As we are moving past the half-way point in the AFA it looks like last year’s two horse race is going to turn into a three horse race with Metalface Mirren joining CarTOON United and JD Legions in the battle for the title. All 3 teams are currently tied at the top with 40 points, but JD Legions have a game in hand on CarTOON United and two games in hand on Metalface Mirren. The 3 teams records are quite different as well.
Alan Wade’s CarTOON United have the admirable trait of not losing once they are going, and having gone 36 games unbeaten last season, they are halfway to repeating that feat being 18 games unbeaten since losing at Metalface Mirren on the opening day of the season. They currently lead the way on goal difference, and with them being the current holders having pipped JD Legions on goal difference last season, their title rivals are sure to be concerned about their ominous tally of 44 goals in 19 games. However the team have some frailties at the back, and this has lead to them having too many draws when their strikers aren’t up to their normal standard.Record: W11 D7 L1.
Over at JD Legions, Richard Adams has built a good team whom have easily dispatched of the league’s lower teams without upset. However their manager’s recent absenteeism might turn out to be the team’s downfall, as proved as they were powerless to avoid going down to a 1-0 defeat at home to rivals CarTOON United. Record: W13 D1 L4
Metalface Mirren are the surprise package of the season, having been promoted from the Championship last season, few would have placed bets on them being in the title running at the start of the season, although this may have changed following their impressive 2-0 victory over holders CarTOON United on the opening day. They have since proved that this was no fluke, and with the help of some late goals, the team have held their own at the top of the league.
It has not been such a good week for Beggarwood Athletic, with results seeing them slipping down the league and going out of the cup to CarTOON United. However there have been a few bright spots for the Beggars with them giving the best showing from the AFA in the UFFA leagues, getting to the 4th round in the Game World Cup taking some big scalps along the way, the most notable being that of DR Dazzlers, before finally falling in a close game, 2-1 against The Vincibles. But more notably, Piotr Giza’s 30 yard screamer against CarTOON United earned 80% of the vote to win the inaugural Goal Of The Week competition for Beggarwood.
Opinion was more divided in the inaugural Blunder of the Week competition, but eventually it was taken by Franck Queudrue of Brainwashed United, for making not one mistake but two, first giving the ball away to the opposition striker and then deflecting the resultant shot into the back of the net.
This is the state of play in the AFA.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Transfer Madness at CFC FC
In what has been a crazy few days over at CFC FC around £10m worth of new player talent has been brought into the club including the legendary Sergio Aguero and some significant big name players also moving on.
The transfer madness started with what could possibly be a GW record for a youth transfer with 19 year old defender Neil McDonald sold for a staggering £3m and 19 year old defender come winger Andrea Fois leaving for £1.5m.
But this was just a modest start to the transfer glut we would see the following day. World famous AMC RL Ivan Rakitic was sold for £1.8m to Sama United. Then talented youth players Julio and Alberto Carlos Amorim also left the club in an exchange deal which saw Ryan Babel joining CFC. This was swiftly followed by the signing of highly physical yet talented AMC RL Victor Obinna for £1.7m from The Noirs.
But the most audacious deal saw Sergio Aguero joining CFC from Hadjuk Spliff in a deal which saw some world class talent going in the other direction, namely Geard Pique, Carlos Vela and Guilherme. The deal looked like it could be on the rocks for a while until CFC chucked another £1m into the pot.
Strong defender Gabriel dos Santos was the only other big name player in for a bargain 330k although a few more squad players have been snapped up too.
I caught up with CFC FC manager Anthony Goodlet to see what was going on!
The transfer madness started with the sale of two promising youth players, McDonald and Fois, what was the reasoning behind selling some of the best defensive youth talent around ?
A.G - McDonald played as a defensive midfielder which is a position I don't think you need a 3 million man for. Fois was harder to let go but again as a right back I don't think you need quite as much quality. £4,5m profit on two youths bought for almost nothing was too much to turn down!
Some other youth players have moved on too, did you not rate them or are you shifting focus away from the youth team?
A.G - Julio I didn't rate as someone who was going to get better by a huge amount. Amorim would make it but I sacrificed him for the first team. The youth team is a means to an end for me, if they don't fit in with my first team plans they are up for high trades. Plus I enjoy rebuilding a youth sqaud (for the 3rd time!) and you will soon see a new generation of youngsters coming through to be traded for shiny gold coins when the time comes!
Obviously the big transfer was for Aguero. You exchanged Vela, Pique, Guilherme and £1m just for one player. Do you really think he was worth all that?
A.G - 34 goals in 26 matches is your answer! I overpaid but for the simple reason that the chance to sign Aguero was never likely going to present itself again. Guilherme was being replaced by Aguero, Vela was already going to be on the way out soon as soon as I signed ether Obina or Babel who were both on my radar. Pique is the only part of the transfer I will miss, however I have two very high potential defenders in Bombardini and Yannick Ramirez and the transfer gives them more opportunities.
Any regrets ?
A.G - I'd do the transfer again :)
Did you feel you needed one big star to push things to the next level and are you planning to challenge Turkiye for top spot in the rankings ?
A.G - Well, not one big star but three of them! Aguero, Babel and Obinna are all part of a tactic i've (and you !!) have been working on for a while and it was a case of finally getting the players to fit it. I figured there was no chance of getting Augero but I fired off a mail to Saeed speculatively. As for challenging Turkiye, yes, my plan is to be #1 soon. It will be hard but I think I have the team to make it possible. I just need ill Skillz to get a load of broken legs and T-Bag Town to stop fluking matches.
Will we be seeing any more transfers or are you done ?
A.G - I'm done for now, i've got my first team in place and I plan to expand my stadium a little more. My stadium income has increased a lot recently and I want to build upon that. Just Gael Martin, 5* potential youth AMC in auction at the moment!
The Xtreme Evening League 1 is pretty much a three horse race at the moment between T-Bag Town, CFC FC and Worcester City FC. Do you think your signings will provide enough to give you the title ? (mid way point in the season and T-Bag Town have lost 1, CFC FC 1 and Worcester City 2)
A.G - I hope so, with how tight it is however it is very hard to predict as one or two bad results will kill your chances. Worcester City have really made it interesting this year, doing very well for a bit of a surprise package! At the moment my team is looking as near unbeatable as it's ever been, at least in the league. Two legged cup games are a different matter!
And Finally your league rivals, T-Bag Town are suggesting you only made these signings are you were scared you wouldn't win the league, how do you react to that?
A.G (*****CENSORED*****)
A spokesman for T-Bag Town seemed unphased by the signings and said confidence was still high at Strawberry field that they would soon be lifting the league title.
**update** While writing this, T-Bag Town have dumped CFC FC out of the Xtreme Evening Grass Roots cup with a 1-0 AGG win. T-Bag Town Club captain Franco Brienza seemed pleased with the result but failed to comment on the cynical injury caused to Aguero.
The transfer madness started with what could possibly be a GW record for a youth transfer with 19 year old defender Neil McDonald sold for a staggering £3m and 19 year old defender come winger Andrea Fois leaving for £1.5m.
But this was just a modest start to the transfer glut we would see the following day. World famous AMC RL Ivan Rakitic was sold for £1.8m to Sama United. Then talented youth players Julio and Alberto Carlos Amorim also left the club in an exchange deal which saw Ryan Babel joining CFC. This was swiftly followed by the signing of highly physical yet talented AMC RL Victor Obinna for £1.7m from The Noirs.
But the most audacious deal saw Sergio Aguero joining CFC from Hadjuk Spliff in a deal which saw some world class talent going in the other direction, namely Geard Pique, Carlos Vela and Guilherme. The deal looked like it could be on the rocks for a while until CFC chucked another £1m into the pot.
Strong defender Gabriel dos Santos was the only other big name player in for a bargain 330k although a few more squad players have been snapped up too.
I caught up with CFC FC manager Anthony Goodlet to see what was going on!
The transfer madness started with the sale of two promising youth players, McDonald and Fois, what was the reasoning behind selling some of the best defensive youth talent around ?
A.G - McDonald played as a defensive midfielder which is a position I don't think you need a 3 million man for. Fois was harder to let go but again as a right back I don't think you need quite as much quality. £4,5m profit on two youths bought for almost nothing was too much to turn down!
Some other youth players have moved on too, did you not rate them or are you shifting focus away from the youth team?
A.G - Julio I didn't rate as someone who was going to get better by a huge amount. Amorim would make it but I sacrificed him for the first team. The youth team is a means to an end for me, if they don't fit in with my first team plans they are up for high trades. Plus I enjoy rebuilding a youth sqaud (for the 3rd time!) and you will soon see a new generation of youngsters coming through to be traded for shiny gold coins when the time comes!
Obviously the big transfer was for Aguero. You exchanged Vela, Pique, Guilherme and £1m just for one player. Do you really think he was worth all that?
A.G - 34 goals in 26 matches is your answer! I overpaid but for the simple reason that the chance to sign Aguero was never likely going to present itself again. Guilherme was being replaced by Aguero, Vela was already going to be on the way out soon as soon as I signed ether Obina or Babel who were both on my radar. Pique is the only part of the transfer I will miss, however I have two very high potential defenders in Bombardini and Yannick Ramirez and the transfer gives them more opportunities.
Any regrets ?
A.G - I'd do the transfer again :)
Did you feel you needed one big star to push things to the next level and are you planning to challenge Turkiye for top spot in the rankings ?
A.G - Well, not one big star but three of them! Aguero, Babel and Obinna are all part of a tactic i've (and you !!) have been working on for a while and it was a case of finally getting the players to fit it. I figured there was no chance of getting Augero but I fired off a mail to Saeed speculatively. As for challenging Turkiye, yes, my plan is to be #1 soon. It will be hard but I think I have the team to make it possible. I just need ill Skillz to get a load of broken legs and T-Bag Town to stop fluking matches.
Will we be seeing any more transfers or are you done ?
A.G - I'm done for now, i've got my first team in place and I plan to expand my stadium a little more. My stadium income has increased a lot recently and I want to build upon that. Just Gael Martin, 5* potential youth AMC in auction at the moment!
The Xtreme Evening League 1 is pretty much a three horse race at the moment between T-Bag Town, CFC FC and Worcester City FC. Do you think your signings will provide enough to give you the title ? (mid way point in the season and T-Bag Town have lost 1, CFC FC 1 and Worcester City 2)
A.G - I hope so, with how tight it is however it is very hard to predict as one or two bad results will kill your chances. Worcester City have really made it interesting this year, doing very well for a bit of a surprise package! At the moment my team is looking as near unbeatable as it's ever been, at least in the league. Two legged cup games are a different matter!
And Finally your league rivals, T-Bag Town are suggesting you only made these signings are you were scared you wouldn't win the league, how do you react to that?
A.G (*****CENSORED*****)
A spokesman for T-Bag Town seemed unphased by the signings and said confidence was still high at Strawberry field that they would soon be lifting the league title.
**update** While writing this, T-Bag Town have dumped CFC FC out of the Xtreme Evening Grass Roots cup with a 1-0 AGG win. T-Bag Town Club captain Franco Brienza seemed pleased with the result but failed to comment on the cynical injury caused to Aguero.
News from the WCA!
Come to the WCA blog to find out the latest news from StJohn's Weekend Casual Association. Gasp as the WCA is mistaken for a sinister, apocalyptic religious cabal! Marvel as a team from the WCA's lowest division marches into the gameworld's top 50! Muse over the intricate psychology of the FML manager's mind and find out what type of manager you are! Check it all out here!
Monday, 27 April 2009
The Fiery Baptist hits the FML site!
Folks, the Fiery Baptist blog is now included in the featured fan sites on the FML website! If you like our blog, you can rate it here: http://www.footballmanagerlive.com/community/fan-sites.php.
Or, if you'd like to have your say on the blog, what you like or what you'd like to see more of, just add your comments to this post!
Or, if you'd like to have your say on the blog, what you like or what you'd like to see more of, just add your comments to this post!
Behind The Scenes - April 27th 2009
Over the past weekend I sent out an ingame mail asking any and all managers 4 simple questions. What led you to choose;- Your team name
- Your team colors
- Your stadium name
- Your team logo
The response to this mail message has been very good and below are the first batch of responses i have received, which I hope will give interesting and entertaining insights into our fellow managers and their beloved creations.
(The only changes to the text received are to fix typos and grammar)
Chris (Gillmacs) Gillman - Beggarwood Athletic
So, here's the actually not very exciting low-down on Beggarwood Athletic.
Team name: Beggarwood is the area of Basingstoke in which I live. I usually use Beggarwood Beggars for fantasy teams and the like but I decided to pick a more English and less American second half for the name. However, I didn't want to be United as I figured that 90% of the teams out there would be xxxxx United. It was then just a matter of choosing the name that sounded best. I almost chose Alexandra after my 2nd club irl but in the end I decided that Athletic sounded the best (it's all about the aesthetics).
Colours: This is a little sad...I wanted the colours to represent my old school colours as closely as possible. The home kit of purple and white hoops is the same as my house colours. Originally I had it set up as purple with white hoops, but then I could have my away kit so I changed it to white with purple hoops. The away kit is the as close to my school kit as I could get: black with a single orange hoop. We actually had and orange hoop on each arm too but the option doesn't seem to be available.
Stadium: The Warren is named after another local area to me: "Hatch Warren". I just thought The Warren was a pretty cool name for a stadium so I went with it.
Badge: I actually stole this and then edited it, for my shame. I'm what you might say is artistically challenges, and I didn't know about the creator at the time, so I Googled BAFC to see what I could find. I found a badge similar to what I have now and then played around with trusty MS Paint to adapt it to what I wanted for my team.
Dave Wootton - Golden Lion FC
My team is Golden Lion FC.
Most people think it is a pub name - it is actually the name of my scuba diving club.
My stadium name is Alder Meadow, which is the name of my local idyllic cricket ground.
Philip Mason – Rathgael Arrows
My background info may be a bit boring but here goes anyway
Rathgael is the townland I live in. The "arrows" comes from my youth when all my imaginary teams had this name for some unknown reason. I think I just wanted something different from the usual. I even had a customised (hand painted) "subbuteo" team whose kit was a different coloured river plate strip - now my away kit. The orange home kit is reflection of the Arrows formula 1 team of the late 70's which was sponsored by Beta and was painted orange.
Stadium name is The Duck Pond for no particular reason other than an amusement for my son. It originally was named after a local park but nobody would have got the significance so I renamed it. The stands are also named for humour value: Long stand band stand etc.
Jamie Vinall – Milliontown
My team is very musically themed. The team name 'Milliontown' is also the name of one of my favourite albums by a band called Frost*. Similarly, my stadium is named 'Blackfield' which is the name of a band (and album) I also really like. I thought long and hard to think of relevant names and I like the fact I managed to eventually come up with a team name with 'town' in and a stadium with 'field' in. I always thought how cool it would be if someone recognised either of these names and struck up a conversation about them but nobody has yet - I guess there's not that many people into obscure prog rock around here!
Also my team logo - its Pearl Jam's logo for their first single - 'Alive'. It was amazing how it fitting exactly into my colour scheme as I randomly picked the black/blue combination without even knowing we had to provide a team logo!
Marky Sovereign – Sovereign City
In response to your request for info on how teams came to be, I thought I'd jump in and offer the lowdown on Sovereign City.
You will notice that there is a strong theme of royalty/ monarchy running through my team's corporate identity, and contrary to popular belief this is not because either a) I am a monarchist, or b) I am one of the lesser known heirs to the British throne masquerading in this game world in a similar manner to the story of the Prince and the Pauper! No, neither of those things are true, and couldn't be further from the truth.
The royal motif has been one that has pervaded many of my gaming and online activities for a great many years. As a 13 year old teenager, I first came up with the motif when looking for a name for myself as a budding techno-rap lyricist and performance artist. At the time, the name I developed was "Prince Marky G" and eventually started a music group called "Royalty Bites", the latter of which can be seen on the Sovereign City logo. This probably came out of my love for the WWF and in particular the Royal Rumble.
This was a project that lasted for a number of years. I was the main lyricist, lead singer and music producer for the group in the early days, utilising the Amiga 1200 Octamed Pro series of software to construct songs which would then be used to rap over in live performances. The other members of the group also had royal themed names including Prince Eric C (named after his beloved Eric Cantona), Princess Ali T (who I'm sure Sacha Baron Cohen probably sourced Ali G from) and MC Randy Cash (okay he didnt have a very royal name). From its early inception as a europop phenomena influenced by groups such as Technotronic, Snap!, 2 Unlimited and East 17, the band went through somewhat of a transformation in the mid 90s embracing the music of Green Day, Korn and Pitchshifter and morphing into nu-metal/ rap crossover.
Sadly, the music was never actually that good, and Royalty Bites failed to win a recording contract or many fans and the group split up in 1998. That however is not where the story ends for the royal motif. The name Mark Sovereign came about during Championship Manager battles at University in the late 90s, as I took on the moniker and helped Walsall achieve European Champions League success! The reason for the moniker was a wish to keep that royal theme but also to represent another newfound, though of course ill advised loves that for smoking - with 20 Sovereign my chosen brand!
Around the same time I also ventured into the world of Wrestlemania 2000 on the N64 and created a royal themed character called the Macho King Marky Marshall! Another nick that has kept to the royal theme was royalpainindabot on the Pogo website.
Associated too with royalty was the name that myself and a number of friends gave ourselves at university, "The Purple Kings". We used that moniker to indicate our chosen outfits, black suits and purple shirts, when regularly heading out on the town with one aim - pulling girls! Indeed the Purple Kings were far more successful in that aim than Royalty Bites ever were in music! Mark Sovereign also became my DJ name around this time as I launched an amateur career doing weddings, birthdays and the like. Thus, the colour purple also became a key colour in the royal motif, and is therefore represented here in the Sovereign City home kit, with the away kit gold to further represent royalty. A crown is also featured on the Sovereign City logo to further push this theme, as well as several Sovereign City sponsored competitions such as Its A Royal Knockout and Monarchy In The UK.
So there you go, thats how Sovereign City came to be!
A very big thank you to those above who have shared with us how they formed their FML identity, and to those I have yet to use (they will all be posted, I didn’t want to use them all up first time out!). If you would like to share your story, it is very very welcome. Please just send it as an in-game mail to Ben Talbott (Last Minute Wanderers) and I will include it in a future ‘Behind The Scenes – St Johns’ blog.
Talking Turkiye with StJohn's Number 1 Manager, Cihangir Kirac
Our roving reporter caught up with Cihangir Kirac, the manager of perennial number 1 rated side Turkiye, who found the time to talk about life beginning at 30, Galatasaray, the Amiga 500 and his team's amazing run.
Having just won the Team of the Week Award for the tenth time in fourteen weeks, as a manager how does it feel to be in charge of the gameworld's top team?
CK Well, it is of course a big thing for me. I am really glad to be the top team for this long and the aim of the game is to be the best - so, because of that, every time I win this award I am more than happy!
When recent Team of the Week Awards have been announced, a number of your fellow managers have responded to your team's accolade either with congratulations or with criticism. Do you have anything that you'd like to say to the managers of StJohn?
CK I really work hard for this award and I don't understand some of the criticisms. This award is given to the team which has to be the best team of that week. I win more points than all the other managers in that WEEK! As a result, anybody can win that award if they win more games than me and, if you think about it this way, if you beat a higher ranked team you earn more points. So if I win 20 games and another team with a lower ranking wins 20 games he or she will be the team of the week!
A number of these managers would like to know the secret of your success! Do you have any tips that you would like to share?
CK I did play in other gameworlds, so I know some players better than the new managers and I have been playing this game since the first Championship Manager on the Amiga 500. So I can say that experience is THE factor. Also, I can't understand some other managers, when they say the players are old or something. For example, when I played Football Manager 2006 (my favourite) I had Zlatan Ibrahimovic - pictured - he scored 50 goals a season and once he was 34, he scored 45-42, so I think I credit old players more (this might be my secret).
Having just won the Team of the Week Award for the tenth time in fourteen weeks, as a manager how does it feel to be in charge of the gameworld's top team?
CK Well, it is of course a big thing for me. I am really glad to be the top team for this long and the aim of the game is to be the best - so, because of that, every time I win this award I am more than happy!
When recent Team of the Week Awards have been announced, a number of your fellow managers have responded to your team's accolade either with congratulations or with criticism. Do you have anything that you'd like to say to the managers of StJohn?
CK I really work hard for this award and I don't understand some of the criticisms. This award is given to the team which has to be the best team of that week. I win more points than all the other managers in that WEEK! As a result, anybody can win that award if they win more games than me and, if you think about it this way, if you beat a higher ranked team you earn more points. So if I win 20 games and another team with a lower ranking wins 20 games he or she will be the team of the week!
A number of these managers would like to know the secret of your success! Do you have any tips that you would like to share?
CK I did play in other gameworlds, so I know some players better than the new managers and I have been playing this game since the first Championship Manager on the Amiga 500. So I can say that experience is THE factor. Also, I can't understand some other managers, when they say the players are old or something. For example, when I played Football Manager 2006 (my favourite) I had Zlatan Ibrahimovic - pictured - he scored 50 goals a season and once he was 34, he scored 45-42, so I think I credit old players more (this might be my secret).
Four other teams have won the Team of the Week Award: the now-defunct Globe Trotters United, Aussie Gus' Red Reg FC, Kuba Poznanski's AC Warsaw and Kadir Uysal's Wasted Turkish Youth. Do you consider any of these teams as your rivals for the gameworld's number 1 spot, or is there another team that you reckon as a threat?
CK Of course, anybody in the first 20 always threathens me. Look, people have David Villa, Fernando Torres, Lionel Messi, Pato, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo etc. I don't have these players and these players make a lot of difference!
A number of other teams in StJohn's top 10 are very youth-orientated, while your squad looks instead to experience. As this is the average age of your squad, is it true that life begins at 30?
CK As I mentioned before, I believe in some players like Martin Petrov: he made more assists than the games he played in one season, while he was 33. I think in long term they will achieve more but I don't like to play this game without well known players and I have the ones I can afford. By the way I am almost 30, so I see these players as my generation!
You have invested more in your players and their wages than in stadium construction, with sixty thousand fans fighting for eighteen thousand seats. Is the team before ground approach one that you would recommend, or was that just the way that things turned out?
CK Everybody has two choices: investing in their stadium or investing in their players. You can't have both for a long time. For me, I did not want to wait to afford good players so I bought all I can and that made me top of the rankings. Now I am building my stadium slowly. I think it is not too bad for me and I can earn more than the total wages, so I am happy(maybe I got lucky!).
Coming from the Xtreme Football Association, how do you rate your FA as a community?
CK I mentioned before that I played other gameworlds and in all the gameworlds, the best FA was the XFA. I think XFA is by far the best community!
Turkiye have won the XFA Premiership twice in a row, and the XFA Cup twice as well. What targets have you set yourself for this season?
CK If I can win the XFA Premiership, it is more important than every other cup for me. So, first comes XFA Premiership, then the XFA cup. However, I really want to win every cup I can!
Your closest contender for the XFA title is probably Saeed Shah's Hadjuk Spliff FC. How did you react when you heard that Sergio Aguero had left the Gravel Pit for £5.5m?
CK Well, I think he thought two or three good players are better than one great player and he is RIGHT - he had a good offence but now has a more balanced team, which makes him more frightening. But, of course, no defence wants to see Aguero, so we will play and see how it will effect things.
Lastly, as a real-life Galatasaray fan, has life as a Cimbom supporter influenced your Turkiye team?
CK First of all, I am really really proud of Galatasaray as they are the biggest club in Turkey and always are backbone of the national team. However, Galatasaray did not influenced my FML team. Emotionally, I wanted all the Galatasaray players and to play with the real life tactics of Galatasaray but it just did not happen!
Thanks for the interview, Cihangir, and good luck with the rest of the season!
CK I want to thank you for this opportunity and good luck to all my fellow managers!
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Friday's Transfer Update a day late...! 25/4/09
Well, OK, I was busy yesterday!
It's been a busy old week in the StJohn transfer market, with managers all over the world discovering their wage auction bargains were not what they expected, or finding their season in need of rescue.
Five huge deals are worthy of special mention. The biggest move of the week was a surprise to some, but 19-year old DC/DM Neil McDonald is a genuine class act who will surely give a great long-term return on the £3M CFC FC have paid Phil Foster's Wolverhampton Wonderers for his services.
The other four players in £2M+ moves were all strikers:
Hot off the press: As I type this, the world class Fabio Quagliarella has moved from Victorian Queue to Amaranth FC for a stonking £3.8M!
The Amaranth manager, Chris Parkin, said he thought Quaglirella was the 'biz', and rightly seemed very pleased with his side's acquisition. Will this move see the end of a busy period of transfers at Ian Bush's VQ? Somehow, with a sizeable war chest behind the club - we think not!
It's been a busy old week in the StJohn transfer market, with managers all over the world discovering their wage auction bargains were not what they expected, or finding their season in need of rescue.
Five huge deals are worthy of special mention. The biggest move of the week was a surprise to some, but 19-year old DC/DM Neil McDonald is a genuine class act who will surely give a great long-term return on the £3M CFC FC have paid Phil Foster's Wolverhampton Wonderers for his services.
The other four players in £2M+ moves were all strikers:
- Robert Acquafresca moved from Flanders Angels to Victorian Queue for £2.2M
- Robin van Persie left Boshka Start to sign up at Tyne and Wear Boys for £2M
- Marcelo Moreno left Victorian Queue for £2M to set up his stall at Natural Born Losers
- Giampaolo Pazzini survived a transfer scare, when he nearly moved to the Frecheville Blades before a last minute change of heart saw him make a £2M move to AFC Victoria from Indefatigable FC
Hot off the press: As I type this, the world class Fabio Quagliarella has moved from Victorian Queue to Amaranth FC for a stonking £3.8M!The Amaranth manager, Chris Parkin, said he thought Quaglirella was the 'biz', and rightly seemed very pleased with his side's acquisition. Will this move see the end of a busy period of transfers at Ian Bush's VQ? Somehow, with a sizeable war chest behind the club - we think not!
Youth Development Unraveled: Part 2
I’d like to explain (try!) some of the more detailed information in relation to how CA points are spent and why certain attributes increase, decrease or simply don’t go up at all! If you are not familiar with Current Ability and Potential Ability then you need to head over the Part 1 before reading this.
**disclaimer** I believe the following to be correct, this is how it worked in FM08 (from memory and simplified) and i’m fairly certain this is how it is working on FML. Rob Cooper has said that attribute points are spent in the same way as on FM so the following shouldn’t be too far off **disclaimer**
The most important thing to understand is attributes are weighted so an ‘important’ attribute costs more CA points than an ‘unimportant’ one and some don’t cost anything at all! I can’t tell you what the weightings are because I don’t know them and it is a very complicated system.
Put simply physical attributes are probably the most costly. Pace and acceleration are the biggest cost for most players. Every wondered why so many high potential youth players with high pace and acceleration are rubbish or not developing? The answer is because they have used up all their potential by having high pace because it is such a costly attribute to possess. I’d say this echoes real life because how many truly world class players have exceptional pace? So if you see a low potential player who has very high physical attributes then his career is over – that’s it folks, he has nothing left in him, he will not get much better. Most physical attributes are very costly because they are important to just about every position on the pitch.
The next thing to realise is that attributes are weighted depending on a player’s position. So it will cost a lot of CA points for a striker to increase his finishing, it might not cost as much for a winger to gain finishing and for a defender ? Well assuming it works like FM08, which I’m fairly sure it does… it’s free!
If a player gains an attribute which is not linked to his position then it doesn’t cost anything, no CA points, nothing! I wont list them all but they are fairly obvious, like a centre back gaining crossing etc. Just see these as bonus increases, you are not losing any potential development by gaining something which is unimportant.
The same goes if you see a dreaded red arrow! Look at what has decreased, has your striker just lost some marking ability ? It doesn’t matter! Players can be shaped depending on their position, age and other factors. Maybe a striker has lost some marking and tackling but that might have been put towards something useful instead like composure. I do have a list of the free attributes for every position, I’m not going to put I on here because I can’t confirm it’s accuracy. If anyone would like the information then get in touch and I’ll pass on the link.
Understanding the above is absolutely key to finding good youth players. If you see a 3* defender who has 15/15/15 tackling/heading/jumping but has low attributes elsewhere there is no need to worry! This means he has plenty of PA left in him to develop what is important to his position, his KEY attributes which could make him a top class defender. If you see a 4.5* player which has 10+ in every attribute then be wary, he clearly already has a very high CA so he might just not have it in him to develop anymore.
It can still be worthwhile signing low star players who look like they can perform in your youth team even if they will never get any better. Always try to find some older youth players with KEY attributes. The reason is, see Part 1, you need your players to get a high average rating and your team getting hammered every game does not equal a good rating :) Also look at your current senior team and try and guess how many would have been above 4* ?
Another thing I would like to touch on is player positions. If you come across a youth player who is competent in several different positions you need to be wary again. It actually uses up CA points just to be able to play in all those positions!
If these points have been used up creating a green field it may mean less green arrows. There is a second huge impact to this too because you are losing lots of free attribute potential. Crossing for a MC is free, Crossing for a ML/R is not free. So if you find a player who can play MC RLC and you intend to use him in MC, bear in mind he has to use CA points for ‘pay’ for his crossing ability which may mean less potential to develop something such as passing.
Did you know that GK rating for outfield players also uses CA points ?
The final thing I want to mention is the ‘preferred foot’ attribute. This is massively over looked by so many people on FML. It makes a HUGE difference to how a player performs and is worth a few attribute points in several areas. A dual footed player with 15 passing could actually be better at passing than a massively one footed player with 18 passing.
Whether this is right or wrong the match engine loves those two footed players and they will consistently average higher than their one footed counterparts. This is more notable in central players compared to wide players. (this could be a post in itself so wont go into detail) Why is this important to youth development though ? Well this is the single biggest CA drain, it uses more points than anything else – this is how important it is. The only problem is there isn’t many good regens who can play with either foot!
Understanding all of the above should explain why some 5* players simply don’t become world beaters. I think youth progression is far from perfect but it’s nowhere near as broken as some people like to suggest.
It also shows how crucial Judging Potential is because if you see a youth with high starting attributes, only JP can give you an indication of how good he can become or whether he is already finished his development.
This post has been a very simplified explanation of how I believe it works, mainly for length reasons, but I think you should be able to work it out after reading this!
**disclaimer** I believe the following to be correct, this is how it worked in FM08 (from memory and simplified) and i’m fairly certain this is how it is working on FML. Rob Cooper has said that attribute points are spent in the same way as on FM so the following shouldn’t be too far off **disclaimer**
The most important thing to understand is attributes are weighted so an ‘important’ attribute costs more CA points than an ‘unimportant’ one and some don’t cost anything at all! I can’t tell you what the weightings are because I don’t know them and it is a very complicated system.
Put simply physical attributes are probably the most costly. Pace and acceleration are the biggest cost for most players. Every wondered why so many high potential youth players with high pace and acceleration are rubbish or not developing? The answer is because they have used up all their potential by having high pace because it is such a costly attribute to possess. I’d say this echoes real life because how many truly world class players have exceptional pace? So if you see a low potential player who has very high physical attributes then his career is over – that’s it folks, he has nothing left in him, he will not get much better. Most physical attributes are very costly because they are important to just about every position on the pitch.
The next thing to realise is that attributes are weighted depending on a player’s position. So it will cost a lot of CA points for a striker to increase his finishing, it might not cost as much for a winger to gain finishing and for a defender ? Well assuming it works like FM08, which I’m fairly sure it does… it’s free!
If a player gains an attribute which is not linked to his position then it doesn’t cost anything, no CA points, nothing! I wont list them all but they are fairly obvious, like a centre back gaining crossing etc. Just see these as bonus increases, you are not losing any potential development by gaining something which is unimportant.
The same goes if you see a dreaded red arrow! Look at what has decreased, has your striker just lost some marking ability ? It doesn’t matter! Players can be shaped depending on their position, age and other factors. Maybe a striker has lost some marking and tackling but that might have been put towards something useful instead like composure. I do have a list of the free attributes for every position, I’m not going to put I on here because I can’t confirm it’s accuracy. If anyone would like the information then get in touch and I’ll pass on the link.
Understanding the above is absolutely key to finding good youth players. If you see a 3* defender who has 15/15/15 tackling/heading/jumping but has low attributes elsewhere there is no need to worry! This means he has plenty of PA left in him to develop what is important to his position, his KEY attributes which could make him a top class defender. If you see a 4.5* player which has 10+ in every attribute then be wary, he clearly already has a very high CA so he might just not have it in him to develop anymore.
It can still be worthwhile signing low star players who look like they can perform in your youth team even if they will never get any better. Always try to find some older youth players with KEY attributes. The reason is, see Part 1, you need your players to get a high average rating and your team getting hammered every game does not equal a good rating :) Also look at your current senior team and try and guess how many would have been above 4* ?
Another thing I would like to touch on is player positions. If you come across a youth player who is competent in several different positions you need to be wary again. It actually uses up CA points just to be able to play in all those positions!
If these points have been used up creating a green field it may mean less green arrows. There is a second huge impact to this too because you are losing lots of free attribute potential. Crossing for a MC is free, Crossing for a ML/R is not free. So if you find a player who can play MC RLC and you intend to use him in MC, bear in mind he has to use CA points for ‘pay’ for his crossing ability which may mean less potential to develop something such as passing.
Did you know that GK rating for outfield players also uses CA points ?
The final thing I want to mention is the ‘preferred foot’ attribute. This is massively over looked by so many people on FML. It makes a HUGE difference to how a player performs and is worth a few attribute points in several areas. A dual footed player with 15 passing could actually be better at passing than a massively one footed player with 18 passing.
Whether this is right or wrong the match engine loves those two footed players and they will consistently average higher than their one footed counterparts. This is more notable in central players compared to wide players. (this could be a post in itself so wont go into detail) Why is this important to youth development though ? Well this is the single biggest CA drain, it uses more points than anything else – this is how important it is. The only problem is there isn’t many good regens who can play with either foot!
Understanding all of the above should explain why some 5* players simply don’t become world beaters. I think youth progression is far from perfect but it’s nowhere near as broken as some people like to suggest.
It also shows how crucial Judging Potential is because if you see a youth with high starting attributes, only JP can give you an indication of how good he can become or whether he is already finished his development.
This post has been a very simplified explanation of how I believe it works, mainly for length reasons, but I think you should be able to work it out after reading this!
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Youth Development Unraveled: Part 1
There has been quite a bit of confusion over youth development on FML but we have now had some confirmation from Rob Cooper (SI) about how it works. With that in mind I thought it would be a good idea to collate the main points here.
So the factors which influence youth development are:
* Player's Age
* Player's Potential (1-200)
* How much football they are getting
* Standard of football they are playing (senior/youth & competition reputation)
* Average Rating
* Manager's skills (coaching)
* Player's Ambition (hidden attribute)
* Player's Professionalism (hidden attribute)
* Player's Work Rate
* Whether the player is injured
* The player's morale
Some explanations in relation to above:
Potential Ability (PA) – Every player in the database has PA between 1-200 and a Current Ability (CA) between 1 and their PA level. PA does not change and if a player’s CA hits their PA then they will have become as good as they possibly can. As an example, Cristiano Ronaldo will have a PA around 190 and his CA will also be around 190 as he is a world class player at his peak. On the other hand a player like Henri Saivet may have a PA of 190 but a CA of 120 because he has not hit his peak yet. Yeah I know he is a duffer on St John but couldn’t think of another example!
As attributes increase so does a player's CA, once all the PA points are used up then a player will have peaked and no more progression is possible. I’m going to cover this in much more detail in part 2 because it’s not quite a simple as that!
It is worth discussing how Judging Potential works now. JP sees one thing, and one thing only – it sees a players PA. I don’t know the ranges but I would *guess* that a player with around 170+ PA will be 5*. The really important thing here is that high potential does not mean the player will become good. If he has low professionalism and ambition, which are hidden attributes you can’t see, then you have a big problem straight away. Couple this with low work rate and determination (this affects other hidden attributes) then your 5* youth which you are paying 15k a day to could be complete garbage. You also need to pay close attention to the starting attributes, if a striker has 5 finishing, he is never ever going to gain enough to become world class, no matter what JP tells you.
Side note on determination coaching – it does not work (confirmed) do not bother learning it, if you have you should hopefully get a point refund in a future patch.
The other most important piece of information that has been confirmed is regarding the standard of football your youth are playing at. Everyone has heard of the magic 6.8 but it seems this is not entirely accurate. Rob has confirmed that average rating is the most important factor in youth development rather than the standard of football! So averaging 7.5 in the youth team is apparently more beneficial than averaging say 6.8 in the senior team. Crucially though, if your youth player CAN attain an average of 7.5 in the senior team then he will develop better than just playing in the youth team. The obvious thing though is just to play them at a level they are comfortable at.
Also it is to be expected that younger players will have a lower average rating, so if you have a 15 year old averaging 6.8 in the U21s I suspect this is just as good as a 21 year old averaging 7.20+
Competition reputation is important to consider here because if you DO have youths that are good enough to play league games and crucially, are able to attain a good average rating then you should start seeing more progression. Senior friendly competitions are useful but official UFFA competitions carry the highest reputation and thus the highest development potential.
I would seriously be striving to attain at least 7.00+ with all your youth players for the best development. There are ways you can ‘fiddle’ this a little. Do you have potential star DLC ? Then play him DL because fullbacks tend to average higher in the match engine.
Rob has confirmed that playing in different positions has no bearing on shaping youth development. Consider your corner takers and free kick takers for assists, penalty takers etc – anything you can use to boost up a players average rating. You obviously can’t do this for everyone but if you want to focus on a couple of players it is very useful.
A lot of people seem to think coaching is not important but I think this a very big mistake to make because it can make the difference between an attribute increasing and it not!
Here’s what Rob Cooper said:
One other thing I meant to mention is that even though the attributes are displayed in the 1-20 range on the screen they are actually stored in the 1-10,000 range behind the scenes to give extra accuracy during progression. Because they are rounded down to be displayed a small change behind the scenes can manifest itself as a fairly big change on the screen. For example a player with 19 for finishing on the screen may have 9,050 behind the scenes. If they then drop to 8,950 during processing this is only a drop of 1 or 2% however on the screen it is the difference between 18 and 19 and so a red arrow is displayed and it looks like a drop of 5%. Rest assured though that for all processing the 'real' figure is used.
The skills have a 5% bonus per level, so Coaching 5 will boost positive changes by 25% - what this means is that if, behind the scenes in the 1-10,000 range, a player's finishing increases by 400 points it will actually increase by 500 points (the 400 plus the 25% boost.) If the player doesn't improve though the skill won't make him improve.
So you can effectively get extra progression for nothing! if you are just a couple of hundred points off something then it’s possible that coaching could make the difference between finishing 19 and finishing 20. It’s free as well!
As this has already turned out to be much longer than intended Part 2 will cover the relationship between attributes and CA - attribute weightings etc, red arrows! and free attributes.
So the factors which influence youth development are:
* Player's Age
* Player's Potential (1-200)
* How much football they are getting
* Standard of football they are playing (senior/youth & competition reputation)
* Average Rating
* Manager's skills (coaching)
* Player's Ambition (hidden attribute)
* Player's Professionalism (hidden attribute)
* Player's Work Rate
* Whether the player is injured
* The player's morale
Some explanations in relation to above:
Potential Ability (PA) – Every player in the database has PA between 1-200 and a Current Ability (CA) between 1 and their PA level. PA does not change and if a player’s CA hits their PA then they will have become as good as they possibly can. As an example, Cristiano Ronaldo will have a PA around 190 and his CA will also be around 190 as he is a world class player at his peak. On the other hand a player like Henri Saivet may have a PA of 190 but a CA of 120 because he has not hit his peak yet. Yeah I know he is a duffer on St John but couldn’t think of another example!
As attributes increase so does a player's CA, once all the PA points are used up then a player will have peaked and no more progression is possible. I’m going to cover this in much more detail in part 2 because it’s not quite a simple as that!
It is worth discussing how Judging Potential works now. JP sees one thing, and one thing only – it sees a players PA. I don’t know the ranges but I would *guess* that a player with around 170+ PA will be 5*. The really important thing here is that high potential does not mean the player will become good. If he has low professionalism and ambition, which are hidden attributes you can’t see, then you have a big problem straight away. Couple this with low work rate and determination (this affects other hidden attributes) then your 5* youth which you are paying 15k a day to could be complete garbage. You also need to pay close attention to the starting attributes, if a striker has 5 finishing, he is never ever going to gain enough to become world class, no matter what JP tells you.
Side note on determination coaching – it does not work (confirmed) do not bother learning it, if you have you should hopefully get a point refund in a future patch.
The other most important piece of information that has been confirmed is regarding the standard of football your youth are playing at. Everyone has heard of the magic 6.8 but it seems this is not entirely accurate. Rob has confirmed that average rating is the most important factor in youth development rather than the standard of football! So averaging 7.5 in the youth team is apparently more beneficial than averaging say 6.8 in the senior team. Crucially though, if your youth player CAN attain an average of 7.5 in the senior team then he will develop better than just playing in the youth team. The obvious thing though is just to play them at a level they are comfortable at.
Also it is to be expected that younger players will have a lower average rating, so if you have a 15 year old averaging 6.8 in the U21s I suspect this is just as good as a 21 year old averaging 7.20+
Competition reputation is important to consider here because if you DO have youths that are good enough to play league games and crucially, are able to attain a good average rating then you should start seeing more progression. Senior friendly competitions are useful but official UFFA competitions carry the highest reputation and thus the highest development potential.
I would seriously be striving to attain at least 7.00+ with all your youth players for the best development. There are ways you can ‘fiddle’ this a little. Do you have potential star DLC ? Then play him DL because fullbacks tend to average higher in the match engine.
Rob has confirmed that playing in different positions has no bearing on shaping youth development. Consider your corner takers and free kick takers for assists, penalty takers etc – anything you can use to boost up a players average rating. You obviously can’t do this for everyone but if you want to focus on a couple of players it is very useful.
A lot of people seem to think coaching is not important but I think this a very big mistake to make because it can make the difference between an attribute increasing and it not!
Here’s what Rob Cooper said:
One other thing I meant to mention is that even though the attributes are displayed in the 1-20 range on the screen they are actually stored in the 1-10,000 range behind the scenes to give extra accuracy during progression. Because they are rounded down to be displayed a small change behind the scenes can manifest itself as a fairly big change on the screen. For example a player with 19 for finishing on the screen may have 9,050 behind the scenes. If they then drop to 8,950 during processing this is only a drop of 1 or 2% however on the screen it is the difference between 18 and 19 and so a red arrow is displayed and it looks like a drop of 5%. Rest assured though that for all processing the 'real' figure is used.
The skills have a 5% bonus per level, so Coaching 5 will boost positive changes by 25% - what this means is that if, behind the scenes in the 1-10,000 range, a player's finishing increases by 400 points it will actually increase by 500 points (the 400 plus the 25% boost.) If the player doesn't improve though the skill won't make him improve.
So you can effectively get extra progression for nothing! if you are just a couple of hundred points off something then it’s possible that coaching could make the difference between finishing 19 and finishing 20. It’s free as well!
As this has already turned out to be much longer than intended Part 2 will cover the relationship between attributes and CA - attribute weightings etc, red arrows! and free attributes.
AFA: Week 1 Summary
So a week of season 4 has passed; let's have a little look at what's been happing in the AFA.
Metalface Mirren top the table, cementing their place there with a classic 5-4 victory over Brainwashed United and ensuring that they will be top, even if CarTOON United win their games in hand. Quite what was passing through manager Mark Brook's mind as he saw his 5-2 lead evaporate late into the second half I don't quite know, but I doubt I would be able to reproduce it in print.
Also pushing for a place near the top are Beggarwood Athletic, proud winners of the the latest mover of the week award. A tight defence has kept them in the running but a disappointing lack of goals has meant that too many draws have crept into their results meaning they will have a real struggle to challenge for the silverware at the end of the season. Beggarwood are also the only side to have progressed in the cup to date: an own goal and a penalty good enough to see them to home and away 1-0 victories over last season's Premiership runners up: JD Legions.
Reigning champions CarTOON United look well placed to mount another serious title challenge. With just one defeat to date and an eyewateringly high total in the "goals for" column, other managers will be doing whatever they can to put off playing them. This one is certainly not looking forward to going to Riverview Park to play his last match of the season.
Looking at the reputation of the AFA, it is not hard to see why our clubs have struggled in the UFFA competitions this year. But despite not managing to pick up a single win to date between our six entrants, the clubs can be proud of their achievements. Metalface Mirren particularly, with their two creditable draws against highly ranked teams, can exit with their heads held high.
Finally, voting for the inaugural AFA goal and blunder of the week competitions has commenced and the competition is fierce in both categories. With goals coming from free kicks, direct from corners, screamers from 25 yards and deft lobs from 40 we really have been spoilt for choice. As for the award that no one wants, well we've seen pass-backs gone awry, stunning own goals, inexplicable dallying on the ball, and rushes of blood to the head that make David James look docile by comparison. With only 5 days allowed for voting, the results should be with us next week...
Metalface Mirren top the table, cementing their place there with a classic 5-4 victory over Brainwashed United and ensuring that they will be top, even if CarTOON United win their games in hand. Quite what was passing through manager Mark Brook's mind as he saw his 5-2 lead evaporate late into the second half I don't quite know, but I doubt I would be able to reproduce it in print.
Also pushing for a place near the top are Beggarwood Athletic, proud winners of the the latest mover of the week award. A tight defence has kept them in the running but a disappointing lack of goals has meant that too many draws have crept into their results meaning they will have a real struggle to challenge for the silverware at the end of the season. Beggarwood are also the only side to have progressed in the cup to date: an own goal and a penalty good enough to see them to home and away 1-0 victories over last season's Premiership runners up: JD Legions.
Reigning champions CarTOON United look well placed to mount another serious title challenge. With just one defeat to date and an eyewateringly high total in the "goals for" column, other managers will be doing whatever they can to put off playing them. This one is certainly not looking forward to going to Riverview Park to play his last match of the season.
Looking at the reputation of the AFA, it is not hard to see why our clubs have struggled in the UFFA competitions this year. But despite not managing to pick up a single win to date between our six entrants, the clubs can be proud of their achievements. Metalface Mirren particularly, with their two creditable draws against highly ranked teams, can exit with their heads held high.
Finally, voting for the inaugural AFA goal and blunder of the week competitions has commenced and the competition is fierce in both categories. With goals coming from free kicks, direct from corners, screamers from 25 yards and deft lobs from 40 we really have been spoilt for choice. As for the award that no one wants, well we've seen pass-backs gone awry, stunning own goals, inexplicable dallying on the ball, and rushes of blood to the head that make David James look docile by comparison. With only 5 days allowed for voting, the results should be with us next week...
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Retirements of Season 3
Every season, we see new blood amongst the player databases with hundreds of high potential youth being regenerated everyday. Its a great thing to see a high potential youth player slowly evolve to world class quality. Already we have seen a few regens already on their way to greatness. But spare a thought for the greats who are retiring or has retired, so as to give these young ones the time and space to attain great feats.
In Season 3 in StJohn, we had a lot of such greats bidding adieu to their careers and hanging up their boots. Namely, the likes of Italian Target man Luca Toni, Dutch wizard Clarence Seedorf, Louis Saha, Italian Defensive Rock Alessandro Nesta, Frédéric Kanouté will never ply their trade in StJohn. Its a sad day when you have to bid goodbye to such class. I'm sure players of such caliber will be sorely missed especially by the teams who owned them, along with Mauro Camoranesi, Marcos Senna, Raúl Tamudo, Steve Finnan, Benni McCarthy, Francesco Toldo and flamboyant Brazilian wizard DenÃlson Araújo to name a few.
But with the departure of such talent, it also brings forward regen superstars, the ones who are ready to rule the world. The likes of Dominic Ollier, Nicolas Raicevic, Phillpo Serra, does seem to be up and able to take in the workload and fill the void left by these evergreen veterans. A final toast to all those Retirees of Season 3. May you all find peace in your retirement :)
In Season 3 in StJohn, we had a lot of such greats bidding adieu to their careers and hanging up their boots. Namely, the likes of Italian Target man Luca Toni, Dutch wizard Clarence Seedorf, Louis Saha, Italian Defensive Rock Alessandro Nesta, Frédéric Kanouté will never ply their trade in StJohn. Its a sad day when you have to bid goodbye to such class. I'm sure players of such caliber will be sorely missed especially by the teams who owned them, along with Mauro Camoranesi, Marcos Senna, Raúl Tamudo, Steve Finnan, Benni McCarthy, Francesco Toldo and flamboyant Brazilian wizard DenÃlson Araújo to name a few.
But with the departure of such talent, it also brings forward regen superstars, the ones who are ready to rule the world. The likes of Dominic Ollier, Nicolas Raicevic, Phillpo Serra, does seem to be up and able to take in the workload and fill the void left by these evergreen veterans. A final toast to all those Retirees of Season 3. May you all find peace in your retirement :)
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
XFA DIV. 1B Newsletter!
Season four has kicked off with a bang in XFA Division 1B. A heated race between top teams Sintrense, Reggina 1914 Fm2009, Byron Knights and Boocan VFC. So far Boocan VFC have taken the lead in both cumulative points and projected points with only twenty one games played. Following closely in second and third ranked spots are Byron Knights C.F. and Reggina 1914 FM2009. Both teams have played at least twenty-eight of their games. Notorious NK Jogurt (famed for signing superstar Lionel Messi) are currently in seventh place in Div. 1B, with only playing eight games (winning five and losing three). Four teams still have yet to kick off their league fixtures and are anxiously awaited by their fellow competitors. Stay tuned to XFA news for all of your latest and up to date XFA Div. 1B highlights
Double Whose Money? Not Yours!
As another wave of new managers trot like sheep to be fleeced into the so-called 'Double your money' competitions I feel its my duty as Community Manager of the Year to speak out against them.
Of course its your money and as such if you choose to give it away to richer and higher ranked clubs that is of course up to you- just remember that these competitions are almost invariably set up to make certain that is exactly what you will be doing.
Some clubs have turned these competitions into a production line producing cash on a daily basis and have made upwards of 5 million profit from doing so - becoming even richer and higher ranked as a result at your expense.
This is perfectly legal within the rules as they stand - I personally think they should be banned or at least seriously scrutinised and regulated as they are certainly against the spirit of the game. I know a lot of high profile and high ranked managers feel the same way I do and am sure that some of the 'robber barons' will strenuously object to my comments.
So comment! Lets get this murky secret world out in the open, examine and discuss it! It is indeed more fun to play when something is 'on the line' but there has to be a better and fairer alternative - so over to you guys...
Of course its your money and as such if you choose to give it away to richer and higher ranked clubs that is of course up to you- just remember that these competitions are almost invariably set up to make certain that is exactly what you will be doing.
Some clubs have turned these competitions into a production line producing cash on a daily basis and have made upwards of 5 million profit from doing so - becoming even richer and higher ranked as a result at your expense.
This is perfectly legal within the rules as they stand - I personally think they should be banned or at least seriously scrutinised and regulated as they are certainly against the spirit of the game. I know a lot of high profile and high ranked managers feel the same way I do and am sure that some of the 'robber barons' will strenuously object to my comments.
So comment! Lets get this murky secret world out in the open, examine and discuss it! It is indeed more fun to play when something is 'on the line' but there has to be a better and fairer alternative - so over to you guys...
Monday, 20 April 2009
Interview with Bay Harbour Butchers manager Kylar Stern
As a manager, you had a very successful season. Despite being a self-proclaimed misanthrope, you were runner-up for the Managers’ Manager of the Season and fighting off stiff competition, you won the Community Manager of the Season title. At the end of your second season, how did it feel to pick up an award that your fellow managers picked you for?
KS Some people might think its daft as its 'only a game' but I was sincerely touched and flattered. FML is something I regard more as community where we also play football than a football game where we also talk to people. Craig, who won it last year and won Managers' Manger this season, is a top bloke and I am honoured to follow in his footsteps.
I tend to regard myself more as a 'twitchy recluse' than an out and out misanthrope but I think that's less to do with me and more to do with the vast majority of people 'in real life' acting like complete dicks most of the time - the FML community is a refreshing change as people here are, on the whole, courteous and friendly to one another.
How do you think that managers across the gameworld can help to improve the StJohn community?
KS I think the StJohn community is evolving in positive ways - the rivalries between FAs seem to be building a sense of camaraderie within the FAs and I think the best thing people can do to improve the StJohn's experience is to get involved - talk to the journalists in their leagues, have a boast, make a suggestion - use the journalists to spread the word. I get sent copies of all the reports across the XFA in my role as organiser but whether I was an org or not I think I would try to get my hands on them anyway - and from the other FAs too - they all have their own 'flavour' - like the Premiership, La Ligue, Serie A etc do in the real world.
You also won the Most Improved Manager of the Season award. What do you think propelled you to the award and what tips would you give to managers looking to radically improve their fortunes?
KS I think my decision to give up sleep and play FML 24/7 was a big help. That and the all coffee and instant noodle diet.
In terms of things that might actually be helpful to people I really have one key tip - wage auctions. I picked up nearly all of my lads in wage auctions because I have never had the financial resources to compete directly with teams in the same rankings bracket as myself- while its a shame that people leave FML or move gameworlds, a search of managers who haven't signed in for a while's squads has unearthed a collection of overlooked gems. I think basing my tactics around the players I have managed to get rather than trying to shoehorn them into a tactic has worked out well - but now I am in the worlds most elite league - the XFA Premiership - I guess I will find out what the boys are really made of.
What is your proudest moment in your FML career thus far?
KS I think that's a toss up between winning these awards and coming in as runner up in the MOCHE (The Mods Orgs and Chat Helpers Elite League). Although my boys went down 2-1 in the final to Ian's amazing team making it that far felt like a real achievement - and putting out Horatio Hornblower's outfit on the way felt great. That match was the best I have ever played in FML- it had the lot- away goals, extra time, missed penalties... someone should make a movie of it, it really had that Hollywood feel.
You bagged promotion from the Championship to the Premiership in the XFA, so will get the chance to fight against the likes of perennial 1st ranked Turkiye. How do you rate your chances for the new season?
KS To be honest I would have liked another season in the Champ to consolidate - every team in the Prem could sell one player and buy my whole squad, my sorry excuse for a stadium and the club cat - but now I am there I am aiming for a top ten finish. While Turkiye are unquestionably the best team in the gameworld and I have a great respect for them and their manager, Cihangir - who is also a really nice guy - it's been my ambition since day one of my FML career to become the top team in the world - he's keeping my seat warm - though he might be keeping it warm for a good while yet!
You’ve brought in thirty players since the start of the month, with Anton Putsilo the biggest fee at £120,000 and let fifteen players leave. Are you a Harry Redknapp –style wheeler-dealer, or is there different thinking behind your transfer strategy?
KS Most of the players who came in are part of my youth strategy. Anton Putsilo and William Chiroque have gone straight into the first team at AMC and LW respectively and I also strengthened the bench but the future of my team is definitely the youth. Jonno Pereira who just turned 17 is definitely the leading star in my youth team - and incidentally my squad's highest wage earner at 14k - but I have high hopes for a few boys coming through.
As you tend to buy low and with wages around £70k lower than the highest in your league, is the plan to amass a war-chest of cash for the next set of transfer auctions? Or will the money be invested in stadium construction?
KS They say that necessity is the mother of invention and as we have never had any money, the Bay Harbour Butchers have always been a frugal club - our record signing was 350k and I don't see that changing. What money we do have is going into stadium construction as our shack is a disgrace and the loyal fans deserve better - and, of course, the income they will bring in is vital for the future of the club.
If you’re not a Redknapp type, which manager do you think your FML philosophy most follows? Are you a professor of football like Arsene Wenger, or an old-schooler like Alex Ferguson?
KS FML is a constant learning experience for me - although the various Football Manager games have eaten years of my life FML is very different. I would say my role models as a manager are people from inside FML - Jay Derriman, Craig Legend and Steven Xu would head the list but I have learned from everyone I have played.
Having scored up managers’ awards, will this be the season that you add some FA silverware to your trophy cabinet?
KS Well, my first round XFA cup draw was a blow - away to Turkiye. My boys gave it their best but we went down 2-0 leaving us free to 'concentrate on the league' as they say. With Jonno spearheading the line up I have hopes of maybe getting my first official silverware in the XFA U18 competitions - but even with Jonno's fearsome strike rate we will need a lot of luck.
Kylar, thanks for your time and best luck with the new season!
KS Some people might think its daft as its 'only a game' but I was sincerely touched and flattered. FML is something I regard more as community where we also play football than a football game where we also talk to people. Craig, who won it last year and won Managers' Manger this season, is a top bloke and I am honoured to follow in his footsteps.
I tend to regard myself more as a 'twitchy recluse' than an out and out misanthrope but I think that's less to do with me and more to do with the vast majority of people 'in real life' acting like complete dicks most of the time - the FML community is a refreshing change as people here are, on the whole, courteous and friendly to one another.
How do you think that managers across the gameworld can help to improve the StJohn community?
KS I think the StJohn community is evolving in positive ways - the rivalries between FAs seem to be building a sense of camaraderie within the FAs and I think the best thing people can do to improve the StJohn's experience is to get involved - talk to the journalists in their leagues, have a boast, make a suggestion - use the journalists to spread the word. I get sent copies of all the reports across the XFA in my role as organiser but whether I was an org or not I think I would try to get my hands on them anyway - and from the other FAs too - they all have their own 'flavour' - like the Premiership, La Ligue, Serie A etc do in the real world.
You also won the Most Improved Manager of the Season award. What do you think propelled you to the award and what tips would you give to managers looking to radically improve their fortunes?
KS I think my decision to give up sleep and play FML 24/7 was a big help. That and the all coffee and instant noodle diet.
In terms of things that might actually be helpful to people I really have one key tip - wage auctions. I picked up nearly all of my lads in wage auctions because I have never had the financial resources to compete directly with teams in the same rankings bracket as myself- while its a shame that people leave FML or move gameworlds, a search of managers who haven't signed in for a while's squads has unearthed a collection of overlooked gems. I think basing my tactics around the players I have managed to get rather than trying to shoehorn them into a tactic has worked out well - but now I am in the worlds most elite league - the XFA Premiership - I guess I will find out what the boys are really made of.
What is your proudest moment in your FML career thus far?
KS I think that's a toss up between winning these awards and coming in as runner up in the MOCHE (The Mods Orgs and Chat Helpers Elite League). Although my boys went down 2-1 in the final to Ian's amazing team making it that far felt like a real achievement - and putting out Horatio Hornblower's outfit on the way felt great. That match was the best I have ever played in FML- it had the lot- away goals, extra time, missed penalties... someone should make a movie of it, it really had that Hollywood feel.
You bagged promotion from the Championship to the Premiership in the XFA, so will get the chance to fight against the likes of perennial 1st ranked Turkiye. How do you rate your chances for the new season?
KS To be honest I would have liked another season in the Champ to consolidate - every team in the Prem could sell one player and buy my whole squad, my sorry excuse for a stadium and the club cat - but now I am there I am aiming for a top ten finish. While Turkiye are unquestionably the best team in the gameworld and I have a great respect for them and their manager, Cihangir - who is also a really nice guy - it's been my ambition since day one of my FML career to become the top team in the world - he's keeping my seat warm - though he might be keeping it warm for a good while yet!
You’ve brought in thirty players since the start of the month, with Anton Putsilo the biggest fee at £120,000 and let fifteen players leave. Are you a Harry Redknapp –style wheeler-dealer, or is there different thinking behind your transfer strategy?
KS Most of the players who came in are part of my youth strategy. Anton Putsilo and William Chiroque have gone straight into the first team at AMC and LW respectively and I also strengthened the bench but the future of my team is definitely the youth. Jonno Pereira who just turned 17 is definitely the leading star in my youth team - and incidentally my squad's highest wage earner at 14k - but I have high hopes for a few boys coming through.
As you tend to buy low and with wages around £70k lower than the highest in your league, is the plan to amass a war-chest of cash for the next set of transfer auctions? Or will the money be invested in stadium construction?
KS They say that necessity is the mother of invention and as we have never had any money, the Bay Harbour Butchers have always been a frugal club - our record signing was 350k and I don't see that changing. What money we do have is going into stadium construction as our shack is a disgrace and the loyal fans deserve better - and, of course, the income they will bring in is vital for the future of the club.
If you’re not a Redknapp type, which manager do you think your FML philosophy most follows? Are you a professor of football like Arsene Wenger, or an old-schooler like Alex Ferguson?
KS FML is a constant learning experience for me - although the various Football Manager games have eaten years of my life FML is very different. I would say my role models as a manager are people from inside FML - Jay Derriman, Craig Legend and Steven Xu would head the list but I have learned from everyone I have played.
Having scored up managers’ awards, will this be the season that you add some FA silverware to your trophy cabinet?
KS Well, my first round XFA cup draw was a blow - away to Turkiye. My boys gave it their best but we went down 2-0 leaving us free to 'concentrate on the league' as they say. With Jonno spearheading the line up I have hopes of maybe getting my first official silverware in the XFA U18 competitions - but even with Jonno's fearsome strike rate we will need a lot of luck.
Kylar, thanks for your time and best luck with the new season!
WCA Charity Shield results!
In the WCA Charity Shield's inaugural season, the grudge match between league winners, James Recury's Volusia County, and cup winners, Paul Cornforth's The Dark Knights, kicked off the WCA season in style.
These two teams are no strangers to each other, having met in the final of the Casual Cup, with a penalty shoot-out required to separate the two teams and with Volusia having pipped Knights to the Premiership title by only two points. It was another close-fought battle, with Knights beating Volusia 1-0, the winner scored in the second period of extra time by Italian winger Simone Padoin.
In the youth Charity Shield, Abe Roddney's Daredevils FC, last season's youth league winners, secured another trophy after a 2-1 win over Phil Marsh's FC Tornado, last season's youth cup winners. To find out more and to keep up with all the WCA news, visit our blog.
These two teams are no strangers to each other, having met in the final of the Casual Cup, with a penalty shoot-out required to separate the two teams and with Volusia having pipped Knights to the Premiership title by only two points. It was another close-fought battle, with Knights beating Volusia 1-0, the winner scored in the second period of extra time by Italian winger Simone Padoin.
In the youth Charity Shield, Abe Roddney's Daredevils FC, last season's youth league winners, secured another trophy after a 2-1 win over Phil Marsh's FC Tornado, last season's youth cup winners. To find out more and to keep up with all the WCA news, visit our blog.
Theme of the Week
An idea inspired by myself (or another manager in another GW somewhere probably)We will now have an official St John theme of the week vote every 7 days.
This weeks theme is: Lord of the Rings Characters.
I look forward to seeing you get involved.
This weeks theme is: Lord of the Rings Characters.
I look forward to seeing you get involved.
Around The Grounds - April 20th 2009 - GW Top 10
Hello and welcome to the first installment of 'Around the Grounds', where we look behind the teams and highlight the many wonderful stadiums springing up all around the St. Johns gameworld.
To kick-off this new feature we will be starting at the very top and looking at the current stadiums of the top 10 teams in the gameworld. Future features will include the top youth teams, a look at full FA divisions, maybe the odd manager interview regarding their future stadium plans and many a random stadium related stat along the way.....
Stadiums are literally a very large part of our gameworld, both logistically and financially and how you approach building yours will affect your overall game stratgey. Do you try and assemble a trophy winning team and then try and play catch up with your infrastructure, do you try and build up both playing staff and infrastructure piece-by-piece or do you follow the 'Field of Dreams' methodology ('build it, and they will come' - hopefully!).
Below is a breakdown of the stadiums currently hosting the top 10 ranked teams in our gameworld.
I will let you draw their own conclusions on these teams current directions and futures (and perhaps we will be lucky enough hear from managers in the future to shed light on their stadiums plans and thoughts), but I will pose a couple of questions before I sign off.
- Are the small stadium / high rep teams going to be able to maintain their ranking positions now that larger stadium teams are beginning to benefit from their investments?
- Who has the most impressive stadium from a fans point of view?
- How long until St Johns sees its first 50,000 all seater stadium?
- Will we ever see any corporate bigwigs slumming it on the terraces at Hajduk Spliff FC's Gravel Pit stadium?
Until next time.......
Tale of StJohn Woe Hits Main FML Site
Peter Everett, manager of the XFA's Everett Rovers FC recently issued a press release which has been picked up by various media outlets. Everett's story of woeful incompetence, in releasing star midfielder Gennaro Gattuso instead of listing him in an auction is a stark lesson to all managers in FML: always read the small print before you press confirm...
Only kidding Peter - you're a great manager, and we're pleased to have you in StJohn!
Only kidding Peter - you're a great manager, and we're pleased to have you in StJohn!
Sunday, 19 April 2009
StJohn's Most Wanted XI
There are always arguments about the best players in FML, but if the number of clubs interested in a player is any guide, StJohn has a dream team. By a sizeable margin, StJohn's most wanted player is Inter's starlet, Mario Ballotelli (pictured) with 92 clubs tracking the youngster's progress.
With only two defenders amongst the twenty most wanted players in the gameworld and only one goalkeeper in the top 100, managers in StJohn are clearly more interested in scoring goals than keeping clean sheets. Nor are older players attracting interest: the only 30-something in the top 100 is 30 year old Argentinian striker, Rodrigo Palacio.
By postion, the most-wanted dream team, with the number of interested clubs in brackets, is:
Oscar Ustari (GK, Galatiban FC, 43)
Mamadou Sahko (DL, The Raindogs, 59)
Federico Fazio (DC, FC China, 67)
Vedran Corluka (DC, Chuck United, 58)
John Heitinga (DR, Juicy Danglers, 55)
Gai Assulin (ML, Manchester United, 70)
Pele (MC, Warlingham Village, 60)
Jack Wilshere (MC, Mossley Merlins, 77)
Lionel Messi (MR, NK Jogurt, 69)
Mario Balotelli (FC, Ill Skillz, 92)
Sergio Aguero (FC, Hadjuk Spliff, 77)
Are you a proud owner of one players in the dream team? Or has your star player been unjustly overlooked? Tell us what you think!
With only two defenders amongst the twenty most wanted players in the gameworld and only one goalkeeper in the top 100, managers in StJohn are clearly more interested in scoring goals than keeping clean sheets. Nor are older players attracting interest: the only 30-something in the top 100 is 30 year old Argentinian striker, Rodrigo Palacio.
By postion, the most-wanted dream team, with the number of interested clubs in brackets, is:
Oscar Ustari (GK, Galatiban FC, 43)
Mamadou Sahko (DL, The Raindogs, 59)
Federico Fazio (DC, FC China, 67)
Vedran Corluka (DC, Chuck United, 58)
John Heitinga (DR, Juicy Danglers, 55)
Gai Assulin (ML, Manchester United, 70)
Pele (MC, Warlingham Village, 60)
Jack Wilshere (MC, Mossley Merlins, 77)
Lionel Messi (MR, NK Jogurt, 69)
Mario Balotelli (FC, Ill Skillz, 92)
Sergio Aguero (FC, Hadjuk Spliff, 77)
Are you a proud owner of one players in the dream team? Or has your star player been unjustly overlooked? Tell us what you think!
Friday, 17 April 2009
Dazzlers on Fire !!!
Having had the Third Season of the AEFA in St Johns end with a most unexpected playoff win and promotion to the AEFA Premiership the DR Dazzlers had a long closed season ahead of them where they had to build for the challenges in the season to come.
A season of obscurity had passed in the Game World with manager Craig Legend left wondering what was required to make his team gel and move from the mid 200’s in the GW rankings and bring back those 6000 fans that deserted the DR Dazzlers in the past season.
It was decided that the team need a spark (well 3 or 4 to be honest), someone who could change the game in an instant. A Cantona figure for the Fans to idolize and team to rally around when times were hard. Marcus Aurelio had done a great job up front in the season past but could not be expected to carry the attacking burden alone heading into the abyss that was the AEFA Premiership and it formidable dominators Flanders Angels and Ass Kickers FC.
To this end Craig Legend managed to pull off the coup of the closed season in many peoples eyes bringing former Fans hero and all round GW superstar Danny back to the Dazzle Dome for a deal totaling only 344k. Both defensive misfit Alexis and midfield dynamo John Spicer left in exchange.
Danny was joined at the Dr Dazzlers by attacking midfield veteran Sergiy Nazarenko, attacking winger/striker Ross McCormack and relative unknown Mexican striker Jose luis Mendoza.
Along with the new players came a new tactical line up, a new team approach and a whole new mass of fans. The Dazzlers have gone form strength to strength in Closed Season which culminated with the team winning the AEFA Closed Season league by a single point in the final game.
With the premiership just getting under way expect another report next Friday, but the message is clear to the rest of the AEFA and St Johns GW - Be Ready, because the DR Dazzlers are coming!
The XEFA.
Greetings St John,
I come to you from a bygone age, an age of ideals of honour and fellowship. A time where people were punished for their crimes a time when public excecution was a way of life, where buggerous bishops beat naughty children untill they repented. An age that is wasted onto our GW and resides nowhere save one place, the last bastion of morality and integrity the XEFA.
We wage a war against evil tyrants against succuban kitten drowners. We are locked in conflict with the fascist regime of the XFA, they are an insidious cloud of putrid lies and slander that poison and suffocate the air of the good people of St John. We are, alas the only thing that can stop their dominion of the GW. Harken to me now I hereby offer you an opportunity to stand with me under the blazing banner of the XEFA, stand with me and help brighten the last beacon of hope that we now have, in these dark days, still hope stirs, still we stand united in our righteous cause at the behement of the Succuban minions of the XFA.
The XEFAs last charge.
Our armour will forever glisten in the sunshine as its rays still penetrate their clouds of lies and hate their rhetoric of doom. Our swords gleam in the moonlight our heads are strong and our hearts achingly pure and our bodies they yearn vengence they cultivate holy wrath. Dominion will be denied onto them as we stand here strong and proud as the last band of men able to resist.
An XFA minion.
We offer a number of things to tempt you into our ranks and to fight with us as brothers we shall be. Within our lands we have the most elaborate and financially sophisticated official youth competitions available in our GW today. Along with these we have the most official competitons and a 'New User competition' so new ST John members can pit their wits against others of their ilk in a fight for equality. Our community is strong and defiant our FAs chatroom is the most active and friendly that exists in the GW. The season may only be young but we are recruiting for the future ask yourself about your options and then consider the ONLY option available, the XEFA.
Yours in haste,
Horatio Hornblower,
1st XEFA Organiser.
God Save ST John.
I come to you from a bygone age, an age of ideals of honour and fellowship. A time where people were punished for their crimes a time when public excecution was a way of life, where buggerous bishops beat naughty children untill they repented. An age that is wasted onto our GW and resides nowhere save one place, the last bastion of morality and integrity the XEFA.
We wage a war against evil tyrants against succuban kitten drowners. We are locked in conflict with the fascist regime of the XFA, they are an insidious cloud of putrid lies and slander that poison and suffocate the air of the good people of St John. We are, alas the only thing that can stop their dominion of the GW. Harken to me now I hereby offer you an opportunity to stand with me under the blazing banner of the XEFA, stand with me and help brighten the last beacon of hope that we now have, in these dark days, still hope stirs, still we stand united in our righteous cause at the behement of the Succuban minions of the XFA.
The XEFAs last charge.
Our armour will forever glisten in the sunshine as its rays still penetrate their clouds of lies and hate their rhetoric of doom. Our swords gleam in the moonlight our heads are strong and our hearts achingly pure and our bodies they yearn vengence they cultivate holy wrath. Dominion will be denied onto them as we stand here strong and proud as the last band of men able to resist.
An XFA minion.
We offer a number of things to tempt you into our ranks and to fight with us as brothers we shall be. Within our lands we have the most elaborate and financially sophisticated official youth competitions available in our GW today. Along with these we have the most official competitons and a 'New User competition' so new ST John members can pit their wits against others of their ilk in a fight for equality. Our community is strong and defiant our FAs chatroom is the most active and friendly that exists in the GW. The season may only be young but we are recruiting for the future ask yourself about your options and then consider the ONLY option available, the XEFA.
Yours in haste,
Horatio Hornblower,
1st XEFA Organiser.
God Save ST John.
XFA SEASON UNDERWAY!
PREMIER NEWS
Well the seasons underway and some teams are steaming ahead with there games and already some intresting results in all the leagues are been thrown up. Realthing beat Turkiye 1-0 in a battle that Realthing fans will never forget as Turkiye threw everything but the kitchen sink at superb goalkeeper Chris Kirkland who was man of the match. Realthing who were tipped to go down this season are showing strong will and determination to stay up in the top flight this season. Turkiye are top at this early point of the season and look good to once again win this prestigious title of the XFA Premier league.
CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS
Well the season at the minute sees James Francis's team GUNNER BOY GOONER 4 LIFE top of the table having played a considerable amount of games more than the opposition. The favourites for the title CLUB ATLETICO DE MIDDLETON are a little disappointed with there result against the leaders and will hope for a better set of results in the next few days. Can I also point out that strong and new manager to the FA Joe Gymer's team ONSLAUGHT FC are looking set to join the elite in the Premier league next season with a comfortable start in the Championship.
XFA DIVISION 1A
CHESSBURY UNITED and HORSES HEAD FC are challenging for the top spot in the division at this early stage with FC BASINGSTOKE just waiting in the wings and not playing any games just yet. There are also worrying times as two managers went missing shortly after the start of the season when there boat sank somewhere in the Irish sea and have not been found yet, Fans of CHICO FC and LIVORNO UNITED are very worried and are asking for there money back on season tickets that they have bought.
XFA DIVISION 1B
REGGINA 1914 FM2009 are top of the league having played twelve games more than there opponents BOOCAN VFC who are just seven points behind the leaders. SINTRENSE and there manager AMB TABAQUINHO are following and are waiting for any major slip ups from the teams above them.
XFA DIVISION 1C
Rob Page and his team TYNE AND WEAR BOYS are showing everyone how its done having played more games than any other football club here in the XFA and look nvery much the favourites to come up out of that division. Ant Witheyman must also be extremely pleased with his team ATHLETICO DALEK who look like they will challenge MINERBIO for second place in the division.
WRITTEN & EDITED BY :- Sharon Lowe (CHIEF XFA JOURNALIST)
Well the seasons underway and some teams are steaming ahead with there games and already some intresting results in all the leagues are been thrown up. Realthing beat Turkiye 1-0 in a battle that Realthing fans will never forget as Turkiye threw everything but the kitchen sink at superb goalkeeper Chris Kirkland who was man of the match. Realthing who were tipped to go down this season are showing strong will and determination to stay up in the top flight this season. Turkiye are top at this early point of the season and look good to once again win this prestigious title of the XFA Premier league.
CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS
Well the season at the minute sees James Francis's team GUNNER BOY GOONER 4 LIFE top of the table having played a considerable amount of games more than the opposition. The favourites for the title CLUB ATLETICO DE MIDDLETON are a little disappointed with there result against the leaders and will hope for a better set of results in the next few days. Can I also point out that strong and new manager to the FA Joe Gymer's team ONSLAUGHT FC are looking set to join the elite in the Premier league next season with a comfortable start in the Championship.
XFA DIVISION 1A
CHESSBURY UNITED and HORSES HEAD FC are challenging for the top spot in the division at this early stage with FC BASINGSTOKE just waiting in the wings and not playing any games just yet. There are also worrying times as two managers went missing shortly after the start of the season when there boat sank somewhere in the Irish sea and have not been found yet, Fans of CHICO FC and LIVORNO UNITED are very worried and are asking for there money back on season tickets that they have bought.
XFA DIVISION 1B
REGGINA 1914 FM2009 are top of the league having played twelve games more than there opponents BOOCAN VFC who are just seven points behind the leaders. SINTRENSE and there manager AMB TABAQUINHO are following and are waiting for any major slip ups from the teams above them.
XFA DIVISION 1C
Rob Page and his team TYNE AND WEAR BOYS are showing everyone how its done having played more games than any other football club here in the XFA and look nvery much the favourites to come up out of that division. Ant Witheyman must also be extremely pleased with his team ATHLETICO DALEK who look like they will challenge MINERBIO for second place in the division.
WRITTEN & EDITED BY :- Sharon Lowe (CHIEF XFA JOURNALIST)
Friday's Transfer Update! 17/04/2009
This week has seen several big-name transfers shake the StJohn gameworld.
The biggest move was for Argentinian midfielder Diego Buonanotte, (above) who moved in a £2.85M exchange deal from Victorian Queue to Hajduk Spliff FC. This big move, the 8th biggest deal done so far in StJohn, just put Robinho's £2.75M transfer (R7 Dream to Sama United) in the shade. Buonanotte, 24, is said to be delighted to have joined the highly-ranked Hajduk, chipping in with a 7.14 rating, 4 goals and 4 assists in his opening 31 appearances.
Big-name signings from the free agent pool are few and far between in the fourth season of a gameworld, but that didn't stop Samuel Eto'o joining Pontus Westerlund's FC Anfield for a cool £2.5M.
Two well-known wonderkids were also on the move for big fees this week: £2.3M took Carlos Vela from Ben Talbott's Last Minute Wanderers to Nunvogels FC in an exchange deal, while midfielder Freddy Adu left the Sean MacGahern Stadium for a shade over £2M to join up with Sage United.
In total, there were twenty two 7-figure deals in StJohn this week. The Steal of the Week may well be Club Atletico de Middleton's £150,000 snatch of 30 year old French striker Matt Moussilou (left), who has bagged 24 goals and 8 assists for his new side in just 27 appearances!
The biggest move was for Argentinian midfielder Diego Buonanotte, (above) who moved in a £2.85M exchange deal from Victorian Queue to Hajduk Spliff FC. This big move, the 8th biggest deal done so far in StJohn, just put Robinho's £2.75M transfer (R7 Dream to Sama United) in the shade. Buonanotte, 24, is said to be delighted to have joined the highly-ranked Hajduk, chipping in with a 7.14 rating, 4 goals and 4 assists in his opening 31 appearances.Big-name signings from the free agent pool are few and far between in the fourth season of a gameworld, but that didn't stop Samuel Eto'o joining Pontus Westerlund's FC Anfield for a cool £2.5M.
Two well-known wonderkids were also on the move for big fees this week: £2.3M took Carlos Vela from Ben Talbott's Last Minute Wanderers to Nunvogels FC in an exchange deal, while midfielder Freddy Adu left the Sean MacGahern Stadium for a shade over £2M to join up with Sage United.
In total, there were twenty two 7-figure deals in StJohn this week. The Steal of the Week may well be Club Atletico de Middleton's £150,000 snatch of 30 year old French striker Matt Moussilou (left), who has bagged 24 goals and 8 assists for his new side in just 27 appearances!
Thursday, 16 April 2009
AFA: Season 4 Preview
So a much slimmed AFA gets underway and it promises to be a competitive one. With last season’s deadwood lost the AFA has been streamlined to a single league and the door has been blown wide open for all comers to challenge for the Premiership title. With last season’s title going right down to the wire, it promises to be an exciting season.
Champions CarTOON United go into the season as slight favourites and having ended the last season 34 games unbeaten few will have looked further at the bookies. Will the pressure be too much? One win in their opening six matches suggests it might be.
Having seen last season’s league title slip away on goal difference, JD Legions will be hoping to go one better but after a pre-season that could be generously described as indifferent he will be hoping that his form turns around quickly. With new signing Rodrigues brought in to bolster the defence they will have taken some encouragement from splitting 6 points with the season’s surprise package Metalface Mirren.
The winners of last season’s first division have started the season brightly; taking 4 points off CarTOON United. Manager Mark Brooks will be hoping his team can make it two league titles in a row and with his much re-shuffled squad.
This season also sees a few exciting new ventures being trialled in the AFA. Firstly in a move never seen before, the official cup now has two legs up to and including the quarter finals. Some say it will never work, but the AFA are brave enough to try. This season has also seen the introduction of a Goal of the Week and Blunder of the Week competition within the FA, and with some great entries already in both competitions, it shows the AFA is more like modern Chelsea-Liverpool games than ones of old, exciting whether its due to brilliance or stupidity.
Champions CarTOON United go into the season as slight favourites and having ended the last season 34 games unbeaten few will have looked further at the bookies. Will the pressure be too much? One win in their opening six matches suggests it might be.
Having seen last season’s league title slip away on goal difference, JD Legions will be hoping to go one better but after a pre-season that could be generously described as indifferent he will be hoping that his form turns around quickly. With new signing Rodrigues brought in to bolster the defence they will have taken some encouragement from splitting 6 points with the season’s surprise package Metalface Mirren.
The winners of last season’s first division have started the season brightly; taking 4 points off CarTOON United. Manager Mark Brooks will be hoping his team can make it two league titles in a row and with his much re-shuffled squad.
This season also sees a few exciting new ventures being trialled in the AFA. Firstly in a move never seen before, the official cup now has two legs up to and including the quarter finals. Some say it will never work, but the AFA are brave enough to try. This season has also seen the introduction of a Goal of the Week and Blunder of the Week competition within the FA, and with some great entries already in both competitions, it shows the AFA is more like modern Chelsea-Liverpool games than ones of old, exciting whether its due to brilliance or stupidity.
PFA Season 4 Preview
Here's David Nixon, PFA organiser extraordinaire, with his preview for Season 4 in the PFA!
THE PREMIER LEAGUE
Aquila should once again be the team to beat in the Premier League, the champions started their defence of the title with a tough fixture against Dave Sox' Cheese City at The Coloseum. "DeWets Warriors" seemed unphased by the added pressure of being the holders as they raced to a 4-0 lead with goals from Gunnarsson, Ewerthon, Devid and Jonatas. After 58 minutes Cheese City finally found their feet and started a remarkable comeback. 2 goals from Buasaky and 2 more from Cisse got them back on level terms with 7 mins to go. However DeWet inflicted heartache on Dave with a 94th minute winner from the ever deadly Ewerthon. A superb game to get the season underway and Aquila will be very relieved to have got the 3 points on the board.
After 21 consecutive games unbeaten in pre-season Beesons Barmy Army were being talked about as possible surprise packages after getting promotion last season from the Championship. But Cheese City put an end to that run with a decisive 3-0 victory. That result helped "The Yellows" to top spot in the Premier League at the end of the first days play.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Championship promises to be a very open league this season and PFA journalist Bas Koelewijn leads after the 5 games which were played today.
DIVISION 1A and 1B
There was no opening days play in Division 1A but highly ranked Port Vale should surely be the team to beat in this league.
wba4eva start the Division 1B season in top spot with 2 wins and a draw in the only 3 games to be played in this section.
THE PFA CUP
The draw has been made for the PFA Cup and it has thrown up 3 all Premier League ties. Dunners Destroyers will play Aquila, Reilly's Rovers take on Lazy Football and Gre's SK will play Beesons Barmy Army. The holders Tricky Dirty Group have been given a home tie to Pieter Kruger's new PFA side Keizer Chiefs.
THE NON-PREMIER CUP
The PFA Non-Premier League Cup will have a new name on the trophy this year as holders Knights of the Round have left the gameworld and runners up Reilly's Rovers have been promoted to the Premier League.The first leg of one first round game has already been played and Martin George's Tra Ghearr face an up-hill struggle to overcome the 3-0 defecit inflicted on them by John Bestors PsyCore.
UFFA COMPETITIONS
The UFFA places were also announced and the PFA will be well represented in all the major competitions.
Aquila, Thurmaston Rangers and Magical East claimed the 3 Gold Cup places based on last years Premier League placings.
Cheese City, Ac Kepessi and Anstey Nomads FC will be in the Silver Cup also based on last years Premier League placings.
Due to Knights of the Round leaving the Gameworld the Non-Premier Cup place for the Cup Winners Cup went to runners up Reilly's Rovers, the PFA Cup place went to runners up Rhino's XI as Tricky Dirty Group had too high an ai percentage to meet the UFFA criteria.
The World Youth Cup will contain Belfast City, Dunners Destroyers and Magicla East based on last years Youth league placings.
Im sure everyone in the PFA will wish these teams the best as they represent our Association on the biggest stage.
Finally, good luck with the new season and I hope its as much fun as last year was!
THE PREMIER LEAGUE
Aquila should once again be the team to beat in the Premier League, the champions started their defence of the title with a tough fixture against Dave Sox' Cheese City at The Coloseum. "DeWets Warriors" seemed unphased by the added pressure of being the holders as they raced to a 4-0 lead with goals from Gunnarsson, Ewerthon, Devid and Jonatas. After 58 minutes Cheese City finally found their feet and started a remarkable comeback. 2 goals from Buasaky and 2 more from Cisse got them back on level terms with 7 mins to go. However DeWet inflicted heartache on Dave with a 94th minute winner from the ever deadly Ewerthon. A superb game to get the season underway and Aquila will be very relieved to have got the 3 points on the board.
After 21 consecutive games unbeaten in pre-season Beesons Barmy Army were being talked about as possible surprise packages after getting promotion last season from the Championship. But Cheese City put an end to that run with a decisive 3-0 victory. That result helped "The Yellows" to top spot in the Premier League at the end of the first days play.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Championship promises to be a very open league this season and PFA journalist Bas Koelewijn leads after the 5 games which were played today.
DIVISION 1A and 1B
There was no opening days play in Division 1A but highly ranked Port Vale should surely be the team to beat in this league.
wba4eva start the Division 1B season in top spot with 2 wins and a draw in the only 3 games to be played in this section.
THE PFA CUP
The draw has been made for the PFA Cup and it has thrown up 3 all Premier League ties. Dunners Destroyers will play Aquila, Reilly's Rovers take on Lazy Football and Gre's SK will play Beesons Barmy Army. The holders Tricky Dirty Group have been given a home tie to Pieter Kruger's new PFA side Keizer Chiefs.
THE NON-PREMIER CUP
The PFA Non-Premier League Cup will have a new name on the trophy this year as holders Knights of the Round have left the gameworld and runners up Reilly's Rovers have been promoted to the Premier League.The first leg of one first round game has already been played and Martin George's Tra Ghearr face an up-hill struggle to overcome the 3-0 defecit inflicted on them by John Bestors PsyCore.
UFFA COMPETITIONS
The UFFA places were also announced and the PFA will be well represented in all the major competitions.
Aquila, Thurmaston Rangers and Magical East claimed the 3 Gold Cup places based on last years Premier League placings.
Cheese City, Ac Kepessi and Anstey Nomads FC will be in the Silver Cup also based on last years Premier League placings.
Due to Knights of the Round leaving the Gameworld the Non-Premier Cup place for the Cup Winners Cup went to runners up Reilly's Rovers, the PFA Cup place went to runners up Rhino's XI as Tricky Dirty Group had too high an ai percentage to meet the UFFA criteria.
The World Youth Cup will contain Belfast City, Dunners Destroyers and Magicla East based on last years Youth league placings.
Im sure everyone in the PFA will wish these teams the best as they represent our Association on the biggest stage.
Finally, good luck with the new season and I hope its as much fun as last year was!
THE XFA NEWS
Welcome to the XFA and to the new season! There are no fewer than 34 new teams in the XFA so a big hello to them they are as follows INTER MELAN, TETBURY TOWN GAMBITS, TYNE AND WEAR BOYS, RUBY'S ALL STARS, FC LANG LEE, HAYTER UNITED FC, SIMMSY SKINNERS, HORSES HEAD FC, EPSOM FC, BOOCAN FC, BALLINGER BOMBERS, CHESSBURY UNITED, LIVORINO UNITED, ATHLETICO DALEK, CORSICA RANGERS FC, CHICO FC, PEKING UNIVERSITY, LEGLESS 11, BISHOP ULTRAS, RELENTLESS FC, BORO LEGENDS, EGO TEAM, KAMAKAZI FC, MINERBIO, VIBORG FC, SLAVES UNITED, THE CURLY WURLYS, NATURAL BORN LOSERS, DISBURY SPARTANS, REGGINA 1914 FM 2009, EMPEROR ELITE FC, BYRON KNIGHTS FC, ONSLAUGHT FC AND MILLIONTOWN. Again, a big welcome to you all.
Hello to Joe Gymer manager of ONSLAUGHT FC who joined us from SFA its believed this is due to many bad decisions by the officials in many games to do with this fantastic clubs matches. Do not worry Joe you will be safe with us in the XFA.
Mark Sovereigns SOVEREIGNS CITY have signed Rivaldo and are hopeing to keep hold of influential striker Felix Alejandr Borja who was there top striker last season and will hope for the same return in goals this season.
Big mention to Darren Constable of BASINGSTOKE TITANS who's a cracking little manager and good luck to him in the new season.
Ritchie Cole's team NATURAL BORN LOSERS have joined the XFA from the PFA and I would love to welcome him abored to the most enjoyable FA around.Please note Ritchie your team is in for some battles this season.
Joe Woronowycz and his team THE CURLY WURLYS have joined from the WCA and will be a fantastic addition to the best FA around.His team's overall play is a joy to behold and will look forward to commenting on his team's performances this season.
I must admit that I was sorry to see Paul Andrews leave for the XEFA but the arrowing news that his players are all on assault charges and affray after a bar room brawl with many players from the REALTHING then there was only one team ever going to stay with the XFA and that was REALTHING whos players have been dropped of all charges due to the damning evidence against players of CANON FODDER FC.
Its also true that Horatio Horblower also known as Matt will be starring in XEFA'S version of PRISCILA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (DRAG QUEEN MOVIE) and will be joined by Sam Doidge,Tom Curtis and Alex King.They are all very much in love.
TURKIYE & HAJDUK SPLIFF LOOK LIKE THEY WILL LOCK HORNS FOR THE PREMIERSHIP TITLE
Once again the season's about to start and we are already talking about the astonishing TURKIYE but this season there's a new challenger in town in HAJDUK SPLIFF and can I just say how excited I am to be part of the premiership again this season. I have a sneaking feeling it will be REALTHING's last as they look set to fight relegation. GEORDIES UTD are going to be looking at improveing there position after a fantastic season last time out. Sander Hasselo will also be looking to close the gap on the leaders and I look forward to a fantastic season with all these big names in the division.Mick Morans NEVER BACK DOWN FC look to bounce back into the premiership after relegation last season.I would also like to mention Savell Martin's SAV AFRICA who are looking like they could be a surprise package in the CHAMPIONSHIP as I know the lad well after playing his team in the qualifying leagues all those seasons ago.
LOWER LEAGUES
DIVISION 1A- will be contested between Gordon Birch's FC BASINGSTOKE and Jon Humphreys CHESSBURY UNITED as these two giants of the game will battle it out to become champions of DIVISION 1A.
DIVISION 1B- will see a battle in what seems to be the stronger of the three lower leagues with Chris Buchan's BOOCAN VFC,SS Peles NK JOGURT and Nick Jenkins SPRINGFIELD TOWN. So good luck to all the teams in that division which seems as though it will be an hard slog.
DIVISION 1C- my mate Rob Pages TYNE AND WEAR BOYS look strong favourites with strong willed Italian manager Steffano Accorsi's MINERBIO looking like the team to chase him all the way for the title this season and could be the divisions biggest shock if TYNE AND WEAR BOYS do not turn up this season.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WISH ALL THE TEAMS IN THE XFA THE BEST OF LUCK THIS SEASON AND ALL THE LUCK FOR THE SEASONS AHEAD.
P.S LETS BEAT XEFA TO AS MANY TROPHIES AS POSSIBLE.
Hello to Joe Gymer manager of ONSLAUGHT FC who joined us from SFA its believed this is due to many bad decisions by the officials in many games to do with this fantastic clubs matches. Do not worry Joe you will be safe with us in the XFA.
Mark Sovereigns SOVEREIGNS CITY have signed Rivaldo and are hopeing to keep hold of influential striker Felix Alejandr Borja who was there top striker last season and will hope for the same return in goals this season.
Big mention to Darren Constable of BASINGSTOKE TITANS who's a cracking little manager and good luck to him in the new season.
Ritchie Cole's team NATURAL BORN LOSERS have joined the XFA from the PFA and I would love to welcome him abored to the most enjoyable FA around.Please note Ritchie your team is in for some battles this season.
Joe Woronowycz and his team THE CURLY WURLYS have joined from the WCA and will be a fantastic addition to the best FA around.His team's overall play is a joy to behold and will look forward to commenting on his team's performances this season.
I must admit that I was sorry to see Paul Andrews leave for the XEFA but the arrowing news that his players are all on assault charges and affray after a bar room brawl with many players from the REALTHING then there was only one team ever going to stay with the XFA and that was REALTHING whos players have been dropped of all charges due to the damning evidence against players of CANON FODDER FC.
Its also true that Horatio Horblower also known as Matt will be starring in XEFA'S version of PRISCILA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (DRAG QUEEN MOVIE) and will be joined by Sam Doidge,Tom Curtis and Alex King.They are all very much in love.
TURKIYE & HAJDUK SPLIFF LOOK LIKE THEY WILL LOCK HORNS FOR THE PREMIERSHIP TITLE
Once again the season's about to start and we are already talking about the astonishing TURKIYE but this season there's a new challenger in town in HAJDUK SPLIFF and can I just say how excited I am to be part of the premiership again this season. I have a sneaking feeling it will be REALTHING's last as they look set to fight relegation. GEORDIES UTD are going to be looking at improveing there position after a fantastic season last time out. Sander Hasselo will also be looking to close the gap on the leaders and I look forward to a fantastic season with all these big names in the division.Mick Morans NEVER BACK DOWN FC look to bounce back into the premiership after relegation last season.I would also like to mention Savell Martin's SAV AFRICA who are looking like they could be a surprise package in the CHAMPIONSHIP as I know the lad well after playing his team in the qualifying leagues all those seasons ago.
LOWER LEAGUES
DIVISION 1A- will be contested between Gordon Birch's FC BASINGSTOKE and Jon Humphreys CHESSBURY UNITED as these two giants of the game will battle it out to become champions of DIVISION 1A.
DIVISION 1B- will see a battle in what seems to be the stronger of the three lower leagues with Chris Buchan's BOOCAN VFC,SS Peles NK JOGURT and Nick Jenkins SPRINGFIELD TOWN. So good luck to all the teams in that division which seems as though it will be an hard slog.
DIVISION 1C- my mate Rob Pages TYNE AND WEAR BOYS look strong favourites with strong willed Italian manager Steffano Accorsi's MINERBIO looking like the team to chase him all the way for the title this season and could be the divisions biggest shock if TYNE AND WEAR BOYS do not turn up this season.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WISH ALL THE TEAMS IN THE XFA THE BEST OF LUCK THIS SEASON AND ALL THE LUCK FOR THE SEASONS AHEAD.
P.S LETS BEAT XEFA TO AS MANY TROPHIES AS POSSIBLE.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
DR Dazzlers' Interview on Playoff Win in Season 3
So Craig congratulations on your promotion and win in the play offs
Q:How did it improve after such a poor start to end up winning promotion is a real achievement?
A: Hi Jim, Its always a pleasure to spend some time talking to the national press about a positive issue rather than so many of the negatives of the past season.
A poor start was an understatement. Played 7 lost 7. Not what I, the players, the club or the fans were looking for. And then the speculation surrounding my position and the dreaded "vote of confidence" from the board made life a little tricky for a while there.
Its difficult to say how we managed to improve, i kept faith with the players and the game we were trying to play and eventually things began to click. I think special praise needs to go to Marcus Aurelio and David Wheater the Dazzlers joint payers of the season. Without them we would not be where we are today.
Q: What areas you looking to or have improved for the new campaign?
A: Well this is an interesting point. I really felt the system needed to change and we needed a few extra "quality stars".
This year we have moved from a 442 to a 451 variation, so we have beefed up the midfiled creativity with the arrivals of both Danny and Nazarenko. Also we were very exposed when Marcus was injured or away representing Brazil so we are delighted to have brought in Mexican super star Joes Luis Mendoza to provide him with some much needed competition up front.
It may not be the end of our summer spending yet with a top class CB on the radar, however I have to say that young Adam Pinter has matured very well in closed season and is forming an excellent partnership with Wheater.
Watch this space I would say to the clubs fans!
Q: The next season will be a much tougher challenge; do you think you and your players are ready??
A: I think you can never be anything other than 100% ready in football. Anything less and you will fail. Since we won the playoff finals I have gotten all of my top scouts compiling comprehensive reports of our new rivals so who knows. You may see another Flander Angels situation in the season to come, though I doubt it. Survival will be key for the club and the fans already know that.
Q: What's your hopes for next season?
A: Well I kind of answered that above. But I will add that The Dazzlers have become renowned within the GW St John as a team that play open attacking football and we wont be changing that in the season to come. If the big boys expect us to go away to them and defend then they have anther thing coming. It sure should make for some exciting encounters in the days to come.
Thanks for your time, Craig!
Q:How did it improve after such a poor start to end up winning promotion is a real achievement?
A: Hi Jim, Its always a pleasure to spend some time talking to the national press about a positive issue rather than so many of the negatives of the past season.
A poor start was an understatement. Played 7 lost 7. Not what I, the players, the club or the fans were looking for. And then the speculation surrounding my position and the dreaded "vote of confidence" from the board made life a little tricky for a while there.
Its difficult to say how we managed to improve, i kept faith with the players and the game we were trying to play and eventually things began to click. I think special praise needs to go to Marcus Aurelio and David Wheater the Dazzlers joint payers of the season. Without them we would not be where we are today.
Q: What areas you looking to or have improved for the new campaign?
A: Well this is an interesting point. I really felt the system needed to change and we needed a few extra "quality stars".
This year we have moved from a 442 to a 451 variation, so we have beefed up the midfiled creativity with the arrivals of both Danny and Nazarenko. Also we were very exposed when Marcus was injured or away representing Brazil so we are delighted to have brought in Mexican super star Joes Luis Mendoza to provide him with some much needed competition up front.
It may not be the end of our summer spending yet with a top class CB on the radar, however I have to say that young Adam Pinter has matured very well in closed season and is forming an excellent partnership with Wheater.
Watch this space I would say to the clubs fans!
Q: The next season will be a much tougher challenge; do you think you and your players are ready??
A: I think you can never be anything other than 100% ready in football. Anything less and you will fail. Since we won the playoff finals I have gotten all of my top scouts compiling comprehensive reports of our new rivals so who knows. You may see another Flander Angels situation in the season to come, though I doubt it. Survival will be key for the club and the fans already know that.
Q: What's your hopes for next season?
A: Well I kind of answered that above. But I will add that The Dazzlers have become renowned within the GW St John as a team that play open attacking football and we wont be changing that in the season to come. If the big boys expect us to go away to them and defend then they have anther thing coming. It sure should make for some exciting encounters in the days to come.
Thanks for your time, Craig!
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