Swansea's Rise To The Top - FMFormation.net - Football Manager

**liveru** · 16-02-08, 10:55 PM

After my PC had died, I lost all of my data including my save games for Football Manager.

So when my new PC arrived I decided to start a new game with my second favourite club, Swansea City.

This is Swansea's Rise To The Top.

**liveru** · 16-02-08, 11:23 PM

My first act of business with Swansea was replacing Graeme Jones as assistant manager. Former Real Madrid coach and current England coach, Massimo Neri was hired as my new assistant manager.

I also had to replace scout, Kevin Reeves as he left to go join Aston Villa. But Antonio Jose Jose took his place in my bootroom on a freebie.

Players wise I didn't get to sell anyone as no-one on the list was wanted but Jimmy Walker from West Ham (£220k) and Gary Sawyer from Plymouth (£450k) joined the Swansea Ru-volution.

My first team for the season would be,
GK: Jimmy Walker.
DR: Angel Rangel.
DL: Andrea Orlandi.
DC: Gary Sawyer.
DC: Garry Monk (Capt).
DMC: Alan Tate.
MC: Darren Pratley.
MC: Leon Britton.
AMC: Andy Robinson.
FC: Jason Scotland.
FC: Febian Brandy.

So the games started,
11.08: Walsall (h) - 3-0.
15.08: Bristol Rovers (League Cup, 1st Rnd) (h) - 2-0.
18.08: Nottm Forest (a) - 1-0.
25.08: Millwall (h) - 0-1.
29.08: Wigan (League Cup, 2nd Rnd) (a) - 3-2.

My player of the month was a choice between my striker, Jason Scotland and my right back, Angel Rangel, but Rangel gets it for his part in our clean sheets at the start of the season. His ratings were 8-8-7-7-7 and he managed to get 3 assists from RB.

I will be posting screen shots at the end of the season to save time but if anyone wants screenshots before that, just tell me.

**liveru** · 17-02-08, 11:02 AM

An awesome month started with a trip to Gillingham and a 2-0 win. Jason Scotland and Leon Britton scored the two goals to put us third in the league. Up next was a trip to Walsall in the Johnstones Paint Trophy South First Round. Walsall tried to get revenge for the 3-0 drubbing we gave them on the opening day of the season. Walsall managed to give us a scare by going 1-0 up in the 22nd minute but goals from Andy Robinson, Jason Scotland, Alan Tate and Febian Brandy made it 4-1 before Walsall pulled one back through Darren Wrack. Progression in another cup.
Undefeated Huddersfield welcomed us to The Galpharm for an extremely tight game finishing 2-1 to The Swans. The game itself was boring. Only 9 shots between the two teams and 3 on target (one of them wasn't Huddersfield's goal, somehow they managed to score without getting a shot on target).
I had a bit of a moan at the team for playing so bad despite the win and they replied by playing bad again in the next game with Hartlepool. The game finishing (miraculously) 0-0. Somehow Jimmy Walker kept Hartlepool's Porter and Baker at bay.
We went to Luton Town as severe underdogs in our next game but managed to fight our way to a 2-0 win with my first choice strike force of Brandy and Scotland scoring both goals.
Up next was the visit of Sunderland in the League Cup. The fans were pessimistic and so was I despite managing to beat Wigan in the previous round. Sunderland passed rings around us and comfortably beat us two goals to nil. Not only were we eliminated from the League Cup but Rangel was put out for 3 months with a broken ankle!

Our chairman, Huw Jenkins arranged a fan day for the next game against Leyton Orient. A 2-1 win didn't hide the fact that the day was a bust and we didn't recieve any boost in attendance with Mr. Jenkins saying it's unlikely that it would work in the future.

All in all, it's been a fairly good month. We managed to progress further in the cup than anticipated, we're top of the league by a point (with only 3 goals conceded I might add) and progression in the JPT! We've been drawn Gillingham in JPT 2nd Round so I'm pretty confident about going even further. I have to try anyway because the board expects us to at least get to the final.

T.H · 17-02-08, 11:21 AM

Wow, doing very well!!!!

KUTGW mate!!!

**WozzaWolves** · 17-02-08, 05:03 PM

This is a fantastic read mate!

KIU!

**liveru** · 17-02-08, 06:19 PM

October was just as good as the previous two months.

A 2-0 win against Tranmere kicked off a month which saw only one loss. Jason Scotland opened the scoring in the 26th minute but as soon as Jason Kennnedy was sent off for a reckless tackle on Andy Robinson, Tranmere was there for the taking. After soaking up a tremendous amount of pressure, Tranmere's keeper, Danny Coyne finally cracked as Jason Scotland made the game safe on 67.

We went to Brighton next and despite going ahead via the head of Jason Scotland, Brighton pulled one back 6 minutes later and with both clubs not being able to break through each other's defences, the inevitable 1-1 scoreline came to pass.

The JPT South 2nd Round tie against Gillingham was a truely exciting game. In the 14th minute The Gills took the lead against the run of play on 14 through Delroy Facey. Whilst pushing for the second goal, Gillingham left a space for Darren Pratley to slot an inch perfect through ball to Andy Robinson to slot home in the 37th minute. Not to be deterred, Gillingham once again pushed forward and won a corner straight from kick-off. Then Facey popped up again to head Gillingham in front just 3 minutes after we equalised. I told the team to try and slow the pace of the game down as Gillingham were tiring us out and it was only 40 minutes into the game. The Andy Robinson picked the ball up from his own half after another Gillingham attack on the stroke of half time and belted the ball downfield for Jason Scotland to blast past Simon Royce. Straight after that the whistle blew for half time. The second half was back and forth and it wasn't settled until the 90th minute when Andy Robinson hit a searching ball toward Febian Brandy, who in turn left it for Jason Scotland. Upon receiving the ball, Scotland then attempted an audacious chip which found itself in the top left hand corner of the goal. The final score, 3-2 to Swansea.

With progression in the JPT certain, it was time for a trip to Elland Road. Leeds, who were languising in the relegation zone due to their points deduction, didn't put up much of a fight when Jason Scotland came marauding through their defence to viciously strike the ball into the top corner of the net on 31 minutes. What ever Gary McAllister said to his team at half time worked because Leeds were an entirely different animal in the second half. Many times Tore Andre Flo and Jermaine Beckford came close to equalising, but Jimmy Walker between the sticks kept his goal intact. Then in the 87th minute, Ferrie Bodde flicked a Leon Britton pass through to Scotland who was as calm as usual when he attempted a thunderous drive, which soared past Casper Ankergreen and into the net. The final score, 2-0 to Swansea.

A rare home game this month, followed the game against Leeds. Bristol Rovers were the opponents. Jason Scotland once again opened the scoring for us in the 21st minute thanks to an inch perfect cross from Andrea Orlandi. The first half ran through without any incident. The second half started with another goal for us. Jason Scotland tried to hold the ball up for support to arrive before he was taken down. The resulting free kick was scored by Febian Brandy. We continued to push for more goals but they didn't come. Unfortunately, it resulted in Bristol Rovers scoring a consolation goal in the 90th minute via Matt Thornhill. Final score: 2-1 to Swansea.

The final game of October was another home game. This time to Cheltenham. The game was settled in the 65th minute. Darren Pratley brought down Tomasz Wrobel just outside the area. Andy Lindegaard stepped up and hit the free kick against the wall but the deflection actually went past Jimmy Walker, resulting in a goal for Cheltenham. We just couldn't get back in the game and Cheltenham walked away with the 3 points.

That last result left me in 2nd place in the league, 2 points behind leaders Southend. I was also drawn Bournemouth in the JPT and Grays in the FA Cup.

This is looking like a good season for us.

**liveru** · 17-02-08, 07:18 PM

November picked up where October left off. A loss!

The league leaders, Southend welcomed us for a league encounter but it turned bad for us immediately. In the 8th minute Barnard broke through the defence and scored. An equaliser came in the 25th minute in the form of Brandy when he cut out Liptak's backpass.
5 minutes later, my skipper Garry Monk brought down Matt Harrold in the area and the referee awarded a penalty. Luckily, Jimmy Walker managed to save the penalty taken by Mulgrew.
A few shots were taken and the first half went by and the second half started without incident until the 59th minute when Bailey sent Barnard through to score his second goal of the game and put Southend 2-1 up. Their lead was a mere 2 minutes when straight from kick off, Scotland passed to Bodde, who ran down the left wing and cut it back to Robinson. Scotland then recieved the ball and passed to Brandy, who scored from 30 yards out! Ten minutes later though (71st minute), Simon Francis played a ball to Murphy who was clearly offside but no flag was shown and Daryl Murphy managed to put the ball past Walker.
I pushed Robinson and Britton up front alongside Brandy and Scotland but the equaliser never came and we went 5 points behind Southend.

I had a go at the team for the loss and they gave me a reply in the next game. We went to Oldham Athletic for a league match. We few shots flew in at Oldham's Pogliacomi in goal with no goals. That was until the 21st minute when Leon Britton played an beautiful pass to Febian Brandy, who in turn hit a low shot past Pogliacomi.
4 minutes later the exact same thing happened. Britton played an awesome pass to Brandy who again capped an excellent move with a low shot that resulted in a goal.
We went 3-0 up in the 39th minute when Kristian O' Leary recieved a pass from Britton and struck the ball with fury and scored.
In the 52nd minute, Oldham ruined our clean sheet and pulled one back through Wolfenden.
In the 57th minute, Leon Britton capped a wonderful performance by scoring his own goal to make it 4-1 after setting up the previous three goals. The final score: 4-1 to The Swans.

The FA Cup started and our game against Grays came around. Not much to say about this match apart from the fact we achieved expectations by dominating the game and goals from Britton, Brandy and Orlandi made sure we were in the pot for round two. Final score: 3-0 to Swansea.

The JPT resumed as well that week and our trip to Bournemouth was an exciting one. Febian Brandy put us in the lead on 16 before Jo Kuffour scored two against us in the 29th and 34th minutes. The game stayed at 2-1 until the 90th minute when I moved everyone apart from my defence up front and was awarded with a goal from Andrea Orandi.
The game went to penalties and after a total of 16 penalties taken (11 scored and 5 missed), we prevailed 6-5 to go through to the next round.

Carlisle were soundly beaten 2-0 on a wet Saturday afternoon to give us three more points in our race against Southend for the League One championship. Goals from Brandy and Robinson made sure we had a comfortable game.

The final game of November was Port Vale in the league. In the 7th minute, Jason Scotland finally scored after ten hours of competitive football to put us in the lead. Andy Robinson doubled the score on 38.
In the 56th minute, skipper Garry Monk made a rare appearance on the scoresheet and made it 3-0 before Scotland scored again in the 67th minute. Once again after a dealing a drubbing we conceded in the 90th minute. This time the consolation goal was scored by Marc Richards.

So with December coming up, teams will be thinking of improving their squads so I put Thomas Butler (who had been complaining about the lack of first team football) on the transfer list. I also sent a scout to watch Crystal Palace defender, Matt Lawrence.

The league situation is still looking great. I'm only 4 points behind Southend in 2nd place. But Nottm Forest looks to be closing the gap as they have a flawless month.

FM_Scotland · 18-02-08, 12:51 AM

Looking good mate, I enjoyed reading about your last game.

Scotland and Brandy seem like a great partnership.

Hope you can gain promotion.

Gl.

leachy-boi91 · 18-02-08, 02:12 AM

wow thats class mate
loads of writing :)
keep it up mate

**liveru** · 18-02-08, 02:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FM_Scotland

Scotland and Brandy seem like a great partnership.

Yeah.

Febian Brandy is a good player but I've really been surprised at Scotland as he doesn't look anything special and my coaches aren't very impressed either but the boy's continuing to score on a regular basis for me so I can't complain. He kinda reminds me of Craig Mackail-Smith from my Peterborough game.

leachy-boi91 · 18-02-08, 05:14 AM

perfect partnership
will get ya very far:P

KUI mate

**liveru** · 20-02-08, 12:22 AM

Season: 2007/08 - League One.

Board Expectations: Respectable league position.

Media Expectation: Automatic promotion.

Your Expectations: Automatic promotion.

League record: 1st, W:39, D:6, L:9, F:82, A:32, GD:59, Pts:99.

FA Cup record: I reached the 4th round, defeated by Portsmouth. I eliminated Grays Athletic, Bournemouth & Nottingham Forest along the way.

League Cup record: I reached the 3rd round, defeated by Sunderland. I eliminated Bristol Rovers & Wigan Athletic along the way.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy record: I finished as champions. I eliminated Walsall, Gillingham, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Millwall & Hartlepool United along the way.

First XI start of season: Jimmy Walker, Garry Monk (c), Ferrie Bodde, Alan Tate, Angel Rangel, Andrea Orlandi, Darren Pratley, Leon Britton, Andy Robinson, Jason Scotland & Febian Brandy.

First XI(May): Jimmy Walker, Garry Monk (c), Ferrie Bodde, Gary Sawyer, Alan Tate, Andrea Orlandi, Darren Pratley, Leon Britton, Andy Robinson, Jason Scotland & Febian Brandy.

Top Scorer: Jason Scotland (34).

Top Assister: Andy Robinson (21).

Fans Player Of The Year: Jason Scotland.

Your Player Of The Year: Jason Scotland.

Transfers In: Gary Sawyer (£450k from Plymouth), Jimmy Walker (£220k from West Ham), Matt Lawrence (£6k from Palace) & Mario Rosas (£26k).

Best Buy: Matt Lawrence: I had to find a cheap left wing back in January after Orlandi was injured for most of the remainder of the season so I found Lawrence in Palace's reserves. He filled in whilst Orlandi was busy recovering and didn't complain when I dropped him after Orlandi's return.

Transfers Out: Thomas Butler (£26k to Cheltenham), Keiron Howard & Duane Lewis (free transfers).

Best Sale: Thomas Butler because I actually managed to get cash for him.

Reflection: Promotion to the Championship as League One champions and Johnstone's Paint Trophy winners is a good season. Southend pushed me to the wire in the league and we both finished on 99 points but my superior goal difference gave us the title. Plus there is the fact that I went 15 league games without losing.

If anyone wants screenies just ask.

**John10** · 20-02-08, 12:34 AM

well done on winning promotion and winning the johnstone paint trophy. good luck for next season mate, hope you do as well as you did the season just gone

**liveru** · 20-02-08, 12:51 AM

Season: 2008/09 - Championship.

Board Expectations: Battle relegation.

Media Expectation: Survive relegation.

Your Expectations: Survive relegation.

League record: 4th, W:26, D:6, L:14, F:95, A:76, GD:19, Pts:84.

FA Cup record: I reached 5th round, defeated by Manchester United. I eliminated Sheffield United & Tottenham Hotspur along the way.

League Cup record: I reached the 2nd round, defeated by Birmingham City. I eliminated Luton Town along the way.

First XI start of season: Jimmy Walker, Gary Sawyer, Alan Tate (c), Garry Monk, Angel Rangel, Gary Naysmith, Ferrie Bodde, Darren Pratley, Andy Robinson, Jason Scotland & Febian Brandy.

First XI(May): Steve Simonsen, Gary Sawyer, Ferrie Bodde, Garry Monk, Angel Rangel, Gary Maysmith, Darren Pratley, Leon Britton, Andy Robinson (c), Febian Brandy & Jason Scotland.

Top Scorer: Febian Brandy (39).

Top Assister: Andy Robinson (31).

Fans Player Of The Year: Andy Robinson.

Your Player Of The Year: Febian Brandy.

Transfers In: Alex Fernandez (Free from Huesca), Gary Naysmith (£1m from Sheff Utd), Febian Brandy (Loan from Man Utd), Franco di Santo (Loan from Chelsea), Steve Simonsen (£2.8m from Stoke).

Best Buy: Febian Brandy: He ended up being our top goalscorer and totally out playing Alex Fernandez, who the fans were really excited about.

Transfers Out: Dorus de Vries (£110k to Millwall), Allen Joe (£110k to Gillingham), Scott Evans (£7k to Mansfield), Kristian O'Leary (Free to Bournemouth), Jamie Burgin (Free to Macclesfield), Steven Watt (Free to Bury), Dion Chambers, Karl Keogh, Dale Otten, Ashley Johns, Marcus Griffiths, Leigh Morgan, Rafeeq Kaid, Kevin Austin, Kristian O'Leary, Max Powell, David Knight, Kyle Graves, Kerry Morgan, David Kingdom, Gavin Smelt, Gavin Smelt, Danny Peake, John Caton, John Fleming, Brett Butcher & Rob Clark (free transfers).

Reflection: Great season! We overachieved in every competition apart from the League Cup. I barely missed out on promotion as well as I lost to Preston 4-3 over the two legs in the semi finals of the play-offs. In the FA Cup, I was leading 2-1 at Old Trafford at half time in the 5th round before losing 2-3. I was also undefeated at home right up until the second to last game of the season. Then Watford beat me 0-1. Next season though, promotion is mine.

**John10** · 20-02-08, 01:16 AM

hard luck in the semis mate, bet that hurt, well done performing so well in the FA Cup. Hopefully you will be up with the big boys next season mate

walkinshaw · 20-02-08, 07:48 AM

nice stuff

**ChrisA** · 20-02-08, 08:47 AM

well done mate
KUTGW

**Hartynips** · 20-02-08, 09:56 AM

Fantastic read mate, very gripping!
KUTGW Fella!

**liveru** · 21-02-08, 12:37 PM

Season: 2009/10 - Championship.

Board Expectations: Respectable league position.

Media Expectation: Respectable league position.

Your Expectations: Play-off position.

League record: 2nd, W:29, D:10, L:7, F:118, A:59, GD:59, Pts:97.

FA Cup record: I reached 3rd round, defeated by Manchester United. I entered the competition in the 3rd round.

League Cup record: I reached the semi-finals, defeated by Manchester United. I eliminated Aldershot Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City & Aston Villa along the way.

First XI start of season: Richard Wright, Thomas Deruda, Alan Tate (c), Angel Rangel, Denis Souza, Ferrie Bodde, Andy Robinson, Boudewijn Zenden, Julio Baptista, Alex Fernandez & Febien Brandy.

First XI(May): Richard Wright, Thomas Deruda, Alan Tate (c), Angel Rangel, Denis Souza, Ferrie Bodde, Andy Robinson, Boudewijn Zenden, Julio Baptista, Bradley Wright-Phillips & Febian Brandy.

Top Scorer: Alex Fernandez (34).

Top Assister: Andy Robinson (27).

Fans Player Of The Year: Andy Robinson.

Your Player Of The Year: Febian Brandy.

Transfers In: Boudewijn Zenden (free from Marseille), Abdelghani Chihab (free from Recreativo), Thomas Deruda (free from Marseille), Denis Souza (£800k from Barnsley), Laure (free from Deportivo), Febien Brandy (free from Man Utd), Richard Wright (£1.3m from Burnley), Julio Baptista (loan from Real Madrid), Dean Bouzanis (£2.6m from Liverpool) & Bradley Wright-Phillips (£7.25m from Southampton).

Best Buy: Julio Baptista: Technically not a buy but the fact that I managed to get him on a season long loan, despite only paying 30% of his wages makes him my best signing.

Transfers Out: Darren Way (free to Hereford), Matt Lawrence (£6k to Derby), Jimmy Walker (£22k to Everton), Marcos Painter (£575k to Middlesbrough), Mario Rosas (£120k to Charlton), Daryl Duffy (£65k to Tottenham), Steve Simonsen (£625k to Derby), Alex Fernandez (£8m to Middlesbrough), Kevin Amankwaah, Dennis Lawrence, Callum Hawthorne, Chad Bond, Oliver Hewitt-Fisher & Chris Jones (free transfers).

Best Sale: Alex Fernandez: I signed him last season on a freebie and managed to flog him for £8m. Not a bad bit of business.

Reflection: Awesome season. Promotion to the Premier League plus I managed to get to the semis of the League Cup. Plus in the semi-final first leg, I held United to a 1-1 draw at OT. The only problem is my search for a good goalkeeper continues. It's now 3 in 3 seasons (Walker, Simonsen & Wright). It doesn't look like Wright will be my number 1 next season either. Let's hope I can stay up next season.