The Fiery Baptist: News from FML's GW StJohn

RESTART FA LIGHTS UP ST JOHN

2009-12-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

Its the end of the first week of the season in St John and following a brief quiet period after the "big news" the GW is a light again.

The two new FAs "Restart FA" and "Active FA" have seen the core stronghold of active members get together. There is an invigorated transfer market and a whole new load of community spirit and Rivalry.

Ben Talbott (england) and Kai Boshka (France) look like dominating the RFA early days whilst Chick/AKA Roni (Holland) has also made an incredible start!! In the AFA GW moderator and executive chef Jay Derriman is leading the prem and looking to hold off the growing challenge of the mighty Geordies United.

Expect more updates on league progression and awards as the season progresses including a short piece on the upcoming New Years Tournament.

Super Cup Final 2009

2009-09-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

So here we are for the main cup of the UFFA season for the winners of the Gold, Silver, Cup Winners', Grassroots and Gameworld Cups. Only the best teams of every competition get into to this competition. And what a final we have here today, the world famous team CFC FC vs. Another world famous team Tatran Stresovice. If I had to choose who I thought would win this match today I would have to put my money on CFC FC having the edge going into the match. Everyone knows that CFC FC have the ability to crush any team in the Gameworld and I doubt they would stop that "tradition" today.

So here come the 22 players out from the SI Towers Tunnel. Tatran seem to be in deep though , they know they can win this game, if they remain tight at the back and strong further up the pitch, but they can they handle the pressure that CFC will throw at them? We will see....

So the whistle is blown and Tatran Stresovice kicks off, setting a quick eager tempo on the game trying to grab that early goal. Looking at the first few minutes it's obvious that Tatran have been told to put pressure on the CFC midfield and try and grab an early goal as they decide not to make chances and just keep the ball around the centre of the field. If CFCs' midfield makes a mistake then Tatran can push up and get a goal scoring opportunity. It only takes just under 20 minutes to get the first goal of the game, after a mistake header from Cristian Zapata that goes into his own net, Tatran are giving the first goal of the game and undoubtedly the advantage. On the 33rd minute disaster strikes, World Class striker Benzema is injured and is forced to be substituted, disaster for Tatran as he is one of their main men. Without Benzema Tatran are becoming sloppy in midfield giving away chances in the midfield too easily and in the 2nd minute of injury time of the first half, CFC make them pay, after CFC's free kick hits the wall. Zapata crosses it into the box and World Class youth Nelson hits a deflected shot into the back of the net to bring the score to 1-1.

Second half with CFC on the attack. Clearly the Tatran manager wasn't happy with his team at half time as when they came back out they seemed angered which affected their performance, conceding many free kicks and gaining many yellow cards, they need to calm down if they want any chance of winning this match. The rest of the second half was a bore with rarely any chances for either side, but then on the 82nd minute, arguably one of CFCs' best players Alejandro Pelayo strikes from just inside the box into the bottom right corner which gives CFC FC the lead, 2-1, the goal is almost certainly the winning goal. And it is , the full time whistle is blown , CFC FC have won it so late in the game, Tatran put up a good fight but in the end their can only be one winner and that winner is CFC FC.

So up goes CFC to collect the Super Cup Trophy, fireworks and music everywhere with confetti flying all around the pitch, this is a true way to celebrate a cup win. So that's the Super Cup for this season, I wish CFC and Tatran all the best through the rest of the season. Can CFC FC retain their title next season? Who knows we'll have to find out!

Thanks for reading everyone,
Jack Panama

St John Game World Cup - Final - Dundee v.s. Flanders

2009-09-02T03:34:00.000-07:00

So here we are this is it, the match you had all been waiting for, the St John Game World Cup Final. Both teams have been through a lot to get this far, beating team after team after team just to play this one match to show that they have the best team in St John. The two teams are Alan Hunters Dundee City and Emil Alexandersson Flanders Angels. If I had to choose who I thought would come out victorious. I put would my money on Flanders just taking it, being able to breeze through a world class team like CFC FC must mean something. They got the hardest games of the tournament but didn’t let themselves fail and now here they are, in the final.

So here come the teams at the Super Admin Stadium 10, both teams eyes fixated on the trophy half way up the stand, both captains knowing that they could be lifting that trophy today. After the usual national anthems and general service announcement the teams are ready with Dundee to kick off.

Dundee kick off and all ready it’s obvious they’ve been told to grab and early goal to make it much easier for them as they have most of their team up field trying to score, but Flanders are having none of it and foil any attempt on goal with perfect defending. 10^th minute and Flanders have possession in the oppositions half with their first long range shot of the game is saved and it goes out for the corner. Claudinho smacks the corner to the near post with Leo trying to grab a sneaky shot but changed his mind and decides to play it outside of the box, and with a spectacular right foot shot from World Famous Attacking Midfielder, Miguel De las Cuevas, scores in the top corner and gives Flanders the lead. Once the goal was scored, the tactics seemed to swap around, Dundee had gone for a more defensive approach, presumably to stop more goals being scored and hoping for a sneaky counter attack to level the score, whereas Flanders were on a more attacking approach, hoping to increase their lead to guarantee them a win.

The rest of the match wasn’t very exciting, with the conflicting tactics the ball was very much around the centre circle for most the game with no action, which the fans were clearly noticing by the booing that was going on around the entire stadium, with the score at 1-0 on the 60^th minute, it seems that Alan had told his team to get stuck in, as all of a sudden they were getting right into the Flanders players, but a little too much, with many yellow cards being given out for poor tackles, whatever Alan tried to save his team, it wasn’t good enough, the full time whistle, Dundee City 0 - Flanders Angels – 1.

About 15 minutes after the match had ended, the ceremonial stand had been put up in the centre circle, and with the stand of ovation from the fans, they went out to collect their runners up medals, unlucky to them, they had played well during the whole game, but Flanders were always that little bit better, and performance on the day is what counts. But then the real cheering starting, out came Flanders Angels, the hero of the game Miguel De las Cuevas, will be claiming the cup for them, one by one they pick up their medals and then in a small moment silence, Miguel lifts the trophy well above his head and the noise that was coming from the fans was almost unbearable, they really were proud of their team and so they should be, they’ve played incredibly well over the competition and if they had let their guard down, CFC would have been in the final and it would of most likely ended in a 1 sided boring game.

Well done to Flanders Angels for winning, see if they can produce a second win next season.

So that’s all the reports for this season, thanks to everyone for all your support and messages, hope to see more people enjoying these next season.

Thanks for reading everyone,

Jack Panama

Interview With DHAM11

2009-08-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night i caught up with possibly the most genuine managers in the St John GW, "Gary Dham 11 Williams" to have a chat with himself and also to ask him some questions about his exploits in St John,

Ok first thing Gary i would just like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to talk to me( I know the other half is away lol)
"Np at all, but she's got alot of ironing to come back to so i may be on 24/7 yet another night yet, dog needs food too shes been away nearly a month"

At this Stage Gary was afraid the RSPCA where watching this post, he was very nervous, but that was not the least of his worries as he went on to tell me "since she has been away and this is no joke either, i smashed her best lamp, flooded the bathroom, killed most of her flowers, dog thinks a walk is up and down the stairs every few hours, the cat is nervous as the dog is hungry and ive got stale milk in the fridge and not to mention the take aways and cans in the bin" At this moment in time i would like to mention to our women readers DONT LEAVE MEN HOME ALONE LOL,

I had a little chat with gary about his recent Community manager of the season award, Gary was aprreciated all the votes he got for the award and that he was happy to be up there for the last four season but what Gary also told me we need to relly look after the new people who join St John, to help them join in in the community and to help them as much as possible, one thing Gary has been very helpful with and that is why i think he deserved the Community award.

At the moment Gary you are playinging in the AEFA Fa, How has the season been going so far?
"At the moment it is Medioka as expected, however every season i have moved up and not down at the end of the season so i am hoping this season is no different, My team has never gone backwards yet so mid table above 13 is Garys projection, anywhere from 12th or above i will be happy" "But a few people tipped me for relagation so i aim to prove these people wrong"

I asked Gary what the main aim for the season was apart from finishing in 12th or above in the league.
"We need to win another major cup, we have won one already so far, got two semi finals to play and a quarter, now if we manage one more cup and above 12th then that would be a very good achievement also before this season Durham Eleven hadnt won anything.

Gary during the season you had a major clearout of players and brought in plenty of new faces, how has this affected your team and moral?
"Well it was needed, i had some problems in the prem with about four positions, The championship was ok but we all have to up our mark,so it was always going to happen that i would replace the week side, end of last season we managed to stay in the prem with the buy of two good quality players, this season was more or less the same untill kick off, more weekness due to age, so we brought in a couple of first teamers and placed the weeker ones on the bench and im happy so far"

I asked gary what the long term goals are for Durham Eleven"
Gary told me he takes one season at a time and he aims to stay in the prem and keep moving up the league and that he was going nowhere from the AEFA and he was very happy where he is, "If its not broke dont fix it i say"

Gary would you like to one day try your hand at becoming an FA Org?
" I have taught about it but my main focus is on my team and on my players at the moment and i could not commit to other duties with my responsibilites".

I wanted to know what Garys Favourite moment has been so far,
"I have a few moments that i can pick but my main one at the moment is winning the AEFA Daily trophy" Gary had some memorable moments in this trophy especialy the 2.0 win over Ben Talbotts Last Minute Wanderers, also gary picked out his American Goalkeeper Brad Guzan as his star performer in the cup that "Old dont mean not good enough" 10 million might tempt him to sell though, oh Matt Case where are you now lol.

One last thing Gary told me before we wrapped up that the choice of name for his team is because he comes from a town in Durham between Newcastle and Sunderland that had no footie team so he wanted to create something that Durham never had, "awh Bless him" lol

That Concludes My interview with Gary Williams, "Gary i wishyou all the best with your league and cup games for the season mate and lets get your hands on that 2nd cup"

"Thank you very much Barry, I appreciate your time too mate, all the best".

Comming Soon

2009-08-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hello folks, Barry has got his hands on the blog, i will be writing about alot of things in the future, some of the happenings in St John and also catching up with managers in the GW, if there is anything anyone wants me to talk about give me a shout in game or you can mail me at barryokelly84@gmail .com, looking forward to writing and hope it can be fun for everyone,

All the best Barry

AEFA SEASON 8

2009-08-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

Another season of heartache ,joy,tears and disapointment is upon is the season 8 of AEFA ST JOHN

PREMIERSHIP

Last season`s champions LAST MINUTE WANDERERS will again take some beating and will look to hold onto their newly won crown.They will as usual face very stiff competition from 5 times former champions FLANDERS ANGELS,who will do all they can to wrestle the title back to their trophy cabinet.The bookies favs are UPPSALA GUNNERS who with the star studed team they have slapped together may well take the titel this season

CHAMPIONSHIP

Always a tough division to get out of in fm live and this is no different.
New side SAMA UNITED are clear favourites though and will takea lot of beating to keep them away from the premiership in season 9.PORTO WINE FC will also be a strong sode and look for top 3 finish as will the very strong THE NOIRS and STAYTON AFC

AEFA DIV 1

Always a cracking dividion and this season will be closer than possibly ever including last seasons last minute title win.ANOTHER WASTED CORNER AND JUMBO FC look very strong for top 3 placing come end of the season as do MCTEEZY CITY and RUFFHEATH RANGER

Again this will be a tough season for all teams and will no doubt go right down to the wire as in previous seasons

SEASON 8

CUP FEVER

2009-07-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

cup updates

Granite City Highlanders are through to the next round after a 2-0 win over Hutton Harriers

CarTOON United have eliminated aefa div 1 second place Black Cats also 2-0

Grimsby Town 1st's had a convincing 3-0 victory over Pity The Fool

Riley's Rovers lost 2-1 to former premiership champions Flanders Angels

mattcfc lost out 1-0 to Beckenham's Babes

current chanpionship leaders Atletico Mongoose ended EDINBURGH HEARTS cup dream for another year

Fly Bhoys beat now bankrupt CrazyGang FC 1-0

after a 1-1 draw Blackley Rangers were eliminated 6-5 on penalties to McTeezy City in the shock of the round

more games still to be played

MONEY MAKES THE FOOTBALL WORLD GO ROUND

2009-07-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

BLACKLEY SIGN ANDRE FOR GIANT FEE

BLACKLEY Rangers have smashed their transfer record with the signing of winger Andrés Guardado for £1.9M.
The tricky Mexican has been signed by manager Si Coyle's on a 2 season contract from Lee Jones's dazzling T-Bag Town
It comes on the same day the club let Wilson Palacios go for £1.6M and saw the newly promoted side reach the top of the Premiership table.
Coyle said: "Andre is a great capture for us and will scare the hell out of opposition players. We have three quality wingers now who can all score and create lots of goals."

AEFA DIV 1

2009-07-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

The bottom tier of AEFA league football is no less exciting than any other

HUTTON HARRIERS leads the way currently sitting proudly at the top with 40 points from 20 matches played .This includes only defeats which is a great record so far in the season and must be favourites to head into the championship

BLACK CATS lead the way for a brief time but must be happy with currently sitting in 2nd place.They have 32 points from their 20 games which includes an impressive 9 victory`s.

MCTEEZY CITY have 3rd place with 31 points from their 35 games so far and will look to keep it up to fight for promotion.

JUSTICE OF ROMA are happy in 4th after only 11 matches and have 21 points.They do have plenty of matches in hand

This will be a tough league to get out of and this will be updated as the season goes on as with all the AEFA ST JOHN leagues

PREMIERSHIP LEADER WAY AHEAD

2009-07-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

AEFA PREMIERSHIP

LAST MINUTE WANDERERS are a huge 10 points clear in the AEFA PREMIERSHIP as after 8 matches they have racked up a very impressive 21 points,WAYNE ROONEYS performances have played a huge part in the impressive run

BLACKLEY RANGERS managed by SI COYLE have 2nd place but are 10 points behind the leaders but im sure will try to push the leaders all the way

Durham sit 3rd also 10 points behind

Bens team LAST MINUTE WANDERERS will really take some beating this season in the AEFA top flight

AEFA PREMIERSHIP ONE TEAM WAY AHEAD

2009-07-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

SEASON 7 CHAMPIONSHIP

2009-07-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Season 7 is under way in the aefa championship and its all a bit tight already

JORVIK VIKING sit proudly top after their 3 matches on 7 points and is a pretty good return.

GRIMSBY TOWN 1ST`S are placed second so far after 4 matches and have bagged 6 points so a steady start

CLAYDON DUCKS are 3rd currently after 5 matches with 6 points and will look to keep the points ticking over to make the top of the table and push for the premiership next season,

KAPTAJNE have 5 points from 3 games so also have a steady start

This will be a tight league as ever and as the old saying goes its harder to get into the premier league than to stay in it

PEFA Feature Match Week 2 - Crumpstars vs bizkit utd

2009-06-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

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Primetime Evening Football Association Feature Match Week 2 - Crumpstars vs bizkit utd
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This weeks feature was the P.E.F.A. Cup Last 16 Match between James Crump's Crumpstars & Mark Mcauley's bizkit utd at The Crumpstars Arena.

The game kicked off with Crumpstars operating a 4-5-1 formation, and bizkit utd picking a more traditional 4-4-2.

It didn't take long to see where the main difference between the two teams was going to be. That was midfield, as in the 2nd minute, bizkit utd's Tamás Hajnal was sucked out wide to defend, leaving bizkit utd with one midfielder left in the center against the central trio of Crumpstars.

Pavle Ninkov received the ball on the right flank & was quickly closed down by Tamás Hajnal & Sergio Floccari. Pavle Ninkov found Davide Bottone in the center, Davide Bottone then burst through what was remaining of the bizkit utd midfield to lay a through ball to Papa Waigo whose shot was blocked resulting in a corner.

Just before half time Crumpstars threatened from a corner but Elliott Ward's header was tipped over by Luke Daniels. That was the last bit of action from a rather disappointing half of football.

HALF TIME Crumpstars 0 - 0 bizkit utd

Within 2 minutes of the second half kicking off there was a goal. Pedro Morales whipped in a free kick from around 27 yards up bizkit utd left touchline. The resulting cross caused havoc in the bizkit utd penalty area which saw Luke Daniels save well twice. It was third time lucky for Crumpstars tho as Luke Daniels pushed the ball straight to Eddie Johnson who had had a empty net to hit from 5 yards. Needless to say he didn't disappoint. First blood Crumpstars.

Crumpstars 1 - 0 bizkit utd

On 71 minutes Pavle Ninkov miss hit his clearance straight to the feet of André Dias just inside the Crumpstars penalty area. André Dias' shot was deflected to the feet of Sergio Floccari who took a quick swing at the ball. His shot was well saved by Javi Martínez, however Tamás Hajnal was first to pounce on the parry to fire home the leveler.

Crumpstars 1 - 1 bizkit utd

Whoever said save the best until last was right. 3 minutes after bizkit utd drew level Pedro Morales stole the show. Pavle Ninkov took a quick throw just about level with the bizkit utd penalty area. The throw found Eddie Johnson who layed it off to Papa Waigo. Papa Waigo picked out Pedro Morales just outside the right side of the area. Pedro Morales took one touch, looked up and fired home a goal worthy of winning any football game. Pure inspiration from Pedro Morales. Take a bow son!

Crumpstars 2 - 1 bizkit utd

FULL TIME Crumpstars 2 - 1 bizkit utd

The game was fairly even with both teams keeping it tight. It took a moment of magic from Pedro Morales to win the game for Crumpstars, however bizkit utd will be disappointed they didn't close him down a bit quicker.

Man of The Match: Pedro Morales
Attendance: 12,722
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PEFA Newsletter - Week 2

2009-06-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

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P.E.F.A. Premiership Round-Up
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The PEFA has reached the all important mid season turn and George Philip's impressive Aberdeen Locos lead the wayin the Premiership. The Locos have lost just one top fight game from their first 22 games, a narrow 1-0 loss to Ronald van't Veld's Veldmuisjes FC. However, North Scotlands top PEFA side wont be able to rest on their laurels as there are several sides hot on their heels.

If anyone is going to break away from the chasing pack, the favourites to catch the leaders must be Andrew Fox's Tangerine Dream. Scotlands other PEFA giants will be determined to pounce upon any slip ups which their Aberdeen counterparts may befall.

Long time leaders SC Stockel are still in the mix in second place and will also be waiting for any chances which come their way.
With 5 teams to be relegated, the bottom half of the Premiership is a daunting place to be resting. There are still plenty of games to be played before the pressure really kicks in, but all the sides in the bottom half will be looking to get as many point on the board as possible in the next few days.

Corby Steel currently occupy the basement spot and will need to push on quickly before they lose contact with the teams above.

The race for the Premierships golden boot is currently lead by Curry Knight FC's Shane Long with an impressive 18 goals from just 21 games. His main challenger will surely be Steven Fletcher from the league leaders Aberdeen Locos.

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P.E.F.A. Championship Round-Up
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With 4 automatic promotion spots and 4 playoff places on offer the PEFA Championship is sure to remain exciting until the very last game.
Bexleyheath FC are in the driving seat for promotion and the title, but yet another scottish team- Dundee City are hot on their heels. Any of the top 10 will still fancy their chances of automatic promotion but with half a season left to play there are sure to be many twists and turns before anyone is sure of their destiny.
At the wrong end of the table Royton Blues cannot afford any more slip ups, they are already 25 points from safety with just 12 games remaining.

With 8 wins and 2 draws in the last 10 games, this weeks Championship team of the week is Dundee City.

The race to become top scorer in the Championship is currently lead by Lazy Football's Matías Suárez with 20 goals in 28 games.

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P.E.F.A. Zone A Round-Up
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Week 2 of PEFA Zone A has seen Pingvinen FC top the table with Tra staying within there slipstream ready to pounce on any slip up. The top 5 are so tight that any from Pingvinen FC, Tra Ghearr, Spectrum Conversion, FrootLoops FC to Northfleet FC could take the title or one of the two automatic promotion spots.

The game of the week must go to big mac's lads vs Earlington Town. A great game for the neutrals finishing 4-3, two teams that enjoy putting the ball in the net rather then stopping the other team. Who says the premier league is the most exciting.

The leagues top scorer is still Roman Pavlyuchenko, with an amzing 26 goals this far.

With 2 teams deactivated and only 2 on 100% AI the league has thus far been very active so keep up the good work guys.

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P.E.F.A. Zone B Round-Up
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This week in the P.E.F.A. Zone B has seen Jack Army FC & Crumpstars switch and swap at the top a few times. However, at the end of Week 2 James Crump's Crumpstars are at the top of the pile in 1st position with Jack Army FC behind them in 2nd.

Casagrande fc are heading the playoff places, 9 points behind Jack Army FC with 2 games in hand.

The bottom club stays the same as last week with Moisas F.C still bottom.

At the end of week 2 the two automatic promotion spots are held by Crumpstars and Jack Army FC.

Casagrande fc, FlyMyBeauties FC, bizkit utd & Glimakra IF occupy the four playoff places.

Team of the week goes to Crumpstars as they have capitalized on there games in hand to climb to the top of the league.

Crumpstars Eddie Johnson is currently the leagues top goal scorer with 28 goals in 31 games for the club.

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PEFA Feature Match Week 1 - Atletico Abertawe vs SC Stockel

2009-06-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

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Primetime Evening Football Association Feature Match - Atletico Abertawe vs SC Stockel
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This weeks feature was the first match of Season 6 in the PEFA Premiership between Atletico Abertawe and SC Stockel at The Roberto Martinez Stadium, Swansea.

The game kicked off and both sides started brightly with each team trying to get a hold of the possession. The similarities between the teams were plain to see from the off with both teams focusing on keeping the ball whilst on the attack and closing down quickly whilst defending. Needless to say, with both sides being so tentative it wouldn't take long for someone to loose concentration. Indeed it did and on 12 minutes when SC Stockel took the lead following an Atletico Abertawe Attack. Atletico Abertawe committed players forward and got caught out when there midfield failed to get back quick enough to defend a Bogdan Shust clearance. A long kick from Bogdan Shust found the head of Giovanni Moreno just inside the Atletico Abertawe half. Giovanni Moreno flicked the ball sideways to McDonald Mariga who in turn played a neat one-two with Trésor Mputu to bypass the Atletico Abertawe midfield. McDonald Mariga then held off three of Atletico Abertawe's defence before placing his shot to the right of Kasper Schmeichel.

Atletico Abertawe: 0 - 1 SC Stockel

The lead however only lasted three minutes with Atletico Abertawe drawing level on 16 minute mark. Serkan Çalik received the ball inside the Atletico Abertawe half before driving down SC Stockel's right flank unchallenged to cross the ball from the byline. Serkan Çalik's cross was missed by the head of SC Stockel's Eric Matoukou and found Marko Maksimovic at the far post who bust a gut to get into the area undetected and fire home the leveler.

Atletico Abertawe: 1 - 1 SC Stockel

Half Time

The second half started much the same as the first half ended, with nothing of note to mention and neither team able to stamp there territory on the game, then on 58 minutes Atletico Abertawe's Benoît Leroy fouled McDonald Mariga 25 yards from Atletico Abertawe's goal. Trésor Mputu took the resulting freekick and saw his shot deflect off the Atletico Abertawe wall to find Musaba Selemani unmarked at the far post. Musaba Selemani steadied himself before hitting the back of Kasper Schmeichel's goal.

Atletico Abertawe: 2 - 1 SC Stockel

SC Stockel were now looking to keep hold of the ball and control the game, but they conceded a corner in the 83rd minute.
From the resulting corner Atletico Abertawe's Léo Silva climbed high to head home the equalizer.

All square in an even game between two similar sides.

Atletico Abertawe: 2 - 2 SC Stockel

FULL TIME Atletico Abertawe 2 - 2 SC Stockel

Attendance: 18,597

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PEFA Newsletter - Week 1

2009-06-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

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P.E.F.A. Premiership Round-Up
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The land of the promised ones consists of 22 teams competing to be the biggest fish in the Primetime Evening Football Association. Five teams will be relegated to the P.E.F.A. Championship and they will be replaced by five of the P.E.F.A. Championship's promoted teams.

This week in the P.E.F.A. Premiership sees SC Stockel sitting at the top of the PEFA hierarchy. SC Stockel have played 10, won 5, drawn 4 and lost just one.

The bottom five of the P.E.F.A. Premiership had Corby Steel in 18th place, with Newcastle UTD, Pelton FC, Kilburn Athletic & Worcester United in 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd place respective.

Although only a week has passed SC Stockel are sitting pretty at the top of the P.E.F.A. Premiership 7 points clear. Although the majority of teams below them have games in hand.

The team of the week award must go to SC Stockel as they have really taken the league by storm to sit at the top of the PEFA's most competitive league.

Riverside Roar's Niki Zimling tops the goal scoring chart with 8 goals in 10 appearances. Riverside Roar however sit in a mid table 13th place with only one win in there opening 10 games.

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P.E.F.A. Championship Round-Up
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The P.E.F.A. Championship is one of the most prestigious leagues within the PEFA structure, coming only second to the P.E.F.A. Premiership. Each year 6 teams are relegated into a mix of P.E.F.A. Zone A & P.E.F.A. Zone B and are replaced by the promoted teams from P.E.F.A. Zone A & P.E.F.A. Zone B respectively. 5 get promoted to the promise land, the P.E.F.A. Premiership.

This week saw Bexleyheath FC top the league with Black Cats, stoke lane, and OUFC Ultras taking up the remaining promotion spots. The playoffs are occupied by Soupylou Superstars, Weasel United, wba4eva, and random shi.

The relegation zone currently consists off W15b0ne Athletic, Royton Blues, Rubicon FC, Rathgael Arrows, EFC Light & The Bantams holding the rest of the league up at the bottom.

Team of the week goes to Bexleyheath FC who top the league having played 13 games, scoring 21 goals in the process & only letting in 12. This leaves them with the highest goal difference in the league.

stoke lane's Joseph Mawaye is the P.E.F.A. Championship top goalscorer with 16 goals in 24 games.

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P.E.F.A. Zone A Round-Up
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The match of the week this week was between Billingham Rovers and Tra Ghearr. It was the second highest scoring game within the league to date and sadly for Scott Mahon's Billingham Rovers they were on the wrong side of a football lesson. Tibor Tisza started the scoring with a close range finish and this was followed by another 4 goals to Tra Ghearr giving them a 5-0 win.
Although Scott's team has taken a couple of beatings he must be admired for willingness to accept the challenges and behave like a gentleman thoughout.

The leagues top goal scorer so far is Leroy Lita formerly of Cookham Crusaders who are looking very good for the title at the present moment in time. They have swept away all before them including doing the double over Pingvinen FC who many tipped for the title before the season started.

All in all it has been an exciting first week in Zone A with resonable activity so far.

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P.E.F.A. Zone B Round-Up
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The last week in PEFA Zone B has been interesting with Jack Army FC leading the way at the top. After stringing 7 draws at the start of the week, they have now started to turn those draws into wins and have leapfrogged bizkit utd, Crumpstars, and Casagrande fc to sit proudly at the top of the league.

Nearing the end of week 1 Jack Army FC and Casagrande fc occupy the top two automatic promotion places with Crumpstars, bizkit utd, ruffheath rangers, and Nunvogels FC sitting in the four playoff positions.

The league however is very tight with 14th place hong kong harry united just 4 points off a playoff place. There is no relegation in this league, but AI manager Diogo Ferreira's Moisas F.C are bottom with PEFA new boy Mark Perry's Pezmos United one place above Moisas F.C in 22nd place.

P.E.F.A. Zone B's team of the week goes to James Crump's Crumpstars who are still undefeated after 10 matches.

The top goalscorer so far is bizkit utd's Kikín Fonseca who has 11 goals to his name.

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2009-06-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

World Youth League 1
----------------------------

Two of the top youth sides locked horns this evening as I watched a quality display from two teams that really wanted to win.The first blow was to Abe Roddney's Daredevils Fc as Steven Mcginty of DR Dazzlers slotted home after 10 minutes.Then the game kicked off again and within two minutes the Daredevils had the ball in the net only for it to be disallowed Fabio was disgusted after the game as replays clearly made everyone see that the goal should of counted.

Then disaster struck as Opoku of DR Dazzlers clattered into Matthew Hewitt and the player had to be stretchered off on the 38th minute.Then just before half time Daredevils striker Flavio broke the offside trap only for a DR Dazzlers player to bring him down clearly being a professional foul but the player only got booked.Then when no one expected it the half time whistle blew and the fans were thirsty for more.

The second half started a little slower until Daredevils FC manager Abe Roddney's tactical genious and the goals flooded in first Unai Mendoza finished a lovely passing move with a pile driver on 75 minutes.Then three minutes later as DR Dazzlers were getting over the first one Eneko Castillejo scored a typically placed finish on 78 minutes.When the cameras turned to the sidelines Craig Legend, DR Dazzlers manager could be seen cursing and throwing his toys out of his pram.

Then the fantastic Fabio that had earlier had a goal disallowed got free of his marker and slotted the ball home to make it 3-1 to the away side Daredevils FC.When the home fans had all but given up hope Bjorn Van Poppel broke the Daredevils FC offside trap in injury time to chip the keeper and finish what was a quality move.

The game finished DR Dazzlers 2-3 Daredevils FC.

Editor :- Sharon"St.Johns Journalist"Lowe

Interview with Chris Boocan and Ant Witheyman

2009-05-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

Some have described Football Manager Live as more addictive than Crack Cocaine- how did it get to You?

CB: Well I used to spend most of my time in run-down heroin shacks, pushing off with ferral city raccoons. My mates staged an intervention and introduced me to FML. Victorian Queue manger Ian Bush pulled me over to the "Champy" way of life. Things have never been better.

AW: I was involved in Beta testing at an early stage and to be honest I thought it was a little bit dull. A few years later and here I am secretly playing at every opportunity. Hiding the game behind 'work'. Popping into other rooms where my computer is just to see how the auction is progressing, or to fit another sneaky game in. My wife already calls it the other woman!!!

CB: My woman called FML the other woman too. Clare is no longer with the club... Guess I can't complain though- my 'work' is playing FML. Can you believe they pay me to do that?

AW: I am not sure that FML is the best form of rehab. Where do you go from FML.......the only place is the gutter!!!!

Many would regard you as one of the worlds more eccentric and flambouyant managers- how do you feel about that?

CB: I suppose I feel normal about it. Let's not try to fool anyone, I'm a F&*#ing madman.

AW: I take it as a compliment!!! I like to play attacking football.....I play an unusual formation that has served me well throughout the years of playing FM games. I would rather win 5-4 than 1-0. It's what the fans would want and I like to keep them happy. I also have another strange addiction. Strikers......I just cant help buying them!!!

CB: I'm totally with Ant on this one. I too am an attacking manager. Although Ant's goals are a bit shy. I prefer to win 9-0 than 5-4. Ask Gre's SK all about that...

AW:You do tend to get a little stressed playing the game Chris. You need to calm yourself down a bit....it's only a game......except when I beat you and is far more than a game!!!

The obvious question- everyone has ambitions in FML..what are yours and what would you say are your key strategies for fulfilling them? What in your own makeup do you think is most likely to prevent you from getting there?

CB: I entered this game society with no ambitions or high hopes what so ever to be honest. My starting lineup was...less than satisfactory. Guess i just didn't know how to pick 'em, hahaha. After my restart I managed to pick up Patrick Helmes and a few other tasties. I spent all of first season in the top 10 in the GW! Who'd have seen that coming? My goals have now
been clearly defined, after falling through the rankings I now find myself trying to claw back my star rating, my fans and my dignity. So, goals for the current season and coming season are to breach top 10 and win the XFA Championship....Then on to dismember everyone in the Premiership. The only thing standing in my way are my lazy defenders. My key strategy for completing my goals is simple: Buy a bunch of world class attackers and make them hurt people. Strategy 1: Make Asamoah round all 11 opposition players and kick the ball in. Strategy 2: Make Fabio Quagliarella longbomb 35 yard goals in (maybe the occasional bicycle kick) Strategy 3: Hard tackle the bejesus out of my opponents, leaving them crippled, demoralized and (more often than not) with soiled britches.

AW: One of my ambitions when I switched over to the XFA was to make the top100. I did....it lasted a day!!! I will settle for a top 10 finish in the Championship this season and then I will push for promotion. The non-prem cup is another ambition of mine. Key strategies involve playing attractive football, resisting the temptaion to buy yet another striker and trying to keep wages relitively low. My obsession with strikers does not really help with this aim!!!

CB: Great goal for the championship Ant. I would love to see you come top 10- just stop sapping my freaking points away to achieve your goal!

AW: I think you take this a little too seriously!!!

If you had one tip for 'noobs' in FML what would it be and why?

CB: I've been known to pour advice on anyone who wants (or sometimes doesn't want) advice. And each time I say the same thing: "new guy- don't let your squad inflate over 17 players. You can only field 11 at a time, and no one is gonna suffer 6 injuries all at the same time!" So again, keep the squad sizes down people!

AW:Get involved, join in, dont give up. Dont post in the market place more than every 10 mins!!! My team were awful in my second season in St John. Finished bottom of the EEFA Premiership with only 3 wins to my name. I sold all of my best players, stockpiled money, moved to the XFA and have not looked back!!!

CB: I find it hard to tell new teams not to give up after thrashing them 9-0...maybe it's just me?

AW :I cant say fairer than that!

Everyone makes mistakes- what would you say is the daftest thing you have done so far in FML?

CB: Mistakes? what the hell are those? No, but seriously I think the worst mistake I made was the deal involving Arjen Robben. I cleared my entire youth team and 15-20% of my senior squad to get him. Bankrupted myself in the process.

AW: Posting in the market place more often than every 10 mins!!!!

CB: Barring the Robben deal, I would say losing to Godswill 2 consecutive times in the Championship was pretty daft.

AW: That was pretty crazy. I think it is amazing how people will throw everything including the kitchen sink to get an awesome player. There is no point playing Ronaldo and 10 other spanners...it will get you nowhere!! One man doth not maketh a team!!!

Utter fanatics like Dan Malone have 'burned out' playing FML and given it up- could this ever happen to you ?

CB: Certain 'fanatics' should have their 'fanatic' status re-evaluated. I can't get enough Champy to save my life. If I could F$!* this game I would marry it.

AW:I would like to think not....however my wife may confiscate my laptop. Sometimes I think she would rather I had an affair!!!!

CB: Ant you should read my chat logs talking about the joys of sex from behind. Just set the laptop up on your mistress' back and you can "pull and play". If your wife would prefer the affair, this way you're both winners!

AW: How sweet! A match made in heaven. I have heard they go for things like that in Canada. Marriage to inanimate objects!!!

Jonno Pereira is well known as my 'pet' player- do you have a pet or favourite player? Ramble wildly about them for a bit....

CB: I am a very sentimental manager. But I am also a brutal manager. Obviously every striker to work his way through my ranks meets my top list. Helmes was a great player, but I simply wore him out...now I hear he is rotting away on Pingvinen's payroll. Omar Bravo was a big favourite of mine, I was sad to see him age and go (but I was happy to take the 1.25mil for him <:emoticon#67>) Asamoah has won my hearts, and the hearts of my fans with his ridiculously speedy antics (picture Bravo...but younger and a bit less Mexican). Fabio Q- although moody at times, has always been my golden boy. I've tracked his progress since 3 seasons ago when Victorian Queue signed his sexy ***. Now he is mine, in all of his old, red arrowed, glory. I've never had a favourite defender that comes to mind, so I won't worry about them. Midfield is where my true passion has always been. A few season ago I had a midfield so strong it put Patrick Helmes out of business! Players like Alex maranhao, Mateus and Carlos Esquivel (whom I resigned for a short spell last season) are my favourite. I prefer a midfield full of sexy playmaking, longshot beast monsters. Luis Jimenez anyone?
And lastly, a special note about my favourite wingers. Kanga Akale, Alberto Medina and Javier Angel Balboa. All 3 were fast, great crossing and had their moments.

AW:I thought he was your love child!!! I was obsessed with Tobias Grahn for a season or two, I loved the way that boy took a free kick!!! At the moment my keeper is my favourite. He can't do wrong for me. Even when he does!!!! He loves playing against the bigger teams and pulls out an absolute stormer!!!! Then he plays like a bag of ****e and scores and OG or something against dross!!!

CB: my players can't do wrong for me either. If they do I beat them and then sell them. It's a love/hate relationship.

AW: I think you and Kylar take this too far!!! Pet names for your favourite players!! Fabio Q, Johno!!! Next it will be 'snuggles' and 'fluffy bum'!!!

You are having dinner and a few bottles of wine with Ov Collyer- what do you say to him?

CB: Fancy a match Ov?

AW:I hope you are paying for this because my wife has left me because of my addiction to your stupid game!!!!

CB: So Ov, I met this recently seperated woman the other day...

Interview with Chris Gillman, manager of Beggarwood Athletic

2009-05-12T11:27:00.001-07:00

Our roving reporter met up with Chris Gillman, the Beggarwood Athletic manager, at the end of his first season to ask him about the tactical side to his rise through the FML rankings.

Chris, your team is rising up the world rankings. How much do you think your unusual 4231 formation is helping to improve your team’s fortunes?
CG I'd like to think it has played a fairly significant part. We had seemed to hit a bit of a wall with what we were playing before so I decided to play to what I thought would best accommodate my best players.

How did you decide upon your current formation? Did you look at the players at your disposal and build a formation around that, or did you start with a formation and recruit a team around it?
CG It was a mixture of both to be honest. I could see that I just wasn't creating enough goals with my old formation, and it was clear to be that my wingers we my weak link. I was also inspired by Liverpool's current formation, but I knew that I had to narrow it as I knew that my players weren't quite of the caliber of Torres and Gerrard and so I wouldn't score enough goals with the level of width Liverpool play with. As a Benitez style tactic, it's been a far more successful attempt to recreate his work that anything I've managed in any of the offline versions of the game. And when I saw that El-Hadji Diouf was available, it swung my decision to change my tactics as I felt he was likely to be a perfect fit!

As a Liverpool fan you must have been pleased to bag a former Anfield player. As your record signing, how is El-Hadji Diouf, is he faring at the The Warren?
CG Diouf has been a great signing for me. He's averaged over 7 for me in all games and his 6 competitive matches have resulted in an average rating of 7.36. I've not had a lot of opportunity to play him where I've wanted to yet as he filled in at AMC while my first choice was injured for a week and since he's gone up front he's suffered from injury himself. He's due back later this evening though and I'm looking forward to trying him out with my other off-season signings.

El-Hadji Diouf - stylish

Without wanting you to divulge your tactical secrets, playing two midfielders in a defensive position and three in an attacking position, how do you cope with a lack of wide players?
CG Most of the time, we cope okay. Having two defensive midfielders allows my fullbacks the freedom to get forward without leaving me too exposed at the back.

With most of the top teams playing a form of 451, how do your tactics deal with that formation? And are you confident of breaking into the higher reaches of the gameworld rankings?
CG I haven't come across a lot of teams that play 451, it has to be said, although I suspect that this is because I'm not high enough in the rankings yet. At home, I have narrowed my pitch in an attempt to stifle teams that play with a lot of width and away there are a few tweaks to be made to help us to cope. I'd like to think that we are capable to reaching the upper regions of the ranking eventually. I'm confident that the tactics are fully capable of it, but I'm well aware that with my current squad of players we are still a long way off the pace.

Before you settled on your 4231, what previous formations did you try? How successful were these attempts?
CG I've only really played with one other formation. I only had one decent forward in my initial squad so I played a 4-5-1 with a DM, an ML a MR and two AMCs. It worked well, up to a point. We were solid defensively but just couldn't score enough goals to progress beyond a certain level. I was very proud to win the mover of the week award in my first week, gaining 533 places but we levelled off after this and the lack of goals really began to hit home in the league. We ended up finishing 5th but with the second best defensive record conceding just 29 goals in my 38 matches but I was frustrated by numerous 1-0 defeats in matches that I ought to be winning! Changing to my new tactic late in the season brought me 8 wins, a draw and a defeat to the champion's CarTOON United in my last 10 matches, which was very satisfying.

Having completed a successful first season in StJohn, had you played in other FML gameworlds before, or just Football Manager before that?
CG This was my first ever look at FML and I'm still getting to grips with some of its nuances. I lost my best defender in a wage auction yesterday as I hadn't fully appreciated quite how it worked, but I'm learning from my mistakes and I'm fully enjoying the experience. I've been with Football Manager since it's reincarnation and the first football management game I owned was CM97/98.

Having joined an older gameworld in its fourth season, what tips do you have to managers considering a move to StJohn?
CG The best tip I can give is to get involved. There is far more to get gained from the game if you're friendly, chatty and sociable. From what I've heard about v1.2 this is going to become a bigger part of the game anyway and I think it's a great decision by SI. I think the blog is a great idea to keep people up to date with GW information and I've enjoyed contributing to it both now and with the AFA articles last season. Another think I can advise is to be honest. There's no substitution for a good reputation and of course, if you get a bad rep it's nigh on impossible to shake, no matter how much you might insist you've reformed.

What can we expect from Beggarwood Athletic in season five?
CG I'm hoping for a rather boring top half finish in the league this season. There are still some changes that I want to make to my squad and I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to plug these gaps. Last season we showed ourselves to be a bit of a cup team and if I get a good draw I'd like to challenge for the Non-Premiership Cup and hopefully get a couple of wins in the AEFA cup too.

Chris, thanks for the interview and best luck in season five!

Your Groundsman is Your Best Friend

2009-05-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

We're a day away from the fifth season in StJohn and managers across the gameworld will be wondering whether they've bought the right players, picked the right formation and devised the right tactic for a successful season. But is their pitch the right size for their team?

Size does matter

If you look at real-life football, it's no surprise that teams like Manchester United have a long pitch, and teams like Bolton Wanderers have a narrow pitch and the same is true, possibly more so for FML. It's often said in football that the crowd is the 12th man; in FML, the groundsman is certainly the 13th, and he can be your best friend in your pursuit of success. Pitch size can be changed from the stadium screen - click the 'edit details' button to change the length and width.

What size fits me?

A look at your players and tactics gives a good idea of the size you'd want. As a general rule of thumb, attacking teams will prosper on larger, longer, wider pitches, while defensive teams will benefit from a smaller, shorter, narrower pitch.

Fast players like longer pitches as they gives attackers room to run, while speedy defenders will not be phased by the larger distances they need to cover at the back. Having a longer pitch, though, will cause problems for players with low stamina or playing with a high tempo, as the side may well run out of steam before the end of the match (start making mistakes, misplacing passes and shipping late goals). Wide pitches generally provide more attacking options and are great for teams looking to exploit the flanks and are ideal for any side with quality wingers. Again, defending becomes harder on a wide pitch, as fullbacks and also centrebacks find themselves dragged out of formation to cover an attack from wide.

While a small pitch is a perfect choice for a team looking to defend, it is also a great option for a team looking to close down the opposition and to counter-attack: with smaller distances to cover, a well-organised team can press, catch the opposition in possession and break with success. Some formations particularly benefit from a smaller surface, in particular, the 451. The shorter length makes runs from the midfielders more effective and the narrower width makes flooding the midfield even more successfully when space is at a premium.

What if my pitch size isn't working?

Unlike real-life football, you can change your pitch dimensions at any stage (other than during a match, obviously). If your current dimensions don't suit, if you're about to face an opponent's pesky 451, or if you're worried about facing wing wizards in your upcoming cup tie, why not change? Experiment, and if your changes are successful and your groundsman does become your best friend, we'd love to hear from you!

AEFA Goes Global

2009-05-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

There are some new exciting features starting in the StJohn AEFA as of today,

The brand new news ticker is now up and running in the AEFA chatroom keeping members bang up to date with all the latest news, rumours and players available.

The new AEFA TV channel will kick off on the first day of season 5, giving players the chance to jump straight into live matches and those all important games as they happen.

The AEFA daily newspaper has been extended to 4 pages, covering each division in more detail - meaning more press coverage for each team and its manager.

These are exciting new features all available first in AEFA - come join the best!

The Tactics Chalkboard - Part One: Winning Formations

2009-05-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Tactics Chalkboard, where we will be taking a close look at the tactical side to FML: what works, what doesn't and what's going on across the gameworlds.

Today, we're looking at the winning formations used by top teams. There has been much discussion of this on the Football Manager Live forums: some folk think that certain formations are overpowered 'ubertactics', others that some formations just aren't worth playing, and even a few that think that it's impossible to become a successful team unless you play a 4-5-1. We thought we would put these theories to the test, by looking at the formations used by StJohn's top 40 teams and were pretty surprised to see how throughly the 451 had thrashed all its rival formations.

Attack of the Clones

Of the top 40 managers, almost three quarters, use a variant of the 451 formation. Of the 29 managers in total using a 451, the majority fielded a side with an AML, an AMR and three central midfielders (the 'arrowhead' formation); the remainder a flat 451 or some similar variant. The arrowhead is the formation used by Cihangir Kirac's gameworld-topping Turkiye and six other managers in the top ten use a 451 style tactic.

I spoke to Ben Talbott, manager of 31st ranked Last Minute Wanderers, and asked him if he thought the flat 451 he used was what forum posters described as an ubertactic. "Ubertactic, my backside!" he replied, just as his team conceded a goal against play to The Unexpected Spanish Inquisition (whose chief weapon is surprise... surprise and fear... etc). "To be honest, though, I always played a variation of 451 in FM, so it would have been my default tactic here if it wasn't for the fact I wanted to be different," he added, "I lasted two seasons of being different and then I had to return to what I knew best!"

Only four teams in the top 40 play the traditional 442. "I love teams that play the 442," said Abe Roddney, the Daredevils FC manager. "It's the fairest tactic. You can score a lot of goals. You can also concede a lot of goals!" Nineteenth placed James Recury's Volusia County are the only team to play a 532, using a successful attacking variant of the formation. And only one team in the top 40 plays a 424, Manchelski United in 25th place.

The Phantom Menace

The second most popular formation amongst the top 40 is the 460 with five managers using the tactic. In its most common variant, the formation will have the usual four at the back, then a layer of ML, MC, MR and in front of that, a layer of AMC, AMC, AMC. The popularity and notoriety of the tactic is fairly recent, but the 460 is proving particularly successful for Flanders Angels in 2nd, T-Bag Town in 3rd and CFC FC in 4th. Roughly modelled on the Roma tactic with Totti, you can find out more about the 460 here, though it does seem a little more famous in FML than in real life - type football, 460 and formation into Google and a post on the SI forums is the top result! While there have been rumblings from certain quarters about the formation, words like 'hacktic' and 'exploit' muttered, it will not be long before more managers jump onto the bandwagon!

________________________

We'd like to hear from you! Are you powering up the gameworld rankings with a rare formation? Are you one of the few that plays three or five at the back, or, rarer still, someone that plays a traditional 433 with three out-and-out strikers?

In Part Two, as the vast majority of the top 40 managers are playing either a 451 or a 460, we'll look at some common ways to counter these formations!

Interview with Frecheville Blades' manager, Nik Reeves-McLaren

2009-05-06T03:01:00.000-07:00

The Fiery Baptist's roving reporter met up with Nik Reeves-McLaren at the close of season four, to talk about relegation woes, the future for StJohn and the lovely Liz Phair.

It’s not been a great season for the Frecheville Blades, with only five wins in the All Evening Premiership. How has your side reacted to the relegation?
NRM It’s been a tricky season. I’ve got a long-term plan which will hopefully pay off for me – I’ve been in FML a long time, and one mistake I’ve possibly made in the past has been to make small incremental changes (i.e. sign a slightly better left back for a lot of money, and sell my old one for a pittance) or to be too reactionary (at the first sign of a dodgy season, sell sell sell! and buy buy buy!). This season, things were clearly going awry, but I decided to stick to the plan – I didn’t over-react, I didn’t make wholesale changes... Relegation should give me the time and space to blood some youth and build for a stronger future.

Season four... a bit 'meh'!

As a real-life Sheffield United fan, you will know how important it is to try and bounce back into the top flight. Are you confident of promotion from the Championship in season five?
NRM As a Sheffield United fan, I’m never confident of anything – I know my team will ultimately only bring pain and disappointment! I’m hoping for a better season than this one just finishing, but a lot will depend on the wage auctions over the next week...

Season five... a bit more 'yeah'?

With a commercial focus and the lowest wage bill in your division, half that of last year’s winners, Flanders Angels, do you think this financial prudence cost you your place in the Premiership or do you reckon that living within your means is the longer-term key to success?
NRM It has definitely cost me – I lack one or two key players that could really make a difference in a game. My squad is a lot weaker than those around me, so I needed to rely on tactics and luck. Both let me down badly this season; I could probably name 10 games I should’ve won but didn’t. That said – I’ve tried the high risk, high wage strategy in the past, and it’s not the plan for the Blades in StJohn... I’m trying ‘slow and steady wins the race’ this time round – it’s all about seasons 6 and 7...

It looks like all-change at the Beautiful Downtown New Bramall Lane Stadium, with key players like Nikola Zigic, Gary Glen and David Jarolim out and striker Raffaele Palladino and defensive midfielder Sandro Silva in. What should we expect from the Blades’ line up for their fifth season?
NRM More changes are on the way, certainly. Zigic was getting on, and I got offered a decent deal. That took £24k off my wage bill: 20% of the total at the time! Glen has had four seasons to make an impact, and hasn’t. Jarolim was a legend in his time at the Lane, but was fading badly with age. With Palladino and Silva I’ve added genuine class to the team, and I think the future recruits will only be even better. I’m looking to add some real sparkle in midfield and attack.

While the seniors may have struggled this season, your youth side has reached the knockout stages of the StJohn U19 Cup and the semi-finals of the StJohn U17 Cup. With some exciting talent on the Blades’ books, will youth development play a large part in the future of the club?
NRM Youth development was never a huge part of my plan – but it makes sense for any financially prudent manager to have an easy source of cheap talent. The youths have been steadily ranked in the top 30 in the world, which bodes well for the future, and this season I’ve been very pleased with their progress. That said, I’ve just sold two of the brightest prospects for sizeable fees. Prudence works both ways!

As a veteran of several gameworlds, for how long have you been playing FML? And did you come cold to FML, or had you honed your skills playing Football Manager before that? And when did you become a gameworld moderator?
NRM I’ve been playing FML since, I believe, the 25th of June, 2007. It’ll be two years next month! I’ve been playing SI's football management game since the very beginning, much to the bemusement of my wife! I realised fairly early on that I wanted more from FML than I was getting, and so when the opportunity to become a moderator came up, in December 2007, I asked for more information. I was off work ill at the time, so I logged off for an hour to get some rest. When I logged back on, I was in a new gameworld and had a blue stripe... It was something of a surprise!

How do you see the role of a gameworld moderator? What virtues should a successful moderator possess and what vices should they avoid?
NRM I think FML needs all different sorts of moderators, and for mods to act as a team. I’m probably more the community builder, the diplomat; we also need disciplinarians, enforcers, scouts (people who have a knack for spotting cheats) etc... To be a moderator, you need to be ‘whiter than white’, putting the gameworld’s health and the standing of the mod team above the health of your own team. You need to be committed, willing to put a lot of hours in for free. You need to be professional, helpful and confident as well. Clearly you need to be able and willing to follow the rules of the game! Lastly – you need to be a team player; there’s nothing quite so terrifying as a mod gone rogue...

StJohn is currently in close-season, allowing new and experienced managers to join. Why do you think StJohn is a great gameworld, and what tips do you have for managers new to StJohn?
NRM I really do think StJohn is a top gameworld – I’ve been in six or seven now, and it’s definitely my favourite. We have a terrific community, with lots going on and plenty of friendly banter and chat. From a mod’s perspective, there has been a lot less trouble in StJohn that I’ve been used to elsewhere. Many of those managers who have left StJohn for new worlds have been starting to return. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Tips for new managers – sign up and get involved, make use of the chatrooms. Ask for advice in game – we’ve loads of helpful members who can give you far better tips than me!

You have spoken before about FAs evolving, developing distinctive character as the gameworld matures. With the fifth season in StJohn a week away, how do you see the gameworld progressing?
NRM I think a gameworld needs to evolve to stay fresh and to keep engaging its members – we need to constantly re-evaluate what we are doing right and what we’re getting wrong. We need to not be scared to make big changes if they are right for our community. I would personally like to see a move to having some bigger FAs with structures much more like the English FA. At the moment, FML fails those teams who are weaker or new by over-exposing them to too many big sides, too soon. Everyone likes a challenge; no-one likes getting a thumping every week. We need to keep working to find the balance there – as do all gameworlds.

With moderators doing much to encourage their gameworld’s community, do you have any tips for managers wanting to get involved in the community but not sure where to start?
NRM The best and easiest place for people to start is to add character to their team and FA – use your imagination and write something about your team, your division, your rivalries... anything! Mail it to people. Any quality work can easily be hosted on the GWs own blog too – it’s this sort of character that makes StJohn special.

As an active member in the wider FML community beyond StJohn, as well as writing for the Fiery Baptist, you also run your own blog and contribute to another. Could you tell us a little about these sites?
NRM My own blog, A Mod’s Life, was the first ever blog for FML, which I’m rather proud of. It’s still going too, with regular features on the progress of the Frecheville Blades. The new site I’m contributing to is called gameworldone.com, which intends to really become a one-stop shop for everything and anything to do with FML. They’ve got some terrific writers on board, and a strong StJohn contingent, so hopefully it will do well!

Lastly, Nik, if you were visited by the FML genie and he offered you three FML-related wishes, what would be your picks?
NRM One, in the words of the beautiful and talented singer Liz Phair, in one of her songs: “it has got to be shitloads of M-O-N-E-Y, money”. Two, Sergio Aguero – he led the line for me in GW2, and I’ve never recovered from selling him! And three, an active and fun-filled future for StJohn!

Nik, many thanks for the interview and best luck with the Blades in season five!

XFA season round up

2009-05-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Premier League

As season 4 draws to a close we have seen Turkyie take top spot in the Premier League once again. St John's most famous team did not let their fans down, before the season had kicked off there was talk that Hajduk Spliff would give them a run for their money however this was soon dispelled once Cihangir's team got into their stride. Second place went to Shiny Toy Guns which have sadly moved onto pastures new. Coming in a respectable 3rd place was Geordies Utd, a very solid and well run club under the stewardship of Shaun Punton. With Raynes Park Rangers and Hajduk Spliff finishing 4th and 5th respectively the XFA will be able to boast a strong line up in the UFFA Gold Cup once again.

Championship

The Championship was won by Never Back Down FC but with a very annoying 100% AI. Second place was secured by Club Athlectico de Middleton and James Crumps' Crumstars coming in third. James will be wheeling and dealing in the pre season I would think since this will be his second promotion running, a rapid raise to the land of milk and honey can sometimes see team become the whipping boys but with Mr Crumps tactical nounce I think they will do ok.

Onslaught and Lazio United coming in 4th and 5th will be looking at the possible chance of playing in the Premier League as well with 6 places available this time around.

League 1A

Bishop Ultras have taken their first silverware with the 1A title which sparked scenes of amusement when Jon Williams was reportedly seen celebrating in the board room with a glass of Fanta. Amaranth J F C came second and some of the media have found this quite an achievment with rumours their manager, Chris Parkin, prefering the lobby chatroom to the training pitch. Ritchie Coles' Natural Born Losers managed to win a close battle with Horse's Head FC for the third spot. With only one point separating them in the final few games it really was an interesting battle.

League 1B

Chris Buchan's merry gang of thugs and opertunists won this league and in doing so got their hands on their first silverware for Boocan VFC after finishing second three times in the MLFA. Harcester United brought home the runners up spot and battle for third and fourth between Emperor Elite F.C and Peking University saw Godswill's troops triumph.

League 1C

League 1C title went to Million Town managed by Jamie Vinall. Atheletico Dalek and Tyne And Wear Boys came in second and third but a special mention to one of the more colourful managers around, "The Hoff" of Chelsea Football Club. Coming in last place in never nice, however to come last and still only have 8% AI games is impressive, a big round of applause from everyone please...

That just leaves the cups.

The XFA Cup went to Manchelski United .

And Never Back Down took the Non Premier League Cup.

Congratulations to everyone that won their league or cup, but dont forget, it all starts again next season.......

EEFA more bemused than concerned by CAPS GATE

2009-05-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of the scathing all caps attack by Black Cats Manager David Richardson on the EEFA and its unsuitability as an association due to AI games the mood in the EEFA has been more investigatory than worried. “is he talking about us?” was the comment by one member of the chat room, and a fellow Premier league manager like David Richardson, bemused that Richardson would label the EEFA an inactive association despite its strong community sprit and in particular a strong nexus of premiership managers that frequent the EEFA’s official chat room. At time of writing the EEFA premiership race is still wide open after a dog eat dog season that until the bank holiday weekend had as many as 7 or 8 clubs considering the open top bus route to celebrate the league title. Whilst the wider AI inactivity that affects every game world and not just StJohn has seen only 6 clubs in a 20 man league with an unsatisfactory AI game percent tarnish what for many has been the best league campaign in terms of competitiveness and friendly banter.

Whilst this weekend many of the teams are falling away into the also ran category as Real Bierge and Tangerine Dream led by the powerful scoring records of Vagner Love and Emmanual Adebayor respectively assert there late season dominance over the rest of the league, to take the season down to the wire once again. Real Bierge who finished last seasons runners up thanks to a final game defeat look to take there first league title as they currently hold a 4 point gap over last years Champions and this years EEFA cup winners Tangerine Dream. However with the sides still to face each other there is no need to get a head start on the cup engraving just yet. Whilst further back the race for 4^th place hots up with only 4 points separating 4 teams.

Going forward the mood in the EEFA is one of real optimism and hope for many clubs. The top half of the Prem has a few teams considering themselves just a couple of players away from a more competitive league push next season, whilst the Championship sees a number of dedicated managers on the march for top flight football and a chance to be part of one of the fiercest but most community driven top leagues of football across StJohn.

At time of writing Black Cats sit 19^th in the EEFA Premiership

AEFA Update: FLANDERS STILL LEAD WAY

2009-05-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

The AEFA Premiership

Flanders Angels remain 3 points clear at top of the top flight of AEFA football and, with games in hand, they look a dead cert to be crowned champions.

This is in no small part to Alessandro Rosina (above) who is really showing what a class player he is this season.

Granite City Highlanders are sitting 2nd, 3 points behind, but have made a great run count lately, with Ji-Sung Park being the creative force on the pitch and 16 goals from Scott McDonald playing a important role.

Uppsala Gunners and Juicy Danglers are also doing well and prop up the top 5. DR Dazzlers
are cementing their mid table position and look safe but with still too many draws to make any impact on the league

F.C. Utd are also safe, but have a few injuries mounting up which may ruin their end of season with most notably world famous Victor Faizulin out for a couple of vital days.

Poor old Frecheville Blades sit rock bottom with only 3 wins from 29 and just 17 points. They look doomed after a miserable season!

Either way the season is far from over and plenty of football to be played in this league!

The AEFA Championship

Three teams are still battling it out to see who will take the AEFA Championship title. Socialrejects are sitting top at the moment, but it's really to close to call with Blackley Rangers and form team killerkeiths also right on their tails and with games in hand over the leaders.

The Noirs and Milliegram Rangers also proving very talented teams, having had good solid seasons so far.

Pity The Fool, mightymacs05 and Buyukada all sit mid table but have picked up some good results in the last few days to show they are far from pushovers.

Claydon Ducks are struggling in 17th and Am

azing 11 sit 18th on 23 points.

This is a really tight league and nobody is sure who will go up to the promised land of Premiership football - one thing is for sure... it's anyone's for the taking!

AEFA Division 1A

ACS Alco sit top at moment in Division 1a but wont be getting promoted is the rumour as they have a fat 100% AI in the league. They sit 8 points clear of active league leader Falkirk Ultras who have played a game more than the leaders but have got some very good results and top performances from Jan Schlaudraff who has banged in the goals for them.

Petts Wood FC sit 3rd but the second top active team is Hollborn United who are showing real promise with such a small and young squad, especially Edu Bedia who at 23 is proving to be a good talent.

Cratallica and Fly Bhoys both have more wins than losses and lie just above mid table, while Devon fc are struggling but should be safe come end of the season.

Gramtham are bottom of active players but with 2 teams with 100% AI below them they may be OK yet!

AEFA Division 1B

hull city gooners have pretty much clinched the 1B crown as they sit a huge 17 points clear of 2nd place Tackeroo FC. However, since Tackeroo FC have 100% AI, it's up to 3rd place Real Salehgotha to keep the challenge up!

Joaquín Larrivey of hull city gooners has 18 goals in 26 games which has really helped the team get so far ahead, but Real Salehgotha have their own in form striker with Quirino nabbing 16 goals in 24 games, both very impressive tallies for the season.

FK Red Star Belgrade are having a good season in 4th and Fc Allstars sit 8 further points back in 6th place.

Millyard FC, Chillash FC and Kaiser Chiefs FC occupy mid table while Lapford Spurs AFC sit bottom of the active players but still occupy 14th.

Friday's Transfer Update! 1st May 2009

2009-05-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of the week again - and what a week of wheeling and dealing it has been!

There were no fewer than 38 seven-figure deals in StJohn this week, with several of those being very significant deals indeed - some of the biggest stars in the world were on the move this week!

As reported last week, and still the biggest move of the last 7 days, was Sergio 'Kun' Agüero's (above) £5.5M move last Saturday from Hajduk Spliff FC to CFC FC. With 59 goals and 37 assists in his first 51 appearances, it's safe to say that signing the Argentine genius was money well spent.

Ian Bush's Victorian Queue were making yet more headlines, splashing out a huge £4.7M fee for Spanish midfield maestro, Francesc Fàbregas. Boshka Start FC will surely miss him!

A long transfer auction eventually saw Lionel Messi leave quitters NK Jogurt to sign for Marc Thom's Beetlejuice, where he's made an excellent start, nabbing 5 goals in 4 games.

Finally, T-Bag Town boss Lee Jones will be happy at grabbing the Brazilian trickster Robinho in a deal rumoured to be worth around £3.7M. This stunning maneuver was funded largely through the sale of 19-year old Italian defensive sensation Davide Ricci to Tom Curtis' Tactically Inept.

This week's Steal Of The Week? Well, Kun's move may not seem a steal, but with returns like his... maybe it should count. Otherwise, Mark Horsham's Newtongrange Hibernian seem to have done a very nice bit of business in snapping up Italian winger Davide Marchini for £30,000 from FC Tornado. Marchini has an average rating of 7.19 from his opening 26 appearances for his new side.

Latest AFA Update

2009-04-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Transfer Madness at CFC FC

2009-04-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

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.

News from the WCA!

2009-04-28T00:23:00.000-07:00

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!

The Fiery Baptist hits the FML site!

2009-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

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!

Behind The Scenes - April 27th 2009

2009-04-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

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).

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!

Friday's Transfer Update a day late...! 25/4/09

2009-04-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

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:

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

In total, there were twenty one 7-figure deals in StJohn this week. The Steal of the Week may well be Lucas Lobos' £375K move to Tea Gharr. The 31 year old AMC has nabbed 22 goals and 12 assists in his first 37 games, with a 7.41 average! Tea Gharr manager Martin George must be over the moon.

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

2009-04-25T02:32:00.000-07:00

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!

Youth Development Unraveled: Part 1

2009-04-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

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.

AFA: Week 1 Summary

2009-04-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

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...

Retirements of Season 3

2009-04-22T01:43:00.000-07:00

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 Denílson 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 :)

XFA DIV. 1B Newsletter!

2009-04-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

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...

Interview with Bay Harbour Butchers manager Kylar Stern

2009-04-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

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!

WCA Charity Shield results!

2009-04-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

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.

Theme of the Week

2009-04-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Around The Grounds - April 20th 2009 - GW Top 10

2009-04-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

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!

StJohn's Most Wanted XI

2009-04-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

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!

Dazzlers on Fire !!!

2009-04-17T16:36:00.001-07:00

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.

2009-04-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

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.

XFA SEASON UNDERWAY!

2009-04-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

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)

Friday's Transfer Update! 17/04/2009

2009-04-17T07:02:00.001-07:00

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!

AFA: Season 4 Preview

2009-04-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

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.

PFA Season 4 Preview

2009-04-16T05:08:00.000-07:00

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 XFA NEWS

2009-04-16T04:39:00.001-07:00

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.

DR Dazzlers' Interview on Playoff Win in Season 3

2009-04-15T13:57:00.001-07:00

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!

AEFA is under way

2009-04-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

The AEFA season 4 is well under way now with games and goals all over the place

i have visited 2 games so far:

CHAMPIONSHIP

BLACKLEY RANGERS 2-1 DETONATORS

MOSS BANK PARK,MANCHESTER

19.247

A big ,noisy crowd watched this entertaining fixture with a cracking goal from pablo ledesma for Blackley levelled the game after a 2nd minute goal from Marouane Chamakh for Detonators

A missed penalty didnt put off Carlos Villaneva who got the rebound into the net

DIV1A

HOLLBORN 3-0 CRATALLICA

ANDY IVES STADIUM ,ABINGDON

A cracking start for Hollborn with 3 goals,2 from Bettiol and a own goal certainly justified after they created 15 shots with 9 on target.Cratallica had more of the possesion just did not create enough with it

Welcome to the StJohn Blog!

2009-04-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

So, finally FML's greatest gameworld sees the launch of its very own blog.

The team will be posting all the latest news and gossip from GW StJohn here on a regular basis, so make sure you check back regularly! Who knows, if you're wise enough to be a manager in StJohn already maybe you'll see your name up here before long...

Happy Blogging, StJohnians!