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The Royal Redemption

A tale of drama, hypocrisy and controversy, but most importantly; the journey of a football manager
Started on 18 October 2014 by Justice
Latest Reply on 31 October 2015 by Live For FM
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Justice's avatar Group Justice
10 yearsEdited

Season Four: Entire Season


Transfers

I did show you these transfers in the pre-season update which I made for this season, so I do not believe that I need to go in to detail on them. You can find the screenshots of the players in a previous update, if you wish to see them. As per usual, a massive squad overhaul was necessary and I brought in a lot of players as many players left the club. This will happen for a few more seasons until we reach the stage where it is no longer necessary.

Sky Bet League 2

We experienced a mixed start to the season before quickly finding our feet. Before we knew it, we went on several mini-runs of good form which saw us pick up some very valuable points and buy Christmas time, we looked like genuine promotion hunters. Our most impressive run of form came in March-April, where we won six and drew two of eight games, between two defeats, which ultimately saw us earn automatic promotion to League 1.

League Table
In the end, we comfortably earned promotion. Doncaster won the league by a storming eight points and they were always a class above ourselves. I am delighted with the progress which we have made in such short time and now we can look forward to a new challenge in a new league where we will need to be even better than before in order to earn another promotion.

FA Cup

Our FA Cup campaign did not last long as Rochdale knocked us out in a replay of the First Round in extra time. I'm a little disappointed with this and hopefully we can go much further in future seasons.

Capital One Cup

Walsall knocked us out in our first game of this competition. I'm hoping that we can perform better in future seasons in this competition.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

I disregarded this competition long before we entered it. While I might look to achieve a decent cup run in this next season, it was secondary to my league challenge this season.



So that concludes this season. From now on, I will post half-season updates unless I decide to go more in-depth in to one or two seasons. I'm aware that some people may not enjoy this style but it is easier for me and it is still content!

Previous Update: Season Four: March
Next Update: Season Five: August - December
Nice work on promotion Justice, you did it well in the end with some good results on the way.

But how low can Blackpool go? :(
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Great work on getting promoted Justice, and hopefully similar success will follow next season, in League One! Oh, and can we all take a minute... to laugh at Blackpool :))

P.S. Sorry, Walt!! It had to be done...
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Walter & pompeyblue, thanks guys! :) And yes, Blackpool sucks! :))
Justice's avatar Group Justice
10 yearsEdited

Season Five: August - December


Transfers

We are finally coming to the stage where our developments in standards of footballing talent requirement will slow down and we can begin to make less whole-sale changes to the squad, and rather fix it piece-by-piece. Six players left on free transfers, including youth players, while a number of loan spells were issued. I brought in six players on free transfers, three of which play important roles in how we set up as a team. One of these new signings include last season's loan star Kevin Griffiths, who produced a very good goalscoring record from the left wing last season, although being a natural striker. I'm delighted with the talent which I have brought in and I have full faith in my squad to push for promotion this season, despite only just being promoted.







Sky Bet League One

We failed to find our feet until the end of September as recorded a 1-3-3 record in our opening seven games of the season. However, that 4-1 win away to Peterborough proved to be a real turning point as we went a total of fifteen league games unbeaten, winning nine and drawing six. This incredible run of form including a spectacular 4-2 win over Bolton and a resounding 5-0 thumping of Doncaster. Unfortunately, we could not take this run of form in to the end of the year as a ruthless Barnet put us to the sword on Boxing Day, and we failed to finish the annual year with a bang as we were held to a 0-0 draw by Scunthorpe. However, we can be very proud with our first half to the season as we well and truly asserted our goalscoring exploits.

League Table
Our fifteen game unbeaten run was the main factor in our placing in the play-off spots by the turn of the year. After twenty-three games, we sit in a very respectable fifth position on 39 points. We can be very proud of our position in the league and hopefully we can solidify it over the coming months to make a stake for promotion this campaign.

FA Cup

Hard-fought victories over Fleetwood and Kidderminster set us up in a tricky away tie to Peterborough in the third round. We can proud of our mini cup-run so far and hopefully we can enjoy it even longer by dispatching our League One rivals.

Capital One Cup

I came in to this season looking forward to a good cup-run and we got off to a tremendous start by beating Championship-side Bournemouth in the first round. Unfortunately, we came up against Arsenal in the next round and despite holding our own against them, it was a piece of individual magic from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain which put the London giants through and knocked us out. I'm not disappointed with how early we were knocked out as we were unlucky in the draw.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

In previous FMs I have completely disregarded this competition. However, we are struggling financially and we have a lack of fans, so I took every cup competition seriously. We required late interventions on many occasions but we produced the magic to put us through to the two-legged regional final where we will play Coventry. The winner progresses to the national final, which will be held at Wembley. This isn't a top-notch competition, but a Wembley date does sound very enticing.

Whitehawk's Star Performer

Kevin Griffiths was undoubtedly my star man of the first half of the season as the striker/winger proved to be a real driving force in our attacking efforts. The young man from Brighton has been lethal and creative, scoring 10 league goals and notching up 8 league assists. He has also made a grand total of 50 Key Passes in the league so far this season, over 10 more than any other player in the league. He has the potential to become a cult hero here and hopefully we can see even more from him this season.


Other News

Thomas Müller knocked Messi off his perch by claiming the coveted FIFA Ballon d'Or award for 2018. The German attacker had been in inspirational form for club and country and he has been a true credit to world football, even winning the FIFA World Player Of The Year award too. Fellow team-mates Philipp Lahm, Jérôme Boateng and Manuel Neuer joined him in the FIFA World Team Of The Year, while Matteo Darmian, Adnan Januzaj and Kevin Volland also made the cut for the first time in their careers.





Previous Update: Season Four: Entire Season
Next Update: Season Five: January - May
A promising start to life in League 1. After a rough patch early on you really went on a great streak of positive results. Now it's just about finding that consistency. You never know, maybe hiding in the playoff places is a blessing in disguise, as you can make a surprise attack for automatic promotion when people least expect it. ;)
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2015-01-21 05:50#206550 Walter : A promising start to life in League 1. After a rough patch early on you really went on a great streak of positive results. Now it's just about finding that consistency. You never know, maybe hiding in the playoff places is a blessing in disguise, as you can make a surprise attack for automatic promotion when people least expect it. ;)
Yeah, consistency has been an issue for me as of late but hopefully we can push for automatic promotion!
Justice's avatar Group Justice
10 yearsEdited

Season Five: January - May


Transfers

We made no transfers during this half of the season. Our only weakness was a true depth in midfield and I did bring former Newcastle midfielder Dan Gosling in on trial, but he suffered a long-term knee injury days before I could offer him a contract. In a way, we were unlucky, but this provided the current squad players with even more game time, which kept them happy.

Sky Bet League One

Walter called for my team to be even more consistent in this second half of the season, and I think our run of form from January to April will have pleased him! We started 2019 with a bang, tormenting Southend at their place in a dominant 4-1 victory. In the eighteen league games of 2019 before our first defeat to Portsmouth, we recorded some outstanding victories, including a 4-0 victory over Portsmouth and a 6-0 rout of Peterborough. Sadly, the former ended our nineteen league game unbeaten run by capitalising on our injury-stricken squad and knocking us off our perch. However, in the 23 games we played, we had a record of 12-9-2, which is absolutely remarkable! Our highlight of the second half of the season certainly came against Peterborough, when a Kevin Griffiths first-half hat trick helped us on our way to a memorable 6-0 victory.

League Table
Big injuries to our two top goalscorers Danny Mills and Kevin Griffiths at the start of April saw them miss the rest of the season, which lead to our downfall. We finished in an outstanding second position, just five points behind Huddersfield, and earned automatic promotion to the Championship! However, we were topping the league table come April and missing our two best attackers proved to be our downfall as our form dropped dramatically and we fell to Huddersfield in the standings. While there was always be a slight disappointment that we weren't able to hold on to our lead, we can be very proud of recording a fourth promotion in five seasons. The Hawks are soaring high in the Football League now!





FA Cup

We continued to progress in the FA Cup up until the fifth round, where we were faced with Championship side Nottingham Forest. Despite our best efforts, Forest had too much quality in their squad to overcome and they knocked us out. We can be very proud of what was a sensational cup run and hopefully we can reach these heights in the coming seasons.


Capital One Cup

As we had left you before, the London giants Arsenal knocked us out in a tie which we were unlucky to lose. Hopefully we can progress further next year. (Check out the score in the final!!!)


Johnstone's Paint Trophy

Our form in this competition continued and we dispatched Coventry 5-2 on aggregate in the regional finals after suffering a 2-1 defeat in the first leg. This set us up for a Wembley show-down with League 2 side Crewe in the proper final, where we were favourites. We took the lead through left winger Kyel Reid but Crewe proved to be too hot to handle and they equalised in style from a well-worked set-piece goal. It only took five seasons for Nigel Seidu, our right back, to score his first goal for the club, and what a goal it was! With seconds remaining in added time and the game set to go extra time, the African defender makes a forward charge and connects with a cross via a spectacular diving header which bounced in off the far post from all of twenty yards! Now that is how you win a cup final at Wembley! I may not have cared much for this competition in the past but nothing beats winning a cup final at Wembley!



Whitehawk's Star Performer

Captain Danny Mills netted 28 times this term and Kevin Griffiths has 25 goals to his name, but it was central defender Billy Roast who, in my opinion, was our most consistent and most important player this season. The young English central defender was key to us having the best defensive record in the league and was a key part of how we played. I play with Ball Playing Defenders, and this shows with his three assists this season! He has an eye for goal too, which showed in his 7 goals this season. He is a crucial player and will hopefully become even better in the Championship.


Whitehawk News

With our promotion to the Championship, we regulated to have a full-seater stadium and so 2,000 seats are being added to The Enclosed Ground. After completion of work in October, we will have a 5,000 all-seater stadium, which is very impressive for us indeed! In other news, our Training & Youth Facilities are also being upgraded and are also due for completion in October while we have a new Feeder Club in Hyde.




Other News

It was celebration time for FC Bayern München who recorded their seventh ever UEFA Champions League title by beating Inter Milan 6-0 in the final at Old Trafford! This is their second UEFA Champions League title in a row and they will be looking to make it three in a row next season. In other news, Chelsea won the Barclays Premier League on goal difference, with West Ham placing fourth and earning Champions League football (courtesy of a 90th minute winner from Diaffra Sakho on the final day). Real Madrid stormed to a comfortable Liga BBVA title, while Freiburg won the Bundesliga in a season where FC Bayern München only finished fifth! Needless to say, Europe's top leagues and premier competition had what was a tremendously exciting season!






So the season is finished and we progress to the Championship. Hopefully we can survive our first season there and then begin to build an assault on the Premier League promotion places.

Previous Update: Season Five: August - December
Next Update: Season Six: Pre-Season
Are you targeting a mid-table finish on your first season in the Champ or just scraping to survive ;P?
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2015-01-22 20:01#206679 Pauker : Are you targeting a mid-table finish on your first season in the Champ or just scraping to survive ;P?
It's too early to say, to be honest. It is a huge step up in terms of quality, once again, and new signings will surely upset the team chemistry for the first couple of months (although hopefully not long term). Along with that, I will be tweaking my tactical system which I introduced at the start of the previous season (I will be uploading/showing it sometime soon!), so that always slows down development for the first few months. We'll try to scrape together as many points as possible before November/December and then decide on our season's objectives! :P
I was impressed with your second half of the season and the consistency that came with it. Nice finish to the season and I can't believe you're already in the Championship, one of the most strenuous leagues out there. I'm sure Prince Will will manage something ;)
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Well... congrats on another promotion and another great season! The Championship will be a massive step up, undoubtedly a real tough challenge, but if anyone can rise to the challenge then it is you! ;)
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Walter, I'm happy I pleased you ;)

pompeyblue, thanks! Yes the Championship will be a challenge but I'm feeling confident given my experience in this league with Vauxhall & Luton! :P
Justice's avatar Group Justice
10 yearsEdited

Season Six: Pre-Season


Transfers

We released a lot of players but only four of them were senior players. These were Alban Bunjaku (AML), Ben Wilson (GK), Cameron Lancaster (ST) and River Allen (DM). These guys did not have the quality to perform in the Sky Bet Championship and only took up squad space and wages. We brought in six very good players, all on free transfers, and a number of them will become key players. To replace Ben Wilson, we brought in experienced goalkeeper Elliot Parish from West Brom, who will contest the starting spot with our current number one shot-stopper Ross Fitzsimons. Last season we only had one natural DR in Nigel Seidu, so the former Manchester United youth Marnick Vermijl comes in to add depth and to challenge for a starting spot. Our lack of depth in midfield hurt us at times last season and so I brought in three midfielders of high quality to solve that problem. Belgian playmaker Martin Remacle joins on a free transfer from Belgian champions Club Brugge, while Liam Kelly (Scottish) comes in from Portsmouth and former Reading youth Liam Kelly (Irish) signs for us too. All three are primarily playmakers but they are all very versatile and can play in other roles very well. We brought in one attacker in the shape of Callum Saunders. The Welsh striker was previously at Crewe and will hopefully come in to score a high number of goals for us this season.







The Upcoming Season

  • While we have only just been promoted to the Championship which is a very, very competitive league, we did bring in a number of high quality players who can push us to success. However, it is still too early to judge where we want to finish this season. After a few months of the league campaign, I am sure that we can judge where we want to be come the end of the season.
  • I want another cup run this season. Cup runs bring in fans, money, reputation and boost the dressing room morale. There is nothing more special than an amazing cup win at Wembley and we want to start edging closer and closer to that goal. Hopefully we can be lucky in draws and stay away from the big teams (Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, and even West Ham who are in the CL this season).
  • There is news of a potential board take-over here at Whitehawk. If it does happen, hopefully the new owner will pump in plenty of money and not sack me for not being Scottish (reference to old story).



  • I know I promised you guys a look at the team and the tactics I'm using but I'm already well in to the season and my tactic is currently in the validation queue for the downloads section here. All will be shown in due course!

    Previous Update: Season Five: January - May
    Next Update: Season Six: Entire Season
    Good luck, they look really good!
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