It’s funny how Football Manager affects the brain sometimes. After missing out on a guaranteed play-off spot in the last episode, I was more confident than ever that we could and should go on to win the league. With 12 games to finish our first season with Quick, here’s how it all played out.

THE FINAL 12 GAMES

The end of the first season with Quick was, simply put, perfection. Having taken to the possession-based system like a duck to water, we went on to steam roll nearly every single team in the division. Scoring 24 goals in the final 12 games and conceding just 2 goals, Quick went on a run that saw me manage a team like no other. Having been predicted to finish 8^th at the start of the season, a play-off push was all I could have dreamt of in the first season. However, the Quick boys went above and beyond and won the league title with 3 games spare! Take a look at the results and scorers here!

We end the season unbeaten in the final 12 games, racking up 11 wins and conceding just twice in the last 12! Our main ST Zep finally found his feet in the league, scoring 20 in 29 games over the season. Ronaldo Lima, who had been overshadowed by the opposite winger Emre Bigli early in the season, finally had a purple patch and scored 5 goals while assisting 7 in that unbeaten period. Our other star signing Farel Cairo had a very impressive first season, scoring 7 goals and assisting 9 from central midfield.

A LOOK AT HOW WE DID IT

I think one key component of this title win has been my commitment to the style and system. Right before the run pictured earlier, we drew and lost 2 in a row. It’s very easy (and often understandable) as a Football Manager player to panic and think things have gone wrong and make drastic changes. Often, it’s just a case of sticking with what had worked and paying just that little bit more attention in-game.

Our ability to score goals was one over-performing factor in our season. With our Expected Goals For being 56.05, we managed to rack up 69 goals, the most in the league. Defensively we performed about as expected. With our Expected Goals Against at 25.30, we conceded 26, again the best in the league. Every post there has been a mention of possession, something I’ve tried to instil into the side even at this low level. With the players brought in and adapting instantly to the tactic we ended the season with the highest average possession at 64% over the whole season and racked up 4000 more complete passes than any other team in the league.

Soon after the final game, the board announced our semi-professional status, plenty of contracts to be offered out, and hopefully plenty of business to be done over the summer. We’ve generated a decent amount of money but that will likely vanish soon into next season with our change of status.

Up next – Summer transfers and a new division!