u/WarDecterFM

Newport Pagnell Rovers. A name that to many in the football community will not ring a bell. Maybe some of you saw my post last week, showcasing both the Manchester clubs getting relegated to the Championship. Besides that, it's probably not a name many people are familiar with and for good reason. Newport Pagnell Rovers, or simply NPR, were a club made up for an FM save by me back in 2020. Why Newport Pagnell? I have no idea, I have not been to the town at all and have no connection to the region. I think it stemmed from the fact I wanted to make an English club from a smaller town successful. With Newport Pagnell being really close to Milton Keynes who's MK Dons have a controversial history to say the least, I wanted to see if I could give the region a football club that did actually rise from the bottom up. That save started in FM21, but never really got further than the National League. When FM24 was around the corner it started itching again, I felt like I had unfinished business over in England. As a result, I promised myself I'd redo the save, make up a story what happened between 2020 and 2023, and then start back in the 10th tier of English football. Now this save has lasted for 30 seasons, and I want to share the full NPR story. I've decided to split up the story in 3 parts, each spanning a decade. I hope you enjoy reading about my favorite ever Football Manager save!

Newport Pagnell on the Map

Prelude: 2020 - 2023

Because the first iteration of the save started in 2020 I wanted to keep some of that history. Not fully, as I did want to start in tier 10 again. As a result the story for this period is that we won the Spartan South Midlands League Division One like I did on FM21, but in the 2021/22 season the story changes to me getting sacked after a falling out with the board. This results in relegation back to the 10th tier in the 2022/23 season and after a protests from fans the board resigns, allowing for my way back from the Netherlands where I'd been appointed to coach local team Heerenveense Boys ever since I got sacked. On the 3th of July 2023 it would be confirmed I would be returning to Tickford Bridge, stadium of Newport Pagnell Rovers.

2023 - 2024 Season

The goal of the early seasons would be easy. With what the fans would affectionately call 'hoofball', we would ram the ball up the pitch, score goals, get the results, easy peasy. After a successful pre-season the campaign would start with a 5-3 win against Harrowby United, with Ebuka Sunday scoring the first official goal of my second stint at the club.

First game back at NPR

The rest of the season would be much of the same. Scoring many but also conceding a decent amount. This season would also see us face local rivals Newport Pagnell Town for the very first time. Despite them playing a level higher than us, we took our penalties better after a 1-1 draw, which saw the superior Newport Pagnell team make it through to the third round of the United Counties League Challenge Trophy. In the end we'd make it to the quarters, where we'd lose to eventual finalists Histon. We'd ride out the season in good fashion, eventually confirming our title and return to the 9th tier of English football at the first time of asking.

2023 - 2024 United Counties League Division One final table

2024 - 2025 Season

This season would be more of the same. Dan Warre would join the club on loan from Reading City, and his goals would be extremely important to the club. We'd also debut in the FA Cup this season, managing to knock out tier 8 side North Leigh with an impressive 8-1 scoreline. Gurjit Singh would score 5 in this game, still a club record. We didn't get much further, going out in the first qualifying round against Ilkeston. We probably impressed more this season than we did the last, but we barely won the league after a hard battle with Rugby Town. We'd also manage to beat Newport Pagnell Town 4-1 away, and drew 1-1 with them at home. Cementing our place as the one true club in Newport Pagnell. Dan Warre would score 30 goals this season, making him the all-time topscorer of the club.

2024 - 2025 United Counties League Premier South final table

2025 - 2026 Season

A lot of the squad would leave between seasons and a lot of new players would join. Dan Warre's loan would be turned into a permanent move after his prolific season. The start of the season was relatively easy once again. We'd have better cup run, making it into the third qualifying round this time, before losing to Cray. This season was another close one, needing a singular point on the final day of the season to confirm our promotion, which is exactly what we got, following a 1-1 draw with Andrei Nedelcu scoring in the 86th minute. You can just imagine the scenes from the 8 people in the away end. Three promotions in three years had been achieved, but the following seasons would start to become difficult.

Newport Pagnell Rovers celebrate the Southern League Division One Central title

2026 - 2027 Season

Another busy summer, but the one where our recruitment strategy would come into full swing. The goal was to sign young players who got released from academies, the pick of the bunch this season being Max Raynor and Johnny Moore. The Southern League Premier Central would prove to be a more difficult league than what we were used to, which wasn't that surprising with other teams having more money and reputation than we did. Despite this we'd constantly find ourself near the top, once again seeing the title going down to the final day of the season, a four way race between us, AFC Sudbury, Hereford and Leamington. We'd end the season in third, meaning we would be forced into the play-offs. We would win the semi-final against Leamington on penalties setting up a final against Hereford. Max Raynor would make himself an NPR hero, bagging three goals at Edgar Street to see us promoted to the 6th tier of English football.

Max Raynor, NPR hero

This success would also have a downside, with Tickford Bridge apparently not meeting requirements for the Vanarama North/South. As a result NPR relocate to The New Eyrie in Bedford until a new stadium could be constructed.

Goodbye Tickford Bridge

2027 - 2028 Season

Our debut in a league in actual Football Manager without an extended database. We would try to sign a good amount of players this summer, but got rejected by almost everyone. It felt like we would start the season with a worse squad than we ended the last one with, despite the promotion. The first signing would prove to be a success instantly, with Kurtis Havenhand joining in July. Despite this there was enough proof we were completely outgunned and would most likely struggle.

Annual wages for the 2027 - 2028 National League North season

We still shot out of the starting blocks, constantly finding ourselves near the top of the table. We'd also make the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, but fell against AFC Telford. Kurtis Havenhand would play a large role in a good season, scoring 35 goals, the 3rd most in the league that season. In total we would score 131 goals in the league, a record which as of 2053 still stands. Despite this AFC Sudbury would win the league, with us finishing second with 90 points. The play-offs would be heartbreak, meaning that for the first time we would stay in the same league for consecutive seasons. Kurtis Havenhand would also be in form in the cups, meaning he'd score a total of 43 goals, another record that would stand for years. After the season ended the board would also announce the plans for the Newport Pagnell Rovers Stadium, so that the club could return to their hometown.

2027 - 2028 National League North final table

2028 - 2029 Season

The summer of 2028 started with a bang. Kurtis Havenhand's amazing season would be awarded with a move into the EFL, leaving for Oldham for €175k, the first player to leave for a fee, and a hefty one at that. Johnny Moore also left on a free, meaning that another busy summer was ahead of us. At the time of the first game of the season just 13 players would be contracted to the club, not a great sign. A 4-1 loss to Alfreton Town would be a further sign that NPR simply weren't ready for the new season. A win against Radcliffe would follow, but 2 days later Chuks Uzor-Greey, last seasons 2nd topscorer, would leave the club for €87k, moving to Haverfordwest in Wales. More disappointing games would follow, mostly due to a lack of goalscoring prowess. On the 15th of August a new striker was finally found, what seemed like an innocent signing of free agent Deashon Lawrence, would in hindsight be one of the most iconic signings in club history.

Form would start to pick-up again in September and despite a disappointing loss to Boston in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup, fears of relegation would at least be left behind, with NPR slowly sneaking into the play-offs, largely due to the goals of Deashon Lawrence. With twelve games to go it was still anyone's league, even if NPR would find themselves as low as sixth, they were only four points away from being top. Luckily we did what we had to do, finishing those final 12 games with 9 wins, 2 draws and just 1 loss, we would just about beat Bury to the league title, confirming that for the first time, we'd play at a national level. Deashon Lawrence won the golden boot with 34 goals, just a sign of things to come. This season had been a long and tough one, so the prospect of playing against teams that were actually professional, seemed daunting.

2028 - 2029 National League North final table

2029 - 2030 Season

Once again the summer would be hard, no money and as a result no players. It felt like we were growing each season in terms of league placement, but the growth off the pitch seemed negligible. Whilst other teams raked in tons when it came to sponsors and attendances, we had to do with scraps, meaning we couldn't offer any player the wages that others could. A lack of reputation also didn't help, meaning we were often players last choice.

2029 - 2030 National League sponsorship table

No sales were made in summer, but a good bunch of players still left the club. Luckily Deashon Lawrence stayed put, meaning we at least kept our main goalscoring threat. Despite the difficulties off the pitch, on the pitch the season would start bright, with a 3-2 win over Newport County. Despite losing just one of our first seven games, we would eventually collapse, winning just one of our following ten games, even if Macclesfield Town were dispatched on penalties in the FA Cup, meaning NPR would debut in the first round of the competition. This wasn't a success as a 4-3 loss to Sutton United would follow. The rest of the season would be a pretty mixed bag. Following good runs of games with bad ones and never truly getting into the groove. Despite this Deashon Lawrence would be in insane form, managing to find the net 40 times, netting him consecutive golden boots. On the 2nd of March 2030 he would score his 69th goal for the club, dethroning Max Raynor. Once again his goalscoring ability defined NPR's season, meaning that even whilst not really having a great season, we would still end up in eight place, just one point out of the play-offs. A promising sign for the future at least.

2029 - 2030 National League final table

2030 - 2031 Season

The summer ahead of the new season started well. After playing the past 3 campaigns in Bedford, on the 20th of June we'd officially move back to Newport Pagnell. The rest of the summer was pretty tame. Just 1 player would join before the start of the season. The start of the season would be a 1-1 draw away against Sutton. The following game would be historic. On the 10th of August 2030, NPR would play their first competitive game at Newport Pagnell Rovers Stadium. It took just 3 minutes until 3,362 people watched as Deason Lawrence slotted home. We ran out to 3-1 winners, a winning feeling that the people in Newport Pagnell would grow used to in the following years.

The first game at our new ground

The atmosphere at our new ground clearly had an effect. The first four games there would all be won and thanks to consistently drawing away from home we would stay unbeaten the first nine games of the season, a run that ended with a 0-1 loss at home to Yeovil. After this form would be so and so, winning some and losing others. The FA Cup was no success, instantly bowing out to sixth tier Bamber Bridge. The deepest point of this phase of the season was a 7-2 loss to Leyton Orient, even if we bounced back well. This stage of the season we we're constantly challenging for those play-off places and even snuck ourselves into the title discussions around the end of the calendar year.

2030 - 2031 National League table around Christmas, NPR making their intentions known.

Our goalscoring form was once again what got us up there. Defending seemed optional at times, but when you're winning does anybody really care? Sadly the winning form wouldn't last, and we'd tumble down the table in the last phase of winter and start of spring. Of the final 15 games just one five would be won, two would result in draws and eight got lost. As a result we ended up in 7th place, enough to go into the play-offs. We'd beat Woking in the first round, but the semi's would be heartbreak. Swindon Town scored three before half-time and we never truly recovered. A final scoreline of 4-2 would mean we would have to get ready for a third season at the National League level. Deashon Lawrence once again won the golden boot, his third in a row. By this point it was clear that whatever happened in the future, Deashon Lawrence would be a name forever remembered.

2030 - 2031 National League final table

2031 - 2032 Season

This would be a busy summer. The board had lowered our wage budget, which despite a good season last year was anything but ideal. We did manage to sell some more players this summer for good fees. Jorge Benjamin left after just one season, joining Tranmere Rovers for €190k. Jay Williams left for Wimbledon for slightly less, €175k. The biggest benefit however was that nobody was coming for Deashon Lawrence, a fact I had no issue accepting. Despite the fact we raked in some funds, the board were still not going to invest into the team. We would start the season with just twelve players contracted to the club with not much room in the budget to sign many more, let alone for this level of football.

2031 - 2032 National League Annual Salaries. It was clear we were outgunned to an insane degree.

The season would still start okay however, picking up ten points from our first five games. We'd stay in okay form and knocked out Radcliffe in the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, sending us to the First Round for just the second time. Here we'd face off against Tranmere Rovers at Newport Pagnell Rovers Stadium. Sadly Jorge Benjamin would come back to haunt us, scoring a 77th minute winner to end our cup campaign. Injuries played a big part this season. A small squad size meant that the second someone got injured it left us with no other options. We'd contest an away game against St. Albans with 9 fit outfield players, not a great place to be in. Despite these hardships we would still pick up enough results here and there, once again finding ourselves near the top of the table consistently. The last ten games of the season were a massive mixed bag. We'd only lose once, but also only won three, drawing a total of six. This was still enough however to confirm our highest ever finish, a nice 5th place and another shot at the play-offs. Deashon Lawrence didn't win the golden boot this season, only finishing second with 33 goals. The play-offs were less of a success compared to last year, and we'd instantly crash out to Doncaster Rovers.

2031 - 2032 National League final table

2032 - 3033 Season

Our fourth season in the National League. By this point our performances in the National League allowed us to finally have some pull on the transfer market. Daniel Ohene joined, as did Sam Barkworth and Terrance Williams. Kurtis Havenhand would also rejoin the club on a free transfer. I can already spoil that that wasn't a success however as he would end up not scoring a single goal in his second stint at the club. The signing of Sam Barkworth was a shot in the rose however. He managed to score twelve times in the first ten games of the season. It shouldn't be a shock to anyone that his goals together with Deason Lawrence next to him would see us right at the top of the table at the end of September. We'd keep the form relatively well and once again made the first round of the FA Cup, getting sent home by Tranmere in the same round as last season. We'd also strengthen the squad with Donavan Butterfield in November. We'd keep up the good form and would go into the new year top of the league, mostly due to our prolific strikers.

Sam Barkworth and Deashon Lawrence, shooting us to League Football

We'd keep our form into the new year. We got our deepest run in the FA Trophy, making it into the fifth round, before sadly bowing out to Chelmsford City. Our league form would stay good however, helping us believe in the dream that this was the year. In March, probably owing to our amazing form Malmö would come knocking for Daniel Ohene. He left for €135k but we also managed to get a loan back for the rest of the season, something that we could definitely use. We'd stay unbeaten in March, and with four games left in the season had a seven point lead over Oldham, meaning we could practically smell the title. Despite a draw against Stevenage at the end of the month and a loss to Swindon at the start of April, we'd go into the second to last game of the season knowing that if we'd win we would confirm our EFL status for the next season. Sam Barkworth, who else, would score within three minutes, setting up a great Monday evening. John Philips and Deason Lawrence would add goals in minute 67 and 68, before Barkworth added his second in the 70th minute, meaning that it seemed like it could not go wrong anymore. Morecambe added one more goal but it was enough. On the 11th of April 2033, Newport Pagnell Rovers would confirm their promotion to the EFL League Two.

NPR celebrate their promotion in front of their own fans.

Sam Barkworth would score a hattrick in the last game of the season away against Kidderminster, confirming his total at 41 goals this season which meant that for the third time in four National League seasons a NPR player would win the golden boot. Deashon Lawrence finished second again, with 29 goals, meaning the NPR striker duo were responsible for a whopping 70 goals this season. I'd be rewarded with the manager of the year award after this season. Deservedly so, if I say so myself.

This season ended the non-league leg of our clubs history and it sure was a long and impactful one. After this season we would join the big clubs, the so called 92. Over the summer the club would be forced to turn professional, size up the stadium to meet EFL regulations and all other things that come with such a massive promotion. Over the next decade we would rise through the rest of the English football pyramid and face off against some of the biggest names in the history of the game. Those ten season will be documented in part 2 of this series.