season). With a whole new bunch of opposing teams to figure out, the season wasn't going to be easy. Despite last year's success, the board were still not convinced and wanted us to 'Avoid relegation' at best. Media predicted a 17th finish.

We got off to a flying start, losing only 2 of the first 10 matches of the season, putting us inside the playoffs. Kettering were the side of note at the early stage of the season, winning their first 8 games, and giving us a lesson in football with a 3-0 victory over us at their ground. However the Yeading lads held their form together and kept things flowing, challenging for a playoff spot. Our FA Cup run was slightly more improved this year but still nothing great. We beat Fisher 2-1 in a home tie in the 2nd Qual round, then we beat Billericay 3-0 (again at home). In the 4th Qual round, we were drawn at home again, this time to high-flying conference team Barnet, but asking for a victory was a bit too far to stretch the lads and we lost narrowly by 2 goals to 1. The FA Trophy was again a disaster and we lost 1-0 away at Tonbridge in the 2nd Qual round.

We were still doing well in the league, floating in and out of the playoffs - and by this time the top 7 or 8 teams had broken away from the rest of the league (us included) and were in hot contention for playoff spots. But more and more of our players were picking up serious injuries, not to mention suspensions. In no less than 3 matches over the course of the season did we finish with 9 players on the field. Things eventually got so bad, that during the Feb-March period (ironically in contrast to last season when this was our best period of the season), we had 6 of our usual first-team players completely out of action for a couple of months. Inevitably we couldn't sustain our good form, and a 6 game winless streak saw us bow out of the playoff race, and slip down to 8th place, crowned by a 6-2 defeat by Harrogate and a 4-1 defeat by Gateshead.

Eventually as some of our players started to find their feet again, the team strung together a 6 game unbeaten record to end the season, but it was too late to have any hopes of recreating a challenge for the playoffs and we ended the season on 67 points, one better than last year, and 5 points outside the playoffs. All in all the season was good, we didn't even enter the bottom half of the table, nor slip below 8th position, and yet somehow we were left feeling disappointed as the team were resigned to a third season in the lowest league of football.

The winners of the Conference North were Gateshead, a huge 9 points ahead of 2nd place. The playoff spots were eventually claimed by Nuneaton, Lancaster, Harrogate and Kettering, with Lancaster winning promotion.

League: Conference North
Final Position: 8th W18 D13 L11 GD+9 Pts67
FA Cup: 4th Qual Round
FA Trophy: 2nd Qual Round
Highlights: Defying critics and board expectations yet again, great new signings resulting in a strong squad



Yeading - 2008/09

A total of two new players were bought in for the start of the new season, and a handful were released on free transfers. Again we would be playing in the Conference North, this time the board expecting us to finish comfortably in mid-table with a media prediction of 11th. Things started off okay. Our early season form saw us in pretty much mid-table, although without the three straight defeats we suffered, we could have been contending the for the playoffs again. A decent FA Cup run saw us beat Eastleigh 2-0 at home in the 2nd Qual Round. We drew 1-1 against North Ferriby at home, then beat them 3-0 in the replay at their ground. In the 4th Qual Round we saw off Chelmsford by a 2-1 margin away at their place, but in the 1st Round proper, we were held to a 1-1 draw at our ground by fellow Conf North team Whitby, before losing 3-1 at their ground. The FA Trophy was yet another disaster, although this time we had the misfortune to be drawn away at Cambridge United, a strong Conference National side, and we were defeated 1-0 in the 2nd Qual Round.

Suddenly in the league, something happened. What exactly this was, I don't know, but our form took a dive. The defeat to Cambridge in the FA Trophy may have been the thing that started things rolling, but whatever the cause, it was completely disastrous. We went 17 games without a win. Yes, you heard me right, SEVENTEEN games with no win in the league. We slid down the league and into 21st position inside the relegation zone, where we were stuck for several months. The only team below us was Whitby who were having an equally terrible season - quite unbelievable how they beat us in the Cup given their form, but I wasn't prepared to hold grudges.

I tried everything, I bought in new players, shuffled the squad, used new tactics, formations, the works. Nothing worked, nothing made a difference. The board were getting more and more dissatisfied with my results, and after losing 8 games on the trot, resignation was playing heavy on my mind. In one particular game I was thinking "if we don't get a win today, I'm resigning". Thankfully fortune was on my side that day. We recorded our first league victory in 18 games, with a 2-1 away win over mid-table side Droylsden. It was the most fantastic victory I've ever had - it was extremely significant, and surely a sign of a change of fortune. Unfortunately not... the next game was a 5-2 home defeat to fellow strugglers Frickley, and my hopes and ambitions were utterly destroyed and I ultimately decided enough was enough, and resigned from Yeading.

After being out of the job for a month, and rejecting offers from Yeading to come back - obviously their fans have a very short memory, elswhere in the Conference North, Burton were getting pretty fed up with their manager, and sacked him, coming straight to me to offer me the Burton Manager job. Desperate to keep my feet on the managerial ladder I greatfully accepted. Burton was exactly what a I needed. They were a side who were sitting in lower mid-table, around 15th, with a media prediction of 6th. They had a very nice side, although that included around 5 players on loan from Championship/League 1/League 2 sides who were a great bolster to the squad. With 7 games to go, I took Burton to four straight league wins. The highlight was a thrilling away victory at runaway league leaders Nuneaton. We took the lead 3 times, finally claiming a 3-2 victory with some great performances all round.

And so the season came to a close, Burton sitting in 11th, and poor Yeading, consigned to Relegation. Something that I felt largely responsible for, although to this day I'm still not sure where it all went so wrong. The other relegated sides were Whitby and Droylsden, all three sides finishing some 10 points below the rest of the league. Nuneaton were never in danger of losing the league title only suffereing 5 league defeats all season, and sitting comfortably at the top with 85 points. Kettering, Burscough, Worcester and Hucknall claimed the playoff spots with ____ gaining promotion.

League: Conference North
Final Position: (YEADING) 21st W10 D10 L22 GD-23 Pts40
(BURTON) 11th W14 D15 L13 GD+4 Pts57
FA Cup: 1st Round proper
FA Trophy: 2nd Qual Round
Highlights: Finding decent job at Burton after shameful display at Yeading, reaching first round of FA Cup, recording breathtaking away victory over Nuneaton

wewak

Wow. I'll wait for someone to abridge that before making comment.

Craig0

Well you didn't break any rules that I can see. You may get more readers if you cut the length down a little bit though.

fugazi3973

Apart from that.... Ian it's seen more LLaMa to use scouts rather than using the player lists. Apart from that good (if long update)

KUTGJumpingShipToSaveYourButt :thup:

snowy10

KUPTGW I like the longer updates, its good stuff

Craig0

I was pretty much skimming it quickly for names and tactics. Aye, you want to be using your scouts, it's a lot more realistic.

Lukewarm

Excellent Modding Craig!

mkus

Hang around the story forum.

To Ian (if that's the OP's name), I didn't read it. It's far, far too long. Like wewak, I await the summary version.

Mr Figo

I think it's a good update.

Having been a member of the old CM forum - the longer posts make for good reading rather than a summary and a final league position.

I'm not a frequent poster on the website but I have noticed that anyone who posts for the first time or posts from time to time on the LLM forums is scrutinised by the regulars.

I would have thought that as we are all members of the same forum and a "community" that we should be encouraging those new folk and not jumping down their throats at the first available opportunity.

I'm not trying to have a go here folks - it's just an observation. This forum is the best on the lot!

Mr Figo

BTW - KUTGW with Burton! :thup: