Forged In Gornal: Grassroots to Greatness #0

Introduction & Meet The Squad

Every great story starts somewhere humble. Mine begins in the heart of the Black Country, at a small ground tucked away in Gornal. No grandeur. No glitz. Just mud, grit, and a fierce belief that we can be more. Welcome to Forged in Gornal: Grassroots to Greatness, my FM26 challenge to take Gornal Athletic, a non-league underdog, all the way to the Premier League.

Gornal Athletic may not be a name that echoes across stadiums or features in Sky Sports graphics — but that’s the beauty of it. This is football in its rawest form. No superstars. No millionaire owners. Just a community club, a patchy pitch, and a dream as big as any Champions League contender.

The Mission:

Start: Buried deep in the English non-league.

Endgame: Premier League football. Stadium lights. A seat at the top table.

Why Forged in Gornal?

Gornal has a history of steel and industry — hard work is in the DNA. This save is going to reflect that:

Youth development over quick signings.

Managing pennies like pounds.

And building a legacy the locals can be proud of…

What to Expect from the Series…

Unearth hidden gems in the depths of non-league and grab a bargain signing and maybe sell for profit.

Likely to see milestones, heartbreak, giant killings and maybe, just maybe, history. Grassroots to Greatness. Sunday pitches to Super Sunday. Gornal Athletic will be forged in fire — and tested at the highest level. Welcome to the journey…

Meet the Club

Location & Identity

Nestled in the heart of the Black Country, Gornal Athletic is the embodiment of working-class football. No glossy facilities. No global scouting network. Just a small club with big heart, fuelled by grit, pride, and the voices of locals who’ve supported them through thick and thin.

Based in Lower Gornal, Dudley

Founded: 1964

Nickname: “The Peacocks”

Home Ground: The Garden Walk

Capacity: 1,000 standing (and probably a few dogs on leads)

Fanbase & Community

Gornal isn’t about big attendances — it’s about belonging. The club lives in the pubs, is debated in chip shops, and celebrated with pints of mild…

Club Vision & Expectations

The board doesn’t expect miracles… yet. But they do expect stability, local recruitment, and for us to not bankrupt the club chasing a short-term dream.

🎯 Year 1 Target: Avoid relegation. 🚫 Transfer Policy: Freebies & loans only. 💸 Wage Budget: Loosely based on hope. 🌱 Philosophy: Develop youth, live within our means, survive by any tactical method necessary.

The Manager: CoxieFM From the Black Country. Built for Gornal.

Born in Münster, Germany. Raised in the West Midlands. Former Sunday League defender, However my career ended thanks to Covid. Never coached or managed a club before and this will be my first-ever job in football.

“I may not have experience…But I know what it means to fight for everything.” Not the obvious choice. Not the safe choice. But maybe the right one. “We’re going to make this club proud. One day, people will know Gornal for more than just postcodes.”

Shout-Outs

Before we get this series underway, I’d like to say a massive thank you to TheFMEditor & DanFMDatabases because without their hard work this would not be a thing. As always, Dan’s tier 10 database unlocks the depth’s of the non-league football pyramid which is fantastic and the Editor for making 13 players for this and three staff so this Peacock side can be up-to-date as of 7th Dec 25).

Meet The Squad

The Peacocks squad and banter to go with… As I said this is the official squad in real life as of 7th December. #Gornalaywe

Goalkeepers

Reece Francis — №1 despite likely to concede at the first shot on target in every match, lol…

Owen Burton — Exists solely to complain about playing time, but looking at his potential he could soon be first on the team sheet.

Defenders

Ben Podmore, Dan Hadley, Jamie Beddall, Declan Bibb, Harry Edwards & Jake Short.

CBs: One solid, one with 6 jumping reach and likely to be allergic to marking.

Fullbacks: Either sprint merchants or crossing merchants — never both.

Notes: Expect a minimum of 2 defensive implosions per game.

Midfielders

Dan Harvey, Mitch Botfield & Ryan Winwood.

Playmaker: Genius, also made of glass and likely to be injured until April?

Ball-winner: Walks yellow-card suspension tightrope from day 1.

Box-to-Box: 12 stamina, 8 decision-making — disaster machine.

Attackers

Brad Ward, Callum Powell, Jack Till, Reagan Wardle, Taylor Homer, Taylor Townsend & Traevay Wright.

Star Striker: “Wants to leave to play for a bigger club,” day one.

Wingers: One can’t cross; the other crosses only to the advertising boards.

Wonderkid: 16 determination… and literally no other attributes.

Also, to note all the players at the start were on non-contract and if you are used to playing in the depths of England then players will get pinched by other clubs during the season. So, I have signed all the players for £20 per wage meaning I’m massively going to be in the red in the finances but I will have the squad together for the first season at least.

Squad Summary

I am pretty impressed with the 19 players in the squad and hope they can live up to the expectations of being in the playoffs after 20 games in real life (as of 8th Dec 2025). Going to try and go through this first season with all the players listed above and only look to bring in players to cover positions and also players for the future as we currently have no players in our u18s squad.

Strengths: A lot of potential…

Weaknesses: Cover in certain areas.

Transfer Needs: LB, CB, AMC & ST as cover due to likely injuries this season coming…

Backroom Staff (The Good, The bad & The Absolutely Useless) — with the latter being me…. Coaching Team: Stuart How (Assistant Manager), Andrew Thompson (1st Team Coach), Adam Callinswood (Fitness Coach) & Richard Uprton (1st Team Coach).

Assistant Manager: Thinks every team talk should be “I expect a win,” and so he should because he’s the real manager at the Garden Walk…

In real life, Simon Johnson is already at the club as U18s manager, but I manage get him added to the database in time. Luckily, I brought him in on day one in-game, and he’ll be dual-hatted as both U18s manager and Head of Youth Development.

Recruitment Team

First through the door was Tammy Burgess, formerly of Spennymoor, who joins us as Director of Football. She’s quickly been followed by an entirely rebuilt scouting department, now led by Matteo Gasparotti with Paddy Water and Dave Noble working under him.

Medical Team

On the medical side, Gavin Brackwell and Carl Daborn will be pitch side this season as our physios, ensuring the squad stays in one piece… hopefully.

Staff Summary

Immediate plan: Hire recruitment & medical staff.

Tactics Formation: GYR — Deadpool 4231FM26

The formation at the start of preseason, but it’ll be completely different by matchday three.

Defence: Pray.

Midfield: Hope.

Attack: Pray harder.

Set pieces: My centre-back with 6 jumping reach will somehow take corners.

Notes: Expect at least one tactical meltdown, a team meeting, and a press conference lie every week.

Thank you for taking the time to read this latest episode in the series. If you’ve enjoyed it so far, drop a like, a follow and please take a moment to head over to my **X** account and share it please. It’s much appreciated.

#FM26 #GornalAthletic #ForgedInGornal #GrassrootsToGreatness #GornalAyWe