A New Start - Holmesdale FC (Level 1)

[talisman]

Day 4

Transfer news.

The Management found he was short a position when he tried to put together the required formation for the first match today, so he popped along to the Transfer Market. Wanting an AMC, the only player with that position on was a 21-yo 5* tri-position AM, and he put a cheeky bid on him with 3:18 left on the clock. To the Management's surprise and delight, the bid held and Fabian Kraiger joined the squad, being put into AMC in the starting XI immediately.



The team in Action

Two matches in a day for the first time for Holmesdale FC, and they handled them with some ease.

First up was a home League match, and a full house 800 crowd saw them dominate the match, but the visitors defence was in a stingy mood, limiting them to just the one goal scored in the 20th minute by striker Dean Seymour-Shove.



Three hours later, the team were lining up away in the Round of 32 of the Cup, and for the first time they started counter-attacking freely, and put 4 goals past their hosts' 'keeper.



Training

The team training is now up to Level 7, with two new drills unlocked: Physical/Mental drill Carioca with Ladders (Easy) and Defensive drill Use Your Head (Easy). As the team used General Training exclusively today the Management is waiting until tomorrow to see how he can include the new drills in the Targetted Training.

Finances

Big expenditure on one player today, offset a little by the takings from a home match and a good deal by sposorship and prize money, so the cash balance has dropped by two-thirds of a million to $3.34M.

[talisman]

Day 5

New League Constitution

The Management had a shock when reviewing the opponents for today's League match, overnight the teams in the League had changed, eight of the teams being replaced by new Bot teams, the days' opponents being one:



New home shirt and emblem

The Management remembered that the first shirt and emblem creation from the Club Shop was free, so with a few minutes to spare while doing the daily training went along and designed a new home shirt and matching emblem. Having chosen the Green and pale Blue shirt over the Red and Pink alternative of the existing shirts, the new shirt had the same design with a White and Red colour scheme. The Emblem was designed with the same colours.



Match of the Day

By the time the League match was due to be played, the Bot team had been taken over by a Level 1 Manager, whose team had a 3000-capacity stadium (?!), and the Management had to rush to change the team formation and orders to match the new team. 1st vs 3rd and from being 2-0 and 3-1 up, Holmesdale conceded two goals in the last 5 minutes and had to settle for an away draw.



Training

With only one match and time to do more training, a full set of Targetted Training was done. During this, the Level 8 Training was achieved, unlocking the fifth drill slot. No new drills were unlocked, but from a choice of three Level-up to Semi-Pro (2 whistles) the Management chose to upgrade the Attacking drill Pass, Go and Shoot (Easy).

Stadium Construction

The Level 3 Youth facility Junior Pitch was completed, and the Management wanted to upgrade the Medical facility next, but with one Treatment being available from the Medical facility in one day had to find another. The Pitch upgrade to Sprinklers was chosen instead (1 day instead of 3) at a cost of $16k (was $20k).

Finances

Sponsorship is keeping the club on an even keel at the moment, the $40k received from the Daily Gift ensuring a surplus for the day.

[talisman]

Day 6

Recommended Players

Holmesdale FC got their first recommended players today, and the Management said 'thanks, but no thanks'...



Cup

Another bit of fallout from the League changes yesterday is that the Cup opponents also changed! 4-0 up from the 1st Leg, the Management told them to take it easy...



League match late this evening, so a bit of training later once the team has had a chance to recover a bit from their Cup exertions.

[mr.deadpool]

better buy an youngster train him he will give his best

[talisman]

Stadium Construction

The Pitch upgrade (Sprinklers) was completed and the Medical facility upgrade started. Previously costing $24k and taking 3 days for construction, it now costs $16k and takes 2 days.

League match preparation

With the fifth drill slot and all the appropriate training drills unlocked, the Management's preferred 6% General Training regime is now possible. With the current levels of those drills, the players get +8 experience points per training session.



The Match

After training, the Match Bonuses are all at 10% for the first time, and Holmesdale are facing the 2nd place team in the League, who are -10%Q and definitely punching above their weight. The defence was reorganised a bit and put up a stiffer fight for longer in the match, against an attacking-minded team. The 0-0 score was definitely a fair result.

[talisman]

Day 7

One match, early, and the Management was pressed to get all four training sessions completed. Match Bonuses were restored to 10%, and level 9 training achieved, unlocking the attacking drill Set Piece Delivery (medium).

Having played 2nd place yesterday, Holmesdale FC now got a shot at the League leaders on their turf, and came out of the blocks running. two goals up after only 14 minutes, there was only one result in it. Midfielder Daley Forrester was booked and allowed the home side to get back into the match, but the defence and a Dean Seymour-Shove goal with a quarter-hour remaining did the rest. Forrester now has the dubious honour of being the first player for Holmesdale to sit out a match, having accumulated two yellow cards.



A first look at the league Table

...with Holmesdale FC equal on points with three teams at the top, but 2nd on goal difference from 1st and goals scored from 3rd. Two players feature in the Top Scorers table.

[talisman]

Day 8

Two matches today, so just General Training before each match, and if the Management can find time, a few Targetted Training sessions in the evening.

The Management found this in his inbox this morning...



League

At home against 9th place today, and Holmesdale at last found all the gears and put in a superb performace against a weaker team.



Another Achievement attained, and good news from the rest of the results that the League leaders had been beaten and Holmesdale FC were now top, albeit on goal difference...



Cup

Tricky away match in the 1st Leg of the Round of 16 against a -8%Q team, and the team has to be happy with a 1-1 draw and an away goal.



Stadium construction.

The Medical centre upgrade to Ambulance Cart completed, and the upgrade to the Utilities facility embarked upon. The Snacks & Beverages upgrade cost $6k and will take 1 day to complete (instead of $8k and 3 days).

Finances

A healthy $40k profit today, and the Finances are looking after themselves at the moment. The Management went hunting for another Striker today, without success, so more player expenditure is expected soon.

[talisman]

Day 9

Only one match today, scheduled early, and the Management did General Training to get Match Bonuses up to 10%. More changing of teams in the League shenanegans this morning, several managed teams being changed for other managed teams overnight. Today's opponents were about -10%Q when the Management set up the team against them, by the time the match was due to be played, they were +5%Q. A bit of tweaking of team orders was sufficient to get the team competitive, but they were pegged back from a 2-0 lead in the second half.



Playing Squad

The Management finally managed to snare a Striker from the Transfer Market, rather an ironic achievement bearing in mind the subsequent gift from the Germany Challenge. It took 5T and $525k to fight off the interest from two other clubs and secure Stewart Black's services for Holmesdale FC



Training

Level 10 training achieved during the training session this morning, the Physical/Mental drill Warm Up was upgraded to Semi-Pro (two whistle) Level.

Stadium

The Snacks and Beverages upgrade was completed and the Scoreboard upgrade to Basic Digital Scoreboard was started, costing $11k ($16k) and taking 1 day (3 days) to complete.

Germany Challenge

The team was sent out to Germany to compete in the Germany Challenge, and have made good progress, winning their first four matches and pulling in some much needed resources for the team (1T, 3 Green packs), a new shirt and a new striker.

[talisman]

Day 10

Two matches today, both at home, and the same result in both of them.





Stadium

The Basic Digital Scoreboard construction completed, and the only thing available to do now is the upgrade to the next Level Stadium itself. The Level 1 Amateur stadium takes 2 hours to construct and costs $27k (was 3 days and $40k). The new capacity will be 1000 seats, although only 800 will be in use due to the Attendance cap for Level 1.

[talisman]

Day 11

Stadium

The Level 1 Amateur Stadium completed overnight, and the Management decided to concentrate on the ancillary services before having to upgrade the seating. A new set of Floodlights were ordered for $26k ($36k) and these will be installed in 1 day (3 days).

Germany Challenge

After a win on Penalties in Match 5, the next match proved a step too far and Holmesdale FC bowed out of the competition.



League

The only match of the day was at Lunchtime, and the Management knew that they would not be able to be present, and the team prospered in his absence. Midfielder Daley Forrester is insistent in being the one to set the firsts for the team, and today he became the first player to record a hat-trick for Holmesdale FC...



The League Table makes satisfying reading at the moment, and three players are making their presence known in the Top Players tables...



Training

During General Training this morning the team achieved Level 11 and unlocked the Physical/Mental drill Long Run (Medium).