Career Unknown and unemployed (Truro - 18/19)

[johnloch]

Average performance in March 2018: 2W1D2L. Now at 17th and 6 points clear from the relegation zone. Still 6 games to go. 

[johnloch]

Poor run in April 2018. Can only grabbed one point in the last three matches. That makes us two points away from relegation with two games left. Next up against the 20th-placed Braintree is of paramount importance - if we loss they will get over us; if we win and Weston-super-Mare can’t, then we can survive.

Can we make it?

Edited November 26, 2017 by johnloch

[johnloch]

Let’s kick off the six-point match! Can we hang in?

Spoiler

We went conservative and played a 4-1-3-2 to beat Braintree 3-1 in style. Alex Nimely was sensational and made a double on counter attacks. Lee Robinson had several brilliant saves to withstand the visitor’s piling pressure after they had found the equaliser in the early 2nd half.

So... we’re staying up, we’re staying up!!!!

 

Edited November 26, 2017 by johnloch

[Aaron55]

Well done!

[ManLikeRobbieBrady]

Congrats! Let's hope a better job opens up now!

[BatiGoal]

Well done. You can still make the top half of the table

[Snip]

A good read! I liked your in depth early posts. Good luck. I soon plan to do a lower league career

[hordurmagnusson]

Made an account just to comment on this topic! I picked Truro for this season's FMM game as I am from Cornwall and they are our 'best' team- lodged all the way near the bottom of the Conference South. I am surprised that they are not more often seen as a 'challenge' team on FM. I agree that when you get there first, the options out wide are dire. Was funny to see Yetton still there- he's been there on and off for ages!

I started with a diamond too until I got a few decent wide players in. Tyler Harvey is undoubtedly the best player they have, and I found him to be utilised best in a shadowstriker role behind Yetton. He continues to do relatively well in the Conference National, so keep hold of him. In terms of signings, I quickly bumped up the wide players by signing former Swansea winger Owain Jones, and I somehow managed to get Larnell Cole to sign as a free agent with no release clause! Ryan McGivern, despite being one of my least favourite players of all time, is also available for a low wage and he is a class above most Conference South defenders. Jordan Brown was a reliable option for the first season, but peters out quickly. Tyler Harvey absolutely smashed the Conference South, getting 26 goals and 14 assists and I got promoted in my first season. I got rid of most of the original players quite quickly as they became deadwood. I kept Cooke and Allen for a bit, but Allen declined quickly. Harding was good for another season. A better goalkeeper is definitely a priority for that Truro side too.

I find the best tactic BY FAR is to go on 'Find Club' and go through African nations. These young players tend to have a few international caps, meaning they are more likely to get a work permit. I have found some excellent players this way, including a striker with 20 pace! Brandon Barnes is also a very good Conference level signing who can play as a target man or complete forward.

The board have still been complete tightwads even though I am nudging the Conference National playoffs.

Really hope you keep this series up. I must have found the only other person ever who would play as Truro!

[johnloch]

3 hours ago, hordurmagnusson said:

Made an account just to comment on this topic! I picked Truro for this season's FMM game as I am from Cornwall and they are our 'best' team- lodged all the way near the bottom of the Conference South. I am surprised that they are not more often seen as a 'challenge' team on FM. I agree that when you get there first, the options out wide are dire. Was funny to see Yetton still there- he's been there on and off for ages!

I started with a diamond too until I got a few decent wide players in. Tyler Harvey is undoubtedly the best player they have, and I found him to be utilised best in a shadowstriker role behind Yetton. He continues to do relatively well in the Conference National, so keep hold of him. In terms of signings, I quickly bumped up the wide players by signing former Swansea winger Owain Jones, and I somehow managed to get Larnell Cole to sign as a free agent with no release clause! Ryan McGivern, despite being one of my least favourite players of all time, is also available for a low wage and he is a class above most Conference South defenders. Jordan Brown was a reliable option for the first season, but peters out quickly. Tyler Harvey absolutely smashed the Conference South, getting 26 goals and 14 assists and I got promoted in my first season. I got rid of most of the original players quite quickly as they became deadwood. I kept Cooke and Allen for a bit, but Allen declined quickly. Harding was good for another season. A better goalkeeper is definitely a priority for that Truro side too.

I find the best tactic BY FAR is to go on 'Find Club' and go through African nations. These young players tend to have a few international caps, meaning they are more likely to get a work permit. I have found some excellent players this way, including a striker with 20 pace! Brandon Barnes is also a very good Conference level signing who can play as a target man or complete forward.

The board have still been complete tightwads even though I am nudging the Conference National playoffs.

Really hope you keep this series up. I must have found the only other person ever who would play as Truro!

Wow. Very detailed. I can see you’re so familiar with Truro. Yes they have a lack of wide players, but the core is still there. Tyler Harvey obviously is over-matched at the 6th tier, so do those CMs like Harding, Allen and even Ed Palmer. IRL Truro got through all those qualifying rounds and had reached the FA Cup 1st round proper. Impressive!

[johnloch]

Unsurprisingly, we lost our last league game by 2-3. Typical Truro: we scored twice first and the other side claimed three to get over us.

16th at the end. Avoided relegation. The board seems satisfied overall, but a bit concerned about our poor current form. Who cares? The season is over!

 

Edited November 27, 2017 by johnloch

[johnloch]

After securing our place in the league for the next season, it’s time to do some housekeeping: Three players have inked their new contracts for making up our depth, of which left back Connor Riley-Lowe and attacking midfielder Aaron Lamont perhaps can do some good as a reserve.

GK Tom McHale (now demoted as our third choice) has an expiring contract, so he is listed, and yes @hordurmagnusson Yetton is also on the market. ?His has passed his peak and can go now.

Edited November 27, 2017 by johnloch

[H3Y100]

Hey! Love following this! I start unknown and unemployed too and ended in the vanarama south too but with Havant & Waterlooville! Ebanks was my first signing as well ? Well done on surviving! In my first transfer window is when I was able to snap up a lot of new players on free transfers. 

[hordurmagnusson]

For some reason I kept Palfrey for a bit- not really sure why. I went hunting for cheap, young European players as there is a surprisingly high amount of them that end up as free agents and I wanted to get it done before the dreaded Brexit conclusion

[johnloch]

5 hours ago, H3Y100 said:

Hey! Love following this! I start unknown and unemployed too and ended in the vanarama south too but with Havant & Waterlooville! Ebanks was my first signing as well ? Well done on surviving! In my first transfer window is when I was able to snap up a lot of new players on free transfers. 

Yeah I’m also keeping lots of players on free or expiring contract on radar. A busy offseason ahead!

 

[johnloch]

3 hours ago, hordurmagnusson said:

For some reason I kept Palfrey for a bit- not really sure why. I went hunting for cheap, young European players as there is a surprisingly high amount of them that end up as free agents and I wanted to get it done before the dreaded Brexit conclusion

Palfrey can still contribute, though at most as a backup. Always good to have a couple of versatile players in view of the tight budget that most lower league teams are having. 

As to signing players, I’ve a house rule in place that I can only get those which are publicly listed or recommended by my scouts, but no proactive hunting. That adds more realism. 

[Taff]

Cracking career there dude and well done on getting Truro to remain in the league, now it's time to push up that ladder

[loren1983]

Here you have a spanish follower!! Very interesting career...

 

[johnloch]

I would rate my first offseason as a gaffer is a fruitful one. Ten players have joined our rank - most of them are planned to be our starting XI.

Sam Howes is a young GK from Watford. He was loaned out to a 6th tier club last season and conceded a grand total of 73 goals in 49 appearances (!), but interestingly he ended up with a 7.00 average rating.

Congolese Michee Efete can play everywhere at the back. A great asset for lower league teams, especially for a youngster who was a free agent.

D/M C Niall Mason joined us from Doncaster on a season-long loan. You can see his ratings and will know why I have high expectation on him. Starting material.

18-year-old CB Paul Kalambayi is another loanee. Lower league matches generally are highly physical, so always a good thing to have some bangers on stand-by.

More to come...

Edited November 28, 2017 by johnloch

[johnloch]

Right-back Lewis Travis is a Liverpool product and spent his last few seasons with Blackburn. Clearly an over-match to the conference league. A bit surprised that he decided to take our offer over other bigger clubs.

Luke Molyneux is a winger-type midfielder: pacey with good technical skills. He has 20+ appearances last season for Sunderland.

Monty Patterson probably is the biggest name among the new signings. A 21-year-old NZ international with 19 caps under his belt. Planned to start him on the left flank.

Still more to come...

Edited November 29, 2017 by johnloch

[BatiGoal]

Really difficult to rate some of these youngsters sometimes as their attributes look all over the place. What I then decide to do is giving them a run of a fair few games and solely judge them by performances on the pitch. 

Solid going, mate! 

[johnloch]

28 minutes ago, BatiGoal said:

Really difficult to rate some of these youngsters sometimes as their attributes look all over the place. What I then decide to do is giving them a run of a fair few games and solely judge them by performances on the pitch. 

Solid going, mate! 

Yeah there're always some inaccuracy by the scouts, yet as an experienced FM players (20+ years) you can judge by considering those attributes which are vital to the playing positions, like if one have pace, dribbling and crossing attributes around 10-12, he would be a good winger to the sixth tier standard.

[johnloch]

20-year-old Jack Storer possesses good heading and shooting skills. Planned to use primarily as the backup of Ebanks-Blake and Nimely.

Experienced lower league player Andy Harworth and young loanee Owara Edwards are brought in to support the sides off the bench.

As a side note, Yetton has been taken off the list and re-signed with us for a 1-year deal. Not a bad idea to secure a fourth striker at a cost of 90 grand a week.

So... let’s get started the 2018/19 season!

Edited November 29, 2017 by johnloch

[johnloch]

Results of our pre-season friendlies are not impressive. Played a 4213 formation at first, but the outcome was poor, so switched to a more traditional and balanced 442 for the last two matches and our performance was better. 

Found out through these games that our midfield lacks some defensive force. River Allen is okay as a DM but still not fully reliable. Therefore another loan deal was made to bring in midfielder/left-back Mark Kitching from Rochdale. 

[johnloch]

Edited as I accidentally deleted the save. Need a replay.

Edited December 5, 2017 by johnloch

[johnloch]

After a long layoff, let’s get back to the world of LLM...

We have a perfect month of August 2018. We maintained our unbeaten record and made 5 wins in a row. Our attacking troop is highly effective and bagged a total of 22 goals in this span. Alex Nimely had a fantastic month and is now leading the league with 11 goals.

Edited December 13, 2017 by johnloch

[Aaron55]

Great start! 

[leenffc]

Impressive second season, Look forward to more!

[johnloch]

4W1D1L in September 2018. Still at the top of the table, but you can see so far we failed to keep any clean sheet. Defence needs an upgrade in the transfer window. 

Edited December 15, 2017 by johnloch

[Aaron55]

Keep it up 

[johnloch]

Just gone through our third match in September 2018. Can’t help sharing this scoreline before we finish off the month...