Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - [Hattrick] Houston Hippopotami, Season 3: IV.21

sterlingice · 10-24-2003, 01:48 AM

Preview
Well, I was watching The X-Files a couple of nights ago and they were into the dreadful final season. However, there was a scene that fits the Hippos game today. Frankly, I can't verify if the story told on there was true or not and, even if it wasn't, it makes for a good quote. Assistant Director Kirsch (one of the new villains) was telling Agent Doggett (Robert Patrick, who replaced Fox Mulder as main protagonist) that on July 4th, 1776, King George of England wrote in his diary "Nothing important happened today". In context, it was supposed to tell Doggett that lots of stuff went on behind the scenes and that everything he did in the previous two episodes wasn't in vain.

In the case of the Hippos, on the surface, it's just a regular game against Team Groomers, the 8th place team in the series. Now, I don't want to say nothing important happened today, but what happened did so in unspectacular fashion (unless your name is Meek). We're still riding pretty high off our draw with Brooklyn and then we had our walkover last week. But this week won't be much harder. If we weren't on the road, I even would have PIC'd this game since we are playing Team Groomers. He's active and has supporter, but he's got a ticket back to Div V this year as he's just not in the same league as the rest of the teams in IV.21 so I fully expected a big win today, and, not to spoil it too much, but we got it. But what really mattered is that this game and the surrounding events set up a match next week, the likes of which rivals last years Hippo game.

Game Summary
Date: 10/6/2003 at 01:00
MatchID: 8327012
Arena: Team Groomers Arena
Crowd: 18672

18672 spectators arrived at Team Groomers Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Groomers tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Arcuato - Anderson, Mårtensson, Sheldon - Rector, Saes, Betts, Ortiz, Fabozzi - Root, Lysdal.

Hippopotami tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Kimber - Cristiano, Miquel, Bush - Starks, Meek, Benito, Connors, Teepen - Phelan, Spagnuolo.

Herschel Meek surprised the home team with a free kick aimed at the wrong post in the 5:th minute. 0 - 1 for Hippopotami. Hippopotami´s Stephen Connors received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 20:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 2. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The structure of the game started to change as Hippopotami decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Groomerss Roger Root went wide in the 24:th minute, recieving a brilliant pass slicing through the visiting teams central defense line, putting the 1 - 2 goal away. The visitors Herschel Meek took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 31st minute. 1 - 3 for Hippopotami. The referee showed Groomerss Roger Root the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Halftime score was 1 - 3. Hippopotami, bringing the final ball possession rate to 57 percent, dominated the battle.

In the game´s 53rd minute a free kick by Herschel Meek found it´s way through the home side´s poorly assembled defensive formation, making Hippopotami´s lead 1 - 4. This third goal made a hat trick for Herschel Meek. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 59:th minute Hippopotami goal, making it 1 - 5. Herschel Meek was noted down as the scorer. Groomers had a brilliant opportunity to reply as Roger Root received a high ball from the right, striking the ball still in the air. Only Tim Kimber´s reflexes saved him. Gualtiero Spagnuolo of Hippopotami received a yellow card in the 69:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Hippopotami, bringing the final ball possession rate to 63 percent, dominated the battle.

The most dominating Groomers player was without a doubt Don Betts. Rory Rector on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Hippopotami player was without a doubt Carlos Alberto Benito. Edwin Phelan was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 5.

Events and Stats
A few notes:
1. Our score will always be first, whether we are ahead or behind
2. The (num) after the names is their goal tally for the season
3. "xx" means the time of the goal was not specified
4. Most stats will only be for our team

Formations
HH: 3-5-2
TG: 3-5-2

Events Summary

1st Half
HH: 05: Herchel Meek (3): 1-0
HH: 20: Stephen Connors (2): 2-0
HH: 20: *pulling back*
TG: 24: 2-1
HH: 31: Herchel Meek (4): 3-1
Halftime Score: 3-1
Possession: 57%

2nd Half
HH: 53: Herchel Meek (5): 4-1
HH: 59: Herchel Meek (6): 5-1
Final Score: 5-1
Possession: 63%
Final Possession: 60%

Cards
HH: 69: Gualtiero Spagnuolo (yellow- unsportsmanlike behaviour)

Injuries
None

Stadium
Terraces: 0/20000
Basic seats: 0/8000
Seats under roof: 0/3200
VIP seats: 0/800
Total: 0/32000

18K and change at their place with good weather.

Team Ratings

Team Groomers
Midfield: inadequate (5)
Right Side Defence: formidable (9)
Central Defence: solid (7)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: solid (7)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 52/57

Houston Hippopotami
Midfield: solid (7)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: excellent (8)
Left Side Defence: formidable (9)
Right Side Attack: outstanding (10)
Central Attack: excellent (8)
Left Side Attack: excellent (8)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 64/71

At home and we would have had a new high of 74. Still, I'll definitely settle for a 71 especially with that outstanding right side attack.

Player Ratings
GK Tim Kimber ****
DW Lorenzo Cristiano ***~
DM Jose Maria Miguel **~
DW Elmer Bush **~
WI Mick Starks (o) ***
MI Carlos Alberto Benito (o) ****
MI Stephen Connors (x) ****
MI Herschel Meek (d) ***~
WI Koos Teepen (o) ***
FO Gualtiero Spagnuolo ***~
FO Edwin Phelan **~

Total Stars: 36.0
Total player experience: poor
Team Attitude: Normal

I'm feeling better and better about Cristiano now that he got his form straightened out: a ***~ wingback is nice! Phelan is still in his mini-slump at **~ and that 12 star midfield is still eluding me as today it was Meek who "only" put up ***~ instead of the **** I want.

Three Stars
I don't think the top one was in any doubt

Bronze: Lorenzo Cristiano
Another ***~ today anchoring the back end
Silver: Stephen Connors
Picked up a goal and **** on the midfield
Gold: Herchel Meek
Scored a goal in the 53rd minute for the 2nd time in 3 games, oh, and he got 3 more

Game Summary
This game gives us 16 points on the season and puts us at +1 goal differential, our first time in the positives for quite a while. Meek explodes- I've never seen a midfielder score 4 goals before, I don't think. Anyways, here's why it matters...

Press Release
10/12/2003 at 00:00 Hippos Slide Into Fourth Place on Meeks Huge Day
Veteran midfielder Herschel Meek exploded for 4 goals en route to a 5-1 Houston win over Team Groomers. Meek, along with Hippo star midfielders Carlos Alberto Benito and Stephen Connors (who scored the other goal), collected 11.5 stars and put up a solid midfield rating. The win sets up a showdown next week in Houston for 4th place in IV.21 with the #5 Iowa Enforcers who beat the Hippos 4-2 in Iowa earlier in the season. Coach Braden is expecting an MotS by Iowa and is planning accordingly.

Around the League
As you can see from the above, Iowa lost. Everything this week went as planned for the first time, I think, all season. And you people still think I'm insane for saying the engine has changed a lot.

zfan - Brooklyn United 0 - 5
I'm sure if I had checked, our hatstats rating would suck since BU played zfan in the walkover.

Chock Full of Wholesome Goodness - The Champion 4 - 0
Chock also PIC'd at home and had no trouble with The Champion. They actually lost possession in the first half, but won handily because The Champion never got a chance the entire game. While the midfields were close, the stars difference was 42.0 to 31.5 in favor of Chock.

Iowa Enforcers - Kaishaku F.C. 0 - 3
This is the huge game for us. Earlier in the season, Iowa upset Kaishaku on the road and was looking like they might get 2nd or 3rd. However, fortunes have changed in the second half, as they now have a 6 game winless streak (4 losses, 2 draws) after Kaishaku went into their house and beat them. They have now fallen behind us into 5th.

League Standings

Code:

 
N  Team                 Goals   Pts NSI
1. Brooklyn United      41 - 6  29   9
 
2. Kaishaku F.C.        34 - 11 27   76
3. Chock Full of Whole  37 - 21 22   83
4. Houston Hippopotami  27 - 26 16   71

5. Iowa Enforcers       19 - 23 14   68
6. The Champion         20 - 19 12   63

7. zfan                 11 - 47  6   9
8. Team Groomers        10 - 46  1   57

We suddenly have leapfrogged two teams in two weeks and, with a win next week, we would be in full control of 4th. We also have a big game to end the season at the 'drome against The Champion but first things first.

Notes
After a franchise long 3 game losing streak, we have been unbeaten in our last 3 and are sitting precariously in 4th. Next week comes our game of the year against Iowa at home. If we win, then something really bad would have to happen the last two weeks of the season for us to not finish in the money. This next game is starting to feel a lot like the Dragons game last year- a huge game that's going to be close and if he MotS's, I'm probably done for.

SI

10-24-2003, 01:48 AM	#64
sterlingice Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Back in Houston!	20.12 Fixture: Team Groomers - Houston Hippopotami Preview Well, I was watching The X-Files a couple of nights ago and they were into the dreadful final season. However, there was a scene that fits the Hippos game today. Frankly, I can't verify if the story told on there was true or not and, even if it wasn't, it makes for a good quote. Assistant Director Kirsch (one of the new villains) was telling Agent Doggett (Robert Patrick, who replaced Fox Mulder as main protagonist) that on July 4th, 1776, King George of England wrote in his diary "Nothing important happened today". In context, it was supposed to tell Doggett that lots of stuff went on behind the scenes and that everything he did in the previous two episodes wasn't in vain. In the case of the Hippos, on the surface, it's just a regular game against Team Groomers, the 8th place team in the series. Now, I don't want to say nothing important happened today, but what happened did so in unspectacular fashion (unless your name is Meek). We're still riding pretty high off our draw with Brooklyn and then we had our walkover last week. But this week won't be much harder. If we weren't on the road, I even would have PIC'd this game since we are playing Team Groomers. He's active and has supporter, but he's got a ticket back to Div V this year as he's just not in the same league as the rest of the teams in IV.21 so I fully expected a big win today, and, not to spoil it too much, but we got it. But what really mattered is that this game and the surrounding events set up a match next week, the likes of which rivals last years Hippo game. Game Summary Date: 10/6/2003 at 01:00 MatchID: 8327012 Arena: Team Groomers Arena Crowd: 18672 18672 spectators arrived at Team Groomers Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Groomers tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Arcuato - Anderson, Mårtensson, Sheldon - Rector, Saes, Betts, Ortiz, Fabozzi - Root, Lysdal. Hippopotami tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Kimber - Cristiano, Miquel, Bush - Starks, Meek, Benito, Connors, Teepen - Phelan, Spagnuolo. Herschel Meek surprised the home team with a free kick aimed at the wrong post in the 5:th minute. 0 - 1 for Hippopotami. Hippopotami´s Stephen Connors received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 20:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 2. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The structure of the game started to change as Hippopotami decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Groomerss Roger Root went wide in the 24:th minute, recieving a brilliant pass slicing through the visiting teams central defense line, putting the 1 - 2 goal away. The visitors Herschel Meek took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 31st minute. 1 - 3 for Hippopotami. The referee showed Groomerss Roger Root the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Halftime score was 1 - 3. Hippopotami, bringing the final ball possession rate to 57 percent, dominated the battle. In the game´s 53rd minute a free kick by Herschel Meek found it´s way through the home side´s poorly assembled defensive formation, making Hippopotami´s lead 1 - 4. This third goal made a hat trick for Herschel Meek. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 59:th minute Hippopotami goal, making it 1 - 5. Herschel Meek was noted down as the scorer. Groomers had a brilliant opportunity to reply as Roger Root received a high ball from the right, striking the ball still in the air. Only Tim Kimber´s reflexes saved him. Gualtiero Spagnuolo of Hippopotami received a yellow card in the 69:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Hippopotami, bringing the final ball possession rate to 63 percent, dominated the battle. The most dominating Groomers player was without a doubt Don Betts. Rory Rector on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Hippopotami player was without a doubt Carlos Alberto Benito. Edwin Phelan was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 5. Events and Stats A few notes: 1. Our score will always be first, whether we are ahead or behind 2. The (num) after the names is their goal tally for the season 3. "xx" means the time of the goal was not specified 4. Most stats will only be for our team Formations HH: 3-5-2 TG: 3-5-2 Events Summary 1st Half HH: 05: Herchel Meek (3): 1-0 HH: 20: Stephen Connors (2): 2-0 HH: 20: pulling back TG: 24: 2-1 HH: 31: Herchel Meek (4): 3-1 Halftime Score: 3-1 Possession: 57% 2nd Half HH: 53: Herchel Meek (5): 4-1 HH: 59: Herchel Meek (6): 5-1 Final Score: 5-1 Possession: 63% Final Possession: 60% Cards HH: 69: Gualtiero Spagnuolo (yellow- unsportsmanlike behaviour) Injuries None Stadium Terraces: 0/20000 Basic seats: 0/8000 Seats under roof: 0/3200 VIP seats: 0/800 Total: 0/32000 18K and change at their place with good weather. Team Ratings Team Groomers Midfield: inadequate (5) Right Side Defence: formidable (9) Central Defence: solid (7) Left Side Defence: passable (6) Right Side Attack: passable (6) Central Attack: solid (7) Left Side Attack: solid (7) DataKing/Nevstar Index: 52/57 Houston Hippopotami Midfield: solid (7) Right Side Defence: solid (7) Central Defence: excellent (8) Left Side Defence: formidable (9) Right Side Attack: outstanding (10) Central Attack: excellent (8) Left Side Attack: excellent (8) DataKing/Nevstar Index: 64/71 At home and we would have had a new high of 74. Still, I'll definitely settle for a 71 especially with that outstanding right side attack. Player Ratings GK Tim Kimber ** DW Lorenzo Cristiano ~ DM Jose Maria Miguel ~ DW Elmer Bush ~ WI Mick Starks (o) MI Carlos Alberto Benito (o) MI Stephen Connors (x) MI Herschel Meek (d) ~ WI Koos Teepen (o) FO Gualtiero Spagnuolo ~ FO Edwin Phelan ~ Total Stars: 36.0 Total player experience: poor Team Attitude: Normal I'm feeling better and better about Cristiano now that he got his form straightened out: a ~ wingback is nice! Phelan is still in his mini-slump at ~ and that 12 star midfield is still eluding me as today it was Meek who "only" put up *~ instead of the I want. Three Stars I don't think the top one was in any doubt Bronze: Lorenzo Cristiano Another ~ today anchoring the back end Silver: Stephen Connors* Picked up a goal and ** on the midfield Gold: Herchel Meek Scored a goal in the 53rd minute for the 2nd time in 3 games, oh, and he got 3 more Game Summary This game gives us 16 points on the season and puts us at +1 goal differential, our first time in the positives for quite a while. Meek explodes- I've never seen a midfielder score 4 goals before, I don't think. Anyways, here's why it matters... Press Release** 10/12/2003 at 00:00 Hippos Slide Into Fourth Place on Meeks Huge Day Veteran midfielder Herschel Meek exploded for 4 goals en route to a 5-1 Houston win over Team Groomers. Meek, along with Hippo star midfielders Carlos Alberto Benito and Stephen Connors (who scored the other goal), collected 11.5 stars and put up a solid midfield rating. The win sets up a showdown next week in Houston for 4th place in IV.21 with the #5 Iowa Enforcers who beat the Hippos 4-2 in Iowa earlier in the season. Coach Braden is expecting an MotS by Iowa and is planning accordingly. Around the League As you can see from the above, Iowa lost. Everything this week went as planned for the first time, I think, all season. And you people still think I'm insane for saying the engine has changed a lot. zfan - Brooklyn United 0 - 5 I'm sure if I had checked, our hatstats rating would suck since BU played zfan in the walkover. Chock Full of Wholesome Goodness - The Champion 4 - 0 Chock also PIC'd at home and had no trouble with The Champion. They actually lost possession in the first half, but won handily because The Champion never got a chance the entire game. While the midfields were close, the stars difference was 42.0 to 31.5 in favor of Chock. Iowa Enforcers - Kaishaku F.C. 0 - 3 This is the huge game for us. Earlier in the season, Iowa upset Kaishaku on the road and was looking like they might get 2nd or 3rd. However, fortunes have changed in the second half, as they now have a 6 game winless streak (4 losses, 2 draws) after Kaishaku went into their house and beat them. They have now fallen behind us into 5th. League Standings Code: N Team Goals Pts NSI 1. Brooklyn United 41 - 6 29 9 2. Kaishaku F.C. 34 - 11 27 76 3. Chock Full of Whole 37 - 21 22 83 4. Houston Hippopotami 27 - 26 16 71 5. Iowa Enforcers 19 - 23 14 68 6. The Champion 20 - 19 12 63 7. zfan 11 - 47 6 9 8. Team Groomers 10 - 46 1 57 We suddenly have leapfrogged two teams in two weeks and, with a win next week, we would be in full control of 4th. We also have a big game to end the season at the 'drome against The Champion but first things first. Notes After a franchise long 3 game losing streak, we have been unbeaten in our last 3 and are sitting precariously in 4th. Next week comes our game of the year against Iowa at home. If we win, then something really bad would have to happen the last two weeks of the season for us to not finish in the money. This next game is starting to feel a lot like the Dragons game last year- a huge game that's going to be close and if he MotS's, I'm probably done for. SI __________________ Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!" Last edited by sterlingice : 10-24-2003 at 03:50 AM.