LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 (edited) Onto the proper stuff! August: Very happy with our start. A domestic debut goal for Rivas live on telly, 2 home wins without conceding and finally we didn't get a doing against Celtic! Delighted to get a draw and Liam Buchanan showing he's still got something to offer. Fantastic start, can we keep it going? September: Happy overall but always a little disappointing to lose at home to teams we'll be competing for top 6 with. Excellent to show County wha's in Cherge here after their promotion with Eder showing who's boss for the rest of the month. Another draw with the Old Firm too. October: Hmm, OK, but another home defeat to teams I'd consider our equals, and ever since I left on a sour note I've wanted to beat Utd so was unhappy with that. Good point at Tynecastle and we're also through to the League Cup semi finals which is a nice bonus. League table at the end of October: 1st: Rangers - 23 points 2nd: Celtic - 21 points 3rd: Dundee Utd - 21 points 4th: Hearts - 20 points 5th: Caley Thistle - 17 points 6th: Aberdeen - 16 points 7th: Motherwell - 15 points 8th: Hibs - 13 points 9th: Dundee - 10 points 10th: Falkirk - 8 points 11th: Killie - 7 points 12: Ross County - 5 points Pretty tight and the Old Firm not clear. If we can maintain this form we should be aiming for Top 6 and hopeful of some further cup progress. Edited January 21, 2022 by LoonsYouthTeam 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 November: 3 defeats and no goals scored at all! Need to fix this sharp-ish! December: That's more like it! Eder back scoring regularly, but great to see the goals shared among the team. No shame on losing at Ibrox. All of this left the table looking like this: 1st: Rangers - 40 points 2nd: Dundee Utd - 37 points 3rd: Celtic - 35 points 4th: Hearts - 33 points 5th: Motherwell - 28 points 6th: Caley Thistle - 26 points 7th: Hibs - 25 points 8th: Aberdeen - 22 points 9th: Dundee - 20 points 10th: Falkirk - 12 points 11th: Killie - 11 points 12th: Ross County - 5 points Normally I'd be happy to see a non-Old Firm team in the mix, but f**k Utd. Hearts still in it and disappointed I've dropped back a little from the top 4, a lot of teams in the hunt for Top 6. County lost every game in November and December, shame. Sure Uncle Roy will dig deep come January. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 January Transfers: I've spent my budget so ended up looking for cheap veterans to fill in some areas of the squad. Always thought Pienaar was class at Everton in real life and even though he's older than sin he can cover both wings and still looks decent. Karl Henry is a classic kick everything that moves midfielder and I'm reunited with Brain Howard who I signed for Utd. He can play centre mid or left wing. Doubt any of the 3 will start much but add some much needed depth. Nobody out at all. January: Gutted to be out both Cups! Getting drawn at Ibrox in the last 32 of the Scottish Cup is a bit of a boot in the baws though! Definitely more annoyed at the League Cup semi, Motherwell are around our level and I'd only won at Fir Park last month. League Form decent, the Tannadice skelping apart, and nice to see Rivas scoring more. February: Bloody Motherwell again! That's both games at home to them I've lost now. League table at the end of February was as follows: 1st: Rangers - 60 points 2nd: Hearts - 49 points 3rd: Motherwell - 48 points 4th: Dundee Utd - 46 points 5th: Celtic - 44 points 6th: Hibs - 44 points 7th: Caley Thistle - 42 points 8th: Dundee - 33 points 9th: Aberdeen - 28 points 10th: Falkirk - 18 points 11th: Killie - 18 points 12th: Ross County - 10 points Rangers look home an dry for the title but a huge surprise to see Celtic struggling, makes it even more annoying we've had a few silly defeats as we could've been right in the hunt for 2nd and instead could be facing the bottom 6! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 March: No huge surprises and always nice to put your rivals in their place, two away wins in a month with four of them is a good return. April pre-split: Fantastic! Rivas really beginning to show his worth and 3 wins on the trot with clean sheets. Great to get a little revenge on Utd. This left the league table at the split as so: 1st: Rangers - 79 points (Champions) 2nd: Hearts - 61 points 3rd: Celtic - 57 points 4th: Caley Thistle - 55 points 5th: Motherwell - 54 points 6th: Dundee Utd - 53 points 7th: Hibs - 50 points 8th: Dundee - 39 points 9th: Aberdeen - 35 points 10th: Killie - 28 points 11th: Falkirk - 22 points 12th: Ross County - 14 points Our decent form puts us in a great position. Top 6 target secured and now let's see what we can do in the Top 6, hopefully we can do better than last season and prove we belong here. County looked buggered at the other end. Top 6 fixtures: Would rather have had Motherwell away given our record, but happy with that. Anything at Parkhead or Ibrox will be a bonus, must be looking to win the home games if we're looking to aim high. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 Fixture 34: What an unbelievable game!! Our main strikers doing the business, just one of those games where every highlight was a goal. I took a screenshot of this at the time which I sent my mate. From 5-3 up, I was furious to go back to 5-5 but managed to grab a winner and finally beat Motherwell at home. Fixture 35: Back to Earth with a bang! 8 scored and 9 conceded in just 2 games, we're definitely giving it an entertaining end to the season. This left the league like this: 2nd: Hearts - 65 points 3rd: Celtic - 63 points 4th: Caley Thistle - 58 points 5th: Motherwell - 54 points 6th: Dundee Utd - 54 points Can't see us getting 2nd or 3rd, but we're in the driving seat for 4th 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 Fixture 36: Fuming! Beating Utd would mean they couldn't catch us and now they're a point behind as we go to Ibrox... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 Fixture 37: Not surprising, but annoying after our last result. This left the standings going into the final day: 2nd: Hearts - 67 points 3rd: Celtic - 65 points 4th: Dundee Utd - 60 points 5th: Caley Thistle - 58 points 6th: Motherwell - 55 points From 4 ahead to 2 behind Utd, that defeat means I now have to beat Hearts and require a favour to get 4th. Could we do it? Spoiler No we could not, the draw meaning a 2nd consecutive 5th place finish. A decent achievement, but feel this season could have went a little better. Final league table: Spoiler Good to see somebody split the Old Firm, half tempted to see if a 3rd place finish may have Celtic manager Craig Levein's coat on a shoogly peg. Thoroughly enjoyed my 2 seasons with Caley and very tempted to stay on as it's good fun and I think I could build a really good team. That was the issue though, there was still a team to build, and given this challenge I thought I best leave Caley and hopefully they can maintain their position as a Top 6 team who can make Europe. I'll leave Caley with my Best XI: A fantastic contribution from the front 2, very rare to have 2 strikers with 20 goals, but you can see we struggled elsewhere for goals. Part of the reason this would be a big job staying on is that quality is needed pretty much everywhere else. Where will my adventure take me next? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 My next stop was the Third Division for the first time since the initial season of the challenge at Montrose. One of my aims for the challenge is to win the Third Division title every year I'm in the league, and I'd be attempting to do it with... Ayr! Ayr! Super Ayr! Now, you might think that this would be easy as surely if Ayr are in this league they've just come done and should be strong. Not so, last season Ayr finished 8th in the 3rd Division in what might be the worst season in their history. As we begin the 2017/18 season in game, Ayr have not played in the Second Tier since 2004; they were relegated to the Third Division in 2011 before winning the title before suffering another relegation leading to last years humiliating finish. My aim is to win the league and have a crack at back-to-back promotions if possible. The squad I inherited was mostly pretty poor with a couple of exceptions, so a busy transfer window was needed before the new season began: Transfers Out: Mostly terrible, but included the full list as there's some known names there, including my ex-QOS player Steven Caldwell. Players In: First signing is a true Ayr hero! He's pretty much just a right back in this game which is where he'll play. James Sheridan looks like a cracking striker at this level, decent physical stats and good stats for dribbling, composure and finishing I'm hoping he'll be my goal poacher. Martin Rice is a youngster who can play centre mid, right wing or up front, doubt he'll be a regular but he's cheap to have as an option in a number of positions. Stevie Smith on loan from Rangers is a centre mid who is great all round, he's too good for this level. Alan Robertson is a big, physical, defender which I feel is always a must at this level. Gavin Swankie will be known to most. He can play on either wing or up top and is very skillful. Gary Wray comes in as goalkeeper as we didn't have a decent one. He looks OK but not fantastic. Steve McKeown can play at the back or in midfield either on the right or in the middle, another one useful for versatility Gary Hughes is a technically decent centre mid who I picked up as he never agreed a new deal at East Fife. Alex Walker is the same player I had at Clyde, another versatile defender. Graeme Holmes is the ex-Alloa man, experienced centre mid compared to my other options who are young. Think that gives me a good basis of a strong squad, certainly fancy us to win the league. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 August: Lost on penalties to Berwick but not too concerned; they also inflict my only defeat. No surprise losing away to Airdrie, but the league is my main focus. Not a great start but showed my intent at the end of the month hammering Livingston who I'd expect to be a title rival. September: Do, do, do, do, GAVIN SWANKIE! Great month and excellent to get 3 clean sheets, now played most teams and feel we're the best team. October: Short month with a loss and a win in the league before an absolute doing handed out to Wick, a long way home for them after that! November: Another shirt month, and undefeated again. I have still been looking for other options and was able to bring in another striker this month: Wakeford is a physical striker which was the one thing I felt we were missing, hoping he can see us keep the ball further up the field. The league table at this stage looked like this: 1st: Ayr: 27 2nd: Cowdenbeath: 23 3rd: Livi: 23 4th: Alloa: 22 5th: Berwick: 20 6th: Elgin: 19 7th: Stenny: 18 8th: East Fife: 17 9th: Queen's Park: 13 10th: Peterhead: 5 Pretty tight, but hoping I can kick on. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 December: 14 goals scored in 2 Scottish Cup ties! Great start from Wakeford, and having a partner seems to have lit a fire under Sheridan who more than double his tally for the season in the first 3 games of the month. Disappointing defeat to Stenny but a good response with another run of wins with clean sheets. January: James Sheridan is on fire! 14 goals in the last 2 months. An excellent month but with another defeat to Stenhousemuir, at least I put them out the cup, hopefully can get a money-spinner next round as we're not exactly flush with cash. My run of wins had put me well clear in the league so I won't bother with the table update. A little bit of transfer activity: A young striker on loan from Rangers, although Sheridan and Wakeford are doing great, I don't have much back-up and he's free of charge. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 February: Well, the Scottish Cup was supposed to be a bonus, but we've only went and won away at Premier League Falkirk to make the Quarter Final! They battered us if truth be told but could not score. I've not mentioned Craig Potter before, he's a bang average defender who was already at the club, but he has chipped in with some goals, none more important than that! My league form seems to exist of winning 80% keeping plenty of clean sheets before a silly defeat creeps in every month. Can live with that to be honest! March: We put up a good display against Celtic, but they were comfortable. Excellent league form continued with Wakeford scoring every game; this saw us on the brink of the title. 4 wins across April and May saw us worthy champions with another run of goals for that man Sheridan. Final table: A cruise in the end, always fancied winning it and I'm now 2 for 2 in terms of league titles in the Third Division. Bext XI: You can see the importance of my front 2, but a few other good goalscorers, especially at centre back. Despite the title, I don't feel it's much of an achievement for Ayr, therefore I'm going to stay on for next season and go for back-to-back promotions to see if I can get the Honest Men into the First Division for the first time in the game. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killiesquirrel Posted June 6, 2022 Share Posted June 6, 2022 I know it’s been a while, but just saw this and caught up with it all. Class stuff mate, enjoyed that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted July 4, 2022 Author Share Posted July 4, 2022 I know it’s been a while, but just saw this and caught up with it all. Class stuff mate, enjoyed that Cheers mate, I'll need to try and get it updated again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 Just over a year since this was updated, not bad for me! We pick things up with me aiming for a 2nd straight promotion with Ayr. Not bothering posting our Transfers Out as it was youngsters or players who had been at the club before I arrived. Here's my reinforcements for the new season: David Dunlop again in on loan from Rangers to provide backup to Wakeford and Sheridan. My perennial favourite Marco Pelosi joins one of my clubs for a 3rd time this save. He must have made nearly a thousand appearances for my teams over saves in this game. He'll compete with my left back from last year, Keith McGowan, for the starting berth. McDonnell and Sinclair are due to be my new central midfield pairing; this was a key area I needed upgrades as it was quite and old midfield I had last year. Mark Brown is my new right back rather than my former QOS goalie. Grant Gillespie is the same Grant Gillespie of hair transplant fame; he'll be compeiting for the holding spot in centre mid. Paul Finlayson joins on loan from Rangers and is a young right winger. I'm also reunited with Jordan Timmons who I've had at a couple of clubs, he'll do well to displace my front 2 but a good option to have. Darren Cowan is the only player I spent money on, but he'll be a starting centre back and can also play in midfield. Leon Andrews is also a new centre back who can cover at left back. I think I've really improved the squad depth, and confident my front 2 can keep up their impressive goal scoring records a league up. Ayr, Ayr, Super Ayr!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 July/August: Pretty decent start, nice to win the first game in the Challenge Cup and then a cracker a Cappielow in the league. Airdrie are First Division so no disgrace to lose, but disappointing as feel home games in cups are opportunies. First victory again Brechin with the front two both scoring for the 3rd game in 4 before an excellent win against St Mirren. Disappointed to lose at Arbroath, but they're a decent team and a bit of a poor end to the month failing to beat the Shire. September: Mixed bag in the league, but always nice to win at Hamilton and through to the Challenge Cup Semi-final. Sheridan is a goal machine! October: Just the 3 games this month, a 3rd home draw of the league season so far. Delighted to make the Challenge Cup Final. It's not my focus this year, but despite winning it with Clyde I'd be realy keen to win it as much as possible in this career. Ironically enough, it will be Clyde I'll face in the final who are still in the First Division after I left them. Fantastic win to round off the month and graet to see a right mix of goalscorers. At the end of October we were sitting in the play-off places. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 November: Ach well, it wasn't to be in the Challenge Cup, disappointing to lose so emphatically. The blip away to the Shire following the cup final aside it was a good month overall in the league. December: Easily the worst month so far! Drawing a blank against Pollok went an unnecessary midweek replay which left my team tired going to Links Park. Since leaving Montrose they've generally been a lower First Division or upper Second Division team so are a decent side, but I do feel the extra cup minutes cost me. Terrible defeat away to struggling Cowdenbeath, and despite a good win in Kirkcaldy I couldn't keep this momentum going into games against another 2 decent sides. We end the year in 4th place in the league and on a bit of a downer. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 In an attempt to bolster my promotion hopes I brought a few bodies in during the January window: Matthew Bates is the former real life Middlesbrough centre back, joined by fellow veteran Mark Fotheringham who I had managed before at QOS. He's old and his physical stats are dreadful, but he's still great technically so could be an asset. Spent some cash on the next three. McLauhlan looks a really good centre back or right back. Stevens is a young centre back who can head balls on day long. Danny Woodward is a tricky attacking midfielder who can play centrally, or on the right. Matthew Park was the last signing to offer cover at left back or left wing. January: Much better month sees us go undefeated, the draw away at Gayfield was a good one, the one away to the Shire less so as it means I've failed to beat them in 3 attempts in the league. Emphatic pumping of Annan to make the last 32 of the Scottish Cup. And for the first time in this thead I have an actual screenshot of the league table! A big but not insurmountable gap to Montrose at the top of the league, I'd be expecting at least top 4 from here. We score plenty but concede more than our rivals, hopefully my defensive signings help sort that out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 February: A much better month for home form with 3 good wins and a mix of scorers. Disappointing to lose away to one of our rivals for promotion. A right ding dong battle in the cup against Premier League top 6 side Motherwell, I gave it a right good go but they bettered us in the end, just. Very proud of the team and hope we can now build on a good month going into the business end of the season. Here's how the league table looked: Will do very well to catch Montrose but looking pretty safe to make the play-offs. Can I put a run together? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoonsYouthTeam Posted November 15, 2023 Author Share Posted November 15, 2023 Since I left Caley Thistle they'd had an interesting run. My replacement was former Barcelona and Mexico star Rafael Marquez. He stayed with them for a year guiding them to 7th place before he left them to join Villareal. Caley hired John Roberston to replace him, but things did not go well and as we reached the end of February he was sacked after they found themselves deep in the relegation mire. I don't think I've mentioned it in this thread yet, but I don't intend to return to any of the clubs I've managed. Never say never if there's a challenge I could complete, but I'd rather cover all 42 without going back. In any case, they didn't offer me the job, they offered it to Joe Miller. Then I receive an offer to join the club Joe Miller had left. Which club was it? Spoiler A good opportunity and the first time I'd been approached by another team without showing any interest first, but I haven't set out what I want to do at Ayr yet, it's getting to the esciting part of the season and I fancy a crack at promotion. On the other hand, I do feel that in the spirit of the challenge I should accept the new opportunity. Some of the things I am considering: Spoiler Pros to staying at Ayr: Chance to win Promotion Opportunity to take Ayr into the First Division for the first time in this save Fancy us to have good crack at the First Division if we do go up Haven't stayed at one team for more than 2 years in this save to build something really good James Sheridan is a fucking goal machine! Cons to staying at Ayr: Promotion not a guarantee Establishing them in the First Division may take longer than I want to stay at a club in this challenge Pros to moving to Motherwell: Current top 6 team and in the hunt for top 6 again this season Chance to qualify for Europe again Best chance to challenge Old Firm since I left Dundee Utd Still the the Scottish Cup in the current season with a quarter final against First Division St Johnstone Cons to moving to Motherwell: Outside transfer window so can't re-shape squad immediately Not flush with cash Not quite as good an opportunity to catch the Old Firm as a larger club would have What decision would I make? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Replays Posted November 15, 2023 Share Posted November 15, 2023 Take it! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.