FM2005: A frog at Kenilworth Road

[FrogMan]

Achievement News
Chris Coyne is named on the English Championship Team of the Week. It feels good to see a Hatter on that team. It doesn't happen too often this season...

Player News
Curtis Davies want first-team football. I just moved him to the Reserves team to give him a chance to see the field, as he's had only 4 appearances in 19 matches for the first team. In his four appearances, he got ratings of 5, 7, 5, and 7. It's a bit too inconsistent for me to consider a regular starter at centre back. For now he'll remain on the reserves and may eventually be transfer listed, when Alex Bruce gets to the team on January 1st.

Another player is complaining. Keeper Rob Beckwith, who's played some first-team football with the Hatters in the past, is also frustrated of being stuck on the reserve team. He's been playing pretty well with the reserves, averaging a form rating of 7.24 this season. I will probably try to get rid of Mark Goodlad so Beck can alternate between first-team and reserves.

Transfer News
I do offer Mark Goodlad around, as I see that Reading have been scouting him. He is currently valued at 52k, I ask 40k for him.

The very next day, we get news from 3 teams that would be interested in acquiring Goodlad: Reading (EC), Huddersfield (L1), and Swansea (L1). They all make a bid for my asking price of 40k. I accept all three and allow them to offer Goodlad a contract.

December 1st, 2006
A new month, time for a monthly report from the Team Board. The Luton Team Board are still delighted with my managerial performance. Life is still good


FM

[FrogMan]

December 3, 2006
Match #20: home vs Rotherham (currently 20th, 1 point ahead of us.)
odds: Luton 6-4 (fav), Rotherham 13-8
S: Showunmi/Kaviedes/Tarachulski
MC: Bridge-Wilkinson (with up arrow)
DM: Davis/Chambers/Foley (long up arrows on wingbacks)
D: Hanson/James/Coyne
GK: Murphy

The oddsmakers have us as favorites for the first time this season, wow.

Since Oyedele had a down game, and seemed to be simply running around in our last match, and Ricky Hanson played pretty well when I put him in his place in the second half, I give the start to Hanson. We go with the 3-4-3 again, this time dropping the AMC to an MC position, with

Rotherham played a 4-3-3 formation similar on top to our 3 strikers formations, but with 3 middies on a line in the middle. They show the same formation at the start of the match.

Bartosz Tarachulski is severly lacking in match fitness. I'm gonna keep a close eye on him.

31st minute: Tony James is caught too deep in the opponent's territory after making a throw in. They play the long ball over the 2 remaining defenders and a striker is left alone against a Joe Murphy who's rushing out. He can't stop the shot. Down 0-1.

The half ends with us down 0-1. Adam Chambers and Sol Davis are having bad games, both at 5 right now. They are winning possession with 56%. I pull out Chambers and put Richard Johnson in.

We dominate the second half but can't convert anything. A frustrating loss. We can't afford to dominate and not come out with the win...

Final Score: Luton 0, Rotherham 1
Shots (on target): Luton 13 (6), Rotherham 7 (1)
MoM: Rotherham's keeper Mike Pollitt with a rating of 9.
HoM: Marc Bridge-Wilkinson with a rating of 8, 28 passes completed out of 36, 6 of them key passes, and 4 interceptions.

Possession: (us/them)
our zone: 8/13
middle: 19/29
their zone: 18/13
Overall: 45/55

We remain in 20th place, still 4 points out of the drop zone.

I probably played Tarach a bit too long. He's still not match fit and while he didn't get bad ratings, nothing was happening on the right until I put James Pinnock in his place.

We don't play before one week.

FM

[FrogMan]

FA Cup Draw News
The draw for the 3rd round of the FA Cup happens. I didn't know that the Championship teams got in the FA Cup only in the 3rd round, kinda sad... We're not really lucky with this draw, as we get an away match against fellow Championship team, Leicester, to be played on January 6, 2007. Leicester is currently in 5th place in the Championship and they beat us 3-4 just recently.

Injury News
Ivan Kaviedes sprains an ankle in training. It may be because he's flamboyant and all, but he gets a news item saying he'll be doubtful to play in Luton Town's crucial relegation clash with Reading on December 30th (we're December 5th) as he strugges with a sprained ankle, according to a local newspaper.

Kaviedes has been told he will be out for at least 4 weeks after suffering a sprained ankle. Luton fans are still hoping the 29yo striker can recover in time, but recognise that it will be touch and go.

That's a blow, as Kavi was playing much better lately. Back to square one...

Transfer News
Mark Goodlad signs with Reading. Off he goes. With the sale, I see that our wage budget has been upped to 93k. We're now at 75804 in wages, plus Alex Bruce's wage when he gets with us, around 4000, so I got room for one or two players under there. I think I'm gonna go shopping, especially with about 600k in transfer budget...

FM

[FrogMan]

Media News
I am defended by Hull boss, Brian Horton, who said that whilst there might be people who doubt my ability as a football manager, he was personally of the opinion that I have the ability to save my team from relegation.

Player Reactions
One main reaction... Joe Murphy, Chris Coyne, and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson all believe that Horton is right and that avoiding the drop will happen without too much effort. I find this reaction a bit overconfident. I would not say it will happen "without much effort"...

I tell Horton that I'm confident that my team can avoid relegation. It translates into the paper as me saying I have every faith in my team's ability and come the end of the season I hope to be proved right.


FM

[FrogMan]

December 9, 2006
Match #21: away at Hull (currently 19th, 2 points ahead of us)
odds: Luton 7-4, Hull 5-4 (fav)
S: Morris/Showunmi/Pinnock
MC: Bridge-Wilkinson (with up arrow)
DM: Davis/Evans/Foley (small up arrows on wingbacks)
D: Davies/James/Hanson
GK: Beckwith

It's the first leg of the the Final of the Oceania Nations Cup. Chris Coyne and Richard Johnson are on international duty for that one. Hull has a starting striker that also plays for Australia.

Jacopo Piotto suffered a torn calf muscle a little while ago, still 3 months away from coming back. Shola Oyedele was injured in his last reserves match. Curtis Davies gets the start after I said he wouldn't for a while. Ironic, no?

To shake things up a bit, I give the start to Rob Beckwith at keeper, after two 6 performances by Joe Murphy.

This could be a very tough game.

Hull played a 3-4-3 with 4 on a line in their last match, they show the same as we get to this one...

34th minute: Sol Davis goes down deep in their territory. We're one man short on their breakaway. They bring the ball to our box. Rob Beckwith makes the first save but can't block the half volley that follows. Davis is in bad shape, at 41%. We're down 0-1.

The half ends with us down 0-1. Pretty even in shots, 6 for both, 4 on traget for us, 5 for them. Our defenders are not in the game. Sol Davis is back up to 64%. Rob Beckwith is having a good 1st half.

62nd minute: Mark Williams (put in for Curtis Davies who couldn't do better than a 5 rating) makes a long pass for Lee Morris on the left. Morris dribbles the ball into the box and protects it well, well enough that a defender has to foul him in the box. PENALTY!!! Marc Bridge-Wilkinson stays cool and put it in. We tie them 1-1.

89th minute: Three men in our 6 yard box is too much for poor Rob Beckwith. They score after a couple of blocked shots by Beck. Down 1-2. It's too late to mount any kind of rally...

Final Score: Luton 1, Hull 2
Shots (on target): Luton 10 (5), Hull 13 (9)
MoM: Hull's Dickson Etuhu with 2 goals and a rating of 9.
HoM: Rob Beckwith with a rating of 8.

Possession: (us/them)
our zone: 15/17
middle: 18/22
their zone: 13/15
Overall: 46/54

We remain in 20th, now only 2 points out of relegation.

Sigh of relief, as Sol Davis checks out ok after the match.


FM

[FrogMan]

December 12, 2006
Match #22: home vs Sheffield Utd (currently 2nd with 45 point, we have 18 points)
odds: Luton 3-1, Sheffield Utd 4-5 (fav)
S: Showunmi/Pinnock/Tarachulski
AMC: Bridge-Wilkinson
DM: Davis/Johnson/Foley (small up arrows on wingbacks)
DC: Chambers/James/Coyne
GK: Beckwith

Adam Chambers at defender is unusual, but he's got good passing and is a D/DM RC, so maybe he'll shake things up a bit. They played a 4-4-2 with heavy winger push, they show a 4-4-2 with moderate push from the wings.

They have Kevin Joyce in the starting lineup... oh how I wanna beat them only because of him.

12th minute: Tony James goes deep in their right side (our left, Joyce's side) to take a throw in. Joyce leapt well to head the ball clear but he sends it toward the 6yd box instead of the sideline. Bartosz Tarachulski is there to head it in the goal. It may be childish, but this goal brings a smile to my face... Up 1-0.

The half is over with us in the lead 1-0. We're also putting the ball on target, with 4 of our 5 shots on target. They shot 6 times, but only once on target.

61st minute: Joyce gets his second yellow in 7 minutes, off he goes

71st minute: I'm so pissed off at this sequence. My *beep*ing defender can't *beep* the *beep*ing ball out of our *beep*ing zone. Damn! They cut yet another pass. Beck gets a hand on the incoming shot, but it goes in. Tied 1-1.

Final Score: Luton 1, Sheffield Utd 1
Shots (on target): Luton 8 (4), 10 (4)
MoM: Sheffield Utd's Paul Hartley, with a rating of 8.
HoM: Tony James with a rating of 8, winning 13 of 13 headers, 6 of them key headers.

Possession: (us/them)
our zone: 15/17
middle: 18/22
their zone: 13/15
Overall: 46/54

I'm still ticked off and frustrated with "only" getting a draw, until I realize that they're the 2nd place team. Good show boys!

Sol Davis had another minor injury during the match. This time, the physio reveals it's a chest injury and he'll miss 5 days.

We remain in 20th, still 2 points out of relegation.


FM

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

Media News
I am defended by Hull boss, Brian Horton, who said that whilst there might be people who doubt my ability as a football manager, he was personally of the opinion that I have the ability to save my team from relegation.

Player Reactions
One main reaction... Joe Murphy, Chris Coyne, and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson all believe that Horton is right and that avoiding the drop will happen without too much effort. I find this reaction a bit overconfident. I would not say it will happen "without much effort"...

I tell Horton that I'm confident that my team can avoid relegation. It translates into the paper as me saying I have every faith in my team's ability and come the end of the season I hope to be proved right.


FM

I've always found that compliment to be sort of backhanded. "Although others may consider him to be a useless football manager...." Who are these others talking about me behind my back?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I've always found that compliment to be sort of backhanded. "Although others may consider him to be a useless football manager...." Who are these others talking about me behind my back?

yeah, it's also why I went with the "I think we'll do just fine" instead of the "praise to my friend Brian Horton" kind of reply

FM

[FrogMan]

Decembre 16, 2006
Match #23: away at Preston (currently 13th with 28 point, we have 19 points)
odds: Luton 7-4, Preston 5-4 (fav)
S: Morris/Pinnock/Vine
MC: Bridge-Wilkinson (with up arrow)
DM: Wilde/Evans/Foley (small up arrows on wingbacks)
DC: Chambers/James/Coyne
GK: Murphy

With the injury to Sol Davis, Bobby Wilde gets the start at left wingback.

Preston show a 4-4-2 formation with heavy push from the wingers.

18th minute: James Pinnock is starting to piss me off a bit. He can't put the darn balloon on target! Three shots for him already, wide every time...

24th minute: And here's a fourth one, all alone on the penalty spot...

42nd minute: Two of their players position themselves behind our line of defenders, near the 6 yard line. The incoming center is perfect and they have an easy header for the goal. Amazingly enough, this was the first shot on target for either team, after 15 tries...

Half is over with me down 0-1. We're very much in this game, even slightly winning possession, with 51%. I pull James Pinnock and put Bartosz Tarachulski in.

53rd minute: Chris Coyne is caught too forward, which leaves them moving at ease against only two defenders. After 3 or 4 quick passes, they score. Down 0-2.

65th minute: Luck really isn't there for us, as I witness a great play from Bartosz Tarachulski to Rowan Vine, but Vine hits the post!!!

71st minute: Adam Chambers lofts one high ball to Lee Morris on the left. He doesn't miss is chance for his first Luton goal of the season. Still down, 1-2.

86th minute: Joe Murphy misjudges his rush out and his caught off balance as their 3rd goal goes in. Down 1-3.

It's a much closer game than what the scoreboard indicates. Nonetheless, it's still a loss...

Final Score: Luton 1, Preston 3
Shots (on target): Luton 15 (5), Preston 13 (5)
MoM: Preston's keeper, Andrew Lonergan, with a rating of 8.
HoM: Rowan Vine with a rating of 8. He also had one goal, completed 28 of 36 passes, 7 of them key passes, and put 3 of his 4 shots on target.

Possession: (us/them)
our zone: 14/21
middle: 20/20
their zone: 13/11
Overall: 47/53

They were playing the damned 4-2-4 at the end of the game. No wonder we got in trouble...

We remain in 20th but now only 1 point out of relegation. There are three teams tiead with 18 points.

FM

[FrogMan]

Special Notice
This last update will probably be the last one before a long while. To write these things, I had to take a great amount of notes and it got to a point like it almost felt like work, more than play.

I have since played a few weeks, a few games, without taking notes, and because of this, don't have anything to report. This may change in the future, as I may come back to report on how I did with the team, especially around season end, but for now, the daily event-per-event updates will stop. Sorry for my, oh, 2 or 3 readers, there are plenty of other great FM dynasty out there to read


FM

[terpkristin]

Awww, FM, your FM dynasty will be missed.
Good read so far.

~tk

[FrogMan]

thanks tk, I could have bet you'd be the first to write something

FM

[mrkilla22]

Yeah, you did a great job FM. I looked forward to reading it everyday.

[condors]

as the third reader just wanted to say thanks

[FrogMan]

okay, I'd say we're about done with readers

Thanks guys. Appreciate the good words, was fun while it lasted. I just realized I've done mostly daily updates for about a month, spanning over one full season of FM time... I'd say it even enhanced my playing experience, making me look at stuff I didn't always care about before... Maybe someday I'll get back into it, with Luton, or not...

FM

[tanglewood]

Hey, I've been reading too.

Hope that you decide to come back and inform of us of how it goes with Luton.

[FrogMan]

Thanks Tanglewood. I'll certainly do that, in a more informal way. I've got a few things I'd want to report about anyway...

FM

[daedalus]

But how will I keep up with my Kevin Joyce news NOW!?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by daedalus

But how will I keep up with my Kevin Joyce news NOW!?

hehehe, I heard he was about to start www.froggiehatesme.com but I've not had any confirmation...

Don't worry, I'll make sure to include something in the future about him, just for you, and other Joyce haters out there

FM

[terpkristin]

Hey FM,
I know you don't want to do a full-on dynasty, but do you think you could give us a weekly update of key wins (losses? ), injuries, transfers, etc?
Not the huge long reports you've been giving (unless you really wanted to), but just an update of how the team's doing. That would be really cool.

~tk

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Hey FM,
I know you don't want to do a full-on dynasty, but do you think you could give us a weekly update of key wins (losses? ), injuries, transfers, etc?
Not the huge long reports you've been giving (unless you really wanted to), but just an update of how the team's doing. That would be really cool.

~tk

Wow, I see we got a severe case of Luton addiction here

I'm afraid there are more than with our first season in the Championship. The date is now April 17, 2007 and we have just about clinched relegation to League One

When I last reported anything, we were still one point out of relegation, in 20th position. It pretty much went downhill from there. How to explain it? Well, many factors. We had an amazing rash of injuries. At some point, we had 8 or 10 injured players, most of them starters or top backups. Three defenders got injured at aboute the same time, one of Them Chris Coyne, for a full 2 months. Joe Murphy completely fell apart. Him who pulled the whole team through the playoffs last season, well he was letting in in easy goals, often getting ratings of 6. I got tired and started playing Rob Beckwith in his place pretty much the last third of the season.
Here's how the league table looks after 42 league matches:

Pos	Team	Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	Wolves	42	29	11	2	80	20	+60	98
2nd	Sheff Utd	42	22	9	11	68	41	+27	75
3rd	Plymouth	42	20	15	7	70	44	+26	75
4th	Crystal Palace	42	18	14	10	56	42	+14	68
5th	Q.P.R.	42	17	15	10	56	44	+12	66
6th	Leicester	42	15	20	7	49	34	+15	65
7th	Stoke	42	16	14	12	60	50	+10	62
8th	Coventry	42	15	16	11	47	47	0	61
9th	Ipswich	42	16	11	15	59	62	-3	59
10th	West Ham	42	15	13	14	61	54	+7	58
11th	Nottm Forest	42	15	13	14	46	42	+4	58
12th	Leeds	42	14	11	17	57	50	+7	53
13th	Gillingham	42	14	11	17	42	50	-8	53
14th	Preston	42	13	13	16	54	69	-15	52
15th	Hull	42	13	12	17	49	55	-6	51
16th	Cardiff	42	12	14	16	47	52	-5	50
17th	Rotherham	42	13	11	18	45	53	-8	50
18th	Burnley	42	13	9	20	51	65	-14	48
19th	Reading	42	13	9	20	40	59	-19	48
20th	Millwall	42	11	14	17	47	68	-21	47
21st	Sunderland	42	10	15	17	38	44	-6	45
22nd	Tranmere	42	9	17	16	45	59	-14	44
23rd	Derby	42	11	8	23	41	68	-27	41
24th	Luton	42	9	7	26	42	78	-36	34

Here are the match results for the matches after the 1-3 loss to Preston, the last match I reported about...
Match #24: Luton 0, Coventry 2

Match #25: Luton 1, Plymouth 1
Match #26: Luton 2, Reading 2
Match #27: Luton 2, Millwall 3
Match #28: Luton 3, Burnley 0
Match #29: Luton 0, Tranmere 1
Match #30: Luton 0, Cardiff 3 (TV)

Match #31: Luton 0, Q.P.R. 4 (TV)
Match #32: Luton 1, Nottingham Forest 0
Match #33: Luton 1, Stoke 2
Match #34: Luton 2, Ipswich 0
Match #35: Luton 3, Derby 1
Match #36: Luton 1, Gillingham 2

Match #37: Luton 0, Crystal Palace 1
Match #38: Luton 0, West Ham 4
Match #39: Luton 1, Wolves 2
Match #40: Luton 2, Leicester 2
Match #41: Luton 0, Rotherham 1
Match #42: Luton 0, Leeds 2

The two TV matches were probably the most frustrated I've been all season. I wanted to do well, and probably put the team too much in attacking mode, given that both matches were on the road. We then almost pulled ourselves out of the drop zone in the 6th block (from #31 to #36) with 3 wins over 6 matches, but then we got shut out in 4 of the following 6 to completely kill any hope...

Here's how it looks, 6 game block by 6 game block:

Block #1	2 wins	3 losses	1 draw	7 points	-3 GD
Block #2	1 win	5 losses	0 draw	3 points	-7 GD
Block #3	1 win	3 losses	2 draws	5 points	-9 GD
Block #4	1 win	4 losses	1 draw	4 points	-5 GD
Block #5	1 win	3 losses	2 draws	5 points	-2 GD
Block #6	3 wins	3 losses	0 draw	9 points	-1 GD
Block #7	0 win	5 losses	1 draw	1 point	-9 GD

While the team kind of fell apart, I didn't sit there just going through the motions. I had mentionned having some money to spend and some wage budget to spare, well that injury rash was the perfect time for me to use some of it. I used some of the wage budget to appease Keith Keane and Kevin Foley. Keane was on a loan and came back still wanting to move on to a bigger club. I liked the fact that he got an average rating of 7.48 in his League One loan, so I offered him a contract around 5k per week, much better than his current 1650 per week. He accepted that offer, for 3 years. Kevin Foley has been having a monster year at right wingback/fullback for us and him being only 22, I saw a big future for him. He started complaining about his current contract and I didn't want him to be pissed about it. I offered him a contract around 4k and he accepted it.

I first acquired a bargain central defender in Sagi Burton, for only 14k from Cheltenham. Burton is the captain the of the St Kitts & Nevis national team, so he's not all bad, and he's costing us peanuts in salary, at $1100 per week. A starter at some point when we had injuries, and a very solid backup when everybody will be healthy. (click on thumbnail for player profile)


Second player I bought is English right/central defender, James O'Connor. We paid 160k from Aston Villa for the right to talk to him. They had him listed at 260k and we kept talking them down, until we agreed on 160k. He's only 22, has amazing tackling and marking skills, with decent heading. He's also pretty brave, but lacks a lot in the positioning department. He's costing us a bundle in wages at $8400 per week, but we could afford it at the moment. He has played 10 matches for us so far, all as starters and he's averaging a form rating of 6.8. Not the greatest, but many players had low ratings when I tried a bunch of tactics... (click on thumbnail for player profile)


Third player I got is (yet another) striker in Wycombe's Neil Mellor. He's 24yo and I may have panicked when I decided to buy him. That was in the middle of the rough patch where I felt we were not scoring enough. He's been a good goal scorer for Wycombe in the past and after 9 appearance for us has an average rating of 6.89. He'S shown some flashes of brilliance, but we'll have to wait and see. He's fairly strong, so he could be a good middle striker in the three strikers attack we often use. We paid 600k for him, some 110k up front, the rest over 18 months, and his wage come up to 6k per week. (click on thumbnail for player profile)


Fourth player to get to the team is the aforementionned defender Alex Bruce. He too has had some ups and downs in his form ratings. I bought him more for his passing skills than his pure defending skills, when I felt that we were not able to clear the ball from our end zone... (click on thumbnail for player profile)


The one good news through all this is that the Luton Town Team Board, and our fans, are still delighted with my work as manager and the progress the team has made.

I played one match last night, after taking the little notes I needed for that report and with that 0-0 draw with 20th place Sunderland, we clinched relegation

That draw was a perfect example of the many little things that went wrong this season. Many opportunities, not as many as them, but still, and we can't put one in the net... sigh...

FM

[terpkristin]

Did you acquire all these new players to fill infor injured players, or are the injured players backto being healthy and now you need to figure out who to keep and stuff?

At least when you relegate this time, you'll have a stronger team and hopefully be able to bounce right back up, with a bit more experience and a bit more depth...and not quite as many injuries!!!

Thanks for the update

~tk

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Did you acquire all these new players to fill infor injured players, or are the injured players backto being healthy and now you need to figure out who to keep and stuff?

At least when you relegate this time, you'll have a stronger team and hopefully be able to bounce right back up, with a bit more experience and a bit more depth...and not quite as many injuries!!!

Thanks for the update

~tk

Bruce, I had signed him before the injuries started hitting the team. I thought he'd fit in well, and will probably do.

Burton was clearly acquired in the middle of the injury crisis and was a good buy, given his low transfer price and wage hit. I bought him when I realized that Mark Williams, who played well in our end of season stretch last year at 35 years of age, had lost a step or two when he turned 36. I look at his skills and all I see is red arrows everywhere, about week after week...

O'Connor was a spur of the moment kind of buy. I'm stil not sure how he'll fit in, although he looks like an improvement over my current guys, he may just be part of a rotationg scheme.

Mellor, I liked a lot, at least on paper. He too will have to prove he can be part of the first team on a regular basis.

Of the 4, other than the cheap buy Burton, these guys have one thing in common: they are younger than my usual buys. I've bought many 28-32 year olds in my first 3 seasons. These new guys are all in the 22-24 range. I think we'll be able to build around these guys and get some strong foundations for seasons to come...

I definitely agree that we will be going back to League One a stronger team than the one we were when we promoted. Don't forget that we promoted out of 6th place, after winning the playoffs out of nowhere. I'll hope to do well next season, or else I'll be very disappointed...

FM

[mrkilla22]

Thanks for the update FM. Like TK said, I am sure you will bounce right back and win League One next season.

[FrogMan]

thanks killa

This whole career is something new about every week I keep on playing. My first, and only real career with CM before was a tiny bit more than one season with Luton in CM4, so right now, playig one season, succeeding at avoiding relegation, then the second season where we won the playoff, and now this season in the Championship, it's always something new. Now I'm only waiting to see what the board and fans will be demanding of my team when we get back to League One level. I don't feel like I have much to change to the core of players, yet I'm kind of nervous/excited to see how it'll turn out...

Oh, and thanks to the little pest that is tk, I'm thinking about writing more often in here I sort of realized I like talking about the team I'll see how I go about it, but I'll start taking notes a little more. It won't be as much in depth, especially match reports, but I should report a bit more often.

FM

[daedalus]

Ouch. O'Connor's positioning is . . . harsh. Otherwise, he'd be a heck of a centreback.

Mellor (curse upon him for harming Arsenal's season) is a solid prospect in real life. I don't know if you play with a target man but, based on his ratings, he seems like he would make a solid candidate for that role.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Ouch. O'Connor's positioning is . . . harsh. Otherwise, he'd be a heck of a centreback.

Mellor (curse upon him for harming Arsenal's season) is a solid prospect in real life. I don't know if you play with a target man but, based on his ratings, he seems like he would make a solid candidate for that role.

Right now, strangely enough, O'Connor is caught off position less than Bruce, who has 16 in positioning. Bruce is in an overall slump and should be able to jump back out of it, at least I hope.

Mellor, I liked as soon as I saw him. Right now, Kaviedes is playing the role of target man. I don't remember ever posting his player profile. I'll try to do that tonight. He's got only 5 in both pace and stamina, but he's a killer in so many other ways. He can have very good games but sometimes some very bad ones. He's also 29yo already and having Mellor at only 22 his a good thing for the future. I may end up alternating them at the target man spot.

Right now, I think I have found a bit of what's not right with the team, something I have not mentionned yet. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, our star attacking midfielder, and team top goal scorer, has been injured for about the last 3 weeks to a month, with back to back injuries. Lee Mansell is filling in not so bad, but I used to platoon Bridge-Wilkinson and Mansell in games, usually starting one and giving the other the last 30 minutes of the game, so I would always have a fresh man in the AMC spot. Mark Jones is the backup/third man at AMC and while he's not playing bad, he's not having the same effect that BW can have on a game... BW and Kavi can sometimes connect very well in the middle of the field and create some beautiful pieces of play...

FM

[mrkilla22]

I have been keeping an eye on Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in my dynasty. I believe he has a 1 million value at the moment. I am keeping him on my shortlist until I can afford him. lol.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by mrkilla22

I have been keeping an eye on Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in my dynasty. I believe he has a 1 million value at the moment. I am keeping him on my shortlist until I can afford him. lol.

You're a wise man. BW has been huge with us. Looking back at it, it's almost out of nowhere, seriously. The guy had averaged form ratings under 7 the two seasons before becoming a Hatter, then boom!!! He will end the season as our top scorer, with 12 goals, 4 assists and 4 Man of the Match mentions. Click the following thumbnail to see his stats for the last 4 season, up to April 28, 2007, a game or two before the end of our season.


Click the following thumbnail to see his player profile.


I had also mentionned about presenting Ivan Kaviedes' player profile. You can click the following thumbnail to see it. It's really a shame that his pace is so low, he'd be a killer. I think the fact he's from Ecuador may be hampering him a little in his first season with us. When I signed him, he didn't even speak one word of English. At least now, it shows that he has a basic English. I guess he now knows how to order a Guinness at the pub


FM

[FrogMan]

April 21, 2007
We play home vs 16th place Hull. They have 51 points to our 35 points.
Odds: Luton 3-1, Hull 4-5 (fav)
S: Vine/Kaviedes/Mellor
AMC: Mansell
DM: Davis/Chambers/Keane (small up arrows on wingbacks)
DC: Bruce/O'Connor/Coyne
GK: Beckwith

Our team morale is very low. Half time score is 0-0. They are outshooting us 6-1, but it's 1-1 on target. Possession for the half is very close, with us coming on top with 51%.

60': Chris Coyne trips an opponent in the penalty area. PENALTY!!! They score the only goal of the game.

Rob Beckwith has one of his rare downer with a rating of 6.

MoM: Hull's Stuart Elliott with a rating of 8.

Final Score: Luton 0, Hull 1
Shots: Luton 2(2) Hull 10(3)

Possession: (us/them)
our zone: 19/15
middle: 18/21
their zone: 12/15
Overall: 49/51

Alex Bruce gets a rating of 6 after a 5 in his last game. He's clearly in a slump...

Injury News
Richard Johnson and James Pinnock suffer injuries in training. They will both miss two weeks, Johnson with a shoulder injury and Pinnock with a calf strain.


FM

[FrogMan]

April 28, 2007
Match #45: away at Sheffield United (3rd with 79pts, we have 35pts)
Odds: Luton 4-1, Sheffield Utd 4-7 (fav)
S: Vine/Kaviedes (outside arrows on both)
MC: Mansell/Bridge-Wilkinson
DM: Davis/Keane/Foley (small up arrows on wingbacks)
DC: James/O'Connor/Coyne
GK: Murphy


This is a formation I've played a little with, mostly when I need something more defensive, basically a defensive 3-5-2. Three central defenders and 3 defensive middies, with to central middies on top, even though with up arrows, this gives us a strong presence on our end.

Kevin Joyce is not starting today, but Steve Howard, former Hatter goal scorer extraordinaire is starting. He's not having as much success putting the ball in the net with Sheffield, only 8 goals so far this season, after two seasons of 20+ goals with us...

I decide to give the last two starts to Joe Murhpy, see if he can start winning.

We're down 0-1 at the half and possession is heavily skewed toward our defensive zone. They are outshooting us 8-2 (2-0 on target).

84': Neil Mellor intercepts a ball from a defender and quickly converts it to give us a tie in the game.

90': Mellor goes at it again with a great pass from the wing to the center, at Lee Mansell's feet. Mansell scores to give us the lead 2-1!!!

Game's over, we unexpectedly win 2-1!

MoM: Rob Beckwith with a rating of 9. I put him in at the 60th minute, when I got pissed that Joe Murphy was having another one of his sucky, 5 rated kind of game. I don't know how, but he rallied the troups in an amazing way. The kid who was once a project for my team now has handling and reflexes that hover around 16. He is the keeper of the future, and even of the present, for the Hatters.

Final Score: Luton 2, Sheffield United 1
Shots: Luton 8(3), Sheffield 24(7)

Looking back on the shots, I see that they shot 16 times in the second half (5 times on target), I can now see why Beckwith was named Man of the Match.

Possession: (us/them)
our zone: 15/26
middle: 20/20
their zone: 14/5
Overall: 49/51

Also part of the change when I put Beckwith in, I made some tactical changes. I upped the tempo, asked the player to play longer passes and go with a bit more attacking mentality, all the while pulling back the defensive line a bit deeper. I guess I may have hit the perfect tactic to play that Sheffield Side...


FM

[FrogMan]

May 1st, 2007
With the beginning of a new month comes a Team Board confidence update. With one game to play before being demoted from the Championship, the Luton Team Board are still delighted with my managerial performance. Life is still good

Injury News
Sol Davis twisted his knee in training. He will miss 3 weeks. With one week left in the season, this doesn't bother me too much.

Transfer News
With the season dwindling down, I take a look at the players available under the Bosman Ruling. I've had Jacob Burns on my shortlist for quite a while now. He's a very versatil 29yo defensive middie who can play on all three sides (RLC). A member of Team Australia, he's averaged form ratings of 7.32, 7.29, and 7.32 with Chester in the last 3 seasons. I approach him to sign with us. He's only asking for 3000 per week. Since he's only earning 2200 per week right now, I take a gamble and offer him 2400 per week. If he takes it, that would be a bargain.

Following Joe Murphy's latest performance, I decided to transfer list him. I also transfer list Enoch Showunmi, as he's not played much lately, given our glut of quality strikers on the roster.

Player News
Shola Oyedele is unhappy. He feels like surplus to the requirement. Got news for him, he's still a long term project and I'm not too sure he'll see the field with the senior squad before long. He's a 22yo D/DM C who had 5 league appearances with the senior squad this season. He averaged only 6.6 in form ratings in these 6 matches...

FM

[FrogMan]

May 6, 2007
Match #46: home vs Preston (15th with 56pts, we have 38pts)
odds: Luton 7-2, Preston 4-6 (fav)
S: Tarachulski/Mellor/Vine
AMC: Bridge-Wilkinson
DM: Wilde/Keane/Foley
DC: Bruce/James/Coyne
GK: Beckwith

We go back to the 3-4-3. Ivan Kaviedes is on the bench since he suffered a minor injury in training and his condition is only showing at 80%. Preston shows a 4-4-2 with moderate push from the wingers.

17': Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's corner is at the source of a foul against one of our strikers. PENALTY!!! BW puts it in easily. Up 1-0.

25': While Rowan Vine is being attended to by the physio, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson puts a free kick from just outside their penalty box into the net. Up 2-0!

The half ends with us up by 2. We are outshooting them 9 to 7 (7 to 5 on target, very impressive on target percentage!). Possession is very evenly split, 48/52 to their advantage.

89': They score on a late free kick. Still up, now 2-1.

MoM: Marc Bridge-Wilkinson with a rating of 10 in 45 minutes of play. He scored 2 goals.

Rob Beckwith also plays very well, getting a rating of 9.

Final Score: Luton 2, Preston 1
Shots: Luton 17(12), Preston 13(7)

Forgot to write down the overall possession numbers, but they skewed toward our end in the second half, mostly toward the end of the half. At some point, I felt like they had about all of their team in our box. Went to check on their tactic, here's what popped up at me:


That is pretty aggressive, although it wasn't effective against us...

After the game I decide to praise Chris Coyne. He's worried that I signed a replacement to take his place. While I admit I signed many defenders lately, Coyne in top shape now, is the one who's playing the best defensive football in the group. I hope the praise will get him to settle down and stop worrying.

Achievement News
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson is named on the English Championship Team of the Week. Always nice to see.

Contract News
Jacob Burns accepts our offer. The transfer will go through at the end of his current contract, on July 1, 2007. You can click the thumbnails below to see his player profile and his stats of the last three seasons...





FM

[FrogMan]

May 10, 2007
Before heading into offseason at full speed, I decide to take a look at what my Team Board think of my work. I'm pleasantly surprised. Other than that fact that they are delighted with my performance as a manager, they also have a comment about the team's performance this past season. They say they are pleased with the spirited performances that the players put in during the season. They add that it is a testimony to my managerial ability that I kept the players motivated throughout the season. Wow, very nice to hear

Transfer News
Date is May 16 and I'm going through players that would be available through Bosman transfers. My eyes catch a MC currently playing with Blackpool, named Richie Wellens. He's 27yo and shows a good set of skills. Currently earning 4200 per week, he's asking for 11500 and 80k in signing fee. He's valued at $2.2M and has averaged some very impressive form ratings in the last 3 seasons. I decide to offer him the most my team board will allow me, which is 9400 per week, plus a signing fee of 120k.

He accepts our offer on May 20th! The transfer will go through on July 1st, at the end of his current contract. You can click on the following two thumbnails to see his player profile and his stats of the last three seasons...




As you can see, he's had some very impressive seasons. He could certainly be used as the lone DMC or MC, where I could only hope for results as good as what he turned in with Blackpool.

I decide to offer Joe Murphy around. It's now clear that Beckwith is our keeper of the future. I'll have to post his player profile someday...

FA Cup News
Wow! Manchester United just won their 4th consecutice FA Cup. I usually don't follow the cups unless I'm still in and since I've been ousted in the 1st round more than a few times, I didn't know they had had such a run...

Training News
Our training facility has been upgraded, just as the Team Board had promised it would be. We now have top facilities *plus* youth academy!!! Anybody can tell me what difference I could see on my team's training, or youth players?

Transfer News
The transfer budget is announced. The Team Board announced it will be in the region of 260k, which is not bad, given we're back in League One. I'm tempted by signing Ricky Hanson, who's been on the squad on loan the whole season. He's only 22, and very versatile, able to play as D/DM/F RC. Currently valued at 220k. I'll think about it... You can click the following thumbnail to se his player profile.



FM

[FrogMan]

May 27, 2007
Two players drop salary due to our relegation from the Championship. Ivan Kaviedes and James O'Connor both have clauses of a 10% wage drop in case of relegation. They also have a 10% wage increase clause in case of a promotion though...

Reading about player's wages dropping and such, I go take a look at how above the wage budget I am. Ouch! The wage budget has been dropped from 93k to 74k, certainly due to us being in League One now. I'm currently at $98,348 per week, with 2 signees still to come... Some cleaning up will have to happen...

First cleaning I do is I release veteran defender Mark Williams on a free transfer. That move costs us $1800 and will save us $1800 per week in wages. Still a long way to go...

June 1st, 2007
Despite the high wages, which they point out to me with bright red marker, the Luton Town Team Board is still delighted with my managerial performance. We're plowing through the offseason...

FM

[mrkilla22]

Richie Wellens played pretty well for me. I think I sold him near the end of my first season for a decent amount. He would be a good pickup for you. He is a well rounded player.

Yay for the FM updates!

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by mrkilla22

Richie Wellens played pretty well for me. I think I sold him near the end of my first season for a decent amount. He would be a good pickup for you. He is a well rounded player.

That's right, I had forgotten, you're playing with Blackpool. I think getting Wellens on a Bosman transfer is a good move for the next 2 seasons or about. I'll keep him around until he's about 30 and sell him. The good news is he's valued at 2.2M in a League One team, so his value shouldn't shrink when he'll get on my team. That way I should be able to sell him some day for say, around 700k or more...

FM

[mrkilla22]

Sounds like a good plan FM. I picked up Mr. Bridge-Wilkinson last night on a free transfer! I saw that his contract was about up and he was planning on not signing with his team again. I just finished my second season and won the league One in the last match of the season.

[FrogMan]

June 6, 2007
Ricky Hanson's season long loan ends and he returns to Nottingham Forest. I was very tempted to put a bid for him but I decided to wait until I've straightened out the wage bill, if I ever get to the end of it. I asked my scouts to give me their opinion on him, thus keeping him on my shortlist.

Training News
I sent everyone home to rest. To avoid any training injuries during the offseason, I put everyone on the "resting" training schedule. Back to work on July 12th guys!

Transfer News
Derby offers me David Lilley for 180k. He is a 29yo D RC currently valued at 140k. He's an interesting player, but I quickly understand that it's a fishing trip from Derby and I don't take the bait.

Retirement News
58 year old Luton physio David Chapman announces that he will retire after the present season, i.e. June 2008. He's a 20 in physiotherapy, but we should be able to replace him fairly easily.


June 20, 2007
Derby offers Lilley again, this time for 170k. Sorry, nope again.

Season Award News
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson wins the Luton's Fans' Player of the Year Award. He average form ratings of 7.36, scored 12 goals (top scorer of the team), assisted 4 other goals. He was also named Man of the Match 4 times and on the English Championship Team of the Week 3 times. I don't know how they could have picked anybody else.


FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by mrkilla22

Sounds like a good plan FM. I picked up Mr. Bridge-Wilkinson last night on a free transfer! I saw that his contract was about up and he was planning on not signing with his team again. I just finished my second season and won the league One in the last match of the season.

hehe, good pickup. See the season award news right above this post Played right, sometimes as MC with an up arrow, sometimes as AMC, BW can be a real playmaker. Good luck with him!

FM

[FrogMan]

Money News
We received 550k for TV Rights, about half of what we got last season in teh Championship. oh well...

Board Appraisal
To signal the start of a new season, the Luton Team board gives me their appraisal. The say they are very pleased with my performance as manager of the club. Their expectations for the upcoming season are that the team is expected to challenge for the League One in the coming season. Nothing less... Seriously, I wouldn't expect anything less either

Seeing this email in my inbox, I go take a look at the wage budget, see if they felt a bit generous all of a sudden. They've indeed upped it a little, from 74k to 80k per week. The team is currently at $94943 per week, with 2 signees still to join the team...


FM

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by mrkilla22

Richie Wellens played pretty well for me. I think I sold him near the end of my first season for a decent amount. He would be a good pickup for you. He is a well rounded player.

Yay for the FM updates!

I'm still in my Blackpool dynasty as well. This guy was a monster for me in my first season...I loved having him on my team. Watch out though cause after a season of success he wanted out to go to a bigger club...bastard.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by MikeVick7

I'm still in my Blackpool dynasty as well. This guy was a monster for me in my first season...I loved having him on my team. Watch out though cause after a season of success he wanted out to go to a bigger club...bastard.

hehe, I'd still be fine with it, as I got him on a free transfer. Selling him for 1M or more would make me a happy man anyway

Thanks for the comment.

FM

[FrogMan]

also, I'm now in 2007, maybe he sees Luton as the bigger club he wanted to go to in 2005

FM

[mrkilla22]

Originally Posted by MikeVick7

I'm still in my Blackpool dynasty as well. This guy was a monster for me in my first season...I loved having him on my team. Watch out though cause after a season of success he wanted out to go to a bigger club...bastard.

Yeah, that's why I sold him after a season. He was unhappy and wanted to go to a bigger club.

[FrogMan]

Youth Squad News
I pretty much never report about the youth on my team, other than for the one Kevin Joyce of this world. Main reason is that there was nothing to report about: they were all crap! As announced earlier, the training facilities at Kenilworth Road have now been upgraded to the status of top facilities *plus* youth academy. This means we now will have some sort of reason to keep a good U18 squad in place. I had read at a few places that to get some good youth promoted, you needed to have room for them. Most of my U18 players were either on unprotected contracts, or even on month to month contract, so I released all, read this, ALL of them on free transfer at the beginning of June. I kept checking the U18 squad screen every couple of days or so, but no new player had shown up, until today, June 20, 2007. Ten new players have shown up in the U18 squad, with ages ranging from 15 to 18. And I'm impressed by some of them. Here's the class of 2007 for the Hatters U18 squad...

Graeme Bailey, D L, 18yo, value: $120k
Graeme already has great tackling skills for his age (tackling=15) and is very aggressive and determined (aggression=12, determination=13). He's also a good worker (work rate=10) and has some pretty nice physical skills. He'll need to work on his marking skills (marking=6) but he'll have plenty of time to do so, and since he'll mostly play on the periphery, I figure that tackling, pace, and stamina may end up being more important (pace=14, stamina=13). I'm very impressed with a starting value of $120k, I must say...
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Paul Black, M LC, 16yo, value: $80k
For a 16yo, Paul has many skills that are already in the high average range. I can count 5 skills at 7, and many other around 6, while none at 1. He's a very aggressive (aggression=18), determined kid (determination=11) with great work ethics (work rate=16). He's already showing up as a well rounded middie for the future. If he can only improve a few skills, he could have a future for us in a 2-3 seasons... His $80k initial value is nice to see...
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Chris Chapman, M LC, 15yo, value: $32k
Chris is already an impressive player, even only at 15 years of age. He's already very accomplished at kicking set pieces (corners=18, free kicks=10, penalty=12) while his dribbling and tackling are his best technical skills (dribbling=14, tackling=10). He is also quite brave, with great composure and good positioning. Other than his pace and stamina, which could bring him down a little, his physical skills are nice too.
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Gareth Lynch, S C, 17yo, value: $36k
Gareth intrigues me a lot. I'll be curious to see how a striker can ever become useful by starting with so low finishing, heading, and long shots skills (finishing=heading=long shots=1!!! ) Thing is, he is very determing and knows where to go when he doesn't have the ball (determination=15, off the ball=16). His physical skills are also very nice, other than the strength. We'll keep an eye on him.
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Steven Mitchell, M C, 18yo, value: $48k
Steven is another interesting prospect. While he has some well developped skills, mainly kicking corners (11), or free kicks (13), or passing the ball (15), he lacks in many other aspect, not the least in positioning *and* off the ball skills (both 1). He's also aggressive (13) and very determined (14). In fact, determination seems to be a skill that runs through many of my new youth squad members. I like that.
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Ryan Morris, GK, 15yo, value: $6k
Ryan is the only keeper of this new crop, meaning he'll start about every game for the U18 squad. He already has nice handling skills for a 15yo (handling=9) and great physical skills for a keeper (agility=16, balance=13, jumping=18). He is a GREAT worker (work rate=20) which could help him develop his other skills. For a keeper, he is not very eccentric though (eccentricity=1) and most of his other keeper skills are low, but workable (around 4).
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Jimmy White, S C, 17yo, value: $6k
Jimmy has no skills that very low (no 1) but also no outstanding skills, other maybe his determination (13), his ability to work with his teammates (teamwork=10), and his good work ethic (work rate=12). An amazing jumper (jumping=20), he will have to work on his heading skill in order to take advantage of that (heading=4). He's "already" 17, so that may explain the many little things that make him show better skills overall...
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Neil Wright, S C, 16yo, value: $6k
Very similar to Jimmy White, Neil has no really bad skills, while not having many very good ones either. He's a good worker (work rate=13) and also a good jumper (jumping=16) with a tiny bit more heading skills than Jimmy (heading=6). He's a year younger than Jimmy, will be nice to see if he surpasses him when he gets to his 17th birthday.
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Danny Dixon, D/DM RL, 17yo, value: $28k
Danny is the kid with the most 1's in the whole bunch. He's very brave (15) and has great concentration (15), but the number of 1's is frightening me. The physical side of things is certainly not where he'll need to work, and hopefully his great work ethics (work rate=18) will compensate for his lack of inital skills. We'll see...
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



Mike Hodges, M L, 15yo, value: $6k
Mike is quite a few seasons from seeing any big playing time outside of the U18 squad. Similar to Danny Dixon, he boasts many 1's in many spots, but he's got some good passing skills (11) which hopefully he can only improve on. He's got good physical skills, apart from possibly a fear of height and jumping (jumping=1). For now, he's roster filler...
Click on the following thumbnail to see his profile.



I've saved the screenshots of the profile of all 10 new Hatters as of June 20, 2007, and will see how they evolve over time. Should be fun to follow first over the course of this season, then after a season or two, or three

I remember asking about what happens when a 19yo is on your U18 squad. Well I sort of got my answer yesterday. A 19yo (or older I'd assume) on the U18 squad is simply considered "ineligibe". I had one 19yo kid, an original from before I took over management at Kenilworth Road, the only one on month by month contract that I had not released. He was still on the U18 squad. I hit the filter button and unticked the "show unavailable" and the player disappeared from the screen. From that, I deducted that the player appears in the U18 screen but is simply unavailable (or ineligible) to play with the U18, simply playing with the reserves. Hope this helps anyone...


FM

[mrkilla22]

That's good to know. I will have to check that out once I upgrade my training facilities and youth academy.

[FrogMan]

July 1st, 2007
First of the month, time for an update from the Team Board. They say they are still very pleased with my management of the team. Let's hope we will get a good start to the new season or else they could get unhappy very quick, me thinks...

International call-up
Ivan Kaviedes has been called up by the Ecuador manager to be part of the Ecuador squad in the upcoming Copa América. Qual games will be played when the team will be playing its first few friendlies of the season.

Richie Wellens and Jacob Burns both "technically" arrive with the team, as their contracts finished. Players will report for training camp on July 10.

July 4, 2007
I offer Joe Murphy around. Even though is value has plummeted to only 28k, he was once valued at over 50k. I ask 40k for him. There's a Scotland club called Dunfermline that seems to be interested in him.

July 5, 2007
Seeing that we will have two more middies to choose from in Wellens and Burns, I decide to offer the injury prone Richard Johnson around for $0. I offer him to every team from League One and down.

July 8, 2007
Dunfermline puts in a bid for Murphy at 40k. I accept and they will try to get him to agree on a contract. Nobody is interested in Richard Johnson.

After changing Rowan Vine's squad status from "Key player" to "Squad rotation", he gets pissed and now feels I don't appreciate his contribution to the team. Maybe rotation was a bit harsh, he's definitely a first team player, but not a key one. I change his status to "First team". We'll see if he stays pissed or not.

FM

[terpkristin]

Do you have any friendlies lined up for the off season?
Now that training camp is open, do you set people back from the "resting" training?

Just curious, because I don't know enough about the game (with regards to the 2nd question). I was quite happy to come back from San Diego and see lots of updates for the Frog at Kenilworth Avenue dynasty!

~tk

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Do you have any friendlies lined up for the off season?
Now that training camp is open, do you set people back from the "resting" training?

Just curious, because I don't know enough about the game (with regards to the 2nd question). I was quite happy to come back from San Diego and see lots of updates for the Frog at Kenilworth Avenue dynasty!

~tk

Yes I have friendlies lined up, 6 in all. In fact 3 of them have already been played and only need me to catch up on my reporting for you all to know bout them

As players reported back for training camp, I put all of them, except injured players, on the pre-season training schedule, which is fairly intensive on the physical side of things. I'll start putting players on one of the two "late pre-season" schedule, either the "attacking" one or the "defensive" one, as we get closer to the start of the season, and as I start seeing reports from my coaches that the pre-season schedule does nothing for so and so player and such...

FM