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An old face in a familiar place

The Newport County Dynasty
Started on 6 November 2010 by joannes3000
Latest Reply on 21 October 2011 by joannes3000
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It was only a matter of days after the season ended that the good news began to roll in. First, our chairman injected 3.3m into the club! Next, another stadium upgrade was announced. This time we are adding ~5200 seats around the terrace area. This expansion will be done in 7 months time - what will amount to a belated Christmas present to the club and its fans. Lastly, I was given the Manager of the Year award for helping guide us to the top of the table.
joannes3000's avatar Group joannes3000
14 yearsEdited

Competitions
League Table




1st round 2-1 vs Dag & Red (League 2)
2nd round 1-0 vs Peterborough (League 1)
3rd round 4-1 vs Leeds (Premier)
4th round 2-3 vs Arsenal (Premier)


3rd round 3-3 vs Watford (Championship)
3rd round replay 2-0 vs Watford (Championship)
4th round 2-1 vs Stockport (League 2)
5th round 1-1 vs Leeds (Premier)
5th round replay 1-3 vs Leeds (Premier)

Transfers



Starting Eleven



Most Goals - Petr Stochl, 31
Most Assists - Petr Stochl, 25
Highest Average Rating - Petr Stochl, 7.56

Summary

After last season's results, I felt like we were treading water a bit this season. We weren't bad enough that we were going to be in danger of being relegated, but at the same time we didn't seem like we were going to be good enough to earn promotion. When the board handcuffed me with a limited wage budget I knew I was up against it this season and that I wouldn't be able to rely on many new faces to help our promotion push.

At the halfway point of the season things were looking promising as they typically do. We found ourselves in a decent position to make a run at either a promotion or playoff spot. Unlike previous seasons, however, I felt a lot more pressure to make things happen. As discussed before, my best players were starting to see greener pastures away from Newport Stadium. I started to feel that if we don't promote this season we are going to take a step back if we have to sell off some of our top players.

We persevered, however, and at the end of the season it was us holding the league trophy. Exiles fans were rejoicing at the mere thought - we're headed to the Premier League! My thoughts are already elsewhere, although not on other teams. With a move to the top, I need to make moves to ensure that our stay isn't a short one. It will be time soon enough to start evaluating our players and our coaches to see what needs to be done.
Congratulations! Newport in the Prem! Hope you get to keep hold of some of your stars now. It's a shame your gonna have to wait to January to get some decent attendances because promotion to the premiership is bound to have hugely increased your fan support, unfortunately your stadium capacity will probably be lower than your support for the next 3-5 years, are your ticket prices really high though?

Looking forward to seeing what players you pick up for your first season at the top, I've got a feeling Newport could be the surprise package this season and possibly even sneak a top-half finish. :) Good luck mate
The first taste of Premier League money was sweet - a 55m TV deal that is eleven times greater than what we received last season. Last season's wage budget of 175k p/w when I emptied out my transfer funds pales in comparison. This season I have a maximum of 550k p/w at my disposal and that still leaves me with nearly 38m in the transfer kitty.

In making the jump to the Premier League I anticipated a handful of big money signings in order to help ensure that we don't get relegated. As of right now we have only paid for three transfers and our starting eleven remains roughly the same. Probably the biggest addition is veteran front man Samuel Eto'o who we signed on a free transfer. He replaces the departed Jon Stead and should do well as our trequartista. Our new starting right midfielder is Jonathan Walters who replaces a retired SWP. Lastly, to replace Ryan Dickson at left fullback, we signed on Adam Matthews to play right fullback and Lloyd Doyley slides over to the left side (for now, as I am looking for an upgrade).

My prediction to the board? That we will avoid relegation.
My personal prediction? That we will contend for a midtable finish.
Fresh off getting my brains beaten in at Old Trafford:



This marks the second time that Mancini has been fired at City since I started my save.
A new year brings new problems and hopefully new solutions to Newport County.

Our biggest problem is our star striker Petr Stochl and his multiple personality disorder. One week he complains both privately and publicly; bemoaning the fact that he wants to move to a bigger club. I don't back down during interactions with him and he turns in a formal transfer. I oblige because I'm tired of his diva tactics. Then the following week he asks to be taken off the transfer list. Once again I oblige because he's a HUGE part of our team's success and fighting off relegation will be a hell of a lot easier with him in the fold instead of the 6+ million that he will likely get us via transfer. The only problem is that he has said the he's looking to invoke the Bosman ruling. In fact, he has an icon by his name right now that says he's leaving on a free transfer even though he's still under contract for another 1.5 years. I may be up shit's creek on this one...

The solution may be in-house already in the form of Spanish striker Daniel Parada. He's only 20 and he's currently on a leave of absence because he's having difficulty in transitioning to his new surroundings, but he's got all the makings of a capable front man for me:



We currently sit in 7th place thanks to a brilliant run of form, so you wouldn't expect this next problem - defense. Even in the midst of the 7 game undefeated streak (5 wins, 2 draws) we're riding, we have just pulled even in terms of goal differential. We are beating the teams we're supposed to, but at the same time we are getting dominated by the top teams. The next two months have us playing many of those teams, so we need to improve defensively in a hurry.

The solution? I'm hoping it's in the form of big money transfer for Burnley CB Sam Magri:



I already have a transfer agreement with his current employers that will send them 14.5m and a 3 star GK prospect they've been keeping tabs on. Magri rejected my initial contract offer and I'm going to keep hammering away at offers in hopes that we seal a switch. Otherwise, we will continue to look for an upgrade over Troy Brown.

Other areas that we will look to upgrade if the price is right are MR, ML, and possibly MC.


I thought I'd show a quick snapshot of the newly renovated Newport County Stadium, which is now a 9436 all-seater facility!
joannes3000's avatar Group joannes3000
14 yearsEdited

Competitions
League Table




2nd round 5-1 vs Wycombe (League 2)
3rd round 3-1 vs Bournemouth (League 2)
4th round 0-1 vs West Brom (Premier)


3rd round 1-1 vs Sheffield Wednesday (Championship)
3rd round replay 1-0 vs Sheffield Wednesday (Championship)
4th round 3-3 vs Leeds (Premier )
4th round replay 0-2 vs Leeds (Premier)

Transfers



Starting Eleven



Most Goals - Petr Stochl, 21
Most Assists - Samuel Eto'o, 11
Highest Average Rating - Petr Stochl, 7.21

Summary

Our first season in the Premier League was a roller coaster ride. We hit some tremendous highs such as scalping Arsenal and Liverpool at home and also having a run of seven games without a loss. We also hit some lows like having five and six game streaks without a victory. I expected this relegation battle to be tough and it certainly was our toughest yet. At one point we sank into the relegation zone and lost so much morale that players began to question my tactics.

I learned quickly that there are very few easy games at this level of competition and we reshaped our roster to better cope with things. The main focus will be to get stronger defensively as we conceded the 5th most goals in the league and had the 6th worst goal differential at -19. And while we lose Petr Stochl due to the Bosman Ruling, we are bringing in a big money signing that should be very capable of replacing his talent up front:



We have a steady income stream now that we have nearly 10k seats and that should help us continue to build up the roster. The next goals I have are to continue working on getting the stadium expanded and then to begin improvements on the training and youth facilities. Barring a catastrophic setback next season we should be able to maintain our foothold in the Premier League and we can hopefully start our assault on the top of the table and European qualification within the next two to three seasons.
The season just officially came to an end and here's the board with some more good news:

Good first season in the Premier League! I see you signed Eto'o at the start of the season. Did he score many?
# RHawkes11 : Good first season in the Premier League! I see you signed Eto'o at the start of the season. Did he score many?

He bagged 13 goals to go with his 11 assists. 7.1 average rating and 5 man of match awards. He is definitely limited in his older age due to a lack of pace but he's still got great vision when it comes to picking out a pass. And he's still such a good finisher and good off the ball that if defenses fall asleep he can get himself into position for a quick goal.
will be interesting to see how marcel does, I've come to see bravery as the absolute scale-tipper when signings strikers at the higherlevels... yet he obviousley posseses some great skill and the determination is never to underestimate !


With our latest stadium renovation complete, a record crowd of 12936 are witness to this goal by Samuel Eto'o. Starting in the place of suspended phenom Marcel Hasselbaink, the veteran Eto'o nets home what ends up being the only goal in a memorable home victory over the current league leaders.
if i'm honest what you have done is the most amazing thing i've ever heard on FM!! to take newport that far in such a short period of time is class also to win league 2 and 1 first time is unbeliveable!!

WELL PLAYED!!!!!!
# ECFC4LIFE : if i'm honest what you have done is the most amazing thing i've ever heard on FM!! to take newport that far in such a short period of time is class also to win league 2 and 1 first time is unbeliveable!!

WELL PLAYED!!!!!!

Thank you for the kind words! I enjoy bringing my story to the forums almost as much as I enjoy watching it unfold with each passing game.

You are reading "An old face in a familiar place".

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