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Screamin' Seamen FC - 3rd Season
Screamin’ Seamen Football Club – Season 3
For the first installment of this dynasty report, as well as an introduction to Hattrick, click here Screamin’ Seamen Prepared To Take Another Shot At Title (Chicago, IL) The Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, under the ownership and management of Data King, are prepared to take a second shot at the Division IV title this season. In the club’s first season, they breezed to a Division V championship with a record of thirteen wins and one draw. Last season saw them in position to win a Division IV title with only one match to play, sitting at a record of eleven wins and two draws. But disaster struck on the last Sunday of the season, as the valiant Seamen fell to Croats in Miami by a score of 1-nil. It was the team’s first ever league-match loss, and it handed the Division IV title to the Ramblers. The team now includes a couple of new faces added during the off-season, but due to the fiscal responsibility which King regularly preaches, fans will see largely the same club that they followed last year. Two of the new additions are 26-year-old Swedish midfielder Niklas Ivarsson, and 29-year-old Argentinean winger Valentin Rubio. Both players bring some experience, as well as more talent to the club. “Our goal was to bring in some more experience to counteract the relative youth of our defense,” stated King at a press conference earlier this week. “Our defense is our cornerstone, and is quite talented, but Chuck Scales is the oldest starter on the back line at twenty-four. Arlen [Lucas] is only twenty-one years old. Heck, Tyler [Willard] can’t even buy beer yet!” The third addition to the club is actually a product of the team’s youth squad; central defender Cameron McDonald. At only eighteen years of age, young Cameron is said to already be close to the level of play the other three have shown on defense. Although King and other team officials refuse to comment, it is expected that Cameron will become a starter for the club within a season or two. But there are some that say that the Seamen are merely treading water, and may not be up to the challenges that face them in the coming season. Croats in Miami, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and league-champion Ramblers all return for another season. On top of this, four teams have been promoted from Division V, and a couple of them look to pose a significant challenge to the established teams in the division. SoccerWussies and Big Reds both look to be quite talented, and could very well contend for the series title. “The division has certainly gotten a lot more competitive than it was last year,” stated King when asked about the division’s new participants. “We will be keeping a close eye on all four clubs in the early weeks of the season.” The Seamen will get an up-close look at the Big Reds in week two, as the Ithaca, New York-based club will visit Chicago for the SSFC home opener. It should be an interesting season, to say the least. Ivan Phillip Freely is an associated press writer for the Chicago Tribunal. |
Screamin’ Seamen Roster
Here is our starting roster for this 3rd season of SSFC soccer. I have included the numerical equivalents for all skill ratings, for any non-Hattrickers that may be reading. Starters Typical Formation: 3-5-2 Keeper #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan -Age: 24 -Current Form: Passable (6) -Assessed Value: $472,000 -Wage: $3,460 per week -Goaltending: Solid (7) “Corny” Jernigan came to the club in a trade last season, and he rapidly replaced Darryl Read as our starting keeper. He performed quite well for us last season, and look forward to another season of solid performances from him. Normally I allow players to keep their jersey numbers, but I also believe that the starting keeper should wear the #1 jersey. Darryl Read gave up the #1 with a minimum of fuss. Central Defender #2 Chuck Scales -Age: 24 -Current Form: Passable (6) -Assessed Value: $162,000 -Wage: $1,490 per week -Defending: Excellent (8) Chuck was one of our original team members, and has been our starting sweeper since day one. He is the quarterback of the defense, and helps to keep our two youngsters on the wings in line. Wingbacks #5 Arlen Lucas -Age: 21 -Current Form: Excellent (8) -Assessed Value: $221,000 -Wage: $1,580 per week -Winger: Passable (6) -Defending: Excellent (8) Arlen is perhaps the best young talent on the team, and was the winner of last season’s Best Defender and Team MVP awards. He excels at defending against headers on corner kicks, and has tallied a few header goals of his own along the way (7 of them in 29 appearances). #22 Tyler Willard -Age: 20 -Current Form: Inadequate (5) -Assessed Value: $149,000 -Wage: $1,320 per week -Winger: Passable (6) -Defending: Excellent (8) Tyler is the weakest of our three starting defenders, but not by much. He was promoted from the youth squad at the end of January, and became an instant starter. He is, however, a bit unpredictable, and has been known to give both myself and coach Ken Brown fits from time to time. Inner Midfielders #8 Niklas Ivarsson -Age: 26 -Current Form: Excellent (8) -Assessed Value: $161,000 -Wage: $1,776 per week -Playmaking: Solid (7) -Passing: Inadequate (5) The Swedish striker was one of our off-season signings, brought in to help us compete with the ever-improving midfields in the division, as well as to add some extra oomph to our attack. Although he has only played in one friendly match thus far, we like what we’ve seen from Niklas. #6 Charlie Bautista -Age: 26 -Current Form: Inadequate (5) -Assessed Value: $112,000 -Wage: $1,320 per week -Playmaking: Solid (7) -Passing: Inadequate (5) Charlie is another player who has been with us since day one, and has always been a starter for the Seamen. He is a solid possession midfielder, and is known to jump up onto the attack from time to time as well. He has had good offensive production for a midfielder, scoring 9 goals in 31 appearances. #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin -Age: 33 -Current Form: Solid (7) -Assessed Value: $42,000 -Wage: $1,010 per week -Playmaking: Passable (6) -Passing: Passable (6) -Defending: Passable (6) “The Old Goat” has been a starter for us since the beginning. Although he is getting a bit long in the tooth, his experience has been invaluable so far, as well as his ability to play either “up” or “down” (offensive or defensive). Pete has a nasty streak about him, though, and was once ejected for head-butting an opposing player. Still, he is one of the most popular guys in the locker room, and will likely find a position in the front office or training staff when he decides to retire. Wingers #3 Ben McMahon -Age: 28 -Current Form: Weak (4) -Assessed Value: $148,000 -Wage: $1,990 per week -Winger: Solid (7) -Defending: Solid (7) Once a wingback for the club, Ben made the transition to winger after the promotion of Tyler Willard from the youth squad. While he is able to hold his own on the wing, his real specialty is as a defensive winger. He is often matched up against the opposition’s most dangerous wingers, and generally does a good job of shutting them down. #9 Valentin Rubio -Age: 29 -Current Form: Solid (7) -Assessed Value: $95,000 -Wage: $1,512 per week -Winger: Passable (6) -Passing: Passable (6) The Argentinean winger was our other off-season signing, and has yet to play a match for the club, so we aren’t sure of what to expect just yet. From what we have seen of him on tape and the practice field, though, Valentin excels at moving the ball up the side of the field and sending in good cross-passes, and should provide a good offensive counter-balance to Ben McMahon’s defensive wing-play. Valentin is also tall (6’2”) with a good vertical and body control, and is always a threat for a header off of corner kicks. Forwards #11 Johannes Henriksson -Age: 26 -Current Form: Excellent (8) -Assessed Value: $93,000 -Wage: $1,272 per week -Scoring: Passable (6) -Set Pieces: Solid (7) The Swedish striker is our team captain, and is an invaluable member of the club. He leads both on and off the field by example as well as by words, and even the older members of the team respect him. He has maintained a goal-a-game average throughout his career (currently 59 goals in 56 appearances), and is the team’s designated set pieces ace as well. #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias -Age: 21 -Current Form: Inadequate (5) -Assessed Value: $47,000 -Wage: $780 per week -Scoring: Solid (7) “Gump” is another product of the team’s youth squad, from the tail end of our first season, and became an immediate starter. He has maintained a goal-a-game average so far in his young career (18 goals in as many appearances), and has proven to be a very clutch player from time to time. This was particularly evident when he scored two goals in the last five minutes of a match last season to give us a narrow 4-3 victory. The B-Team Typical Formation: 5-4-1 Keeper #13 Darryl Read -Age: 27 -Current Form: Inadequate (5) -Assessed Value: $186,000 -Wage: $1,940 per week -Goaltending: Passable (6) Darryl is another of our original team members, and was our starting keeper until the trade which garnered us “Corny” Jernigan. He has typically put up solid performances and good numbers, allowing only 20 goals in 23 appearances, and tallying 12 clean sheets. Impressive numbers indeed. Central Defenders #18 Cameron McDonald -Age: 18 -Current Form: Passable (6) -Assessed Value: $100,000 -Wage: $1,000 per week -Defending: Solid (7) Cameron was an off-season promotion from our youth squad, and looks to have all the makings of a star sweeper someday. He is also tall, and should learn a thing or two from Arlen Lucas on how to use his height to his advantage on defense. Cameron has yet to see the pitch, though, so we still aren’t exactly sure in what we have here. But all signs point to something positive, that much is for sure. #20 Keith Stubbs -Age: 19 -Current Form: Passable (6) -Assessed Value: $45,000 -Wage: $720 per week -Defending: Solid (7) Keith Stubbs was also a promotee from our youth squad last season, which seems to have a knack for producing good defensive talent. Although he started off a little weak, Keith improved by leaps and bounds in his defensive skills last season, and even earned the team’s Most Improved Player award. However, the recent arrival of Cameron McDonald means that Keith has become somewhat expendable. #21 Zarpas Lerma -Age: 19 -Current Form: Inadequate (5) -Assessed Value: $44,000 -Wage: $888 per week -Defending: Passable (6) This young Spaniard is another of our tall defensive trainees, but has yet to prove to be anything special. Still, he is quite young and the training staff assures me that he still has the capability to become a decent defender someday. Wingbacks #17 Mattias Leier -Age: 19 -Current Form: Solid (7) -Assessed Value: $88,000 -Wage: $1,104 per week -Winger: Passable (6) -Defending: Passable (6) The young Estonian is one of our most promising defensive trainees, and is one of coach Brown’s favorites. He has shown himself to be of steady form, and has even managed a couple of scoring chances from the back line in his six friendly match appearances thus far. #24 Christian Kvam -Age: 19 -Current Form: Inadequate (5) -Assessed Value: $46,000 -Wage: $924 per week -Winger: Passable (6) -Defending: Passable (6) Yet another tall (Specialty: Head) defensive trainee on the club, we have yet to be terribly impressed with the Norwegian. His form has been quite erratic since he joined the club back in January, but we’re hoping that he will level out sometime soon. Inner Midfielders #7 Lucian Tere -Age: 27 -Current Form: Solid (7) -Assessed Value: $59,000 -Wage: $1,080 per week -Playmaking: Inadequate (5) -Passing: Inadequate (5) -Defending: Inadequate (5) A semi-regular starter for the club until this past off-season, the Romanian makes up in size what he lacks in skill. He is a big, strong body in the middle of the pitch (Specialty: Powerful), and has been a solid contributor throughout the past two seasons. Lucian should continue to be a regular substitute for us, particularly in wet-weather matches. #19 Jerry Smith -Age: 20 -Current Form: Excellent (8) -Assessed Value: $82,000 -Wage: $870 per week -Playmaking: Solid (7) We received Jerry in the same trade that brought “Corny” Jernigan to the club early last season. While he has the skills to be a starter for us in the midfield, he lacks the necessary fitness level, and did not respond very well to our off-season training regimen. Still, especially with Father Time beginning to catch up with “The Old Goat,” Jerry may very well see some playing time with the starting squad again this season. Wingers #25 Paul Peralta -Age: 28 -Current Form: Solid (7) -Assessed Value: $133,000 -Wage: $1,540 per week -Playmaking: Inadequate (5) -Winger: Weak (4) -Scoring: Inadequate (5) -Defending: Passable (6) Paul is perhaps the single most valuable member of our B-team. While he normally plays on the wing, he is actually a “super-sub,” capable of playing just about any position in the outfield with some degree of skill. He is often called upon to cover for an injury or suspension on the starting squad. #10 Olav Mauffret -Age: 22 -Current Form: Inadequate (5) -Assessed Value: $47,000 -Wage: $948 per week -Playmaking: Inadequate (5) -Winger: Inadequate (5) Olav has been a regular starter for us on the wing for the past two seasons, but has been bumped down to the B-team with the addition of Valentin Rubio in the off-season. While he lacks any special amount of skill, he may still be called upon to play with the starters if there is an injury. Forward #14 Jesper Gravesen -Age: 28 -Current Form: Passable (6) -Assessed Value: $32,000 -Wage: $924 per week -Scoring: Passable (6) -Set Pieces: Solid (7) Jesper gives us a third option at forward, and is an experienced striker and set pieces ace. He typically acts as captain for the B-team, and is capable of stepping in for either Johannes Henriksson or “Gump” Tobias should anything unfortunate happen to one of them. Note: I did not list William Brown or Otis Johnson, as they will both be placed on the transfer market soon. Up Next: Results from Round One of the U.S.A. Cup. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – U.S.A. Cup – Round 1
Connecticut Samurai vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: April 2nd, 2003 Venue: Connecticut Arena (Hartford, CT) Attendance: 4,911 (7,000) Weather: Overcast We start off the new season full of hope and promise today. Our first test should be an easy one, as we face a team from the U.S.A.’s recently-added Division VI. This match won’t be much of a test of us, but will be a nice way to get our players into match-fitness, as well as a way to earn an easy ‘W.’ Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #17 Mattias Leier -Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret We’re playing our starting line-up today. It’s hardly fair, and should not prove to be much of a contest, but will give our starters a chance to get into match-fitness before we take on Ramblers in the season-opener on Sunday. We will be keeping a specially close eye on both Niklas Ivarsson and Valentin Rubio, as both are making their competitive-match debuts for us today. We will find out soon whether or not the combined $227,000 we spent to get them will be worth it or not. Match Report PRE-GAME 4911 spectators had come to Connecticut Arena this cloudy day. Connecticut had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Stone - Simmons, Koehler, Wise, Vega - Tipton, Quick, Huntley, Wing-Koo - Erwin, Manning. Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias. FIRST HALF As Arlen Lucas had, completely unprovoked, swept the legs out from under an opponent in front of a linesman, the referee gave the Screamin' player a red card without batting an eye. Screamin' took the lead after 18 minutes with 0 - 1. Johannes Henriksson placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. The visitors Forrest Tobias took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 27:th minute. 0 - 2 for Screamin'. In the 34:th minute the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 3 as Ben Mcmahon finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 3. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 90 percent, dominated the battle. SECOND HALF In the 59:th minute the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 4 as Johannes Henriksson finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. After 61 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Johannes Henriksson who increased Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 5. By then Johannes Henriksson was a three time scorer - a hat trick! The structure of the game started to change as Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Connecticuts August Vega got himself booked after a foul. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Chuck Scales spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. After 79 minutes of game time Johannes Henriksson received an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but Kenneth Stone was in the right place, tipping the ball to a corner. Charlie Bautista received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 80:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. Screamin' came close to extending their lead as Forrest Tobias delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was to sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 98 percent possession rate. POST-GAME The most dominating Connecticut player was without a doubt Howard Manning. Odell Quick was a disappointment, however. Screamin'´s best player was Niklas Ivarsson. Ben Mcmahon was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 5. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, Connecticut Samurai 0 Goals Henriksson – 3 (1,2,3) Tobias – 1 (1) McMahon – 1 (1) Cards Lucas (red) Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Willard: **~ Scales: *** Lucas: ??? (ejected) Rubio: *** Tomlin: **~ Bautista: **~ Ivarsson: ***~ McMahon: ** Henriksson: **~ Tobias: ** Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Weak (4) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Solid (7) -Left Defense: Inadequate (5) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -DKI/NSI: 47/51 Connecticut Samurai -Midfield: Disastrous (1) -Right Defense: Inadequate (5) -Central Defense: Inadequate (5) -Left Defense: Weak (4) -Right Attack: Poor (3) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Poor (3) -DKI/NSI: 25/26 Comments This was hardly a top-notch performance from our starters, and missing Arlen Lucas for almost the entire match hurt our ratings considerably, but it still proved to be an easy win. First, the positives: Team captain Johannes Henriksson earned his third career hattrick. “Gump” Tobias found the twine, and even Ben McMahon (commonly referred to by the team as “the man who never scores") got in on the fun, tallying his second career goal. Valentin Rubio and especially Niklas Ivarsson performed well in their debuts, and our money appears to have been well-spent. We were also quite relieved to find that Chuck Scales’ injury was little more than a stinger, and he should be good-to-go on Sunday. Now for the bad news. We got exactly what we did not need from Arlen Lucas; a red card. Arlen is our single best defender, and now he is ineligible for Sunday’s match against defending series champion Ramblers. This is his third suspension in as many seasons. He needs to learn how to keep his composure. Other News Two more teams have joined the army of Screamin’ Seamen faithful. We would like to welcome the following teams to the SSFC Supporter Club: Else United (Owner: rexallsc, Seeded #1 in series V.251) Fort Wayne Wanderers (Owner: DennisMoore, Seeded #3 in series V.236) Welcome, fellow Hattrickers, and thank you very much for your support. Up Next: The current state of the team this weekend. After that, we visit the Ramblers on Sunday, in what is sure to be a bit of a grudge-match. Stay tuned! |
Our roster is over-full, so two players have been placed on the transfer wire.
William Brown Listed As: Wing Back Asking Price: $90,000 Deadline: 4/7/2003 @ 22:45 HT-time 21 years old, inadequate form, healthy A pleasant guy who is fiery and dishonest. Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities. Specialty: Quick Nationality: American Assessed Value: $68,000 Wage: $910 per week Stamina: Passable Playmaking: Poor Winger: Inadequate Scoring: Poor Goaltending: Disastrous Passing: Poor Defending: Solid Set Pieces: Poor William seems to have pretty good base form, and has put up 2.5 stars as either a wingback or central defender in his last six matches. Otis Johnson Listed As: Inner Midfielder Asking Price: $1,000 Deadline: 4/7/2003 @ 22:46 HT-time 20 years old, solid form, healthy A pleasant guy who is tranquil and honest. Has disastrous experience and solid leadership abilities. Nationality: American Assessed Value: $30,000 Wage: $650 per week Stamina: Solid Playmaking: Inadequate Winger: Weak Scoring: Wretched Goaltending: Disastrous Passing: Inadequate Defending: Poor Set Pieces: Poor Otis has good base form, and has been at passable or better form since October of 2002. He can also function as a pseudo-clown (solid leadership, pleasant personality). |
DataKng, I have enjoyed your dynasty reports very much. If you dont mind, I would like to ask you a quick question. How can you tell what kind of talent your opponents in your league have?
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Sorry for the delay in responding. I tend to get caught up in other things on the weekends. :p I have found that the best way to judge the talent of the others in your series is to look at their match history. Take a look at their typical match ratings, as well as the number of stars their players generally put up. This is not only a good way to judge talent, but you can also use it to determine if the other teams have any tendencies which you may be able to exploit when you play against them. I hope this helps, and I'm glad you've enjoyed the dynasty reports thus far. |
Wow @ world class.
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State of the Team
Note: Rather than compare these numbers and statistics to the week prior, as I have done in the past, I will simply list them here. I am doing this to establish a ‘base-line’ for the remainder of the season. Also, in my imagination at least, the off-season weeks actually represent months of ‘game-time,’ so comparing these to the week prior just doesn’t feel right. Value Average Player Value: $116,545 Total Player Value: $2,564,000 *Note: These values exclude William Brown and Otis Johnson, who are currently listed on the transfer wire. Team Information Team Spirit: Calm Team Confidence: Wonderful Sponsor Attitude: Satisfied Supporter Attitude: Satisfied Supporter Club: 1,328 members Balance Sheet Previous Balance: $489,096 Revenue Crowd (U.S. Open Cup match vs. Connecticut Samurai) - $7,508 Sponsors - $48,750 Temporary (7 new supporters) - $210 Total Revenue: $56,468 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $11,271 Player Wages - $25,440 Temporary (youth squad promotion of Cameron McDonald) - $2,000 Temporary (purchase of Valentin Rubio) - $74,000 Temporary (fired specialist) - $1,500 Temporary (arena expansion project) - $297,525 Temporary (transfer listing for Otis Johnson) - $1,000 Temporary (transfer listing for William Brown) - $1,000 Staff and Specialists - $33,000 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $466,736 Net Income/Loss: -$410,268 New Balance: $78,828 Obviously, the big expense during the off-season was spending nearly $300,000 on an ambitious expansion project for The Docks. The improved stadium will have seating for 30,000 SSFC faithful, and will include a special surprise for the fans. :) We took the club a little below the normal $100,000 “safety valve” I like to maintain, but that was by design. I knew that the pending sale of Otis Johnson, and particularly William Brown, would take us back into a comfortable financial situation. Up Next: Results of our league-play opener against the defending series champion Ramblers. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – League Match #1
Ramblers vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: April 6th, 2003 Venue: Ramblers Arena (Detroit, MI) Attendance: 46,507 (51,750) Weather: Overcast Prior Meetings 1/5/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 2, Ramblers 2 2/23/2003 – Ramblers 1, Screamin’ Seamen 2 We open the season with a rather daunting task; travel to Detroit and take on the Ramblers, the defending series champions still flush with excitement over capturing last season’s title. The Ramblers look to be much the same team that we encountered last season, having added no new players during the off-season. Despite the psychological advantage of having won last season’s title, we felt that we still had the advantage, having gotten the better of the Ramblers in our two prior meetings. Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #24 Christian Kvam -Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Conspicuous in his absence from the starting lineup, star wingback and last season’s Team MVP, Arlen Lucas, was suspended from the match for having been red-carded in the club’s U.S. Open Cup match on Wednesday. We weren’t terribly comfortable with any of our options to replace Arlen, but eventually decided on Mattias Leier, our 19 year old Estonian trainee. Mattias has shown himself to be the best pure wingback amongst our trainees, and responded well to practice during the week. The Ramblers always bring their strongest attack on their left-hand side, so we’ll be stacking the defense to our right. Hopefully Tyler Willard and Ben McMahon can contain superstars Philip Gallo (4.5* winger) and Eric Holmes (4* midfielder). Game time… Match Report PRE-GAME 46507 spectators had come to Ramblers Arena this cloudy day. Ramblers had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Chugg - Arredondo, Powell, Campos - Niemelä, Whittington, Maddox, Holmes, Gallo - Hansson, Barik. Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Leier - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Henriksson, Tobias. FIRST HALF Bhima Barik gave his Ramblers 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 games 16:th minute Ramblers´s Perry Maddox fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Perry Maddox for taking a dive. After 16 minutes Bhima Barik put Ramblers ahead 2 - 0 as he rose to head in a hooked ball, the result of an effort from the right side. Charlie Bautista seemed highly inexperienced when in the 17:th minute he was loitering with the ball, allowing Gus Whittington to intercept and strike 3-0 for Ramblers. By now Ramblers were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. The home side´s Stefan Hansson came close to extending the lead in the 24:th minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Cornelius Jernigan managed saving with a fingernail. Bhima Barik almost managed to score another goal for Ramblers, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. 3 - 0 was the half-time score. Ramblers held the ball, with a clear 57 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF In the 55:th minute Ramblers´s Stefan Hansson tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net. After 67 minutes Screamin'´s Valentín Rubio contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. In the 71st minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Stefan Hansson dashed through, knocking home 4 - 0 for Ramblers. The referee showed Screamin's Valentín Rubio the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate. POST-GAME The most dominating Ramblers player was without a doubt Philip Gallo. Kurt Arredondo was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Niklas Ivarsson. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 0. Final Score: Ramblers 4, Screamin’ Seamen 0 Goals None Cards Rubio – yellow (1) Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Willard: *** Scales: ***~ Leier: **~ McMahon: ** Tomlin: **~ Bautista: **~ Ivarsson: ***~ Rubio: *** Tobias: ** Henriksson: **~ Team Match MVP: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Passable (6) -Right Defense: World Class (13) -Central Defense: Outstanding (10) -Left Defense: Solid (7) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Excellent (8) -NSI: 66 Ramblers -Midfield: Solid (7) -Right Defense: Passable (6) -Central Defense: Outstanding (10) -Left Defense: Outstanding (10) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Solid (7) -Left Attack: Outstanding (10) -NSI: 71 Comments Ouch. This one hurt, boys and girls. Our tactics were sound and possession was roughly even between the two halves. Although we faced a team with a little more talent than our own, there is no way that we deserved a 4-nil drubbing. This just goes to show you that sometimes the ball doesn’t roll your way. I am sure that the home-field advantage for the Ramblers had something to do with it as well. The good news (if you can call it that), is that Valentin Rubio’s foot injury is a minor one; just a strained arch. Still, the Argentinean is no spring chicken (29 years old), so we’ve brought in a foot specialist to tend to his injury, and ensure that he will be ready to go next weekend. Series Scores and Standings -Croats in Miami opened up the season with a bang, shutting out Neon Genesis Evangelion, 3-nil. -Sweden Heights surprised some people, taking down SoccerWussies, 3-1. -Big Reds performed admirably in their debut, defeating Syracuse Supers, 4-nil.
As I expected, the competition in our series has gotten a lot tougher this season, and I have added the NSI ratings for all of the teams in the series to illustrate this point. Also, HatStats has rated Series IV.49 as the 5th toughest Division IV series in the entire United States! (Thanks to Eilim for pointing this out to me). Duplicating our performance from last season looks to be well-nigh impossible. I have predicted that 30 points will win the series. There is no way anyone is getting out of this series with an automatic promotion. The competition is just going to be way too tight. Other News Otis Johnson was sold on Monday to Indos, a relatively new team from San Francisco. This is good news for Otis, as it looks like he may be able to fight his way into a starting spot. The sale was completed for $9,000, of which $8,100 has found its way into the club’s coffers. Of much more importance to our bank account was the sale of William Brown on Monday as well. The 21 year old defender/wingback was sold for $135,000 to Hodechlopfer, a Swiss 5th Division side. Willie looks like a definite starter for his new club, which is always nice to see. We get to keep $121,500 of the money. We would also like to make mention of the following three clubs and their owners, who have joined the ever-growing ranks of the Screamin’ Seamen Supporters: Tomahawks (Owner: -Panther, 2nd place in Series V.220) goldurnears (Owner: robbgmaier, 4th place in Series V.230) booger balers (Owner: fflix, 1st place in Series V.158) Welcome and thank you folks. Representatives from the club should be arriving shortly to deliver your VIP tickets (and a bit of mischief as well, I suspect ;) ). Up Next: We get to escape from the ice storm that has struck Chicago, and travel to Tempe, Arizona. There we hope to rebound with a U.S. Open Cup victory over the Arizona Wolves. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – U.S. Open Cup – Round 2
Arizona Wolves vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: April 9th, 2003 Venue: Arizona Field (Tempe, AZ) Attendance: 6,913 (7,000) Weather: Partly Cloudy We’ve managed to escape from the harsh weather that struck Chicago recently, and are in Tempe, Arizona for a 2nd round U.S. Open Cup match against the Arizona Wolves. The Wolves, like many of the new Division VI teams in the U.S., is searching for new ownership, but have managed to claim 2nd place in their series thus far. Still, the Wolves do not pose a serious threat to the club, so we should be looking at an easy advance to the 3rd round of the cup. We’re fortunate, because this is exactly what our lads need; a nice easy win. Their confidence was pretty well shattered by the drubbing we took in Detroit last week, but this match should go a long way towards repairing that psychological damage. Formation: 4-4-2 Starters Keeper: #13 Darryl Read Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen Substitutes -Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan -Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma -Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista -Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson -Winger: #3 Ben McMahon We’ve decided to go with a 4-4-2 approach today, which is something we haven’t done in quite a while. We want to get our defensive trainees on the pitch, but I am not comfortable with the idea of playing a 5-4-1. Winning today is too important to the psychology of the team to take that much of a chance. Arlen Lucas will see the pitch today, as he was suspended from our league match this past weekend. Hopefully he can keep his nose clean this time around, because we will need him on Sunday against the Big Reds. Forrest “Gump” Tobias is the other starter that will play for us today. We need a second forward to accompany Jesper Gravesen up front, and Johannes Henriksson is far too valuable to risk in a match like this. On top of that, any match experience we can get for “Gump” is a definite plus. Today also marks the professional debut for youth squad phenom Cameron McDonald. Cameron is one of the most highly-touted players to ever come out of our youth program, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what he can do on the pitch. Match Report PRE-GAME Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Arizona Field saw a crowd turnout of 6913. Arizona started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Stapleton - Gary, Goodson, Friedman, Atkins - Rivers, Aceña Lopez, Anderson, Wynn - Jiménez Asensio, Lake. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Read - Kvam , Stubbs, Mcdonald, Lucas - Peralta, Tere, Smith, Mauffret - Gravesen, Tobias. FIRST HALF Screamin' took the lead after 18 minutes with 0 - 1. Jesper Gravesen placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. After 33 minutes Arizona´s Karl Friedman contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. The visitors Lucian Tere took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 33rd minute. 0 - 2 for Screamin'. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 34:th minute Screamin' goal, making it 0 - 3. Lucian Tere was noted down as the scorer. The structure of the game started to change as Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Halftime score was 0 - 3. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 68 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Screamin'´s Christian Kvam got himself booked. After the ball got lifted in from the left Jerry Smith was on his own in the home side´s penalty area 62 minutes into the game, and should have scored, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 80:th minute Screamin' goal, making it 0 - 4. Jesper Gravesen was noted down as the scorer. Paul Peralta was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Forrest Tobias managed to kick one of them into 0 - 5 in the 83rd minute. Screamin's Keith Stubbs got himself booked after a foul. The Arizona player was Karl Friedman who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 83 percent, dominated the battle. POST-GAME The most dominating Arizona player was without a doubt Tommy Rivers. Bobbie Atkins on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Olav Mauffret on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 5. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, Arizona Wolves 0 Goals Gravesen – 2 (1,2) Tere – 2 (1,2) Tobias – 1 (2) Cards Kvam – yellow (1) Stubbs – yellow (1) Player Ratings Read: ** Kvam: ** McDonald: *** :D Stubbs: ** Lucas: ***~ Peralta: ** Smith: **~ Tere: ** Mauffret: ** Gravesen: ** Tobias: ** Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Poor (3) -Right Defense: Excellent (8) -Central Defense: Excellent (8) -Left Defense: Excellent (8) -Right Attack: Inadequate (5) -Central Attack: Inadequate (5) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -NSI: 48 Arizona Wolves -Midfield: Wretched (2) -Right Defense: Weak (4) -Central Defense: Inadequate (5) -Left Defense: Weak (4) -Right Attack: Poor (3) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Wretched (2) -NSI: 27 Comments A nice easy win, as was expected. Although Arlen Lucas earned Team Match MVP honors, Lucian Tere deserves some special notice. The big Romanian midfielder pegged home two goals in approximately two minutes! That’s the kind of performance that I like to see, even from backups. Jesper Gravesen added two goals of his own, and “Gump” Tobias got in on the action late, adding his second cup goal of the young season. In retrospect, we probably could have played a 5-4-1 and still won the match, but I was not prepared to take the risk at the time. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a pretty conservative manager when it comes to decisions about my team. :) I am particularly pleased with Cameron McDonald, and his outstanding three-star debut performance. He quietly went about his business all game long, sweeping out the area in front of Darryl Read like a pro. Some of the other starters were teasing Chuck Scales about his job being in danger after the match. Chuck looked a little worried, and he should be! Author’s Note: Given Cameron’s three-star performance and assessed value of $100,000 “out of the box,” I suspect he’ll bump up to excellent defending in a week or two. If only he were a year younger (he’s 18), he’d be possible U-20 team material. Other News The incredible support for the Screamin’ Seamen continues to come in, and I can’t begin to tell you all how proud I am to have so much support (primarily from the FOFC). I would like to welcome the following clubs to the family of SSFC supporters: Golden Eagles FC (Owner: GoldenEagle, 3rd place in Series V.167) Calibiri (Owner: daelalus, 3rd place in Series V.46) This brings us to 29 supporting teams, making us #2 in the entire United States! A heart-felt thanks to all of our supporters. :) Up Next: Training results and the weekly financial updates in the next few days. Stay tuned! |
Week 1 Training Results
We returned to our defensive training regimen this week, but did not see any immediate results. We were rather hoping that Cameron McDonald would show some marked improvement after his performance on Wednesday, but that was not the case. Jesper Gravesen, our b-team striker, did improve to weak (4) experience, though. And now for the bad news… Form Changes 2 players improved a level in form (both starters). 13 players had their form remain the same. 7 players dropped in form (1 of them a starter). We did not have a good training week, that much is obvious. We’re hoping that this is just a temporary setback, perhaps a bit of a hang-over from our loss on Sunday. The really bad news is that Cameron McDonald dropped two levels in form! :( Cameron is a hot prospect for the club, so we’re hoping and praying that this is not a sign of lousy base-form. In The Zone Both of our Swedes are playing some excellent soccer (they must be high on life after Sweden won the U-20 World Cup). Team captain Johannes Henriksson and midfielder Niklas Ivarsson are both in excellent (8) form, as is back-up midfielder Jerry Smith. Jerry may see some playing time with the starters on Sunday. Form Dogs Unfortunately, we have four different players currently in weak (4) form. Defensive trainee Zarpas Lerma (who hasn’t played in three weeks), Cameron McDonald, winger Ben McMahon, and keeper Darryl Read are all stinking up the joint at the moment. The good news is that only one of them (McMahon) is a normal starter. Value Average Player Value: $114,455 (-$2,090) Total Player Value: $2,518,000 (-$46,000) Up Next: The weekly financial update on Saturday. After that, we have our home opener against the Big Reds. Stay tuned! |
Team U.S.A. Makes History
The United States National Team made history day, defeating the Swedish National Team for the first time ever. The final tally was U.S.A. 3, Sweden 1. Match # 6875160 Congratulations to Slashers (even though I don't think he reads this). It's a great day for the U.S. of A. |
USA USA USA!!!!!
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WWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!
USA USA!!!!!!!!! |
Sweden is a damn good team. Only 2 losses since the inception of national teams. And the US is now one of them. That is an amazing job.
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Youth Pull
The youth squad performed for us pretty well again this week. Although Sam won’t be staying with the club (I’m not training playmaking), he should give us a nice financial boost and make a good midfield trainee for someone. Sam Young Listed As: Inner Midfielder Asking Price: $30,000 Deadline: 4/16/03 @ 20:33 HT-Time 17 years old, passable form, healthy. A pleasant guy who is balanced and righteous. Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities. Specialty: Technical Nationality: U.S.A. Assessed Value: $31,000 Wage: $640 per week Stamina: Wretched Playmaking: Passable Winger: Poor Scoring: Poor Goaltending: Disastrous Passing: Weak Defending: Inadequate Set Pieces: Poor Weekly Financial Update Previous Balance: $78,828 Revenue Crowd (U.S. Open Cup match vs. Arizona Wolves) - $10,445 Sponsors - $56,100 Temporary (19 new supporters) - $570 Temporary (sale of Otis Johnson) - $8,100 Temporary (sale of William Brown) - $121,500 Total Revenue: $196,715 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $11,271 Player Wages - $31,508 Temporary (youth squad promotion) - $2,000 Temporary (fired specialist) - $1,500 Staff and Specialists - $40,500 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $106,779 Net Income/Loss: $89,936 New Balance: $168,764 Of particularly good news is that the renovations and expansions of The Docks has been completed. 30,000 brand-spanking-new seats (and a special surprise) are ready and waiting for our home opener against the Big Reds. Team Information Team Spirit: Content (up 1 level) Team Confidence: Strong (down 1 level) Sponsor Attitude: Delirious (up 1 level) Supporter Attitude: Delirious (up 1 level) Supporter Club: 1,347 (up 19 from last week) Our U.S. Open Cup win on Wednesday repaired some of the damage to the team’s confidence, but not all of it. Up Next: The Screamin’ Seamen home opener at the “New and Improved” Docks. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – League Match #2
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Big Reds Date: April 13th, 2003 Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL) Attendance: 28,873 (30,000) Weather: Partly Cloudy Today we play host to the Big Reds, one of the newcomers to the division, in our home opener. It looks like we have magnificent weather for the debut of the “new and improved,” Docks, 65 degrees and partly cloudy. The Docks now looks like a smaller version of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, complete with faux pirate ship on one end of the stadium. :cool: Despite being new to Division IV, Big Reds are not a team to be taken lightly. They dominated the Syracuse Supers (admittedly the weakest team in the division) last week in their home opener, 4-nil. They are an all-around solid club, with a dangerous striker in Willibald Roth (what kind of name is Willibald, anyway?) and a fine 19-year-old midfielder by the name of Theo Juarez. Still, with home field advantage and Arlen Lucas returning to the line-up, we expect a win, although a narrow one. I would not be surprised to see this one end up 2-1 or 3-2. Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #17 Mattias Leier -Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret As was mentioned earlier, last season’s Team MVP Arlen Lucas returns to the lineup, after having served his one game suspension last Sunday. Other than that, it’s pretty much business-as-usual as far as our starting line-up goes. Match Report PRE-GAME 28873 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias. Reds had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Morgansson - Sifres Belenguer, Ryan, Conde - Tønnessen, Williams, Juarez, Crabtree, Freixes - Levin, Roth. FIRST HALF David Ryan received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 7:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. Many thought Pete Tomlin ought to have been awarded a penalty shot in the 29:th minute, as he went down trying to circle the visitors keeper Martin Morgansson. Reds had a good opportunity to score the lead goal but the home team goaltender Cornelius Jernigan saved Willibald Roth´s shot headed for the top corner. 0 - 0 was the half-time score. Reds held the ball, with a clear 52 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF Screamin' made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Ben Mcmahon completely alone with keeper Martin Morgansson, who made a spectacular block. n the 71st minute Redss Martin Sifres Belenguer received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Screamin' could have put themselves ahead in the 74:th minute as Forrest Tobias missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right. Robert Levin came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 80:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Cornelius Jernigan managed to tip the ball to a corner. No one team arose to dominate this half, ending in a deadlock. POST-GAME Most important Screamin' player was Arlen Lucas. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Reds player was without a doubt Theo Juarez. Martin Sifres Belenguer on the other hand, had a terrible day. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 0, Big Reds 0 Goals None Cards None Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Willard: ***~ Scales: ***~ Lucas: ***~ Rubio: *** Tomlin: **~ Bautista: **~ Ivarsson: ***~ McMahon: **~ Henriksson: **~ Tobias: ** Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Solid (7) -Right Defense: Magnificent (12) -Central Defense: Brilliant (11) -Left Defense: Outstanding (10) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -NSI: 72 Big Reds -Midfield: Solid (7) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Formidable (9) -Left Defense: Excellent (8) -Right Attack: Passable (6) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Solid (7) -NSI: 66 Comments I do so enjoy tough defensive battles, but this one was a little too defensive for my tastes, particularly on our side of the scoreboard. The defense performed admirably, as per usual, and when they did get a little leaky, “Corny” Jernigan was right there to shut the door on the Reds. Unfortunately, our own offense remained woeful. Ben McMahon (who we have been less than pleased with lately) and Forrest “Gump” Tobias both had opportunities to give us the lead, but could not finish the deal. Despite the fact that we only ended up with a draw, there are plenty of good things to draw from this match. We had our best-ever (if memory serves) overall team rating, and our first ever solid-rated midfield. Our entire back line put up ***~ performances each, another first for the club. It’s obvious that our defense is usually up to the challenge. Our offense, on the other hand, has been lackluster to say the least. Unfortunately, we’re not in a financial position at the moment to make a meaningful change, but will look to address the offense in the future. Series Scores and Standings -Sweden Heights scored twice in the last 15 minutes to snatch a 3-2 victory over Neon Genesis Evangelion. -Croats in Miami had their way with the Syracuse Supers, 4-nil. However, Croats’ starting keeper Don Smith suffered a major injury (5 weeks) in the match. -SoccerWussies surprised everyone by dominating Ramblers, 4-nil. This confirms my suspicion that Ramblers MOTSed the match against us last week.
Next Week’s Matchups Croats in Miami vs. Screamin’ Seamen SoccerWussies vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion Big Reds vs. Ramblers Sweden Heghts vs. Syracuse Supers Other News We would like to welcome the 30th member of our supporters. McGees (Owner: whitesoxmcgee, Currently 2nd place in Series V.195) Welcome McGee, and thank you for your support. Up Next: We travel to Brooklyn, Wisconsin for our 3rd-Round U.S. Open Cup match against the Brooklyn Ex-Pats. Stay tuned! |
Looks to be a rough season for the Seaman. I hope you guys snap out of it and soon!
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Congratulations on getting out of the basement (oooh, that was kind of mean) :)
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Things certainly have not started out as planned, but I am certain that things will turn around. I just hope that it is sooner, rather than later.
Series IV.49 was rated as the 4th toughest series in all of Division IV this week (5th last week) by HatStats. Also, our team rating of 72 tied us for 21st in all of Division IV. The ball just hasn't been rolling our way so far this season. Actually, while it is a little early to look that far ahead, I expect a strong second half from our club, because we get to play the Syracuse Supers back-to-back in weeks 7 and 8. Those matches should be a nice boost to team spirit and confidence, and prepare us for a stretch run. I don't know if I've mentioned it earlier, but my goal for this season is the same as it was last season; finish in the top four, earn some prize money, and avoid a relegation match. With the dramatic increase in competition in Series IV.49 this season, asking anything more of my club is just downright unrealistic in my book. |
I think we all got spoiled with DK kicking everyone's ass every game :)
anyway... just looked through your division and it is very tough. if you get top 3 (which i think you will) that will be a victory in it self. |
Thanks for the encouragement Havok. I know I was spoiled by winning week in-week out. :)
And there is one good thing that we can still cling to. We have yet to lose a home league match, ever! 12 wins, 3 draws, 0 losses. Of course, I've probably jynxed the team now by mentioning it. :D |
Season 3 – U.S. Open Cup – Round 3
Brooklyn Ex-Pats vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: April 16th, 2003 Venue: Brooklyn Ex-Pats Arena (Brooklyn, WI) Attendance: 6,319 (15,000) Weather: Rain For the 3rd round of this year’s U.S. Open Cup, we’ve drawn the Brooklyn Ex-Pats as our competition, from the sprawling metropolis of Brooklyn, Wisconsin (population 916). The two-hour bus trip has resulted in a bit of a culture shock for some of our players, as we have gone from a land of skyscrapers and six-lane highways to a place where cows outnumber cars. Indeed, one rather stubborn heffer delayed our arrival by more than ten minutes by refusing to budge from in front of the bus. :) The Ex-Pats are currently leading series V.168, despite having only been formed just last month. Still, we don’t foresee having any major problems with this club, and our B-team should not have too much trouble advancing us to the 4th round of the Cup, assuming that our convoluted tactics work out how we expect them to. Formation: 5-4-1 Starters Keeper: #13 Darryl Read Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier (defensive) Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma (offensive) Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam Inner Midfielder: #25 Paul Peralta (towards wing) Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere (offensive) Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret (offensive) Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen Substitutes -Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan -Defender: #22 Tyler Willard -Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista -Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias -Winger: #3 Ben McMahon We’ve gone back to a 5-4-1 formation, looking to gain one week of full training for our defenders before we will have to run a 3-5-2 in order to advance in the cup. But we’re trying something a little different this time around with the 5-4-1. We’ll be playing with three midfielders (one towards the wing) and only one winger in the central of the field. The hope is that the extra possession afforded us by the third midfielder should keep the opposition from exploiting the while on our right side. If anything should get through the whole, we have our best wingback trainee, Mattias Leier, there to control things until help can arrive. It started raining about an hour ago, and has shown no signs of letting up, which will hurt the play of some of our more technically-oriented players (Gravesen and Smith in particular). Lucian Tere, on the other hand, is loving every minute of it. The big Romanian plays his best when he’s able to just bowl over smaller opposition, and usually performs admirably on a wet pitch. We’ll keep an eye on him today and try to feed him the ball if he’s got a size-friendly matchup. Match Report PRE-GAME 6319 spectators had found their way to Brooklyn Ex-Pats Arena, despite the heavy rain. Brooklyn tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Beltrán - Gabriel, Fleming, Harder - Gerber, Francoeur, Tillman, Rabella, Shepherd - Florence, Saldana. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Read - Leier, Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Kvam - Tere, Peralta, Smith, Mauffret - Gravesen. FIRST HALF John Harder gave his Brooklyn the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. There wasn´t much opportunity for rapid movements this wet day, which hindered Dom Shepherd in particular. Screamin' seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. Lucian Tere came close to levelling the score in the 28:th minute, as he was set up with a through ball coming in from the left, but his shot hit the post. Halftime score was 1 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Brooklyn, with an impressive 57 percent possession of the ball. SECOND HALF During the break Screamin'´s coach went through the teams new tactics yet again. Screamin' had obvious problems in finding their positions. Brooklyn put themselves up 2 - 0 when Miguel Florence broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. The structure of the game started to change as Brooklyn decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. The referee showed Brooklyns Jay Fleming the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Olav Mauffret spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. Screamin' had a fair chance to reply after 81 minutes, due to some fine moves down the left, but in the end no one was there to put their head to the ball as it was lifted into the box. Hayden Saldana should probably have put his team up another goal in the 87:th minute, but some great goaltending by Darryl Read kept the visitors in the game. This part of the game had been a standoff between the teams. POST-GAME The most dominating Brooklyn player was without a doubt Hayden Saldana. David Gerber on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Screamin' player was Keith Stubbs. Zarpas Lerma on the other hand, had a terrible day. Final Score: Brooklyn Ex-Pats 2, Screamin’ Seamen 0 Goals None Cards None Player Ratings Read: ** Leier: **~ Stubbs: **~ McDonald: **~ Lerma: *~ Kvam: ** Peralta: *~ Smith: **~ Tere: ** Mauffret: ** Gravesen: *~ Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Poor (3) -Right Defense: Outstanding (10) -Central Defense: Formidable (9) -Left Defense: Passable (6) -Right Attack: Wretched (2) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 43 Brooklyn Ex-Pats -Midfield: Poor (3) -Right Defense: Weak (4) -Central Defense: Inadequate (5) -Left Defense: Passable (6) -Right Attack: Inadequate (5) -Central Attack: Inadequate (5) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -NSI: 39 Comments The woes that seem to surround the Screamin’ Seamen continue to plague us, as we lost a match that we should have won, and have been bounced from the U.S. Open Cup much earlier than anticipated. A large share of the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of Jesper Gravesen, who as team captain (weak experience, inadequate leadership) should not have allowed the play of the team to disintegrate the way it did (our experience with 5-4-1 was at passable). I suspect that coach Brown will also be receiving quite a bit of heat this week, as his “5-4-1 alternative” formation backfired in a major way. We shall see if anything comes of that. Other than that, I have very little to say at this time about the whole fiasco. When you’re as ticked off as I am, you’re probably best just keeping your mouth shut. :mad: Other News Youth pull Sam Young is heading south of the equator, as he sold earlier today for a nice tidy sum of $102,000. The purchasing club was C.A. Daedra (B. Bca.), a 4th Division side from Argentina. $93,840 of the money found its way into the club's coffers. We would also like to welcome a new member to the growing group of Screamin’ Seamen supporters: Plowboys (Owner: Gathis, Currently 8th place in Series V.202) The Plowboys are from Kansas…Woohoo and Welcome! :D Up Next: The one good piece of news out of all of this is that all of our defensive trainees receive training this week. Training update to be posted on Thursday evening. Stay tuned! |
Ow, this season is going bad quick. I think this is a good omen: you're lulling everyone into a false sense of security so you can win the FOFC Cup and make a miraculous comeback to take 1st in your series. You're just making it more dramatic. :)
Well, at least you still have the Wing-- never mind (couldn't resist) SI |
Week 2 Training Results
In what continues to be a disappointing trend, none of our defenders showed any marked improvement this week. Trainees Mattias Leier and Cameron McDonald, both of whom are expected to take a “step up” soon, have refrained from doing so. Form Changes 3 players improved in form this week (including winger Ben McMahon) 14 players saw their form remain the same. 5 players dropped in form this week (including Johannes Henriksson and Charlie Bautista) Another poor week of training, which saw the average form of the team drop. I’m at a loss for how to explain it. Just some lousy luck on our part, I suppose. This team’s form and performance is nowhere near what it was at this point last season. In The Zone The good news is that midfielder Niklas Ivarsson continues to play some of the best soccer of his life. Also in top form is substitute midfielder Jerry Smith, who may very well see the field this Sunday against Croats in Miami. Form Dog Newcomer Cameron McDonald continues to disappoint in practice as well as on the pitch, and has dropped to poor (3) form this week. Folks around the front office are hoping and praying that this is just a slump, as Cameron gets used to playing at the professional level, and not an indicator of lousy base-form. Value Average Player Value: $116,045 (+$1,590) Total Player Value: $2,553,000 (+$35,000) Up Next: This week’s youth squad promotion as well as the financial update on Saturday evening. After that, we’re on the road again, as we travel to Miami to take on the league-leading Croats. Stay tuned! |
This week’s youth pull wasn’t with the team long enough for me to remember his name. :p
Weekly Financial Update Previous Balance: $168,768 Revenue Crowd (league match vs. Big Reds) - $150,026 Crowd (U.S. Open Cup match vs. Brooklyn Ex-Pats) - $9,583 Sponsors - $60,750 Temporary (sale of youth squad promotee Sam Young) - $93,840 Total Revenue: $314,199 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $19,500 Player Wages - $29,948 Temporary (youth squad promotion) - $2,000 Temporary (transfer listing for Sam Young) - $1,000 Staff & Specialists - $40,500 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $112,948 Net Income/Loss: $201,151 New Balance: $370,015 Despite our disappointments on the pitch, this was a very profitable week for us, with the promotion and sale of Sam Young acting as a nice little bonus. The expansion to The Docks certainly seems to be paying for itself quickly, as we brought in just over $150,000 from Sunday’s league match. We’re in a good spot financially. Now it’s just a matter of turning that into better on-the-field performances. Team Information Team Spirit: Satisfied (up 1 level) Team Confidence: Strong (no change) Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (up 1 level) Supporter Attitude: Content (down 2 levels) Supporter Club: 1,346 (down 1 from last week) For the first time in club history, we actually had a supporter leave the organization. Apparently the supporters were none too pleased with us getting shut out at home, even though the game did end in a draw. And I’m sure that getting knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup by a Division V side didn’t help matters any, either. Up Next: We look to exact a little revenge upon the Croats in Miami on Sunday. For those of you who may not remember, this is the club that cost us the series title last season and handed us our first ever league loss. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – League Match #3
Croats in Miami vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: April 20th, 2003 Venue: Croats in Miami Arena (Miami, FL) Attendance: 29,117 (33,000) Weather: Partly Cloudy It’s payback time! This week we travel back down to Miami, to take on the Croats in Miami, the club that handed us our first ever league match loss, and cost us the series title last season. This has rapidly evolved into quite a little rivalry, and we’re looking forward to another good, hard-played match this time around. The Croats come into today’s match in first place in the standings, and have yet to give up a goal through the first two weeks of play. But this can be quite deceiving, since they have only played two of the weakest teams in the division thus far; Neon Genesis Evangelion and Syracuse Supers. Truth be told, their defense isn’t all that good, and has been made even more suspect with the injury to starting keeper Don Smith last week. Thus far, the all-time series is tied at one win a piece. Previous Meetings 12/16/2002 – Screamin Seamen’ 5, Croats in Miami 1 3/17/2003 – Croats in Miami 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0 Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #17 Mattias Leier -Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret The one change to our starting lineup this week is youngster Jerry Smith starting in place of Charlie Bautista in the midfield. Charlie has not been performing well at all as of late, and his slip has opened up a spot in the lineup for Jerry, at least on a temporary basis. Jerry has a bright future with the club, and has been playing excellent soccer as of late, so we want to get him into the starting lineup whenever possible. With the Croats’ starting keeper out injured, we’ve decided to test the backup, Chris Keys. To do this, we’re playing with a much more aggressive formation than is typical for us, with McMahon, Ivarsson, Tomlin, and Rubio all being given the green-light to jump up on the attack when the situation warrants. Even wingbacks Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard will play a little bit forward from their usual positions in the back, looking to feed the long ball to the wingers when given the opportunity. Match Report PRE-GAME Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Croats in Miami Arena saw a crowd turnout of 29117. Croats tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Keys - Schofield, Göransson, Howe - Parish, Allen, Blackwell, Schwab, Rönnerberg - Patrick, Broderick. Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Tomlin, Smith, Rubio - Henriksson, Tobias. FIRST HALF At the beginning of the game, Croats appeared to already have taken this victory to the bank. Croats were very close to putting themselves one up in the 11th minute as Lester Schofield got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. Rolf Schwab received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 13th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. After 18 minutes Screamin' put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Johannes Henriksson finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. After a fatal mistake from the away teams right side defense in the 31st minute, an alert Tony Allen bagged the ball, evening the score to 1 - 1. Croats made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Ryan Broderick completely alone with keeper Cornelius Jernigan, who made a spectacular block. Screamin's Arlen Lucas got himself booked after a foul. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 1. Croats held the ball, with a clear 58 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF Some quick foot work on the left side of the field in the 52nd minute left Screamin'´s Forrest Tobias completely free to score. 1 - 2 for the visitors. Due to some great work on the right wing Croats:s Ryan Broderick was able to even the score in the 53rd minute to 2 - 2. Croats had a good opportunity to take the lead as Michael Patrick came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of Cornelius Jernigan. Rolf Schwab of Croats received a yellow card in the 87:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Croats held the ball, with a clear 59 percent possession rate. POST-GAME The most dominating Croats player was without a doubt Tony Allen. Chris Keys on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Screamin' player was Chuck Scales. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day. Final Score: Croats in Miami 2, Screamin’ Seamen 2 Goals Henriksson – 1 (1) Tobias – 1 (1) Cards Lucas – yellow (1) Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Lucas: ***~ Scales: ***~ Willard: *** McMahon: ** Ivarsson: ***~ Smith: **~ Tomlin: **~ Rubio: *** Henriksson: ** Tobias: ** Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Passable (6) -Right Defense: Excellent (8) -Central Defense: Formidable (9) -Left Defense: Brilliant (11) -Right Attack: Passable (6) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Solid (7) -NSI: 65 Croats in Miami -Midfield: Excellent (8) -Right Defense: Passable (6) -Central Defense: Passable (6) -Left Defense: Inadequate (5) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Formidable (9) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -NSI: 62 Comments With the offensive troubles that we have had thus far this season, it is nice to finally see some offensive production from the strikers. We only had two really good scoring opportunities in the match, and both Johannes Henriksson and Forrest “Gump” Tobias did not waste them, as each tallied their first league goals of the season. Unfortunately, the Croats were able to respond to both of our goals, and we had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Despite the fact that we have yet to earn a league win this season, I am not all that upset about the result. The competition level in the series is such that, in most cases, a draw on the road is as good as a win. I have also discovered what I think to be a big part of the reason that we have experienced trouble this season. Because of the way that the schedules are arranged, each team that we play against in the first half of the season is coming off of a game against the Syracuse Supers, the one safely PIC-able team in the league. This means that, assuming that the other managers in the league are intelligent (which they appear to be, for the most part), we’re playing with a team spirit deficit each and every time out for the first six weeks of the season. The good news to come out of this little epiphany is that, in weeks six through nine, we will get to play our matches against what appear to be the two weakest teams in the league; Neon Genesis Evangelion and Syracuse Supers. This four week stretch should give us a lot of momentum to make a run at the end of the season. Needless to say, I am not as concerned with our sixth place standing as I was before I figured all of this out. Series Scores and Standings -Sweden Heights had an easy time at home against Syracuse Supers, winning 5-nil. -SoccerWussies survived two second-half goals by Neon Genesis Evangelion, winning 3-2. -Big Reds won a tough defensive battle against Ramblers, 1-nil.
Our draw with Croats in Miami knocked them out of contention for 1st place, leaving that honor for Sweden Heights (whom we play host to next week). Also of note are Ramblers, who have yet to score a goal since their 4-nil MOTS victory over us in week one. This just goes to show how damaging an ill-advised early-season MOTS can be to a team’s season. Week 4 Matchups Ramblers vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion Screamin’ Seamen vs. Sweden Heights Syracuse Supers vs. SoccerWussies Big Reds vs. Croats in Miami Ramblers should be able to recover next week against NGE, and SoccerWussies should increase their position with an easy win over Syracuse Supers. The matches to watch next week are ours against league-leading Sweden Heights, and Big Reds hosting Croats (the winner of which could claim first place with a Seamen victory over Heights). Up Next: We’ve arranged for a friendly match this Wednesday against Rexall’s Else United, to take place at The Docks. Stay tuned! |
Just a quick question. Is there anyway to tell if your players have changed in form? Or do you just remember it all like some super-computer? :)
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I am a Data King after all. ;) Actually I use an excel spreadsheet to track things like player values, skills, form, and performance from week to week. I've looked at programs like HAM and the like, but I find it more enjoyable to track things myself, rather than have a tool do it for me. This way, I feel I get to know my players and their abilities better than I would otherwise. |
HattrickPoli is the way to be:)
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Season 3 – Week 3 Friendly Match
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Else United Date: April 23rd, 2003 Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL) Attendance: 774 (30,000) Weather: Partly Cloudy We certainly didn’t expect to be playing friendly matches at this point in the season, but find ourselves doing just that after an early exit from the U.S. Open Cup last Wednesday. We’re determined to make the best of it, though, and have returned to concentrating our efforts on training for our young defenders. Today we play host to rexallsc’s Else United, who have flown in from Los Angeles for the match. We expect a typically low-scoring affair from the match, as our defense should be more than adequate to contain United’s strikers. The big question is whether or not our anemic offense will be able to find a way to get the ball on net. Formation: 5-4-1 Starters Keeper: #13 Darryl Read Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen Substitutes -Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan -Defender: #22 Tyler Willard -Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith -Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias -Winger: #3 Ben McMahon We’re back to our standard 5-4-1 lineup this week, after the resounding failure of Coach Brown’s “alternative” 5-4-1 last time out. The one change to our standard B-team lineup is Charlie Bautista. Charlie’s weak play as of late means that he has been relegated to B-team duty, but we’re hoping that he will recover his previously good form and return to the starting lineup soon. We’ll be keeping a close eye on him today. A wary eye will also be placed upon striker and team captain Jesper Gravesen. Jesper did a horrible job last week of managing the team on the pitch, and was partially responsible for our exit from the U.S. Open Cup. His continued presence on the club may very well depend on how well the team responds to his commands today. We shall see. Match Report PRE-GAME 774 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. Lineup: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Bautista, Peralta - Gravesen. United had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Põlluste - Braxton, Chance, Figueiredo Costa, Aldrich - Ubierna, Esparza, Burch, Calvert - Ridgeway, Mcqueen. FIRST HALF Keith Stubbs behaved like an inexperienced youth player in the 7:th minute as he gave the ball away to an opponent. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. Screamin's Keith Stubbs gave, after 7 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Halftime score was 1 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 75 percent possession of the ball. SECOND HALF With 64 minutes played Keith Stubbs could have brought this one home for Screamin', had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. One of many good passes from José María Ubierna at the wing was recieved and skillfully taken care of by Sheldon Ridgeway, scoring for United to 1 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 89 percent possession of the ball. POST-GAME The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. However, Jesper Gravesen made a disastrous appearance. Most important United player was Alexandre Figueiredo Costa. Arthur Mcqueen was a disappointment, however. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Else United 1 Goals Stubbs – 1 Cards None Player Ratings Read: ** Kvam: **~ McDonald: ** Stubbs: **~ Lerma: ** Leier: **~ Mauffret: ** Bautista: **~ Tere: ** Peralta: *~ Gravesen: *~ Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Inadequate (5) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Outstanding (10) -Left Defense: Excellent (8) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -:Left Attack: Wretched (2) -NSI: 51 Else United -Midfield: Wretched (2) -Right Defense: Passable (6) -Central Defense: Passable (6) -Left Defense: Inadequate (5) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -:Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 34 Comments Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the Keith Stubbs Show with me, your host, Data King! It’s pretty unusual when all of the notable events for your team focus around one player. It’s even more unusual when that player is a defender! Keith had himself a whale of a game today and, despite his early blunder, I am duly impressed. Stubbs reminds me more and more of a young Sandis Ozolinsh; a defender who jumps up onto the attack with (sometimes disturbing) regularity, whether he is asked to or not. (And no, I did not instruct Keith to play offensive or anything of the sort.) I have to give credit to the sky-blues of Else United. Despite our early lead and shut-down defense, they kept digging, and were finally able to get the equalizer with about 20 minutes left to play. I am quite impressed with the effort put forth by rexallsc’s club, and would have expected a more lop-sided result (or at least a victory) given the massive possession advantage that we enjoyed. As far as the players we were keeping our eyes on are concerned, Charlie Bautista passed with flying colors. I was expecting a bit less out of him, to be frank, and now expect him to return to the starting line-up in short order. Jesper Gravesen, on the other hand, continues to disappoint. Although I am not at liberty to discuss the details at this point (read: I don’t have enough money yet :p ), we will be looking to make some offensive changes to the club soon. You can be relatively certain that, if those changes require that we let anyone go, Jesper will be the first name on a very short list of expendables. Other News We would like to welcome the 32nd member of the Screamin’ Seamen Supporter Group: Manhattan Marauders (Owner: NAIWF, Currently 6th place in Series V.152). Welcome Marauders, and thank you very much for your support. After only 16 days with Swiss club Hodechlopfer, former Seaman William Brown has moved on to F.C. Botarell, a Spanish 5th Division Side. The transfer earned us a nice little bonus of $5,310. Up Next: Our weekly training results on Thursday evening. Stay tuned! |
Ummm, our match ratings for today were remarkebly similar.
NE Oklahoma Sidekicks Player rating and Team formation Midfield: passable (6) Right Side Defence: excellent (8) Central Defence: outstanding (10) Left Side Defence: formidable (9) Right Side Attack: wretched (2) Central Attack: weak (4) Left Side Attack: poor (3) Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Inadequate (5) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Outstanding (10) -Left Defense: Excellent (8) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -:Left Attack: Wretched (2) |
Thanks for agreeing to the Friendly. Hopefully, this non-loss (after two defeats in a row) will springboard us onto the League title, but I'm not optimistic.
I'm pretty surprised/thankful you didn't beat the tar out of me :) |
The 5-4-1 formation doesn't beat the tar out of anybody, believe me. ;)
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Week 3 Training Results
Once again, we had to marked increases amongst our defensive trainees this week. I know that both Cameron McDonald and Mattias Leier are close, and am rather surprised/disappointed that neither of them has taken the next step just yet. Form Changes 4 players increased in form (all reserves). 12 players had their form remain the same. 6 players decreased in form this week (3 of them starters). This is getting rather depressing, as our team’s average form continues to drop slowly, and all of this while training at full intensity (100%). I’m at a loss to explain it, except that we just appear to be having a run of bad luck that will not stop. In The Zone The one bright spot for us remains Swedish midfielder Niklas Ivarsson, who continues to shine on the pitch and on the practice field. The best $153,000 I’ve ever spent, at least thus far. Form Dogs Defensive trainee Cameron McDonald showed a little bit of improvement this week, which we’re hoping is a sign of good things to come from the 18 year old. He currently shares the dubious title of “form dog” with trainee Zarpas Lerma and midfielder Charlie Bautista (all at weak form). Value Average Player Value: $119,682 (+$3,637) Total Player Value: $2,633,000 (+$80,000) Wingback and last season’s Team MVP Arlen Lucas becomes the first non-keeper on the club to break the quarter-million mark, and is currently valued at $256,000. Up Next: The weekly youth squad promotion and financial update on Saturday. After that, we play host to Sweden Heights, the current league leaders, as we continue to seek our first league victory of the season. Stay tuned! |
Week 3 Youth Pull
Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Wesley Blount. And as soon as you’re done, you’ll probably want to say goodbye to Wesley. He will be listed on the transfer market on Monday, and should bring in at least $75,000 or so. Wesley Blount 19 years old, passable form, healthy. A pleasant guy who is tranquil and honest. Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities. Nationality: U.S.A. Assessed Value: $66,000 Wage: $840 per week Stamina: Poor (3) Playmaking: Passable (6) Winger: Solid (7) Scoring: Poor (3) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Poor (3) Defending: Poor (3) Set Pieces: Weak (4) I am tempted to keep Wesley on the team, but I do not have the spare time necessary to bring his fitness up to a suitable level. I am certain that a club that trains wingers or midfielders will be able to find the time, however. Weekly Financial Update Previous Balance: $370,015 Revenue Crowd (friendly match vs. Else United) - $2,055 Sponsors - $63,000 Temporary (mother club money) - $300 Temporary (6 new supporters) - $180 Temporary (Re-sale bonus from William Brown) - $5,310 Total Revenue: $70,845 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $19,500 Player Wages - $29,948 Temporary (youth squad promotion of someone who sucked) - $2,000 Staff & Specialists - $40,500 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $111,948 Net Income/Loss: -$41,103 New Balance: $328, 912 Team Information Team Spirit: Satisfied (no change) Team Confidence: Strong (no change) Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change) Supporter Attitude: Content (no change) Supporter Club: 1,352 (up 6 from last week) We’re finally starting to see a growth in the supporter club this season, albeit a small one. Still, the way things have been going around here lately, we’ll take whatever we can get. Up Next: Our league match against the league-leading Sweden Heights. Stay tuned! |
your the king of youth pulls.... i hate you :)
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Season 3 – League Match #4
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Sweden Heights Date: April 27th, 2003 Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL) Attendance: 21,542 (30,000) Weather: Partly Cloudy We’re back home this week for league play, as we play host to the league-leading Sweden Heights. Heights look to be a decent club (like just about everyone else in the series), and have a good defense that can perhaps rival our own. But their first place standing and nine points is a little misleading, as they have had the luxury of playing against some of the weaker clubs in the division. We’re looking for solid defense on both sides of the ball, and expect good scoring chances to be few and far between today. Still, we should have the advantage in the number of chances we get, as we appear to have the superior midfield. The question is whether or not our suspect offense can take advantage of those chances. Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #24 Christian Kvam -Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret We’re back to our regular starting eleven this week. Charlie Bautista continues to struggle, but even a struggling Charlie Bautista appears to be better than a top-form Jerry Smith in the midfield. Both Johannes Henriksson and Forrest “Gump” Tobias are struggling with their form, but Jesper Gravesen is in coach Brown’s doghouse at the moment, and is not about to see the pitch except for in an emergency. Match Report PRE-GAME Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 21542 to The Docks. Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Henriksson, Tobias. Heights had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Wilkinson - Flamkvist, Bergman, Claesson - Stoner, Jansson, Eriksson, Thomas, Song - Leijonstål, Doyle. FIRST HALF The referee showed Screamin's Arlen Lucas the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Tyson Doyle came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 30:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Cornelius Jernigan managed to tip the ball to a corner. After 31 minutes Heights´s Lars Eriksson contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. Johannes Henriksson gave his Screamin' the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. In the 32nd minute Heightss Mats Claesson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Chuck Scales spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. 1 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF With 53 minutes played Forrest Tobias could have brought this one home for Screamin', had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. Heights got a chance to level the score as Tyson Doyle suddenly found himself free with the goaltender but the finishing shot hit the bar. In the games 73rd minute Screamin'´s Tyler Willard fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Tyler Willard for taking a dive. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 78 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Screamin'. However, Trent Wilkinson made a spectacular save. In the 83rd minute Screamin' put themselves up 2 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Tyler Willard 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 Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 62 percent, dominated the battle. POST-GAME The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson was a disappointment, however. Most important Heights player was Mats Claesson. Tomas Leijonstål on the other hand, had a terrible day. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Sweden Heights 0 Goals Henriksson – 1 (2, GWG) Willard – 1 (1) Cards Lucas – yellow (2) Willard – yellow (1) Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Lucas: **** :D Scales: ***~ Willard: ***~ McMahon: ** Ivarsson: ***~ Bautista: **~ Tomlin: **~ Rubio: **~ Henriksson: ** Tobias: ** Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Solid (7) -Right Defense: Outstanding (10) -Central Defense: Brilliant (11) -Left Defense: World Class (13) -Right Attack: Inadequate (5) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Passable (6) -NSI: 72 Sweden Heights -Midfield: Inadequate (5) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Excellent (8) -Left Defense: Excellent (8) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Solid (7) -Left Attack: Solid (7) -NSI: 61 Comments BOOYEAH! We finally got our first victory of the season, and a solid one at that. Team captain Johannes Henriksson gave us the game winner, and wingback Tyler Willard scored the first goal of his young career as well. The match also earned Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan the eighth clean sheet of his career. Arlen Lucas performed admirably at wingback, earning his (and the team’s) first ever four-star rating. Unfortunately, Arlen also received a yellow card, and now has two. He has already been suspended once this season, and will have to cool his heels if he does not want to get suspended again. Series Scores and Standings -Ramblers managed their second victory of the season, defeating Neon Genesis Evangelion in a 4-3 shootout. -SoccerWussies narrowly escaped from Syracuse with a 1-nil victory over the Supers. -Big Reds claimed the top spot in the series, defeating Croats in Miami, 2-1.
While the victory did not improve our sixth-place standing, it did serve to tighten things up a bit in the standings. Only five points separate the top six teams in the series now. Week 5 Matchups SoccerWussies vs. Screamin’ Seamen Croats in Miami vs. Ramblers Sweden Heights vs. Big Reds Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Syracuse Supers Next week’s match against SoccerWussies is definitely a winnable one, even if we will be on the road. I suspect that Big Reds will be able to handle Sweden Heights, and Neon Genesis Evangelion should finally get a victory against Syracuse Supers. Croats in Miami vs. Ramblers is anyone’s guess, however. Other News Please help me in welcoming the 33rd and 34th members of the Screamin’ Seamen Support Club: West Henrietta FC (Owner: bigjdotcom01, currently 3rd place in Series V.53) Frankfort United (Owner: DukeRulesMAB, currently 7th place in Series V.22) Welcome, and thank you very much for your support. Up Next: We’ve scheduled a friendly match this week against another FOFC club, Reign. Stay tuned! |
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Having an excellent youth squad pays off in the long run, believe me. :cool: |
Nice win, hopefully you can make a push toward DIII now that you got the first one under your belt!
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Division III would be nice, but it's going to be a lot harder to get there this season. With the competition as tight as it is in my series, there's no way anyone is going to earn enough points for automatic promotion, which means whoever comes out of this dog fight on top will have to play a qualifier. Getting to Div. III is going to be no small task. |
Season 3 – Week 4 Friendly Match
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Reign Date: April 30th, 2003 Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL) Attendance: 1,634 (30,000) Weather: Partly cloudy We play host to another one of our supporting teams this week, heavyreign’s Reign. It looks like we’ve got good weather again this week, and the supporters are in a considerably better mood than they have been previously this season, so we’re expecting a nice turnout. As is typical for our friendly matches with a 5-4-1 formation, the defense is not our major area of concern. The question is, as it seems to be every time, whether or not our offense can step up and produce. We shall see. Formation: 5-4-1 Starters Keeper: #13 Darryl Read Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald Left Wingback: #24 Christiam Kvam Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen Substitutes -Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan -Defender: #22 Tyler Willard -Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista -Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias -Winger: #3 Ben McMahon We’re playing our standard second-team lineup this week. We’ll be keeping a particularly close eye on both Keith Stubbs and Cameron McDonald today, as both are competing for the primary back-up (and heir apparent) spot to Chuck Scales. Cameron appears to have more raw talent, but Keith has been the apple of Coach Brown’s eye as of late. It should be interesting to see which one steps up as things move forward. Match Report PRE-GAME Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Docks saw a crowd turnout of 1634. Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. They fielded: Read - Leier, Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Kvam - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Gravesen. Reign had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Gaize - Moran, MacDaid, Boulton, Rodríguez - Braun, Robinsson, Herndon, Humphries - Swärdér, Dalstål. FIRST HALF In the games 4:th minute Screamin'´s Christian Kvam fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Christian Kvam for taking a dive. Seemingly due to lack of experience, Ramón Boulton needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. Screamin's Lucian Tere gave, after 19 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. In the 23rd minute Screamin's Keith Stubbs received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Reign were forced to a substitution as Antonio Braun couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. In the 26:th minute Screamin' put themselves up 2 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Mattias Leier coming up from the left, who proceeded to cooly round the goaltender and knock the ball home. With 27 minutes played Zarpas Lerma could have brought this one home for Screamin', had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. 2 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 70 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 3 - 0. Jesper Gravesen finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. The referee showed Screamin's Paul Peralta the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Screamin' put their lead ahead another goal as Olav Mauffret struck home the 4 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. In the games 72nd minute Reign´s Ivan Månblad fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Ivan Månblad for taking a dive. In the 76:th minute Screamin' put themselves up 5 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Jerry Smith 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 Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 78 percent possession rate. POST-GAME Screamin'´s best player was Keith Stubbs. Paul Peralta on the other hand, had a terrible day. Reign´s best player was Jordie Moran. However, Andreas Robinsson made a disastrous appearance. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, Reign 0 Goals Tere – 1 Leier – 1 Gravesen – 1 Mauffret – 1 Smith – 1 Cards Kvam – yellow Stubbs – yellow Peralta – yellow Player Ratings Read: ** Leier: **~ Stubbs: **~ Lerma: ** McDonald: **~ Kvam: **~ Mauffret: ** Tere: ** Smith: ** Peralta: *~ Gravesen: *~ Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Weak (4) -Right Defense: Solid (7) -Central Defense: Formidable (9) -Left Defense: Formidable (9) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 48 Reign -Midfield: Wretched (2) -Right Defense: Inadequate (5) -Central Defense: Weak (4) -Left Defense: Weak (4) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Weak (4) -Left Attack: Poor (3) -NSI: 30 Comments We are quite pleased with the results of this match, to say the least. For the first time in club history, we managed to tally five goals with a 5-4-1 formation. We saw all-around decent performances from our reserves, with a couple of exceptions, and this should serve as a nice confidence-booster for the kids on the b-team. This is exactly the sort of performance we were looking for, with FOFC Cup III starting in a couple of weeks. As far as the competition goes between Keith Stubbs and Cameron McDonald, the jury is still out as far as I am concerned. Keith played himself a fine game, but his penchant for picking up yellow cards (two in the last four weeks) makes me a little leery of playing him in a competitive match. Hopefully Chuck Scales will keep himself healthy, and I will not have to make a decision between Keith and Cameron. Up Next: Weekly training results Thursday evening. Hopefully a couple of our defensive trainees will take the next step. Stay tuned! |
Just a quick note for all the faithful Seamen-lovers out there (:p). Updates are forthcoming. I was busy Friday and all weekend with a wedding (congratulations Aylmar) and all the festivities that go along with that (bachelor party :D ). On top of that, my broadband connection decided to die on me, and I haven't had a chance to get it fixed yet, so I couldn't even get on-line to adjust my lineup.
Anyway, expect to see a few updates soon (hopefully). |
Week 4 Training Results
This week, the two defensive trainees that we have been expecting to step up did so. Both Cameron McDonald and Mattias Leier improved in their defensive abilities. Cameron McDonald Jersey # 18 18 years old, weak (4) form, healthy. A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest. Has disastrous (1) experience and wretched (2) leadership abilities. Specialty: Head Nationality: American Assessed Value: $99,000 Wage: $1,000 per week Stamina: Weak (4) Playmaking: Weak (4) Winger: Poor (3) Scoring: Weak (4) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Weak (4) Defending: Excellent (8) Set Pieces: Poor (3) Cameron has a ton of talent, but his form has been considerably lacking since his promotion from the youth squad a month ago. If he shows some improvement soon, he will probably be considered the heir-apparent to Chuck Scales starting spot on the defensive line. But if not, I will have to consider letting him go. The revenue from the sale of a young defender of his caliber would help us considerably in other areas. Mattias Leier Jersey # 17 19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy. A popular guy who is calm and honest. Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities. Nationality: Estonian Assessed Value: $101,000 Wage: $1,104 per week Stamina: Passable (6) Playmaking: Poor (3) Winger: Passable (6) Scoring: Poor (3) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Weak (4) Defending: Solid (7) Set Pieces: Weak (4) Mattias is the most promising of our young wingbacks, and it’s nice to see him finally take the next step. However, it is unlikely that he will replace Tyler Willard as one of our starting wingbacks any time soon. Form Changes 9 players increased in form this week (including 6 starters :eek: ). 11 players saw their form remain the same. 2 players dropped a level in form (including Johannes Henriksson) Overall, we had the best week of training so far this season, and the team’s average form rose considerably, which is nice to see. The only down-side if team captain Johannes Henriksson, who continues to struggle. In The Zone Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson continues to play excellent soccer, and is joined by last season’s Team MVP winner, wingback Arlen Lucas. Aside from a small one week dip, Arlen has been in solid (7) or better form since the middle of January. Now that’s what I call good base-form. :D Form Dog We have three players who are really struggling at the moment, in weak (4) form. Two of them are on the b-team; the aforementioned Cameron McDonald and Romanian midfielder Lucian Tere. The third is a cause for real concern, as team captain Johannes Henriksson has dropped to weak form as well this week. The Swedish striker hasn’t played this poorly since September, and we’re hoping that he will snap out of his slump soon. Our offense needs all the help it can get. Value Average Player Value: $123,409 (+$3,727) Total Player Value (22 players): $2,715,000 Assessed Value Milestones $100,000+ -Wingback #17 Mattias Leier ($101,000) $200,000+ -Defender #2 Chuck Scales ($207,000) -Wingback #22 Tyler Willard ($206,000) Up Next: The weekly financial update and this week’s youth squad product. Stay tuned! |
Week 4 Youth Pull
Our youth squad continues its on-again, off-again performance. This week’s youth squad is worth more as a medical test subject than as a soccer player. Frank Ruffie has been shipped off to The Fighting Crawfish. Do with him as you wish, The_Afoci. :D Weekly Financial Update Previous Balance: $328,912 Revenue Crowd (league match vs. Sweden Heights) - $113,528 Crowd (friendly match vs. Reign) - $4,211 Sponsors - $64,350 Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660 Temporary (sale of youth pull Wesley Blount) - $99,360 Total Revenue: $282,109 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $19,500 Player Wages - $29,948 Temporary (youth squad promotion of Wesley Blount) - $2,000 Temporary (transfer listing for Wesley Blount) - $1,000 Staff & Specialists - $40,500 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $112,948 Net Income/Loss: +$169,161 New Balance: $498,073 With a cool half-million now in the bank, expect to see a roster change or two happen in the near future. Team Information Team Spirit: Content (down one level) Team Confidence: Strong (no change) Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change) Supporter Attitude: Delirious (up two levels) Supporter Club: 1,374 (up 22 from last week) Amazing what a win (and a shutout to boot) can do for the attitude of the supporters, huh? Up Next: Our week five league matchup against SoccerWussies. Stay tuned! |
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*cough*striker*cough* SI |
Season 3 – League Match #5
SoccerWussies vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: May 4th, 2003 Venue: SoccerWussies Arena (Atlanta, GA) Attendance: 17,000 (17,000) Weather: Overcast No pre-game commentary this week. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was unable to travel with the team this weekend. Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #17 Mattias Leier -Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret I was unable to make any alterations to our standard line-up this week (see the earlier post for an explanation), so we were forced to go with our default line-up this week. Match Report PRE-GAME At SoccerWussies Arena, 17000 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came. SoccerWussies had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Tullbrant - Danielsson, Åhlstedt, Dehlbrant - Wilson, Göransson, Myung-Dae, Bower, Udd - Hansson, Casillas. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias. FIRST HALF After a fine move down the middle Tony Göransson nearly gave the home side one up in the 9:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. Man, what a shot by Lin Myung-Dae! Firing from 35 yards he didn't give the enemy goalie a chance and it was 1 - 0. In the 18:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Jessie Casillas dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for SoccerWussies. In the 24:th minute SoccerWussies´s David 'Follen' Hansson tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net. The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 0. SoccerWussies held the ball, with a clear 52 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF Screamin' showed some good morale and were, in the 68:th minute, able to reduce the score to 2 - 1 as Forrest Tobias got past the home sides full backs straight in front of the goal. The referee showed SoccerWussiess Urban Danielsson the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Björn R. Dehlbrant was clearly tired at the end of the game and Tyler Willard nicked the ball from him, but was unable to put it past the keeper. Screamin' got a chance to level the score as Forrest Tobias suddenly found himself free with the goaltender but the finishing shot hit the bar. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 62 percent possession rate. POST-GAME SoccerWussies´s best player was Tony Göransson. Hans Udd was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson on the other hand, had a terrible day. Final Score: SoccerWussies 2, Screamin’ Seamen 1 Goals Tobias – 1(2) Cards None Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Willard: ***~ Scales: **** Lucas: **** Rubio: **~ Tomlin: **~ Bautista: **~ Ivarsson: ***~ McMahon: **~ Henriksson: ** Tobias: **~ Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Passable (6) -Right Defense: World-Class (13) -Central Defense: Brilliant (11) -Left Defense: Brilliant (11) -Right Attack: Passable (6) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -NSI: 70 SoccerWussies -Midfield: Passable (6) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Formidable (9) -Left Defense: Brilliant (11) -Right Attack: Inadequate (5) -Central Attack: Solid (7) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -NSI: 64 Comments Coach Brown was left to his own devices this weekend, and needless to say I am not happy with the results. It looks as though the perpetual team spirit deficit we are operating on this season continues to haunt us, and I am certain that playing on the road did not help matters any. Despite great ratings, the defense allowed two early goals from which we were never able to recover. “Gump” Tobias did make things more interesting with his second-half goal, but he was basically operating alone up front as team captain Johannes Henriksson continues to play the worst soccer we have seen from him in over two seasons. Still and all, both “Gump” and Tyler Willard had opportunities late to change the outcome of the match, but weren’t able to finish things off. Forrest’s shot hitting the bar late in the match was particularly painful, as we were mere inches away from earning at least one point on the road. Not a good day, to say the least. I cannot wait for the second half of the season, when we are no longer chasing the Syracuse Supers (the one PICable team in the series) through the fixture order. That, more than anything else, is killing the first half of this season. Series Scores and Standings -Croats in Miami put up a magnificent ( :eek: ) midfield, and defeated Ramblers 3-1. -Big Reds had no trouble with Sweden Heights, handing them an embarrassing 5-1 defeat at home. -Neon Genesis Evangelion earned their first points of the season with a 5-1 beat-down of Syracuse Supers.
I’m trying not to let our low standing bother me, because I don’t believe the series standings are a fair gauge of a team until half the season is played (once each team has played every other team once). I know that we’re better than our sixth place standing shows, and that should improve soon. Our next four matches are against the two teams below us; Neon Genesis Evangelion and the (apparently abandoned) Syracuse Supers. We should be able to rise into the top four by the end of the month. Week 6 Matchups Screamin Seamen vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion Croats in Miami vs. Sweden Heights Big Reds vs. SoccerWussies Ramblers vs. Syracuse Supers Other News: Some good news amidst the bad. As some of you may recall, we traded a great youth pull, Hyman Morey (solid playmaking and solid defending) last season for “Corny” Jernigan and Jerry Smith. Hyman was sold over the weekend for a cool million, which netted us a nice $50,000 in mother club money. Despite not having a home league match this week, we should still break even. Up Next: We’re off to the Big Easy this week, for the last friendly match before the start of FOFC Cup III. Our hosts are Doug5984 and his Louisiana Cyclones. It should be a tough, defensive match. Stay tuned! |
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Give the man a cigar! I already priced excellent strikers last week, and for half a million (or perhaps a touch more) I should be able to land a good one. |
Well, with your defensive coach, you need a damn fine striker while Henrikksson is down. Do you have a set pieces guy and team leader who can step in if you sub for him?
*smokes cigar... then hacks out a lung* damn, i forgot i was allergic to smoke SI |
I'm contacting my travel agency in order to book tickets for my whole squad from Rennes to Chicago. I'm still wondering if I'll play a dull 5-4-1, the league standard 3-5-2 or the newly tried 4-5-1.
Alf Trickers - fellow FOFC III Cup team |
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Henriksson is my best team leader and set pieces ace. The only other guy I have who qualifies as a set pieces ace (solid or better) is Jesper Gravesen, who hasn't done well lately either. My three strikers are all in pretty poor shape (with Gump being the best of the three at the moment, but he sucks on corner and free kicks). I'm looking for another set pieces guy in my hunt for a striker, but SPs are secondary right now. I just need offense, period. Alf: It all depends on whether or not you want to sacrifice some training (I assume you train D) in order to improve your chances in the cup. Whatever you decide to do, I'm looking forward to the match. I can also recommend a good place for "after-hours entertainment" if your players are into that sort of thing. I'm sure a few (OK, most) of my players can show your guys around. :D |
Season 3 – Week 5 Friendly Match
Louisiana Cyclones vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: May 7th, 2003 Venue: The Cyclone Center (New Orleans, LA) Attendance: 1,038 (14,050) Weather: Partly Cloudy We’re in the Big Easy this week for the last friendly match prior to the beginning of FOFC Cup III. Our gracious hosts are Doug5984 and his Louisiana Cyclones, and the match should be a tough, defensive one. Both clubs run a 5-4-1 formation, so scoring opportunities should be few and far between. The Cyclones’ b-team looks to be a pretty decent one across the board, but the question mark for them will be up front. With the sale earlier today of striker Elliott Aguilera, we’re not sure who will be the main forward for the Cyclones in today’s match. It will be up to our defenders though, to contain whoever it is that is trying to score goals for the opposition. Formation: 5-4-1 Starters Keeper: #13 Darryl Read Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen Substitutes -Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan -Defender: #22 Tyler Willard -Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista -Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson -Winger: #3 Ben McMahon The two Seamen to watch today are central defender Cameron McDonald and wingback Mattias Leier. Both of them showed marked improvement in practice over the past week, and we are eager to see if this translates into better performances on the pitch. Of particular interest is Mattias Leier, who also appears to be recovering from a minor form slump. We’re expecting to see good things from the young Estonian today. Match Report PRE-GAME 1038 spectators arrived at The Cyclone Center, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Louisiana tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Glenn - Stubblefield, Henry, Batts, Blalock, Gravbrøt - Blissenbach, Spalding, Gabrielsen, Neely - Mastroianni. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Gravesen. FIRST HALF Ralph Batts of Louisiana received a yellow card in the 3rd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Screamin'´s Zarpas Lerma could have put the guests one up in the 10:th minute, chasing a through ball but Erin Glenn was fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. Christian Kvam of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 16:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Halftime score was 0 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball. SECOND HALF Screamin'´s Zarpas Lerma could have put the guests one up in the 63rd minute, chasing a through ball but Erin Glenn was fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. Screamin' took the lead after 64 minutes with 0 - 1. Jesper Gravesen placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. Christian Kvam seemed to be floating in the air at will as he elegantly headed in 0-2. The previous Screamin' corner kick was executed by Jesper Gravesen. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 74:th minute Screamin' goal, making it 0 - 3. Zarpas Lerma was noted down as the scorer. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 65 percent possession of the ball. POST-GAME The most dominating Louisiana player was without a doubt Cody Stubblefield. Lawrence Neely was a disappointment, however. Most important Screamin' player was Keith Stubbs. However, Lucian Tere made a disastrous appearance. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Louisiana Cyclones 0 Goals Gravesen – 1 (GWG) Kvam – 1 (assisted by Gravesen) Lerma – 1 Cards Kvam – yellow Player Ratings Read: ** Kvam: **~ McDonald: ** Lerma: ** Stubbs: **~ Leier: **~ Mauffret: **~ Tere: *~ Smith: ** Peralta: ** Gravesen: ** Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Poor (3) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Formidable (9) -Left Defense: Excellent (8) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 46 Louisiana Cyclones -Midfield: Wretched (2) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Excellent (8) -Left Defense: Passable (6) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Wretched (2) -Left Attack: Wretched (2) -NSI: 37 Comments We certainly cannot argue with this sort of performance. While neither Cameron McDonald, nor Mattias Leier performed as well as we were hoping for, they still both had productive (if quiet) matches. Keith Stubbs continues to perform admirably on the back line, and both Jesper Gravesen and Zarpas Lerma appear to be coming around. Just in time for FOFC Cup III to boot. The B-Team has actually been performing well as of late, and have outscored their opponents 9-1 since our early exit from the U.S. Open Cup. This certainly bodes well, and will hopefully equate to a nice, deep run into the FOFC Cup. We would like to thank Doug5984 and his Louisiana Cyclones for their gracious hospitality. Up Next: After training results and the weekly financial update, we return home to The Docks for league play. There we will be fighting for a much-needed victory (and three precious points) against Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned! |
DataKing thanks for the friendly, i wish my team would have been able to put up more of an attack but I can't be disappointed with a 37 NSI, and a formidable D from my B-team. Had I not sold my other stiker I might have been able to ateast score 1 goal, but man that $100,000 and be clearly out of debt feels great, good luck to your team in the upcoming FOFC Cup.
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I was actually keeping half an eye on that bidding this afternoon, just out of curiosity. I was as surprised as you were to see the bidding go that high. You certainly can't argue with that sort of scratch. I see that Mastroianni put up **, but is only valued at $13,000. Low passable scoring? |
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Mastoianni was my youth pull this past weekend (3rd consecuative to make the team, starting keeper, and a high inadequate 17 year old defender the 2 previous weeks) these are his ratings, it appears that he is probably an average inadequate and the 2 stars were a result of good form (although i could be completely wrong since I have little expereince with forwards: Pasquale Mastroianni (11472889) 19 years, passable form, healthy A controversial person who is balanced and honest. Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities. Nationality: USA Assessed value: 13 000 US$ Wage: 560 US$/week Owner: Louisiana Cyclones Warnings: 0 Stamina: passable Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: poor Passing: poor Winger: poor Defending: wretched Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: poor I though about firing him, but since he was a youth pull of mine, and I could use the cash from Aguilera (didn't think it was going to be that much though) I decided to keep him around to just be the B-Team forward and now knowing that he can put up 2 stars I am comfortable knowing he could come in and play if he had to. |
I would think that he would have a pretty decent inad. scoring rating if he is able to put up two stars with passable form, but like you I have little experience with forwards. Now if you want to talk defenders and wingbacks, that's a different matter. :cool:
It's nice when you're able to get kids off the youth squad that can contribute. Two of my starters (Tyler Willard and "Gump" Tobias) as well as two of my defensive trainees (Cameron McDonald and Keith Stubbs) are products of the youth squad. Best of luck to the Cyclones in FOFC Cup III. |
edit: I moved this question over the hattrick forum so that maybe it will get more views, and help someone else out with a similar question.
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Week 5 Training Results
After a rather lengthy dry spell, our training program has really started producing results over the last couple of weeks. For the second week in a row, two of our players improved their defensive ratings. Chuck Scales Jersey #2 24 years old, solid (7) form, healthy A sympathetic guy who is calm and honest. Has poor (3) experience and poor (3) leadership abilities. Nationality: American Assessed Value: $217,000 Wage: $1,490 per week Stamina: Weak (4) Playmaking: Poor (3) Winger: Weak (4) Scoring: Inadequate (5) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Wretched (2) Defending: Formidable (9) Set Pieces: Poor (3) If you follow this dynasty report, then you know that Chuck has been with us since the beginning, and has been our starting sweeper since day one. Apparently he was rather tired of hearing about Cameron McDonald and Keith Stubbs competing for his job, and he is the first Seaman to achieve a formidable rating in anything. Christian Kvam Jersey #24 19 years old, inadequate (5) form, healthy. A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest. Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities. Specialty: Head Nationality: Norwegian Assessed Value: $63,000 Wage: $924 per week Stamina: Poor (3) Playmaking: Poor (3) Winger: Passable (6) Scoring: Wretched (2) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Weak (4) Defending: Solid (7) Set Pieces: Weak (4) Hot on the heels of Mattias Leier’s improvement to solid defense, Christian Kvam has made the jump as well. Leier and Kvam are our two best wingback trainees, and there certainly appears to be a good deal of competition between the two. We actually had a third player improve in defense this week, but that player was striker Forrest “Gump” Tobias. His improvement to weak (4) defending doesn’t make a lick of difference, naturally. Form Changes 4 players improved in form this week (including one starter, midfielder Charlie Bautista). 13 players saw their form remain the same. 5 players dropped a level in form this week (including one starter, midfielder Niklas Ivarsson). The team’s form pretty much held level this week, and most of the shifts that did occur were contained to the reserves. In The Zone Wingback Arlen Lucas continues to play some of the best soccer of his young career, and earns top-form honors this week. This is his second consecutive week in excellent (8) form. Form Dogs Team captain Johannes Henriksson, along with defensive trainees Cameron McDonald and Zarpas Lerma are in weak (4) form this week. Johannes continues to be the primary area of concern, as the Swedish striker just can’t seem to remove his head from his rectum. His play has been in sharp decline since the beginning of the season, and all we can do is hope that he finds his stride again soon. Value Average Player Value: $126,727 (+$3,318) Total Player Value (22 players): $2,788,000 Assessed Value Milestones None Up Next: This week’s youth squad product and the weekly financial update. Stay tuned! |
*cough* Update *cough*:D
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It's on the way. :)
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Week 5 Youth Pull
I find this guy humorous for some reason. He’s been listed as a Set Pieces player, just to see if I can get a noob to bite. ;) Rigoberto Jimenez 19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy. A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest. Has disastrous (1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities. Nationality: American Assessed Value: $1,000 Wage: $500 per week Stamina: Wretched (2) Playmaking: Wretched (2) Winger: Wretched (2) Scoring: Wretched (2) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Poor (3) Defending: Poor (3) Set Pieces: Solid (7) He’s listed for $5,000, but I do not recommend that anyone here buy him. This is more of an experiment than anything else. And he would be fun to follow if someone did pick him up and play him. Weekly Financial Update Previous Balance: $498,073 Revenue Crowd (friendly match vs. Louisiana Cyclones) - $2,690 Sponsors - $65,850 Temporary (mother club money from resale of Hyman Morey) - $50,000 Temporary (16 new supporters) - $480 Total Revenue: $119,020 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $19,500 Player Wages - $29,948 Temporary (youth squad promotion of someone who sucked) - $2,000 Staff & Specialists - $40,500 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $111,948 Net Income/Loss: +$7,072 New Balance: $505,145 The mother club money we received from the sale of Hyman Morey was quite nice, as it allowed us to pretty much break even this week, despite not having a home game. We’re still looking for a quality striker to spend our half-million on, and hope to land one within a week or so. Team Information Team Spirit: Calm (down one level) Team Confidence: Strong (no change) Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change) Supporter Attitude: Delirious (no change) Supporter Club: 1,390 (up 16 from last week) It’s nice to see that our fickle fans were understanding for once, and are still delirious despite our league loss this week. I guess they’re finally figuring out just how difficult it is to win on the road in this league. Up Next: We try for a much-needed victory in league play as we host Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – League Match #6
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion Date: May 11th, 2003 Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL) Attendance: 21,602 (30,000) Weather: Rain Today marks the first day in what will be the easiest four-week stretch of the season for SSFC. We play host to Neon Genesis Evangelion, a club that is struggling at the moment. NGE finished in fourth place last season, but has not been able to compete with the new additions to the series, and are currently staring at automatic relegation if they do not improve their standing. The weather could very well play a big factor today. It is downright nasty in Chicago today, with periodic rain and ferocious win gusts as high as forty miles-per-hour. If you’ve followed this dynasty report, then you know the Screamin’ Seamen aren’t a very good wet-weather team, despite what the team name might suggest. We’re just hoping that the Neon Genesis Evangelion players have as much trouble as we do finding our footing on a wet, wind-blasted pitch. Our clubs have met twice in the past, and we have owned NGE thus far, taking all six possible points. Previous Meetings 12/22/2002 – Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, Screamin’ Seamen 3 3/9/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 1 The match back in December of last year was a memorable one. In a back-and-forth match, the unlikely hero for SSFC was central defender Chuck Scales. His strike in the 76th minute gave the Seamen a hard-fought 3-2 victory on the road. Let’s hope that Chuck has another admirable performance in him today, as we desperately need three points. Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #17 Mattias Leier -Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret We’re going with our standard lineup today, with only one minor change. Due to the severe slump that team captain Johannes Henriksson is in, Ben McMahon will be taking the corner and free kicks. He isn’t as skilled as Johannes when it comes to this sort of thing, but is the best alternative we have. Match Report PRE-GAME 21602 spectators had found their way to The Docks, despite the heavy rain. Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias. EVA started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Åkesson - Calloway, Waldrop, Vick - Ayres, Andersson, Ødegård, Taylor, Villiard - Lachance, Alfaro. FIRST HALF After 3 minutes EVA put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Douglas Alfaro finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. Stanley Lachance was, after 14 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors lead with a well placed diving header but home side keeper Cornelius Jernigan saved. The referee showed Screamin's Chuck Scales the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. After 30 minutes Screamin'´s Chuck Scales contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 54 percent, dominated the battle. SECOND HALF Johannes Henriksson pulled a real crowd pleaser as he, in the 60:th minute, wove through the guests whole central defense line and put the 1 - 1 equaliser away. Screamin' broke through to the left in the 68:th minute, Charlie Bautista firing at an acute angle giving the home side a 2 - 1 lead. 71 minutes into the game EVA´s Stanley Lachance found a gap in the home sides central defense scoring with a long shot, making it 2 - 2. Screamin''s Johannes Henriksson scored 3 - 2 by shooting accurately and hard from a long distance, leaving the opponent goalie no other option than to pick up the ball from the net. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 4 - 2. Forrest Tobias finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. The referee showed EVAs Ed Vick the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The player down was Arlen Lucas. The Screamin' bench looked worried a while but in the end he managed to get up. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 60 percent possession rate. POST-GAME The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson was a disappointment, however. The most dominating EVA player was without a doubt Geir Ødegård. However, Théo Villiard made a disastrous appearance. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 Goals Henriksson – 2 (3,4,GWG) Bautista – 1 (1) Tobias – 1 (3) Cards Scales – yellow (1) Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Willard: ***~ Scales: ***~ Lucas: **** Rubio: **~ Ivarsson: *** Tomlin: *** Bautista: **~ McMahon: **~ Tobias: **~ Henriksson: *~ Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Solid (7) -Right Defense: Magnificent (12) -Central Defense: Brilliant (11) -Left Defense: Magnificent (12) -Right Attack: Passable (6) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -NSI: 73 Neon Genesis Evangelion -Midfield: Inadequate (5) -Right Defense: Inadequate (5) -Central Defense: Excellent (8) -Left Defense: Formidable (9) -Right Attack: Formidable (9) -Central Attack: Excellent (8) -Left Attack: Excellent (8) -NSI: 62 Comments I have to say that I am pleased with the results from this one. We were a little concerned being down by a goal at the end of the first half, but credit is due to “Corny” Jernigan for keeping things from getting out of hand early. As the second half started, team captain Johannes Henriksson was able to dig deep, despite his slump, and managed two of the team’s four goals, including the one that proved to be the game winner. Forrest “Gump” Tobias and midfielder Charlie Bautista added goals of their own, and we tallied more than two goals for the first time this season. Things were a little rough on the pitch as well, with both Chuck Scales and Arlen Lucas getting dinged up in the match. Neither were serious injuries, but we’ve made arrangements for a doctor to come in and treat both of them, just to be on the safe side. Series Scores and Standings -Ramblers had no trouble with the woeful Syracuse Supers, dominating them 4-nil. -Big Reds held onto their first place position, defeating SoccerWussies, 2-nil. -Croats in Miami took care of business at home, defeating Sweden Heights, 3-nil.
Week 7 Matchups Syracuse Supers vs. Screamin’ Seamen Sweden Heights vs. Ramblers SoccerWussies vs. Croats in Miami Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Big Reds We get our two matches against the only safely PICable team in the series, Syracuse Supers, over the next two weeks. While that is happening, Ramblers and Sweden Heights will be beating each other up, and hopefully either splitting the series or playing to a couple of draws. Either way, we should be in either 4th or a close 5th place by the end of week eight. And more importantly, we should be the ones with the team spirit advantage down the stretch. The Syracuse Supers will be chasing us through the fixture order this time around, which should play to our advantage. Up Next: It’s the most wonderful time of the year…FOFC Cup Time! We kick off group play in FOFC Cup III action this Wednesday as we play host to Alf Trickers. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 1
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Alf Trickers Date: May 14th, 2003 Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL) Attendance: 3,347 (30,000) Weather: Overcast This is what we’ve been waiting for, the start of the FOFC Cup III. We’ve been placed in Group F for group play, along with the following teams: -Alf Trickers (Team Owner: Alf) -Fantastic Flying Froggies (Team Owner: fantastic flying froggie) -Manhattan Marauders (Team Owner: NAIWF) -Shadow Dragons (Team Owner: Astott) -North Plainfield Plague (Team Owner: cthomer5000) We are the #1 seed in the group (#6 overall), and have drawn the Alf Trickers (#2 seed, #23 overall) for the first round of group play. Judging by past performances, we should have the advantage in talent level today. Whether or not we are victorious will come down to execution, as we all know that nothing is guaranteed in the world of professional soccer. One match from the first round has already been decided, as the Fantastic Flying Froggies and Manhattan Marauders fought to a 1-1 draw earlier today. If we are victorious today and earn a full three points, that should play to our advantage as group play progresses. An early two point lead over the 3rd and 4th seeds would be nice indeed. Today’s match should be a slow-paced defensive one, as both teams prefer defensive formations. We will run our box-standard 5-4-1 formation, of course. Formation: 5-4-1 Starters Keeper: #13 Darryl Read Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen Substitutes -Keeper: #1 Cornelius Jernigan -Defender: #22 Tyler Willard -Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista -Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson -Winger: #3 Ben McMahon We’ll be using our standard b-team lineup against the Trickers today, with Jesper Gravesen retaining his role as team captain. Jesper’s play has improved, if only slightly, over the past couple of weeks, so today we will see if he can lead the team to victory against our French visitors. Match Report PRE-GAME At The Docks, 3347 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came. Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Peralta, Tere, Smith, Mauffret - Gravesen. Trickers tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Wikhult - Sahlstål, Tati, Duquesne - Vassen, Martinsson, Johansson, Hoffmann, Boulanger - Redon, Manjón. FIRST HALF Screamin' were very close to putting themselves one up in the 13th minute as Olav Mauffret got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. Mattias Leier received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 13th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. After a fine move down the middle Jesper Gravesen nearly gave the home side one up in the 28:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. 0 - 0 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball. SECOND HALF The 68:th minute saw the home team take a 1 - 0 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for Screamin' was Jerry Smith. Some brilliant football from the visitors right wing resulted in a 74:th minute levelling of scores as Trickerss Olivier Redon equalised to 1 - 1. Screamin's Zarpas Lerma gave, after 75 minutes, the home team a 2 - 1 lead after an attack coming in from the right. In the game's 77:th minute Screamin'´s Jesper Gravesen limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 68 percent, dominated the battle. POST-GAME The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. Jesper Gravesen on the other hand, had a terrible day. Trickers´s best player was Luís Manjón. However, Henke Johansson made a disastrous appearance. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Alf Trickers 1 Goals Smith – 1 Lerma – 1 (GWG) Cards None Player Ratings Read: ** Kvam: **~ Stubbs: *** Lerma: ** McDonald: ** Leier: **~ Peralta: ** Tere: ** Smith: ** Mauffret: ** Gravesen: *~ Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Poor (3) -Right Defense: Formidable (9) -Central Defense: Outstanding (10) -Left Defense: Solid (7) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 46 Alf Trickers -Midfield: Wretched (2) -Right Defense: Passable (6) -Central Defense: Passable (6) -Left Defense: Poor (3) -Right Attack: Inadequate (5) -Central Attack: Inadequate (5) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 35 Comments The Trickers surprised us a little bit by coming out in a 3-5-2 formation, which may explain some of the difficulty we had in the first half of the match. Things seemed to get on track in the second half when midfielder Jerry Smith knocked one home, but Olivier Redon was able to tally the equalizer a scant six minutes later. Not to be outdone, central defender Zarpas Lerma (in weak form no less) swung around to the right and gave us a 2-1 lead only a minute later. That is how things would end, and we earned a hard-fought three points against a competitive Trickers team. It was a good match all-around, and could just as easily have gone the other way. I was pleased to see the referee leave the cards in his pocket and let the lads play, and Jesper Gravesen’s injury is a slight one. We expect him to be back to 100% shortly. FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings -NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders traveled to France and managed a 1-1 draw against the Fantastic Flying Froggies. -cthomer5000’s North Plainfield Plague earned three points on the road, defeating Astott’s Shadow Dragons, 1-nil.
We couldn’t be more pleased with the way things turned out in the first week of group play. We’ve earned an early two point lead on the #3 and #4 seeds, and a three point lead on the #2 seed. The only downside, I suppose, is that it took one of our three home matches to get that lead, but I’ll take it nonetheless. Group F Round 2 Matchups Screamin’ Seamen vs. Shadow Dragons North Plainfield Plague vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies Alf Trickers vs. Manhattan Marauders Astott’s Shadow Dragons are next up for the Screamin’ Seamen. With it being another home match and all, we should do well, but nothing is guaranteed with the 5-4-1 formation. We shall see. Up Next: Rumor has it that the club is about to announce a major signing off the transfer market. Stay tuned! |
Alf Trickers players are still excited about their road trip to the USA as none of them has ever been there.
I knew that presenting myself with a 3-5-2 formation would be the best solution to counter Dataking's 5-4-1 training formation. As I decided to stick with playmaking training, I chose to also stick to my League 3-5-2 formation (excellent experience). The passable defense rating was also unexpected as the scrubs were playing there. Unfortunately, Dataking's weak attack was sufficient to overcome my passable defense... The good news is that I managed to cash $8727 in while spending $6K in travel expenses netting me $2727 cash !!! Something not expected. From what I've seen in Screamin Seamen history the 3,347 spectators is a club record for a friendly. Nice to see US citizen appreciate French Football. Maybe the fact that we are sitting atop our Div IV helped them come see us ! Other good news is that no one got hurt on both sides. Good luck for the rest of the FOFC Cup (I now need you to also beat our fellow FOFC teamer) and for your league duties. Looking forward to reading more Screamin' Seamen dynasty reports. |
Screamin’ Seamen Announce Addition Of Half-Million-Dollar-Man Guido Metman
(AP – Chicago, IL): Data King, owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, held a press conference Thursday morning to announce the signing of Dutch striker Guido Metman. Metman comes to SSFC from the Xkicks, a 3rd Division side based in his native Rotterdam. Exact financial terms were not disclosed, but front office personnel did indicate that the total price was somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000. This is, by far, the most expensive transfer the club has ever made. Metman’s salary also makes him the second most highly-paid player on the club’s roster, after starting goalkeeper Cornelius Jernigan. “We’re extremely happy to have Guido as a part of the club,” stated King at today’s press conference. “He is a pure ball-striker the likes of which this club has never seen, and his unpredictable nature makes him extremely difficult to defend against. Guido also brings with him a great deal of experience from his European play, and certainly has a thing or two he can teach our younger players.” “Experience” may be the single best word for describing Metman, who has experience beyond his twenty-five years. The Dutchman has tallied seventy-seven goals in his career, including hattricks on six separate occasions. Combine that with the 66 career goals of Johannes Henriksson, and the Screamin’ Seamen now have an incredible amount of goal-scoring experience up front. Club ownership has been criticized in the past for being too conservative with their finances, and this criticism has only increased over the course of what has been, up to this point at least, a very disappointing season. The Seamen have only tallied nine goals thus far this season (second fewest in the league) and sit in a very uncomfortable sixth place in the standings. King fervently denies that the addition of Metman is little more than a knee-jerk reaction to a disappointing season. “We’ve had an eye on improving our offense for some time now,” stated King, “and have been planning on making just such a move since before this season began. Frankly, the criticism we’ve received thus far baffles me. This is a town that cheers for John Shoop and the Bears. How in the hell can they criticize us for a lack of offense?” Knee-jerk or not, the addition of Metman is certain to make the Screamin’ Seamen a much more dangerous club from here on out. Ivan Phillip Freely, Associated Press. Guido Metman Jersey # 12 25 years old, solid (7) form, healthy. A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest. Has inadequate (5) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities. Specialty: Unpredictable Nationality: Dutch Assessed Value: $371,000 Wage: $3,348 per week Warnings: 0 Stamina: Passable (6) Playmaking: Inadequate (5) Winger: Passable (6) Scoring: Excellent (8) Goaltending: Wretched (2) Passing: Disastrous (1) Defending: Inadequate (5) Set Pieces: Disastrous (1) We finally settled on Guido as our new striker, who should be a steady three-star performer for us. He couldn’t pass his way out of a paper bag, and is utterly useless when it comes to set pieces, but other than that there is absolutely nothing to not love about the guy. He has a good personality (but still caused a small team spirit loss when he joined the team :confused: ), and can play a number of other positions in a pinch. I especially like the unpredictable specialty, which is nice to have in a forward. Other News Former Seamen Luis Javier Prada was recently sold by Oulun Karpat (Finland Division 5) to RoxOrS (Denmark Division 5) for $108,000, earning us a nice little bonus of $3,240. A drop in the bucket, really, but those drops can add up over time. Up Next: The weekly training and financial updates over the next few days. After that, Guido Metman should be making his American debut against the Syracuse Supers on Sunday. Stay tuned! |
Alf, you're absolutely right about Wednesday's match being a new record attendance for a friendly. Previous the best attendance we had was 2,395 against Bbors way back in December.
Maybe the lies we told everyone about Thierry Henri playing for the Trickers had something to do with the attendance. :D |
Week 6 Training Results
Another one of our defensive trainees improved this week, Spaniard Zarpas Lerma. Zarpas Lerma Jersey #21 19 years old, poor (3) form, healthy. A pleasant guy who is balanced and upright. Has disastrous (1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities. Specialty: Head Nationality: Spanish Assessed Value: $49,000 Wage: $888 per week Stamina: Inadequate (5) Playmaking: Weak (4) Winger: Inadequate (5) Scoring: Poor (3) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Disastrous (1) Defending: Solid (7) Set Pieces: Wretched (2) The young Spaniard is another of our defender/wingback trainees, and is the last one to reach at least a solid rating in defense. While he does appear to have some potential, his form has been suffering all season long. Mattias Leier and Christian Kvam are better alternatives for us on the back line, so Zarpas will likely find himself on the transfer market when our current training program comes to a conclusion (probably at the end of next season). Form Changes 6 players increased in form this week (including 2 starters). 10 players saw their form remain the same. 7 players dropped in form this week (including 4 starters). Apparently the transition for our new striker, Guido Metman, has been a difficult one, because he has dropped two levels in form (to inadequate) since arriving in the states. We aren’t too concerned about this, however, as it is most likely just a temporary setback while he gets used to a new system. We also have two weeks of easy matches for Guido to get accustomed to things. We will be keeping a close eye on him. In The Zone Wingback Arlen Lucas continues to play out of his head on the back line, and is the one Seaman in excellent (8) form this week. Form Dogs Any hopes of team captain Johannes Henriksson coming out of his slump were quickly dashed in practice this week. The struggling Swede has dropped to poor (3) form this week (the worst it has been since he joined SSFC). The addition of Guido Metman means that Johannes will likely be relegated to FOFC Cup duties until he gets his act together. Joining Johannes as this week’s form dogs are defensive trainees Cameron McDonald and Zarpas Lerma, both also in poor (3) form. Value Average Player Value: $138,304 (+$11,577) Total Player Value (23 players): $3,181,000 (+$393,000) These numbers are skewed, naturally, due to the recent addition of Guido Metman. Assessed Value Milestones $300,000+ -Arlen Lucas ($301,000) Up Next: This week’s youth squad product and financial update. Stay tuned! |
Week 6 Youth Pull
I feel rather sorry for this week’s youth squad product. John’s parents must have had a sick sense of humor. John Doe 19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy. A nasty fellow who is calm and honest. Has disastrous (1) experience and disastrous (1) leadership abilities. Specialty: Powerful Nationality: American Assessed Value: $35,000 Wage: $680 per week Stamina: Passable (6) Playmaking: Inadequate (5) Winger: Wretched (2) Scoring: Inadequate (5) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Wretched (2) Defending: Weak (4) Set Pieces: Inadequate (5) We don’t expect to get much from the market for John, but he has been listed at $1,000 nonetheless. It’s too bad he’s not a candidate for team clown. I’d like to keep him around, just so the other players will have someone to make jokes about. :D Week 6 Financial Update Previous Balance: $505,145 Revenue Crowd (league match vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion) - $117,296 Crowd (FOFC Cup III match vs. Alf Trickers) - $8,727 Sponsors - $66,750 Temporary (22 new supporter) - $660 Temporary (resale bonus for Luis Javier Prada) - $3,240 Total Revenue: $196,673 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $19,500 Player Wages - $29,948 Temporary (youth squad promotion of Rigoberto Jimenez) - $2,000 Temporary (transfer listing for Rigoberto Jimenez) - $1,000 Temporary (purchase of Guido Metman) - $510,000 Staff & Specialists - $40,500 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $622,948 Net Income/Loss: -$426,275 New Balance: $78,870 Obviously, the majority of our available cash was spent on the purchase of Guido Metman. We will find out on Sunday whether or not he was worth it. Team Information Team Spirit: Calm (no change) Team Confidence: Strong (no change) Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change) Supporter Attitude: High on Life (up one level) Supporter Club: 1,412 (up 22 from last week) Up Next: We have what should be an easy win against the last-place Syracuse Supers. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – League Match #7
Syracuse Supers vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: May 18th, 2003 Venue: Syracuse Supers Arena (Syracuse, NY) Attendance: 7,000 (7,000) Weather: Sunny We’re in sunny Syracuse, New York this week for the first of two back-to-back matches against the last place Syracuse Supers. The Supers are the one truly non-competitive team in the series, and have only managed to tally one goal all season. These two matches should be a nice opportunity for our guys to get some momentum for the run through the second half of the season. The Supers always run an asymmetrical 3-5-2 formation, without a wingback on the left side of their defense. It’s extremely predictable as well, so fans can expect to see us attack hard on the right side in today’s match. We’re actually going with an official “play it cool” attitude today, which is something I am hesitant to do on the road. The obvious weakness in their formation, combined with our sixth-place standing, have led me to this decision. It is a calculated risk, but the spirit of the team needs all of the help it can get if we’re to improve our standing in the second half of the season and avoid potential relegation. Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Forward: #12 Guido Metman Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #17 Mattias Leier -Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Today’s match will mark Guido Metman’s debut as a Screamin’ Seaman. He will replace the slumping Johannes Henriksson in the lineup, and will wear the captain’s armband as well. Johannes is struggling so much right now that he isn’t even dressing for the match today, as Jesper Gravesen will act as a substitute forward in case of injury to either Guido or “Gump.” As was mentioned earlier, we will be pressing hard down the right side today, with both Valentin Rubio and Niklas Ivarsson jumping up on the play, should the opportunity present itself. We’re even giving Arlen Lucas more freedom than he is used to, and he may jump up onto the attack as well given the right situation. Match Report PRE-GAME The 7000 spectators at Syracuse Supers Arena were in for an afternoon of sunshine. Syracuse had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Trahan - Muñoz, Walls, Lockwood - Dominguez, Brown, Varner, Stokes, Heller - Askensten, Mcnamara. Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Metman, Tobias. FIRST HALF A lunatic dribble by Alfredo Muñoz, in front of the own keeper, set up Screamin'´s Guido Metman for an embarrasingly easy strike. 0 - 1... In the 15:th minute Screamin's Pete Tomlin received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Screamin' had, after 17 minutes of the game, worked the left side industriously, creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but somehow didn´t achieve closure. Unsportsmanlike behaviour by Pete Tomlin rendered him his second booking of the match, and Screamin' had to finish the game with a reduced squad. In the 22nd minute Matt Mcnamara went down in a suspected penalty situation after a challenge from the visitors right guard, but the referee, having a good line of sight, signalled to keep on playing. In the 25:th minute Screamin's Valentín Rubio received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Jordi Dominguez spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Syracuse, with an impressive 59 percent possession of the ball. SECOND HALF In the 49:th minute Screamin' put themselves up 0 - 2 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Charlie Bautista. Syracuse had a brilliant opportunity to reply as Chad Stokes received a high ball from the right, striking the ball still in the air. Only Cornelius Jernigan´s reflexes saved him. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Syracuse, with an impressive 59 percent possession of the ball. POST-GAME The most dominating Syracuse player was without a doubt Don Brown. Alfredo Muñoz was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Tyler Willard. Guido Metman on the other hand, had a terrible day. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Syracuse Supers 0 Goals Metman – 1 (1,GWG) Bautista – 1 (2) Cards Tomlin – 2 yellow (suspended) Rubio – yellow (2) Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Lucas: ***~ Scales: ***~ Willard: **** Rubio: **~ Ivarsson: ***~ Tomlin: ??? (ejected) Bautista: *** McMahon: **~ Metman: **~ Tobias: **~ Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Weak (4) -Right Defense: Brilliant (11) -Central Defense: Outstanding (10) -Left Defense: Brilliant (11) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Passable (6) -NSI: 63 Syracuse Supers -Midfield: Inadequate (5) -Right Defense: Passable (6) -Central Defense: Passable (6) -Left Defense: Weak (4) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Passable (6) -NSI: 50 Comments This match didn’t exactly go as planned, as you can well imagine. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin managed to get himself into the referee’s dog house early on, and had been thrown off the pitch halfway through the first half. This left our midfield dangerously weak, but already with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Guido Metman’s debut goal. With Charlie Bautista adding some insurance early in the second half, we were well on our way. Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan earned his clean sheet, stopping a great scoring opportunity by the Supers later in the match. It wasn’t exactly the 4-nil blowout we were sort of expecting, but we’ll take it nonetheless. Guido Metman, despite his early goal, was less than spectacular in his debut. But as I have mentioned earlier, he seems to be having a little trouble adjusting to his new surroundings and teammates. Fortunately, we has at least another week or two to get his bearings before we get back into the nasty part of our schedule. Everyone else left on the pitch performed admirable, especially wingback Tyler Willard, who earned his first ever Team Match MVP award. Series Scores and Standings -Sweden Heights and Ramblers fought to a 1-1 draw. -Croats in Miami dominated SoccerWussies, to the tune of 5-1. -Neon Genesis Evangelion pulled a shocker, downing the Big Reds, 2-1.
Our victory over the Supers, combined with a fortunate 1-1 draw between Ramblers and Sweden Heights, catapulted us from sixth to fourth place, and out of the relegation zone. Croats in Miami reclaimed the top spot by virtue of Big Reds unexpected loss. The entire table was shaken up, as spots 1,2,4,5, and 6 all changed hands this week. Week 8 Matchups Screamin’ Seamen vs. Syracuse Supers Ramblers vs. Sweden Heights Big Reds vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion Croats in Miami vs. SoccerWussies Next week could very well see us in third place, as we draw the woeful Supers again, while SoccerWussies face the daunting task of traveling to Miami to take on the Croats. Up Next: Round two of FOFC Cup III group play, as we play host to Astott’s Shadow Dragons. Stay tuned! |
sweet... you should be in 3rd place after next week. You still have a shot at winning the divison this year. Its gonna be tough but you can pull it out.
Looking at your schedule its quite possible you'll win all 4 of your next games. Then you have 3 VERY tough and VERY important games to end the season. Lucky for you 2 of them are at home. First place is still possible bro =) |
I still can't believe last season's end:(
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Havok: Anything is possible, and it looks like Croats and Big Reds are the teams to beat. I am pretty confident that we can take care of business against the others, and we actually managed draws against those two teams. And only six points separate the top six teams. This one will likely come down to the wire.
vexroid: It was a heartbreaker, that's for sure, but "that which does not kill me makes me stronger" and all that. :) |
Data, I think if your strikers every get their form up, you will do just fine. You just seem to have the worst luck with your strikers form of anyone in the history of hattrick!
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Prior to this season, Henriksson's form has been pretty steady, and (with the exception of a week here or there) he has been in passable or solid form since September. Prior to that, he had about a one month slump, which makes me hope that he will pull out of his current slump soon.
Only time will tell. |
Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 2
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Shadow Dragons Date: May 21st, 2003 Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL) Attendance: 1,245 (30,000) Weather: Partly cloudy We’re at home for the 2nd round of FOFC Cup group play this week, and we play host to Astott’s Shadow Dragons today. The Dragons lost a 1-nil heartbreaker at home last week to the North Plainfield Plague, and should be coming to the Windy City hungry for a victory. We’ll be doing our best to make sure they’re sent to bed without any dinner. :) The Shadow Dragons appear fond of the box-standard 4-4-2 formation, and have a couple of dangerous players to contend with. Defender Derrick Jordan is an experienced sweeper who is pretty good at keeping the area in front of the keeper clean of opponents, and young winger Devon Berry can send some fine balls into the opponent’s penalty area. We’ll be sure to mark Devon closely whenever he touches the ball. All in all, though, we should have a talent advantage today, as well as the benefits of playing on our home pitch. We’re expecting a low-scoring (what else?) match, but a victory and three points nonetheless. Formation: 5-4-1 Starters Keeper: #13 Darryl Read Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson Substitutes -Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan -Defender: #22 Tyler Willard -Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #3 Ben McMahon We’ve only made one change to our starting lineup this week, and it is a very obvious one. Team captain Johannes Henriksson will be starting for us at forward today. We’re hoping that a couple of weeks as the lone striker for our b-team will act as a change of pace, and help to pull the Swede out of the horrible slump that he is in. Match Report PRE-GAME 1245 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson. Dragons had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Snider - Christy, Jordan, Adam, Bernal - Berry, Barnes, Wilcox, Kinney - Wolford, Beltran. FIRST HALF Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a 15:th minute goal by Olav Mauffret for Screamin', putting them ahead 1 - 0. Halftime score was 1 - 0. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 74 percent, dominated the battle. SECOND HALF A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 80 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Screamin'. However, Eric Snider made a spectacular save. The home side´s Johannes Henriksson came close to extending the lead in the 80:th minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Eric Snider managed saving with a fingernail. Lamar Beltran of Dragons received a yellow card in the 81st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 87 percent, dominated the battle. POST-GAME The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. Zarpas Lerma was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Dragons player was without a doubt Derrick Jordan. Lamar Beltran on the other hand, had a terrible day. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Shadow Dragons 0 Goals Mauffret – 1 Cards None Player Ratings GK - Read: ** RWB - Kvam: **~ CD – Stubbs: *** CD – McDonald: ** CD – Lerma: *~ LWB – Leier: *** RW – Mauffret: ** MF – Smith: ** MF – Tere: ** LW – Peralta: ** FWD – Henriksson: *~ Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Weak (4) -Right Defense: Excellent (8) -Central Defense: Formidable (9) -Left Defense: Outstanding (10) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Wretched (2) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 49 Shadow Dragons -Midfield: Wretched (2) -Right Defense: Passable (6) -Central Defense: Excellent (8) -Left Defense: Passable (6) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 37 Comments An unexpected goal from winger Olav Mauffret early in the match gave us a narrow lead going into halftime. In the second half, our midfield advantage really came into play, and the Shadow Dragons had little opportunity to even things up. Credit has to be given to Dragons’ keeper Eric Snider, who made two fantastic saves in the 80th minute to keep the match close. Unfortunately for him, he would get no goal support from the rest of his team, and the match would end 1-nil. Johannes Henriksson’s shot in the 80th minute is a good sign, and hopefully is a sign of him coming out of his slump. Of course, we’ve said similar things in past weeks, yet his performance has continued to slip. We’ll be keeping a very close eye on Johannes’ performance in practice in the coming weeks. FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings -The North Plainfield Plague certainly appear to be the Cinderella story of Group F. The last seed in the group, they’ve earned all six possible points thus far, defeating the Fantastic Flying Froggies, 3-1. -The Alf Trickers rebounded from their defeat at our hands last week, handing the Manhattan Marauders a 3-1 defeat.
The North Plainfield Plague grab the top spot this week, by virtue of goal differential. While there is still much soccer to be played, it appears as though our round 4 matchup against the Plague could very well determine who grabs the #1 spot in Group F. Group F Round 3 Matchups Fantastic Flying Froggies vs. Screamin’ Seamen Manhattan Marauders vs. North Plainfield Plague Alf Trickers vs. Shadow Dragons Next up for us in group play are the Fantastic Flying Froggies. The players (and myself) are looking forward to this one, as we’ll be travelling to the Sunny South of France. I like to give my players at least one international trip every season, and no one is objecting to the idea of the French Riviera. Many of the guys are hoping there is a topless beach in the neighborhood of Montpelier. :) Up Next: We’ve got weekly training and financial updates coming soon. After that, we’ve got our rubber match against the Syracuse Supers in league play. Stay tuned! |
Week 7 Training Results
It was a damn good week for our defensive training program, as both of our starting wingbacks, Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, improved to formidable (9) defending. Both are in excellent (8) form as well, and should give the Syracuse Supers’ offense fits on Sunday. Arlen Lucas Jersey #5 21 years old, excellent (8) form, healthy. A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and honest. Has wretched (2) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities. Specialty: Head Nationality: American Assessed Value: $317,000 Wage: $1,580 per week Warnings: 2 Stamina: Solid (7) Playmaking: Poor (3) Winger: Passable (6) Scoring: Poor (3) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Wretched (2) Defending: Formidable (9) Set Pieces: Poor (3) Tyler Willard Jersey #22 20 years old, excellent (8) form, healthy. A sympathetic guy who is balanced and dishonest. Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities. Specialty: Unpredictable Nationality: American Assessed Value: $262,000 Wage: $1,320 per week Warnings: 1 Stamina: Inadequate (5) Playmaking: Wretched (2) Winger: Passable (6) Scoring: Wretched (2) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Poor (3) Defending: Formidable (9) Set Pieces: Inadequate (5) Also of note this week, midfielder Charlie Bautista improved to poor (3) experience. Form Changes 8 players improved their form this week (only 2 of them are starters, however). 11 players saw their form remain the same this week. 4 players decreased in form by a level this week (including 3 starters) It appears that we were correct in assuming that our new striker, Guido Metman, was simply having a little trouble adjusting. He recovered some of his lost form this week, improving to passable (6), and gained $30,000 in assessed value as well. We’re looking forward to seeing what he does on the pitch Sunday. Six of our b-team members improved in form this week as well, which does not bode well for our FOFC Cup opponents. In The Zone Both of our wingbacks, on top of their recent defensive improvements, are in top form and should be a nightmare to try to play against. Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, as mentioned previously, are now both in excellent (8) form. Form Dogs Team captain Johannes Henriksson remains in poor (3) form this week, as does defensive trainee Cameron McDonald. Value Average Player Value: $143,391 (+$5,087) Total Player Value (23 players): $3,298,000 No assessed value milestones this week. Up Next: Our youth squad product and financial update for this week. Stay tuned! |
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Nice! And both young enough to keep improving, even. Maybe mid- to high-formidable by season's end? Now if they can just stop taking turns getting booked. :D Are you still considering plans to give them some wing training early next season? |
Given their age and how long it takes to train defenders, both should be mid-formidable by the end of the season. And I do intend to train winger for all of my wingbacks (starters and trainees) during the cup next season. I'm hoping I can get both of these guys to solid winger while that is going on. I think Lucas is close to solid winger, but Willard may take a bit longer.
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Eep... a pair of 21 and 20 yo form defenders. Wow.
SI |
Even going from low- to mid-passable to high-passable should help give a minor boost to the offense. It may be just perception but I seem to notice a bit of an improvement difference at what seems to be the half-way point between levels.
And, given their age, if you continue your winger training during each cups for the next season or two, I wouldn't think a mid- to high-solid would be out of the question. Especially if you get the solid coach you're planning on. |
Happy 30th Bithday DK. Last decade until your old! Muahahahahah!
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On that note, boy you're old :D *runs* SI |
Still not planning on playing just 9 players in our FOFC cup game today DK ?
Please ? ;) |
Oh and happy birthday to you !
My present will be to let you win the game... |
Happy Birthday, DK.
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Thanks alot everyone. It is appreciated. :)
This old man has been under the weather lately, but is feeling better now. I should have this thing updated today. |
Week 7 Youth Pull
Daniel Brown Player ID#: 12191165 17 years old, passable (6) form, healthy. A pleasant guy who is temperamental and upright. Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities. Specialty: Unpredictable Nationality: American Assessed Value: $41,000 Wage: $680 per week Stamina: Poor (3) Playmaking: Weak (4) Winger: Wretched (2) Scoring: Poor (3) Goaltending: Disastrous (1) Passing: Passable (6) Defending: Inadequate (5) Set Pieces: Wretched (2) Listed as: Central Defender Asking Price: $1,000 Deadline: 5/31/2003 at 19:56 HT-time Daniel is an intriguing trainee possibility, with the upcoming rules change to allow defenders to utilize their passing abilities more often. We considered placing him into our training program, but our other trainees are much further along, and we cannot abandon any of them now in order to make room for Daniel. We’re certain that other clubs that train defenders will be taking a look at Daniel, given his knack for passing the ball and the low asking price. Week 7 Financial Update Previous Balance: $78,870 Revenue Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Shadow Dragons) - $3,267 Sponsors - $67,650 Temporary (sale of youth promotee John Doe) - $2,760 Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660 Temporary (mother club money from resale of John Doe) - $600 Total Revenue: $74,937 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $19,500 Player Wages - $33,296 Temporary (youth squad promotion of John Doe) - $2,000 Temporary (transfer listing of John Doe) - $1,000 Staff & Specialists - $42,000 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $117,796 Net Income/Loss: -$42,859 New Balance: $36,011 We’re a bit too close to the zero line for our liking, but our home league match on Sunday should help to rectify that situation. Also, our rate of gain with our sponsor payments seems to have leveled off at $900 per week. We will be adding a new spokesperson to the payroll soon. Team Information Team Spirit: Content (up one level) Team Confidence: Wonderful (up one level) Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change) Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change) Supporter Club: 1,434 (up 22 from last week) Up Next: The second of our back-to-back matches against the struggling Syracuse Supers. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – League Match #8
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Syracuse Supers Date: May 25th, 2003 Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL) Attendance: 15,703 (30,000) Weather: Rain Today we’ve got our rubber-match against the Syracuse Supers, who we defeated on the road 2-nil last week. Despite the ejection of midfielder Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin, we still managed a dominant performance against the lowly Supers, and do not foresee having any trouble with them again this week. Considering that we are home this time around, we expect nothing less than a blow-out. Previous Meetings 5/19/2003 – Syracuse Supers 0, Screamin’ Seamen 2 Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Forward: #12 Guido Metman Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #17 Mattias Leier -Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Our lineup is pretty much identical to last week’s, with one notable exception. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin managed to get himself ejected from last week’s match, and is therefore suspended from playing today as well. Our big Romanian midfielder Lucian Tere will start today in his place. Otherwise, it’s business-as-usual for the Seamen today. Match Report PRE-GAME 15703 spectators had found their way to The Docks, despite the heavy rain. Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Rubio, Ivarsson, Tere, Bautista, Mcmahon - Metman, Tobias. Syracuse had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Trahan - Muñoz, Walls, Lockwood - Dominguez, Brown, Varner, Stokes, Heller - Askensten, Mcnamara. FIRST HALF Screamin's Forrest Tobias gave, after 6 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Valentín Rubio increased Screamin's lead to 2 - 0 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. Valentín Rubio was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Forrest Tobias managed to kick one of them into 3 - 0 in the 23rd minute. By now Screamin' were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. Jordi Dominguez could´ve grabbed a goal in the 25:th minute when he got a pass putting him free of the home side´s defence, but he was unable to take advantage of the situation. Guido Metman should probably have put his team up another goal in the 25:th minute, but some great goaltending by Francis Trahan kept the visitors in the game. Syracuse will have to do without Harold Lockwood for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Hugh Moya. The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF Anders Askensten had a hard time on the water infested pitch - his trademark technique was nowhere in sight this day. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Chuck Scales squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 59:th minute, asserting the lead to 4 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 55 percent possession rate. POST-GAME Most important Screamin' player was Tyler Willard. Lucian Tere on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Syracuse player was Don Brown. Hugh Moya on the other hand, had a terrible day. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Syracuse Supers 0 Goals Tobias – 2 (4,5,GWG) Rubio – 1 (1) Scales – 1 (1) Cards None Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Lucas: **** Scales: ***~ Willard: **** Rubio: **~ Ivarsson: ***~ Tere: ** Bautista: *** McMahon: **~ Metman: **~ Tobias: **~ Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Passable (6) -Right Defense: Brilliant (11) -Central Defense: Brilliant (11) -Left Defense: Magnificent (12) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Passable (6) -Left Attack: Passable (6) -NSI: 71 Syracuse Supers -Midfield: Inadequate (5) -Right Defense: Inadequate (5) -Central Defense: Passable (6) -Left Defense: Poor (3) -Right Attack: Solid (7) -Central Attack: Inadequate (5) -Left Attack: Inadequate (5) -NSI: 46 Comments Today proved to be a nice, easy win, and will most likely be the last one of those we experience this season. Lucian filled in well enough for “The Old Goat” in the middle, and Valentin Rubio had himself a fine day on the wing, scoring his first goal as a Seaman and assisting one of Forrest “Gump” Tobias’ two goals. Central defender Chuck Scales added his first goal of the season (the 5th of his career), and keeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan recorded his tenth career clean sheet. Series Scores and Standings -For the second week in a row, Neon Genesis Evangelion defeated Big Reds, 2-1. -Croats in Miami remained on top this week, downing SoccerWussies, 3-1. -Ramblers managed to slip past Sweden Heights, 2-1
By virtue of the Big Reds’ second consecutive loss, Croats in Miami are now in sole possession of first place. We moved up from 4th to 3rd place this week, but things are exceptionally tight. Only four points separate 2nd place from 5th. Week 9 Matchups Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Screamin’ Seamen SoccerWussies vs. Big Reds Sweden Heights vs. Croats in Miami Syracuse Supers vs. Ramblers Neon Genesis Evangelion have really stepped up their play as of late (funny how the threat of automatic relegation can do that), and we will be taking next week’s match against them very seriously. NGE has won three of their last four (their one loss being against us back in week six). We will need to win if we’re going to maintain third place, as we expect the Croats, Big Reds, and Ramblers all to win their respective matches. Up Next: FOFC Cup III group play continues, as we travel to the Sunny South of France to take on the Fantastic Flying Froggies. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 3
Fantastic Flying Froggies vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: May 28th, 2003 Venue: Fantastic Flying Froggies Arena (Montpellier, France) Attendance: 1,643 (16,000) Weather: Overcast We’re in the Not-So-Sunny South of France today, for our FOFC Cup match against the Fantastic Flying Froggies. I like to give my players at least one international trip each season, and fortunately that turned out to be part of our schedule for the Cup. The players are eager for the match, and also for the match to be over. I’ve promised them the day off so they can enjoy what the Mediterranean coast has to offer. I foresee a topless beach or two in their future. ;) We expect to see a 4-5-1 formation from the Froggies, so we should be looking at another tough, defensive battle. And frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way (so there, Coffee Warlord). We should have the edge in talent, but like everything else, it all comes down to execution. We’ll see how our lads perform today, and hopefully they won’t be too distracted by their surroundings. Formation: 5-4-1 Starters Keeper: #13 Darryl Read Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson Substitutes -Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan -Defender: #22 Tyler Willard -Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere -Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen -Winger: #3 Ben McMahon The one noticeable change to the lineup this week is the presence of The Old Goat, Pete Tomlin. Due to his suspension from last week, he was unavailable for the match on Sunday against the Syracuse Supers. We don’t want the old man to get rusty, nor do we want Lucian Tere to be pulling double-duty this week, so Pete will be suiting up for us today. Hopefully he can keep his nose clean, and keep the rest of the midfield under control as well. Match Report PRE-GAME At Fantastic Flying Froggies Arena, 1643 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came. Fantastic tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Tuil - Guéron, Guillotin, Momot, Douglade - Randoux, Pailler, Faillon, Racher, Fringant - Aussedat. Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. They fielded: Read - Leier, Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Kvam - Mauffret , Tomlin, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson. FIRST HALF Screamin' had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 1st minute when Johannes Henriksson came up alone against Aristide Tuil who managed a block. Cameron Mcdonald of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 12th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Cameron Mcdonald came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 14:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Aristide Tuil managed to tip the ball to a corner. 0 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 72 percent, dominated the battle. SECOND HALF Screamin''s Johannes Henriksson scored 0 - 1 by shooting accurately and hard from a long distance, leaving the opponent goalie no other option than to pick up the ball from the net. Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson made it through the home teams defence in the 58:th minute, and had only to place the ball in an unguarded goal when the home side´s defender sprang up from the left, clearing the ball on the line. The away team´s Mattias Leier took advantage of a mistake to the home side´s right in the 73rd minute increasing Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 2. Fantastic made a substitution in the 84:th minute. Pascal Fringant limped off the field and was replaced by Georges Couve. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 84 percent possession rate. POST-GAME The most dominating Fantastic player was without a doubt Anatole Momot. Yannick Pailler was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance. Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Fantastic Flying Froggies 0 Goals Henriksson – 1 Leier – 1 Cards McDonald – yellow Player Ratings Read: **~ Leier: *** Lerma: ** McDonald: ** Stubbs: *** Kvam: *** Mauffret: ** Smith: ** Tomlin: **~ Peralta: ** Henriksson: *~ Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Weak (4) -Right Defense: Brilliant (11) -Central Defense: Formidable (9) -Left Defense: Formidable (9) -Right Attack: Weak (4) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 52 Fantastic Flying Froggies -Midfield: Wretched (2) -Right Defense: Passable (6) -Central Defense: Excellent (8) -Left Defense: Solid (7) -Right Attack: Poor (3) -Central Attack: Poor (3) -Left Attack: Weak (4) -NSI: 37 Comments Froggies’ keeper Tuil was on top of his game in the first half, and held us scoreless despite two good opportunities. Unfortunately for him, he did not appear to get much help from the rest of the club, and finally surrendered goals to Johannes Henriksson and Mattias Leier in the second half. With Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin in the lineup due to his suspension, we dominated play in the middle of the pitch, and did not allow any good scoring opportunities. Henriksson’s goal may be a good sign, but I am not putting too much stock into it. He has been scoring semi-regularly, despite his slump, but it doesn’t seem to be making much difference in his general level of play. The Swedish striker continues to struggle, and we will make no further evaluations of him until we have analyzed his play on the practice field as well. All in all, though, a good win on the road (and over the ocean) for our second team. FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings -The Manhattan Marauders earned their first victory in group play, with a 2-nil defeat of theNorth Plainfield Plague. -The Alf Trickers were dominant at home, downing the Shadow Dragons, 3-nil.
The Manhattan Marauders did us a favor this week by taking care of business against the North Plainfield Plague. This places us in the driver’s seat for Group F with only two weeks remaining. Thank you NAIWF! :) Group F Round 4 Matchups North Plainfield Plague vs. Screamin’ Seamen Manhattan Marauders vs. Shadow Dragons Alf Trickers vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies. Up Next: Weekly training and financial updates. Stay tuned! |
Week 8 Training Results
We weren’t expecting any of our players to take the “next step” defensively this week, and so were not surprised with the training results. What did surprise us a little bit is that Father Time finally seems to be catching up with Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin. Not to worry though, it is only Pete’s winger ability which dropped from poor (3) to wretched (2). It’s not like we ever play Pete on the wing anyway. Form Changes 7 players improved in form this week, including three starters; -Midfielder Charlie Bautista: solid (7) -Winger Valentin Rubio: passable (6) -Midfielder Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin: passable (6) 9 players saw their form remain the same this week. 6 players decreased a level in form this week, including four starters; -Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson: passable (6) -Wingback Arlen Lucas: solid (7) -Winger Ben McMahon: inadequate (5) -Forward Forrest “Gump” Tobias: passable (6) We pretty much broke even this week, and only one of our current starters (Ben McMahon) is at form lower than a passable level. In The Zone Wingback Tyler Willard is our only player “in the zone” this week. Young Tyler has been playing some of the best soccer of his life as of late, as evidenced by his two consecutive Team Match MVP awards. Form Dogs Swedish striker Johannes Henriksson remains in his horrible slump, and is this week’s only form dog with poor (3) form. Value Average Player Value: $152,909 (+$9,518) Total Player Value (22 players): $3,364,000 (+$66,000) *Note: These values do not include Jesper Gravesen, who is currently listed on the transfer market and has been bid upon. No assessed value milestones again this week. Up Next: The weekly youth pull land financial update. After that, we travel to Pennsylvania for our league match against the resurgent Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned! |
I saw somebody in conference (strangely stable lately, huh?) mention just letting the player sit for a week as a possibility in a real desperate down form situation.
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I've tried that before, with Max Dodge (remember him?) and it did not seem to help at all. But it certainly might be worth another try. Henriksson's form seems to be stuck at poor, but at least the rate at which he is losing assessed value is decreasing (only $1,000 this past week). I'll keep it in mind as a possibility. Thanks. |
No problemo. Need to step into the Wayback Machine for Max Dodge! :)
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I get to be Mister Peabody! Dibs on Mister Peabody! :D
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Homer:I'm the first non-Brazilian person to travel backwards through time.
Mr. Peabody: Correction, Homer: you're the second. Sherman: That's right, Mr. Peabody! Mr. Peabody: Quiet, you. (from [2F03] "Treehouse of Horror V") SI |
Week 8 Youth Pull
Otis Grant has been shipped off to Houston, where he will hopefully find work at the Houston Hippopotami McDonalds. ‘Nuff said. :p Weekly Financial Update Previous Balance: $36,011 Revenue Crowd (league match vs. Syracuse Supers) - $85,928 Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies) - $4,285 Sponsors - $68,550 Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660 Temporary (sale of youth squad promotee Daniel Brown) - $7,360 Temporary (sale of Jesper Gravesen) - $19,800 Total Revenue: $186,583 Expenses Arena Upkeep - $19,500 Player Wages - $33,296 Temporary (promotion of Daniel Brown from youth squad) - $2,000 Temporary (travel expenses for FOFC Cup match) - $6,000 Temporary (transfer listing for Daniel Brown) - $1,000 Temporary (transfer listing for Jesper Gravesen) - $1,000 Temporary (fired specialist: doctor) - $1,500 Staff & Specialists - $42,000 Youth Squad Support - $20,000 Total Expenses: $126,296 Net Income/Loss: +$60,287 New Balance: $96,298 We had a disappointing turnout at this week’s home league match, partially because of the heavy rain and partially because of the Supers’ cellar-dweller status. The transfer money from Daniel Brown and Jesper Gravesen helped us this week, but only a little bit. Team Information Team Spirit: Satisfied (up one level) Team Confidence: Wonderful (no change) Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change) Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change) Supporter Club: 1,456 (up 22 from last week) Up Next: We’re on the road this week, travelling to Pennsylvania to take on Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned! |
Season 3 – League Match #9
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Screamin’ Seamen Date: June 1st, 2003 Venue: Shinji’s Stadium (Pennsylvania) Attendance: 37,253 (67,000) Weather: Rain We’re on the road again today, this time in rainy Pennsylvania to take on Neon Genesis Evangelion. We’ve had good successes against NGE in the past, but today looks like it may be a bit of a challenge. We’ve never been a good wet-weather team, and the pitch is pretty well water-logged today. Also, NGE has really surged forward lately, knocking off Big Reds in two consecutive 2-1 victories. Add in the fact that we are on the road, and you have the makings for what could be a difficult day. Previous Meetings 12/23/2002 – Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, Screamin’ Seamen 3 3/10/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 1 5/12/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 4, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 Our previous matches against NGE have all been relatively high-scoring affairs, and despite our defense, we’ve never managed to hold them scoreless. Hopefully today will be a first for us in that respect. Formation: 3-5-2 Starters Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias Forward: #12 Guido Metman Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon Substitutes -Keeper: #13 Darryl Read -Defender: #24 Christian Kvam -Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere -Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson -Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin returns from his one-game suspension today, and will start in the midfield for us once again. Other than that, it is pretty much business as usual as far as our lineup goes, with the obvious exception of Johannes Henriksson riding the bench. Match Report PRE-GAME Due to an all-day shower, 37253 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Shinji's Stadium. EVA tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Åkesson - Waldrop, Calloway, Vick - Ayres, Andersson, Ødegård, Fortune, Taylor - Lachance, Ricketts. Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Tobias. FIRST HALF Ed Vick behaved like an inexperienced youth player in the 9:th minute as he gave the ball away to an opponent. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. EVAs Geir Ødegård gave, after 19 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put EVA lead up with 2 - 0. Geir Ødegård finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. After 36 minutes Tyler Willard made a complete fool of himself and dropped the ball to Eloy Ricketts who shuffled it into goal. 3-0 for EVA. The structure of the game started to change as EVA decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Screamin' fought on and, in the 39:th minute Forrest Tobias was able to reply with 3 - 1 after some excellent moves on the right side finished off by an incredibly clever chip. Screamin'´s Chuck Scales refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon in the 40:th minute. Cornelius Jernigan was caught napping a bit later as Geir Ødegård lifted a ball over him after a free kick, but the ball hit the bar, rebounding into the keepers arms. 3 - 1 was the half-time score. EVA held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate. SECOND HALF A great save by goaltender Cornelius Jernigan in the 46:th minute kept the visitors in the game as Michael Waldrop struck from the left with a real cannonball. EVA had to manage with a reduced squad from the 73rd minute on, as Eloy Ricketts got sent off for a foul in a free situation. Screamin' had a fair chance to reply after 80 minutes, due to some fine moves down the left, but in the end no one was there to put their head to the ball as it was lifted into the box. Jörgen Andersson of EVA received a yellow card in the 84:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 51 percent, dominated the battle. POST-GAME The most dominating EVA player was without a doubt Geir Ødegård. Junior Taylor was a disappointment, however. Most important Screamin' player was Tyler Willard. However, Ben Mcmahon made a disastrous appearance. Final Score: Neon Genesis Evangelion 3, Screamin’ Seamen 1 Goals Tobias – 1 (6) Cards None Player Ratings Jernigan: *** Lucas: **** Scales: ***~ Willard: **** McMahon: **~ Ivarsson: *** Tomlin: **~ Bautista: *** Rubio: **~ Tobias: **~ Metman: **~ Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard Team Ratings Screamin’ Seamen -Midfield: Passable (6) -Right Defense: Brilliant (11) -Central Defense: Brilliant (11) -Left Defense: World Class (13) -Right Attack: Passable (6) -Central Attack: Solid (7) -Left Attack: Solid (7) -NSI: 73 Neon Genesis Evangelion -Midfield: Excellent (8) -Right Defense: Solid (7) -Central Defense: Excellent (8) -Left Defense: Outstanding (10) -Right Attack: Outstanding (10) -Central Attack: Formidable (9) -Left Attack: Passable (6) -NSI: 74 Comments I hate it when I’m right. :( I suspected this might be a rough day for us, and was unfortunately correct. Our defense had a horrible first half, allowing three goals in the first 36 minutes of the match. “Gump” Tobias managed to get one back for us before halftime, but things were still looking rather grim. Despite a good opportunity later in the second half and NGE finishing the game with only ten men on the pitch, we weren’t able to close things up at all. Our road woes continue this season, as we’ve now accumulated only four points in five road matches. At home, on the other hand, we remain a force to be reckoned with, earning ten of a possible twelve points thus far. The Screamin’ Seamen have yet to be defeated at home in their entire history (excluding Cup and friendly matches). Series Scores and Standings -League-leading Croats in Miami fought to a 4-4 draw with Sweden Heights -Big Reds also drew in their match, 1-1 against the SoccerWussies -Ramblers had the pleasure of demolishing the Syracuse Supers this week, 4-nil.
The good news for this week is that, despite the loss, we did not lose much ground on the league leaders. We did drop to fourth in the standings, but with things being so incredibly tight right now, standings are almost useless. The Croats maintain a three point lead on the Big Reds, but after that it’s a giant cluster-f*ck. Only six points separate the 2nd place team (Big Reds) from the 7th place team (Sweden Heights). The series is still very much anybody’s ball game. Week 10 Matchups Screamin’ Seamen vs. SoccerWussies Syracuse Supers vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion Big Reds vs. Sweden Heights Ramblers vs. Croats in Miami With the competition level as tight as it is right now, every week there are three good matches to be played. The only easy win is whoever gets to play against the Syracuse Supers that week. We get the opportunity to avenge our 2-1 loss to SoccerWussies earlier this season, and we get to do it at The Docks, where we are a force to be reckoned with. Up Next: Round 4 of FOFC Cup Group Play on Wednesday, when we travel to North Jersey to take on the North Plainfield Plague. Stay tuned! |
Tough break yesterday. I was watching your game as my team put up a stinker and was disappointed to see you lose. All I can say is that when you finally do get to D3, you'll know what it's like to build up a winner. I mean, the competition can't get much tighter than your series now, right?
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We had too many to staff a Mickey D's so we upgraded to the Hippos Memorial Piggly Wiggly(TM). Needless to say, there's more than enough room for him. SI |
News and Notes from Screamin’ Seamen-Land
(Author’s Note: This is the first installment in what I hope will be a weekly or bi-weekly installment in this dynasty report. Here I will present some small “human-interest” type stories and such, which will hopefully provide more of an element of realism to the exploits of this completely fictional team.) Making A Name For Himself If you’ve been following the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club this season, then you already know all about the horrible slump striker Johannes Henriksson finds himself in. You also probably know about Guido Metman, the “half-million dollar man” that was brought in to boost the club’s ailing offense, but has only managed one goal in his first three games with the club. But there is one bright spot to the SSFC offense that has been overshadowed this season, and his name is Forrest Tobias. “Gump,” as he is affectionately called by his teammates, has very quietly provided steady offense for the struggling Seamen. His six league goals thus far this season means that he is tied for third in the series scoring race, behind Tomas Leijonstal (8 goals, Sweden Heights) and George Herrmann (7 goals, Croats in Miami). The 21-year-old has accounted for nearly half of the club’s 16 goals this season. So the next time you’re at The Docks to catch a match, pull your eyes off of the defense for a moment and take a good look at young number 15, Forrest “Gump” Tobias. This young man certainly appears to be making a name for himself. Playing Through The Pain No player has exhibited more toughness on the pitch this season than Chuck Scales. The 24-year-old center-back is one of the club’s most valuable members, and is the quarterback of the team’s formidable defense. On no less than four separate occasions this season (three in the last six weeks), Scales has been hurt during a match. But every time, he has refused to come off of the pitch, despite the protestation of the team’s physiotherapists. “They don’t pay me to sit on the bench,” was Scales’ comment after his most recent disagreement with club physios, which occurred during the club’s 3-1 loss to Neon Genesis Evangelion this past weekend. “They pay me to play.” The likable young man with the bright blond hair and the perpetual five o’clock shadow recently spoke with reporters regarding his injuries. “It all started with the game against the Samurai, way back at the start of the U.S. Open Cup,” stated Scales. “That idiot Vega came in with a tackle that was way late, and I ended up rolling my ankle something fierce. Truth be told, it’s never fully healed. Every time I think the ankle is all right, I get dinged in a match or on the pitch, and it flares up on me again. But I don’t plan on letting something like this slow me down. So long as I can walk, I’m going to play.” While fans must certainly admire Scales’ dedication, they have to be concerned about the possibility of long-term damage to the star defenseman. Some of those concerns have been alleviated, however, as Dr. Kay Vorkian, the head physiotherapist for the Seamen, recently confirmed that Scales will have surgery on his ankle as soon as the season is over. Fabulous! Data King, the owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, recently announced that SSFC has received the official support of another team. Fabulous!, under the owner- and leadership of BillyMadison, have become the 35th member of the Official SSFC Support Association. The club is currently placed in Series V.44, and recently earned their first victory, a 5-1 clubbing of The Polish Moose. Congratulations Billy, and thank you for your support. |
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