In the Championship League

[Qwikshot]

So, I fired up WWSM for the first time in months...basic game with only two leagues running (Scotland and England). I added to the pool of players (England, Scotland, France, Germany, Poland, Sweden and a few other EUs, perhaps Brazil as well).

Decided not to be too ambitious and selected Doncaster.

The expectation was minimal and so was the budget, I shot for a mid-league target and boosted the funds a little.

Doncaster I don't believe has any affliliates, and at the time I was interested in a parent club. (Got the choice between Blackburn and Sheffield United, and went with Sheffield because I figured the players would be willing to come on loan easier and there was a bigger pool of players I needed).

Put a bid in and acquired Charlie Doudin from some Swiss minnow team.
Put a bid in and acquired Dalla Valle from some Finnish team.
Put a bid in and acquired a 17 y.o. Polish keeper whose name I'm forgetting now.
Signed Danny Richier from some French minor team.
Loaned a few decent players (oddly enough only Nick Law from Sheffield got decent playing time. Bjarni Viddarsson from Everton helped on loan.)
A few minor pieces here and there (Liam Atkin, Jimmy Price)

By December we were quietly competitive, simply because Doudin was decimating goalies.

By the midseason transfer I picked up a journeyman left winger (Ceh) and James Brown from Huddersfield (I believe)...neither made much of an impact...I grabbed some short loans but nothing impact worthy.

I limped into and fell backwards into the playoffs, but amazingly I bested both opponents even with injuries and a very shaky keeper corp (17 year old was having trouble dealing with expectations and the 37 year old Sullivan behind him was unhappy at playing time - but so much worse).

Start of the new season and I'm resigning some key pieces (Doudin went from 150k to 2.3million on one season).

Sheffield canceled the parent club since we're both in the same league now, but Man U decided to fill that void, and I picked up a feeder club in Scotland.

Quite happy, I'm supposed to battle bravely against relegation, but I'm hoping for a mid-standing finish, but gods I need some defenders...

[Coffee Warlord]

Good luck staying up!

I just managed to keep Port Vale up in the Championship in our first season there, we made some quality money, so I'm hoping I can be competitive now.

[sovereignstar]

Man, I read this as 'In the Champions League'. :)

[kingfc22]

Man, I read this as 'In the Champions League'. :)


ditto

[Ajaxab]

I'm in a similar situation as well. I managed Bromley out of the Blue Square South all the way to League 1, but felt like I had taken them as far as I could. So I ended up with a job at Southampton and got them from League 1 into the Championship. But taking that next step seems like it could be really tough. Just like real life, this division is extremely competitive. To make things that much more difficult, my team is on the hook for a 25 million pound loan that they will have paid off over the next 8 seasons. I knew that going in, but it doesn't make getting funds for transfers very easy.

[Qwikshot]

Yeah, Doncaster is getting slaughtered, the objective right now is to not get relegated...it's been interesting in its own way...

[Coffee Warlord]

I'm sort of hovering on the edge now. Our current squad seems to be capable of finishing mid-table, and we can compete with just about the whole league.

That said, we're on the financial cusp of what we can support. I bring in much more in the ways of big, expensive talent, we'll be in the red. We're moderately close to maxing out our stadium, so I fear I'm going to have to push for an expansion and hope it's big enough to rake in more cash.

Though, through about 20 games, Newcastle is below the relegation line in the Premiereship. If they fire Keegan, I may kiss Port Vale goodbye try and get that gig. :)

[Qwikshot]

I'm sort of hovering on the edge now. Our current squad seems to be capable of finishing mid-table, and we can compete with just about the whole league.

That said, we're on the financial cusp of what we can support. I bring in much more in the ways of big, expensive talent, we'll be in the red. We're moderately close to maxing out our stadium, so I fear I'm going to have to push for an expansion and hope it's big enough to rake in more cash.

Though, through about 20 games, Newcastle is below the relegation line in the Premiereship. If they fire Keegan, I may kiss Port Vale goodbye try and get that gig. :)

Y'know, I played York and made it up to League 1, and it was really a battle (not getting money, players)...so I got an offer for an Italian league...and I hated it...I would think that at least with the Premier league I would have something in common, but I wouldn't choose the big ones (Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea)...it's a different type of play (the type where it's okay I'm the best, now what?).

I wish I had stayed with York and :banghead: a few more seasons...

[Coffee Warlord]

That's exactly why I always try and build a team up to reach the top tiers. I never get any sense of accomplishment or a real bond with my players if I just start at very high levels. Always have much more fun clawing my way up, building the team step by step.

Newcastle might be fun in my current league if I did get the job, though, simply because they've just become so freakin' awful. Gut the team and build them into a powerhouse.

[Qwikshot]

Man City is destroying opponents in the Championship in my season...I'd be fine with another season down in League One, but I'm hoping that it doesn't come to that...Doudin has 38 goals in League 1, this season he's got 3 and were halfway through...

[Ajaxab]

I am in shock after seeing my Southampton squad finish 5th in the Championship, beat Everton 6-0 on aggregate in the first playoff round after not beating them all season and then winning promotion against a Bolton squad that had finished 6th, but upset 3rd place Leeds 5-4 on aggregate. We managed to edge a 2-1 victory to win promotion to the Premiership.

It seems like one of those mixed blessings though. The other two promoted clubs, Coventry and Crystal Palace both finished about 30 points ahead of us so we are by far the weakest Prem squad. It will be great to get the cash infusion, but every point is going to be a struggle next year.

Also, it only took 10 seasons and promotion from every division in England (got BSS Bromley to League 1 and then Southampton from League 1 to the Prem), but my name is finally being circulated for jobs around Europe. I'm not sure how my name came up around A.C. Milan, but I'll take it. It's been a great ride so far.

[samifan24]

I played as Coventry City for two seasons during my most recent game. The first year the team finished fourth or something like that and lost in the playoff round. The second year I eventually resigned after my team was in the drop zone with about eight games left. I don't understand how the same group of players playing the exact same setup could go from being so dominant to being so bad in a span of two seasons. I haven't played the game since (this was about a month ago) but I'm thinking I should try my hand at a lower level club despite the fact that this was my first and only foray into managing an English club above the Nationwide Conference.

[Ajaxab]

Nice to get a transfer kitty that was 450,000 pounds bumped up to 14.75 million pounds. :) But how to spend that money wisely is another question...

[Ajaxab]

Just an update. Things are about as bleak as I thought they were going to be come the end of November. 19th in the table with 11 out of a possible 45 points taken. But we're a win away from safety so there is still some hope.

[Ajaxab]

With some time off yesterday, I managed to finish out our first season in the Prem. We survived by the skin of our teeth with a mere 34 points, the lowest number needed to survive since the game began 11 seasons ago. The previous record low had been 38 points. Hard to believe 3 teams sucked worse than we did.

Hopefully, I can add a few more pieces to the puzzle over the summer and we can consolidate our position. I'd be happy just to survive again. It definitely is a different kind of fun having to fight for every single point.