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So its the first time I have played FM 06, i had tried FM 05 but wasnt too taken aback with it so stuck to playing CM 03-04 for the past year or so.
Normally at this time in any manager game I head straight to the foot of the football league for my beloved Peterborough United. However this time as I was sitting at my computer with my mate, he said to me "be a **** team" I of course full of confidence told him that no team I manage is "****", a naive statement as I then agreed as far as to let him pick my team with the challenge of staying up.
He chose Vauxhall motors of the conference north as hed just seen their real life lowly place in that division on sky sports news. ******!
The pre season started as many do, new season, favourites for relegation and a host of unadmirable friendlies coming up very soon with a squad I knew a total of nothing about, there was not a single player in there entire squad I had heard of in real life. Also a very stark reality of 0 transfer budget and a total wage budget for my squad of 2.7k a week, this was not going to be so easy!
It started as it was apparently going to go on, Before I knew it christmas was here and I was praying for news that the F.A would allow a winter break for the first time ever simply so I could get away from losing every 7, occasionally 4 days.
At this stage of the season I was rock bottom of the league 5 points adrift of the team above me and a further 3 behind the team in the last 'safe' spot, I had also been knocked out of the F.A cup at the 2nd round but was still going in the F.A trophy only to be eliminated from that too in the second round proper. (Turns out I thought I was going so strong as I had to play a host of qualifying games and nervous replays just to get to the first round of the actual tournament!)
In my defence though I will point out that the losses were rarely heavy, even deserved. Alot of 1-0's and 2-1's etc, the most depressing kind of defeats where you believe you will take something from a game and come away with nothing, every week, mentally this was crippling for me and my players.
By now I had tried all the formations I could think of, looked at every possible free transfer or loanee that would within reason merit a place in a part time team at the lowest scale of the game. However, as I was contemplating stepping down from the reigns at the Motor ground, a scout came to me with a player who was unattached, a player I knew all too well from both real life and previous CM's.. a young striker who was happy to sign for me, for little over 100 pounds a week, and whats more, he would be my first and only FULL TIME player, this meant longer, harder training. I continued to fiddle with formations, until I tried one with 5 defenders flat across the back (simply out of desparation to stop conceding so many damn goals!)
It worked, I went on an unbeaten run of 3 GAMES!!! winning 2 and drawing 1 .. this may not sound like much to people who hav experienced the 46 wins from 46 games with a lowly rushden side that only have a budget of 50k but for me and everyone involved in these succession of games without losing at Vauxhall Motors it was magical. Whats more my new striker had scored 4 goals in the 3 games which gave me great belief, the playoffs were still not totally out of reach however were a very distant pipe dream.
I quickly closed the gap between myself and the group of strugglers (about 5 teams including V.M.F.C) and there it was for all to see, janurary the 14th, the first time since late August i had lifted myself from the bottom of the league, to 1 place higher. Thankyou Stalybridge Celtic, finally a team I could look down upon. There was still hard work to be done though, the 3 teams just above the relegation zone were near enough now matching me for results, loss for loss, win for win, it was asif the computer was mocking me in my attempts to survive the drop.
True to real optimism though I did start to close the gap on these times trying to get away from me and not too long before easter for the first time since the first weekend of the season i was out of the relegation zone and even forged a 6 point gap between myself and Moor Green the only way from here is up! right?.
Wrong! I went into an inexplicable spiral which saw Vauxhall Motors and Moor Green become stranded in a desperate battle for survival, with the end of the season looming and 2 teams fighting for that oh so elusive 20th spot in the league, they leapfrogged each other practically week after week, however with 4 games left I had forged a gap ahead of my rivals of 6 points, and then unbeknown to me at the time,one of the final games of the season Vauxhall Motors vs. Moor Green. Victory for me would all but guarantee survival, a draw would be practically enough, a loss unthinkable.
Vauxhall Motors Vs Moor Green @ Vauxhall sports ground, Monday 17th April 2006
15:00pm : KICK OFF 1st HALF
15:08pm : GOAL for VAUXHALL MOTORS 1-0 .. get in, i was thumping the air and running round to hug imaginary fans (stuart pearce like)
15:20pm : GOAL for MOOR GREEN 1-1 .. ****, iv been reversed too many times this season, I need to win this, it cant happen again!!!!
15:44pm : PENALTY for VAUXHALL MOTORS .. YES A lifeline cmon!!!
15:45pm : GOAL for VAUXHALL MOTORS 2-1 ... YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
15:45pm : HALF TIME : team talk, told the lads I was thrilled, as frankly, I was!!!
16:00pm : KICK OFF 2nd HALF
16:19pm : GOAL for VAUXHALL MOTORS 3-1 ... WE ARE STAYING UP, WE ARE STAYING UP!!!
16:41pm : GOAL for MOOR GREEN 3-2 ... nailbiting time, never had it mattered so much for my defence to just shut up shop just this once, please god!!!
16:48pm : FULL TIME .. VAUXHALL MOTORS deserved winners ... everything I had strived to do in my first season i had done, now to move on and up and begin plans for season # 2 at the helm of the motormen. For shortly after the game the chairman offered me a rolling contract on the lowest possible wage (£80p/w .. i did want 0 but apparently, you cant do that) which I had been stalling on previously as he had tried to tie me down long term and I really didnt want too, if this ship sinks next year I will be going before axes fall!
The season concluded without much ado of anything although I was disappointed as on the last game of the season I had a player sent off, the first and only time in the 2005-2006 season a Vauxhall Motors player recieved a red card and it came 18 minutes before the end of the season. ****ing typical!
Although this is far from a glamorous success story, it is a success. I had proved everyone wrong by taking 'minnows' Vauxhall Motors and keeping them in the conference north. Only by a couple of points and only by a single league place but I wasnt going to let that affect my joy, I had done it. More than what people had expected of me, For I had battled bravely and I had conquered.
My clubs post season dire financial status quickly came to my attention, I had to sell and I had to sell my best players.. I had to sell my star striker, I was gutted, Since signing in Janurary he had been my playmaker and lone striker and mustered 21 goals for himself in the process, something I was desperate to cling onto, but the writing was on the wall sell him now or lose him on a free, clubs were sniffing and he only had a year to go, I didnt want to transfer list him as that would lower his morale and he didn't deserve it, I offered him to clubs at first touting his value and a few offers came back to me, they didnt interest me, part exchanges and the like that really benefit noone who is the smaller club in the deal but i did manage to negotiate with one club, Rochdale, who for the services of someone that had cost me 0 intially and 110 pounds a week for about 20 or so weeks I would recieve 50k up front plus 50% of any future transfer. For 50k I could buy a phoenomenal striker at this level I told myself and I've 3 months to find the right one.
I was allowed to access 17k of the 50k I recieved, which to be fair is plenty for a player or 2 or even 5 at this level, I have found good players and good players have turned me down, I stil have the majority of the 17k but i have signed noone who will obviously set the league alight like a team with mid table ambitions at this level will need. Had alot going out and alot coming in though for as little as possible in wages and fees. Ive just played my first league game of the season, lost one nil .. apparently deserved im not so sure but I do know we didnt deserve to win, im not too down-heartened, 41 league games to go and im sitting pretty in 19th, My contract is up again for renewal at the end of the year and Im still not sure if I made the right choice accepting a second season, it would destroy the miniscular reputation I have if in my second year I was to undo the entire first seasons work and get a better team than I had the first season and get them relegated.
There is a three season minimum to post updates on this forum unless you obtain special permission from the moderator. And updates must be presented with a very brief summary of each season. Your posting belongs in the FM Stories forum.
At least you seem to be adhering to the other LLaMa rules, as far as I can tell. But others may not let you off as easily as I have.
Well, there is a second posting rule here as well. As long as someone new to the forum acknowledges a mistake through a second posting, then all is usually forgiven, as long as that person agrees to play by the LLM guidelines and follow the forum rules while posting here.
Vauxhall Motors ... a task impossible? 
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