I have noticed that when signing players or leaving players go it can have a massive effect on morale. Hopefully SI have coded it so that during the close season this is effectively turned off.
The last two season starts have coincided with an horrific run of form for me so hopefully third time lucky.
There are still some players coming and going at the Jakski. Rios contract is up come Monday and with his talent he was going to be lost to a wage auction no doubt. With a new Right Back brought in for just shy of a million Rodriguez, Pablo now moves into the MC role. Rios is in auction and as I recall (servers down again) stands at £500k.
Thus far Rodriguez has done a good job. Another arrival, I found a kid in auction at 16 had breathtaking pace with the rest of his talents hovering around the 8/9 mark. Whilst SI have toned down the effect of pace (it used to pace wins end of) pace remains a vital part of the game.
He was quite strong for a 16 year old and there was something about this kid that just made me think he had buy written all over him. My thinking here was a one season deal if he showed a glimpse of talent then I could lock his contract and review year by year.
He’s a classic acquisition, actually many kids have cultured technical ability so go for big money but this one was never going to be bagging first team football until you had developed him a fair bit.
If the first six games are anything to go by I have nothing at all to worry about, the raw pace you’d expect but he doesn’t just blindly shoot and I see him lay off lovely little balls all over. The finishing is classic Henry style and I think I may have another Walcott in hiding.
If he improves his technical skills by 20% then he’ll be worth already what I’m paying him, £5k, if he improves by more then he’s going to be a superstar!
The main reason for the purchase was to get something interesting for the U17’s for next season, there is already a very good foundation in there but this kid is the icing on the cake. £5k is a big punt for me on a kid. His name I can’t remember and can’t tell you BECAUSE THE SERVERS ARE DOWN AGAIN! Still as a Beta it’s awesome and should be expected.
Sousa’s contract is up but it looks as no one is showing interest, I’m surprised as he has high rep and fairly good stats, still at 30 he’s not a match winner.
The search for players now is almost over I’ve left around at least a £60 - £70k surplus in there and still have a substantial transfer fund. Really big names tend to go for around £3 - £5m so when the right one pops onto the market I’ll take shot.
The Auto Extend feature of the game certainly keeps you on your toes. Current Auto Extends are Pablo / Tarik / Moya / Arda and I think one of the kids, it could be Derds. Daikte isn’t on an auto extend and BADLY needs to be. So one of the five will have to go during the season which is a scary thought!
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Red Mist Auctions
So the Wage auctions have started and let me tell you it's insanity all over again.
I know I thought I would go heavy on a few players but it turns out I just can't bring myself to do it. You start looking and think ahh I've heard of this guy, you look at his stats, performance and then study the teams in for him. I check and can afford to outbid them but I'm not going to, I know eventually I can find cheaper elsewhere.
I managed to bag two Big Strikers to bounce off Wendall it might work, it might not, but these are well under £10k a day. It's an experiment, oddly one of them Franco looks a very good striker with a proven track record of a goal every other game.
It's not simply a case of if their good strikers but if their the right type of strikers. One player I did go heavy on was Romulo (I can't check his name as the servers are down again). The teams in for him I didn't think were serious apart from Wooley Hotspur who I know needed a target man.
Romulo has a wage demand of £12k and for once I went big at £25k and actually felt quite confident of bagging him. Then I started having second thoughts this guy didn't have any pace at all and that was the reason that Purovic went. The hour came and surprisingly Chris Nash of Surreal Madrid had chucked in £35k.
Romulo may or may not have been worth £25k that's a debating point however £35k I'm fairly confident is a no no. If he was 21 maybe but at 27 then no.
A lesson learnt here as then I looked elsewhere and found a free agent Franco with a simliar record, just as good in the air, had pace and only cost £4k a day. So assuming that Franco pans out I know have a £30k day advantage over one team.
Here is where I think I have a trick over other teams. Not wishing to blow my own trumpet but the team that takes the pitch is normally half that off wage over the other teams.
Often these teams have no youth policy and almost always have an older squad than mine. When you consider we're now bouncing between 50 and 100 in the rankings I'm fairly confident that my strategy is one that produces sustainable results.
I don't know why the insanity in auctions continues but I'll try to guess the psychology. One game a player makes a mistake, doesn't take a chance something... then the manager thinks that this player need replacing. The auctions start and players are shortlisted bids made. The manager loses out and takes it like a loss, the next player they will not be 'beaten' and the manager is now starting to get red mist.
It doesn't take long for the silly bids to start the odd thing is the manager often feels like he 'won'. Securing a player that has a wage demand of £20k and paying him £65k instantly put him at a disadvantage to everyone else. If the manager had thought ahead he could of got someone on £20k a day who's young and then locked the contract.
A £65k a day player is like paying a £1.35million transfer fee every single season.
I know many would argue beta but we're at least three seasons away from release and as I've stated before I rather doubt that SI will kill a gameworld anyway.
Another arrival at the Jakski is a young 19 year old winger from the far east. Wage £1.5k and thus far looks totally breathtaking.
I managed to hold both my players in auctions with only a minor increase to the left backs salary. Honestly it's almost lazy of me not to look elsewhere as I do think I could do better. Still at least I know what I'm going to get.
The one gap in the first team now is at right back and arguably at MC. Currently Arda is playing MC and this is not a natural position for him Molnga is covering on the left wing. Pablo is covering Right Back and once again not a natural position.
Much thought has gone into Montero, a young 16 year old kid that often controls games at youth level. I played Seahorse (a very good team littered with stars) earlier today and brought Montero on and he gleefully skipped past their defence at least twice in the twenty minutes he was on.
I think the bottom line is that Montero is already at Championship / Premiership level but quite a way short of World Class. I have the money and budget to buy world class so maybe I should. If the right player at the right price comes along then I'll move.
More pressing though is right back, Pablo is a fiercely competitive player who whilst isn't quite world class but is consistent and would not be phased by any level of opposition. Naturally he's an MC and just the sort of player you want in the heart of your team.
What would really suit is a experienced old pro in his twilight years. Ceedorf was being offered in the Market chat room but I could see that this season he had moved for £2m. I assumed his current owner had expectations of at least that sort of money and I'm not paying that for a 34 year old. The search continues.
We managed to do the double at Under 21 level in the NFA this season getting it with a 3-1 win over Birmingham. Nice, the U17 thing remains unresolved.
I know I thought I would go heavy on a few players but it turns out I just can't bring myself to do it. You start looking and think ahh I've heard of this guy, you look at his stats, performance and then study the teams in for him. I check and can afford to outbid them but I'm not going to, I know eventually I can find cheaper elsewhere.
I managed to bag two Big Strikers to bounce off Wendall it might work, it might not, but these are well under £10k a day. It's an experiment, oddly one of them Franco looks a very good striker with a proven track record of a goal every other game.
It's not simply a case of if their good strikers but if their the right type of strikers. One player I did go heavy on was Romulo (I can't check his name as the servers are down again). The teams in for him I didn't think were serious apart from Wooley Hotspur who I know needed a target man.
Romulo has a wage demand of £12k and for once I went big at £25k and actually felt quite confident of bagging him. Then I started having second thoughts this guy didn't have any pace at all and that was the reason that Purovic went. The hour came and surprisingly Chris Nash of Surreal Madrid had chucked in £35k.
Romulo may or may not have been worth £25k that's a debating point however £35k I'm fairly confident is a no no. If he was 21 maybe but at 27 then no.
A lesson learnt here as then I looked elsewhere and found a free agent Franco with a simliar record, just as good in the air, had pace and only cost £4k a day. So assuming that Franco pans out I know have a £30k day advantage over one team.
Here is where I think I have a trick over other teams. Not wishing to blow my own trumpet but the team that takes the pitch is normally half that off wage over the other teams.
Often these teams have no youth policy and almost always have an older squad than mine. When you consider we're now bouncing between 50 and 100 in the rankings I'm fairly confident that my strategy is one that produces sustainable results.
I don't know why the insanity in auctions continues but I'll try to guess the psychology. One game a player makes a mistake, doesn't take a chance something... then the manager thinks that this player need replacing. The auctions start and players are shortlisted bids made. The manager loses out and takes it like a loss, the next player they will not be 'beaten' and the manager is now starting to get red mist.
It doesn't take long for the silly bids to start the odd thing is the manager often feels like he 'won'. Securing a player that has a wage demand of £20k and paying him £65k instantly put him at a disadvantage to everyone else. If the manager had thought ahead he could of got someone on £20k a day who's young and then locked the contract.
A £65k a day player is like paying a £1.35million transfer fee every single season.
I know many would argue beta but we're at least three seasons away from release and as I've stated before I rather doubt that SI will kill a gameworld anyway.
Another arrival at the Jakski is a young 19 year old winger from the far east. Wage £1.5k and thus far looks totally breathtaking.
I managed to hold both my players in auctions with only a minor increase to the left backs salary. Honestly it's almost lazy of me not to look elsewhere as I do think I could do better. Still at least I know what I'm going to get.
The one gap in the first team now is at right back and arguably at MC. Currently Arda is playing MC and this is not a natural position for him Molnga is covering on the left wing. Pablo is covering Right Back and once again not a natural position.
Much thought has gone into Montero, a young 16 year old kid that often controls games at youth level. I played Seahorse (a very good team littered with stars) earlier today and brought Montero on and he gleefully skipped past their defence at least twice in the twenty minutes he was on.
I think the bottom line is that Montero is already at Championship / Premiership level but quite a way short of World Class. I have the money and budget to buy world class so maybe I should. If the right player at the right price comes along then I'll move.
More pressing though is right back, Pablo is a fiercely competitive player who whilst isn't quite world class but is consistent and would not be phased by any level of opposition. Naturally he's an MC and just the sort of player you want in the heart of your team.
What would really suit is a experienced old pro in his twilight years. Ceedorf was being offered in the Market chat room but I could see that this season he had moved for £2m. I assumed his current owner had expectations of at least that sort of money and I'm not paying that for a 34 year old. The search continues.
We managed to do the double at Under 21 level in the NFA this season getting it with a 3-1 win over Birmingham. Nice, the U17 thing remains unresolved.
Friday, 25 April 2008
Dawn of a New Age
Well we managed to get knocked out of the UFFA youth championships going down 2-1 at home to Kier, 1-1 away. I knew the writing was on the wall when I spotted his narrow formation, which my tactics had always struggled to cope with.
He had some highly paid youngsters as well and I felt they had an edge in quality in the right areas.
Youth form has been sporadic and the latest update seemed to have a dramatic effect on the team. So with the season almost over now is the time for a spring clean.
Fresh clean tactics based on a 4-4-2 formation are used with a few tweaks here and there. I now pick a team with the strongest eleven players on the pitch. Arda is moved into Centre Midfield and Malonga onto the left wing, Rios partners Arda in the middle with Pablo into the right back position.
I haven't quite decided when it's going to happen but Arda is set emerge as a truly a world class player, is it going to be this coming season or the one after?
The 4-4-2 is a classic formation and whilst not being fantastic in any one area should be able to cope with most things thrown at it.
Dundee Rio are on of the first clubs to be faced and only my second ever win over them puts a smile on my face. Kier who just knocked me out of UFFA and ranked Top 5 are next.
Open mouthed as we won 3-0.... The score did flatter us a little. However Arda bursting into the penalty box has such ability you either foul him or you don't get the ball. We all know a foul in the box is not good news!
Still from here on in the results don't matter as we have to build for a new season.
First up is a global strategy and a budget, how sad is this. With Premiership football assured next season we've easily got an income of £230k a day. It's time to be secure some top talent to compliment Wendall's growing prowess up front and maybe another Central Midfielder or Right Back.
Some players I'm leaving go so the current £150k should drop down. I don't mind starting the season with a £200k wage bill before cropping off some.
There are number of youngsters that are great players but ultimately not going to be securing a first team place so I'll be moving these out over the close season. One or two won't sell and wages are over £3k or are older then 25 will be released. I'll just have to take the hit on form.
Finding the right players to slot into my team is vital. Money isn't so much an issue, it's if their the right players.
I'm shortlisting possible MC's and a striker. I've looked around the gameworld and the crazy wages of last season simply have to be rarer now. The top 50 are full of teams with £220k a day wages.
So here is the plan if need be I'm going to get a few players on over the top wages. Find the right one and dump the rest I've worked out canceling a one season contract of £30k is going to cost me £450k.
So I can do that six times and still be cash rich! Ok it's a crazy scheme but with an abundance of money to spend why not!
Actually it's not impossible I lose a couple of players in auction myself. However my thought process on these is simply a question of if their worth their wage demand or not. The one's that I could lose are not worth what their demanding.
So if I can get them on what I've bid or under I win and if someone else wants them but to pay me the Aq fee I win!
I've already shortlisted targets in those positions which actually are either much better or cheaper. There is a saying there are no problems only opportunities and this could happen.
Youth most of the U17 team is already in place for next season as I've been grabbing the odd 15/16 Year Old to fill in the gaps.
Patrick is still only 18, Sene / Tehri will join him in the U19's. With Meretta / Adu / Villano also in the U19's will possibly be the strongest Youth Squad next season.
Under 21's, I'll still have a few emerging talents here, Meretta will feature certainly, Bruno returns from the mighty Reesy Rovers (see Alex I did mention it) and of course Wendall is only 20 now so he'll still be causing a few worries.
A few gaps in the U21 squad mainly on the wings as I'll be losing Malonga and Tarik. A young right back Rodgers still only 19 and with high influence has done wonders this season so I look forward to his progression.
Whilst the Youth comps are an entertaining distraction it's Premiership points I'm after.
I think we should qualify for UFFA at Senior level which is a massive achievement.
Overall the name of this game is to produce something that is sustainable. The surplus cash per day and a nice youth set up should do the trick.
Back on SEO for the furniture company selling Oak Furniture and finding the right Pine Solutions.
He had some highly paid youngsters as well and I felt they had an edge in quality in the right areas.
Youth form has been sporadic and the latest update seemed to have a dramatic effect on the team. So with the season almost over now is the time for a spring clean.
Fresh clean tactics based on a 4-4-2 formation are used with a few tweaks here and there. I now pick a team with the strongest eleven players on the pitch. Arda is moved into Centre Midfield and Malonga onto the left wing, Rios partners Arda in the middle with Pablo into the right back position.
I haven't quite decided when it's going to happen but Arda is set emerge as a truly a world class player, is it going to be this coming season or the one after?
The 4-4-2 is a classic formation and whilst not being fantastic in any one area should be able to cope with most things thrown at it.
Dundee Rio are on of the first clubs to be faced and only my second ever win over them puts a smile on my face. Kier who just knocked me out of UFFA and ranked Top 5 are next.
Open mouthed as we won 3-0.... The score did flatter us a little. However Arda bursting into the penalty box has such ability you either foul him or you don't get the ball. We all know a foul in the box is not good news!
Still from here on in the results don't matter as we have to build for a new season.
First up is a global strategy and a budget, how sad is this. With Premiership football assured next season we've easily got an income of £230k a day. It's time to be secure some top talent to compliment Wendall's growing prowess up front and maybe another Central Midfielder or Right Back.
Some players I'm leaving go so the current £150k should drop down. I don't mind starting the season with a £200k wage bill before cropping off some.
There are number of youngsters that are great players but ultimately not going to be securing a first team place so I'll be moving these out over the close season. One or two won't sell and wages are over £3k or are older then 25 will be released. I'll just have to take the hit on form.
Finding the right players to slot into my team is vital. Money isn't so much an issue, it's if their the right players.
I'm shortlisting possible MC's and a striker. I've looked around the gameworld and the crazy wages of last season simply have to be rarer now. The top 50 are full of teams with £220k a day wages.
So here is the plan if need be I'm going to get a few players on over the top wages. Find the right one and dump the rest I've worked out canceling a one season contract of £30k is going to cost me £450k.
So I can do that six times and still be cash rich! Ok it's a crazy scheme but with an abundance of money to spend why not!
Actually it's not impossible I lose a couple of players in auction myself. However my thought process on these is simply a question of if their worth their wage demand or not. The one's that I could lose are not worth what their demanding.
So if I can get them on what I've bid or under I win and if someone else wants them but to pay me the Aq fee I win!
I've already shortlisted targets in those positions which actually are either much better or cheaper. There is a saying there are no problems only opportunities and this could happen.
Youth most of the U17 team is already in place for next season as I've been grabbing the odd 15/16 Year Old to fill in the gaps.
Patrick is still only 18, Sene / Tehri will join him in the U19's. With Meretta / Adu / Villano also in the U19's will possibly be the strongest Youth Squad next season.
Under 21's, I'll still have a few emerging talents here, Meretta will feature certainly, Bruno returns from the mighty Reesy Rovers (see Alex I did mention it) and of course Wendall is only 20 now so he'll still be causing a few worries.
A few gaps in the U21 squad mainly on the wings as I'll be losing Malonga and Tarik. A young right back Rodgers still only 19 and with high influence has done wonders this season so I look forward to his progression.
Whilst the Youth comps are an entertaining distraction it's Premiership points I'm after.
I think we should qualify for UFFA at Senior level which is a massive achievement.
Overall the name of this game is to produce something that is sustainable. The surplus cash per day and a nice youth set up should do the trick.
Back on SEO for the furniture company selling Oak Furniture and finding the right Pine Solutions.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
NFA Premier League
I don't know why anyone would be interested in this but me but people seem to so a quick snapshop of my team.Moya- A fantastic find, I compared him to Gordon a £600k Aq Fee Keeper currently pulling £33k a day and he was almost identical. Stats Performance the lot. £10k a day.
Casas - Is not bad at anything and not good at anything he's 27 a very boring player but at the back I guess this is what you want. Generally someone has to do something pretty special to get past him and he's consistent.
Diakite - Well awesome 21 Year Old DC, £2,500k a day and would shame many earning ten times that amount.
Maltriz - 30 Years Old current Captain, reliable but not a fantastic DC. This is one area I'd like to improve.
Meretta - 18 Years Old and a £2million signing plays at Senior / U21 / U19 level. Slightly out of position here but I tried him out and to get past him it's got to be really really special.
Zabaleta - Will be 25 next season and the engine of the team. I think he has two stats below 10, free kicks and flair.
Arda - Ouch £33k a day still only 22 I keep asking myself is he worth it.... Sometimes Tarik (ely on the right) can get bossed around by a good left back. Arda whilst not as exciting generally is able to compete against anyone. I need to make a decision on this guy as soon as.
Sousa - 29 now, quite high profile and gets the job done has good days and bad days. Kind of fits in with the squad as Montero comes on for him if it's not happening.
Tarik Elounoussi (Ely) - Can use either left or right foot, agile, quick, flies down the wing and it's a great sight. Sometimes gets lost against a good left back but still only 21 and that's not happening so much now.
Buval - Covering for Derds (out injured) he just isn't quite there, he's strong, he's quick, but he never really seems to quite do it for me. Derds is first choice. On a Wage Auction end of season his Wage Demand is £8k and he's on £2k, as a squad player £8k is too much so might keep him at the right price.
Wendall - At 19 was a bit of a wimp, flimsy, had the skill but first team was too much for him. Now at 20 starting to emerge, could command a very healthy fee and if he does improve much more will become truly a world class player.
Future Plans - There is no doubt that Meretta could hold the DC's spot from Maltriz but I would become concerned with having so many under 25's on the field. With Wage Auctions about to start I would really like to get Arda on a new contract and secure two mature Full Backs.
I think perhaps every team could say this but a 26 Year Old ish Superstar in the MC / AMC role would just put the icing on the cake and shoot us to greatness :p
NFA Premier League
Meanwhile the NFA Premier League is drawing to a close. It's taking some doing staying in that position as simply my players are not as good as the rest. Rafa's small squad got him through in the end (think he has just 15 players) although injuries have been turned up their not as high as they first were. Still he's done well and had real world class quality across the pitch.
Rafa has an ageing squad though so he'll need to do something if he's going to do it again and do well in UFFA next term. A lot of the teams have fallen idle again, FM Live is a horrbile game when it's starts to go wrong (no load save games).
Dundee Rio (change it back Kev) look good for second spot, they did the double over Rafa but lost points elsewhere.
Next season is going to be hard, I know AFC Plymouth is almost up and he's a really hard team to beat and just recently strenghtnend his squad with another top class striker. Sassine FC are literally littered with stars and assuming he can guide himself through the play offs has to be aiming for a Top 3 finish.
The Jakswans? Well avoid relegation was our aim, grab a few upsets along the way would be nice, but to finish in the Top 6 as looks likely is a fantastic success.
There is still some drama left for us in the season though. I think the U21 NFA title is in the bag but we're starting to shake at U17 level.
We're still alive and well in the UFFA Youth World Championships and at the Semi Final Stage.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Record Signing
I've been sitting on quite a lump of money for some time and various Managers have touted players. The money being talked of is way over the top. I think everyone seems to forget the glut of options that will be open to them once we enter the close season and wage auctions start.
However another Welsh Manager was pitching an Under 18 Year Old Centre Back. He had all the stats to be pretty much a starter. I mean what do you look for in a centre back, speed is not essential but you don't want him to be slow. Strength is important and you certainly want him to be good in the air. As far as personality goes he needs to work hard, he needs to be a team player and top of the list is concentration, being determined helps. If he was good at passing that would be the icing on the cake surely, well out of 20 is 19 enough?
What if I told you that with my scouting he's at least a good prospect but has AT LEAST all the things you look for and is only 18. I bet your almost sold on the deal here, but really he needs to prove himself at a senior level. Will nearly 200 games do? Eesh I bet he'll cost a bomb in wages how does £1,500 a day suit you sir?
OMG it so does!
So there you go a record signing at £2 million. Gah I've only got £3million left now and the £1,500 has made a massive dent in my £100k a day surplus. Ohhh and as he's 18 so it's a free auto extend for at least four months. Mind some managers said I was mad, I should have paid £2million for the same sort of player on £30k a day. That's a Million Per Season, no, I can do the math! Anyway take a look...
However another Welsh Manager was pitching an Under 18 Year Old Centre Back. He had all the stats to be pretty much a starter. I mean what do you look for in a centre back, speed is not essential but you don't want him to be slow. Strength is important and you certainly want him to be good in the air. As far as personality goes he needs to work hard, he needs to be a team player and top of the list is concentration, being determined helps. If he was good at passing that would be the icing on the cake surely, well out of 20 is 19 enough?
What if I told you that with my scouting he's at least a good prospect but has AT LEAST all the things you look for and is only 18. I bet your almost sold on the deal here, but really he needs to prove himself at a senior level. Will nearly 200 games do? Eesh I bet he'll cost a bomb in wages how does £1,500 a day suit you sir?
OMG it so does!
So there you go a record signing at £2 million. Gah I've only got £3million left now and the £1,500 has made a massive dent in my £100k a day surplus. Ohhh and as he's 18 so it's a free auto extend for at least four months. Mind some managers said I was mad, I should have paid £2million for the same sort of player on £30k a day. That's a Million Per Season, no, I can do the math! Anyway take a look...
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Highs and Lows
So there we are just going along when we start losing a few games, then we lose a few more. Suddenly your looking back at ten games without a win and a team that plays like strangers.
No changes made, no players released no one sold, no one bought. This is the third time I have experienced this and it's FM Live at it's worst.
Even if you knew where it came from the only way out is to grind though the games as fast as you can.
Eventually a lucky result will come your way and slowly you'll come back.
The most frustrating thing is though you don't know why it happened and apart from crudely playing a load of games in the hope that you'll get out of the rut you've no idea how to end it.
Thankfully with the players now in the squad the end has to come somewhere. With a few wins back to back we seem to be back on tack.
Was it because I sold Camara, but that in game time was weeks ago, Jemma that was months ago. With a few injuries I had to move players in from U21 to cover first team, does this affect Squad Morale.
I had two players looking to leave to get first team football, no warnings from them though.
Was it because I had made a few tweaks to the team tactics, was it because I hadn't made enough changes.
All through these twenty games you wonder why and nobody has the answer. I'd be quite happy to be forced to see a drop in the rankings and be forced to play at a lower level and hopefully pick back up from there.
I don't know if I'd just started I'd have honestly stuck with the game..
This is a massive problem facing FM Live if you ask me. I've already covered it previously but how many will play if their in the bottom 300?
Today saw two top teams leave and dump their collection of players on the market. Players that normally go for millions sold for hundreds of thousands. Their aim to cause massive unrest and controversy.
Inter Midgets, a team I felt I had a chance of beating had taken two of these players. In our game I got hit with a beauty of a free kick 1-0. The second one went in and I checked, guess where the player came from...I abandoned I mean what's the point..The home game I did the same. Small protest from me but I hope the guy felt a bit empty with his six points.
Then I don't know where or how it started, but the odd win here and there. A few good results in the League a few bads ones as well. Then we have to play CUJummy one of the favourites for the title and grab a 1-0 lead. Only for it to slip away to the full blast of superstars on display for CUJimmy.
We're 2-1 down on 85minutes we grab a goal back, 2-2. With a few minutes to go Ely is on the wing he floats one in to the penalty spot and it's like your there at a game.... It plops onto Budals head and that one moment as the ball hits the back of the net it makes it all worth while, 3-2 to us.
Adam Buxton manager of Barcelona FC had started off well in the NFA Premier League and still had title aspirations. He had been nagging me to play our remaining fixture at our ground.
I wouldn't say we were playing great at the time but the side is settled now and I had no suspensions or injuries. We kicked off to a 2-0 lead and despite a scare eventually pulled away to take the game 4-2.
Oddly that does leave us top of the NFA Premier League with 25 odd games gone and when you consider we're top of NFA U21 and U17 Leagues it's an odd situation to be in.
I've come to the conclusion now that bad runs and good runs happen just like in real life, having a player or two in your team that can produce a match winning performance is likely to make those bad runs shorter. Having a mean defence will result in less frequent bad runs. It is a funny old game as you never really really know how things are going to work out.
So we're starting to near the end of the second season and you begin to realise just how clever SI are. I have a settled squad, young, and have already competed well in the Premier League. I'll just kick back for a month or two and maybe my starlets will flower and the world will be at our mercy. One problem, contracts, I can only lock five players to a contract. The rest have to opened up to a wage auction.
I have no doubt this close season we'll again see some desperate measures to get talent. In my opinion it's a short sighted panic option. In the last close season I did bid on a load of players but every manager in the Gameworld was bidding silly prices.
I did bag two, Arda on £33k a day (Wage Demand £24k) and Daikte on £2500 a day (Wage Demand £8k a day). £33k a day was a lot more than my previous record of £10k a day. I've got to look at this as I've one contract lock left and three potential players to use it on.
Arda is talented he's 22 and sometimes can on his own change a game I'd like to keep him but if I let him go to wage auction in the silly season some loon will bid £50k a day.
Honestly he's not worth £33k maybe £20k and the bottom line is I can't get him on that contract so really he has to go.
No changes made, no players released no one sold, no one bought. This is the third time I have experienced this and it's FM Live at it's worst.
Even if you knew where it came from the only way out is to grind though the games as fast as you can.
Eventually a lucky result will come your way and slowly you'll come back.
The most frustrating thing is though you don't know why it happened and apart from crudely playing a load of games in the hope that you'll get out of the rut you've no idea how to end it.
Thankfully with the players now in the squad the end has to come somewhere. With a few wins back to back we seem to be back on tack.
Was it because I sold Camara, but that in game time was weeks ago, Jemma that was months ago. With a few injuries I had to move players in from U21 to cover first team, does this affect Squad Morale.
I had two players looking to leave to get first team football, no warnings from them though.
Was it because I had made a few tweaks to the team tactics, was it because I hadn't made enough changes.
All through these twenty games you wonder why and nobody has the answer. I'd be quite happy to be forced to see a drop in the rankings and be forced to play at a lower level and hopefully pick back up from there.
I don't know if I'd just started I'd have honestly stuck with the game..
This is a massive problem facing FM Live if you ask me. I've already covered it previously but how many will play if their in the bottom 300?
Today saw two top teams leave and dump their collection of players on the market. Players that normally go for millions sold for hundreds of thousands. Their aim to cause massive unrest and controversy.
Inter Midgets, a team I felt I had a chance of beating had taken two of these players. In our game I got hit with a beauty of a free kick 1-0. The second one went in and I checked, guess where the player came from...I abandoned I mean what's the point..The home game I did the same. Small protest from me but I hope the guy felt a bit empty with his six points.
Then I don't know where or how it started, but the odd win here and there. A few good results in the League a few bads ones as well. Then we have to play CUJummy one of the favourites for the title and grab a 1-0 lead. Only for it to slip away to the full blast of superstars on display for CUJimmy.
We're 2-1 down on 85minutes we grab a goal back, 2-2. With a few minutes to go Ely is on the wing he floats one in to the penalty spot and it's like your there at a game.... It plops onto Budals head and that one moment as the ball hits the back of the net it makes it all worth while, 3-2 to us.
Adam Buxton manager of Barcelona FC had started off well in the NFA Premier League and still had title aspirations. He had been nagging me to play our remaining fixture at our ground.
I wouldn't say we were playing great at the time but the side is settled now and I had no suspensions or injuries. We kicked off to a 2-0 lead and despite a scare eventually pulled away to take the game 4-2.
Oddly that does leave us top of the NFA Premier League with 25 odd games gone and when you consider we're top of NFA U21 and U17 Leagues it's an odd situation to be in.
I've come to the conclusion now that bad runs and good runs happen just like in real life, having a player or two in your team that can produce a match winning performance is likely to make those bad runs shorter. Having a mean defence will result in less frequent bad runs. It is a funny old game as you never really really know how things are going to work out.
So we're starting to near the end of the second season and you begin to realise just how clever SI are. I have a settled squad, young, and have already competed well in the Premier League. I'll just kick back for a month or two and maybe my starlets will flower and the world will be at our mercy. One problem, contracts, I can only lock five players to a contract. The rest have to opened up to a wage auction.
I have no doubt this close season we'll again see some desperate measures to get talent. In my opinion it's a short sighted panic option. In the last close season I did bid on a load of players but every manager in the Gameworld was bidding silly prices.
I did bag two, Arda on £33k a day (Wage Demand £24k) and Daikte on £2500 a day (Wage Demand £8k a day). £33k a day was a lot more than my previous record of £10k a day. I've got to look at this as I've one contract lock left and three potential players to use it on.
Arda is talented he's 22 and sometimes can on his own change a game I'd like to keep him but if I let him go to wage auction in the silly season some loon will bid £50k a day.
Honestly he's not worth £33k maybe £20k and the bottom line is I can't get him on that contract so really he has to go.
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Moving on Up
Having secured wins against several top teams and a mini run of decent results sees us at a new record in the rankings and well inside the top 60.
Over the next few days there are a glut of FA games to get through I'd quite happily swap the position for league points.
Meanwhile I've continued with a mini clear out, Camara at 30 although a great DM was not going to be an appreciating asset so I decided the time had come for him to move on. I had Amaral as cover for Pablo as well as a glut of youngsters.
He can also play DC / LB but again I already have Senior cover for these. I was thinking he'd go for quite a large sun due to his stats, positions and to some teams his age could be a blessing (ideal captain?). A quick auction saw him go at just over 1/2 million.
So over the last few days I've managed to pull in just over a million in fee's and cut the wage bill by another £13k.
Press Release ''The Jakswans were sent reeling today with the news that both first choice strikers were sidelined. Jak Phillips, manager of the Jakswans remained upbeat and is expected to hand out a chance to Sene, who's been on prolific form at U17 level and Patrick, another young striker. It's understood that the Jakswans were lining up a big money move and with a busy couple of fixtures to come in the next twenty four hours this now can't come soon enough'....
It's funny how things turn out I had two fixtures for AI both needed to be played so I went through a few games deciding who was going to start up front. Sene despite having bags of potential isn't quite as solid as Patrick and Lens since signing has been largely unimpressive. So really thought it was certain to be Patrick / Sene.
Lens proved to be a the revelation, composed and selfless played an A1 game, the year that Patrick (18) has over Sene (17) I think proved decisive. So the two games were AFC Detroit who haven't impressed this season and Kak Consistently who have been in superb form coming off the back of eight straight wins one of which was a against Rafalution. Rafalution sport several top players not least Henry, nuff said.
So AFC Detroit first, their team were not match fit and eventually we started to open them up with a strike from Patrick in the 73rd minute. At the eighty minute mark I brought on Sene and he made it two in the 91st minute. Detriot grabbed a consultation in the 93rd. Final result 2-1.
Kak I knew were going to be a different proposition. They play four men up the middle with two wide, I thought I'd try to keep it tight and as they didn't have bags of pace up front played high line and offside. After 30 mins and with us lucky not to be behind from a string of chances I thought I'd try to change it and played much deeper.
We were riding our luck in the first half underlined by a missed penalty from Kak on 41mins. The second half was much better and in the 65th minute a ball in from Arda resulted in Lens strike taking us 1-0 up. Generally the second half was ours but Kak had at least one 1v1 with the keeper. Overall we were lucky to get the result but 1-0 here was a result and half!
Here is an odd one Rafalution has asked me all the time to play his game with him yet he didn't want to play when i offered today. I mean my two first choice strikers are out injured, on checking I found his squad of just 15 players also had three injuries, lol. Strength in depth, it's an old saying but true :)
I had an offer for Sousa come in late tonight (the servers are down again) and as I don't play him at all I think he'll end up going. I don't know what I'll do with all this money....
Anyway the servers are down again, SI are trying to nail just a few bugs and the game is almost ready to be released so this is understandable I guess.
Brings me on to thoughts when the game comes out or more importantly when the game comes out what will happen to the gameworlds. The last talk I heard was Summer so we're July ish area I think they would like a clean season prior to nailing the release, an extended period without any bugs / crashes and certainly this season isn't going to be the green one.
Si seemed to be focused on nailing these last bugs causing data lock and server failure so I assume the hardware it's running on is final. Therefore May is the target for a green season maybe.
The reason this is so important I think is that Gameworlds need to be run with minimal manpower from SI. Currently I'd estimate that there are Eight Gameworlds and with all this constant crashing there is no way they could start another twenty of them!
So assuming they get a green season in May (no major patch's needed & no crashes) we'll see a big surge in Gameworlds. Then these are going to need to settle June July and then come Mid July a release date settled on.
By the time the marketing department get going I suspect a September release with maybe a partial release to Beta testers come August.
Now then SI have cited several different types of gameworld will exist in terms of age therefore I can't imagine that any will be shut down. I also can't imagine anyone being given the option of picking their gameworld come release. Otherwise everyone below the rank of 100 is going to leave.
So there you go a little speculation from me September release and no gameworlds being cut.
Over the next few days there are a glut of FA games to get through I'd quite happily swap the position for league points.
Meanwhile I've continued with a mini clear out, Camara at 30 although a great DM was not going to be an appreciating asset so I decided the time had come for him to move on. I had Amaral as cover for Pablo as well as a glut of youngsters.
He can also play DC / LB but again I already have Senior cover for these. I was thinking he'd go for quite a large sun due to his stats, positions and to some teams his age could be a blessing (ideal captain?). A quick auction saw him go at just over 1/2 million.
So over the last few days I've managed to pull in just over a million in fee's and cut the wage bill by another £13k.
Press Release ''The Jakswans were sent reeling today with the news that both first choice strikers were sidelined. Jak Phillips, manager of the Jakswans remained upbeat and is expected to hand out a chance to Sene, who's been on prolific form at U17 level and Patrick, another young striker. It's understood that the Jakswans were lining up a big money move and with a busy couple of fixtures to come in the next twenty four hours this now can't come soon enough'....
It's funny how things turn out I had two fixtures for AI both needed to be played so I went through a few games deciding who was going to start up front. Sene despite having bags of potential isn't quite as solid as Patrick and Lens since signing has been largely unimpressive. So really thought it was certain to be Patrick / Sene.
Lens proved to be a the revelation, composed and selfless played an A1 game, the year that Patrick (18) has over Sene (17) I think proved decisive. So the two games were AFC Detroit who haven't impressed this season and Kak Consistently who have been in superb form coming off the back of eight straight wins one of which was a against Rafalution. Rafalution sport several top players not least Henry, nuff said.
So AFC Detroit first, their team were not match fit and eventually we started to open them up with a strike from Patrick in the 73rd minute. At the eighty minute mark I brought on Sene and he made it two in the 91st minute. Detriot grabbed a consultation in the 93rd. Final result 2-1.
Kak I knew were going to be a different proposition. They play four men up the middle with two wide, I thought I'd try to keep it tight and as they didn't have bags of pace up front played high line and offside. After 30 mins and with us lucky not to be behind from a string of chances I thought I'd try to change it and played much deeper.
We were riding our luck in the first half underlined by a missed penalty from Kak on 41mins. The second half was much better and in the 65th minute a ball in from Arda resulted in Lens strike taking us 1-0 up. Generally the second half was ours but Kak had at least one 1v1 with the keeper. Overall we were lucky to get the result but 1-0 here was a result and half!
Here is an odd one Rafalution has asked me all the time to play his game with him yet he didn't want to play when i offered today. I mean my two first choice strikers are out injured, on checking I found his squad of just 15 players also had three injuries, lol. Strength in depth, it's an old saying but true :)
I had an offer for Sousa come in late tonight (the servers are down again) and as I don't play him at all I think he'll end up going. I don't know what I'll do with all this money....
Anyway the servers are down again, SI are trying to nail just a few bugs and the game is almost ready to be released so this is understandable I guess.
Brings me on to thoughts when the game comes out or more importantly when the game comes out what will happen to the gameworlds. The last talk I heard was Summer so we're July ish area I think they would like a clean season prior to nailing the release, an extended period without any bugs / crashes and certainly this season isn't going to be the green one.
Si seemed to be focused on nailing these last bugs causing data lock and server failure so I assume the hardware it's running on is final. Therefore May is the target for a green season maybe.
The reason this is so important I think is that Gameworlds need to be run with minimal manpower from SI. Currently I'd estimate that there are Eight Gameworlds and with all this constant crashing there is no way they could start another twenty of them!
So assuming they get a green season in May (no major patch's needed & no crashes) we'll see a big surge in Gameworlds. Then these are going to need to settle June July and then come Mid July a release date settled on.
By the time the marketing department get going I suspect a September release with maybe a partial release to Beta testers come August.
Now then SI have cited several different types of gameworld will exist in terms of age therefore I can't imagine that any will be shut down. I also can't imagine anyone being given the option of picking their gameworld come release. Otherwise everyone below the rank of 100 is going to leave.
So there you go a little speculation from me September release and no gameworlds being cut.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)