Dk..... i know your offense is hurting pretty bad, and money is very tight. But i wanna throw a idea your way and see what ya think.

I say sell the Excellent forward and buy a Solid/Solid with passable or higher set pieces with the "head", "unpredictable" or "Quick" skill for around 300k. I'd be willing to bet money he'd score more goals for ya, and create more chances then the excellent forward and he'd be cheaper.

Thats just my opinion, Excellent/Disastrous for 500k is way to much in my book. The passing skill is pretty important for a forward.

Or if you have to.... sell that forward and get one with better passing for a little more. Sell a back-up trainee if you need to.

Thanks for the idea Havok. I will consider it.

Just so you all know, there are a few things that I am currently considering, regarding the state of the Screamin' Seamen.

1. Metman certainly hasn't paid off just yet, but I feel like it is too early to write him off. He suffered a form drop when he joined the team, and hasn't fully recovered yet. $500,000 may seem like a lot to have paid for him, but I spent over a week scouring the transfer market for players who met my criteria, and Metman was about as good as I could do for the money I had available. The main criteria was that the player had to be capable of putting up three stars, and no solid scorer/solid passer than I looked at was capable of doing so. Metman is capable of that, his form just needs to get better first, and it is improving.

2. I am currently saving up for a new coach. Coach Brown has been with us since the beginning, but is really no longer up to the task. He is only a passable/defensive coach. Now that my training program is fully operational (maximum physios and assistant coaches with good trainees), a solid coach is the next logical step. I am hoping that I will be able to land an offensive coach as well. That would help our offense immensely, and my defense is more than good enough to make up for that.

3. From a certain standpoint, I am only treading water at the moment. This is by design. I am running this team from a very long-term perspective. A lot of the other managers out there seem to be making transfers almost daily, while mine are few and far between (with the exception of selling youth pulls). Yes, I have a number of trainees that could sell for decent money right now (all are solid or better in defending), which in turn could be spent on some better players (forwards, midfielders). But the money they would sell for now pales in comparison to what they will be worth when my current training program comes to an end. At the end of next season, all of my defensive trainees should be formidable defenders, at least. I salivate at the thought of the money they will bring in, and the drastic improvements I will be able to make when that happens. But it takes patience, considering that it will be the fall of 2003 before these changes take place. So if it seems like the improvement of SSFC is occurring at a snail's pace, now you may be able to understand why. Just wait...

So there you have it, my perspective on the state of the SSFC in a nutshell. This game is a very long-term endeavor (it's been running for over five years), and that is what I like most about it.

Here endeth the sermon. :p

That will be an exciting time when you have 3 or 4 expendable formidable defenders. It will be interesting to see how you will be able to transfer from defensive training to playmaking(I would guess that is what you are going to).

Should make for some very interesting reading over the next few seasons.

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 4

North Plainfield Plague vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 4th, 2003
Venue: The Infestadium (North Plainfield, NJ)
Attendance: 902 (20,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy

It seems as though we’ve been living out of our suitcases lately, and today is no exception. We’re in New Jersey today for an FOFC Cup match against cthomer5000’s North Plainfield Plague. The Plague have done pretty well for themselves thus far, earning six of a possible nine points and currently standing in third place in the Group F standings. The team was rolling until their 2-nil defeat at the hands of the Manhattan Marauders last week, and will certainly be looking to get back on track today.

Though their offense has been a little lacking in group play thus far (who are we to judge?), the Plague appear to have a relatively balanced team. We expect to see them run a 3-5-2 formation against us today. Combined with the fact that we are on the road, where we have certainly struggled in league play, this could spell a certain amount of difficulty for the Seamen.

But our players know exactly what is at stake in today’s match, and the formula is quite simple. If we are victorious today, we will have clinched first place within Group F, and will receive one of the top 14 seeds in the upcoming single-elimination tournament. Needless to say, this makes today’s match important, as we do not want to have to wait until next week’s match with the Manhattan Marauders for an opportunity to lock things up.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

With the obvious exception of struggling striker Johannes Henriksson, we’ll be keeping a close eye on defenders Zarpas Lerma and Cameron McDonald today. Both of these young men have been struggling as of late, but look as though they may have turned the corner. Both have made good progress in practice this week, and will hopefully continue to improve in the weeks to come.

Wingback Mattias Leier, winger Paul Peralta, and midfielder Jerry Smith have all been performing well as of late (solid form), and we are expecting to see good things from them today as well.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

902 spectators arrived at The Infestadium, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Plainfield tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Clevenger - Wedner, Lind, Etheridge - Babb, Matthews, Lankford, Ring, Bray - Malin, Shoemaker.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

FIRST HALF

In the 12th minute the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending and Cameron Mcdonald put the ball away for 0 - 1.

Screamin's Johannes Henriksson got himself booked after a foul.

Gerard Matthews made a superb strike at the goal in the 23rd minute with a long shot coming in from straight in front of the goal, but one of the visitors defenders got a foot in and warded it off to a corner.

In the 27:th minute Plainfields Byron Bray received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 54 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Alan Malin hit the ball just perfect in the 54:th minute and could score for Plainfield with a fab long shot to 1 - 1.

In the games 54:th minute Cameron Mcdonald almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a spectacular scissors shot just past the bar.

A free kick aimed at the keepers far post almost gave Screamin' the lead in the 73rd minute, but the ball just wasn´t able to squirm it´s way through the defensive wall.

The referee showed Screamin's Zarpas Lerma the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

The terraces were silenced in the 88:th minute as Screamin'´s Olav Mauffret put the guests ahead 1 - 2, following an attack from the right.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 73 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

Most important Plainfield player was Edward Clevenger. However, Scott Ring made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Mattias Leier. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, North Plainfield Plague 1

Goals

McDonald – 1
Mauffret – 1 (GWG)

Cards

Henriksson – yellow
Lerma – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: ***
Lerma: **
McDonald: **~
Stubbs: ***
Leier: ***

Mauffret: **
Smith: **
Tere: **
Peralta: **

Henriksson: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 49

North Plainfield Plague
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 35

Comments

Winger Olav Mauffret is certainly the man of the hour for the Screamin’ Seamen! The Plague played a hard-fought match, and it looked as though the match would end in a draw, denying us a guaranteed 1st place finish in Group F. But with only a couple of minutes remaining, Olav Mauffret struck the ball true, sending it into the twine and silencing the 900 or so fans who had turned out to the Infestadium.

As far as the players we were keeping a close eye on go, Zarpas Lerma did little to impress. Cameron McDonald, on the other hand, played a fine game and scored his first ever goal. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from the tall defender.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings

-Alf Trickers stayed hot on our heels, defeating the Fantastic Flying Froggies, 2-nil.
-The Manhattan Marauders had a dominant performance at home, drubbing the Shadow Dragons, 4-nil.

No.	Team					Seed	GF	GA	Diff.	Pts.	NSI

1.	Screamin’ Seamen			        1	7	2	+5	12	49

2.	Alf Trickers				2	9	3	+6	9	38

3.	Manhattan Marauders		        4	8	4	+4	7	46

4.	North Plainfield Plague		        6	5	5	0	6	35

5.	Fantastic Flying Froggies		3	2	8	-6	1	34

6.	Shadow Dragons			        5	0	9	-9	0	43

Today’s victory over the Plague locked down our first-place finish in Group F, as we hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Alf Trickers. The only other change in the standings occurred to NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders, who moved into third place by virtue of their victory over the Shadow Dragons.

Group F Round 5 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Manhattan Marauders
North Plainfield Plague vs. Alf Trickers
Shadow Dragons vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies

Our match against the Marauders next week may seem like a meaningless game, but that is not the case. We’ll still be playing to win, as we want to receive the highest seeding possible going into the single elimination portion of the tournament. We want to get as much home field advantage as we can muster. Sorry NAIWF.

Up Next: Training results will be posted Thursday evening or Friday. Stay tuned!

Just so you know, I was rooting for you to lose or tie that game with the Plague as it would have given me a chance to advance with a win over you next week. But alas, Olav 'Little Miss' Mauffret had to score in the 88th minute and ruin my chances! Oh well, I guess I'll stick with the 5-4-1 and get an extra week of training for my 9th defender instead of trying to slay the giant. You just HAD to win yesterday and ruin a potential 2-1 or 1-0, epic showdown between defensive teams :D

Slow and steady wins the race for the old turtle ;)

SI

Week 9 Training Results

Once again, we did not see any drastic improvements in our defenders this week, nor were we expecting any. We expect Keith Stubbs to be the next to improve in ability level, but that should not occur for another three weeks or so.

Form Changes

3 players improved in form this week, including one starter:
-Winger Valentin Rubio: solid (7)

16 players saw their form remain the same this week.

3 players dropped in form this week, including two starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: passable (6)
-Forward Forrest “Gump” Tobias: inadequate(5)

We seem to be snake-bitten when it comes to the form of our strikers, as “Gump” Tobias has dropped in form for the second consecutive week. The good news is that it appears Johannes Henriksson may finally be coming out of his slump, as he has improved to weak (4) form.

In The Zone

Tyler Willard is joined “in the zone” this week by Estonian wingback trainee Mattias Leier. Although he did not score, Mattias was the best player for us on the pitch Wednesday in our FOFC Cup victory over the North Plainfield Plague.

Form Dogs

As was mentioned earlier, Swedish striker Johannes Henriksson improved to weak (4) form this week. While it is an improvement, he still qualifies as one of this week’s “form dogs,” along with defensive trainee Cameron McDonald.

Player Value

Average Player Value: $156,955 (+$4,046)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,453,000 (+$89,000)

No assessed value milestones this week.

Up Next: Our weekly youth pull and financial update. Hopefully our youth squad will actually produce someone decent this week. After that, we seek revenge against the SoccerWussies, who defeated us 2-1 back in week 5. Stay tuned!

Week 9 Youth Pull

This week’s youth pull, Joseph Ruff, is nothing exceptional, but should at least bring in a few thousand dollars to the club’s coffers. He should make a decent trainee as a defensive midfielder or offensive defender. Our youth squad hasn’t been producing lately like it was earlier in the season, but I guess what comes around, goes around.

Joseph Ruff

19 years old, passable form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is fiery and honest.
Has disastrous(1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Powerful

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $12,000
Wage: $560 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Poor (3)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $96,298

Revenue

Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. North Plainfield Plague) - $2,339
Sponsors - $70,200
Temporary (14 new supporters) - $420

Total Revenue: $72,959

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Otis Grant) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $115,872

Net Income/Loss: -$42,913

New Balance: $53,385

We’ve only been treading water financially as of late, which has been primarily due to poor turnout at our recent home games. We’ve had rain at our last two home matches, but are hoping for a better turnout on Sunday against the SoccerWussies.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Content (down one level)
Team Confidence: Strong (down one level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (down one level)
Supporter Club: 1,470 (up 14 from last week)

The loss last week on the road to Neon Genesis Evangelion didn’t help our situation any. Hopefully we will turn things around this week.

Up Next: We play host to the SoccerWussies, hoping to avenge our 2-1 loss back in week five. Stay tuned!

Season 3 – League Match #10

Screamin’ Seamen vs. SoccerWussies

Date: June 8th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 30,000 (30,000)
Weather: Overcast

We have an opportunity to earn some vengeance this week, as we play host to the SoccerWussies, who defeated us in Atlanta back in week five, 2-1. The SoccerWussies are a tough defensive team, similar to our own, due primarily to the play of 23-year-old Swedish keeper Tobias Tullbrant (valued at $498,000, averages 3.5 stars). They also have a dangerous attacking midfielder in 32-year-old Tony Goransson (valued at $167,000, also averages 3.5 stars).

We’ll be playing a bit more aggressively than is typical for the Seamen, as we feel we need to get shots on target against Tullbrant, and make him earn his keep. We will also be modifying our defensive setup a bit today, as the strength of the SoccerWussies attack tends to be right up the middle, while the strength of our defense is on the wings.

Needless to say, every match from here on out is extremely important. The standings are so tight in Series IV.49 that one small slip could easily land just about any team down in the relegation zone. We’ll be more than happy if we can get through the next couple of weeks and remain within striking distance of the league-leading Croats in Miami.

Previous Meetings

5/4/2003 – SoccerWussies 2, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Forward: #12 Guido Metman

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We’re going with our standard line-up this week, but the orientation of the team will be a little different than normal. As I mentioned previously, the strength of the SoccerWussies' attack tends to be right up the middle, so wingback Tyler Willard will be playing closer to the middle of the field than he is accustomed to. With less of a threat on the wings than we typically face, Arlen Lucas will be given more free reign to move up the field if the situation warrants such a move (normal).

The SoccerWussies’ defense also tends to be weaker on their right side, so we’ll be pushing the ball on the left. Midfielders Charlie Bautista and Niklas Ivarsson will be pushing the ball up the pitch, as will winger Valentin Rubio (all offensive). Defensive-specialist winger Ben McMahon will play in front of Tyler Willard, to help cover the open spot on the right side of our defense (normal).

We’ll be watching closely to see how this defensive adjustment works on the pitch, and if we’re pleased with the results we will likely use it in the future. Also, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Forrest “Gump” Tobias up front. He is quietly in third place in the series scoring title race, but his form has been slipping a bit as of late.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

30000 spectators had come to The Docks this cloudy day.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Tobias.

SoccerWussies had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Tullbrant - Bower, Larsson, Dehlbrant - Udd, Fjelér, Göransson, Myung-Dae, Wilson - Casillas, Molinari.

FIRST HALF

The 14:th minute saw the home team take a 1 - 0 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for Screamin' was Niklas Ivarsson.

Screamin' put their lead ahead another goal as Charlie Bautista struck home the 2 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper.

The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 70 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

In the 49:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Forrest Tobias dashed through, knocking home 3 - 0 for Screamin'.

Arlen Lucas sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 4-0 in after a corner kick after 58 minutes of play. After this Screamin' lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts.

In the 59:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Guido Metman dashed through, knocking home 5 - 0 for Screamin'.

The visitors got a chance of pulling one back in the 73rd minute, due to a defensive blunder leaving Franco Molinari completely unmarked. His strike was pathetic though, easy prey for the home side´s keeper.

Tobias Tullbrant was caught napping a bit later as Ben Mcmahon lifted a ball over him after a free kick, but the ball hit the bar, rebounding into the keepers arms.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 78 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

Screamin'´s best player was Tyler Willard. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day.

SoccerWussies´s best player was Björn R. Dehlbrant. However, Mikey Bower made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, SoccerWussies 0

Goals

Ivarsson – 1 (1, GWG)
Bautista – 1 (3)
Tobias – 1 (7)
Lucas – 1 (1)
Metman – 1 (2)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Willard: ****
Scales: ***~
Lucas: ****

McMahon: **
Bautista: ***
Tomlin: **~
Ivarsson: ***
Rubio: ***

Tobias: **
Metman: ***

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-NSI: 71

SoccerWussies
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: World Class (13)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 51

Comments

Wow! We were expecting a victory today (we never lose at home), but we weren’t expecting to see such a dominant performance in all areas of the game. Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson opened things up for us in the fourteenth minute with his first goal as a Seaman, and that just seemed to open the flood gates. It was great to see everyone contributing, and five goals from five different players pleases me to no end. We displayed damn fine ball distribution.

Defensively we weren’t as strong down the middle as I had expected, but it was still more than enough to contain the SoccerWussies. “Corny” Jernigan was never seriously challenged, and earned his sixth clean sheet of the season (fifth in league play). Tyler Willard and Chuck Scales were solid, as always, and Arlen Lucas finally landed one of his patented headers on target (his first goal of the season).

The stars in the middle were certainly Niklas Ivarsson and Charlie Bautista. Niklas finally got himself onto the scoring charts for the Seamen. Charlie was not to be out-done, however, and followed with a goal of his own later in the half. The midfield also did a fine job of controlling the ball and the pace of the match. The SoccerWussies had precious few opportunities to test our strange defensive formation.

The good news certainly seems to outweigh the bad up front. Although “Gump” Tobias’ form has been slipping as of late, he tallied his fourth goal in the last three weeks. He remains in third place in the series scoring race, behind George Herrmann (Croats in Miami) and Tomas Leijonstal (Sweden Heights), both of whom have nine goals on the season (Gump has seven). Guido Metman also finally proved that he was worth the half-million it cost to bring him aboard, as he turned in the sort of performance we were expecting to see a month ago. He did a great deal to open things up for Tobias and the others, as well as tallying a goal of his own.

All in all, it was an excellent day to be a Seaman. We won handily in front of a sellout crowd, our first since we expanded to 30,000 seats during the past off-season. We also did it without attracting any injuries or cards. A fine day for the Seamen, indeed.

Series Scores and Standings

-Neon Genesis Evangelion had surprising difficulty with the Syracuse Supers, narrowly escaping with a 2-1 victory.
-Big Reds continue to struggle, drawing with Sweden Heights, 1-1.
-Croats in Miami had a narrow escape of their own, slipping past Ramblers, 3-2.

No.	Team					Played	        Goals		Pts.	NSI

1.	Croats in Miami			        10		31-13		23	77

2.	Big Reds				10		18-8		18	74

3.	Screamin’ Seamen*			10		21-13		17	71

4.	Ramblers				10		22-16		16	71

5.	Neon Genesis Evangelion		        10		23-22		15	60

6.	SoccerWussies			        10		14-22		13	51

7.	Sweden Heights			        10		19-21		12	63

8.	Syracuse Supers			        10		2-35		0	49

While the standings are still extremely tight, it looks as though we may finally be starting to separate the wheat from the chaff. SoccerWussies put up a surprisingly poor performance against us today, and may have decided to PIC the match and take their lumps, given our impressive home record. Neon Genesis Evangelion also slipped a bit as well, and it nearly cost them an easy one against the Syracuse Supers. It would appear that NGE MOTSed their match against us last week.

Week 11 Matchups

Sweden Heights vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Croats in Miami vs. Big Reds
SoccerWussies vs. Syracuse Supers
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Ramblers

We’ll be travelling to New York City next week, to take on Sweden Heights, who we defeated back in week four, 2-nil. Croats vs. Big Reds promises to be a big match, as the top two teams go head to head. NGE vs. Ramblers will also be an interesting one to watch, with the critical fourth place on the line.

Up Next: We wrap up FOFC Cup Group Play on Wednesday, when we play host to NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders. Stay tuned!

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 5

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Manhattan Marauders

Date: June 11th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 1,526 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Today the group play stage of FOFC Cup III wraps up, and we play host to NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders. We’ve already guaranteed ourselves the #1 spot coming out of Group F, by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Alf Trickers, who will most likely claim the #2 spot out of the group. While today may seem like a meaningless game to some, we are not approaching it with that attitude. Your beloved Seamen greatly desire the prestige which would come along with claiming all of the possible fifteen points available in group play.

That being said, it does not appear that claiming these last three points will be an easy task for our reserves. The Marauders have come on strong as of late, winning their last two FOFC Cup matches by a combined score of 6-nil. Unfortunately for the Marauders, it appears that their effort has been one of too little, too late. They need a victory over us today at The Docks, as well as a loss by the Alf Trickers to the North Plainfield Plague, in order to advance. A desperate team is a dangerous team.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’re going with our usual lineup of reserves today, but our defensive orientation will be a little different. The Manhattan Marauders’ attack tends to be strongest along the edges of the field. To counteract this, both Zarpas Lerma and Cameron McDonald will be playing towards their respective wings, to help out our wingbacks. Zarpas is more accustomed to this sort of play, and so should be more effective. Cameron will be playing on the left side along with Mattias Leier, the stronger of our two wingbacks.

The player to watch on the pitch today is up front, striker Johannes Henriksson. It appears that the Swede may finally be coming out of his horrible slump, so we will be looking for positive signs from him on the pitch today.

The Marauders desperately need a win today, as well as some help. But we’re not laying down for anybody. If the Marauders want a chance at advancement in the FOFC Cup, they’re going to have to earn it.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

1526 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. Lineup: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

Manhattan had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Nesserberg - Eddy, Livingston, Thomas, Collado - Judd, Pagan, Sommerhäuser, Waggoner, Bradshaw - Stern.

FIRST HALF

Many thought Zarpas Lerma ought to have been awarded a penalty shot in the 18:th minute, as he went down trying to circle the visitors keeper Christer Nesserberg.

Christian Kvam of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 31st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

37 minutes into the game Aaron Livingston was a hair´s breadth away from giving Manhattan the lead. A prompt block by Darryl Read saved the home team that time.

A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area, but at last Screamin'´s Paul Peralta was able to shove the ball in. 1-0.

Thomas Waggoner almost scored an equalising goal for Manhattan in the 40:th minute, but Darryl Read made an excellent save, tipping the awkwardly curled shot past the post.

1 - 0 was the half-time score. Manhattan, bringing the final ball possession rate to 58 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Tillmann Sommerhäuser made a run for the goal in the 51st minute but the home teams far left defense managed to sort the situation out in the end.

Thomas Waggoner of Manhattan received a yellow card in the 82nd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

In the 82nd minute Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net.

In the games 83rd minute the visitors levelled to 1 - 1 as Aaron Livingston struck home on a bar rebound, following a shot from the right.

Mattias Leier received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 84:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

Manhattan, bringing the final ball possession rate to 58 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Mattias Leier. Johannes Henriksson on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The most dominating Manhattan player was without a doubt Jamey Judd. Dustin Stern on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Manhattan Marauders 1

Goals

Peralta – 1

Cards

Kvam – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: ***
Lerma: **
Stubbs: ***
McDonald: **
Leier: ***

Mauffret: **
Tere: **~
Smith: **
Peralta: **

Henriksson: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 53

Manhattan Marauders
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 53

Comments

The match started out well enough for SSFC. Although Zarpas Lerma should have received a penalty kick early on, veteran winger Paul Peralta was able to put us up one later in the match. But the true hero of the first half was keeper Darryl Read. Darryl made two fantastic saves late in the half to keep our 1-nil lead going into halftime.

Late in the second half, Johannes Henriksson had a chance to nail the coffin shut, but his shot off the crossbar proved to be a killer. Only a minute later, the hard-working Marauders were able to bring home the equalizer, by virtue of an Aaron Livingston shot off of a bar rebound. Though Johannes has been improving lately in practice, it is obvious that he is still not himself. Last season, his shot would have sailed true, and the entire match would most likely have turned out very differently.

The Marauders, up against a wall as far as the standings go, decided to play a number of their regular starters against us today. Given that, I certainly cannot be disappointed with the results, even if it was a home match. And as it turns out, the match didn’t make much difference anyhow, as far as we’re concerned. We’ve still claimed first place in the group, and are the #6 seed overall of the remaining 32 teams.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Final Standings

-The North Plainfield Plague pulled off the upset, defeating the Alf Trickers 2-1.
-The Shadow Dragons were a no-show this week, awarding the Fantastic Flying Froggies a 5-nil walkover victory.

No.	Team					Seed	GF	GA	Diff. 	Pts.	NSI

1.	Screamin’ Seamen			        1	8	3	+5	13	53

2.	North Plainfield Plague		        6	7	6	+1	9	33

3.	Alf Trickers				2	10	5	+5	9	36

4.	Manhattan Marauders		        4	9	5	+4	8	53

5.	Fantastic Flying Froggies		3	7	8	-1	4	NA

6.	Shadow Dragons			        5	0	14	-14	0	NA

The Marauders received the help they were looking for from the North Plainfield Plague, but were unable to attain the victory they needed against us today. As a result, in a surprising turn of events, the Plague have advanced to the Round of 32 in FOFC Cup III, by virtue of their head-to-head victory over the Alf Trickers. Congratulations, cthomer5000!

FOFC Cup Round of 32 Matchup

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Concord Assassins.

We’ve drawn BishopMVP’s Concord Assassins for the Round of 32. The Assassins advanced by claiming 1st place in Group A, surprisingly beating out the MoKan Mighty Bastards for the Group A title. It should prove to be a challenging match.

Up Next: Training results Thursday evening or Friday. Stay tuned!

Congrats on winning the # 1 spot in Group Play. At least I can say that neither team that advanced from our group beat me :) I'll be cheering you guys on though, since those other groups suck! :D

Yeah, that stupid head to head rule got me out of the cup. I have the same points as North Plainfield Plague but a better goal differential but I'm out.

Plus I played the two qualified teams at their place barely losing 2-1 each time !

Anyway, congrats to both of you and good luck for the rest of the competition.

Week 10 Training Results

I am usually the first person to admit when I am wrong, and I am happy to admit that I was incorrect about Keith Stubbs in the training results update from last week. Keith has taken the next step towards becoming a fantastic central defender, and has reached excellent (8) defending.

Keith Stubbs

Jersey #20

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $91,000
Wage: $720 per week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Weak (4)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

Also of note this week is Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin, who improved to inadequate (5) experience.

Form Changes

7 players improved in form this week, including four starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: solid (7)
-Wingback Arlen Lucas: excellent (8)
-Forward Guido Metman: solid (7)
-Midfielder Pete “The Old Goat’ Tomlin: solid (7)

13 players saw their form remain the same this week.

2 players dropped in form, including one starter:
-Goalkeeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan: inadequate (5)

Overall we had a fine week of training, with Keith Stubbs’ improvement and a drastic increase in our overall form. “Corny” Jernigan struggled a little it in practice this week, but I am not going to concern myself greatly over this just yet. Hopefully it’s just a temporary dip in performance from our clutch keeper.

In The Zone

Wingback Tyler Willard remains “in the zone” this week with excellent (8) form, and is joined once again by his partner in crime, wingback Arlen Lucas. These two seem to feed off of each other, and comprise perhaps the most formidable defensive duo in all of series IV.49. They are joined “in the zone” this week by reserve midfielder Lucian Tere.

Form Dogs

Johannes Henriksson has the dubious honor of being this week’s only “form dog,” as he remains in weak (4) form. He has, however, shown some small signs of improvement over the course of the week, and we’re hoping that he will break out of his slump any day now.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $160,682 (+$3,727)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,535,000 (+$82,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

$300,000+
-Wingback Tyler Willard ($309,000)

Up Next: I will be out of town this weekend, so financial updates and our league match against Sweden Heights should be posted on Monday or Tuesday. Stay tuned!

Have a good trip! :)

Week 10 Youth Pull

Another mediocre talent off of the youth squad this week. Still, he might make a halfway decent striker trainee for someone. He will be listed for $1,000.

Michael Herron

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and poor (3) leadership abilities.

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $10,000
Wage: $540 per week

Stamina: Wretched (2)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Poor (3)
Scoring: Inadequate (5)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Weak (4)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

We’ll probably be calling up a goalkeeper next week. It’s not that we necessarily need one, but it seems like the talent level in the outfield is pretty diluted right now, and we’ve never promoted one of our keepers.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $53,385

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. SoccerWussies) - $159,000
Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Manhattan Marauders) - $3,957
Sponsors - $71,100
Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660
Temporary (mother club money from resale of Daniel Brown) - $600
Temporary (sale of Joseph Ruff) - $920

Total Revenue: $236,237

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Joseph Ruff) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Joseph Ruff) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $116,872

Net Income/Loss: +$119,365

New Balance: $172,750

The league match sellout against SoccerWussies helped our finances out immensely, and we’re back above the $100,000 “safety line” that I like to maintain.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Content (no change)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (up one level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (up one level)
Supporter Club: 1,492 (up 22 from last week)

Up Next: Our week 11 league match against Sweden Heights. Stay tuned!

Season 3 – League Match #11

Sweden Heights vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 15th, 2003
Venue: Sweden Heights Arena (New York, NY)
Attendance: 25,000 (25,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’re in one of my favorite places, New York City, this week for our match-up with 7th place Sweden Heights. Heights have a similar team to our own, with a very good defense. 32-year-old wingback Mats Claesson anchors the defense (3.5*, $112,000), and gets a great deal of assistance from 28-year-old central defender Patrik Flamkvist (3.5*, $210,000). Sweden Heights also have a pair of very good inner midfielders in 22-year-old Timothy Thomas (3.5*, $271,000) and Jan Jansson (4*, $523,000). The club also features one of the top scorers in the series, striker Tomas Leijonstal (2.5*, $47,000). All of these players will need to be marked closely today.

We expect today to be a tough one, as Sweden Heights have talent that belies their seventh place standing. Also, one cannot ignore the fact that we are on the road this week. With the overall talent level so even throughout much of the series, home field advantage can, and very often is, the difference between winning and losing.

Previous Meetings

4/27/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 2, Sweden Heights 0

We shut out the Heights at The Docks back in week four, which was our first victory of the season. Our opposition will certainly be looking for some measure of payback today on their home pitch.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We’ve got our standard starting lineup again this week, and will be pushing the ball up the right side of the pitch as much as possible, where we expect the defensive resistance to be weakest. Business as usual, really.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

25000 spectators had come to Sweden Heights Arena this cloudy day.

Heights tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Wilkinson - Claesson, Flamkvist, Domínguez - Stoner, Jansson, Thomas, Czerwinski, Song - Leijonstål, Lucero.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Metman, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

5 minutes into the game Tyler Willard was a hair´s breadth away from giving Screamin' the lead. A prompt block by Trent Wilkinson saved the home team that time.

Arlen Lucas of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 16:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

In the 28:th minute Mats Claesson almost put the home team one ahead on a cross pass coming in from the right, but the shot went wide.

Screamin's Valentín Rubio got himself booked after a foul. Heights were forced to a substitution as Marvin Stoner couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment.

Sam Cooper gave his Heights the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post.

In the 37:th minute Heightss Mats Claesson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Pete Tomlin spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. Heights held the ball, with a clear 57 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Heights held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Heights player was without a doubt Jan Jansson. Sam Cooper was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Sweden Heights 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

Lucas – yellow (suspended)
Rubio – yellow (suspended)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Lucas: ****
Scales: ***~
Willard: ****

Rubio: ***
Bautista: ***
Tomlin: **~
Ivarsson: ***
McMahon: **

Metman: ***
Tobias: **

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Right Attack: Excellent (8)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 71

Sweden Heights
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 65

Comments

Last week was one of the best weeks of the season for the Screamin’ Seamen, and we have followed that up with perhaps one of the worst weeks for us. I am really at a loss for explaining how it is that we lost today. Despite having the favorable match-ups, particularly with our strongest attack against Sweden Heights’ weakest defense, we were only able to generate one good attack early on, and weren’t able to capitalize. To make matters worse, Heights managed to score the only goal they would need, despite having an attack that is even worse than ours.

Despite the 1-nil deficit at halftime, I was still relatively optimistic. We tend to play our best soccer in the second half, due to superior conditioning, and I figured that our small midfield disadvantage would melt away. But we were never able to generate another scoring opportunity, and ended up on the short end of a 1-nil shutout. Painful.

To make matters even worse, we have two suspensions as a result of today’s match. Both wingback Arlen Lucas and winger Valentin Rubio will be inelligible for next week’s match, when we face the league-leading (and likely series champion) Croats in Miami. The timing could not have been worse.

As I mentioned earlier, home field advantage has played a tremendous part in this series thus far, and seems to be the deciding factor, with the talent level so even between the majority of teams. If you discount games involving the Syracuse Supers, the home team in series IV.49 has a record of 22 wins, 6 draws, and 5 losses. Thus far this season, our home record is 4-1-0, while our road record is 1-1-4. Winning on the road is proving exceedingly tough for everybody.

Series Scores and Standings

-Croats in Miami were dominant at home, defeating the lingering Big Reds, 4-1.
-SoccerWussies barely slipped past the Syracuse Supers, with a 2-1 victory.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion pushed their winning streak to five in a row, with a 4-nil drubbing of the Ramblers.

No.	Team					Played	        Goals		Pts.	NSI

1.	Croats in Miami			        11		35-14		26	80

2.	Big Reds				11		19-12		18	70

3.	Neon Genesis Evangelion		        11		27-22		18	68

4.	Screamin’ Seamen*			11		21-14		17	71

5.	Ramblers				11		22-20		16	67

6.	SoccerWussies			        11		16-23		16	61

7.	Sweden Heights			        11		20-21		15	65

8.	Syracuse Supers			        11		3-37		0	44

If you’ve ever wondered what the ultimate logjam looks like in a series race, now you know. Croats in Miami will win the series with a match remaining against the lowly Syracuse Supers, but we do not expect them to let up on anyone, as they are still two points behind the automatic-promotion line. After that, it’s a complete and utter mess. A grand total of three points separate the 2nd and 7th place teams, so it is still possible for anyone to improve their standing, at the expense of others, naturally. Things are so tight that goal differential could very well make the difference, and in that respect we have the advantage at the moment with Big Reds, as both of our clubs sit at +7.

Week 12 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Croats in Miami
Ramblers vs. Big Reds
Syracuse Supers vs. Sweden Heights
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. SoccerWussies

Our undefeated streak at home is in jeopardy, as we host the red-hot Croats next week, missing two starters from the lineup. As a matter of fact, we’re going to have a hard time avoiding a relegation match, as our three remaining matches are against the Croats, Big Reds, and Ramblers.

Up Next: We host BishopMVP’s Concord Assassins in the FOFC Cup Round of 32. Stay tuned!

Ouch...what a brutal division, as great as your team is, even auto-demotion seems an outside possibility. :(

Are you considering a MOTS against Croats? Getting points there would really, really help. Of course, if they're putting up 80s in NSI, maybe MOTSing might not even be enough, considering your missing players.

If all of DIV is like this, I better not promote for 5 seasons.

I would have at least considered MOTSing against the Croats this week, but I feel that losing Lucas and Rubio puts us at too much of a disadvantage. Odds are, we will suffer our first ever league match loss at The Docks this week. But if we do, we're going down swinging (no PIC either).

And no, most of Div. IV is not this bad, at least from what I have seen. Series IV.49 was rated as the toughest series in Division IV this past week, and has been in the top-5 every week except for one this season.

So don't shy away from promotion. Just don't land here. :D

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Elimination Play – Round of 32

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Concord Assassins

Date: June 18th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 1,199 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

The club cruised through group play pretty well, and have advanced to the single-elimination portion of the FOFC Cup Tournament. Our first draw appears to be a difficult one, as we will be hosting BishopMVP’s Concord Assassins. I call this a difficult draw, because it looks as though the Assassins played their reserves in their league match on Sunday (or at least took it easy on their opposition, and were still victorious 3-nil). Odds are, we will be facing the Assassins’ starting squad today, which is no small task for our reserves. We have been preparing for such, and are as ready as we will ever be.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #5 Arlen Lucas
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

We will have our standard b-team personnel on the pitch today, but as usual we will be mixing up their individual orders a little bit. We expect to face off against a 3-5-2 formation today, with a healthy midfield to go along with that. To counter this, we’re going to try to give Smith and Tere some help in the middle. Winger Paul Peralta will be pinching in from the right side to help out, and defender Cameron McDonald has been ordered to carry the ball up-field as much as possible to help out. Hopefully this will be enough, and we will see relatively even possession ratings. If so, then I’d say that home pitch advantage and our superior defense should result in a win.

We shall see…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

1199 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

Assassins had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Schaaf - Bakker, Pettersson, Kardel - Trujillo, Huff, Eriksson, Russev, Greco - Demian, Häggner.

FIRST HALF

Christian Kvam of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 18:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Screamin' created a good opportunity to score in the games 22nd minute when Keith Stubbs`s hooked ball created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors defenders had a hard time clearing the ball.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. Assassins, bringing the final ball possession rate to 52 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

The referee showed Assassinss Kenny Häggner the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

A well placed corner kick from Johannes Henriksson was followed by Zarpas Lerma´s hard but accurate header. The nice combination meant 1-0 for Screamin'.

The crowd was silenced in the 73rd minute as the visiting teams Skip Huff came in from the left, levelling the score to 1 - 1.

In the games 76:th minute Assassins´s Nils Eriksson fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Nils Eriksson for taking a dive.

80 minutes into the game Pompiliu Demian was a hair´s breadth away from giving Assassins the lead. A prompt block by Darryl Read saved the home team that time.

Assassinss Lee Greco got himself booked after a foul. Jerry Smith the unlucky victim, couldn´t continue the game.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 57 percent possession of the ball.

OVERTIME

After the regular 90 minutes, the agonizing of overtime followed.

In 95:th minute of game time Assassins´s Lee Greco received his second yellow card and was sent off.

There was still no winner after 30 minutes of extra time so the teams had to select a lineup for a penalty contest to settle the result.

PENALTY KICKS

Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson was seemingly taken by the gravity of the moment, producing a badly laid penalty, blocked by Heiner Schaaf. Score still 1 - 1.

Assassins´s Stefan Pettersson cooly put the ball past Darryl Read. 1 - 2.

Screamin'´s Darryl Read cooly put the ball past Heiner Schaaf. 2 - 2.

Assassins´s Kenny Häggner penalty shot was very well placed but Darryl Read went the right way, blocking it spectacularly. The score was still 2 - 2.

Screamin'´s Lucian Tere looked insecure all the way from laying the ball down to clipping the ball miles wide of the crossbar. No goal.

Assassins´s Borislav Russev cooly put the ball past Darryl Read. 2 - 3.

Screamin'´s Paul Peralta was seemingly taken by the gravity of the moment, producing a badly laid penalty, blocked by Heiner Schaaf. Score still 2 - 3.

Assassins´s Skip Huff cooly put the ball past Darryl Read. 2 - 4.

Screamin'´s Mattias Leier had nerves of steel at the penalty, changing the score to 3 - 4.

Assassins´s Fulco Trujillo cooly put the ball past Darryl Read. 3 - 5.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Charlie Bautista. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating Assassins player was without a doubt Heiner Schaaf. Pompiliu Demian on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Concord Assassins 5, Screamin’ Seamen 3 (4-2 on penalty kicks)

Goals

Lerma – 1 (assisted by Henriksson)
Read – 1 (penalty kick)
Leier – 1 (penalty kick)

Cards

Kvam – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: **~
Lerma: **~
Stubbs: ***
McDonald: **
Leier: ***

Mauffret: **
Smith: *~ (injured, replaced by Bautista)
Bautista: ***
Tere: **~
Peralta: **

Henriksson: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 51

Concord Assassins
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 59

Comments

And so, our seasonal run in the FOFC Cup comes to a close. Last season we got as far as the quarterfinals, and obviously did not match that achievement this time around. Of course, the FOFC Cup field is much deeper now, with 84 teams participating, compared to the 32 participants in FOFC Cup II. And it did take the Assassins’ starters to beat us, and on penalty kicks to boot. All the same, we wish BishopMVP and his Concord Assassins the best of luck through the rest of the cup.

Despite the loss and the poor showing in the penalty kicks, there were some definite positive signs today. One of those comes from Johannes Henriksson, who, despite missing the first PK, put up his best performance in the last six weeks. His corner kick in the second half was dead on, and was the perfect height for Zarpas Lerma to head home. It looks like we were correct, that Henriksson is finally, if slowly, coming out of his horrible slump.

Jerry Smith’s injury is not as bad as we originally thought, which is another positive sign. We have brought in a couple of sports doctors to tend to his wounds, as well as to hopefully get Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin back to tip-top shape before our league match on Sunday.

Up Next: The weekly training update. Stay tuned!

Week 11 Training Results

No significant improvement in our defensive trainees this week. However, we do expect Cameron McDonald, Mattias Leier, and Christian Kvam all to improve by the end of the season (McDonald to formidable, Leier and Kvam to excellent).

Form Changes

5 players improved in form this week, including two starters.
-Chuck Scales: solid (7)
-Valentin Rubio: excellent (8)

13 players had their forms remain the same.

4 players dropped in form this week, including two starters.
-Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin: passable (6)
-Niklas Ivarsson: weak (4)

In the Zone

Wingbacks Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, along with reserve midfielder Lucian Tere, all remain in excellent (8) form this week, and they are joined by winger Valentin Rubio. Wonderful timing, as both Lucas and Rubio are suspended from this weekend’s league match. :mad:

Form Dogs

As if things weren’t bad enough right now, starting midfielder Niklas Ivarsson’s form took a major dip this week, dropping two levels. He joins struggling striker Johannes Henriksson as this week’s form dog, at weak (4) form. :( Henriksson is improving, but slowly.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $163,864 (+$3,182)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,605,000 (+$70,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

$100,000+
-Defender Zarpas Lerma: $101,000

Up Next: The weekly youth pull and financial update on Saturday. Stay tuned!

Week 11 Youth Pull

We weren’t able to unload last week’s youth pull, Michael Herron, and he has since been canned. This week, the mediocrity which describes our youth squad during the last half of this season continues. Despite being 17 years old, I highly doubt that anyone would be willing to pay for Juan Berman, this week’s product. He has been sent back to high school, where he belongs.

I probably should have pulled a keeper this week, but did not. That appears to have been a mistake. I will probably pull keepers for the remainder of the season, and see what we get.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $172,750

Revenue

Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Concord Assassins) - $3,158
Sponsors - $72,150
Temporary (6 new supporters) - $180

Total Revenue: $75,488

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Michael Herron) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Michael Herron) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $116,872

Net Income/Loss: -$41,384

New Balance: $131,366

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (down one level)
Team Confidence: Strong (down one level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Satisfied (down 2 levels)
Supporter Club: 1,498 (up 6 from last week)

Up Next: What is sure to be our toughest league match of the season, as we host Croats in Miami. Stay tuned!

A question, if you don't mind . . .

A team in my division has a player name Arron Barrera. He put up 3-stars today in solid form. What I'm curious about is his value, which is at 314 000. What kind of defensive ratings am I looking at with that kind of value and performance?

My Solid defender puts up 3 stars in Solid form.

I'd say that guy just has a bunch of other good skills in winger,scoring etc knocking his value up.

I have to agree with Havok on this one. Keith Stubbs typically puts up three stars for me in solid form at the central defender position. He just recently moved up to excellent defending, but has an assessed value under $100,000.

Barrera must have a couple of others skills also in the solid range that are boosting his value beyond that of a typical 3* defender.

Season 3 – League Match #12

Croats in Miami vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 22nd, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 30,000 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We’re back home this weekend, thankfully, but have a very tall order in front of us; defeat the Croats in Miami. The Croats have all but locked up the series title, and have become the dominant team in the series, bar-none. However, we’re certain that they’re hungry for more. A victory today would seal the series title for them, and they’re also chasing the automatic promotion line (they’re two points behind it at the moment). We expect them to come at us with everything they’ve got.

The real strength of the Croats is their phenomenal midfielders, particularly Donald Blackwell (4.5*, $1,202,000) and Tony Allen (4*, $840,000). These two make for a lethal combination, and are complimented up front by striker George Herrmann (3*, $65,000), who is currently in the lead for the series scoring title (10 goals thus far).

Needless to say, today’s match is a daunting task. The series standings are so tight that every point counts, and we have a difficult road ahead of us during these last three weeks. Also on the line is our reputation at The Docks. We’ve never lost a league match at home, and have no intention of starting now. This has led us to try some odd tactics today in order to slow down the Croats, but more on that in a moment.

Previous Meetings

12/15/2002 – Screamin’ Seamen 5, Croats in Miami 1
3/16/2003 – Croats in Miami 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0
4/20/2003 – Croats in Miami 2, Screamin’ Seamen 2

As you can see, the all-time series between our two clubs is tied, with each club having a 1-1-1 record. Unless today’s match ends in a draw (not an entirely undesirable result from our perspective), someone will take the lead in this budding rivalry.

Formation: 4-4-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Like I said before, we’re going with some unusual tactics for today’s match. We’ve decided to go with a 4-4-2, 3 midfielder formation today. The reasons for this are many:

1. Valentin Rubio and Arlen Lucas are both suspended for this match. We’re not happy with any of our backups for Valentin, and he’s always been an attacking winger, who has never helped our midfield much anyway.
2. The strength of the Croats’ attack is right up the gut, so instead of a second winger, we’re giving Cameron McDonald his first start in league play. Cameron is there to help out Chuck Scales in the middle, and to help the midfielders move the ball up the pitch. He is also the only head specialist we will have on the pitch today (Lucas and Rubio are both head specialists), so he will play a key roll on corner kicks.
3. The Croats typically pinch in their winger on the left side of their formation, so we will not lose much from missing our winger on that side.
4. We know that we cannot even pretend to compete with the Croats in the midfield, so we aren’t even going to try. Instead, we will concentrate on stopping their attacks up the middle, and look for counter-attacking opportunities (McMahon, Bautista, and Ivarsson will all play offensively).
5. The one weakness of the Croats is their defense, so we should get some of these counter-attacking opportunities. We just have to make sure we make them count.

Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin is still not at 100% after getting dinged up in last Sunday’s match, so Lucian Tere will start in his place. Lucian has been playing very well as of late (excellent form) and Pete will be on the bench as a back-up, just in case. In place of the suspended Arlen Lucas, we will start our best wingback trainee, Mattias Leier.

Time to head to The Docks and see if this works. Cross your fingers…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Docks saw a crowd turnout of 30000.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. They fielded: Jernigan - Leier, Scales, Mcdonald, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Tere, Bautista - Metman, Tobias.

Croats started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Keys - Schofield, Göransson, Moustakis - Parish, Allen, Blackwell, Hand, Schwab - Broderick, Herrmann.

FIRST HALF

After 19 minutes Croats put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Alexander Parish finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post.

In the games 26:th minute Ulf Göransson nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through and fired from just outside the box, his shot passed just over the bar.

Halftime score was 0 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Croats, with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Croats came close to extending their lead as Lester Schofield delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was to sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal.

The visitors George Herrmann took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 62nd minute. 0 - 2 for Croats.

In the 68:th minute Croatss Antonis Moustakis received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Screamin's Charlie Bautista got himself booked after a foul.

In the 76:th minute Guido Metman passed through the guests central line of defense, scoring the 1 - 2 goal.

Croats, bringing the final ball possession rate to 63 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Tyler Willard. However, Ben Mcmahon made a disastrous appearance.

Most important Croats player was Donald Blackwell. However, Chris Keys made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Croats in Miami 2, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals

Metman – 1 (3)

Cards

Bautista – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **~

Leier: ***
McDonald: **~
Scales: ****
Willard: ****~

McMahon: **
Bautista: ***
Tere: **~
Ivarsson: **~

Metman: ***
Tobias: **

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: World Class (13)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 68

Croats in Miami
-Midfield: Formidable (9)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Outstanding (10)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 68

Comments

Our undefeated streak of nineteen straight league matches at The Docks, dating all the way back to the inception of the club, comes to an end. I realize that it had to happen sometime, but that does not make the pill any easier to swallow. The really frustrating part is that I know, had all of our starters been available, we could have at least earned a draw from the formidable Croats. Missing Lucas, Rubio, and The Old Goat all on the same day was just too much for us to overcome.

Now that I’ve had a little time to digest this loss, there are some positives to come out of the match. Our two defensive reserves that played, Mattias Leier and Cameron McDonald, both did pretty well, and we only conceded two goals to the Croats, despite a slumping “Corny” Jernigan in net. We had our second consecutive home sellout, despite the rather lackluster attitude of our supporters, which brings in a healthy $159,000 into the club’s coffers. We sustained no additional injuries, and were only carded once (Charlie Bautista).

Tyler Willard’s performance is also worthy of note, as he put up his (and the team’s) first ever ****~ performance. Tyler and Arlen Lucas are currently neck-and-neck for this season’s Team MVP Award.

Series Scores and Standings

-Ramblers completely dominated a struggling Big Reds side, 6-nil.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion were also dominant at home, whipping the SoccerWussies 5-nil.
-Sweden Heights had little trouble with the Syracuse Supers on the road, winning 4-1.

No.	Team					Played		Goals		Pts.	NSI

1.	Croats in Miami			        12		37-15		29	68

2.	Neon Genesis Evangelion		        12		32-22		21	69

3.	Ramblers				12		28-20		19	70

4.	Sweden Heights			        12		24-22		18	63

5.	Big Reds				12		19-18		18	70

6.	Screamin’ Seamen*			12		22-16		17	68

7.	SoccerWussies			        12		16-28		16	58

8.	Syracuse Supers			        12		4-41		0	47

The Croats in Miami have now clinched the division title, and will be pulling out all the stops to promote to Division III (I have seen no indication from him that he intends to be a water buffalo). Neon Genesis Evangelion is red hot, having won six straight, but face the Croats in the last match of the season. Either they or Ramblers should take second place.

As far as our own situation is concerned, things don’t look quite as grim as they might appear. The SoccerWussies have really tapered off, and with matches remaining against Ramblers (away) and Sweden Heights (at home), I suspect that they will be the ones to finish in 7th place and be relegated to Division V. For us, I think that steering clear of a qualification match will require wins in our last two matches. This is not an unattainable goal, however, as we play the struggling Big Reds next week (away), and finish the season at The Docks to face the Ramblers (who I suspect just MOTSed against Big Reds). If we win both, we should be able to take fourth place, or perhaps even third. If we lose one, we’ll have a qualifier in three weeks. If we get a draw in there somewhere, well, who the hell knows what will happen then. :D

Week 13 Matchups

Big Reds vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Sweden Heights vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Croats in Miami vs. Syracuse Supers
Ramblers vs. SoccerWussies

We’re on the road next weekend, which usually isn’t a good thing, but as I mentioned before, the Big Reds are struggling mightily. They’re actually winless in the last six weeks. We’ll be doing whatever we can to make sure that becomes seven weeks.

Up Next: We’ve arranged for a friendly match at The Docks against Big Lizards X1, an English 4th Division side. Stay tuned!

That would be tough to imagine you in a qualification match. Although dropping down a division, then moving back up would probably be a quicker way to DIII than staying in the division from hell!

I plan on doing everything I can, within reason, to avoid relegation. Yes, it would probably mean an easy return to Division IV, but that would mean a boring season, and there are no guarantees. On top of that, I'd lose about 150 supporters and my sponsor money would drop significantly. Not an entertaining proposition when you consider my payroll (about $75,000 per week between players and staff).

If things go as planned, SSFC will be a serious contender in Div. III in three seasons.

I kind of figured you wouldn't want to drop a division in your plans to move up. Good luck the rest of the season and whoop some ass!

Seems like in your losses, you're getting largely outclassed in the midfield. Maybe it's time to trade in the Old Goat for a younger, better model?

I'd like to, but right now my money is earmarked for a solid coach. As soon as Coach Brown has been shown the door, then I'll be looking to upgrade, but not until then.

*cough*.......*cough*....sell Chuck Scales ....*cough*....*cough* to old to train....*cough*.....*cough* 1.2-1.5 million.... *cough....cough... :)

Perhaps, once either Cameron McDonald or Keith Stubbs becomes a suitable replacement.

well, a Excellent defender is very suitable bro :)

I bet you still get at least a formidable central defence. And thats better then most in your divison :)

Awesome. I was hoping it was spread out over a few different skills. He hasn't used him offensively the few games that I've looked so I'm hoping it's not midfield. Other than that, I don't really mind other ratings. :)

Thanks, y'all. :)

I only have passable defenderrs and get excellent to formidable defensive ratings. Of course they are in good form and my coach is defensive minded ! 2 get 2.5 stars, the 3rd one gets 2. Not bad hey ! And cheap.

I guess I just don't subscribe to the "make my team better right now" which seems to pervade the FOFC teams at the moment. I don't think Hattrick is really set up for steady, small improvements. I think the current system is better-used for large-scale, drastic improvements to a team's talent level, basically at the end of each 3-4 season training "rotation."

You've all probably noticed that I do not buy passable defenders, train them up to solid, then sell them off for a small profit. I would rather take a passable defender, train them up to outstanding in three seasons, and then sell them off for a huge profit.

It does take patience, and despite my occasional pouting session or tirade after a loss, I do not feel the need to improve my team right now. I will take my lumps for the remainder of this season and next, and then start kicking butt and taking names.

But that's just me. Hattrick strikes me as a very long-term game, which is one of the things I love most about it. I have chosen a more long-term approach than most in these parts, that's all. We'll see how it all pans out.

I just wanted to say that I agree with you. Sometimes I look at Hatstats and wonder how much more I'd enjoy cruising through another series, but then realize it would be more harmful in the long run. Sure I COULD be in 1st in some places, but would have my ass handed to me on a weekly basis next season in D4. Right now I'm content with building up the defense knowing I can eventually switch to playmaking when I get further along.

Good for you for sticking to your guns and not worrying about immediate small improvements :)

That and the fact that you have the second largest fan club in the US. :D

That helps. :)

This long term thing could lead to some heavy teeth gnashing for me next season. I'm currently training midfield, and plan to sell them when they get to formidable. On the other hand, I'm going to D-IV next season, and long term short term full term, I'm going to try and stay there. The question maybe, around the halfway point of the season, and I'm sitting on the relegation line, whether or not I should sell my solid or excellent midfield trainees and try and hang around.

Should be an interesting season.

Interesting comments all around, guys. I'm actually kind of curious as to whether the short-term or long-term approaches are more beneficial, or if it all turns out to be a wash in the end.

I guess its all up to you bro. Yeah you could wait..... and in the long long run it would probally be worth it. bbbuuutttttt.........

Your defense is badass right now with a defensive coach and your 3 back-up defenders you'll still post awsome ratings :)

i say, sell your 3 formidables now and you'll be sitting on around 4 - 4.5 million. Buy 3 solid/passable back-up defenders and then you can build a kick ass midfield training program with the rest. Buy 3 17/18 year old starting solids and 3 17 year old passable trainee's all with good secondary's. Then with whatever you have left you can upgrade your offense some. By the end of next season you'll have 3 starting formidable midfielders and 3 back-up excellent midfielders. You'll be in divison III in no time!!! :)




P.S. - Im just trying to throw different ideas your way DK. I've grown very anti-defense over the past couple weeks and since you read my dynasty report you know why. I have a bad feeling that if you don't do something to upgrade your midfield at least some next season you might get regulated.

Since "The Supers" are so bad i have a feeling your gonna get another very very good divison V team in your divison next year.

There is the distinct possibility of a small upgrade to the midfield in the near future. First I want to get up to $500,000 or so in the bank, at which point I will go for a solid coach. Assuming it does not take me all of that money to find a solid coach, the rest will probably be put towards a short-term (read: old, 30+) improvement at midfielder and/or winger. I'll be switching to playmaking training at the end of next season anyhow, so age is not a concern for any improvements I do make.

Arn't they changing the way you get coaches next season??? i don't think it will be random now. I think your just gonna pay for whatever you want.

Like 300,000 for a solid, 150,000 passable etc....

Might wanna try to find out before you try to randomly get one.

I've been looking, but haven't seen anything on the way coaches will be handled now. Either way, one could still get lucky and get a solid coach for cheap, compared to whatever the new price will be.

I think a long-term approach is more beneficial in the, uhh, long term. (I say this even though I've been a practioner of short-term approach.) When your defense training finishes at the end of next season, Scales and Lucas will probably be at high outstanding or low brilliant. That should more than last you awhile and, certainly, at least 2 levels (defense is a bit different because of how much keepers factors into defensive ratings). I also think Scales would be at the right age to "keep". I tend to feel like having someone over 24 at a position you're not going to train is sort of a waste of possible resource (Lucas will still be under 24 but I'm sort of partial to him.) That gives you 5-7 seasons (4, if you intend to sell them while they still fetch big money) to play with before Hattrick's Father Time comes knocking. That leaves you 3-5 trainees to sell (depending on position, keepers changes the number and time frame a bit) and should provide enough money to seed the next group of trainees AND provide upgrades at a few positions.

Just wanted to chime in with my two pennies. :)

Right now, the plan (subject to change, obviously) is to sell four players in the formidable range, which should net me between 5 and 6 million.

1 million - two backup defenders, around excellent (4 current defenders will be kept)
2.5 million - Upgades at keeper and forward (1)
2.5 million - 10 trainees (6 IM, 4 Winger).

With an average of $250,000 to spend per trainee, we should have high quality training candidates.

That is very similiar to my plan right now. I have 2 solid middies up for sale for 90k. Assuming both sell, that is 180k. I recieve 162k of that. With that I plan to purchase a solid forward. Being I tend to over spend when I make purchases, that leaves me enough to restock with some Jif.

I will let the public decide which plan is better.

Realize that training wingers at IM is a really slow process... I wouldn't spend too much at that. You gain maybe 1 level of PM per year and I haven't even seen that.

SI

True, but I rotate my IM trainees so that all but a couple of them (A teamers basically) spend some time at winger. Adds to the total time to level up some, but I've seen many other PM trainers do the same. This also allows me to train my starting wingers in PM as IM's in friendlies, so the overall benefits are spread out more. Maybe not the best long term plan, but it works for me.

I think Frogger does that, too.

I believe that wingers receive 50% the training that inner midfielders do, but the other skills necessary for a decent winger (winger, passing, possibly defending) means that these players will be more expensive than your standard midfielder trainee, so the amount spent should be roughly the same.

Bear in mind, if I have 2.5 million to spend on trainees, I probably won't budget myself strictly $250,000 per trainee. I'll spend more on some (17 year old future-starters) and a little less on others (18-19 year old immediate starters). There is also the possibility of going after a future U-20 team possibility, as the start of season 21 will be the next time future U-20 players are pulled from youth squads.

Dacman brings up an interesting point, playing your wingers as inner midfielders in friendly matches so they receive full training. I can actually come up with good arguments for doing that, as well as having a full load of 10 trainees. You can have 8 trainees, 6 of which receive 100% training, or 10 trainees, 6 of which receive 100% training. The advantage to Dacman's approach is that all five of your midfield starters are receiving full training. An interesting decision, and one I will have to think about over the course of the next season.

Season 3 – Week 12 – International Friendly

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Big lizards X1

Date: June 25th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 2,030 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Now that our run through the FOFC Cup has come to an end, it’s time to arrange a few international friendly matches before the end of the season. Our opponents this week are Big lizards X1, a 4th Division side from Sussex, England. The lizards run a very balanced 3-5-2 formation in their friendly matches, and should present us with a healthy challenge today. We do have two advantages in the match. First, we have two starters available due to suspensions this past weekend, and second, the match is here in Chicago, at The Docks.

Formation: 4-4-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #25 Paul Peralta

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Due to our running of a 4-4-2 formation on Sunday, we only have four defenders that need to play today, so we will run a box-standard 4-4-2 formation against the lizards. Arlen Lucas was suspended from Sunday’s match, so he will play at the left wingback position today. We’re going to try a bit of an experiment with Arlen today, as he will be playing in a much more offensive stance than he is used to. We want to see how much this affects our offensive and defensive capabilities on the left side of the pitch.

We’ve done a lot of shuffling with the midfield and forward positions today. Valentin Rubio was also suspended from Sunday’s match, and so will take the left winger position today. In the middle, we’re forced to play Lucian Tere and Niklas Ivarsson, both of which also played on Sunday. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin and Jerry Smith are both still dinged up from the injuries they’ve sustained recently, so they will sit this one out. We don’t want to risk further injury to either of them in a training match.

Up front, Paul Peralta will join Johannes Henriksson as our second striker today. Paul is one of those guys who can play nearly any position on the pitch with at least a small degree of ability, so he will get a rare opportunity to be one of our primary goal scorers.

Now it’s time for the spokesladies and I to head to The Docks. :D

Match Report

PRE-GAME

2030 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Tere, Mauffret - Henriksson, Peralta.

lizards had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Bowman - Heafield, Roelofs, Espinoza - Wallace, Beneitez, Brosjö, Harper, Kumar - Sisson, Mouthaan.

FIRST HALF

Many thought Paul Peralta ought to have been awarded a penalty shot in the 5:th minute, as he went down trying to circle the visitors keeper Paul Bowman.

8 minutes into the game Jim Sisson was a hair´s breadth away from giving lizards the lead. A prompt block by Darryl Read saved the home team that time.

Keith Stubbs received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 9:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

Ad Roelofs came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 13th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Darryl Read managed to tip the ball to a corner.

In the game's 17:th minute lizards´s Lars Brosjö limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

lizards took the lead in the games 77:th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Lars Brosjö was the scorer.

Due to some great work on the right wing Screamin':s Olav Mauffret was able to even the score in the 81st minute to 1 - 1.

Valentín Rubio was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Paul Peralta managed to kick one of them into 2 - 1 in the 83rd minute.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 61 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

Screamin'´s best player was Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The most dominating lizards player was without a doubt Ad Roelofs. Andrew Wallace on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Big lizards X1 1

Goals

Mauffret – 1
Peralta – 1 (assisted by Rubio)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: **~
Stubbs: ***
Lerma: ***
Lucas: ***~

Rubio: ***
Tere: **~
Ivarsson: **~
Mauffret: **

Henriksson: **
Peralta: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 55

Big lizards X1
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 47

Comments

Today’s match was a rather odd one. We saw a flurry of activity in the first seventeen minutes of the match, but no goals were scored, due in no small part to two excellent saves by keeper Darryl Read. After that, there was a long stretch in the middle of the match where neither team could muster up any serious scoring chances. That is, until the last thirteen minutes or so, which saw all three of the match’s goals. Rather odd, indeed.

Paul Peralta did pretty well for us at striker today, including tallying the game winner thanks to a terrific pass from winger Valentin Rubio. Arlen Lucas’ rating wasn’t what we’re used to seeing from him, but he is rather unaccustomed to playing with such an offense attitude. The experiment was a valuable one, though, as we now have a pretty good idea of what those sort of orders will do to our offensive and defensive ratings.

Up Next: The team’s training update for week 12. Stay tuned

Week 12 Training Results

We saw no drastic improvements in our defenders this week, but as I mentioned in the last installment, we’re expecting to see better play from three of our defensive trainees very soon. Central defender Cameron McDonald and wingback Mattias Leier have each received eight weeks of training since their last “bump,” and wingback Christian Kvam has received seven weeks.

Form Changes

Five players improved in form this week, including two starters:
-Forward Johannes Henriksson: inadequate (5)
-Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson: passable (6)

Fourteen players saw their form remain the same this week.

Three players dropped in form this week, including two starters:
-Keeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan: weak (4)
-Forward Guido Metman: passable (6)

In The Zone

All four of our previous “in the zone” members remain in excellent (8) form this week: wingback Arlen Lucas, wingback Tyler Willard, winger Valentin Rubio, and reserve midfielder Lucian Tere. This week they are joined by another of our reserves, super-sub Paul Peralta.

Form Dogs

The good news is that both of our Swedes, forward Johannes Henriksson and midfielder Niklas Ivarsson, have improved. Johannes is definitely on his way out of his slump, and has risen to inadequate (5) form. Niklas Ivarsson’s drop was just a one-week event, and he regained the two levels of form he had lost last week, returning to passable (6) form.

The bad news is that this week’s “form dog” is none other than starting keeper, Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan. “Corny” has been slipping a bit the last couple of weeks, and has dropped to weak (4) form. We’re unsure yet as to whether or not he will play against the Big Reds on Sunday.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $168,955 (+$5,091)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,717,000 (+$112,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

We had a slew of these this week.

$100,000+
-Wingback Christian Kvam ($100,000)
-Central Defender Keith Stubbs ($112,000)

$200,000+
-Central Defender Cameron McDonald ($218,000)

$400,000+
-Wingback Arlen Lucas ($408,000)

Up Next: Our weekly youth pull (a goalkeeper this time) and the weekly financial update. Stay tuned!

Week 12 Youth Pull

We decided to change things up this week, and see what sort of goalkeeper our youth squad could produce. The results, however, were no better than anything else we have seen recently. Shannon Romo would be worth more to us if he were dismembered and his organs were sold on the black market.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $131,366

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Croats in Miami) - $159,000
Crowd (friendly match vs. Big lizards X1) - $5,402
Sponsors - $72,600
Temporary (8 new supporters) - $240

Total Revenue: $237,242

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,912
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Juan Berman) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $45,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $119,412

Net Income/Loss: +$117,830

New Balance: $249,196

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Satisfied (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,506 (up 8 from last week)

Up Next: We’re back on the road, travelling to Ithaca, New York for a match against the Big Reds. Stay tuned!

I only do that now with 1 (one) of my wingers because the other is too old (27) to bother with -- however that will be changing next season as my week 12 youth pull (solid wing/passable passing/ inad play) will be replacing the older guy.

Season 3 – League Match #13

Big Reds vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 29th, 2003
Venue: Big Reds Arena (Ithaca, NY)
Attendance: 24,008 (24,750)
Weather: Overcast

It’s getting down to crunch time, and we have a considerable task ahead of ourselves today. We’re on the road this week, certainly not our strong suit, in New York state to take on the Big Reds. The Reds are a struggling team, just like us, and are winless in their last six matches. Particularly painful was the 6-nil thrashing they sustained at the hands of the Ramblers last weekend in Detroit. In short, the Reds are a desperate team. And a desperate team is a dangerous team.

The Reds are a solid defensive team, and the key member of their defense is net-minder Martin Morgansson (3.5*, $416,000). They also boast a pretty good midfield, with Theo Juarez (4*, $599,000), Gareth Williams (4*, $601,000), and Mikey Streeter (4*, $762,000) all pretty good. We have our work cut out for us.

Previous Meetings

4/13/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 0, Big Reds 0

The only prior meeting between these two clubs was a scoreless draw, back in week two of the season.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’re returning to our usual 3-5-2 formation, but with a couple of changes. The most obvious change is that Johannes Henriksson has returned to the starting lineup, at least for this week. “Gump” Tobias has been rather cold as of late, and Johannes has been coming out of his slump, slowly but steadily, for the past month or so. We’ve decided to go with Johannes in today’s lineup, as we could use his set pieces expertise to set up headers in the goal box.

The other change this week is super-sub Paul Peralta starting on the wing in place of Ben McMahon. We’ve been less than pleased with Ben’s performance this season, and Paul has been playing quite well with our reserve squad as of late. Like Ben, Paul has more aptitude as a defensive winger, so we’re going to try something a little different with him. Tyler Willard, the wingback on the same side, will be making numerous runs up that side of the field, and Paul will be there to cover that defensive side when Tyler is playing up the field. We’re hoping that this will give us more offensive push up the right side, without sacrificing much in the way of defense.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

24008 spectators had come to Big Reds Arena this cloudy day.

Reds had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Morgansson - Sifres Belenguer, Lievonen, Conde - bin Saleh, Williams, Streeter, Juarez, Freixes - Rolfsson, Roth.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Peralta, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Henriksson.

FIRST HALF

The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 in the 3rd by a breakthrough from Gareth Williams, who unaided came in out of the right wing hooking the ball over the visitors keeper.

The referee showed Redss Willibald Roth the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Guido Metman spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

1 - 0 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Reds, with an impressive 58 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Screamin' were close to putting the equaliser away in the 47:th minute as the opposing defence lost control of the ball in a scuffle in front of the goal, but in the end the ball was cleared over the sideline.

In the 57:th minute Screamin's Johannes Henriksson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Reds´s Magnus Rolfsson had an excellent opportunity in the 62nd minute, shooting on a through ball, but he missed the goal by miles!

A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Reds´s Magnus Rolfsson putting the lead up to 2 - 0.

The structure of the game started to change as Reds decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

Chuck Scales made several blunders at the end of the game, causing a good deal of unrest in the defensive line.

Reds held the ball, with a clear 58 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Reds´s best player was Mikey Streeter. However, Armas Lievonen made a disastrous appearance.

Most important Screamin' player was Chuck Scales. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Big Reds 2, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

Henriksson – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **~

Willard: ***~
Scales: ****
Lucas: ****

Peralta: **~
Ivarsson: ***
Tomlin: **~
Bautista: ***~
Rubio: ***

Metman: **~
Henriksson: **

Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 76

Big Reds
-Midfield: Formidable (9)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 76

Comments

Sigh. Another week, and once again our opposition puts up one of their best performances of the season against us. This is getting very old, very quick, as we are once again f*cked over by the schedule. Big Reds get to finish the season next week against the Syracuse Supers, and so had no reason to be concerned over their team spirit. In fact, the way the schedule was arranged for this season, we were doubly screwed. During the first half of the season, we chased the Supers through the fixture orders, therefore facing teams fresh off a PIC victory. The second half of the season, we’ve been followed by the Supers, meaning that a team can MOTS against us with relative impunity. Foul, I say…a schedule most foul.

This match was frustration incarnate, as we were only able to muster one decent attacking opportunity, and squandered it. Johannes Henriksson received his first ever booking during a competitive match. He had never been booked in sixty-three matches prior.

Also, playing Tyler Willard offensively was apparently a mistake, as it appeared to make little difference, and if anything only weakened our defense on the right side. I doubt we’ll be trying that again any time soon.

These are the sorts of matches that make me wonder why I even bother. Just downright depressing. :(

Series Scores and Standings

-Sweden Heights fought hard, and managed a draw against red-hot Neon Genesis Evangelion, 1-1.
-Croats in Miami had their way with the Syracuse Supers, 8-nil.
-Ramblers had a little early trouble with SoccerWussies, but were victorious at home, 4-2.

No.	Team					Played	        Goals		Pts.	NSI

1.	Croats in Miami			        13		45-15		32	68

2.	Neon Genesis Evangelion		        13		33-23		22	66

3.	Ramblers				13		32-22		22	71

4.	Big Reds				13		21-18		21	76

5.	Sweden Heights			        13		25-23		19	69

6.	Screamin’ Seamen*			13		22-18		17	66

7.	SoccerWussies			        13		18-32		16	74

8.	Syracuse Supers			        13		4-49		0	44

It sickens me to see that SSFC, with a goal differential of +4, has one more point than the SoccerWussies, who have a goal differential of –14. (OK DK, that’s enough. No more feeling sorry for yourself. :p ).

While 2nd through 5th place are still up for grabs, our situation has become much more simple. If we win next week against the Ramblers, we will have a relegation match to stay in series IV.49. If we lose to the Ramblers, then the SoccerWussies can grab the #6 spot from us with a victory over Sweden Heights. The SoccerWussies’ match will be at home, and we expect to see Sweden Heights PIC in order to prepare for their (most likely) relegation match.

Win next week, and we get a shot at staying in Division IV. Lose, and odds are we’re headed back down to obscurity. That’s about as simple as it gets, folks.

Week 14 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Ramblers
Syracuse Supers vs. Big Reds
SoccerWussies vs. Sweden Heights
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Croats in Miami

Up Next: We’ve arranged for a friendly match with Coffee Warlord’s Avengers at The Docks on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Keep the faith, DK! Whatever happens next week, we all know that long term, the Seamen are set.

BTW DK, just for shits and giggles, Galesburg will be wielding the dreaded 2-5-3 vs the Seamen for this match. Be afraid. Be very afraid. :)

The match doesn't matter the tiniest little bit, so the Seamen will be unveiling their 5-4-1 "Buccaneer" formation. It should be interesting.

*laughs*

This should be entertaining, at the very least. 2 weirdo formations pitted against each other.

Of course, I could go *really* weird and run a 4-5-1, just to scare you. :)

Who are you and what have you done with CW?!?

SI

Hey, if it was a legal formation, I'd bust out the 1-5-4 :)

News and Notes from Screamin’ Seamen-Land

Headcase

Nicknames are a common occurrence among professional athletes, and the players for SSFC are no exception. There are currently a number of colorful monikers attached to players on the team, like Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin, Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan, and Forrest “Gump” Tobias. But one player who has been mysteriously lacking a nickname is the club’s star wingback, Arlen Lucas. That is, until now.

Mark Giangreco, a Chicago-area TV sportscaster, recently showed a small segment on his program which highlighted soccer players from the area. The segment was done to the song “Headstrong,” by Trapped, and mostly featured some of the bigger-name talent from the Chicago area, such as Stephen Cullen (striker for Streamwood United FC), Andre Bengtsson (midfielder for CrazyCoCo), and Noble Dejesus (defender for Green Man). However, one small section did show Lucas heading in a goal against SoccerWussies earlier this season.

Lucas’ teammates jumped at the opportunity, and began to call the tall wingback Arlen “Headstrong” Lucas. However, it was not long before the nickname had evolved (or some would say devolved) to “Headcase” Lucas, a reference to Arlen’s penchant for losing his temper with opposing players and referees alike. Indeed, “Headcase” Lucas is the most highly-penalized member of the club. But at least he has a cool nickname now.


Stay of Execution?

Rumors have been flying for many weeks now, regarding head coach Ken Brown and his future with the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club. The club has had what can only be described as a disappointing season, and will need to fight hard this Sunday if they are to avoid the possibility of relegation back to Division Five. Throughout all of the turmoil, one thing has remained constant; rumors that Coach Brown would be fired any week now.

With the season rapidly drawing to a close, and the Seamen in a dangerous 6th position in the standings, many thought that Brown’s time was drawing near. After the club lost this past weekend, a 2-nil defeat at the hands of the Big Reds, most were certain that the axe would fall on Brown come Monday morning. However, the front office has remained very quiet. It is now Wednesday, and Coach Brown is still with the club.

Silence from the team’s management has only served to fuel the fires of the rumor mill, and team owner Data King has also remained mute on the subject. Fans can only wonder exactly what is going on with their beloved Seamen, and what the future holds.

Season 3 – Week 13 – Training Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Galesburg Avengers

Date: July 2nd, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 874 (30,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’ve arranged for a training match this week with Coffee Warlord’s Galesburg Avengers. Our original attention was to have a training match during the off-season, when we could pit our starters against one another and not worry about losing training. An offensive vs. defensive showdown, if you will. Unfortunately, it does not look as though this is a possibility. The Avengers will most likely be looking at a qualification match for Division IV, and we most likely will have a relegation match coming up as well. So we’ve decided to have a regular training match instead, with no real bragging rights at stake.

Previous Meetings

1/1/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 2, Galesburg Avengers 1

We played host to the Avengers back on New Years Day, and we were the first ever training match for the Avengers. It was a 2-1 decision back then, but the Avengers have come a long way since then.

Formation: 5-4-1 “Buccaneer”

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #7 Lucian Tere
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We’ve made a couple more changes to our standard 5-4-1 lineup today, as a result of the players we used this past Sunday. Paul Peralta took Ben McMahon’s usual spot on the wing against the Big Reds, so Ben will play the wing for us today, as well as handle the team’s set piece duties. Also, we went with Johannes Henriksson at striker on Sunday, which in turn has bumped “Gump” Tobias to b-team duties for this week.

We’re trying something a little different again this week, something I call the 5-4-1 “Buccaneer.” It is named after the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with their point-scoring defense. Basically, the 5-4-1 Buccaneer is a standard 5-4-1 formation, with everyone possible playing with an “offensive” mentality. This means that four of our five defenders, as well as all four midfielders, will be playing offensively. I’m curious to see what sort of results this formation will bring.

Time to find out…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

874 spectators had come to The Docks this cloudy day.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. They fielded: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Mcmahon - Tobias.

Galesburg had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. The following players had been chosen: Tirado - Andres Alvaro, Perales - Quiroz, Poulin, Farrell, Dommer-Toft, Shaffer - Mosley, Street, Boone.

FIRST HALF

After a fine move down the middle Forrest Tobias nearly gave the home side one up in the 6:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

Vladimiro Perales of Galesburg received a yellow card in the 8:th minute for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Ken Shaffer was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Daryl Mosley managed to kick one of them into 0 - 1 in the 9:th minute.

In the 18:th minute Christian Kvam went down in a suspected penalty situation after a challenge from the visitors right guard, but the referee, having a good line of sight, signaled to keep on playing.

18 minutes into the game Mattias Leier was really close to evening the score out with a dangerous long range shot, but the ball went just wide of the bar.

0 - 1 was the half-time score. This part of the game had been a standoff between the teams.

SECOND HALF

Forrest Tobias was just a finger´s breadth away from an equalizer for Screamin', but Arden Tirado managed to ward the closing shot off for a corner.

After a fatal mistake from the away teams right side defense in the 63rd minute, an alert Mattias Leier bagged the ball, evening the score to 1 - 1.

As David Dommer-Toft had, completely unprovoked, swept the legs out from under an opponent in front of a linesman, the referee gave the Galesburg player a red card without batting an eye.

Screamin' took the lead in the 70:th minute after a magnificent free kick. Ben Mcmahon adjusted the score to 2 - 1.

Tommy Joe Poulin of Galesburg received a yellow card in the 73rd minute for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Lucian Tere was the first to reach the corner kick, but his header was saved by the keeper. However, Screamin'´s Christian Kvam managed to get hold of the rebound and scored the 3-1 goal.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Most important Screamin' player was Cameron Mcdonald. However, Jerry Smith made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating Galesburg player was without a doubt Arden Tirado. Emerson Farrell on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Galesburg Avengers 1

Goals

Leier – 1
McMahon – 1 (GWG)
Kvam – 1

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: **~
Stubbs: **~
McDonald: ***~ :D
Lerma: **~
Leier: ***

Mauffret: **
Tere: **~
Smith: **
McMahon: **

Tobias: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 45

Galesburg Avengers
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 46

Comments

We were pleasantly surprised with the 3-1 tally in this one, and were expecting a much closer score, but we certainly had a number of advantages that played a factor. For starters, we obviously had a stamina advantage which played a large part in the second half, when we scored all three of our goals. It also certainly helped when Avengers’ David Dommer-Toft got tossed from the match halfway through the second half. The two goals that gave us the victory came after he was removed from the pitch. Our team spirit was horrible coming into the match as well, but I figure that home-field advantage helped to counteract that. Let’s hope that it helps just as much this Sunday.

We’re excited with the play of central defender and highly-touted prospect Cameron McDonald. Cameron put up the first ***~ performance of his career today. He was, one should note, the only defender who did not play in an offensive stance today. That certainly harmed the performance ratings of the rest of our defenders. I am also pleased with Estonian wingback Mattias Leier, who still managed a *** performance despite the offensive orientation.

I have mixed feelings regarding the 5-4-1 Buccaneer formation. While we certainly saw better attack ratings than we typically see with the 5-4-1, particularly along the wings, we were fortunate that this played against the disadvantage of the Avengers’ 2-5-3 formation (they pulled both wingbacks, and used two central defenders). Also, I am at a loss to explain the passable defensive rating on the left-hand side, where Mattias Leier was stationed directly behind Ben McMahon (who is a solid defender in his own right). It’s a quandary, but I certainly cannot argue with the results. We will have to consider the Buccaneer formation in next season’s FOFC Cup.

Up Next: Training results on Thursday evening, and then some big news. Stay tuned!

Big News??? Anyone want to speculate?

I am going to have to go with the removal of the coach at SSFC.

I think he is planning to take the world over with an army of some sort of animal that has been altered to be much meaner than the original one. That would be cool.

I think it is going to be a new head coach also, but maybe DK could be selling 'old' Chuck Scales?

Ooh oooh! I know! I know!

Not telling though. Nyah ha.

Ah, so apparently the big news is that after losing his game, CW also lost a bet and now has to clean the entirety of the Docks before DK's next fixture :D

SI

Actually, the Docks are going to be host to a massive Crawfish boil. I didn't wanna tell Afoci though. :)

Hush! You're going to ruin the surprise! :p

You will regret that statement when the Army of Crawfish with Laser Blasters instead of Claws is on the edge of Galesburg! MUHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHHHAHHAA!!!

Mmm. Sounds good. I'm getting hungry anyway.

Can you tell those crawfish to hurry up? The water's boiling and I'm ready to eat!

Mmm... I'll help. I have a giant pot of gumbo just waiting for some meat.

SI

I am not a big crawfish fan. I did like them but when I started playing Hattrick, I stopped. I just think one of them is going to jump at me with a laser beam and blow me up.

Everybodies a funny man until someone loses their eyes to laser blasts. You have been warned!

/me sets up a large mirror array so the crawfish cook themselves.

SI

Week 13 Training Results

Two of the three trainees that we are expecting improvements from soon have “popped” this week, wingback Mattias Leier and central defender Cameron McDonald.

Mattias Leier

Position: Wingback
Jersey: #17

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A popular guy who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Nationality: Estonian
Assessed Value: $172,000
Wage: $1,104 per week

Stamina: Passable (6)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)

Cameron McDonald

Position: Central Defender
Jersey: #18

18 years old, inadequate (5) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and wretched (2) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $211,000
Wage: $1,000 per week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Poor (3)
Scoring: Weak (4)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Formidable (9)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

Form Changes

Four players improved in form this week, including two starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: excellent (8)
-Forward Johannes Henriksson: passable (6)

14 players saw their form remain the same this week.

Four players dropped in form this week, including one starter:
-Forward Guido Metman: inadequate (5)

The good news is that Johannes Henriksson has officially recovered from his slump. The bad news is that Guido Metman continues to be a form yo-yo, dropping right before the most important match of the season. Still, we expect these two to play for us up front on Sunday against the Ramblers.

In The Zone

We have four different starters at excellent (8) form this week, which is certainly good news. Wingbacks Arlen “Headcase” Lucas and Tyler Willard remain in excellent form, as does winger Valentin Rubio. This week they are joined by midfielder Charlie Bautista. Reserve midfielder Lucian Tere remains in excellent form as well.

Form Dogs

Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan remains this week’s “form dog,” which is a reason for concern. All the same, Corny will still probably start in net for us on Sunday, as reserve keeper Darryl Read isn’t much better off.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $171,909 (+$2,954)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,782,000 (+$65,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

$300,000+
-Defender Chuck Scales ($302,000)

Up Next: Some big news from the front office. Stay tuned!

Wow, 18-YO formidable, that is *nice*. Will he be sold after next year (presumably being your most valuable sell), or will he at his young age be sticking around as a Seaman virtual lifer?

Whether or not he sticks around depends on what happens with his form over the course of next season. He has been a bit of a "form dog" up to this point, but if he shows consistent and decent form, he may very well replace Chuck Scales as our starting central defender. He should be roughly equal to Scales in skill level by the end of next season.

As much as I like Chuck, I really do hope that Cameron pulls his form around. The idea of having two head specialist defenders on the back line (along with Arlen Lucas) makes me *drool.* :D

Say Goodnight, Mister Brown

(AP – Chicago) For some, the announcement was long overdue. For those living in caves, it is a complete surprise. But for most, it was expected, and the timing is just about right.

Early Friday morning, Data King, team owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, announced that the team’s head coach, Ken Brown, had been released, and that the remainder of his contract had been bought out by the organization.

“It is with a heavy heart that I make this announcement,” stated King to various members of the sports press. “Ken [Brown] has been our coach since the very beginning, and has been an integral part of the Screamin’ Seamen family. Unfortunately, things have not worked out as well as we all would have liked. Coach Brown and I have spoken on numerous occasions over the past weeks regarding this, and we both agree that it is the right thing to do at this juncture.”

King also announced that former assistant coach Jack Stein would act as interim manager for the time being. Stein has been an assistant with SSFC since the club’s inception, and has been primarily responsible for the team’s strikers and their development.

“We have full confidence in Jack [Stein] and his ability to focus the club for the last couple weeks of the season,” stated King as he introduced Stein to the press. “He has a difficult task ahead of him, but we are quite confident that Coach Stein is up to the task.”

Stein answered a few questions from the press, and implied that fans would see a much more aggressive game plan on Sunday than they were used to seeing.

Ken Brown is reportedly “in seclusion” for the time being, and was unavailable for comment.

Ivan Phillip Freely is an Associated Press reporter for the Chicago Soccer Enquirer.


Jack Stein

Age: 40

A poor (3) coach who is fond of attacking.
A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has solid (7) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Truth be told, Jack doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming our permanent coach. He is strictly temporary, and will be fired at the end of next week, so as to reset our team spirit once again. We actually paid $20,000 for Jack, as our first coach pull was disastrous, and I had no intention of losing that much from our training this week.

Up Next: Our youth pull and weekly financial update. Stay tuned!

Week 13 Youth Pull

This week’s pull was so bad, it is almost funny. Tony Kidd is supposedly an 18 year old goalkeeper prospect. I will not disgrace this dynasty report by actually listing his attributes. Let’s just say that stamina was his best ability, and that was wretched (2). You do the math.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $249,196

Revenue

Crowd (friendly match vs. Galesburg Avengers) - $2,337
Sponsors - $72,900

Total Revenue: $75,237

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Shannon Romo) - $2,000
Temporary (coaching change) - $20,000
Staff & Specialists - $45,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $138,872

Net Income/Loss: -$63,635

New Balance: $185,561

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Content (down one level)
Supporter Club: 1,506 (no change)

Up Next: A potential make-or-break match, as we host the Ramblers to finish off the season. Stay tuned!

A quick peek at the new IV.49 teams for season 20.

4 Tortioses SC V.120 1 94 10 84 42 replaces SoccerWussies IV.49 7 19 34 -15 16

Hmm...a mid-60's ratings team replaced by a low-40's ratings team.

111 JP8 V.254 1 53 8 45 39 replaces Syracuse Supers IV.49 8 4 55 -51 0

A high 40's ratings team replaces another high 40's ratings team.

Looks like your replacing a decent team and a bad team with TWO bad teams. What I want to know is how the hell can Tortioses be the #4 promotee out of D5 with such awful ratings (relatively speaking).

DK, you are a lucky bastard. :)

I think I've earned a little karmic pay-back this season.

Season 3 – League Match #14

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Ramblers

Date: July 6th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 30,000 (30,000)
Weather: Overcast

It all comes down to this, boys and girls. Today we play host to the Ramblers, with potential automatic relegation to the 5th Division on the line. The situation is pretty simple. If we win today, we guarantee ourselves a relegation match next weekend. If we draw or lose, then our fate will be decided by the results of the match between the 5th place Sweden Heights and 7th place SoccerWussies. A victory by Sweden Heights would guarantee us a relegation match as well, even if we lose.

The Ramblers have a number of good players, but their real star is 30 year old winger Phillip Gallo. He is valued at over $1,000,000, and is capable of putting up ***** performances. Arlen “Headcase” Lucas and Ben McMahon will be stuck to him like glue today (we hope).

Previous Meetings

1/5/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 2, Ramblers 2
2/23/2003 – Ramblers 1, Screamin’ Seamen 2
4/6/2003 – Ramblers 4, Screamin’ Seamen 0

We’ve played the Ramblers three times previously, and the series is all tied up at 1-1-1. We got the better of them last season, but they spanked us in Detroit back in week 1, 4-nil (which I still suspect was an ill-advised MOTS on their part). Today we hope to take some measure of revenge for the embarrassment back in April.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters (# start w/ SSFC, *s last time out)

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan (22nd start, **~)

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen “Headcase” Lucas (42nd start, ****)
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales (43rd start, ****)
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard (22nd start, ***~)

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon (40th start, **)
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin (40th start, **~)
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson (15th start, ***)
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista (44th start, ***~)
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio (14th start, ***)

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson (39th start, **)
Forward: #12 Guido Metman (8th start, **~)

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read (25 career starts)
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier (3 career starts)
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere (31 career starts)
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias (32 career starts)
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta (15 career starts)

If the Ramblers are one thing, they are predictable. They always rely heavily on Phillip Gallo and a strong left-side attack, so we will be stacking the right side of our defense against them. Arlen Lucas and Ben McMahon will both play defensively along the right side, and should receive some help from Chuck Scales and The Old Goat (our best two-way midfielder).

The real weakness of the Ramblers is that they play an asymmetrical 3-5-2, and never use a wingback on their right side. Obviously, we’ll be attacking heavily on the left, with winger Valentin Rubio and midfielder Charlie Bautista pushing the ball up the pitch at every opportunity.

We have two real advantages today, which give me hope. First off, we are at The Docks, and the players are plenty ticked off about their first ever league-match loss at home two weeks ago to the Croats. I expect a healthy home field advantage today. Our other advantage is height. The Ramblers don’t have any starters that are good header-players, while we have serious height with both Arlen Lucas and Valentin Rubio on the pitch. For this reason, I have decided that Johannes Henriksson will play for us today. He seems to have recovered from his horrible slump, and is the most skilled player we have at corner kicks.

We’re also returning the captain’s armband to Johannes. I’m hoping that will give an additional psychological edge to our players.

Time to put up or shut up.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 30000 at The Docks today.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Henriksson.

Ramblers had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Chugg - Arredondo, Powell, Campos - Sanden, Whittington, Maddox, Holmes, Gallo - Hansson, Barik.

FIRST HALF

Ramblerss Gerhard Sanden got himself booked after a foul.

Ramblers took the lead in the games 13th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Bhima Barik was the scorer.

In the 23rd minute Screamin's Pete Tomlin received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

In the 25:th minute the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 2 as Kurt Arredondo finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick.

In the 26:th minute Ramblerss Stefan Hansson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Niklas Ivarsson the unlucky victim, couldn´t continue the game.

0 - 2 was the half-time score. Ramblers held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

In the 68:th minute Ramblers put themselves up 0 - 3 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Gus Whittington.

After 70 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Eric Holmes who increased Ramblers´s lead to 0 - 4.

The structure of the game started to change as Ramblers decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 51 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson was a disappointment, however.

Most important Ramblers player was Philip Gallo. Kurt Arredondo on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Ramblers 4, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

Tomlin – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **~

Lucas: ****~
Scales: ****
Willard: ****

McMahon: **
Tomlin: **~
Ivarsson: ** (injured)
Tere: **~ (replaced Ivarsson)
Bautista: ***~
Rubio: ***

Henriksson: **
Metman: **~

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: World Class (13)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Outstanding (10)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 72

Ramblers
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Outstanding (10)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 70

Comments

The perfect finish to a perfectly crappy and frustrating season. All of the advantages belonged to us (head specialty, home field advantage, formation matchups), but the ball and the referees seem to have their own ideas about how the match should go. Looking at the match ratings, I cannot for the life of me understand how we got shelled, 4-nil. Their best attack (outstanding) was lined up against our WORLD CLASS right defense. Our best attack (outstanding left attack) was pitted against their passable right defense, and we didn't have a single good scoring opportunity, despite possession that was practically even. I just don’t get it, and I don’t want to think about it any more. Time to move on.

(grumble) (grumble) (grumble)

To add injury to insult, the injury to Niklas Ivarsson is a considerable one. He has a severe ankle sprain, thanks to a careless tackle by Ramblers’ striker Stefan Hansson, and will almost certainly miss our qualification match next week.

(grumble) (grumble) (grumble)

Series Scores and Final Standings

-Luck was on our side today, as Sweden Heights did us a huge favor and defeated the SoccerWussies, 2-1.
-Big Reds finished off the season with a bang, crushing the Syracuse Supers, 6-nil.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion played spoiler today, drawing with the Croats in Miami, 2-2, and ruining any hopes the Croats had of automatic promotion.

No.	Team					W-D-L		Goals		Pts.	NSI

1.	Croats in Miami			        10-3-1		47-17		33	61

2.	Ramblers				8-1-5		36-22		25	70

3.	Big Reds				7-3-4		27-18		24	69

4.	Neon Genesis Evangelion		        7-2-5		35-25		23	68

5.	Sweden Heights			        6-4-4		27-24		22	67

6.	Screamin’ Seamen*			5-2-7		22-22		17	72

7.	SoccerWussies			        5-1-8		19-34		16	77

8.	Syracuse Supers			        0-0-14		4-55		0	46

Ramblers, Big Reds, and Neon Genesis Evangelion all shuffled around a bit in the final week, but otherwise the standings remained the same. We owe Sweden Heights a big, wet, sloppy kiss for beating SoccerWussies, allowing us to play a qualification match even though we lost today.

Qualification Week Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Jedi Mind Tricks (Series V.63)
Sweden Heights vs. Izzy’s Diaper Bombers (V.169)
Miami Redskins SC (Series III.13) vs. Croats in Miami

Neither Sweden Heights nor our club should have much difficulty with next weekend’s qualification matches. Both of our opponents seem to be a little weak, as far as Division V clubs go, and neither has ever put up an NSI rating of 60 or better.

The match between Croats in Miami and Miami Redskins SC should be a good one, as the teams look to be pretty evenly matched. The Croats are capable of putting up the better midfield, but the Redskins have a much better supporting cast, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Both clubs are capable of putting up an 80 NSI rating. This should be one to watch on Sunday.

Up Next: Malvineros F.C., an Argentinean 4th Division side, has agreed to come to The Docks for an international training match on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Man, that had to have sucked.

On the other hand, I don't know if you noticed, but SoccerWussies *clearly* outplayed Sweden Heights at home getting a better NSI and a better midfield, and still lost. So at least your bad luck got spread around to the team you needed to have it. :)

Kick some ass this week!

Well, either you spent a past life on the "Urinate on Every God's Altar, Every Disciple's Grave, and on Every Place of Worship's Front Steps World Tour", or your due for some karmic payback next year. :D

SI

All right, who snitched?

;)

Edit: Sorry, wrong post. Nice recap though btw.

Been there, done that- happens to the best of FOFC (and the rest of us, too). :D

SI

Season 3 – Week 14 – International Training Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Malvineros F.C.

Date: July 9th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Malvineros F.C., an Argentinean 4th Division side has agreed to come to Chicago this week for an international training match. There’s absolutely nothing at stake here today, except perhaps a little bit of pride for the club. We would very much like to get a win, even a meaningless one, if for no other reason than to remove some of the sting from Sunday’s loss to the Ramblers.

Formation: 5-4-1 “Buccaneer”

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #7 Lucian Tere
Set Pieces: #13 Darryl Read

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ve decided to run the Buccaneer formation again today, just for grins. I’m a little curious to see what sort of ratings it gives us with an offensive coach (Jack Stein) at the helm. Other than that, it’s pretty much business as usual for us today.

The one odd thing is that keeper Darryl Read will be taking the set pieces for us today. I know it seems weird, but Darryl is actually the best set piece player we will have on the pitch today.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Docks saw a crowd turnout of 1480.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Peralta, Tere, Smith, Mauffret - Tobias.

Malvineros tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Serrano - Reinders, Caro, Fisscher - Coulon, Camara Villar, Kurkawa, Koompakan, Hess - Gillery, Jadudova.

FIRST HALF

A well placed corner kick from Jan Fisscher was followed by Kasem Koompakan´s hard but accurate header. The nice combination meant 0-1 for Malvineros.

Masakazu Kurkawa could have put his team up another one in the 12th minute, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post.

13 minutes into the game Forrest Tobias was really close to evening the score out with a dangerous long range shot, but the ball went just wide of the bar.

0 - 1 was the half-time score. Malvineros, bringing the final ball possession rate to 60 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Malvineros´s Masakazu Kurkawa made it through the home teams defence in the 51st minute, and had only to place the ball in an unguarded goal when the home side´s defender sprang up from the left, clearing the ball on the line.

The game had been on for 53 minutes when Kasem Koompakan broke through to the right, upping the score to the home crowd´s dismay. Malvineros´s were up 0 - 2.

Malvineros´s Jan Fisscher received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 55:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 3. The home crowd was not pleased with that one.

After this Malvineros lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts.

After the ball got lifted in from the left Laurent Gillery was on his own in the home side´s penalty area 56 minutes into the game, and should have scored, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration.

Malvineros, bringing the final ball possession rate to 59 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

Screamin'´s best player was Zarpas Lerma. Jerry Smith on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The most dominating Malvineros player was without a doubt Hugo Serrano. Marcos Caro was a disappointment, however.

Final Score: Malvineros F.C. 3, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam (off): ***
Stubbs (off): **~
Lerma: ***
McDonald (off): **~
Leier (off): ***

Peralta (off): **
Smith (off): *~
Tere (off): **~
Mauffret (off): **

Tobias (off): **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 41

Malvineros F.C.
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 57

Comments

We were manhandled pretty badly today, not that it really matters much. Our ratings were a good deal lower than we are used to, but there are a couple of easy reasons for this to identify. First of all, our offensive coach has skewed the ratings some, but even more obvious is that, after the difficulties we’ve had at the end of the season and the recent MOTS against Ramblers, our team spirit is in the crapper.

Not much else to say today, really. I cared very little about this match. All of my thoughts are bent on Sunday, and making sure that we remain in Division IV.

Up Next: Weekly training results. Stay tuned!

Week 14 Training Results

None of our defensive trainees showed any dramatic improvement this week, though we’re certain that Norwegian wingback Christian Kvam and Spanish defender Zarpas Lerma are relatively close. There were, however, a number of other significant changes this week.

Form Changes

2 players improved in form this week, including one starter:
-Goalkeeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan: Inadequate (5)

16 players saw their form remain the same this week.

4 players dropped in form this week, including two starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: Solid (7)
-Central Defender Chuck Scales: Passable (6)

Bautista and Scales don’t concern me much, as both are still in pretty good shape. The real good news here is that Corny appears to be coming out of his slump, which I am very glad to see. I did not relish the idea of benching him this weekend for our qualification match.

Experience

Two of our players improved in experience this week. Wingback Tyler Willard improved to wretched (2) experience. Also, injured midfielder Niklas Ivarsson improved to inadequate (5) experience. Unfortunately, Niklas is nursing a severe ankle sprain, and will not be available to play on Sunday.

Old-Timers

Father time seems to be catching up with some of our older players. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin dropped to solid (7) stamina this week. More painful is winger Valentin Rubio’s loss of a level of passing skill, to inadequate (5).

In The Zone

We’ll have four players in excellent (8) form on the pitch this Sunday. Wingbacks Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, along with winger Valentin Rubio, all remain in excellent form. Also in excellent form is reserve midfielder Lucian Tere, which is great timing, since he will be playing in place of the injured Niklas Ivarsson.

Form Dogs

Reserve midfielder Jerry Smith is this week’s form dog, as he is in weak (4) form for the second week in a row (I believe I forgot to mention Jerry in this section last week).

Player Values

Average Player Value: $173,182 (+$1,273)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,810,000 (+$28,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

Not a true milestone this week, but worthy of mention nonetheless is wingback Arlen Lucas. This week, Arlen becomes the most highly valued member of the entire club, with an assessed value of $445,000, (keeper “Corny” Jernigan is presently valued at $431,000).

Up Next: Our weekly youth pull disappointment and financial update. Stay tuned!

Week 14 Youth Pull

For the first time in quite a while, our youth squad has turned out a quality promotee. Tracy Cheatham should make a fine two-way midfielder or winger someday. Midfield and winger trainees take note.

Tracy Cheatham

Listed As: Winger
Asking Price: $90,000
Deadline: 7/16/2003 @ 20:13 HT-Time

17 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is fiery and dishonest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Powerful

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $98,000
Wage: $960 per week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Inadequate (5)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Passable (6)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Poor

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $185,561

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Ramblers) - $159,000
Crowd (friendly match vs. Malvineros F.C.) - $3,909
Sponsors - $72,900

Total Revenue: $235,809

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Tony Kidd) - $2,000
Temporary (coaching change) - $10,000
Staff & Specialists - $45,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $128,872

Net Income/Loss: +$106,937

New Balance: $292,498

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Content (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,492 (down 14 from last week)

Our supporters were none too pleased with the 4-nil drubbing we took in the last week of the regular season, and fourteen of them left the supporter club. Hopefully we’ll be able to get them back this week after winning our relegation match on Sunday.

Up Next: It’s do-or-die (figuratively speaking), as we host Jedi Mind Tricks to see who earns the right to play in the Series Of The Beast [tm] next season. Stay tuned!

Season 3 – Relegation Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Jedi Mind Tricks

Date: July 13th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: (30,000)
Weather: Sunny

This is it, ladies and gentlemen. The moment you’ve all been waiting for, but were hoping would never come. Today we have our relegation match against the Jedi Mind Tricks. The winner earns the right to play in the Series Of The Beast [tm] next season, while the loser is stuck in Division V for at least one season.

Talent-wise, he have a definite edge over the Jedi Mind Tricks. They do have a few quality players, but also have some gaping holes in their lineup that we will hope to take advantage of. Here is a small preview of three of the key players for Jedi Mind Tricks:

Cody Brothers (Goalkeeper): Cody is a solid keeper, who has been playing quite well as of late. He has pitched shut-outs in his last two matches, but the amount of support he will receive from the back three of the Jedi Mind Tricks is suspect. (Value: $467,000, ***~ last time out).

Gilbert Skelton (Inner Midfielder): At only 19 years old, Gilbert is a fine attacking midfielder who has a knack for finding the net. He has tallied numerous scores this season, and does a good job of contributing to possession as well. (Value: $460,000, ***~ last time out).

John Hammond (Forward): Hammond is an experienced and dangerous striker, who excels at pulling away from slower defenders. He has scored an impressive 15 goals this season in league play. Unfortunately for John, it is a scorching summer day here in Chicago, so he will have to conserve his energy or have problems in the second half. (Value: $214,000, *** last time out).

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters (# start w/SSFC, *s last time out)

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan (23rd start, **~)

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen “Headcase” Lucas (43rd start, ****~)
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales (44th start, ****)
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard (23rd start, ****)

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon (41st start, **)
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin (41st start, **~)
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere (33rd start, **~)
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista (45th, start, ***~)
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio (15th start, ***)

Forward: #12 Guido Metman (9th start, **~)
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson (40th start, **)

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read (25 career starts)
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier (3 career starts)
-Midfielder: #25 Paul Peralta (15 career starts)
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias (32 career starts)
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret (31 career starts)

Absent from the lineup is one of our usual inner midfielder, Niklas Ivarsson. Niklas is nursing a severe ankle sprain sustained in last week’s match against the Ramblers, and will be replaced by veteran back-up Lucian Tere. We’re fortunate that Lucian has been playing extremely well as of late (excellent form), and should fill in nicely. He may have some trouble though, as we’ve got scorching weather today, which is a deficit to the big man. But “The Old Goat” Tomlin and Charlie Bautista should both more than make up for this, as they thrive on days like this (both are technical specialists).

Jedi Mind Tricks have a respectable attack, but we should have a significant edge over them on possession, so we should be able to keep the ball away from them, and especially John Hammond. Defensively, the Mind Tricks are suspect, particularly on the right side of their defense. As a result, we’re tilting the offense towards the left, with both midfielder Charlie Bautista and winger Valentin Rubio pushing the ball up the left side of the pitch at every opportunity.

One other change this week is in our substitutions. Reserve midfielder Jerry Smith would normally be our reserve midfielder in a situation like this, but he has been playing horribly as of late. As a result, super-sub Paul Peralta will be our substitute midfielder, while Finn Olav Mauffret will take Paul’s usual spot as out reserve winger for the day.

Time to head for The Docks and get ready. But first, I think I need a drink to calm my nerves…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

A scorching day at The Docks, where 29990 spectators were in place for today’s match.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Henriksson.

Jedi had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Brothers - Mcdonald, Marx, Brown - Everett, Garcia, Skelton, Sacristán, Barandiarán Pied - Hammond, Tolbert.

FIRST HALF

The crowd was amused as Jason Tolbert of Jedi used a few interesting tricks and dribbles to get into the penalty box. The finish wasn’t very amusing, though.

Pete Tomlin gave his Screamin' the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post.

After an industrious effort down the middle Guido Metman could have closed the game off in the 9:th minute, but his finishing shot hit the post.

1 - 0 was the half-time score. The forty-five minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 60 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Pete Tomlin should probably have put his team up another goal in the 61st minute, but some great goaltending by Cody Brothers kept the visitors in the game.

Neal Brown of Jedi received a yellow card in the 69:th minute for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Johannes Henriksson almost managed to score another goal for Screamin', but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie.

Unsportsmanlike behavior by Neal Brown rendered him his second booking of the match, and Jedi had to finish the game with a reduced squad.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 70 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Most important Screamin' player was Arlen Lucas. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating Jedi player was without a doubt Gilbert Skelton. Cole Everett on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Jedi Mind Tricks 0

Goals

Tomlin – 1(1, GWG)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Lucas: ****~
Scales: ****
Willard: ****

McMahon: **
Tomlin: **~
Tere: **~
Bautista: ***
Rubio: ***

Metman: **~
Henriksson: **

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Formidable (9)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 69

Jedi Mind Tricks
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 50

Comments

Success! By the way the teams played on the pitch, the score should have been rather lop-sided, I can honestly say that I don’t give a damn. We won today, and that’s all that matters. We’ve earned the right to play in The Series Of The Beast [tm] for at least one more season, and that suits me and the rest of the team just fine.

Although Arlen Lucas was the official Team Match MVP, Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin was the Man Of The Match as far as I am concerned. His early goal stood up as the only tally of the game, and he came very close to giving us a 2-nil lead early on in the second half. Mad props have to be given to Cody Brothers, the goalkeeper for the Jedi, however. He played a fantastic game, stopping two great scoring chances in the second half, in order to keep things close. Unfortunately for him, he got no goal support from the rest of his club, as the attackers of the Jedi just did not have an answer to Arlen Lucas, Chuck Scales, and Tyler Willard.

Elsewhere in Series IV.49

-In the other relegation match from the series, Sweden Heights absolutely demolished Izzy’s Diaper Bombers (interesting name), 8-nil. It was a completely lop-sided affair, as the Bombers appeared to make no effort to even make the match competitive. Sweden Heights remain in the series.

-In the qualification match, Croats in Miami fell to Miami Redskins S.C., 3-1, and will remain in series IV.49 as well. The match was actually proof that midfield isn’t everything. Croats had the midfield advantage (54% possession to 46%), but were out-played on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. All the possession in the world won’t do you any good if you can’t do anything with it. (NSI ratings were 85 for Miami Redskins S.C. and 78 for Croats in Miami).

So, aside from two auto-promotees (who will be summarily dismissed at the end of next season, barring a miracle), the clubs comprising The Series Of The Beast [tm] will remain the same for at least one more season.

Up Next: A friendly match with vexroid’s N.E. Oklahoma Sidekicks. Stay tuned!

Season 3 – Qualification Week – Training Match

NE Oklahoma Sidekicks vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: July 16th, 2003
Venue: Sidekick Stadium (Oklahoma)
Attendance: 947 (31,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’ve arranged for a friendly match with vexroid’s NE Oklahoma Sidekicks for this week, and have agreed to travel to Oklahoma for the match. Our supporters have been none too pleased with us as of late (although winning our qualification match on Sunday helped), so we thought it best to get out of Chi-Town for a couple of days.

Frankly, we expect to get smoked today. The Sidekicks had no qualification match on Sunday, so we should be facing their starters today. This match is for training purposes only, as far as I am concerned, and there is nothing at stake whatsoever.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #7 Lucian Tere
Set Pieces: #13 Darryl Read

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ve got our typical reserves on the pitch today, but will be reverting back to a box-standard 5-4-1 formation. The reason for this is two-fold. First off, we want to get an idea of how our players will perform with the new rules in place. We want to use today’s match as a base-line, particularly to help determine whether Keith Stubbs or Cameron McDonald will be our new starting sweeper (more on that in a later post).

The second reason is that this is the first match for our new head coach (more on him later as well). He is the new “neither attack nor defense minded” coach, so I want to see what sort of ratings we can expect with him at the helm.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

947 spectators had come to Sidekick Stadium this cloudy day. Sidekicks had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation.

The following players had been chosen: Podboj - Johnson, Alonso, Thompson - Needham, Andersson, Stensson, Anduaga, Issjö - Tuvin, Perez.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Tobias.

FIRST HALF

After a fine move down the middle Patrik Tuvin nearly gave the home side one up in the 2nd minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

Göran Andersson received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 3rd minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

After a fine move down the middle Keith Perez nearly gave the home side one up in the 20:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

After 33 minutes of play, the free-spirited Ola Issjö decided to aim straight for the goal as he struck a free kick from the corner of the pitch. The ball deflected off a defender and went out of bounds.

After 35 minutes Sidekicks´s Admir Podboj contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game.

Sidekicks had a good opportunity to take the lead as Patrik Tuvin came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of Darryl Read.

39 minutes into the game Olav Mauffret had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Ben Mcmahon.

In the games 41st minute Screamin'´s Cameron Mcdonald fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Cameron Mcdonald for taking a dive.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 0. Sidekicks held the ball, with a clear 78 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Sidekickss Alanzo Anduaga gave, after 60 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

In the 64:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Byron Johnson dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Sidekicks.

Cameron Mcdonald made several blunders at the end of the game, causing a good deal of unrest in the defensive line4.

Sidekicks, bringing the final ball possession rate to 78 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Sidekicks player was without a doubt Göran Andersson. Ola Issjö on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Screamin'´s best player was Keith Stubbs. Jerry Smith on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: NE Oklahoma Sidekicks 2, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

McDonald – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: ***
Stubbs: ***~
Lerma: ***
McDonald: ***
Leier: ***~

Mauffret: *~ (injured)
McMahon: **~ (replaced Olav Mauffret)
Smith: *~
Tere: **~
Peralta: **~

Tobias: **~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: World-Class (13)
-Central Defense: Supernatural (14)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 58

NE Oklahoma Sidekicks
-Midfield: Excellent (8)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Formidable (9)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 62

Comments

Our defense did a good job of keeping the Sidekicks off the board in the first half, but it was only a matter of time before they found their way through, especially with the massive possession advantage that they enjoyed. I look forward to trying out the “counter-attack” tactic once it comes out with the 5-4-1 formation, as well as perhaps the “play destruction” tactic.

Our defensive ratings were impressive, to say the least. To be honest, I always felt that the defensive ratings provided by the 5-4-1 formation were rather “cheap,” for lack of a better term, but it appears that it has been tweaked some. Five defenders plus a keeper should form a considerably defensive wall, and that is certainly what we enjoyed today.

We have solved our dilemma regarding Keith Stubbs and Cameron McDonald, at least for the time being. It is obvious from today’s match that Keith is better-prepared to step in for Chuck Scales than Cameron McDonald is. After the match, we announced to the club that Keith would be our new starting sweeper, until I say otherwise.

Up Next: Results from this week’s training. Stay tuned!

News and Notes from Screamin’ Seamen-Land

Seamen Hire Permanent Coach, Stein Given The Boot

Data King, team owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, held a press conference on Tuesday to announce that SSFC had found its new head coach. He announced that thirty-four year old Ioan Fluieras, native of Ploesti, Romania, had been hired as the new head coach for the Seamen.

“We are very pleased to announce Mr. Fluieras as the new head coach for the Screamin’ Seamen,” announced King to various members of the press. “Ioan [Fluieras] brings with him a great deal of experience, both as a former player and as a coach, moreso than one would expect of a man of relatively tender years.”

Fluieras has a relatively colorful history within the soccer world. He spent seven years as a midfielder for Fremen Spirit, one of the premier 2nd Division sides in his native Romania. Unfortunately, his playing career was cut short when he was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer. After two years of treatment, Fluieras beat the odds and his cancer went into remission. Unfortunately, his playing days were over at that point.

After a failed attempt to regain his lost skills, Fluieras instead turned to coaching. He initially landed a position as an assistant coach with Motaneii, a Romanian 4th Division club. It was there that he first met Lucian Tere, currently a reserve midfielder for the Screamin’ Seamen. Tere claims that a great deal of his skill as a midfielder came from his training under Motaneii.

Tere, who also attended Tuesday’s press conference, commented to the press. “Ioan [Fluieras] quickly earned my respect when I was playing for Motaneii, and he taught me a great deal. I always felt that he would make an excellent head coach someday, and when Mr. King announced that he was looking for a new head man, I recommended that he take a look at my old friend.” The rest, as they say, is history.

By all accounts, Fluieras is a solid trainer, and does quite well at developing young talent. However, the one criticism of the man is that he does not have a strong sideline presence, and is really more of a practice-field coach than a game-day leader. “This was definitely taken into account during our interviews with Ioan,” stated King regarding this issue. “We feel that we have plenty of on-field experience and leadership as it is, with veterans like Pete [Tomlin], Niklas [Ivarsson] and Guido [Metman] on the pitch.

Financial terms were undisclosed, but it is believed that Fluieras carried a price tag in excess of $250,000.

Ioan Fluieras

Age: 34

A solid coach who is neither attack nor defense minded.
A controversial person who is balanced and dishonest.
Has formidable experience and poor leadership abilities.


Fluieras Makes His Move, Sweeper Scales Sent to Sweden

Ioan Fluieras, the new head coach of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, wasted no time in making alterations to the club’s roster. On Friday morning, Fluieras and team owner Data King announced that Chuck Scales, the Seamens’ starting sweeper for the past three seasons, had been sold to the Lunden Loafers, a Swedish 4th Division side. The price tag was a considerable $1.1 million, by far the largest transfer the club has ever been involved in.

“We’re sorry to see Chuck [Scales] go,” stated King at Friday’s press conference, “but we also know that it is the best thing for the club in the long run. We have some good young talent that we feel is ready to fill Scales’ considerable shoes. Both Keith [Stubbs] and Cameron [McDonald] have shown a great deal of promise thus far at the sweeper position, and we’re positive that one of them will really step up and take over.”

King and Fluieras were unwilling to name either Stubbs or McDonald as the official replacement for Scales in the starting rotation. However, reliable sources have indicated that 20-year-old Keith Stubbs will start at the centerback position at the open of next season’s U.S. Open Cup.

King stated that he had opened up practically all of the money earned in the Scales transfer to Fluieras, who in turn stated that he was looking to shore up the club’s midfield and striker positions. No specific details were given, however.

Qualification Week Training Results

Both of our remaining solid defensive trainees improved to excellent defense this week. Excellent news.

Christian Kvam

Position: Wingback
Jersey #24

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: Norwegian
Assessed Value: $116,000
Wage: $924 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)


Zarpas Lerma

Position: Central Defender
Jersey #21

19 years old, solid (7) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and upright.
Has disastrous (1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: Spanish
Assessed Value: $129,000
Wage: $888 per week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Inadequate (5)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Disastrous (1)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

Also this week, starting keeper “Corny” Jernigan improved to weak (4) experience. This is more good news, with the increased importance of experience now in the Hattrick engine.

Form Changes

1 player improved in form this week, a starter:
-Goalkeeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan: passable (6)

14 players saw their form remain the same this week.

6 players dropped in form this week, including 4 starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: passable (6)
-Injured midfielder Niklas Ivarsson: inadequate (5)
-Wingback Arlen Lucas: solid (7)
-Wingback Tyler Willard: passable (6) (down 2 levels)

I guess we have to take the good with the bad this week. We had nice improvement skill-wise this week, with the improvements by Kvam and Lerma, as well as the improved experience and form for Corny. However, the average form for our starters got hammered, and our starting wingbacks have finally come back down to earth, after spending a lot of time at excellent (8) form.

In The Zone

Only one player on the roster remains in excellent form this week, Argentinean winger Valentin Rubio.

Form Dogs

Reserve midfielder Jerry Smith continues to be a disappointment, and remains in weak (4) form. Another disappointment is Cameron McDonald, who after a couple of weeks with respectable form, has dropped back down to weak (4) as well. That is unfortunate for Cameron, as it makes Keith Stubbs the likely replacement for Chuck Scales in the middle.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $171,714 (-$1,468)
Total Player Value (21 players): $3,615,000 (-$195,000)

Note that the sale of Chuck Scales means that these numbers are heavily deflated, compared to last week’s values.

Assessed Value Milestones

$200,000+
-Wingback Mattias Leier ($204,000)

Up Next: The weekly youth pull and financial update. Stay tuned!

Qualification Week Youth Pull

This week’s youth pull is about as useful on the pitch as the Sesame Street character with the same first name. Elmo Walton has been summarily fired, and will be seeking employment in the children’s television industry.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $292,498

Revenue

Crowd (relegation match vs. Jedi Mind Tricks) - $79,400
Crowd (friendly match vs. NE Oklahoma Sidekicks) - $2,529
Sponsors - $72,450
Temporary (annual supporter dues) - $44,760
Temporary (14 new supporters) - $420
Temporary (sale of Chuck Scales) - $1,012,000

Total Revenue: $1,211,559

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Tracy Cheatham) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing of Chuck Scales) - $1,000
Temporary (2 transfer listings for Tracy Cheatham) - $2,000
Temporary (hiring of head coach Ioan Fluieras) - $268,700
Staff & Specialists - $45,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $390,572

Net Income/Loss: +$820,987

New Balance: $1,113,485

With over $1 million in the bank, we’re obviously looking at a very busy off-season on the transfer market. Fans can expect to see some improvements in the midfield as well as a new striker wearing SSFC black and red next season.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Irritated (down 2 levels)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (up 1 level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (up 2 levels)
Supporter Club: 1,506 (up 14 from last week)

Not that any of this really matters, as these factors will be reset soon during the off-season. I would like to point out, however, that the fourteen supporters who left last week came crawling back, $30 in hand, begging our forgiveness. :D

Up Next: More off-season news and team awards, as well as the first ever voter-decided Team MVP award. Stay tuned!

Does he have a high pitched voice?

SI