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South Bay Saints, HT season 21
Welcome back for a new season of South Bay Saints Soccer. First a very quick review, and then a preview of the upcoming season.
After surviving the first season in a fairly tough series in division 4, the Saints are looking to establish themselves as one of the better teams in the series. The offseason saw a lot of movement around the series, and it will be very different this season. A partial dynasty for the latter portion of season 20 can be found somewhere in this forum. Backgroud The team began play prior to week 13 in season 18 and was known as the Complex Spikes. The Spikes won their last two games of the season to take second place in V.249. Season 19: 1st place in V.249, 12-1-1. We "defeated" the seattle vikings in a walkover to promote. Season 20: 5th place in IV.31, 5-7-2 Defeated Ring of Fire 2-0 to avoid demotion. |
Introduction to Season 21
Goals 1) Finish in 4th and break .500. Last season I entered the final with a chance to take 4th place and finish with a 6-6-2 record, but couldn't get the victory. 2) 80 NSI. Well last season I wanted to break 70, so this seems logical. I got a 78 in the qualifier, but it will be sometime before I come anywhere near that rating again. 3) Break even on the youth squad: There is nothing I can do about this but it was very frustrating to lose $231,480 on the squad that was at excellent for half a season. Season plans: I am set with trainees for the first half of the season. My two old midfielders (21) will be sold when they hit outstanding playmaking toward the end of the season. By then the young guys will be ready to start. Upgrade the defense: My defense is not strong enough to compete for long in division 4. I would like to put up at least all formidables. My first major purchase will be a new keeper, either formidable or outstanding, but I will not have the money until at least midseason (since I know that youth pulls will not help). Towards the end of the season I may look for a second excellent defender to replace Tevez at wingback. Upgrade to offense: While not as weak as my defense, the Saints offense was responsible for more missed points last season (anyone remember the 0-7 game). I can consistently put up an outstanding-excellent-excellent attack playing both winger offensively. Unfortunately, last season I needed to play one winger toward the middle to gain enough of a midfield advantage to overcome the better all around teams. With the continued development of my midfield, I should be able to go offensive more often. Also moving Toader Popa into one of the top two midfield positions will allow him to better exploit his inadequate passing. Late in the season, I hope to purchase a formidable scorer and move Tony Spicer to the B-team. I will also mix a few weeks of winger trainee in during the later rounds of the cup which will help. Upgrade the coach: Teuvo Kaurismäki, 33 yo winger, passable experience, passable leadership -- just waiting for the experience bump and the 680K. Offseason News Complex Spikes Arena (historical commission is fighting a name change) was expanded to 32K seats and will open Sunday to what I am sure will be rain. I may do a second expansion if I sell out the first two matches. Our weekly wages climbed to $33,956. |
Saints Starters
Keeper Joseph Lassiter - The 22 year old American is a solid keeper who has been around since season 19. After a strong season last year, Lassiter showed up to camp out of shape (weak form) and manangement is looking into other options. Wingback Carlos Saúl Tévez - The solid defending Argentinian is always in good form, and helps with the attack with his passable winger skill. Center Defender Clifton Campbell - Campbell was one of the big acquisitions last season when he came over for for $429K. His excellent defense and inadequate leadership have helped to begin the building of our defense. Wingback Matt Keyesj- One of the two original players still remaining on the roster. Keyesj is a solid defender and has solid leadership and 32.0 points towards inadequate experience. Keyesj has been very helpful with some of our young players and may have a future coaching the Saints. Winger Clark Merritt - The FOFC 2nd teamer is still the best 100K I ever spent. Merritt joined the team in season 19 and was one week away from excellent winger. Combined with his passable passing, Merritt is a great offensive threat. He has been working on his playmaking the past few season to make him a better all-around player. Inner midfielder Eber Basoa Rivas - The excellent playmaker is our best midfielder and should pop in about two weeks. Unfortunately he has no secondaries and this will likely be his last season with the team. Inner midfielder Dani Mário Araújo - Another excellent playmaker who was our first trainee purchase ever. Like Rivas he has no secondaries and this will likely be his last season with the team. Since he is a few weeks behind Rivas, he might not pop to outstanding before the end of this season. Inner midfielder Toader Popa - The 19 year old Romanian has the most popular name on the team. To go along with his solid playmaking, he has inadequate passing and will be seeing his first start in the top two inner midfield position this weekend. Winger Jef Tadié - The Estotian has high passable winging and playmaking and will likely be solid in both by midseason. At one time, I thought he would play opposite of Merritt for years but the attack on his side has been underwealming. Forward Tony Spicer - Spicer is the other original player who has started almost every game in team history. He is an solid scorer and inadequate passer. Forward Joe Lond - The 20 year old American joined the Saints towards the end of last season for $439K. Despite excellent scoring and inadequate passing he hasn't quite provided the boost in the attack we were hoping for. |
go saints!
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Saints Trainees
Midfielders Joonas Vahtramäe 209 000 US$, 19 years, solid form [Unpredictable] Stamina: solid Playmaking: excellent Defending: inadequate Joonas will be starting part time this season depending on form. I wish he had bumped 2 levels in the offseason. Carlton Blakely 123 000 US$, 18 years, passable form Stamina: excellent Playmaking: passable Passing: inadequate Defending: inadequate By the end of the season, Carlton may be ready for some spot starts although his playmaking is the lowest on the team. Ryszard Laguna 130 000 US$, 18 years, passable form Stamina: passable Playmaking: passable Passing: passable Wingers Charles Montgomery 175 000 US$, 20 years, passable form [Quick] Stamina: excellent Playmaking: passable Winger: passable Passing: weak Defending: weak Charles is actually a co-starter with Tadie, and since he has the best form now he will get the start Sunday. Myles Bloom 77 000 US$, 19 years, weak form [Unpredictable] Stamina: excellent Playmaking: poor Passing: inadequate Winger: solid Set Pieces: solid I picked Myles up last season to be another offensive option on the wing; however, he has been in bad form since I got him so I am not really sure what he is capable of. Mikey Pham 79 000 US$, 19 years, inadequate form [Technical] Stamina: solid Playmaking: inadequate Defending: inadequate Mickey was a one time trainee who never popped and was replaced as he got a bit older. He was also a casuality of me desire for offensive midfielders. He should pop with his next training as a winger towards middle and will then be sold of. |
Series IV.31
A quick preview of each team in order of predicted finish. 1. Number Munchers NSI Avg: 81.7 NSI Best: 91 Munchers has been around since season 15 and has twice been promoted to division III only to be auto-demoted the next season. He trains forwards and has an extra-terrestrial central attack. His midfield is not overwealming and is likely the cause of his inability to stay in division 3, but will be competitive in division 4. He is not as strong as Tikkun, but I don't see anyone be able to stop his attack. Thus he should win the series and get a third shot at division 3. 2. Terps NSI Avg: 78.8 NSI Best: 90 Terps begins their third season in IV.31 with a chance to finally win the series. The team has been around for over a year and in that time has made 15 total transfers - Havok and Qwik have more than that in a week. The owner logs in infrequently and does not always schedule friendlies or make youth pulls. He has enough of a head start though and the best midfield in the series. Last season he went 7-0-0 the first half but fell apart in the second due to injury and a likely poorly played MOTS. He has a strong defense, but a weak attack. 3. Thunderchickens NSI Avg: 70.8 NSI Best: 80 Thunderchickens is a long shot to win the series but has the second best attack in the series. His defense is solid, but probably lacks too much in the midfield wo win the series. He could take second though. Like Munchers, TC runs a 3-4-3 and trains forwards (starting to see why my defense is a problem). 4. CC's Dragons NSI Avg: 67.9 NSI Best: 75 CC's, SI's former nemisis, won V.62 last season after the Hippos promoted away. The Dragons are a very similar team to mine. He runs a 3-5-2 and trains midfielders. My defense is a tad better and his offense is a bit better. A new forward from Sweden joined the team in the offseason, and gives him the edge for this season. 5. South Bay Saints NSI Avg: 63.8 NSI Best: 78 You should be familiar with this team. 6. Los Chixi Dix NSI Avg: 62.7 NSI Best: 78 Chixi auto-promoted from V.112 last season. They put up a 78 in week one last season and then never came close again, and his total stars dropped during the season as well. Chixi is a balanced team and is only a small step below the Dragons and the Saints. Chixi is another 3-4-3 team but is only in the early stages of his training program. 7. Wisconsin Legend NSI Avg: 51.1 NSI Best: 58 Legend is the only team that is younger than the Saints in the division. They won a very weak division last season (ranked 207) and pulled of a huge upset over Maples to promote to series IV.31. They are all defense and unless they make major changes stand no chance. They put up only a weak midfield and an inadequate attack, and thus will likely be shut out numerous times this season. He did purchase a midfielder in the offseason (likely excellent) but who appears to have very poor stamina. 8. Fraser Fire NSI Avg: 75.6 NSI Best: 79 Line-up has been reset. Nothing more to say. |
Week 1 front office report
We lost $46 971 this week and stand to be in debt by over 180K at the end of the week. The sponser's income dropped by nearly 30K as a result of the reset. Youth pull Orlando Escobar (20503233) 19 years, passable form, healthy A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and dishonest. Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Nationality: USA Assessed value: 18 000 US$ Wage: 580 US$/week Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: poor Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: inadequate Passing: poor Winger: weak Defending: wretched Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: wretched Another week, nothing worthwhile. I put him up with no minimum and no one wanted him. |
Cup Round 1
Phoenix Wolves - South Bay Saints 0 - 5 6552 spectators arrived at Phoenix Park, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Phoenix tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Omalley - Whipple, Lovelace, Cockrell, Gary - Stovall, Henderson, Brown, Faure - Farris, Smith. Saints tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Lassiter - Keyesj, Campbell, Kaurismäki - Montgomery, Mário Araújo, Basoa Rivas, Popa, Merritt - Lond, Spicer. Saints took the lead in the games 7:th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Clark Merritt was the scorer. The visitors Joe Lond took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 22nd minute. 0 - 2 for Saints. Tony Spicer increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 3. The game had been on for 28 minutes when Tony Spicer broke through to the right, upping the score to the home crowd´s dismay. Saints´s were up 0 - 4. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 4. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 87 percent possession of the ball. Clark Merritt managed to make an excellent pass from the flank, but Tony Spicer was not as skillfull in scoring. Tony Spicer increased Saints´s lead to 0 - 5 by a superb free kick strike, flying in just under the far top corner. By then Tony Spicer was a three time scorer - a hat trick! The structure of the game started to change as Saints decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Phoenix´s Rickey Brown got himself booked. After 60 minutes of game time Joe Lond received an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but Dave Omalley was in the right place, tipping the ball to a corner. Saints held the ball, with a clear 93 percent possession rate. The most dominating Phoenix player was without a doubt Dave Omalley. However, Abe Henderson made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Saints player was without a doubt Dani Mário Araújo. Joseph Lassiter on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 5. Summary No cards an no injuries is a great way to start the season. Tony Spicer got his first hattrick in quite some time as the Saints easily defeated a bot. I am not pleased that the worst player was my keeper. Ratings Phoenix Wolves Player rating and Team formation Midfield: disastrous Right Side Defence: inadequate Central Defence: passable Left Side Defence: weak Right Side Attack: poor Central Attack: poor Left Side Attack: weak South Bay Saints Player rating and Team formation Midfield: inadequate Right Side Defence: solid Central Defence: solid Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: excellent Left Side Attack: formidable NSI = 62 Not bad. Individual Notes Goals (cup total) Tony Spicer - 3 (3) Joe Lond - 1 (1) Clark Merritt - 1 (1) Cards: None Injuries: None Stars 2.5 K Joseph Lassiter 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj * 3.0 CD Clifton Campbell 2.5 WB Teuvo Kaurismaki 3.0 W Charles Montgomery 3.5 IM Eber Basoa Rivas 3.0 IM Toader Popa 3.5 IM Dani Mario Araujo 3.5 W Clark Merritt 3.0 F Tony Spicer 2.5 F Joe Lond * personel best Clark Merritt bumped to poor experience after the match. Around IV.31 Rhode Island Lions - Number Munchers 0 - 6 Maine Wolves - Terps 0 - 8, Terps lost a defender to a +1 injury. longhorns fc - Thunderchickens 0 - 9 California Bears - Fraser Fire 5 - 0 New Orleans Vikings - Wisconsin Legend 0 - 6, Lost their central defender to a +1 injury. He will be out this weekend. Kentucky Panthers - CC's Dragons 0 - 5 Las Vegas Apaches - Los Chixi Dix 0 - 5 |
Week 2 front office report
The loss grows to -65 655 this week, and our accountants figure we will be at -237K by the end of the week. However, our youth pull and home league match should eliminate most of the debt. Also our sponser increased their contribution by about 10K this week. Youth pull Franklin Minton 14 000 US$, 17 years, passable form Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities Stamina: wretched Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: poor Passing: weak Winger: wretched Defending: passable Scoring: wretched Set Pieces: poor I really have no idea what I will get for him. I am hoping for about 30-40K. |
GGGGGOOOOOOOOOO SSSAAAAIIINNNTTSSSS!!!!!
P.S. nice pull..... help ya break even this week. |
I think you oughtta be able to get more than that for him, 50-75K, at least. Even if he is a low passable (and he appears to be that)
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With as many wretched skills as he has, I think he might not be very low. I have seen passable players worth under 10K and solids in the 30's (passable form, not wingers) though it is not common. Regardless, the market will not recognize it. I just hope he gets trained and makes produces mother club money down the road.
With the help of partly cloudy weather today in the region, hopefully I will come close to selling out my expanded arena which will take care of most of the debt. |
League Fixtures: Week 1 Preview
South Bay Saints - Wisconsin Legend An early key match for the both teams. Wisconsin should struggle for points this season, and we need to beat this team if we hope to finish in the top 4. Wisconsin is a defense heavy team with a weak midfield and offense. Since we will have a significant midfield advantage, we will sacrifice a bit in order to improve our attack to get through their defense. Even with Lassiter in weak form, the Saints defense should be strong enough to stop any Legend Chances. Saints 3-0 Number Munchers - Terps Munchers 2-1 Thunderchicken - Fraser Fire Walkover, TC 5-0 CC's Dragons - Los Chixi Dix At home CC should have a significant advantage. 4-2 |
League Play: Week 1
We open our newly expanded arena by hosting the Wisconsin Legend who promoted after a shocking win in the qualifier against Maples. South Bay Saints 2 - Wisconsin Legend 0 25334 spectators arrived at Complex Spikes Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Saints started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Lassiter - Keyesj, Campbell, Tévez - Montgomery, Mário Araújo, Basoa Rivas, Popa, Merritt - Lond, Spicer. Wisconsin tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Bolden - Dumas, Zuniga, Mena - Posey, Applegate, Dean, Farkas, Perelman - Javier, Soto. Saints had a good opportunity to take the lead as Tony Spicer came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of Dan Bolden. After 9 minutes Saints´s Tony Spicer contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. Charles Montgomery´s speed was made justice as he darted past his marker and struck an opening pass to Joe Lond who scored the 1-0 goal. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 12 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Saints. However, Dan Bolden made a spectacular save. Tony Spicer almost managed to score another goal for Saints, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. Eber Basoa Rivas almost managed to score another goal for Saints, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. 1 - 0 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 69 percent possession of the ball. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Saints´s Joe Lond putting the lead up to 2 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 79 percent possession of the ball. The most dominating Saints player was without a doubt Clark Merritt. Charles Montgomery on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Wisconsin player was without a doubt Dan Bolden. Assi Perelman on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 0. Summary This matched illustrates my teams weakness on offense. We missed 4 chances in the first half that would have put this game away much sooner. Our midfield won this game for us. The crowd was far short of our new capacity of 32K which was a bit of a disappointment. Stars South Bay Saints Midfield: solid Right Side Defence: passable Central Defence: solid Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: inadequate Central Attack: excellent Left Side Attack: formidable NSI = 64 Wisconsin Legend Midfield: poor Right Side Defence: outstanding Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: formidable Right Side Attack: inadequate Central Attack: inadequate Left Side Attack: inadequate NSI = 52 Individual Notes Goals: (season total) Joe Lond 2 (2) Cards: none Injuries: Tony Spicer, bruised Stars 2.5 GK Joseph Lassiter 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj (defensive) 3.0 CD Clifton Campbell 3.0 WB Carlos Saul Tevez (defensive) 2.5 W Charles Montgomery (Towards middle) 3.0 IM Eber Basoa Rivas (Defensive) 3.0 IM Dani Mario Araujo 3.5 IM Toader Popa (offensive) * 3.5 W Clark Merritt 2.5 F Tony Spicer 2.5 F Joe Lond * personal best Around IV.31 Number Munchers - Terps 6 - 2 (NSI 85 - 76) Munchers pulled a very low formidable midfield which was better than I thought they could. Thunderchickens - Fraser Fire 5 - 0 Walkover CC's Dragons - Los Chixi Dix 1 - 2 (NSI 67 - 63) Chixi pulled off a big win on the road in an early season upset. |
Congrats on the win!!
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Team Notes: 11/17
I just logged in to hattrick and found this message Vitesse_ offered 75 000 US$ for Franklin Minton and thereby took the lead in the bidding. Gotta love the 60K raise. This will put me back in the black for next weeks update. DukeRulesMAB was right. Vitesse_ is a division 6 who appears to be building a defense training program consisting of mostly American low passables. Franklin Minton is perfect for him. Although his team has been around since April, he doesn't seem to have a strong track record of training and he runs a 4-5-1. At least he has a solid coach. The two previous bidders had more established programs and ran 5-4-1's, so I am hope one of them steps up. The real money I will get out of this pull will be in the future. After the 2-0 win to start league play, 12 new supporters signed up. Since my supporters are high on life, I fear I might be seeing an early effect of the soft cap for division 4. Last season I would get 13 per update if my team was doing well. Maybe it will rise 1 more after the next cup match. Currently I have 1336 supporters. |
Team Notes: No More Debt!!!
This weeks youth pull, Franklin Minton, sold for $79,000 to Vitesse, a 6th division team in the Netherlands. This raises the teams coffers to $3,252 - still a tad short for that outstanding keeper. After one week of play, Joe Lond sits atop the scoring table for series IV.31. He will probably lose his spot this weekend since we have a walkover. |
Cup round 2
Vermont Gladiators - South Bay Saints 0 - 9 A scorching day at Vermont Dome, where 7000 spectators were in place for today´s match. Gladiators tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Keen - Cahill, Timmons, Kessler, San Germán - Medda, Lorenz, Sullivan, Adams - Jordan, Hita. Saints tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Lassiter - Keyesj, Hyypiä, Kaurismäki - Tadié, Vahtramäe, Laguna, Blakely, Pham - Lond, Spicer. Saints mostly ignored the flanks in favour of attacks in the middle. Saints´s Joe Lond gave the visitors a 0 - 1 lead in the 10:th minute with a superb strike from the right. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 28:th minute Saints goal, making it 0 - 2. Ryszard Laguna was noted down as the scorer. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 32nd minute Saints goal, making it 0 - 3. Joe Lond was noted down as the scorer. By now Saints were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. After 38 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Teuvo Kaurismäki who increased Saints´s lead to 0 - 4. Jef Tadié was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Mikey Pham managed to kick one of them into 0 - 5 in the 40:th minute. In the 41st minute the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 6 as Tony Spicer finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 6. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 84 percent possession of the ball. Saints had, after 64 minutes of the game, worked the left side industriously, creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but somehow didn´t achieve closure. Gladiators´s Travis Timmons refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon in the 66:th minute. After 69 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Tony Spicer who increased Saints´s lead to 0 - 7. After 69 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Joe Lond who increased Saints´s lead to 0 - 8. By then Joe Lond was a three time scorer - a hat trick! The referee showed Gladiatorss Daniel San Germán the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. After 71 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for [i]Matt Keyesj[i] who increased Saints´s lead to 0 - 9. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 91 percent possession of the ball. Gladiators´s best player was Christopher Jordan. Donny Adams was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Saints player was without a doubt Joonas Vahtramäe. However, Mikey Pham made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 0 - 9. Summary It was a bot -- we destroyed them. Joe Lond had his first hattrick as a member of the Saints and the offense converted 9 of 10 chances in our best offense output since leaving series V.249. Ratings Vermont Gladiators Midfield: disastrous Right Side Defence: weak Central Defence: inadequate Left Side Defence: inadequate Right Side Attack: inadequate Central Attack: inadequate Left Side Attack: poor NSI = 30 South Bay Saints Midfield: inadequate Right Side Defence: inadequate Central Defence: solid Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: excellent Left Side Attack: weak NSI = 54 Individual Performances Goals (Cup Total) Joe Lond 3 (4) Tony Spicer 2 (5) Matt Keyesj 1 (1) Teuvo Kaurismäki 1 (1) Mickey Pham 1 (1) Ryszard Laguna 1 (1) Cards: none Injuries: none Stars 2.5 GK Joseph Lassiter 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj (Defensive) 3.0 CD Yki Hyppia 2.5 WB Teuvo Kaurismaki (Defensive) 2.0 W Jef Tadie (Offensive) 2.5 IM Ryszard Laguna 2.5 IM Carlton Blakely (Offensive) 3.5 IM Joonas Vahtramae * (Defensive) 1.5 W Mikey Pham (Towards Middle) 2.5 F Tony Spicer 2.5 F Joe Lond * Personal best Around IV.31 Twin Cities Wolves - Thunderchickens 0 - 9 Virginia Lions - Number Munchers 0 - 8 Minnesota Wolves - Los Chixi Dix 1 - 5 Kansas Samurais - CC's Dragons 2 - 6 Puerto Rico Heroes - Wisconsin Legend 0 - 3 Twin Cities Indians - Terps 0 - 9 CC's Dragons and Los Chixi Dix were in tight matches for awhile before running up the scores late. |
Training
About time Jef Tadié (12578211) 19 years, inadequate form, healthy A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest. Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities. Nationality: België Assessed value: 133 000 US$ Stamina: excellent Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: solid Passing: inadequate Winger: passable Defending: poor Scoring: wretched Set Pieces: wretched Perfect - I'll probably stop playing him toward the middle soon. After next week, I'll train winger for 2-3 weeks until I am eliminated from the cup. Since Jef has already had 3 weeks of winger training he should pop to solid winger. There were no other pops, but next week could be a biggie. Form: +5/-2 - Not bad for one week removed from stamina training. Notable increases: Clark Merritt to solid, Eber Basoa Rivas to solid, and Joe Lond to inadequate. |
League Play: Week 2
I must really be slacking off as this dynasty slipped to page two. This week is perhaps the most boring of the season for the Saints. We faced Fraser Fire on the road and started are most unique lineup ever. Backup winger Myles Bloom picked up 0.0 stars in his first start in goal. And on with the report... Fraser Fire 0 - South Bay Saints 5 12033 spectators arrived at Fraser Fire Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Fraser started off with a 0-0-0 lineup. The following players had been chosen: - - - . Saints had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Bloom - Keyesj, Kaurismäki, Popa - Pham, Mário Araújo, Laguna, Blakely, Tadié - Lond, Vahtramäe. The game couldn´t be played as the home side didn´t have 9 players. The referee had to report a walkover and 5-0 to the visitors. The spectators were very disappointed with their home team. The match ends 0 - 5. Summary Walkover's are great for team management but otherwise suck. Ratings South Bay Saints Player rating and Team formation Midfield: disastrous Right Side Defence: disastrous Central Defence: disastrous Left Side Defence: disastrous Right Side Attack: disastrous Central Attack: disastrous Left Side Attack: disastrous According to my calculator, that is a rating of 9.0 (significant digits are important). Stars This should be intereseting -- Outside of my trainees in the midfield, I played players who needed the help with form or experience. 0.0 GK Myles Bloom 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj 2.5 CD Teuvo Kaurismaki 1.5 WB Toader Popa (interesting - weak defender in solid form - high weak?) 1.5 W Mikey Pham 3.0 IM Rysard Laguna (offensive) - only passable stamina 2.5 IM Carlton Blakely 3.5 IM Dani Mario Araujo 2.5 W Jef Tadie 1.5 F Joonas Vahtramae 3.0 F Joe Lond Around IV.31 Wisconsin Legend - Number Munchers 2 - 5 NSI 59 - 74 Munchers scored two goals in the final 6 minutes to avoid a potentially huge upset. The final goal also moved Munchers into first place in the division. Munchers ordered his players to attack in the middle where they put up a supernatural rating. Los Chixi Dix - Thunderchickens 2 - 1 NSI 66 - 74 Chixi pulled of their second straight upset using their pressing strategy to block Chickens attempts to attack up the middle with their titanic central attack. Thunderchickens were hampered by losing one of their midfielders in the second half after he picked up his second yellow. Terps - CC's Dragons 4 - 1 NSI 84 - 67 If Terps ever got a decent attack to go with their brilliant midfield and outstanding+ defense, they would win the division. The Dragons defense were unable to keep the game close and they dropped to 0-2 and must face Number Munchers next week. Terps million dollar middie (to distinguish from the $2M middie) picked up his second yellow of the season - we play them in two weeks. Series Table
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Man, rough go for the Dragons early on. The Saints, on the other hand, are in pretty good shape.
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The only catch for us is we have beaten the worst two teams in the league. Dragons are in bad shape and has to play the best team this week. The loss this past week was expected, but getting beat at home the first week is really going to hurt them this season. I wonder if at some point they will panic and try an ill advised MOTS. |
US Open Cup: Round 3
The Saints face the first human controlled team in this seasons cup. Dragsters owner has not been seen in several weeks and the team is likely dead. Before departing he brought in several players and set a default 3-5-2 lineup. With a walkover this past Sunday, my trainees have already played so this match should not be a problem. Dragsters - South Bay Saints 1-7 A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 7000 to Dragsters Arena. Dragsters tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Lindby - Ridgeway, Gobbo, Ohara - Almland, Healy, Cooley, Nicholas, Hitchcock - Almblad, Huey. Saints started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Lassiter - Campbell, Keyesj, Tévez - Montgomery, Basoa Rivas, Popa, Vahtramäe, Merritt - Lond, Spicer. In the 26:th minute the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as Jonas Almblad flipped the ball after a cross pass from the right. 31 minutes into the game Saints´s Joe Lond found a gap in the home sides central defense scoring with a long shot, making it 1 - 1. Matt Keyesj sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 1-2 in after a corner kick after 42 minutes of play. In the 43rd minute Saints put themselves up 1 - 3 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Joonas Vahtramäe. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 44:th minute Saints goal, making it 1 - 4. Eber Basoa Rivas was noted down as the scorer. The structure of the game started to change as Saints decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. The game had been on for 44 minutes when Joe Lond broke through to the right, upping the score to the home crowd´s dismay. Saints´s were up 1 - 5. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 5. Saints, bringing the final ball possession rate to 62 percent, dominated the battle. After 55 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Tony Spicer who increased Saints´s lead to 1 - 6. In the games 59:th minute Saints´s Carlos Saúl Tévez fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Carlos Saúl Tévez for taking a dive. In the games 61st minute Toader Popa 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. The referee showed Dragsterss Benjamin Ohara the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Joseph Lassiter spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. Clark Merritt of Saints received a yellow card in the 65:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The visitors Tony Spicer took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 76:th minute. 1 - 7 for Saints. Saints held the ball, with a clear 63 percent possession rate. The most dominating Dragsters player was without a doubt Austin Huey. Jonas Almblad on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Saints player was without a doubt Clark Merritt. Carlos Saúl Tévez was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 7. Summary The team started out slowly and gave up an early goal to the overmatched Dragsters. The Saints put the game away in the final minutes of the first half scoring 4 goals in the 42st-44 minutes. Ratings Dragsters Midfield: weak Right Side Defence: weak Central Defence: weak Left Side Defence: inadequate Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: passable NSI = 46 South Bay Saints Midfield: solid Right Side Defence: solid Central Defence: solid Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: excellent Left Side Attack: outstanding NSI = 68 (season high) Individual Notes Goals: (cup total) Joe Lond 2 (6) Tony Spicer 2 (7) Matt Keyesj 1 (2) Eber Basoa Rivas 1 (1) Joonas Vahtramäe 1 (1) Cards: (total) Clark Merritt - yellow (1) Carlos Saúl Tévez - yellow (1) Injuries: Joseph Lassiter - bruised by training Up Next The Saints drew a very tough opponent in round 4. We visit MIT FC who put up a NSI of 75 in round 3 and currently sits in first place in series IV.51. However, like us, they had a walkover in league play this week, so we wouldn't expect them (or us) to perform as well in next week. MIT FC is a defense trainer and employes a 4-4-2 formation. More to come when HT is back up. |
Training
It was such a great week, we did it twice. Two big playmaking pops Eber Basoa Rivas 303 000 US$, 21 years, solid form Has wretched experience and solid leadership abilities Stamina: excellent Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: formidable Passing: poor Winger: poor Defending: wretched Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: wretched Eber is our first formidable player (except for Keyesj's stamina). He also breaks 300K in value for the first time. Ryszard Laguna 159 000 US$, 18 years, solid form Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities Stamina: passable Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: solid Passing: passable Winger: weak Defending: wretched Scoring: poor Set Pieces: weak Ryszard is one of my most promising trainees and will easily make excellent by the end of the season. He should be a starter next season. Form A great week for the Saints - 9 up, 3 down All 6 IMs are in solid or better form. Defender Matt Keyesj hit excellent for the first time, and both forwards are finally in passable form at the same time. |
Week 4 Youth Pull
Jorge Block 1 000 US$, 17 years, passable form Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities [Unpredictable] Stamina: wretched Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: wretched Passing: wretched Winger: wretched Defending: poor Scoring: weak Set Pieces: wretched Second straight week with a player valued at only 1K. Front office We are at -$18,919 but will be well in the black after our home match tomorrow. |
Around IV.31
My opponent this week, Los Chixi Dix, bought Gerhard Olsson for $450,000. Olsson is likely an excellent forward who put up 3* is his cup match this week. Los Chixi often runs a 3-4-3 in league play but has does not have a particularly strong attack. I'll probably fave a formadable central attack tomorrow instead of an excellent. Wisconsin Legend was the first managed team to be eliminated from the cup. They lost 2-0 to a rather strong division 5 team. |
League Play: Round 3 preview
Series IV.31 Standings 1. Number Munchers 2 11 - 4 6 2. South Bay Saints 2 7 - 0 6 3. Los Chixi Dix 2 4 - 2 6 South Bay Saints - Los Chixi Dix The Saints are at home this week facing Los Chixi Dix. At the beginning of the season I predicted that Los Chixi would finish in 6th place, but two straight upsets has put them in a very strong position. They promoted into the series this season, and I have not gotten a good feeling for them yet. They finished last season playing a 3-4-3 exclusively, but have switched, seemingly at random between a 3-4-3 and a 3-5-2 this season. They just bought a forward for 450K, but he is 23 years old. I have no idea what he trains which makes predicting his formations and lineups a bit tough. I should have a nice midfield advantage. His defense is a bit stronger, but my attack should be slightly better - so basically that's a wash. Prediction 3-2 Other matches in the series Thunderchickens - Terps These two teams figured to be fighting for second and had an outside chance at taking the series. After 2 weeks they sit in 4 and 5th place. Terps has the best midfield in the series and should have a couple level advantage but their attack is weak. Chickens on the other hand have a very good offense which should be enough to earn a draw. Prediction 2-2 CC's Dragons - Number Munchers SI's former nemisis should drop to 0-3 since moving up to division 4 as they face the top team in the series. Munchers has been without their top player, a magnificent forward, all season but he should be ready to go for this match. The midfield should be about equal which will give Munchers more than enough chances. Prediction 1-4 |
League matches: week 3
South Bay Saints - Los Chixi Dix 3 - 0 32000 spectators had come to Complex Spikes Arena this cloudy day. Saints tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Lassiter - Tévez, Campbell, Keyesj - Merritt, Mário Araújo, Basoa Rivas, Vahtramäe, Montgomery - Lond, Spicer. Chixi had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Way-Yen - Prentice, Jansson, Mckenna - Sampson, Andreasson, Jelic, Copeland, Ogle - Bersvendsen, Martina. It was obvious that Chixi were using pressing as their primary tactic. At this time in the match, Chixi were using their weak skills at the press to successfully put pressure on their opponents. Chixis Will Ogle got himself booked after a foul. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Matt Keyesj spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. 0 - 0 was the half-time score. Saints held the ball, with a clear 57 percent possession rate. Saintss Joe Lond gave, after 52 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Patrick Prentice got left behind when Saints´s Charles Montgomery made a sudden pull forward in the 53rd minute, finishing off with a swift strike. 2-0! In the 58:th minute Saints´s Carlos Saúl Tévez tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Saints´s Eber Basoa Rivas putting the lead up to 3 - 0. Clint Copeland of Chixi received a yellow card in the 78:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Saints, bringing the final ball possession rate to 59 percent, dominated the battle. The most dominating Saints player was without a doubt Clark Merritt. Carlos Saúl Tévez was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Chixi player was without a doubt Rajko Jelic. Johan Jansson on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 0. Summary In front of the first sell out in Spikes Arena, version 4, the Saints shut out third place Los Chixi Dix and moved into sole possession of first place in IV.31. Despite poor form accross the back line, we shut out the Chixi offense and have yet to allow a goal in league play. After a tight first half, the Chixi players didn't have the stamina to maintain their pressing and allowed us to take control. Ratings South Bay Saints Midfield: excellent Right Side Defence: solid Central Defence: solid Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: outstanding Central Attack: excellent Left Side Attack: excellent NSI = 71, Second best rating ever Los Chixi Dix Midfield: passable Right Side Defence: outstanding Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: formidable Right Side Attack: solid Central Attack: inadequate Left Side Attack: excellent NSI = 67 Individual Notes Goals: (Season Total) Joe Lond 1 ( 3) Eber Basoa Rivas 1 (1) Charles Montgomery 1 (1) *First career goal in a competitive match Cards: None Injuries: Matt Keyesj, bruised but training Stars 2.5 GK Joseph Lassiter 2.5 WB Carlos Saul Tevez 3.0 CD Clifton Campbell 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj (defensive) 3.5 W Clark Merritt (offensive) 3.5 IM Joonas Vahtramae 3.5 IM Eber Basoa Rivas (offensive) 3.5 IM Dani Marie Araujo (offensive) 3.0 W Charles Montgomery (offensive) 3.0 F Tony Spicer 3.0 F Joe Lond Around IV.31
A rather suprising day has left my team all alone in first place for the first time in division 4. I am going to be cocky while I can, because I figure to fall next week. Screen caps are coming :) Thunderchickens - Terps 2 - 2 Both of these teams are thinking about a series title and this draw really hurts their chances. This one played out exactly how I expected it. Terps had the most chances, but Thunder is better and making the most of theirs. Wisconsin Legend - Fraser Fire 5 - 0 Legend gets the walkover bonus this week in a match they really needed after getting elimating from the cup this past week. CC's Dragons - Number Munchers 4 - 0 A shocking upset as the previously winless Dragons simply owned the previously undefeated Munchers. CC's Dragons Player rating and Team formation Midfield: formidable Right Side Defence: passable Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: formidable Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: formidable Number Munchers Player rating and Team formation Midfield: excellent Right Side Defence: outstanding Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: outstanding Central Attack: mythical Left Side Attack: outstanding Those midfields were very close as Dragons held the ball for 51 and 53% in the first and second half respectively. I suspect Dragons simply played normally since the midfield rating is not that high. Looking at the ratings, I just have to say, offense is clearly overrated ;). |
WOW The Munchers should have one that match.
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Quote:
He commented about that in our conference. He didn't really let go like Croats does in DataKing's series. |
Cup Round 4 Preview
Suddenly the cup got much tougher. We travel to Boston to play MIT FC who are currently in first place in series IV.51 after promoting at the end of last season. Here are their ratings from their 0 - 2 win last week over World Beaters. MIT FC Player rating and Team formation Midfield: inadequate Right Side Defence: brilliant Central Defence: world class Left Side Defence: brilliant Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: excellent Left Side Attack: formidable If they put up those ratings, my cup run is over; however, like the Saints, they had a walkover in league play in week 2 and thus they played more of their starters than usual. In the second round of the cup they put up these ratings in a win over a bot. MIT FC Player rating and Team formation Midfield: poor Right Side Defence: outstanding Central Defence: magnificent Left Side Defence: brilliant Right Side Attack: solid Central Attack: inadequate Left Side Attack: passable Should they employ that lineup I should ahve a good shot at surviving another round to finally get to a home match. MIT FC trains defenders and plays either a 4-4-2 or 5-3-2. I expect to face a 4-4-2 since he used the 5-3-2 (3IMs) on sunday. He will be without one forward who is injured and another who is suspended; however, he still has at least one 3* forward left. I expect them to put up a passable midfield, which should give us a slight advantage. In a somewhat suprising move, they sat their best player, 19 yo defender Witold Zasilski, Sunday. Witold is valued inexcess of 500K and is in excellent form and put up 4.5 stars last week. Our offense will somehow have to get by him. The Saints will play their standard 3-5-2 but with an important twist. As we have for several seasons now, we will train wingers in the last rounds of the cup. This allows us to play our starters in the midfield. I like to mix in some winger training with my playmaking program. With the speed that wingers train now, it is easy to develop well rounded wingers, and their is a good market for players with both winger and playmaking skills. the only notable absence from our normal lineup will be winger Clark Merritt who played on Sunday. In his place will be 19 yo Myles Bloom who has solid winger and inad passing. Unfortunately Myles has yet to rise above weak form since we bought him late last season. This match should be low scoring so I am contemplating weaking my defense a bit to add a 4th solid set peice player with some experience. My final decision is whether or not to PIC this match. Currently, the team is at POE. If I PIC, the team will maintain POE until Saturday when it will drop to delirious during the weekly update. If I play the cup match normal and give myself a big edge in midfield, ts will drop to delirious Wednesday night, but it should stay there through the match on Sunday. So Sunday I would play with either high delirious or low delirious (maybe high satisfied) team spirit. I will PIC on Sunday regardless, because I am on the road and have little chance of winning. I am leaning to playing this match normal in an effort to try and get a home cup match and the nice payday that brings. |
US Open Cup: Round 4
After three relatively easy matches, the Saints face their toughest foe in this years cup with a good chance of being eliminated. MIT FC sits in first place in division IV.51 after promoting in the offseason. We expected to face a 4-4-2 and a brilliant+ defense. However, we knew that they would be without one of their middies and top forward who were injured and suspended after Sunday's league match. We were going to need a substantial advantage in possession in order to pierce their defense and to prevent their average offense from scoring on our weak defense. I considered playing this match normal in order to maximize our midfield advantage, but elected to PIC instead. Since we are training wingers this week, we started two starter at inner midfield so we figured to be strong enough. And now for the match... I was caught a bit off guard when MIT FC came out and clearly intended to counterattack. This is the perfect tactic to use on my team. I was going to win the midfield, but his defense was going to be able to stop many of my attacks. Any counter attack chances he got should have a pretty good chance against my relatively weak defense. In the 10th minute Myles Bloom, a backup winger, sent a perfect pass to the red hot Joe Lond who put the Saints up 1-0 and alieveated some of my concern. We got two more chances in the second half and Tony Spicer converted on one while MIT FC got none. At the half our spirits were high as we dominated possession. However, MIT came out in the second half and quickly cut the lead to one. But Myles Bloom came through again and put us up by two. We added one more late to ice the match and advance to round 5. Match Report 30000 spectators had come to Killian Court this cloudy day. MIT had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Humphries - Parzuch, Roman, Carson, Zasilski - Ornelas, Bengtsson, Thorstensson, Beckman - Britton, Lafleur. Saints tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Lassiter - Keyesj, Campbell, Hyypiä - Tadié, Basoa Rivas, Popa, Vahtramäe, Bloom - Lond, Spicer. MIT clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could, using their excellent talent for it. Myles Bloom was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Joe Lond managed to kick one of them into 0 - 1 in the 10:th minute. Joonas Vahtramäe received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 12th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. The away team´s Tony Spicer took advantage of a mistake to the home side´s right in the 20:th minute increasing Saints´s lead to 0 - 2. Toader Popa was, after 21 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors lead with a well placed diving header but home side keeper Adam Humphries saved. In the games 26:th minute Saints´s Jef Tadié fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Jef Tadié for taking a dive. Halftime score was 0 - 2. Saints held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate. The home crowd was given a certain amount of consolation when Burton Britton, after a brilliant midfield combination, put the reducing 1 - 2 goal away for MIT. The referee showed MITs Burton Britton the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Toader Popa spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. Saints´s Myles Bloom received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 75:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 1 - 3. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The visitors Joe Lond took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 83rd minute. 1 - 4 for Saints. Saints held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate. The most dominating MIT player was without a doubt Witold Zasilski. Fabrice Lafleur on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Saints player was without a doubt Joonas Vahtramäe. Myles Bloom was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 4. Ratings MIT FC Player rating and Team formation Midfield: inadequate Right Side Defence: brilliant Central Defence: world class Left Side Defence: magnificent Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: solid NSI = 73 South Bay Saints Player rating and Team formation Midfield: solid Right Side Defence: excellent Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: excellent Left Side Attack: excellent NSI = 69 I was caught completely by suprise by the play of my defense. Those ratings were good enough to rank 6th all time for the Saints, while the total performance was our 8th best ever. Individual Notes Goals: (cup total) Joe Lond 2 (8) Tony Spicer 1 (8) Myles Bloom 1 (1) Cards: (total) Jef Tadie 1 (1) Injuries: NONE Stars 2.5 Joseph Lassiter 3.5 Matt Keyesj 3.0 Clifton Campbell 3.0 Yki Hyppia 3.0 Jef Tadie 3.5 Eber Basoa Rivas 3.5 Joonas Vahtramae 3.5 Toader Popa 2.0 Myles Bloom 3.0 Tony Spicer 3.0 Joe Lond Next Week We host Cleveland Park United who is in 2nd place in division IV.15. |
Congrats, I'm surprised that their combination of grat defense and excellent counterattack didn't produce more oppurtunites for them
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Training
Having made it to the fourth round of the cup, it is time to train wingers for a few weeks. I have a couple guys that will demand a nice price on the market if I can get their winger skill to pop since I have already upped their playmaking. Also making Clark Merritt a bigger threat is always nice. Winger pops: NONE! Both Tadie and Montgomery should be close and one almost has to pop next week (at least I hope). Form: +4/-7 GK Joseph Lassiter finally made it back to passable form and IM Toader Popa is up to excellent (despite dropping in value?!?). However, our offense took a big hit this week, with two wingers, Clark Merritt and Charles Montgomery, dropping to passable and both forwards, Joe Lond and Tony Spicer, dropping to inadequate. We will train winger again next week before going back to playmaking. I want to get Charles up to solid winger this season, so if he doesn't pop next week, I will resume winger training after he pops to solid in PM (2-3 weeks away at most). |
Quarterly Update
With the season now a quarter of the way done, I decided to write up a quick wrap up on the first four weeks. US Open Cup 11/13/2003 (Cup): Phoenix Wolves - South Bay Saints 0 - 5 11/20/2003 (Cup): Vermont Gladiators - South Bay Saints 0 - 9 11/27/2003 (Cup): Dragsters - South Bay Saints 1 - 7 12/4/2003 (Cup): MIT FC - South Bay Saints 1 - 4 12/11/2003 (Cup): South Bay Saints - Cleveland Park United From the outset, my goal was to make it to the 5th round and host at least one match. With the rather lopsided win over MIT FC on Wednesday, we achieved both. Last season we were eliminated in round 5 when we were completely over matched. This season we have a chance, but it isn't very high. However, unlike last season, we will not be conceded this match. We have been playing mostly starters at defense and forward in order to boost some of the guys in experience. Our next two coaches are already on board, but need some more experience. After playing all starters in the first match, our midfield trainees were involved in the second and third matches. We switched to winger training in week 4 to allow us to dominate the midfield and win against MIT FC. Series IV.31
11/17/2003 (League): South Bay Saints - Wisconsin Legend 2 - 0 11/24/2003 (League): Fraser Fire - South Bay Saints 0 - 5 (WO) 12/1/2003 (League): South Bay Saints - Los Chixi Dix 3 - 0 After three weeks, the Saints lead the division, but we have played the three weakest teams. Los Chixi got off to a hot start with two upsets but has put up below average ratings. If we get only one more win in the next 4 weeks, the first half would have exceded my expectations. Although my defense's rankings have not been stellar, I certainly can't fault the results. Training Week 1: Stamina - I was hoping IM trainee Joonas Vahtramae whould jump two levels to excellent, but he didn't. Week 2: Playmaking - Winger Jef Tadie popped to solid PM. Week 3: Playmaking - Starting IM Eber Basoa Rivas popped to formidable PM. Even though he is 21, I decided to keep him until he pops to outstanding late this season. Trainee, Ryszard Laguna, popped to solid PM to go with his passable passing and looks to be a future star for the Saints. Week 4: Winger - nothing, a bit disappointing. Youth Squad Week 1: Leroy Taylor, 18, poor def - FIRED Week 2: Franklin Minton, 17, passable defending - sold for 79K Week 3: Jerald Rojas, 17, weak SP - FIRED Week 4: Jorge Block, 17, weak Scoring - FIRED Profit to date: -15,320 With my history, I guess I should be happy that the loss is so small. Economy So far we have made $334,839 this season bringing us to $210,426 in the black. 91 new fans have joined growing our fan club to 1396 high on life supporters. Purchases None Sales None, outside youth pulls GM's remarks With a strong performance in the last cup match, and a good week of practice, the defense is finally coming around. Unfortunately, the offense seems to have lost their edge. Current;y, the team is too dependent on having good form in order to have a competitive defense and attack in league play. I am looking at brining in a new keeper and forward this season, but will not have the money for awhile yet. Our midfield has been in top form all season (I will be starting 2 exc and 1 solid form players Sunday) and can put up an excellent midfield while PICing. With four starting quality players, we are less susceptible to form fluctations. I like this arrangement, and will probably keep my current starting forward and keeper when I buy new ones to help insure against both form and injury. Both are only solid and would not bring in a lot of money on the open market anyway. Teuvo Kaurismaki will have been with the team for one season after week 7. I am not sure he will have popped to solid leadership by then, but we have still budgeting 700K for turning him into a coach. In the long term, we also have to look at upgraded the arena again. The arena currently seats 32K fans, but we will be looking at a very ambitious expansion to 50K in the offseason. Unfortunately, the cost of the coach and the expansion may prevent us from being able to address the forward position this season. At this point I would prefer to bring in an outstanding + keeper if forced to choose. I have one of the top midfields in my division so by increasing my defense I should be able to shut down most teams offenses. For offense, I can still rely simply on having enough attacks to eventually get a few goals. Thanks to everyone who is following along (in particular to my two supporters, Havok and saintjo). Advice and comments are always appreciated. I would be interested to hear what you like, dont like, and new things you might like to see. Writing the dynasty is helpful for me to keep track of my team and plan for the future. |
Looking good so far this season bro.... hopfully you will get a nice youth pull to sell soon to help you get that outstanding goalie you want so bad :)
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Thanks Havok - doesn't look like this weeks youth pull will help
From the Saints youth squad that has never resulted in a player with a skill above passable* Marty Alvarado (21724369) 19 years, passable form, healthy A pleasant guy who is calm and upright. Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities. Nationality: USA Assessed value: 0 US$ Wage: 500 US$/week Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: inadequate Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: wretched Passing: wretched Winger: poor Defending: wretched Scoring: wretched Set Pieces: formidable * except for that worthless player with formidable set peices. This pull was so bad that it even killed my ability to bitch about my youth squad. That just hurts. |
League Matches: Week 4
The first place Saints were on the road against the fifth place Terps in week 4. Dispite the early season results, the Terps are the strong favorites. I decided to tinker with my lineup a bit to see if I could some how steal a point. All four offensive starters (forwards and wings) from last week saw their form drop on Tuesday. Since my wings were still at passable, I decided to try to attack on the wings and hope Clark Merritt would carry the team. To compensate for the hit this tactic causes to my central defense, I shifted Matt Keyesj from his typical wingback position to the center. Paired with defensive standout, Clifton Cambell, and Keeper Lassiter's bump to passable form, I should easily shut down my opponents solid central attack. Against the abadonned wing, the Terps only put up a passable attack, so we are not particullarly vulnerable there. I expected a low scoring match. The Terps should have a 2-3 level advantage in the midfield, but I would have the best offensive matchup with Clark Merritt's wing. Hopefully, the Saints could pull of the upset. So how did it go down... The Saints were in trouble earlier when winger Jef Tadie went down after a nasty challenge by one of the oppsing players. Jef was able to continue but was going to be less effective than usual. Only a few minutes into the match, one of the wing attacks I was counting on was already crippled. The first half went basically as I hoped. The only reported chance went to the Terps but they were unable to score. Late in the first half, our central defense too a big hit when Matt Keyesj injured his foot. Like Jef, he was able to continue, but at a reduced effectiveness. The Terps obviously noticed Keyesj limping around and came out in the second half and went right at him. Terps forward Daniel Weber got through the central defenders and gave his team a 1-0 lead. In the 79th minute, we got the matchup we wanted. Clark Merritt made a quick move on his defender, but the wingback just managed to get a foot in the way and prevent to tying goal. The Terps put the game away late when the got through the central defense a second time and went up 2-0. They nearly added another in the middle in the closing minutes, but we finally stopped one. We ended up losing 2-0. My tactic to attack on the wings was derailed by the two costly injuries which crippled one wing attack and my central defense. They held a 60/40% advantage in possession and had 4/1 advantage in reported chances. The from hit to both forwards was also evident, while the gain by the keeper was not. This loss really derailed our fans optimism after the fast start, and only 4 fans joined the club after having received 12 the last several updates. I have changed my format once again. I added the detailed summary of the match and my tactics which is aimed towards those who already know the outcome. I will keep pasting the report in for now. Match Report Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 43311 at Terps Arena today. Terps started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Forsér - Davis, Ramey, Pool - Glenn, Gardner, Fennell, Bröker, Grant - Stjernbo, Weber. Saints had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Lassiter - Campbell, Keyesj, Tévez - Tadié, Basoa Rivas, Popa, Vahtramäe, Merritt - Lond, Spicer. Saints were mostly trying to use the flanks for their attacks. The referee showed Terpss Björn Bröker the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The player down was Jef Tadié. The Saints bench looked worried a while but in the end he managed to get up. 11 minutes into the game a free kick combination hooked into the box almost resulted in the home team taking the lead, but the last header went wide. After 39 minutes Saints´s Matt Keyesj contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. 0 - 0 was the half-time score. Terps, bringing the final ball possession rate to 60 percent, dominated the battle. Delbert Weber gave his Terps the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. Terps will have to do without Delbert Weber for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Tommy Banda. Always quick and a menace to his opponents,Clark Merritt was in the 79:th minute very close to getting through, but Richard Davis managed to avert the attack. After 80 minutes Terps´s Björn Bröker contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Terps´s Martin Stjernbo putting the lead up to 2 - 0. After this Terps lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. The referee showed Terpss Ivan Ramey the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The referee showed Terpss Terrance Gardner the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. After an industrious effort down the middle Martin Stjernbo could have closed the game off in the 86:th minute, but his finishing shot hit the post. Terps held the ball, with a clear 59 percent possession rate. Most important Terps player was Benjamin Fennell. Tommy Banda on the other hand, had a terrible day. Saints´s best player was Eber Basoa Rivas. Joe Lond on the other hand, had a terrible day. Ratings Terps Midfield: outstanding Right Side Defence: outstanding Central Defence: magnificent Left Side Defence: world class Right Side Attack: solid Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: passable NSI = 85 South Bay Saints Midfield: solid Right Side Defence: passable Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: solid Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: outstanding NSI = 67 I was expecting an (hoping for) outstanding central defense, but the injury, tactics, and form prevented that. My right and central attacks were also hampered by form and injury. Assuming I can add, the 85 is a season's best for the Terps. Individual Notes Goals: None Cards: None Injuries: Matt Keyesj and Jef Tadie, bruised but training Stars 3.0 GK Joseph Lassiter 3.0 CD Matt Keyesj (injured) 3.0 CD Clifton Campbell 2.5 WB Carlos Saul Tevez (Defensive) 3.0 W Jef Tadie (offensive, injured) 3.5 IM Eber Basoa Rivas 3.5 IM Joonas Vahtramae (defensive) 3.5 IM Toader Popa (offensive) 3.5 W Clark Merritt (offensive) 3.0 F Tony Spicer 2.5 F Joe Lond Around IV.31
Number Munche - Fraser Fire 5 - 0 Walkover Los Chixi Dix - Wisconsin Leg 5 - 0 NSI 63 - 55 After their loss to us last week, Los Chixi went back to their lucky ways with this match. While they should have won this one (easily) putting in 5 goals with an inadequate attack on an formidable defense is lucky. CC's Dragons - Thunderchicke 7 - 0 NSI 70 - 70 Thunderchickens suffered a significant injuries during the match and played an 4-3-3, an unusual formation for them (possibly an error), but I was shocked at this result. Dragons had a hug midfield advantage (67% possession) and clearly that was it. Chickens will be without their 500K valued 19yo forward for up to three weeks. I play them in two. Final Thoughts I'm a bit frustrated with my inability to do much about my offense and defense right now. I am a disappointed with the contributions that IMs Vahtramae and Popa are making with their inadequate defense and passing respectively. Originally I planned to keep Dani Mario Araujo until he hit outstanding PM next season, but am now leaning toward selling him at formidable to get a quick infusion of cash to make some move. Araujo is 21, still trainable, but not optimal. Attack on the wings sucks for my team. I simply can't take the hit on my central defense. |
US Open Cup: Round 5
After four weeks on the road, the Saints returned home to face Cleveland Park United. United sits in first place in IV.15 after beating Franklinnobles Calvary Crusaders on Sunday. Since the Saints training wingers this week, we will be playing our top three midfielders. Winger Charles Montgomery will also be ordered towards the middle as we try to control the midfield since we cannot match their attack or defense. Unfortunately, Matt Keyesj is still day to day with his foot injury and will sit this match out. Teuvo Kaurismaki, our future coach, will start in his place and hopefully get a much needed experience boost. Outside of Teuvo and our wings, we will be playing all starters. The Saints came out hot and sent the near capacitu crowd into a frenzy when Charles Montogomery raced past his defender and sit a perfect pass to Tony Spicer who gave the Saints the lead only three minutes into the match. In the next few minutes, the Saints came twice close to extending their lead but great saves by United's keeper kept them in the game. Perhaps the Saints dwelled on their missed chances for too long as the game made a sudden turn. 28 minutes in, Charles Montgomery suffered a nasty shin injury and was forced out of the match. While he was being attended to on the sidelines, United tied the game up. They added another shortly before the half, and injured inner midfielder Joonas Vahtramae. In the second half, United just fired shot after shot on goal and Lassiter was unable to do much of anything. United went on to win 5-1 in a blowout, that left the Saints teams and fans confidence shattered. Ratings South Bay Saints Midfield: excellent Right Side Defence: passable Central Defence: solid Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: weak NSI = 63, the two injuries really hurt our wing attack Cleveland Park United Midfield: formidable Right Side Defence: excellent Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: formidable Right Side Attack: formidable Central Attack: excellent Left Side Attack: world class NSI = 83, United played their A-team apparently decided to forgo training this week. Had I known I had no chance, I would not have played as many starters as I did. Individual Notes Goals: Tony Spicer 1 (total in cup, 9) Cards: Joonas Vahtramae, yellow (first of the season) Injuries: Joonas Vahtramae, bruised but training Charles Montgomery, +2. This one really hurts since I was training winger this week hoping to get him specifically to pop. Stars 3.0 Joseph Lassiter 2.5 Carlos Saul Tevez 3.0 Clifton Campbell 2.5 Teuvo Kaurismaki 2.0 Myles Bloom 3.5 Dani Mario Araujo 3.5 Eber Basoa Rivas 3.0 Joonas Vahtramae 0.5 Marty Alvarado (2.0 Charles Montgomery, injured) 3.0 Tony Spicer 2.5 Joe Lond Final Thoughts 5-1, Damn. My team confidence is at poor heading into one of my biggest matches of the season. My supporters are content heading into a home match. My winger goes down during one of the two weeks that I was planning on training winger. Now for some good news. After going most of last season without any experience pops, they are rolling in this year. Forward Tony Spicer to inadequate. Forward Joe Lond to wretched. Central Defender Clifton Campbell to passable. |
Ah good news, just checked the nightly updates. We gained 3 supporters brining us to 1403, and most importantly, Charles Montgomery dropped to +1 and will get training this week.
We also hired several shrinks in order to get the teams confidence up before a huge match this Sunday against CC's Dragons. |
Training
This is our second, and hopefully final week of winger training for some time. We were hoping for several pops, and well WE GOT 'EM! Jef Tadié 174 000 US$, 19 years, passable form Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities Stamina: excellent Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: solid Passing: inadequate Winger: solid Defending: poor Scoring: wretched Set Pieces: wretched And we hired just enough doctors to get Montgomery to +1 after sustaining an injury in yesterday's debacle. Charles Montgomery 1 160 000 US$, 20 years, passable form Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities [Quick] Stamina: excellent Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: passable Passing: weak Winger: solid Defending: weak Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: weak Charles will be sold in a few weeks we he is healed, and hits solid playmaking. We will keep Jef until he hits at least excellent PM which is probably a season away. Form: Team +5/-4 Starters: +4/-1 My defense is finally in good form. Keeper Joseph Lassiter had another big value increase as he moved to solid, central defender Clifton Campbell and wingback Carlos Saul Tevez are both back to passable. Unfortunately, forward Joe Lond dropped to weak. with a very important league match this week, I am going to be looking on the transfer wire hoping to find an experienced solid scorer at a good price. However, I likely will not buy anything becuase I am desparately trying to save money in order to stop all the FOFC teams (like those damn Misfits and Eagles) from passing me. :) |
Weekly Update
Good News Our youth pull from last week sold for 9K. A mini-bidding war erupted for a poor winger, formidable set peice guy. The buyer is even trying to daytrade him for $100,000. Bad News My fans are fickle. Despite being in second place in IV.31, the fans which had been lined up around the block for tickets, all decided to go home. After getting 24 a week, this week we got only 5. Weekly Updates Sponsers up to $80,025. Cash funds: 312 452 US$ (416 151) US$ (after league match) Youth Pull Lesley Hayden (22041014) 19 years, passable form, healthy A controversial person who is tranquil and upright. Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities. Speciality: Powerful Nationality: USA Assessed value: 55 000 US$ Wage: 780 US$/week Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: inadequate Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: passable Passing: poor Winger: wretched Defending: passable Scoring: poor Set Pieces: inadequate A very nice pull. Too bad he isn't 17, but should bring in about 30K. |
Week 5: League Matches
This week we host the CC's Dragons in one of our biggest matches of the season. The two teams are very similar in talent and will be fighting for position and avoiding a qualifier. Since we are at home this week, we can't afford not to get 3 points. Therefore, we will finally play a match normal. Up to this point, we have PICed every match and have delirious team spirit. Forwards Joe Lond and Tony Spicer are in weak and inadequate form respectively so I am a little concerned about our ability to finish the chances we get. However, our defense is in the best form it has been this season so we should be able to pull this one out. The Match Only 24,926 fans showed up, far short of a sell out (capacity 32K), thanks to a shut out loss last week to the Terps and the blowout loss in the cup at home on Wednesday. Havok called it - Clark Merritt made a great move and spend by his defender and fired a perfect pass to Tony Spicer who put the Saints up 1-0 early. The dragons quickly replied and tied the game up. This one was going exactly how I expected. Then something funny happened, Joe Lond retook the series lead in scoring with two quick strikes putting the Saints up 3-1. After the break, the Dragons got back in the game with a goal in the 50th minute. The defense took over, and shut out the Dragons for the next 40 minutes, while our midfielders kept feeding balls to the forwards, and we added 3 more goals to run away with it. Match Report At Complex Spikes Arena, 24926 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came. Saints started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Lassiter - Keyesj, Campbell, Tévez - Merritt, Mário Araújo, Basoa Rivas, Vahtramäe, Tadié - Lond, Spicer. Dragons tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Bauer - Mansur, Land, Adler - Link, Talley, MacElheran, Jamison, Ulfsson - Lifgren, Pettit. In a rapid move, Clark Merritt of Saints lost his man, passed the ball to the unmarked Tony Spicer who easily hit it home for the 1-0 goal. Dragons could level the score in the 14:th minute at 1 - 1, as Mattias Lifgren struck home after a fine midfield combination, leaving him completely unmarked. Saintss Eber Basoa Rivas got himself booked after a foul. With 26 minutes played Tony Spicer almost gave the home side the lead with an unexpected free kick set up, but visitors Gil Bauer was onto it, grabbing the would be break through ball. The referee showed Saintss Clark Merritt the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The home side put themselves ahead 2 - 1 in the 31st by a breakthrough from Joe Lond, who unaided came in out of the right wing hooking the ball over the visitors keeper. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Saints lead up with 3 - 1. Joe Lond finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. The referee showed Dragonss Andrew MacElheran the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Halftime score was 3 - 1. Saints held the ball, with a clear 58 percent possession rate. A bit later Dragons´s Carl Adler easily reduced to 3 - 2 after a misunderstanding in the home sides central defense line. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Saints lead up with 4 - 2. Eber Basoa Rivas finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. The referee showed Saintss Carlos Saúl Tévez the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Dragons were forced to a substitution as Per Land couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment, forcing Gough Fitter to come in from the sidelines. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Saints lead up with 5 - 2. Eber Basoa Rivas finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. In the 83rd minute Dragonss Ricky Pettit received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. In the 83rd minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Carlos Saúl Tévez dashed through, knocking home 6 - 2 for Saints. Saints held the ball, with a clear 58 percent possession rate. The most dominating Saints player was without a doubt Clark Merritt. Joe Lond on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Dragons player was Jonathan Talley. However, Carl Adler made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 6 - 2. Ratings South Bay Saints Midfield: outstanding Right Side Defence: excellent Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: formidable Right Side Attack: outstanding Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: excellent NSI 80 - ***TEAM RECORD*** (played normal!!!) CC's Dragons Midfield: solid Right Side Defence: passable Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: formidable Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: formidable NSI 68 Individual Notes Goals (Season total) Joe Lond 2 (5) Eber Basoa Rivas 2 (3) Tony Spicer 1 (1) Carlos Saul Tevez 1 (1) Cards (total) Clark Merritt - yellow (2) Carlos Saul Tevez - yellow (2) Eber Basoa Rivas - yellow (1) Injuries: none Stars 3.5 Joseph Lassiter * 3.5 Matt Keyesj 3.5 Clifton Campbell 3.0 Carlos Saul Tevez 4.0 Clark Merritt 3.5 Dani Mario Araujo 3.5 Joonas Vahtramae 3.5 Eber Basoa Rivas 3.0 Jef Tadie 2.5 Tony Spicer 2.5 Joe Lond * personal best 36.0 total - ***team record*** Around IV.31 Thunderchickens - Number Munchers 4 - 6 NSI 76 - 79 If either of these teams could ever get a defense...both teams had a titantic central attach an average of a formidable defense. Wisconsin Legend - Terps 0 - 2 NSI 47 - 77 This game was close because Legend has a great defense, and Terps has no attack. They missed a ton of shots with a passable attack going against a magnificent defense. Fraser Fire - Los Chixi Dix 0 - 5 Walkover. Standings 1. South Bay Saints 5 16 - 4 12 2. Number Munchers 5 22 - 12 12 3. Los Chixi Dix 5 14 - 5 12 4. Terps 5 12 - 9 10 5. CC's Dragons 5 15 - 12 6 6. Thunderchickens 5 12 - 17 4 7. Wisconsin Legend 5 7 - 14 3 8. Fraser Fire 5 0 - 25 0 |
Nice start to the season so far!
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Thanks! I have the two toughest teams over the next 4 weeks. Be interesting to see where I stand after that.
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Friendly
We are taking a short ride across town to face Doug's Lousiana Cyclones. The Cyclones and the Spikes, as we were known then, faced of once before and fought to a 0-0 tie as both teams went defensive. The Saints at least will not make that mistake again :) Now that I have been eliminated from the cup, I will play the full B-team for the first time this season. Form remains solid despite the layover of several weeks for some of the players. Since it is a friendly match, there is no strategy to discuss. Match Report 2038 spectators arrived at The Cyclone Center, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Louisiana started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. Lineup: Glenn - Gupta, Blalock, Knight, Jones, Persson - Pereira, Roslind, Quigley, Nafziger - Martínez. Saints started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Lastra - Kaurismäki, Hyypiä, Noel - Montgomery, Popa, Laguna, Blakely, Pham - Alberti Rovira, Bloom. After 2 minutes Saints put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Eduard Alberti Rovira finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. Mike Knight received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 5:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. In the games 15:th minute Louisiana´s José Luis Martínez fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked José Luis Martínez for taking a dive. 17 minutes into the game Saints were awarded a penalty and Yki Hyypiä was able to increase the visitors lead to 0 - 2 rolling the ball in by the right post. 0 - 2 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 68 percent possession of the ball. In the 58:th minute [b]the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 3 as Eduard Alberti Rovira[b]finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. 66 minutes into the game Saints were awarded a penalty and Hyypiä was able to increase the visitors lead to 0 - 4 rolling the ball in by the right post. Louisiana had a brilliant opportunity to reply as Niklas Roslind received a high ball from the right, striking the ball still in the air. Only Enrique Lastra´s reflexes saved him. José Luis Martínez had a good opportunity to reduce in the 80:th minute but wasn´t cool enough. The ball went miles over the bar. Saints held the ball, with a clear 67 percent possession rate. The most dominating Louisiana player was without a doubt Jeffrey Quigley. José Luis Martínez was a disappointment, however. Most important Saints player was Toader Popa. Myles Bloom on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 4. Summary Backup defender Yki Hyppia's experience and solid set peice skill gave us two easy goals against the tough Louisiana defense. Forward Rovara, who is in excellent form, scored the other two. Our trainees in midfield, performed exceptionally well, and kept giving the attackers great chances. Ratings Louisiana Cyclones Midfield: weak Right Side Defence: formidable Central Defence: outstanding Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: poor Central Attack: poor Left Side Attack: wretched NSI 47 South Bay Saints Midfield: excellent Right Side Defence: inadequate Central Defence: passable Left Side Defence: passable Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: weak NSI 60 Incredible midfield by the youngsters (match was a derby). The solid central attack is amazing considering one of my forwards is really a winger with weak scoring, and my A-team only put up a solid over the weekend. Midfielders with passing skills are very nice (trainees are pass, inad, inad passing). Stars 1.5 Enrique Lastra 2.5 Teuvo Kaurismaki 2.5 Yki Hyppia 2.0 Alan Noel 3.0 Charles Montgomery 3.5 Toader Popa 3.0 Ryszard Laguna (going to be great when I get him to exc stamina) 2.5 Carlton Blakely 1.5 Mikey Pham (please pop so I can get rid of you) 2.5 Eduard Alberti Rovira 1.0 Myles Bloom |
Training
Back to training playmaking after a couple weeks of winger training. Now, I am just waiting for Charles Montgomery to pop to solid playmaking to go along with his solid winger. This week, two players stood out in practice. Toader Popa (11012377) 19 years, excellent form, healthy I speak Romanian! A controversial person who is balanced and righteous. Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities. Speciality: Technical Nationality: România Assessed value: 224 000 US$ Wage: 1 572 US$/week including 20% Bonus Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: excellent Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: excellent Passing: inadequate Winger: poor Defending: weak Scoring: weak Set Pieces: poor Mikey Pham (12422430) 19 years, weak form, healthy A popular guy who is temperamental and honest. Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities. Speciality: Technical Nationality: USA Assessed value: 70 000 US$ Wage: 900 US$/week Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: solid Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: passable Passing: weak Winger: weak Defending: inadequate Scoring: weak Set Pieces: poor Toader is a part time starter who actually didn't start this past week as all my midfielders had incredible form. Mikey was a one time trainee who was replaced when he failed to pop quickly. He has played as a toward middle winger for several weeks and will now be sold off. HAM's transfer price evaluation suggest I should get $48,000 for him. That would be great, but I would be suprised to get that much. I will probably start him at 35K, and hope for a bidding war. Form: +1/-7 although this was not as bad as it looks. Two starters dropped from solid to passable form, and one rose from passable to solid. Trainee Ryszard Laguna dropped from excellent to inadequate form (-3). Two other backups also dropped. After the past several good weeks, this was not unexpected. Both forwards remain in bad form. Tony Spicer's value increased slightly but he is still in inadequate form. Joe Lond has another substantial drop in form and remains in weak. I might have to start him twice next week, in order to give him the extra boost in form which may actually be real. |
Within an hour of going on the transfer wire, Mikey Pham has a bid for 35K.
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Rate my buy
So I had accumulated a bit of cash, and well I had to buy somebody. Zvonko Andric (10650244) 29 years, weak form, healthy A nasty fellow who is balanced and upright. Has weak experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Nationality: Hrvatska Assessed value: 20 000 US$ Wage: 876 US$/week including 20% Bonus Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: weak Goaltending: wretched Playmaking: weak Passing: weak Winger: weak Defending: weak Scoring: passable Set Pieces: world class Paid 12K. There were several players on the Hrvastka wire with great SP skills at the same time. A small bidding war erupted for the first two I targets, a 33yo supernatural, and another 29 brilliant. The 33yo went for 49K and the 29 yo went for 41K. All three had passable scoring. The 33yo also had inadequate passing. While the nasty personality will drive his value down a bit, I think this guy simply got overlooked. Zvonko did not cause a drop in team spirit either so no loss for me. He will replace one of of old B team forwards who has dropped to inadequate scoring. Basically, I just want to see how a player with a high set piece skill does. |
Quote:
Aw, man! You gotta share the wealth next time you see something like that. Not all of us can afford to go get players from Becky's Babes when lytic posts. :) SI |
LOL. Just what I needed a lot of FOFC teams with deep pockets coming after my bargins.
I got lucky finding them. The site was flying along, so I just started searching for stuff ending in the the next two hours. |
League week 6
Thunderchickens - South Bay Saints Thunderchickens looked to be one of the toughest teams in the series at the beginning of the season. They started out well, but have been very weak the past few weeks. He has played strange formations and put up atypical ratings; however, the owner posted on our series conference this week indicating that he had screwed up his team. I was left to wonder what team I would face this weekend - the mediochre team from last week or the team i predicted to take 2nd in the series? The Saints decided to PIC the match. If we got the weak team, I'd have an easy win; otherwise, we get the TS boost to go with a likely loss. Thunderchickens usually runs a 3-4-3 (4-3-3 lately), so I shifted one wingback to the center to try and counter their insane central attack. It took a long time to get a read on how the match was going. IM Dani Mario Araujo received a card in the third minute, and then nothing happened until the 30th minute when we got a scoring chance. This good news which indicated I might be winning the possession was quickly followed by a disaster - 33 minutes into the game Tony Spicer had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Floyd Freeman. Tony is our star forward who has been with the team since day 1. Floyd Freeman being listed as a backup was a big mistake by me. I didn't expect much out of the 32 yo, poor form, inadequate scorer. In fact his place on the team had been replaced by the new set piece god, and I intend to fire him. Just to confirm my worst fears, he missed a chance in the 34th minute. Nearly 40 minutes into a scoreless game which has already been filled with bad news, Clark Merritt picked up a yellow card, his third of the season. In the final 6 minutes of the half, the game took a sudden turn. Floyd Freeman, of crappy form and skills, scored in the 39 minute. Just seconds later, Clifton Campbell picked up a yellow, but took out one of Thunderchickens mids. Then well, deja vu. Freeman scored again, and their second inner mid had to leave the game. So in the final minutes, we took a 0-2 lead, and injured 2/3 of their starting mids. Too bad i couldn't be in the chat today - everyone would have been so proud of my guys. Without their two innermids, Thunderchickens had no chance to get back into the game. Floyd Freeman, who I swore would never step on the field in a game that meant anything, scored for a third time and Joe Lond iced the game with a late goal to regain a share of the series lead. Final: Thunderchickens 0 - South Bay Saints 4 Ratings Thunderchickens Player rating and Team formation Midfield: weak Right Side Defence: formidable Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: supernatural Central Attack: extra-terrestrial Left Side Attack: formidable NSI = 76 South Bay Saints Player rating and Team formation Midfield: solid Right Side Defence: passable Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: formidable Right Side Attack: formidable Central Attack: passable Left Side Attack: solid NSI = 67 Interesting case. He clearly had the better NSI but based on these ratings I would be the favorite. Individual Notes Goals: (league total) Floyd Freeman, 3 (3) Joe Long 1, (5) Cards: Clark Merritt, yellow (3, suspended) Dani Mario Araujo, yellow (1) Clifton Campbell, yellow (1) Injuries: Tony Spicer, knee, +3 This is the teams first major injury of the season. Fortunately, Tony dropped to +2 with the Monday update, and should be ready to go for the first round of the FOFC cup. Stars 3.5 Joseph Lassiter 3.5 CD Matt Keyesj 3.5 CD Clifton Campbell 3.0 WB Carlos Saul Tevez 3.5 W Clark Merritt 3.5 IM Eber Basoa Rivas 3.5 Toader Popa 3.5 Dani Mario Araujo 3.0 W Jef Tadie 1.5 F Floyd Freeman 2.0 F Joe "horrible form" Lond (2.0 F Tony Spicer, injured) Around IV.31 1. South Bay Saints 6 20 - 4 15 2. Number Munchers 6 28 - 13 15 3. Terps 6 17 - 9 13 4. Los Chixi Dix 6 15 - 11 12 5. CC's Dragons 6 18 - 12 9 6. Thunderchickens 6 12 - 21 4 7. Wisconsin Legend 6 7 - 17 3 8. Fraser Fire 6 0 - 30 0 Number Munche - Los Chixi Dix 6 - 1 The battle between 2nd and 3rd place ended a bit more lopsided than I expected, but not by much. Terps - Fraser Fire 5 - 0 Walkover CC's Dragons - Wisconsin Leg 3 - 0 Wisconsin still has a terrefic defense and nothing else and continues to loose in relatively low scoring (at least for the huge midfield differences) shut outs. Final Thoughts I am very suprised to find myself still in first place after 6 weeks. I should get smashed by Munchers next week, but it isn't hopeless. If I can pull off the upset at home, I will have to give serious consideration to trying to win the league by spending money on smaller upgrades then waiting until the offseason for a major overall. |
FOFC Cup News
The groups and seedings have been announced for the annual FOFC cup. Thanks to a strong performance in the win over CC's Dragons, the Saints own a one seed in the group, and are 16th overall. In the chat, I suggested to Havok that we could end up in the same group as the 16th and 17th seeds. I was one off, the Misfitz (still don't know if that spelling is intentional or a typo :P )are 15th and we took 16th. Group 16 16 South Bay Saints Masked 72176 0 USA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 Rochester Roosters dacman 71938 0 USA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 48 Averill Park Mercury RPI-Fan 8489 0 USA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 49 BZH Celtics FC BreizhManu 177241 0 France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I know nothing about any of the teams. |
Intentional!! Z is cooler then S :)
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Got the reply in under an hour, should have taken the under :)
Mazked, owner of the Zouth Bay Zaintz |
Market report
I woke this morning and was shocked to discover that a massive bidding war had erupted for Mikey Pham (19yo, solid stamina, passable PM, inad defense), and he sold for $110,000 (over twice HAMs estimate). Pham has a very high value for a passable PM (80K in weak form) so I suspect people thought he was close to solid. Well he just popped, so they are in for a suprise. My youth pull from this weak, Dennis Lancaster (18yo, pass def, inad wing, value 72K) got a 50K raise while I was flying home for Christmas. Like Pham, his current bid of 90K, is about twice HAMs estimate. And just yesterday I was hoping I would get 100K for the two of them combined. |
A little message from Alf Trickers returning from their USA trip to South Bay saints country
The weather was nice, the trip well worth it financially ($13K revenue vs $6K travel expenses) and we got spanked 5-0 by South Bay Saints B squad ;). At least it was an injury free game ! Good luck for promotion this year ! |
International Friendly
This week we hosted the Alf Trickers who are currently in 4th place in division III in France. New B-team forward Zvonko Andric and his world class set piece made his debut in the match. Match Report Trickers had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 15:th minute when Luís Manjón came up alone against Enrique Lastra who managed a block. Man, what a shot by Charles Montgomery! Firing from 35 yards he didn't give the enemy goalie a chance and it was 1 - 0. Alain Bounyavong almost scored an equalising goal for Trickers in the 36:th minute, but Enrique Lastra made an excellent save, tipping the awkwardly curled shot past the post. Trickers seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. In the 41st minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Zvonko Andric dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Saints. The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 0. Saints held the ball, with a clear 68 percent possession rate. Trickers -coach had an extra briefing during the break, and after that his players looked a lot more organized. The visitors got a chance of pulling one back in the 58:th minute, due to a defensive blunder leaving Henke Johansson completely unmarked. His strike was pathetic though, easy prey for the home side´s keeper. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Saints´s Myles Bloom putting the lead up to 3 - 0. In the 67:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Eduard Alberti Rovira dashed through, knocking home 4 - 0 for Saints. The structure of the game started to change as Saints decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. With 81 minutes played Yki Hyypiä could have brought this one home for Saints, had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. In the 82nd minute Trickerss Horst Hoffmann received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. The home sides Zvonko Andric twisted a free kick home in the 84:th minute, putting Saints ahead 5 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 64 percent possession of the ball. Saints´s best player was Joonas Vahtramäe. Enrique Lastra was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Trickers player was without a doubt Pascal Berthu. Luís Manjón on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 0. Summary Our B-team keeper kept the match close in the first half until our offense got moving. Andric scored two goals in his debut, the second on a free kick. With the help of POE TS, our B-team put up another impressive midfield rating. The crowd of 4,241 is the largest ever for a friendly at Complex Spikes Arena. Ratings South Bay Saints Midfield: solid Right Side Defence: inadequate Central Defence: passable Left Side Defence: passable Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: passable Left Side Attack: solid NSI = 59 Alf Trickers Midfield: weak Right Side Defence: solid Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: formidable Right Side Attack: wretched Central Attack: poor Left Side Attack: poor NSI = 45 Individual Notes Goals: Zvonko Andric, 2 Charles Montgomery, 1 Myles Bloom, 1 Eduard Alberti Rovira , 1 Cards: None Injuries: None Stars 1.5 GK Enrique Lastra 2.0 WB Alan Noel (def) 2.5 CD Yki Hyppia 2.5 WB Teuvo Kaurismaki 3.0 W Charles Montgomery (off) 3.5 IM Joonas Vahtramae (def) 2.5 IM Ryszard Laguna 2.5 IM Carlton Blakely (off) 2.5 W Myles Bloom (off) 2.5 Eduard Alberti Rovira 1.5 Zvonko Andric Around IV.31 Our opponent in league play, second place Number Munchers, was eliminated from the cup and lost both his starting central defender and keeper with +1 injuries. His defender should play this weekend; however, his 31 year old keeper may not. The Terps advanced by defeating the Avengers from II.4, 4-3. |
Training: Week 7
Pops: One biggie, one suprise Dani Mário Araújo 241 000 US$, 21 years, solid form Has poor experience and weak leadership abilities Stamina: excellent Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: formidable Passing: poor Winger: wretched Defending: poor Scoring: poor Set Pieces: poor Myles Bloom 107 000 US$, 19 years, inadequate form Has disastrous experience and wretched leadership abilities [Unpredictable] Stamina: excellent Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: weak Passing: inadequate Winger: solid Defending: poor Scoring: weak Set Pieces: solid Time to make the big decision - sell Araujo, or keep him for 10 weeks to pop him to outstanding. Today I am leaning towards keeping him for one more level. Without any secondaries, I just don't think he will bring in enough cash to really help out the team right now. I may put him up for 900K or so and see if someone takes him since he is in solid form and has excellent stamina. Bloom is a B-team winger. Form: Forward Joe Lond has dropped to poor form effectively killing and thoughts of winning the series. With Tony Spicer injured and Clark Merritt suspended, the team has little hope for generating any offense against second place Number Munchers. I will probably start Teuvo Kaurismaki in place of Merritt this weekend instead of the more talented Charles Montgomery. I will probably loose and I need to get future coach Teuvo's experience up. |
Weekly Update
Economy Thanks to some very generous bidders over the last few weeks, the Saints have the most cash ever. Cash funds: 588 574 US$ (539 172) US$ We have a home match tomorrow against the second place team and our supporters are high on life. Unfortunately it is raining, but we should still see a large crowd. Youth Pull Adan Roth 45 000 US$, 19 years, passable form Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities Stamina: poor Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: poor Passing: passable Winger: wretched Defending: wretched Scoring: passable Set Pieces: wretched Timely pull this week. One of my starters is out with an injury, and two others are in poor form (including that new set piece god). Roth will start tomorrow. I'll probably try to sell him for a high price. If he fails to sell, I'll keep him around until I purchase a formidable next season (unless I find more cash fast). Since he is already 19, he will not loose much value if I hold him for a few weeks. |
Quick Preview
Tomorrow the first place Saints host the second place Number Munchers. Munchers demoted from III at the end of last season and features a powerful offense (mythical central attack). There defense is vulnerable and I should control possession. They will also be without their top keeper who is injured +1. Unfortunately, it will be tough for the Saints to take advantage. My second forward, Tony Spicer, is injured and Joe Lond and Andric (WC set pieces) are in poor form. I will actually start my youth pull from this week at forward. And I thought I had reached the point where youth pulls could no longer step into the starting lineup. And perhaps the biggest loss is Clark Merritt, who is suspended. Prediction: 4-2 loss |
Week 7: League Match
After six weeks, the Saints sit in first place in division IV.31. Our opponent this week, Number Munchers, are in second with the same point total but a worse differential. As already mentioned, Munchers are without their top keeper, but we are without our offense. The Saints played it normal using a conventional symetric 3-5-2. I decided not to counter their magical central attack with two central defenders. It ould not boost my defense enough to matter much, and would create a huge hole on the wing. My hope is to basically stop all their wing attacks, and concede anything through the middle. Also by playing it normal, I expected a nice advantage in possession. Five minutes in, Charles Montgomery had the games first chance but couldn't score, however, Munchers made good on their opportunity from the left wing 10 minutes in. The Saints fought on despite the early deficit, and had a great chance in the 17th minute but came up short. Recent youth pull Adan Roth, however came through in the 21st minute to tie the game up. Munchers answered immediately with another goal though and took a 2-1 halftime lead. In the opening minutes of the second half, we had two great chances but neither resulted in a goal. As in the first half, all our chances were immediately followed by successful ones by them. 10 minutes in and the Saints were down 3-1. We never had another chance and they got one more. Final: Saints 1 - Munchers 4 Ratings South Bay Saints Midfield: outstanding Right Side Defence: excellent Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: formidable Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: passable Left Side Attack: solid NSI = 77 Number Munchers Player rating and Team formation Midfield: excellent Right Side Defence: excellent Central Defence: solid Left Side Defence: weak Right Side Attack: brilliant Central Attack: magical Left Side Attack: outstanding NSI = 82 I probably should not have one, but the Saints certainly should have scored more than 1 goal. Had I been able to come up with any attack, this might have been a much better match. Individual Notes Goals: Adan Roth, 1 (1) * first career goal Cards: None Injuries: None Stars 3.5 Joseph Lassiter 3.5 Matt Keyesj 3.5 Clifton Campbell 3.0 Carlos Saul Tevez 3.5 Jef Tadie 3.5 Eber Basoa Rivas 3.5 Joonas Vahtramae 3.5 Dani Marie Araujo 3.0 Charles Montgomery 2.5 Adan Roth 2.0 Joe Lond Final Thoughts Next week we face Munchers again on the road. Tony Spicer will likely still be injured, so I will face a tough choice. Play him bruised and hope he doesn't get a further injury or play a lesser player. I can't afford to go normal again versus the Munchers. I will PIC, and play a winger towards the middle to recoup some of the lost midfield. I may press as well to try and keep the score down. |
FOFC Cup: Group Play, Round 1
For the first round, we traveled to France to take on BreizManu's BZH Celtic's FC. BZH Celtics FC - South Bay Saints 2 - 4 Date: 12/31/2003 at 15:00 MatchID: 13530841 Arena: An Infern Crowd: 2113 Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 2113 to An Infern. Celtics started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. They fielded: Juppin - Wahl, Kaiklem, Bonin au Crillon, Albaret - Yu-Hong, Barlagen, Cazeneuve, Simanjuntak - Yehuda, Medgyesi. Saints tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Lastra - Noel, Hyypiä, Kaurismäki - Bloom, Popa, Laguna, Blakely, Merritt - Alberti Rovira, Andric. Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Celtics, and they seem solid at it. 5 minutes into the game a free kick combination hooked into the box almost resulted in the home team taking the lead, but the last header went wide. The terraces were silenced in the 12th minute as Saints´s Zvonko Andric put the guests ahead 0 - 1, following an attack from the right. Saints came close to extending their lead as Zvonko Andric delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was too sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal. In the 30:th minute Saintss Toader Popa received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Daniel Wahl spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. 36 minutes into the game, Manor Yehuda finished off a left wing counter attack, scoring 1 - 1 for Celtics. Halftime score was 1 - 1. Saints held the ball, with a clear 74 percent possession rate. In the 53rd minute the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending and Eduard Alberti Rovira put the ball away for 1 - 2. After 65 minutes of play Edward Barlagen equalised for Celtics after an elegant attack from the right. In the 72nd minute the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending and Teuvo Kaurismäki put the ball away for 2 - 3. Myles Bloom was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Zvonko Andric managed to kick one of them into 2 - 4 in the 75:th minute. After 76 minutes of game time Eduard Alberti Rovira received an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but Jean-Jacques Juppin was in the right place, tipping the ball to a corner. Saints held the ball, with a clear 76 percent possession rate. The most dominating Celtics player was without a doubt Renátó Medgyesi. Edward Barlagen on the other hand, had a terrible day. Saints´s best player was Toader Popa. Zvonko Andric on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 4. Ratings BZH Celtics FC Midfield: wretched Right Side Defence: passable Central Defence: solid Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: solid Central Attack: solid Left Side Attack: passable NSI = 43 South Bay Saints Player rating and Team formation Midfield: passable Right Side Defence: inadequate Central Defence: passable Left Side Defence: passable Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: passable Left Side Attack: excellent NSI = 57 Probably shouldn't have been as close as it was. Individual Notes Goals: Zvonko Andric, 2 Eduard Alberti Rovira, 1 Teuvo Kaurismäki, 1 Cards: Toader Popa, yellow Injuries: None Stars 1.5 Enrique Lastra 2.5 Alan Noel 2.5 Yki Hyppia 2.5 Teuvo Kaurismaki 2.5 Myles Bloom 2.5 Carlton Blakely 2.5 Ryszard Laguna 3.5 Toader Popa 3.0 Clark Merritt 1.5 Zvonko Andric 2.5 Eduard Alberti Rovira |
Training
Charles Montgomery 208 000 US$, 20 years, passable form Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities [Quick] Stamina: excellent Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: solid Passing: weak Winger: solid Defending: weak Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: weak Charles was a product of our youth squad and will be going on the market tomorrow. Form: +5/-4 Notable: Keeper Lassiter up to excellent, Joe Lond stuck on poor, Andric down to wretched. Offense still in abysmal form. |
Charles Montgomery is on sale for 250K. For those who desire quick wingers, take a look.
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hhhmmmmm quick wingers.....
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Weekly Update
Youth Pull John Wofford (22761752) 19 years, passable form, healthy A pleasant guy who is temperamental and dishonest. Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities. Speciality: Powerful Nationality: USA Assessed value: 50 000 US$ Wage: 760 US$/week Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: inadequate Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: inadequate Passing: inadequate Winger: poor Defending: passable Scoring: wretched Set Pieces: wretched Yet another okay pull. Too bad he is 19. I'll list him with a reasonable starting bid. If he fails to sell, I'll train him in Montgomery's vacated winger slot until he hits passable. With that value though, it could be awhile. Economy Cash funds: 725 678 US$ (676 196) US$ The teams continues to slowly build wealth. With Montgomery and Wofford's sales this week, I should end the weak just shy of $1M - still well short of an outstanding goalie (or formidable forward). P.S. Somebody bid on Montgomery - he only has one so far. :) |
I have Montgomery bookmarked, but i doubt i'll be able to buy him with how expense formidable goalie's are at the moment :(
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Week 8
They MOTSed, we PICed. They killed us last week at our place when we played normal. Oh, yeah they had a utopian central attack. Needless to say, the Saints are no where near first place anymore. Maybe I'll elaborate more on this match later. |
WOW!!!
Charles Montgomery (13508111) 20 years, passable form, healthy I speak US English! A controversial person who is balanced and honest. Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities. Speciality: Quick Nationality: USA Assessed value: 208 000 US$ Wage: 1 380 US$/week Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: excellent Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: solid Passing: weak Winger: solid Defending: weak Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: weak Career Goals: 1 Career Hattricks: 0 League goals this season: 1 Cup goals this season: 0 TRANSFER LISTED Transfer list: Winger Deadline: 1/5/2004 at 19:59 Asking price: 250 000 US$ Highest bid: 672 000 US$ by AC Källstorpsmo Bidding is finished! AC Jeejee and AC Källstorpsmo just kept going back and forth for about 25 minutes this morning. I couldn't believe they bid Montgomery up past 400K. And then they just kept going.... AC Källstorpsmo really wanted Montgomery. Last night, while the bidding was still low, he bumped the price up twice by 50K. Now should I ht-mail AC JeeJee and tell him he lucked out by getting outbid and that I popped both Montgomery's winger and playmaking skills so he is low at both!!! And one final note, suddenly I am very rich. Cash funds: 725 678 US$ (1 293 586) US$ |
Charles Manuel (High Excellent striker) has been informed of the negotiations with South Bay. He has also been told that Masked doesn't appear very interested:).
Charles specifically asked me to play this Wednesday to show Masked what he's missing out on.:D |
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Maybe they mistook that 20 for a 17. Nice one. |
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Actually, I'd imagine they really overestimated the value of him having excellent stamina. People tend to get loose pockets around that rating on the midfield or wing. SI |
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That was probably part of it. Well rounded wingers are pretty rare at these skill levels. Occasionally you will see a solid/solid youth pull but they typically have poor stamina. Very few young guys with these skills as well. I guess I just found a nice little niche. I have another player who is actually a bit better than Montgomery, but I will keep him for another season. Currently, I'm shopping around for a replacement winger (sol or exc wing, inad PM) and a formidable scoring (weak passing). No luck so far. Hopefully, I'll get someone to play in the FOFC cup tomorrow ;) |
Team News
Saints management continues to be thwarted in their efforts to acquire a formidable forward. I have watched several with only weak passing soar past 1.3M. This weeks youth pull, John Wofford (19yo inad PM, inad pass, pass Def) sold for $53,000. |
FOFC Cup: Group Play Round 2
The Saints hosted RPI-Fan's Averill Park Mercury yesterday. After one week, the Saints were in second place and Mercury in last in group 16. Forward Joe Lond gets a rare B-team start as he remains in poor form and is getting outplayed by a passable youth pull. IM Toader Popa got slotted to the B-team as well this week, since he form has dropped all the way to solid while Joonas Varhtramae remained in excellent. At home, the Saints should have a huge advantage in possession, however, after two rough losses our confidence is shot so converting our chances could be tough. Mercury plays a 3-4-3 and has had a very busy week acquiring a new keeper and midfielder. I was not really sure what team they would put out this week. Match Report The 1137 spectators at Complex Spikes Arena were in for an afternoon of sunshine. Saints had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Lastra - Noel, Hyypiä, Häggerberg - Bloom, Popa, Laguna, Blakely, Kaurismäki - Lond, Andric. Averill had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. They fielded: Abendaño - Duicu, Faust, España - Mackenback, Gunnarsson, Garrett, Scales - Randazzo, Danielsen, Brewer. Toader Popa behaved like an inexperienced youth player in the 4:th minute as he gave the ball away to an opponent. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. A foul after 22 minutes resulted in a free kick. Zvonko Andric cannonballed it, giving the hometeam the lead 1 to 0. Saints put themselves up 2 - 0 when Zvonko Andric broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. By now Saints were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. In the 31st minute Saints´s Joe Lond tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net. Almost all the way down to the corner flag Teuvo Kaurismäki somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for Zvonko Andric who struck for 3 - 0. By then Zvonko Andric was a three time scorer - a hat trick! The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 0. Saints held the ball, with a clear 66 percent possession rate. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 65 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Saints. However, Claudio Abendaño made a spectacular save. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 72 percent possession of the ball. Most important Saints player was Toader Popa. Niklas Häggerberg on the other hand, had a terrible day. Averill´s best player was Claudio Abendaño. However, Antonio España made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 0. Ratings South Bay Saints (3-5-2) Midfield: excellent Right Side Defence: inadequate Central Defence: passable Left Side Defence: inadequate Right Side Attack: excellent Central Attack: passable Left Side Attack: inadequate NSI = 57 Averill Park Mercury (3-4-3) Midfield: weak Right Side Defence: formidable Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: inadequate Central Attack: passable Left Side Attack: weak NSI = 51 At home playing it normal, my midfield is tough to beat. The teams otherwise matched up well, but the Saints' simply never allowed Mercury's forwards to get involved. Someday, my team may use a real defense and try and stop any attacks instead of merely hoping to prevent them. Individual Notes Goals: Zvonko Andric, 3 Cards: None Injuries: None Stars 1.5 GK Enrique Lastra 2.5 WB Alan Noel 3.0 CD Yki Hyypia (Exp is great!) 0.5 WB Niklas Haggerberg (at least he is a nice guy) 3.0 OW Myles Bloom **Personal Best** 3.0 EIM Ryzard Laguna (can't wait until his stamina improves) 3.5 OIM Toader Popa 2.5 NIM Carlton Blakely 2.5 OW Teuvo "I'm not going to pop in experience" Kaurismaki 2.0 F Joe "form blows" Lond 1.5 F Zvonko "set peices god" Andric Notes With the win and BZH's loss, the Saints will advance to the round of 32. Next week match against 2nd seed (17th overall) Rochester Roosters, will determine the group championship. At home, I expect another big advantage in possession and will base my strategy (or lack thereof) on it. Myles Bloom has slowly climbed to passable form and is now performing admirably as a backup wing. Bloom was bought late last season to as insurance in case anything every happened to Clark Merritt. However, since he popped in PM pretty quick, is still pretty young, and is near excellent PM, he has become an intriguing training prospect. I'll definately train him up to excellent winger, inad PM, but might hold on to him for an extra season to get him cash in big when he hits passable PM. Zvonko Andric, world class set pieces, has scored 7 goals in three games, two on set peices, since joining the team a few weeks ago. |
Breaking News!!!
A massive shake up to the Saints lineup occured today when freespending GM Masked went to Thailand looking ot solve the teams offensive woes. In a seedy bar in Bangkok, he picked up a youngster named Robin who has beautiful blue eyes and blond hair and enough of this... Robin Drakborn (13331862) 19 years, excellent form, healthy A pleasant guy who is tranquil and honest. Has wretched experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Nationality: Sverige Assessed value: 188 000 US$ Wage: 1 512 US$/week including 20% Bonus Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: poor Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: poor Passing: weak Winger: weak Defending: wretched Scoring: formidable Set Pieces: wretched I spend the last several days bidding on formidable scorers with poor-inadequate passing only to watch the bids rise above $1.3M. Earlier today, I nearly went for a poor passing in Ireland (also Swedish) who ended up going for 1.187M despite having a read card, and an 18yo weak passer in Canada who was American but in poor form who went for $1.M. I got Robin for $1.071M which seems like a decent buy. I particularly like the excellent form. While only temporary, it should really help the team out while second forward, Joe Lond, recovers from poor form. Tony Spicer, an original Saints (Spike actually I guess), will remain the starter in the meantime. I will probably keep Tony Spicer on the B-team (solid sco, inad pass, inad exp) as insurance and perhaps for a bit of sentimental reasons. Tony would likely command in excess of 200K on the market though. However, Adan Roth, a timely youth pull the week after Tony Spicer got injured, will go on the market as soon as Hattrick is back up (and yes I am a bit worried right now that I will lose my buy). Incidently, Robin is my first Swedish player. Financially, the team is still in pretty good shape heading into a home match this weekend. Cash funds: 725 678 US$ (266 718) US$ |
COPYCAT!!!! same forward , same skills, same price as mine!!! :)
good buy man... congratz! |
Training
We had two pops this week. One was expected (and overdue), the other was a complete suprise. The two other pops we were expecting (or hoping for) did not occur. Clark Merritt finally popped to inadequate PM to go along with his exc wing skill. and.... new forward Robin Drakborn popped to weak playmaking!!!! :rolleyes: Form: +6/-5 Joe Lond jumped from poor to inadequate form!!! However, Tony Spicer dropped to inadequate form and had a huge loss in value. He will probably head to the bench this weekend. Top IM Eber Basoa Rivas dropped to inadequate form, while 4th IM Toader Popa jumped back to excellent after a brief drop to passable. Eber is a full level of PM better than Popa, but Popa has a nice secondary (inadequate passing). Tough choice on who to start, but I am leaning towards Popa. Also seing a jump in form is world class set piece specialist Zvonko Andric who will cause dacman problems on Wednesday. The final notable form move was defender Matt Keyesj. Matt has been in excellent form for 6 consecutive weeks. He dropped to solid this evening. Next week, both Carlton Blakely and Joonas Vahtramae will pop in PM. Team Notes Currently, I do not have a trainee to play in the final winger slot. I would like to grab someone to replace Jef Tadie someday and am looking for an 18yo excellent winger with inad passing. As it is starting to get a bit late in the season, and I have some other pressing needs (coach), I am considering holding off until early next season when I will have some substantial income (2 outstanding PMs). In the meantime I can pick up a cheap trainee (passable W, inad PM) and hope to make an easy 40K. However, I am considering trying a 3-4-3 once a week to further enhance my offense. Currently I am not relying heavily on one of my wingers to help with posession (Merritt). I could play Merritt in friendlies and Tadie (solid wing, solid PM, inad pass) in league matches. I would certainly lose a little on Merritts wing, but gain in the center and opposite wing. I will probably try a 3-4-3 against dacman in the FOFC cup to get my experience up. The third forward could be either Tony Spicer or Zvonko Andric. Tony would add considerably to the attack, while Andric has his world class set pieces. Against almost every team in my division, I would either be equal or have an advantage in midfield with a 3-4-3. Anyone have any thoughts? Am I crazy to try this and give up 1/2 a training slot? |
i dont think the 1/2 a training slot is a huge deal really and maybe the 3-4-3 is the edge you need against the tough defensive team with a good midfield like The Terps when you play them at home in a couple weeks. It all depends on form also, if you don't have a third forward in decent form then i wouldn't try it.
Also, if you plan on using it in a league game make sure you play it first in a friendly or 2 so you get experiance in the formation. I've thought about trying the 3-4-3 sometimes, but with my number 2 forward in poor form, from coming off a injury its not a good idea for me right now. |
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That's one of the teams I was thinking about. In three matches against them I am down by a total score of 4-2. They have an advantage in midfield, and a great defense, but no attack. Two goals against them should ensure at least a point. Quote:
I set my lineup for wednesday to be a 3-4-3. Unless I get an excellent winger youth pull this weekend, I'll try to run up the score on poor dacman. Probably, my most critical match of the second half is the following week against CC's Dragons. Playing a 3-4-3 in a friendly might get his attention. Maybe leave a wing exposed for Merritt? |
Weekly Update
Youth Pull After 5 consecutive weeks of youth pulls selling, that streak will end this week. Neil Dowdy (23061587) 18 years, passable form, healthy A controversial person who is temperamental and honest. Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Speciality: Unpredictable Nationality: USA Assessed value: 4 000 US$ Wage: 520 US$/week Owner: South Bay Saints Warnings: 0 Stamina: passable Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: poor Passing: wretched Winger: weak Defending: poor Scoring: poor Set Pieces: solid Dowdy is my second pull ever (exc squad for about a season now) with a solid or better skill. Both have been in set pieces with no primary skill higher than weak. Economic Update Cash funds: 266 718 US$ (222 099) US$ Sponsors: dancing in the streets Supporter Club: 1474 members Supporters: satisfied This week
We lost a lot of money last week :) |
Week 9 League Match
Thunderchickens - South Bay Saints IV.31 4. 15 South Bay Saints 6. 8 Thunderchickens Week 6: Saints 4 - Thundechickens 0 Thunderchickens has the second best offense in the series, but his midfield has disappereared this season. The Saints will employ an offense heavy 3-5-2, and attempt to defeat their attack by not letting them have the ball. I was a bit worried about this match, becuase (1) confidence is low, (2) Thunderchickens is healthy, (3) my solid def, pass winger wingback is suspended, and (4) my second striker is in inadequate form. However, if Thunderchickens does not improve from last week, I should win. Most importantly, this match is the debut of Robin Drakborn a formidable scorer acquired for $1.071M earlier in the week! Match Report First Half Toader Popa received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 26:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. Matt Keyesj gave his Saints 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 35:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Robin Drakborn dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Saints. (My new million dollar forward!!) A bit later Thunderchickens´s Daniel Drakby easily reduced to 2 - 1 after a misunderstanding in the home sides central defense line. (Same minute, didn't even get a chance to enjoy the 2-0 lead) The referee showed Saintss Yki Hyypiä the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Thunderchickens were forced to a substitution as Dariusz Wozniak couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment, forcing Anders Ångwald to come in from the sidelines. (Out for 6 weeks) The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 1. Saints held the ball, with a clear 71 percent possession rate. Second Half In the 48:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Joe Lond dashed through, knocking home 3 - 1 for Saints. The referee showed Saintss Joe Lond the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Saints´s Robin Drakborn putting the lead up to 4 - 1. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 69 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Saints. However, Ulf Ramtorp made a spectacular save. In the 73rd minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Robin Drakborn dashed through, knocking home 5 - 1 for Saints. By thenRobin Drakborn was a three time scorer - a hat trick! A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Saints lead up with 6 - 1. Joe Lond finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. The structure of the game started to change as Saints decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 73 percent possession of the ball. Ratings South Bay Saints Team Attitude: Play it Cool Tactic: Normal Midfield: excellent Right Side Defence: excellent Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: formidable Right Side Attack: outstanding Central Attack: formidable Left Side Attack: formidable NSI = 78 Thunderchickens Tactic: Normal Midfield: weak Right Side Defence: outstanding Central Defence: formidable Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: supernatural Central Attack: titanic Left Side Attack: excellent NSI = 76 Stars 3.5 GK Joseph Lassiter 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj 4.0 CD Clifton Campbell 3.0 WB Yki Hyypia 3.5 OW Clark Merritt 4.0 OIM Toader Popa *** Personal Best, Team record for IM *** 3.5 NIM Dani Mario Araujo 3.5 EIM Joonas Vahtramae 3.5 OW Jef Tadie 3.5 F Robin Drakborn 2.5 F Joe Lond *** Team record, 37.5 stars *** Individual Notes Goals: (season total, IV.31 only) Robin Drakborn, 3 (3) Joe Lond, 2 (8) Matt Keyesj, 1 (1) Cards: (total) Joe Lond, yellow (1) Yki Hyypia, yellow (1) Injuries: None for me +6 to Thunderchickens top IM
Week 9 fixtures Wisconsin Legend - CC's Dragons 1 - 4 Wisconsin would be a threat with their formidable counterattack if they could keep close in possession. Dragons had an excellent midfield on the road coming of to easy walkover wins setting up a huge match against the Saints next week. Fraser Fire - Terps 0 - 5 Walkover Los Chixi Dix - Number Munchers 4 - 3 Clearly the biggest shock of the season in IV.31. Munchers came out flat after destroying me the previous two weeks. The lost a 4 star IM to a red card and Los Chixi came back from a 2 goal deficit to win, and leave the entire series up in the air. Five points now seperates 1st and 5th place. Final Thoughts This was a huge win for the Saints coming off the two demolarizing losses to Number Munchers. Our team spirit, confidence, supporters, and sponsers are all back to their highest levels. After a couple of rough weeks, team form, health, and cards are back in good shape. Next week our season could be on the line against CC's Dragons. A win and we can get back in the race for second place and maybe even first. Robin Drakborn made a huge impact in his first game with the Saints. We had our best attack ratings ever and he contributed three goals in the easy win. Despite missing one defensive starter, the team also had their second best defensive ratings ever (best was a 4-5-1, defensive coach). Lost in the frenzy surrounding Drakborn's debut, offensive IM Toader Popa had his best game ever with 4 stars. Despite being a 4th IM in recent weeks, Popa becomes the first Saint IM to reach 4 stars, and should lead the team for several seasons. His inadequate passing contributed strongly to the outstanding wing and formidable central attacks. Now if only winger Clark Merritt was not in inadequate form! |
FOFC Cup Group Play Round 3
South Bay Saints - Rochester Roosters
After two weeks of play, the Saints and Roosters are both 2-0-0 in group play and are secured of births in the round of 32. This match will decide the winner of group 16.
I have yet to relace the winger I sold last week. Instead of just tossing in some random scrub like my clown at the second winger spot, I decided to try a 3-4-3 for the first time. Depending on the results today, I am looking to possibly use this formation in league play later in the season to try and break some of the tougher defenses in my league (notably, Terps and Wisconsin Legend). I expect to have a significant midfield advantage over the Roosters so losing the second wing will not hurt; however, with only poor experience in the 3-4-3, confusion could doom the Saints.
Match Report
First Half
Saints took the lead by 1 - 0 after a penalty in the 5:th minute. Zvonko Andric scored from the penalty spot.
Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Ryszard Laguna squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 33rd minute, asserting the lead to 2 - 0.
Saints seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team.
In the 43rd minute John Burgos, after an opportunist attack from the right, scored the reducer for Rochester making it 2 - 1.
After 43 minutes Tony Spicer put Saints ahead 3 - 1 as he rose to head in a hooked ball, the result of an effort from the right side.
Rochester´s Jacinto Baptista left the field after 44 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Robert Hagen.
Halftime score was 3 - 1. Saints held the ball, with a clear 55 percent possession rate.
Second Half
During the break Saints´s coach went through the teams new tactics yet again. It sounds like my players weren't listening
In the 67:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Eber Basoa Rivas dashed through, knocking home 4 - 1 for Saints.
A great save by goaltender Jan-Frederik Anderlei in the 81st minute kept the visitors in the game as Zvonko Andric struck from the left with a real cannonball.
With 83 minutes played Zvonko Andric could have brought this one home for Saints, had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high.
Saints appeared unsure on how to play.
Rochester managed to reduce a bit later to 4 - 2 as Pol Barragán finished off a well played combination from the left, carving through the defensive box.
Saints were given a penalty in the 86:th, neatly put away by Zvonko Andric. 5 - 2 for the home side.
In the 87:th minute Rochesters Tyrone Castro received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by
Saints, with an impressive 54 percent possession of the ball.
The most dominating Saints player was without a doubt Eber Basoa Rivas. However, Enrique Lastra made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Rochester player was without a doubt Robert Hagen. Michael Börjesson on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 2.
Ratings
Individual Notes Goals: Zvonko Andric, 2 (both set piece events!!) Eber Basoa Rivas, 1 Tony Spicer, 1 Ryzard Laguna, 1 Stars 1.5 GK Enrique Lastra 2.5 WB Alan Noel 3.0 Carlos Saul Tevez (suspended for league match) 2.5 Teuvo 'no experience pop' Kaurismaki 3.0 OW Myles Bloom ****Personal Best**** 3.5 OIM Ryzard Laguna ****Personal Best**** 3.5 OIM Eber Basoa 'my inad form got me benched' Rivas 2.5 EIM Carlton Blakely 2.5 EF Eduard Alberti Roivira 2.5 F Tony Spicer 2.0 F Zvonko Andric Ryzard's 3.5 stars came as quite a surprise. He is a mid solid PM with passable passable and passable stamina. His original PM pop came at what I felt was a high value so I hope he may have high passable passing. This performance certainly supports that hypothesis. Final thoughts Confusion certainly caused us some problems today, but everytime they scored we immediately answered. The 3-4-3 worked out better than I expected, but some of that was certainly due to the steller performance of Ryzard. Unless a godly winger finds its way into our line up, I'll play a 3-4-3 again next week in preperation for the Terps in 2 weeks. Which three forwards should I use for league play? Drakborn and Lond are no brainers, but should it be Tony Spicer (solid scoring, inad passing) or Zvonko Andric (passable scoring, world class set pieces)? I will probably be guided by their form. |
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The new WYSIWYG editor really made formatting easy!
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Training Update
Strange update - I checked about 04:00 HT time and was irritated that one of the two pops that I was expecting did not occur. After working out and returning at at about 04:35, the second pop had occured. The Saints had a good week of practice seeing two of our young stars pop this week. Joonas Vahtramäe 338 000 US$, 19 years, excellent form Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities [Unpredictable]
Carlton Blakely 163 000 US$, 18 years, inadequate form Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities
Joonas has been a regular in the starting lineup despite only having solid stamina. I have lost at 1% in possession going from the first to the second half. Carlton Blakely (the one who didn't pop at first) is currently the teams 6th midfield. After the sale of the old guys at the end of the season, he'll move up to 4th and get an occassional start when in great form. Form Team: +8, -6 Starters: +2, -2 CD Clifton Campbell returned to excellent, and F Tony Spicer is back to passable. Both WB Carlos Saul Tevez and W Jef Tadie dropped from solid to passable. World Class Set Piece specialist Zvonko Andric jumped 2 levels to passable and is looking like he would make a very interesting 3rd forward in a 3-4-3 next week. Hidden behind a rather average looking form update is some very good news, only 3 players lost value this week. Jef Tadie gained more value from his training than he lost from his form, while two of the other form drops were to my coach and clown. Other than Tevez value drop, the only starters who did not see their value go up were GK Joseph Lassiter and F Robin Drakborn. They remain stuck at excellent form. My starting lineup this week will have 5 players in excellent form, 2 solid, 3 passables. For the final spot I have to choose between Myles Bloom (solid form) and Clark Merritt (inadequate form). Clark is one level higher in each of playmaking, winger, and passing so I am leaning towards him. One piece of bad news from earlier in the weak is my coach dropped from passable to inadequate leadership. |
Fixture 21.10
CC's Dragons - South Bay Saints The Saints enter the match in fourth place in the IV.31 tied in points with the 3rd place Dragons. We defeated them easily several weeks ago whe we were at home, but they are coming off their best match of the season, so we may need some luck to pull this one off. Match Report A questionable penalty in the 5:th minute gave the home side the lead 1 - 0. The visitors goaltender didn´t stand a chance as Gough Fitter knocked the ball home. Saints got a chance to level the score as Robin Drakborn suddenly found himself free with the goaltender but the finishing shot hit the bar. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Saints´s Jef Tadié got himself booked. In the 28:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Ricky Pettit dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Dragons. The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Dragons, with an impressive 53 percent possession of the ball. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 64 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Dragons. However, Joseph Lassiter made a spectacular save. Robin Drakborn had a couple of good opportunities to reply, but the home team´s goaltender Gil Bauer just wouldn´t surrender. In the games 90:th minute Saints´s Clark Merritt fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Clark Merritt for taking a dive. 90 minutes into the game Dragons were awarded a penalty that Gough Fitter turned into 3 - 0 without a problem. After 90 minutes Dragonss Ricky Pettit had to be carried off on a stretcher in agony. ErasmoGil came in instead of him. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Dragons, with an impressive 54 percent possession of the ball. Ratings
NSI = 77 I am not suprised we lost, but felt it should have been a much closer game. The Saint's were never really in it, and the ref's just killed us. Stars 3.5 GK Joseph Lassiter 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj 4.0 CD Clifton Campbell 3.0 WB Carlos Saul Tevez 3.5 OW Jef Tadie 4.0 DIM Joonas Vahtramae ***Personal Best*** 3.5 EIM Dani Mario Araujo 4.0 OIM Toader Popa 3.5 OW Clark Merritt 3.5 F Robin Drakborn 2.5 F Joe Lond This loss drops me to fifth place in the series and in danger of facing a qualifier. Odds are we would win, but a few weeks ago I looked to have a shot at winning the series. With 4 games left to play, I have secured no worse than a fifth place finish. |
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FOFC Cup Round of 32
South Bay Saints - Fighting Crawfish After winning group 16, the Saints secured the number 4 seed in the tournament phase of the cup and host one of the best known FOFC hattrick teams. Up until this season, the Crawfish were far better known for the antics of their owner than their play on the field. However, after an upset of Drunk&Disorderly in the US Open cup, everyone, including myself, became aware of how good a team The Afoci has put together in a relatively short time. However, no Crawfish can come into New Orleans and expect to escape. Match Report Zvonko Andric gave his Saints the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. With 17 minutes played Zvonko Andric could have brought this one home for Saints, had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. Nomally I would think the two goal lead in agame with over 70 minutes left to play would not qualify as "bringing it home", but I guess the match reporter knew what was coming In the 24:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Yki Hyypiä dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Saints. Myles Bloom was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Zvonko Andric managed to kick one of them into 3 - 0 in the 25:th minute. Saints put their lead ahead another goal as Tony Spicer struck home the 4 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. 4 - 0 was the half-time score. Saints held the ball, with a clear 62 percent possession rate. The away team reduced the score to 4 - 1, as Ivar Rannem struck home, set up well by a play from the left in the 48:th minute. In the 54:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Yki Hyypiä dashed through, knocking home 5 - 1 for Saints. By now Saints were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. Yki Hyypiä sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 6-1 in after a corner kick after 62 minutes of play. By then Yki Hyypiä was a three time scorer - a hat trick! Having your central defender get a hattrick is always a good sign Saints put their lead ahead another goal as Zvonko Andric struck home the 7 - 1 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. At that, Zvonko Andric was noted down for a hat trick. Of course following up one player getting a hattrick with another getting one minutes later is better. Saints seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. I am sure the Fighting Crawfish thought the same thing. 73 minutes into the game Saints were awarded a penalty that Zvonko Andric turned into 8 - 1 without a problem. World Class set piece taker against a keeper who had already allowed 7 goals - not even the HT engine could blow this one. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 77 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Saints. However, Tommy Holt made a spectacular save. I wonder if this was enough to save Holt from the infamous post game rituals of The Afoci In the 84:th minute Fightings Albert Frahm received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Saints, bringing the final ball possession rate to 64 percent, dominated the battle. After a very disappointing match in league play, this one was especially fun to watch. In the chat, Ardent was having a great time routing on the Saints and enjoying a platter of boiled crawfish. Ratings
NSI = 56 Although the NSI ratings were close, the Saints clearly matched up better. The Saints' advantage in the midfield prevented the Crawfish from taking advantage of having a better offense than my defense. Regardless, this one shouldn't have ended quite so lopsided. Stars 2.0 GK Enriqu Lastra 2.5 WB Alan Noel 3.0 CD Yki Hyppia 2.5 WB Teuvo "still no experience" Kaurismaki 2.5 EIM Carlton Blakely 3.0 OIM Eber Basoa Rivas 3.0 OIM Ryszard Laguna 3.0 OW Myles Bloom 2.5 EF Eduard Alberti Rovira 2.5 F Zvonko Andric 3.0 F Tony Spicer Our experience with the 3-4-3 has increased to solid and will bring it out in league play for the first time this weekend. |
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Training
No pops this and none are expected for a few more weeks. The Saints took quite a hit with the form update, but it was not unexpected. Of the 5 starters that were in excellent form last week, 4 dropped. IMs Vahtramae and Popa and F Robin Drakborn all dropped to solid form. CD Clifton Campbell dropped to passable; however, Keeper Joseph Lassiter remains in excellent form. W Jef Tadie popped back up to solid form. The Saint's team value increased to $4,001,000 to ecclipse the $4M mark for the first time. |
Weekly Update
Not much to say - Saints aren't broke, but not wealthy enough to make any moves. Yet another mediocre youth pull - 18yo inad scoring, poor passing Interesting note from pursuing Hatstats - based on points and goal differential, the Saints are the highest ranked 5th placed team in division 4. If the season ended today, I would host the lowest ranked division 5 series winner in the qualifier. |
League match: at Terps
This is the match I had my eye on when I decided to try out the 3-4-3. Prior to week 11, the Terps were in second place. Their midfield is slightly better than ours, but at home, the Saints should match them. They have a strong defense (avg brilliant) but no attack (avg solid). In three previous matches, the Saints are 1-2 scoring only 2 2 goals, but giving up only 4. They were not going to score many goals on me, so I figured improving my offense at the expense of a bit of midfield would give me a good chance for the win. match report Seemingly due to lack of experience, Joonas Vahtramäe needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. Saints created a good opportunity to score in the games 25:th minute when Robin Drakborn`s hooked ball created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. Dani Mário Araújo of Saints received a yellow card in the 33rd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. After 35 minutes Saints´s Jef Tadié contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. Halftime score was 0 - 0. Terps, bringing the final ball possession rate to 53 percent, dominated the battle. Normally when all the events are for your team, that is a good sign. After 48 minutes Terps put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Martin Stjernbo finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. Crap Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 56:th minute Terps goal, making it 0 - 2. Delbert Weber was noted down as the scorer. This wasn't in the script... Saints reduced the score in the 69:th minute to 1 - 2 when Tony Spicer got the best of a ball floated in from the left. Martin Stjernbo was, after 70 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors lead with a well placed diving header but home side keeper Joseph Lassiter saved. Terps, bringing the final ball possession rate to 52 percent, dominated the battle. Ratings
Well, I matched them in the midfield and my offense matched up better against their defense, than their attack against my defense. Shouldn't lose right? This loss really has put my team in a tough position. I am on the road against the 4th place team next week and trail them by 4 points. My originally plan was to MOTS this game since I have a walkover next week. However, that was contingent on the MOTS securing at least 4th place, but two straight losses have eliminated that possibility. Looks like I will face another qualifier this season. Hopefully, I'll end up with a less formidable opponent this year, so I can actually get the benefit of the extra week of training. Stars 3.5 GK Jospeh Lassiter 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj 3.5 CD Clifton Campbell 3.0 WB Carlos Saul Tevez 3.0 OW Jef Tadie 3.5 OIM Dani Mario Araujo 3.5 EIM Joonas Vahtramae 3.5 OIM Toader Popa 3.5 F Robin Drakborn 3.0 F Tony Spicer 2.5 F Zvonko Andric, first match with A team, first match not scoring a goal. |
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FOFC Cup Sweet 16
I got behind last week when I was out of town, so I quickly run through the last week or so. We hosted Vince's Isla Vista Vandals in the sweet 16 of the FOFC cup. Match Report Vandals seemed to prefer attacking in the middle. Saints broke through to the left in the 3rd minute, Alan Noel firing at an acute angle giving the home side a 1 - 0 lead. The referee showed Saintss Eber Basoa Rivas the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Myles Bloom increased Saintss lead to 2 - 0 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. In a rapid move, Clark Merritt of Saints lost his man, passed the ball to the unmarked Eduard Alberti Rovira who easily hit it home for the 3-0 goal. In the 40:th minute Saints put themselves up 4 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Joe Lond coming up from the left, who proceeded to cooly round the goaltender and knock the ball home. The structure of the game started to change as Saints decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Joe Lond almost managed to score another goal for Saints, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. In the 42nd minute Vandalss Raymond Hyatt received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Saints´s Carlton Blakely putting the lead up to 5 - 0. Halftime score was 5 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Saints, with an impressive 74 percent possession of the ball. Clark Merritt of Saints was able to make an impressive rush past the sluggish Mike Cooper, which resulted in the 6 - 0 goal. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 70 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Saints. However, Derrick Woodson made a spectacular save. Myles Bloom has the wonderful ability to create chances out of thin air. In the77:th minute he drove a bicycle kick straight past the keeper, resulting in the 7 - 0 goal. In the games 80:th minute, Yki Hyypiä could have extended the lead, but his very hard free kick went just over the bar. Vandals seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. 82 minutes into the game Saints were awarded a penalty that Yki Hyypiä turned into 8 - 0 without a problem. Saintss Ryszard Laguna got himself booked after a foul. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Yki Hyypiä squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 84:th minute, asserting the lead to 9 - 0. In the 87:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Joe Lond dashed through, knocking home 10 - 0 for Saints. Vandals seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. Saints held the ball, with a clear 88 percent possession rate. Notes I am not sure which is worse - that we scored 10 goals or we missed 2 chances. Well Vince had to expect that he was going to get whipped considering the ratings his team put up. Ratings
NSI = 37 Solid vs wretched midfield sums this one up. I was not expecting those ratings from him based on, well, that he made it this far in the cup. |
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Training and weekly updates
No pops and our youth pull sucked. That was easy. |
League match: week 12
Week 12 finds the Saints sitting in 5th place trailing 4th place Los Chixi Dix by 4 points. Coincidently, the Saints go on the road to face Los Chixi this week. In the first meeting, the Saints won easily 3-0, but expect a stiffer challenge this time. For one, our team spirit is down to content and of course we are on the road. Match Report Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Chixi, and they seem weak at it. This made me very happy. I was worried they might have a significant midfield advantage. With clinical precision the cross pass from winger Will Ogle found it's way to Svein Johansen's head, and a screaming header gave Chixi 1 - 0. This did not make me happy - damn event! A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Chixi´s Joe Johnson putting the lead up to 2 - 0. By now Chixi were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. At this point I was getting quite worried. Gerhard Olsson of Chixi received a yellow card in the 14:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. An indirect free kick in the visitor´s penalty area in the 28:th minute could have resulted in another goal, but Joseph Lassiter got a hand out and tipped the ball over the bar. They are getting all the chances - sincing a gross miscalculation. Saintss Clifton Campbell got himself booked after a foul. Saints managed to reduce a bit later to 2 - 1 as Robin Drakborn finished off a well played combination from the left, carving through the defensive box. Ah big bucks comes through The referee showed Saintss Toader Popa the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. That Jack Carr has the ability of doing what no one expects him to do was shown as he ran over an opposing defender, snatched the ball and passed Gerhard Olsson who hit it hard into the wide open goal: 3 - 1! 3 - 1 was the half-time score. Score Saints 1 - Chixi 1, random events 2. The engine had me bent over and, nevermind. Chixi held the ball, with a clear 52 percent possession rate. [i]Well at least that counterattack isn't helping them.[i] A bit later Saints´s Robin Drakborn easily reduced to 3 - 2 after a misunderstanding in the home sides central defense line. Svein Johansen should probably have put his team up another goal in the 53rd minute, but some great goaltending by Joseph Lassiter kept the visitors in the game. Clifton Campbell really should have scored when he was chosen by fate to confront a wide open goal after a corner, but he lost his nerve. Some brilliant football from the visitors right wing resulted in a 74:th minute levelling of scores as Saintss Tony Spicer equalised to 3 - 3. Tony gets his first start in quite some time and comes up big. Chixi will have to do without Joe Johnson for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Johan Jansson. Chixi held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate. Ratings
NSI = 74 I am pretty much locked into 5th place (again) since I was not able to gain any ground on Los Chixi, and they have a very winnable match next week. Stars 3.5 Joseph Lassiter 3.5 Matt Keyesj 3.5 Clifton Cambell 3.0 Carlos Saul Tevez 3.5 Jef Tadie 3.5 Dani Mario Araujo 3.5 Joonas Vahtramae 3.5 Toader Popa 3.5 Clark Merritt 3.5 Robin Drakborn 3.0 Tony Spicer 37.5 total. |
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FOFC Cup: Elite Eight
I am a bit suprised to have made it this far. This week I face Bishops' Concord Assasins. If their performance last week is repeated, this might be it for the Saints. Match Report Myles Bloom was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Joe Lond managed to kick one of them into 1 - 0 in the 5:th minute. Winger event In the 7:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Zvonko Andric dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Saints. I was quite suprised to find myself ahead this early Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Ryszard Laguna squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 8:th minute, asserting the lead to 3 - 0. [i]Didn't get to enjoy this one...[i] Assassins fought on and, in the 8:th minute Tony Sauck was able to reply with 3 - 1 after some excellent moves on the right side finished off by an incredibly clever chip. At this point, I predicted in the FOFC chat that the rest of the half would be boring. The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 1. Assassins held the ball, with a clear 54 percent possession rate. Up 3-1 and losing possession. In the 46:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Ryszard Laguna dashed through, knocking home 4 - 1 for Saints. I am stunned, very happy, but stunned. The visitors got a chance of pulling one back in the 52nd minute, due to a defensive blunder leaving Woodrow Osman completely unmarked. His strike was pathetic though, easy prey for the home side´s keeper. Carlton Blakely received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 85:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. 89 minutes into the game Saints were awarded a penalty that Zvonko Andric turned into 5 - 1 without a problem. After this Saints lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. Saintss Carlos Saúl Tévez got himself booked after a foul. Assassins showed some good morale and were, in the 89:th minute, able to reduce the score to 5 - 2 as Antonio Landajo got past the home sides full backs straight in front of the goal. Carlton Blakely of Saints received a yellow card in the 89:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Four events in one minute! What the hell, was everyone just standing around until the end of the game. Assassins held the ball, with a clear 57 percent possession rate. Ratings
The ratings were very close, but did favor the Assasins. I would like to thank the HT engine for choosing to award a BS victory to me for a change. Next week Ardent's North County Raiders pay a visit in the semifinals. Unfortunately for the Saints, Ardent has decided to throw all his league matches (playing only 7 players etc) and use his starters in the cup. Can a lowly div IV team that can't manage to stay above the qualifier line stand a chance against a div 3 squad? |
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Picked up a new temporary training to fill the slot vacated by Charles Montgomery several weeks ago.
Xuan Arasa 42 000 US$, 17 years, passable form Has disastrous experience and wretched leadership abilities
I am hoping he pops quickly. I will not keep him around long term - just looking to make a quick buck. Paid $25,000 for him. |
Training
Got the pop I was expecting and the one I was hoping for. Ryszard Laguna 239 000 US$, 18 years, passable form Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities
Ryszard will move into the starting lineup next season after he gets a bit more stamina training. He has been putting up 3.5 stars for the past several weeks in solid form. Xuan Arasa 44 000 US$, 17 years, passable form Has disastrous experience and wretched leadership abilities
Xuan was picked up yesterday for 25K and played as a winger towards middle. I was hoping he would pop quickly so I can make a quick 100K or so (I have no idea how much he will fetch on the market). I don't have full training slots available now so I will get rid of him while he is still 17. Form: +2/-5 Notable: F Tony Spicer to excellent, IM Toader popa dropped to passable. Both players that got two starts last week saw their form turn around and head back up. Perhaps there is something to the theory that two games is better than one for form. |
Weekly Update
Briefly (since I am behind again) Youth pull: 18yo , inad PM, inad Scoring - didn't sell, fired Xuan Arasa sold for 100K to a team that is daytrading him to screw me out of any future last club money. In consolation I will get about 4K sometime tomorrow. |
Fixture Week 13
We faced Fraser Fire at home this weekend. It was a walkover, as expected, so I got the easy 5-0 win. League Table
The Saints are secured of at least 5th place and play 6th place Wisconsin Legend next week. CC's Dragons and Los Chixi Dix play, so there is a chance that I could move up to 4th. |
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FOFC Cup Semifinals
South Bay Saints - North County Raiders The Saints after a mild upset of the Concord Assassins last week face one of the original FOFC teams that helped get us all interested in the game. The Raiders have had a rather unsuccessful season in division 3 and have, as a result, turned their attention to the FOFC cup. I expected to get their best lineup, or at least one that matched their lineup last week against Frankfort United. Since I had a walkover in league play this week, I could match him, and put my best team out as well. Would he expect such a formidable foe? Match Report Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Raiders, and they seem solid at it. Raiders was great at switching from defense to attack, and in the 23rd minute, Tyge Stoye swept through in the middle after such a counter attack, making 0 - 1. I have not faced many counterattacking squads. As anyone who has followed my team knows, I am very good at creating chances and then blowing them. True to form, the Raiders take advantage of my offensive blunders and take the early lead. After 31 minutes of play Eber Basoa Rivas equalised for Saints after an elegant attack from the right. Looks like a good match is unfolding. A well placed corner kick from Kelvin Cage was followed by Don Prater´s hard but accurate header. The nice combination meant goal for Raiders. The result now 1-2. Great an early counter attack goal and a special event to a team known for a good offense. Dallas Ricketts seemed highly inexperienced when in the 37:th minute he was loitering with the ball, allowing Matt Keyesj to intercept and strike 2-2 for Saints. Saints took the lead in the 37:th minute after a magnificent free kick. Tony Spicer adjusted the score to 3 - 2. We get the even right back on a experience blunder and then get a normal chance which Spicer converts. At this point, I am getting pretty optimistic - we have created 3 chances to none for them. 38 minutes into the game Tony Spicer had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Joe Lond. Replaced a solid scorer with an excellent one - good move Ardent :) A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 42 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Saints. However, Glenn Mcgee made a spectacular save. Raiderss Michael Hansson got himself booked after a foul. The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 2. Saints held the ball, with a clear 68 percent possession rate. In the 60:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Clifton Campbell dashed through, knocking home 4 - 2 for Saints. Glad to see that my central defender knows that his role in the HT universe is to play offense Joe Lond increased Saintss lead to 5 - 2 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. The structure of the game started to change as Saints decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Now I am just having fun, and harassing Ardent in the chat. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Saints lead up with 6 - 2. Joe Lond finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. Remember that solid scorer Ardent injured... Saints put themselves up 7 - 2 when Matt Keyesj broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. At this point I give the ultimate insult (to Ardent) and compare his team to the Afoci's that I beat up on a few weeks early. Joe Lond should probably have put his team up another goal in the 83rd minute, but some great goaltending by Glenn Mcgee kept the visitors in the game. Raiders seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. No, really Saints held the ball, with a clear 71 percent possession rate. Ratings South Bay Saints
NSI = 83 ***TEAM RECORD***, Wow. North County Raiders
NSI = 60 This was really no contest. The Raiders put out a much weaker lineup than I expected, and my lineup played much better than i expected. Pretty aggravating to get my best performance ever in a friendly. Stars 3.5 GK Joseph Lassiter 3.5 WB Matt Keyesj 4.0 CD Clifton Campbell 3.0 WB Carlos Saul Tevez 3.5 OW Jef Tadie 3.5 IM Eber Basoa Rivas 4.0 IM Joonas Vahtramae 4.0 IM Dani Mario Araujo ***Personal Best*** 3.5 OW Clark Merritt 3.5 F Robin Drakborn 3.0 F Joe Lond (3.0 F Tony Spicer, injured +1) 39 stars ***TEAM RECORD*** Again the comment about best performance in a friendly. Without the injury, I would have had 39.5 stars. Hopefully will get 40 stars in my qualifier. Onto the finals The Bees defeated the Arkham Avengers 2-0 in a very different match. The Saints host the Bees in the FOFC championship next week. I am really suprised to make it this far in the cup, and to be hosting the championship game especially. But this is the year for me to have made a run at the title since I will be selling off my old IMs and getting youngsters next season. Congrats to Ardent for a making it to the semis and for the fun banter in the chat this afternoon even after the match was decided. |
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