Career Cockers Gets Chester FC to 108Pts

[Cockers2505]

This is all Thanks to @BatiGoal this challenge

So this is a simple One Season Challenge set by the legendary @BatiGoal where someone has to get Chester FC in the Vanarama National League North to 108 points or more

As I have found a Tactic that can not only help me throughout most Leagues, it especially works well with Lower Leagues, so this is set for me to get my name on the LeaderBoard, the only question now is with what score.

So I will start with the obvious, the club

Chester FC

Founded in 2010 from the old Chester City, their main rivals are Welsh neighbours Wrexham, as was the case for their predecessor. Also like their predecessors Chester still have a rivalry with Cheshire neighbours Macclesfield Town. Following their relegation from the Football league at the end of the 2014/15 season, Chester F.C. also briefly resumed its rivalry with Tranmere Rovers. Despite the clubs not meeting yet the traditional rivalries with Crew Alexandra and Shrewsbury Town are believed to still exist.

  

How have they done in the past - 2017 - 2018 saw them drop out of the national League into where they sit now, the National League North finishing 9th last season.

So 2019/2020 Season sees a new manager installed, and that is Ian Cochrane (Cockers2505) to not only try and reach promotion, but to get them past 108 Points, why, because @BatiGoal said so.

Cockers is installed into the Managerial position, what can he achieve in this Points Challenge

The Manager

The club have hired a mediocre yet seasoned manager in Cockers, he has shown over the years that the can keep up with the best, but with his reputation on the line, what can he do with this small but bright team, could he end up being nicknamed 'Mark Hughes', 'Tony Pulis' or even 'Neil Warnock' and be one of those managers that go from club to club with no real success to be proud of!!

Or could this put me up there with the 'Ferguson', 'Guardiola', or even 'Klopp', you never know.

A blank slate is started, hopefully not at the end of the season.

To start I made some shrewd transfers, money had to be made first to gain a higher Wage structure to bring players in, so start with Players let go. £550K was raised which was turned into  higher wage ratio, this allowed me to build a big squad to survive the season regardless of Injuries and Stamina.

Out:

Spoiler

I then started the search to bring in a multitude of players that could survive the season, different ages, different positions, and difference talents.

In:

Spoiler

Key players that exceeded my expectations, some I already know from past experiences having them at other clubs throughout my time.

Jamie Thomas - No introduction for me, use him all the time, taking him all the way to the Premier with York career. He again shows his power in the lower league scoring a presentable 34 goals in 35 games

Spoiler

Yohan Dufour - Another striker I have used before, does well for a couple of seasons, not bad for his age, eventually finishing with 20 goals out of 29 games.

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Dion Pereira - This guy is simply brilliant and provides so much in regards to assists, and he gets better as he matures. He finished off the season by providing 21 assists.

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Jordan Cox - Another excellent FREE player, can play on either side, and like Pereira produced some excellent displays, finishing with 26 assists, but also getting in double figures for goals.

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Fixtures 2019/2020

I set off with thinking for this to work I need a good run, as many wins, and Draws where possible, losses will not get me points. My Formation and Tactics, is not exactly Gun-Ho in regards to attack, but it's not only about scoring, it also stopping the goals from going in, the more I concede, the more chances I have of losing points. SO I stuck with my sturdy 4-2-2-2 that I shared with the Forum (Proven 4-2-2-2), this included Shoot on Target with a Poached and Target man up front, but did it Work.

First Half

This sees me reach November completely UNBEATEN, the friendlies went well, and now the League and Cup games have gone just as well, is this a season of success, well so far so good, the team is doing well, the formation is doing well, and my tactics are proving to be good for this Challenge

Spoiler

Second Half

I continue to dominate the League, drop a couple of points with draws, but no loss as yet, thats until 4th Jan, but some on, Im in the Third round of the FA Cup, and facing Bournemouth in the Premiership, and along the way I have defeated MK Dons, Gainsborough and Kings Lynn to get this far. But it all ends here, my first Loss, but not in the League as yet.

January turns out to be my bad Month, knocked out by Bournemouth in the FA Cup, and now on the Replay, Ebbsfleet knock us out of the FA Trophy in the second round, we are devastated!!!

But from that result, we then go on to keep out winning streak all the way from the 18th Jan to the very last game against Hereford on the 25th April, meaning we have gone the WHOLE season unbeaten, what a way to attempt this challenge.

Spoiler

Along the way, our best result was a 9-0 drubbing of Gloucester at home, Thomas keeps up his good scoring record with 4 goals, and my new Attacking midfielder Heppke has an excellent game with his first hattrick. 16 shots to their 1 helped me win this game I think?? 

So with the Fixtures complete, what does this mean to the Challenge, well to start with, this had to be obvious. We was the Winners of the League, at this stage we was 32 points in from of second place Kidderminster.

We then ended the Season on a massive high, not only had we won the League, but we had won it in style not loosing a single game. 127 goals scored, 24 goals conceded giving us a Goal Difference of 103 what a season. But who would be joining us to the National League?

Play offs complete, and Altrincham win, and earn themselves a place in the National League, a real shame for Kiddermister, but that is Football.

Team Statistics

Av. Rating - As expected, there was some high averages, the 4 players mentioned topped the list with high 7's, with Cox averaging in the 8's

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Assists - Both Cox and Pereira top the leaderboard, with 'shooting on site' set, the assists are not in the records, but they do ok for such a small club.

Spoiler

Goals - Obviously as mentioned, Thomas smashed in a proud 34 goals, with Dufour doing ok on 20 considering his age, with a mix of young and old, they contributed very well together. I had 3 other strikers, but with these 2 doing so well together, it was dribs and drabs for the others.

Spoiler

Managerial Statistics

My Managerial reign kicks of with a tremendous season, my Formation of 4-2-2-2 does me proud again, as proven with getting York all the way to the Premiership, and winning it First season, my Proven 4-2-2-2 is defiantly one for the Lower Leagues. Final Statistics finish off my journey so far.

Again I have proven tome the FREEBIES king, not spending a penny, but winning the League with a breeze and all with Free players. I got a little higher Discipline than normal, as I read about disciplining those who get under a 6 rating, at times it does upset some, but at the same time it boosts others morale. 

So thanks for reading, and hope it was an interesting read, the last thing to do is say thanks to @BatiGoal for his contributions of creating it, thanks to all you for reading and being part of this Forum, sorry I am not as active as old, but age, time and Grandfathership has taken it's toll lately, so be kind

Final Score - 108 points needed:

118 Points achieved.

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by Cockers2505

[Rich]

Great score mate and I think that’s pretty much unbeatable, no losses and only 4 draws is awesome! Jamie Thomas is one of my favourites from this years version, used him a couple of times and usually does well up to championship! 

[Cockers2505]

56 minutes ago, RichDave32 said:

Great score mate and I think that’s pretty much unbeatable, no losses and only 4 draws is awesome! Jamie Thomas is one of my favourites from this years version, used him a couple of times and usually does well up to championship! 

Thanks mate, yes I've used him a few times now, as you said does well until championship, struggled in the prem. 

I'm sure there will be someone " " who will get no losses so maximum points

[Ian]

Brilliant season for Chester.

I played quite a bit in the lower leagues on the 2018 game and took a similar approach to you in going for freebies. I have fond memories of Corie Andrews and Reme Streete in particular and must have used them both loads of times on that game.

Anyway, well done on a great season.

[Scratch]

Great work @Cockers2505! You surely are the Freebie king. And that was a massive season, unbeaten and what a goal difference especially for a first season. Top work.

I read this at the wrong time as I'm starting to get sick of my Barca career and now I have the taste for a lower league slog, but I can't allow myself to be distracted by that! 😄

[Cockers2505]

On 25/09/2020 at 16:01, Ian said:

Brilliant season for Chester.

I played quite a bit in the lower leagues on the 2018 game and took a similar approach to you in going for freebies. I have fond memories of Corie Andrews and Reme Streete in particular and must have used them both loads of times on that game.

Anyway, well done on a great season.

Thanks @Ian I kind of find lower league quite easy, especially with the freebies on hand. I remember the 01/02 days fondly, Kewell, Cole and Viduka was heroes' 

2 hours ago, Scratch said:

Great work @Cockers2505! You surely are the Freebie king. And that was a massive season, unbeaten and what a goal difference especially for a first season. Top work.

I read this at the wrong time as I'm starting to get sick of my Barca career and now I have the taste for a lower league slog, but I can't allow myself to be distracted by that! 😄

Thanks @Scratch it was a good season admittingly, but as explained to @Ianabove I find the amount of free players available even in the first season help massively, so the first season for any club can be quite successful

[DIRECTFX]

@Cockers2505

Great job with the unbeaten season . Just 2 quick questionS. Do you think could do the challenge with new slate ? No badges and unknown reputation ?? 
 

The guys you signed I usually could get 1 or 2 but most of them say teams too low for them , how did you get so many ? Especially Cox , Periera, ? Wonder if it’s cause manager reputation as I have tried Chester but started with unknown or normal rep but gave up because wage restrictions , couldn’t find buyers for old players like Roberts that had high wages, cost too much to release guys , and no budget for staff .  I love doing bottom to top careers just don’t know if starting gold and better reputation give you extra budget and help sign free agents as they are crucial. Thx and great job here I’d never go undefeated first season 

[Cockers2505]

 

10 hours ago, DIRECTFX said:

@Cockers2505

Great job with the unbeaten season . Just 2 quick questionS. Do you think could do the challenge with new slate ? No badges and unknown reputation ?? 
 

The guys you signed I usually could get 1 or 2 but most of them say teams too low for them , how did you get so many ? Especially Cox , Periera, ? Wonder if it’s cause manager reputation as I have tried Chester but started with unknown or normal rep but gave up because wage restrictions , couldn’t find buyers for old players like Roberts that had high wages, cost too much to release guys , and no budget for staff .  I love doing bottom to top careers just don’t know if starting gold and better reputation give you extra budget and help sign free agents as they are crucial. Thx and great job here I’d never go undefeated first season 

I will give it a go and see what happens, same team, no badges or Rep, and see how I get on and let you know using my little tricks

[DIRECTFX]

22 hours ago, Cockers2505 said:

 

I will give it a go and see what happens, same team, no badges or Rep, and see how I get on and let you know using my little tricks

 Sounds good.

i just started Chester one with gold badge and Continental reputation and was able to sign more than starting I did starting unknown with no badge.  Selling players was a bit easier too . Odd how the game values the players too as I still couldn’t get ST J.Thomas (Gillingham-L1) & Winger J.Cox (Luton-Champ). Can’t compare salaries cause I do yearly most do weekly or monthly on here and I use $ . The values shouldn’t be far off but J.Cox big difference he is $750k value on Luton and yours only £50k even with exchange rates still big difference. Lmk how yours goes 

[George Traistă]

On 13/10/2020 at 01:39, DIRECTFX said:

@Cockers2505

Great job with the unbeaten season . Just 2 quick questionS. Do you think could do the challenge with new slate ? No badges and unknown reputation ?? 
 

The guys you signed I usually could get 1 or 2 but most of them say teams too low for them , how did you get so many ? Especially Cox , Periera, ? Wonder if it’s cause manager reputation as I have tried Chester but started with unknown or normal rep but gave up because wage restrictions , couldn’t find buyers for old players like Roberts that had high wages, cost too much to release guys , and no budget for staff .  I love doing bottom to top careers just don’t know if starting gold and better reputation give you extra budget and help sign free agents as they are crucial. Thx and great job here I’d never go undefeated first season 

Is not from manager reputation, I remember that in my second career in FMM20 I've started in VNL North with Guiseley (no badges and no reputation) and I could sign around 10 players from @Cockers2505list... only 10 because all others were gone until my scout did his job to give me the report. Most of them ask for wages of 600-1k but will settle for 450-500 with some money on sign or a better squad status.

 

P.S. I will have a go on this challenge after I finish the one I'm currently on, I managed to get to Prem with 0 money spent so maybe I can get a good result in one season at Chester.