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04-08-2003, 01:53 AM
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#1 | ||
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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Hattrick: Complex Spikes, season 19
Well since Hattick is down I figured I would start yet another dynasty repory. Hopefully this will help me remember what I have done, and others will find it interesting.
And now for some history... Late last season, an unknown man took over the Tennessee Indians who were sitting comfortably in third place. The man, who remains hidden behind a mask at all times, quickly moved the team to New Orleans and changed the name to the Complex Spikes. You might ask what is a Complex Spike? Well I have no idea. Rumor is the new owner was not quite thinking clearly when he signed up, and then was too cheap to change the name in the offseason. Perhaps it has something to do with the Masked Man’s tendency to make things unnecessarily complicated. Maybe it was just because someone spiked his drink. As with many things surrounding the team, this will remain a mystery. The team finished season 18 with two straight shutout victories and finished the season in second place. During the offseason, several new players were brought in and several original players were disposed off. And in the spirit of making things complicated, several players were brought in and then sold off, usually at a loss. Bringing in young players and all positions was probably not the brightest idea. After wasting a bunch of money, I decided I would focus on training playmaking. I felt this would allow me to improve both my performance on the field and in the accounting department the fastest. In the spirit of my alias, my players’ skills will remain masked throughout this dynasty. I will only report what everyone can see. I hope it will be interesting to focus on players performance rather than their raw skills. Also, it might help prevent ridicule from those far more knowledgeable than myself  . (And a fellow FOFCer, sony, is in my division, and after the first week looks like my main competetion Don’t want to help him too much).Match History Season 18 3/10/2003 (League): sony luangphone - Complex Spikes 0 - 1 3/13/2003 (Friendly): Crew - Complex Spikes 5 - 0 3/17/2003 (League): Complex Spikes - hangwon 2 - 0 3/20/2003 (Friendly): Else United - Complex Spikes 2 - 3 3/27/2003 (Friendly): Louisiana Cyclones - Complex Spikes 0 0 Season 19 4/3/2003 (Cup): North Carolina Gladiators - Complex Spikes 1 - 3 4/7/2003 (League): FC St. Charles - Complex Spikes 0 3 FC St. Charles won the division last season, but lost his qualification match. More on this huge early season win later. History of someone spending way too much time on the transfer wire 4/8/2003 Bought Phil Edwards from Bonettis Blues 4 000 US$ (58 000 US$) 4/6/2003 Bought Lucero Moragas from FC Hodorogii 6 000 US$ (25 000 US$) 4/6/2003 Sold Lars Gunnar Magnusson to Upland Tkachukers 3 000 US$ (34 000 US$) 4/6/2003 Bought Chen Chao-Hua from Manchester Kings 4 000 US$ (46 000 US$) 4/5/2003 Bought Ronnie Thying from Champz 9 000 US$ (37 000 US$) 4/2/2003 Bought Michael Hvidt from Streakers 48 000 US$ (64 000 US$) 3/30/2003 Sold Johan Matsson to Schluckauf Rasenschoner 8 000 US$ (40 000 US$) 3/30/2003 Sold Tankut Birand to New Delhi Thunder 4 000 US$ (41 000 US$) 3/29/2003 Sold Edwin Couch to Melind 12 000 US$ (16 000 US$) 3/27/2003 Bought Bill Reiter from FC Softwing 18 000 US$ (66 000 US$) 3/25/2003 Bought Stig Gaare from Oslofjord Ballklubb 13 000 US$ (45 000 US$) 3/20/2003 Sold Petter Strømsvik to Parrott Rebels 12 000 US$ (45 000 US$) 3/20/2003 Bought Eber Basoa Rivas from Jules Attack!! 8 000 US$ (38 000 US$) 3/19/2003 Bought Dani Mário Araújo from Kardoso United 9 006 US$ (18 000 US$) 3/18/2003 Bought Jeremy Bucknall from BlaZinG 51 000 US$ (96 000 US$) 3/17/2003 Bought Patrick Blakely from Princeton Tigers 3 000 US$ (48 000 US$) 3/15/2003 Bought Tankut Birand from feRRaRiRRR 9 000 US$ (40 000 US$) 3/15/2003 Sold Julio Díaz to da hammers 2 025 US$ (14 000 US$) 3/15/2003 Bought (Fired player) from Ferrari FC 4 000 US$ (27 000 US$) 3/15/2003 Sold Jerald Diaz to Beama 13 000 US$ (131 000 US$) 3/14/2003 Sold Carlos Haza to Lockwood United 12 000 US$ (24 000 US$) 3/14/2003 Bought Johan Matsson from WeeToddDid 2 000 US$ (35 000 US$) 3/12/2003 Bought Lars Gunnar Magnusson from FC adidas 1 000 US$ (32 000 US$) 3/12/2003 Bought Frederick Stuart from A-Ballers 123 000 US$ (252 000 US$) 3/11/2003 Bought Enrique Lastra from C.F. Juventus 18 000 US$ (126 000 US$) 3/11/2003 Bought Petter Strømsvik from Laguna city F.C. 20 000 US$ (50 000 US$) 3/11/2003 Bought Rex Thomas from Albion Seagulls 10 500 US$ (30 000 US$) 3/11/2003 Bought (Fired player) from WHMU 3 000 US$ (21 000 US$) At least I got good value for most of my early purchases. I’ll discuss the key ones later. The fans have warmly welcomed the Complex Spikes to New Orleans. Our supporters now number just under 600 and new fans are signing up rapidly after our early season success. Complex Spikes Arena seats only 7000 fans and will need to be upgraded as soon as I have some cash. Next up: Your Complex Spikes… Last edited by Masked : 04-09-2003 at 08:11 PM. |
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04-08-2003, 02:08 AM
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#2 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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The team:
Coach Boyce Silva (8726646) 47 years, weak form, healthy A passable coach who prefers a strong defensive game A controversial person who is calm and upright. Has outstanding experience and weak leadership abilities. Someday I'll try for a solid coach, but for now I am pleased with the guy with whom I started. Now for the starting 11. I normally run a 3-5-2, but occasionally go with a 4-5-1. The strength of my team is clearly the defense. Keeper Frederick Stuart (7765884) 20 years, passable form, healthy A pleasant guy who is calm and honest. Has wretched experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Nationality: USA Assessed value: $261,000 Stuart joined the Spikes shortly after I took over the team, and remains my biggest purchase. I definately overpaid for him, but he is close to solid and has put up 3 stars in the season finale to help secure second place. Defense Xavier Campagnat (8726649), Wingback 28 years, inadequate form, healthy A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and upright. Has weak experience and weak leadership abilities. Speciality: Powerful Nationality: USA Assessed value: $185,000 Joseph Downs (8726653), Central Defender 26 years, inadequate form, healthy A controversial person who is balanced and upright. Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities. Nationality: USA Assessed value: $158,000 Matt Keyesj (8726656), Central Defender/Wingback 26 years, weak form, healthy A sympathetic guy who is tranquil and honest. Has poor experience and solid leadership abilities. Speciality: Head Nationality: USA Assessed value: $94,000 Campagnat, Downs, and Keyesj have been with the Spikes since day one. Since taking over the team, in four competition games (3 league games and one cup match), the Spikes have allowed only one goal. The only downside is they are too old to train. The Wings Stig Gaare (8967499) 18 years, passable form, healthy A popular guy who is calm and dishonest. Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Speciality: Head Nationality: Norge Assessed value: $65,000 Gaare joined the team late last season for the bargin price of $13,000. He is a dangerous offensive threat, but struggles when pressed by opposing defenders. Lance Still (8726654) 22 years, inadequate form, healthy A popular guy who is balanced and honest. Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities. Speciality: Quick Nationality: USA Assessed value: $43,000 Another original Spike, who should be a very good with a season of playmaking training. Inner Midfielders Michael Hvidt (3726817) 27 years, passable form, healthy A nasty fellow who is temperamental and honest. Has inadequate experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Nationality: Danmark Assessed value: $60,000 Hvidt was the big offseason acquisition for the Spikes. Although he is too old to train effectively, he makes the team much better in the short term. He has put up 2.5 stars in both games he has played since joining the team. Once a couple of the youngsters step up, he will probably be moved. I should be able to recoup most of the $48,000 I spent on him, and I wouldn't be shocked to get twice that. After Hvidt comes a group of very similar players. Each week the team will go with whoever looks good in practice the week before. Eber Basoa Rivas (8864800) 19 years, weak form, healthy A pleasant guy who is balanced and upright. Has disastrous experience and solid leadership abilities. Nationality: España Assessed value: $35,000 Dani Mário Araújo (8845892) 19 years, passable form, healthy A controversial person who is temperamental and honest. Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities. Nationality: Portugal Assessed value: $21,000 Two young trainings brought in at the end of last season for a combined $17,000. Both will likely be sold off after developing since they lack a well rounded game. Clint Hyman (8726661) 25 years, weak form, healthy A pleasant guy who is calm and honest. Has poor experience and weak leadership abilities. Speciality: Unpredictable Nationality: USA Assessed value: $91,000 Another original Spike, who is well suited to a more defensive role. When needed he has even filled in as a central defender. José Roca Paradis (8726660) 27 years, inadequate form, healthy A pleasant guy who is calm and upright. Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities. Speciality: Head Nationality: USA Assessed value: $50,000 Another fine player who is simple too old to train. The Spikes are currently entertaining offers on both Hyman and Paradis in an effort to get younger. Because of his versatility, we would not be unhappy if we have to keep Hyman (put a large minimum on him, about 2/3 current value). Forwards Tony Spicer (8726655) 23 years, inadequate form, healthy A nasty fellow who is calm and upright. Has wretched experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Nationality: USA Assessed value: $100,000 The last of the original Spikes in the starting lineups. In 3 league games since the Men in the Masks seized control, Tony has scored 4 goals. He narrowly missed a hattrick in the first league game. Bill Reiter (3912557) 21 years, weak form, injured (2 weeks) A pleasant guy who is temperamental and dishonest. Has wretched experience and inadequate leadership abilities. Nationality: USA Assessed value: $37,000 The last of the offseason acquisitions, Reiter provides a threat opposite Spicer. He has 27 career goals, including one for the Spikes in the first cup game before leaving in the 83rd minute with an injury. Hopefully, with some advanced medical care, he will be ready to go in the second league game. Midfield trainees Patrick Blakely (8818301) 20 years, inadequate form, healthy A nasty fellow who is balanced and honest. Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities. Speciality: Technical Nationality: USA Assessed value: $53,000 Phil Edwards (10739227) 19 years, passable form, healthy A pleasant guy who is temperamental and dishonest. Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities. Nationality: Scotland Assessed value: $58,000 Since both players values are considerably higher than those of my two 19 year old starters, I expect both are close to jumping a level. Unfortunately, neither are very strong in their secondary skills. I am still looking for one more trainee with good secondary skills that I will be able to build a team around. Hopefully Hyman and Paradis will fetch good prices, and I can target an 18 or 19 year old solid. Other players of interest Chen Chao-Hua (5812690), winger 23 years, poor form, healthy A pleasant guy who is tranquil and honest. Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities. Nationality: Singapore Assessed value: $42,000 A very intriguing candidate that I picked up very cheap. If his form rebounds, he will be a starter. If not I am out at most $4000, but I could probably sell him for about $20,000. Ronnie Thying (2525448), central defender/wingback 30 years, inadequate form, healthy A sympathetic guy who is balanced and honest. Has poor experience and weak leadership abilities. Nationality: Sverige Assessed value: $33,000 Another cheap offseason addition, who consistently put up 2.5 stars for the previous owner. He can spot start for any of the defensive positions. Coming Soon (when hattrick is up): An introduction to V.249 and first round cup and league matches |
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04-08-2003, 03:12 AM
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#3 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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USA Cup: Round One
The Spikes travelled to North Carolina to challenge the Gladiators in the first round of the US Open Cup.
Prior to the match, Coach Silva reminded his players about the big league opening match against defending champ FC St. Charles the coming weekend. The team was instructed to save their energy for what figured to be a much tougher opponent. Having not played a 3-5-2 in several weeks in order to learn the 4-5-1 in the offseason, the team was a bit rusty (inadequate) with the formation. The Spikes spent the first several minutes passing to the opposing team and kicking the ball out of bounds. However, a mistake by the Gladiators deep in their defensive zone allowed forward Bill Reiter to break through for an easy goal in the 12th minute. With the early goal, the Spikes settled down, controlled possession, and took an easy 3-1 victory. They never looked sharp, and continued to make silly mistakes and conceded a late goal to the Gladiators; however, Silva should be able to whip them into shape prior to the league opener. Spike fans were excitied to see strong debuts by the three recent additions. Stig Gaare and Bill Reiter both scored, and Michael Hvidt earned 2.5 stars for his strong midfield play. They, and especially Coach Silva, were not pleased with the debut of midfielder Dani Mario Araujo. The tempermental Portugese youngster, got kicked out midway through the first period. Goals: Bill Reiter (12) Stig Gaare (25) Jose Roca Paradis (late 1st half) Bill Reiter left the game with a foot injury in the 83rd minute and could miss up to three weeks. This sent me to the transfer wire to find someone to fill in. Stars: GK Frederick Stuart 2.5 WB Xavier Campagnat 2.5 WB Matt Keyesj 2.5 D Joseph Downs 2.5 W Stig Gaare 2 W Lance Still 2 IM Jose Roca Paradis 1.5 IM Michael Hvidt 2.5 IM Dani Mario Araujo 0 Red Carded F Tony Spicer 2.5 F Bill Reiter (left injured) F Lact Wall 1.5 Team Rating Midfield wretched Right Defense inadequate Center Defense solid Left Defense solid Right Attack Passable Center Attack Weak Left Attack inadequate The mysterious owner was reportedly upset with how the team played dispite the victory. Two straight weeks of stamina training has left no players with better than passable form and several with weak or lower. Combined with PICing the match, my expectations may have been a bit high. Next week the Spikes travel to Nevada to face another bot team in the second round. Next up: Hopefully the Hattrick server... |
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04-09-2003, 04:32 PM
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#4 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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Series V.249
Before recapping the opening weekend, I'll give a quick overview of the competition. I split the competition into four groups. Rating from HatStats.
Code:
Them history: March 7, 2003 Received team Never logged in. Should be no trouble until they are replaced. Code:
Code:
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League Match Week 1: Complex Spikes at FC St. Charles A sold out arena greeted FC St. Charles for their first match of the season against the Complex Spikes. St Charles won the series last season holding a two point edge over the Spikes. St Charles employed a 4-4-2 and features a very strong defense. The Spikes came out in 3-5-2, and hoped to control the ball in the midfield. The Spikes hoped to exploit the weaker right side of the St Charles defense. Despite several scoring attempts originating from the Spikes left attack, the two first half goals by Tony Spicer, came from attacks on the right. The Spikes held a two goal advantage at the half. In the second half, St. Charles could not keep up with the better conditioned Spikes (possession increased from 64 to 75%), and the Spikes put the game away when midfielder Patrick Blakely blew by a tired defender to score late in the half. I was pleased with the strong start, and my team should improve once their form improves from the offseason stamina training. Complex Spikes Midfield: poor Right Side Defence: inadequate Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: excellent Right Side Attack: passable Central Attack: weak Left Side Attack: inadequate K Frederick Stuart 2.5 CD Joesph Downs 2.5 CD Xavier Campagnat 2.5 WB Matt Keyesj 2.0 (weak form) LW Stig Gaare (Off) 2.0 MF Patrick Blakely 1.5 MF Eber Basoa Rivas 1.5 (weak form) MF Michael Hvidt 2.5 RW Lance Still (Off) 2.0 F Lacy Wall 1.5 F Tony Spicer 2.5 And after one week Code:
Edited for stupidity Last edited by Masked : 04-09-2003 at 04:33 PM. |
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04-09-2003, 04:42 PM
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#5 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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Preview: Cup round two
In the second round of the US Open Cup, the Spikes will travel to Nevada to face the Samurais, another bot team from the 6th Series. The Samurais won their first cup match against another bot team 4-1, but were crushed 5-0 in their first league game. The Spikes will start an interesting lineup featuring several players in weak and worse form, in an effort to get them to improve. Unlike last week, Coach Silva has instructed his team to maintain focus and avoid the casinos and brothels (at least until after the game). However, Coach Silva was unable to found for comment last night...
Once my teams form rebounds, I should have several good opportunities to PIC a match in my division prior to my week 5 match against sony. Also, this gives me the opportunity to play some guys, who I wouldn't feel safe starting otherwise. My winger with wretched form will remain on the bench though. |
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04-10-2003, 04:55 PM
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#6 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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US Open Cup Round 2
Nevada Samurais 0 - Complex Spikes 4
The Spikes faced a Series VI bot team in the second round, and easily advanced. First the positives--Tony Spicer had the Spikes first hattrick, and Micheal Hvidt got his first goal with the Spike. The midfield controlled the ball 86% in the first half and 93% in the second, allowing the opponents no scoring chances. The downside was the 5 yellow cards picked up by the Spikes. Tempermental midfielder, Dani Mário Araújo, picked up two yellows, and has now been kicked out of both cup matches. Individual Performance GK Frederick Stuart 2.5 WB Xavier Campagnat 2.5 Offensive CD Joseph Downs 2.5, yellow CD Ronnie Thying 2.0, yellow W Stig Gaare 2.0 Off MF Michael Hvidt 2.5 MF Phil Edwards 2.0 Off, yellow MF Dani Mário Araújo, 0.0, 2 yellows W Chen Chao-Hua, 1.5, Off F Tony Spicer, 2.5 F Lucero Moragas, 1.5 Several players saw their first action since joining the Spikes. Midfield trainee, Phil Edwards, was brought in for $4000 and put up 2 stars in his debut. Moragas and Chao-Hua, are older players brought in for some depth. Both performed well despite poor form. Next week, we travel to Los Angelas, to take on Impact, a series V team, with an active owner. Impact his a defensive oriented team lead by a solid goalie (***, 354K value). We should have a good chance if the Hattrick Gods are generous in the next form update. But dammit, I wanted a home cup match. At least he has a slightly upgraded stadium. Stats watch Tony Spicer 5 goals (2 league, 3 cup) Dani Mário Araújo, 2 games, 2 expulsions (1 red, 2 yellow) |
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04-11-2003, 01:17 AM
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#7 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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Training Update
The great news first
An inner midfield trainee, Phil Edwards, that I just purchased for 4K, jumped to passible in playmaking after only 1 start. Good news 3 players (2 normal starters, and one form dependent starter) increased to passable form. I might see 3* performances from Campagnat and Spicer this week as a result. Bad news: 8 players dropped one level in form including most of the rest of my inner midfielders (Hvidt and the excitable Araujo to inadequate, and Rivas to weak). Other news from around division V.249. I figured out what Real Celtic is up to. He expanded his arena to 14K. His team is still very weak, and he still has not made any transactions dispite being logged on frequently. Where does he find the discipline. Sony Luangphone sold off most of his team for about 500K presumably to avoid bankruptcy, and lost his cup match when he started only 10 players. His team still has some talent, but is no longer in a position to run away with the division. My team is now in an interesting position, and I am not sure exactly how to proceed. Assuming my players form eventually rebounds (2 weeks of stamina training in the offseason), I have assembled a good enough team to easily take second in the division if not win it. I am training midfield and have 3 19 year old passibles and 2 inadequates (19 and 20), and a decent staff to support the team. My youth squad is up to inadequate and could start paying off soon. As with most young teams, I have financial problems. Currently I am only about $5000 in debt, but without any luck in the youth pull lottery the outlook is a bit bleak. Over a two week period my expenses are running about $120K (20K youth squad, 20K salary, and 20K for staff and maintanence * 2 weeks), while my income is only at about 100K (30K from sponsers * 2 weeks, and about 32K from home matches, and 8K for friendlies). Therefore I am losing about 20K every two weeks. I have over 600 "high-on-life" supporters, but only a 7000 seat arena. Considering my prospects for this season, I think I could fill a 18-20K seat arena by the end of the season. This expansion whould cost 300K and leave me buried in debt and little to do but hope for a good youth pull. But if I don't do anything, I am just bleeding funds, and still hoping for a good pull to make it into the black each week. Both cenerios end the same way and neither seems appealing. Suggestions? Currently I have this guy on the wire. Jeremy Bucknall (8833809) 18 years, poor form, bruised, but playing A sympathetic guy who is calm and upright. Has disastrous experience and solid leadership abilities. Speciality: Powerful Nationality: Oceania Assessed value: 74 000 US$ Wage: 1 008 US$/week including 20% Bonus Owner: Complex Spikes Warnings: 0 Stamina: passable Goaltending: disastrous Playmaking: poor Passing: passable Winger: weak Defending: weak Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: weak His value was at 91K before he got injured and he missed several weeks. The combined lack of playing time and getting one week of stamina training has killed is form. I bought him at the end of last season thinking what a great forward trainee, but since I am not going to train scoring he is useless. Basically a newbie mistake. I would love to get about 50K for him, but is that realistic? I have also put my best player, Xavier Campagnat on the wire for a minimum of 300K. I don't expect anyone to take it, but if someone did I would immediately upgrade my stadium, and buy another solid defender (estimate 100K). Of course I would be in a bit of debt in this situation, but should recover easily and will not weaken my team much. Xavier Campagnat 194 000 US$, 28 years, passable form Has weak experience and weak leadership abilities [Powerful] Stamina: solid Keeper: wretched Playmaking: passable Passing: poor Winger: passable Defending: solid Scoring: poor Set Pieces: weak There is no one else on my team that I can either afford loosing or would bring in more than a few thousand. I cleaned out my roster pretty well this week, and have only 20 players including the two mentioned above. I have a relatively easy home league match this weekend, and then travel to face another div V team, Impact, in the cup on wednesday. His team and mine are very close in talent. If I was to win I would finally get to host a match in week 4, in what would almost certainly be my exit from the cup. Obiviously wining this upcoming cup match would have a big effect on my financial situation. I think that's enough for now. Thanks to anybody who reads this and I would appreciate any suggestions for my team or my dynasty report. |
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04-14-2003, 12:50 AM
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#8 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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League Play: Week 2
The Spikes faced Real Celtic in their home opener. On a cloudy day, a sell-out crowd of 7000 die-hard fans showed up for the last game in the original arena.
Coach Silva used an interesting lineup, clearly thinking ahead to Wednesday's cup match. Frederick Stuart started in goal, and the three defenders in front of him were the solid trio of Campagnat, Downs, and Keyesj. Keyesj still doesn't look quite like his old self, and is off to a bit of a slow start this season. The real surprise came in the midfield, where young trainees, Blakely, Basoa Rivas, and Gallant, got the start ahead of more established players like Hvidt. Still and Gaare manned the wings, while Spicer, and Wall led the attack. The versitile Lacy Wall got the start, as Bill Reiter is still nursing the foot injury he sustained in the first cup match. The Spikes defense was impenetrable extending their streak to four straight shutouts in league play. The big suprise was the steller play of the young midfield. They earned the team a poor rating, and dominated possession (87% and 97% in the first and second halves respectively). The offense struggled without Reiter and managed only 2 goals despite the lopsided possession. In what turned out to be his final game as a Spike, Xavier Campagnet scored his first career goal in the 17th minute. Stig Gaare, a winger noted for his ability in the air, headed a corner kick from Tony Spicer to give the Spikes a 2-0 lead in the second half. After the sloppy play in the last round of the cup which resulted in a team record 5 yellow cards, Coach Silva was pleased with a clean game. Complex Spikes Player rating and Team formation Midfield: poor Right Side Defence: excellent Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: inadequate Right Side Attack: passable Central Attack: inadequate Left Side Attack: inadequate GK Frederick Stuart 2.5 WB Xavier Campagnet 2.5 CD Joseph Downs 2.5 CD Matt Keyesj 2.0 W Stig Gaare 2.0 MF Peter Gallant 1.5 MF Patrick Blakely 1.5 MF Eber Basoa Rivas 1.5 W Lacne Still 2.0 F Tony Spicer 2.5 F Lacy Wall 1.5 Division v.249 after 2 weeks of play Code:
The Spikes visit hangwon next weekend. |
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04-14-2003, 01:14 AM
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#9 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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The big news from the past week was the work of the front office
Code:
Xavier Campagnat has consistently excelled on the field at both wingback and inner midfield; however, his age (28) and his high salary (~$2100/week) made him expendable. The Spikes put him on the wire, but didn't expect anyone to bite at 300K. However, Revolution, a series II team from Chile, has struggled defensively this year and decided to bring Xavier in. The Spikes are left with a formidable hole in their defense, but a lot of money to fill it. Two other originial Spikes, Paradis and Hyman, were moved as well to make room for the younger guys in midfield. Both went for more than I hoped. 18 yo forward Bucknell failed to sell for 70K, so I listed him for far less. He is a great trainee, but was picked up by a day trader for 31K, and was immediately relist for 65K. I will be a bit annoyed if the day trader gets 65 (since i couldn't), but will be happy with th 3% that comes my way. Bringing in nearly $400K easily eliminated that $6,000 debt. A small portion went to acquiring Mohd Zaidi Abu Salim. Salim could ultimately supplant Reiter at forward, but initially will fill Xavier's place at wingback. Salim is not the type of player I would typically target since he has a broad range of skills as opposed to excelling in one targeted area. However, he has solid form, which should help win my cup game this week, and give me a home match; I also only paid a bit more than for other players who had similar defending skills (but much worse form). Basically, I needed someone right away, and he fills that need, plus a long term desire to improve the offense. Immediately, after the crowds left the arena, the construction crews moved in to get a new 16000 seat arena ready for the second home league match (and possibly a fourth cup match). The Spikes now have $892 in the bank. |
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04-15-2003, 04:48 PM
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#10 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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Well like many others, I cannot stand to be in the black.
Michael Kober (5577586) 30 years, passable form, healthy A sympathetic guy who is tranquil and dishonest. Has inadequate experience and wretched leadership abilities. Nationality: Österreich Assessed value: 75 000 US$ Kober was brought in for a rather steep price, $40K; however he can play midfield, wingback, and central defender. He puts up a consistent 2.5-3 stars a game. Initially I will use him at defense, allowing me to put Mohd Zaidi Abu Salim (I am not sure what his last name is), in his more natural forward position, giving me a big upgrade in my attack. In my next league match, I will give Kober a shot at midfield. If he performs anywhere near to what I expect, I will sell Hvidt. Although, I am training midfielders, I like having Hvidt (or Kober), playing in important games. They have better current skills than my youngsters and help the team control the midfield and thus win today. Hvidt, should fetch 50K on the market, but I wouldn't be suprised to get twice that. Coming soon: Preview of US Open Cup round 3. Last edited by Masked : 04-16-2003 at 01:14 AM. |
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04-15-2003, 05:19 PM
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#11 |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: New York, NY
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An interesting read. I like seeing you try to think out your decisions and then act on them. What is it about this game that makes us all enjoy seeing a negative sign in front of our financial situation? Kinda sick if you think about it.
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04-16-2003, 01:23 AM
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#12 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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NAIWF - Thanks for following along.
Would love to here some reactions to some of my decisions. I posted this in another thread earlier today, but wanted to throw this into my report. In round three, the Spikes travel to LA to face Impact. Impact runs a 4-4-2, and have a fairly active owner. He hasn't done much on the transfer market over the last few months, but does log in regularly and adjust his tactics week to week. He toyed with a 3-5-2 in the offseason, but seems to have abandonned it. I doubt he has anything better than a passable rating with it by now. Code:
Here are my ratings from my last league match Complex Spikes Code:
Impact has home field advantage (how much is that worth?), so I anticipate this being a very close match. UPDATE: Parent's, Impact's star forward, health has improved to just bruised and will be eligible for the cup match. In anticipation of an upgraded Impact attack, I will order my wingback to play defensive. He doesn't contribute much to the attack anyway. |
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04-17-2003, 06:49 PM
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#13 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bay Area
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On a hot and sunny day, nearly 10,000 Southern Californians came out to watch their Impact challenge a young upstart team from New Orleans, the Complex Spikes. Both teams had little trouble in the first two rounds in advancing to this fateful day. Outside the cup, the two teams were heading in different directions. The Spikes are sitting comfortable in second place in series V.249, while Impact are reeling after two rough losses in the much more challenging V.41. The teams were well matched, Spikes having a slight edge in talent, and Impact the home crowd, but few in the stands anticipated the epic battle that was to faught on the field before them.
Impact came out strong with their star forward Willis Parent returning to the pitch after suffering an injury in the first round. Impact's first strong charge earned them a corner kick in the 6th minute. Matt Keyesj, noted for his head play, went up to knock the ball away; however, continuing his recent struggles he grossly mis-timed his jump and wasn't able to make contact. Standing right behind Keyesj was the red-hot Marvin Truong, who had no difficulties heading the ball into the net to give Impact the early 1-0 lead. After the goal, Spikes players were looking around at each other in disarray. Up until now, they had never trailed in competition matches. Impact took advantage and midfielder John Robles got behind the Spikes defense, but Frederick Stuart made an astounding save to keep the Spikes alive. Invigerated by the strong play of their keeper and the leadership of team captain Hvidt, the Spikes made two great surges into the penalty box. However, shots by both Downs and Spicer harmlessly bounced off the post. After the flurry by the Spikes, the game settled into a struggle for possession in the midfield. The closest either team got, was a long shot fired by Impact's John Gilley sailed well over the goal. The Spikes went into the lockerroom with a slight advantage in possession (51%) but down by a goal. The second half started in much the same way as the first ended with a battle in the midfield. In the 59th minute, the Spikes found themselves in trouble. Frustrated with the inability to mount any attacks, tempermental Portuguese midfielder Dani Mário Araújo picked up a yellow card on a questionable unsportsmanlike call. Unfortunately, his response to the referee left only Araújo's head to be questioned, and resulted an immediate second yellow card and an early trip to the lockerroom. Now 60 minutes into the match, the Spikes found themselves down a man and a goal. With 30 minutes to go, all was not lost for the Spikes. Thanks to Dani Mário Araújo's antics in both Round 1 and 2 of the US Open Cup, the team was used to playing a man down. Figuring the Spikes were done for, Impact settled down. However, almost immediately, their mistake was clear. Winger Lacy Wall made a strong charge down the left side of the field and made a beautiful cross pass to Tony Spicer waiting at the far post in the 63rd minute. Spicer picked up his 4th goal of the cup in evening the match at 1-1. After the goal, neither team was able to mount another attack before the end of regulation. Midfielders Hvidt and Edwards played extremely well after Araújo left to win the possession battle with 51% again. In overtime, the match remained a battle at the midfield. Neither defense was penetrated for the full 30 minutes. After standing around doing little for the last hour of the match, each keeper was going to be tested as penalty kicks would decide the winner. Up first for each team were the start forwards, Spicer for the Spikes and Parent for Impact. With all eyes on them, neither managed to hit the ball well and missed badly, 0-0 after one round. Tobias Johnson, 29yo central defender for Impact, had found himself in similar situations many time in his career. He hit a clean ball, but not quite out of the reach of Frederick Stuart who was able to bat the ball wide. In contrast to the Johnson, 18yo Stig Gaare was up for the Spikes. Some fans in the upperdeck claimed to Gaare visibly shaking as his nearly wiffed on his attempt which harmlessly rolled to Bollinger. After two rounds, the match remained tied. John Gilly quickly stepped to a penalty spot and nailed a shot travelling to the left post. But just too much spin carried it around the post. And then Michael Kober stepped up for the Spikes. Kober, a 30yo defensiveman, was brought in earlier in the week to replace the beloved Xavier Campagnet who had been transferred to a Chiliean squad. Kober who arrival had gone unnoticed by the fans, is now known by all. He calmly stepped forward and blasted a shot by Bollinger who had barely time to even move. Spikes 1 - Impact 0. Realizing his team was in trouble, Dale Olivares took along time at the penalty spot. The crowd remained hushed, but whispers could be heard from the corners wondering when Dale would make his move. When he did, Stuart was caught off guard, but Dale's shot just missed off the left post. Hvidt, in contrast to Olivares, showed no concern and sit a shot for the upper right corner. But he didn't quite get it far enough over, and Bollinger got a hand on it to knock it over the bar. Score remained Spikes 1-Impact 0 Impact was down to their last man, but it was the guy they had the most confidence in. 34 year old team captain Wade Velasco like Olivares took a long time at the line, hoping to catch Stuart off guard. But Stuart was ready this time, but it didn't matter. In a shot eerily similar to Olivares's, the ball flew just wide of the left post. Collapsing in tears and hugs, the Spikes players rejoiced. The crowd remained silent for a moment before applauding both teams for the incredible match. Impact 1 - Complex Spikes 1 (0-2 PKs). Team Rating Midfield: poor Right Side Defence: excellent Central Defence: excellent Left Side Defence: solid Right Side Attack: passable Central Attack: inadequate Left Side Attack: inadequate NSI: 48 (team record) Players K Stuart 2.5 WB Keyesj 2.0 CD Jones 2.5 WB Kober 2.5 W Gaare 2.0 MF Hvidt 2.5 MF Edwards 2.0 MF Araújo 0.0, 2 yellows W Wall, 2.0 F Spicer 2.5 F Abu Salim 2.5 Both Abu Salim and Kober played well in their first match with the Spikes. Season Stats Tony Spicer, 6 goals (2 league, 4 cup) Araújo, 3 starts, 0 finishes (4 yellows, 1 red) In round 4: Division 4's L_REDSKINS |
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