Wow! It didn’t take long did it. Just hours after the update, teams had already started splashing out heavily on players. 24 hours later and I see a young striker (5* potential I admit, but from my own personal experiences, he will never get there) sold for £2m when his transfer value is just £300k. I also see a half decent DC being advertised in the market place for £1.5m, “price will not be negotiated.” Again, this DC has a transfer value of just £300k. Managers see an upward slope on their projection graph and feel the need to spend it.
So who is to blame then? The seller for the asking price or the buyer for paying it? Definitely the buyer. If no one paid the asking price, the seller would have to lower it, but seen as inflated offers are flying around, so are inflated asking prices. In a few months inflation will be huge, with managers not having the money to afford what players have become to be worth. When that time comes, yet again the transfer market will fall into meltdown and activity will once again be low. When that time comes, who will be to blame do you think? I can tell you right now it will be SI’s fault for one reason or another. Not the manager’s, who went out and spent until he (or she, I feel I stereotype a little too much when addressing the FML community, if any ladies read this or any other posts I make, on here or in game, then please don’t take offence) could spend no more.
I urge everyone to enjoy the game and the transfer market, but also to be careful in your spending, as another financial crisis and inactive transfer market is just around the corner. Final word? We are the ones who destroy key elements of this game, not the developers. “Fanboi?” Maybe…
Wednesday 15 December 2010
Sunday 12 December 2010
FML Ryder Cup Report
A while back now I wrote about a new idea I had for an inter federation competition. A version of the Ryder Cup competition that I had seen introduced in a number of game worlds. I also said that I would see how it went and publish the results, something which I never actually done. So here is the long awaited report.
Quite frankly it didn’t go well. I’m a member of the CFA and everyone (the active ones at least) in the FA said it was a good idea, something different from your normal inter federation competition, something fun for a change. So I suppose it was a sort of success on the CFA side of it.
However, the second week of the season (the pairings) became a disappointing AI fest, with most teams either not being around or choosing to let their AI play their games. After this, I knew that the third week would be a nightmare. The third week would host the match play, 8 qualifying teams from both FA’s facing each other in a one off match. Of course the most fair way to do this would be to have it as a two legged affair, but it’s tough enough as it is to get one game played, let alone two. Anyhow, I instructed the managers to mail me the match links so I could check the games and update the scores. It all looked good when I received 3 match links by the second day. That was it though, no more were to come all week. The only way I could get the games sorted and finished was to create quick plays, but seen as the game won’t let you create a 2 team competition, it had to enter myself in.
So a success or a failure? Failure I think in it’s first season, although EFA’s massive inactivity contributed largely to that, and so did my format of the competition. The problem with it is that it lasts the entire season. A lot can happen between the start and the end of the season, teams can become inactive or even end their sub. It’s one thing entering the qualifying competition, but it’s another matter being there in the final week for the match plays. When it came down to it, we had an EFA team who’s manager hadn’t signed in for over 2 weeks and also only had 10 players. A prime example. That point was of course awarded to the CFA.
I still think it’s a good idea though, so we have decided to run it again this season, although this time the CFA are up against the DFA. The two most active FA’s in Lemerre against each other, it should produce more live games than AI but I suppose we shall see. Reports on how it went to follow.
Quite frankly it didn’t go well. I’m a member of the CFA and everyone (the active ones at least) in the FA said it was a good idea, something different from your normal inter federation competition, something fun for a change. So I suppose it was a sort of success on the CFA side of it.
However, the second week of the season (the pairings) became a disappointing AI fest, with most teams either not being around or choosing to let their AI play their games. After this, I knew that the third week would be a nightmare. The third week would host the match play, 8 qualifying teams from both FA’s facing each other in a one off match. Of course the most fair way to do this would be to have it as a two legged affair, but it’s tough enough as it is to get one game played, let alone two. Anyhow, I instructed the managers to mail me the match links so I could check the games and update the scores. It all looked good when I received 3 match links by the second day. That was it though, no more were to come all week. The only way I could get the games sorted and finished was to create quick plays, but seen as the game won’t let you create a 2 team competition, it had to enter myself in.
So a success or a failure? Failure I think in it’s first season, although EFA’s massive inactivity contributed largely to that, and so did my format of the competition. The problem with it is that it lasts the entire season. A lot can happen between the start and the end of the season, teams can become inactive or even end their sub. It’s one thing entering the qualifying competition, but it’s another matter being there in the final week for the match plays. When it came down to it, we had an EFA team who’s manager hadn’t signed in for over 2 weeks and also only had 10 players. A prime example. That point was of course awarded to the CFA.
I still think it’s a good idea though, so we have decided to run it again this season, although this time the CFA are up against the DFA. The two most active FA’s in Lemerre against each other, it should produce more live games than AI but I suppose we shall see. Reports on how it went to follow.
Monday 6 December 2010
Top of the World!
I’ve finally made it. I’ve reached the top spot in the youth rankings in game world Lemerre. It’s took a long while to get there, but I always imagined it would do, especially with my strict policy of not over spending on the wages of my youngsters. A lot of people will say that rankings mean nothing, but to me it’s a bit of a landmark. I’ve never reached the top of the rankings since I first started playing this game during the late stages of beta, and never been around the top either. It was a nice feeling to read my teams name at the top of the list.
Anyway, on to my impressive number of trophies last season, youth trophies of course. To list the titles that I won would probably be the easiest way to explain:
Lemerre Youth Championship League - In Lemerre, the Ladder system has been replaced by a fully tiered league structure, running the full length of the season. The Championship League is obviously the second tier, but still a nice trophy to add to the cabinet.
XFA U18 youth Cup - there’s always a nice feeling when you win a cup tournament, as a lot of the time knockout games can be somewhat of a lottery. One bad decision, one selection mistake or one or two injuries can see you out of the competition, even if you do have the best team.
XFA U17 Division 1 - the third tier of U17 league competition in the XFA
XFA U21 Division 2 - the fourth level of U21 league competition
CFA U17 Premiership - just the one tier in the CFA through lack of participants, but still the winning team out of 25, with some very good sides included
CFA U19 Premiership - again the only level at U19 level in the CFA. This same squad now has won the U17, U18 and now the U19 CFA Premiership’s in consecutive seasons
CFA U21 Premiership - pleasantly surprised by this one, as I didn’t think my U21’s looked that good.
I also managed to finish runners-up in:
XFA U18 Elite League - probably one of my best achievements last season, as this was the top level of U18 league competition and game world wide
CFA U20 Cup - the manager I was due to face in the final of this competition was relatively inactive and hadn’t signed in for over 2 weeks, so I decided to play his AI. It went all the way to a penalty shootout, not one of my squads strong points, so I lost 3-1 after the game finished 1-1
CFA U18 Cup - funnily enough, the team I met in the U20 Cup Final was also my opponent in the final of the U18 Cup. Once again I decided to play his AI, this time losing 2-1. He outplayed me in both games to be honest, so he was the worthy winner.
So a very impressive and surprising season for me then. It’s going to be very hard to top that this season, especially with 3 of my better youth players all hitting 22 making them ineligible. I have thought about selling them on to get a bit of money in, but with the current market I will struggle badly. Also, after finishing 3rd in last seasons CFA Division 2, I am now a level 10 team. With that comes more income, so I can comfortably afford to keep them to help my senior side, whilst still having funds to add to my current youth teams. If the market picks up though, I may have to re-evaluate.
Anyway, on to my impressive number of trophies last season, youth trophies of course. To list the titles that I won would probably be the easiest way to explain:
Lemerre Youth Championship League - In Lemerre, the Ladder system has been replaced by a fully tiered league structure, running the full length of the season. The Championship League is obviously the second tier, but still a nice trophy to add to the cabinet.
XFA U18 youth Cup - there’s always a nice feeling when you win a cup tournament, as a lot of the time knockout games can be somewhat of a lottery. One bad decision, one selection mistake or one or two injuries can see you out of the competition, even if you do have the best team.
XFA U17 Division 1 - the third tier of U17 league competition in the XFA
XFA U21 Division 2 - the fourth level of U21 league competition
CFA U17 Premiership - just the one tier in the CFA through lack of participants, but still the winning team out of 25, with some very good sides included
CFA U19 Premiership - again the only level at U19 level in the CFA. This same squad now has won the U17, U18 and now the U19 CFA Premiership’s in consecutive seasons
CFA U21 Premiership - pleasantly surprised by this one, as I didn’t think my U21’s looked that good.
I also managed to finish runners-up in:
XFA U18 Elite League - probably one of my best achievements last season, as this was the top level of U18 league competition and game world wide
CFA U20 Cup - the manager I was due to face in the final of this competition was relatively inactive and hadn’t signed in for over 2 weeks, so I decided to play his AI. It went all the way to a penalty shootout, not one of my squads strong points, so I lost 3-1 after the game finished 1-1
CFA U18 Cup - funnily enough, the team I met in the U20 Cup Final was also my opponent in the final of the U18 Cup. Once again I decided to play his AI, this time losing 2-1. He outplayed me in both games to be honest, so he was the worthy winner.
So a very impressive and surprising season for me then. It’s going to be very hard to top that this season, especially with 3 of my better youth players all hitting 22 making them ineligible. I have thought about selling them on to get a bit of money in, but with the current market I will struggle badly. Also, after finishing 3rd in last seasons CFA Division 2, I am now a level 10 team. With that comes more income, so I can comfortably afford to keep them to help my senior side, whilst still having funds to add to my current youth teams. If the market picks up though, I may have to re-evaluate.
Thursday 2 December 2010
Serial Blogger
After another couple of busy weeks organising in Lemerre, I can get back on here again and update what I’ve been up to in the game.
First of all then, the news that I have taken on another 2 blogs, now 4 in total! It’s going to be hard to continually update all 4, but the extra 2 that I have taken on are for the community of Lemerre. It’s well known that the community there is some what lacking, so head mod Drew Warburton set up a website for the world, inviting members to create blogs and keep the rest of the world informed and more importantly interested in events. I couldn’t turn down this opportunity to help out so I promptly signed up and created my new blog. It’s going to be pretty much mirrored from the words I write on this one, but be sure to head over and check it out for any other types of posts. Along with that one, I am also an organiser for the CFA, so I have also took on the responsibility of updating the CFA blogs with all that happens in the CFA.
As I say, it’s going to be hard to keep all 4 updated, but I shall do my best, so make sure you make it worthwhile me writing on all these pages by checking them out and commenting where you feel necessary. For those that don’t know, the other blog I have aside from the 3 FML ones, is my general footballing one, with a few old posts regarding FML in there somewhere as well.
First of all then, the news that I have taken on another 2 blogs, now 4 in total! It’s going to be hard to continually update all 4, but the extra 2 that I have taken on are for the community of Lemerre. It’s well known that the community there is some what lacking, so head mod Drew Warburton set up a website for the world, inviting members to create blogs and keep the rest of the world informed and more importantly interested in events. I couldn’t turn down this opportunity to help out so I promptly signed up and created my new blog. It’s going to be pretty much mirrored from the words I write on this one, but be sure to head over and check it out for any other types of posts. Along with that one, I am also an organiser for the CFA, so I have also took on the responsibility of updating the CFA blogs with all that happens in the CFA.
As I say, it’s going to be hard to keep all 4 updated, but I shall do my best, so make sure you make it worthwhile me writing on all these pages by checking them out and commenting where you feel necessary. For those that don’t know, the other blog I have aside from the 3 FML ones, is my general footballing one, with a few old posts regarding FML in there somewhere as well.
Thursday 11 November 2010
1.6.5 and Lemerre
1.6.5 has hit Lemerre hard. Apparently Lemerre and Nunez were started with a different economic setup to all of the other game worlds, with less prize money and daily income being dished out. Therefore teams haven’t got the money to afford all of these new wage rises. It would - seeming and to a point - be fine in other game worlds, as the money that is shared out is greater than that of these two. Because of this, the transfer market has taken a huge whack
One of the main reasons for Lemerre’s lack of money - as well as the different financial structure - has been the fact that so many managers have left the game world. When a manager leaves a world, he takes with him any money that his club has accumulated. So if a club with a rich status leaves, that is around £5m plus just leaving the game world. Not ideal and it’s always going to create a lasting effect.
Now that wage auctions have become more expensive, there are no longer so many bargains to be had, so teams with little money are no longer able to strengthen their squad as easily. So teams are not only struggling to sign players, but they are also struggling to meet the wage demands of the players they already have, and with no one buying, they also can’t offload their higher earners for good money to finance new players. It really is a vicious circle that has had a few members ranting on the forums. SI have said they are looking into it, but I honestly can’t see that anything will be done about it.
The only people that can do something about it, is the members of the game world. If you have a player with a transfer value of £1m, but are only able to get £500k for him, then this is what his realistic transfer value is. TV is used - as was market value - too much in the pricing of players. It is only there as a guide, and we should accept that, rather than go about asking for 2-3 times more. A players true transfer value, is how much the highest bidder is willing to pay.
Because of the lack of a transfer market, managers are becoming uninterested and therefore inactive. Lemerre is struggling, but I do hope it pulls through the current ‘crisis,’ because I think it’s a good game world, and I really think we could make it work.
One of the main reasons for Lemerre’s lack of money - as well as the different financial structure - has been the fact that so many managers have left the game world. When a manager leaves a world, he takes with him any money that his club has accumulated. So if a club with a rich status leaves, that is around £5m plus just leaving the game world. Not ideal and it’s always going to create a lasting effect.
Now that wage auctions have become more expensive, there are no longer so many bargains to be had, so teams with little money are no longer able to strengthen their squad as easily. So teams are not only struggling to sign players, but they are also struggling to meet the wage demands of the players they already have, and with no one buying, they also can’t offload their higher earners for good money to finance new players. It really is a vicious circle that has had a few members ranting on the forums. SI have said they are looking into it, but I honestly can’t see that anything will be done about it.
The only people that can do something about it, is the members of the game world. If you have a player with a transfer value of £1m, but are only able to get £500k for him, then this is what his realistic transfer value is. TV is used - as was market value - too much in the pricing of players. It is only there as a guide, and we should accept that, rather than go about asking for 2-3 times more. A players true transfer value, is how much the highest bidder is willing to pay.
Because of the lack of a transfer market, managers are becoming uninterested and therefore inactive. Lemerre is struggling, but I do hope it pulls through the current ‘crisis,’ because I think it’s a good game world, and I really think we could make it work.
Monday 8 November 2010
1.6.5 and Me
Version 1.6.5 has now been out a fair while, so now that I’ve had time to look over the new features and see the effects that it’s having (on me, my game world and FML in general) I feel I can finally post my views. I’ve decided to split these up into a number of posts to not only make easier reading, but to also allow me to concentrate on each one fully.
Let me begin by saying that this is in no way a rant, as much as I don’t like a few of the features, I do still enjoy playing FML and I like the new update.
So first of all then, the effect it’s having on me and my side. Before the recent pre season in Lemerre, my club had some 70 odd players, with a total wage bill of just £63,977 giving an average wage of around £900. Not bad considering I was knocking around in the top ten of the youth rankings - for any new readers to this blog, in Lemerre I am what is considered as “all youth” - even if my senior side was struggling in the lower tiers. Now though, my total wage bill stands at £115,645, not far off double what I was paying before the wage increases took effect. I must say at this point that the only recruits I have made since taking down the original wage bill, are U17 free agents, and I have got rid of quite a few unneeded players in the process.
Before the update, my highest paid player was my 5 * centre back Eder Saavedra, on just £3,000. He is now on £6,000 with my highest earner being my 4.5 * playmaker Lars Schultz, who went from wages of £2,500 to £10,000 and is already asking for more (his demand is now at £12,000).
These rises are hurting me. As you can see from the following screenshot, I have plenty of money and I am projecting a profit. However, I am losing money daily, the only income that is keeping me going at the minute is prize money.
Yes I have a small number of young players that perform well in senior games, but I am far and away from having enough performers to be earning the amount of prize money that I need to be receiving to fund the wage rises. Going “all youth” no longer seems logical. These “super youths” asking for “super wages” are not going to get you to the Premiership and winning the top competitions at senior level. I think it’s quite right that SI have implemented these changes, and I shall not be moving away from my youth experiment, this has now given me a brand new challenge that I am well up for going for.
Let me begin by saying that this is in no way a rant, as much as I don’t like a few of the features, I do still enjoy playing FML and I like the new update.
So first of all then, the effect it’s having on me and my side. Before the recent pre season in Lemerre, my club had some 70 odd players, with a total wage bill of just £63,977 giving an average wage of around £900. Not bad considering I was knocking around in the top ten of the youth rankings - for any new readers to this blog, in Lemerre I am what is considered as “all youth” - even if my senior side was struggling in the lower tiers. Now though, my total wage bill stands at £115,645, not far off double what I was paying before the wage increases took effect. I must say at this point that the only recruits I have made since taking down the original wage bill, are U17 free agents, and I have got rid of quite a few unneeded players in the process.
Before the update, my highest paid player was my 5 * centre back Eder Saavedra, on just £3,000. He is now on £6,000 with my highest earner being my 4.5 * playmaker Lars Schultz, who went from wages of £2,500 to £10,000 and is already asking for more (his demand is now at £12,000).
These rises are hurting me. As you can see from the following screenshot, I have plenty of money and I am projecting a profit. However, I am losing money daily, the only income that is keeping me going at the minute is prize money.
Yes I have a small number of young players that perform well in senior games, but I am far and away from having enough performers to be earning the amount of prize money that I need to be receiving to fund the wage rises. Going “all youth” no longer seems logical. These “super youths” asking for “super wages” are not going to get you to the Premiership and winning the top competitions at senior level. I think it’s quite right that SI have implemented these changes, and I shall not be moving away from my youth experiment, this has now given me a brand new challenge that I am well up for going for.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
FML Ryder Cup
Out in the real world, I am a car mechanic and an MOT tester. Our MOT testing bay is a stand alone building, so whilst I’m in there carrying out an MOT test, with no radio to listen to or nobody to talk to, my mind often wonders. Football Manager Live is usually the subject it wonders off to. Sad? Probably!
So there I was then, thinking of a suitable format for an inter fed competition, the CFA vs. the EFA. The problem with most of these types of competitions, is that teams end up playing teams in their own FA, defeating the point of the competition. Now I’ve seen versions of the Ryder Cup used in a number of game worlds now, but in all honesty, I’ve never actually paid much attention to how the organisers make them work, nor have I competed in any of them. So, whilst doing this MOT, this is what I came up with, and mailed on to the game world mods:
Week 1 of the season: Qualifiers
Two individual comps (one in CFA, one in EFA), with any sort of format that will bring about 8 qualifying teams from each FA.
Week 2 of the season: Pairings
Four leagues with four teams in, two from CFA and two from EFA in each one. Points for the FA that wins each league, and points for the team finishing second. 2 and 1 respectively. No points for third and fourth.
Week 3 of the season: Match play
The eight qualifying teams from each FA play each other in a one off game (under mods watch). Winner gets a point for their FA, draw - half a point each.
See which FA has the most points at the end of the three weeks and they are the winners. Would include an FA captain as well. The captain would pick the pairings and send to the mod list. Mods would then assign the pairings from each FA into each of the four team leagues. Does the captain put two of the best teams in the same league, trying to get 1st and 2nd (3 points) or gamble on putting them in different ones in the hope of gaining 2 league wins (4 points). Then with the match play week, the captain could send in the order of the teams and see who they match up against regarding the order of the list from the other FA.
A good idea I thought, especially with the fact that it would last a full season and have multi formats within. I’m also hoping that it will help improve the community, with a bit of banter between FA’s and also fellow FA members getting interested.
Sure enough, this is now running in Lemerre, so I will post how it churns out over the coming weeks.
So there I was then, thinking of a suitable format for an inter fed competition, the CFA vs. the EFA. The problem with most of these types of competitions, is that teams end up playing teams in their own FA, defeating the point of the competition. Now I’ve seen versions of the Ryder Cup used in a number of game worlds now, but in all honesty, I’ve never actually paid much attention to how the organisers make them work, nor have I competed in any of them. So, whilst doing this MOT, this is what I came up with, and mailed on to the game world mods:
Week 1 of the season: Qualifiers
Two individual comps (one in CFA, one in EFA), with any sort of format that will bring about 8 qualifying teams from each FA.
Week 2 of the season: Pairings
Four leagues with four teams in, two from CFA and two from EFA in each one. Points for the FA that wins each league, and points for the team finishing second. 2 and 1 respectively. No points for third and fourth.
Week 3 of the season: Match play
The eight qualifying teams from each FA play each other in a one off game (under mods watch). Winner gets a point for their FA, draw - half a point each.
See which FA has the most points at the end of the three weeks and they are the winners. Would include an FA captain as well. The captain would pick the pairings and send to the mod list. Mods would then assign the pairings from each FA into each of the four team leagues. Does the captain put two of the best teams in the same league, trying to get 1st and 2nd (3 points) or gamble on putting them in different ones in the hope of gaining 2 league wins (4 points). Then with the match play week, the captain could send in the order of the teams and see who they match up against regarding the order of the list from the other FA.
A good idea I thought, especially with the fact that it would last a full season and have multi formats within. I’m also hoping that it will help improve the community, with a bit of banter between FA’s and also fellow FA members getting interested.
Sure enough, this is now running in Lemerre, so I will post how it churns out over the coming weeks.
Wednesday 27 October 2010
FA Organising
Whilst waiting for the download to finish for the second part of the 1.6.5 hot fix, I thought I would write a short post about the joys (?) of being an FA organiser.
It quite frankly is a thankless task, something that is expected of you. During pre season you must be ultra active, sorting out all the leagues, cups and extra community competitions, not to mention the youth scene.
Me and my fellow org thought we just about had it all under control, the main problem being the starting of the playoffs - side note, playoffs! Do my head right in. As a manager, brilliant, as an organiser, stressful!! - when a moderator told us to create a complete ladder system, plus another three reputation specific competitions on top of that. Lack of time would be an understatement!
The season finished on Monday, now Wednesday I have not had the chance to look at any of the wage auctions yet, being too busy taking screenshots and writing up end of season reports. With the new competitions that need creating, and the complex senior promotions that need sorting, I can’t see that changing before season start on Saturday night. Pity, as I desperately need some new blood for next season, and I have a healthy bank balance of £5m to do it with.
With all that being said, I do enjoy organising, and that is the reason I carry on. I’ve said it so many times that the community is the reason I play this game. If it wasn’t for that, we may as well all be playing FMxx. The chance to help build the community and encourage activity in the chat rooms is something that I very much enjoy. Plus, someone has to do it ;)
One can only imagine though, how difficult a mods [in game] life must be. If my job is thankless, then I’m not sure what the word would be to describe their job!
It quite frankly is a thankless task, something that is expected of you. During pre season you must be ultra active, sorting out all the leagues, cups and extra community competitions, not to mention the youth scene.
Me and my fellow org thought we just about had it all under control, the main problem being the starting of the playoffs - side note, playoffs! Do my head right in. As a manager, brilliant, as an organiser, stressful!! - when a moderator told us to create a complete ladder system, plus another three reputation specific competitions on top of that. Lack of time would be an understatement!
The season finished on Monday, now Wednesday I have not had the chance to look at any of the wage auctions yet, being too busy taking screenshots and writing up end of season reports. With the new competitions that need creating, and the complex senior promotions that need sorting, I can’t see that changing before season start on Saturday night. Pity, as I desperately need some new blood for next season, and I have a healthy bank balance of £5m to do it with.
With all that being said, I do enjoy organising, and that is the reason I carry on. I’ve said it so many times that the community is the reason I play this game. If it wasn’t for that, we may as well all be playing FMxx. The chance to help build the community and encourage activity in the chat rooms is something that I very much enjoy. Plus, someone has to do it ;)
One can only imagine though, how difficult a mods [in game] life must be. If my job is thankless, then I’m not sure what the word would be to describe their job!
Season 6 Lemerre Youth Haul!
It wasn’t a bad end to the season then. I didn’t take all of the youth trophies, nor as many as I wanted, but I can hardly complain with the two league wins and two cups, plus one at senior level.
First of all then, the senior one. I finally managed to catch my opponent online, so we could play the CFA Lower League Cup Final. A rather close game against a friend that finished 3-1. I took the lead early on but it was a tight game throughout, then in 6 bizarre minutes, I took a 2-0 lead, had a player sent off and let a goal in for 2-1 before finally clinching the win in the 86th minute with a goal from my centre back.
Another final in which I was awaiting my opponent to come online was in the XFA U17 Cup. I was signing in to find that I had missed him by 10-20 minutes a couple of times, so I decided to mail him to see when we could get the game played. Unfortunately I waited for him too long, and before he could reply the game auto resolved. Pity, but I did win, coming back from a goal down to win the game 3-1. Quite a haul then from my U17 side, also adding the XFA Elite league to the XFA Cup and CFA Cup, although I did only win the XFA league on goal difference, but a win is a win nonetheless. As for the CFA U17 Premiership, I was never really going to catch the eventual winners, in the end finishing 7 points behind. Ditto the U19 Prem, finishing comfortably behind the quite excellent Motown FC.
All of my squads over the 19 age group are not doing so well though. Lower League Cup win apart, my seniors finished a disappointing 15th in the Division 3, with things not really looking up. As for the U20’s and 21’s, both finished around mid table. One thing that has pleased me though, is that the team that won this seasons U18 Prem, won the U17 version last term. Can the same group of players go on to take the U19 crown next season? And just how far can my current U17 crop go? Especially seen as there isn’t many high potential players in there. Only time will tell I suppose…
First of all then, the senior one. I finally managed to catch my opponent online, so we could play the CFA Lower League Cup Final. A rather close game against a friend that finished 3-1. I took the lead early on but it was a tight game throughout, then in 6 bizarre minutes, I took a 2-0 lead, had a player sent off and let a goal in for 2-1 before finally clinching the win in the 86th minute with a goal from my centre back.
Another final in which I was awaiting my opponent to come online was in the XFA U17 Cup. I was signing in to find that I had missed him by 10-20 minutes a couple of times, so I decided to mail him to see when we could get the game played. Unfortunately I waited for him too long, and before he could reply the game auto resolved. Pity, but I did win, coming back from a goal down to win the game 3-1. Quite a haul then from my U17 side, also adding the XFA Elite league to the XFA Cup and CFA Cup, although I did only win the XFA league on goal difference, but a win is a win nonetheless. As for the CFA U17 Premiership, I was never really going to catch the eventual winners, in the end finishing 7 points behind. Ditto the U19 Prem, finishing comfortably behind the quite excellent Motown FC.
All of my squads over the 19 age group are not doing so well though. Lower League Cup win apart, my seniors finished a disappointing 15th in the Division 3, with things not really looking up. As for the U20’s and 21’s, both finished around mid table. One thing that has pleased me though, is that the team that won this seasons U18 Prem, won the U17 version last term. Can the same group of players go on to take the U19 crown next season? And just how far can my current U17 crop go? Especially seen as there isn’t many high potential players in there. Only time will tell I suppose…
Tuesday 26 October 2010
There's Only One FML...Isn't There?
Bit of an embarrassing moment the other day on Facebook. A friend updated his status with: "Mum and Dad watching X Factor...FML save me!!!"
Nice one i thought, let's see what game world he is in and how he is doing etc. Turns out that FML also stands for **** My Life, but I'm sure you all already knew that. Oh dear :S
Nice one i thought, let's see what game world he is in and how he is doing etc. Turns out that FML also stands for **** My Life, but I'm sure you all already knew that. Oh dear :S
Sunday 24 October 2010
One Down, Five To Go?
I picked up my first trophy of the season today in Lemerre, with hopefully a few more to come. The CFA U17 Cup Final was a relatively one sided affair from start to finish. I never really got on the ball in the first few minutes but once Fredy Gonzalez picked the ball up on the halfway line with acres of space to run into, the game changed in favour of me and my team. A bit of luck is always needed in a game like this though, and I really felt for my opponent when one of his players went off injured in the 12th minute. A small squad, he only had 2 players on the bench, one a GK and the other an AMR. But instead of mixing it around he decided against making any subs for his injured striker. Then in the 62nd minute, one of his MC’s received a second yellow, so he played with just 9 men in a 4-2-2 for the last half an hour or so. A bit of luck as I say.
So one cup final down then, with another two to come. I’m currently waiting for my opponent to come online so we can play our XFA U17 Cup Final. The game is on red, but I never AI an active manager, especially in a final. Likewise with the CFA Lower League Cup Final, although the deadline for that game isn’t until tomorrow night, my opponent is currently set to ’on holiday.’
On top of that I am still within a chance of winning each of the CFA U19, U18 and U17 Premierships, although I’m going to be needing a lot of luck for those. In the U19 Premiership, I need to win all of my 6 games in hand and then hope that the team leading the league drop some points while I keep on winning. Slim chance on this one.
The U18 Prem is really mine to lose. Second with three games in hand I really should take this one, but you never know what will happen in FML.
My chances of winning the U17 Prem I would admit, are very slim. 10 points behind with ten games left, I need Carlisle City to lose most of those whilst not dropping a point myself.
Not much chance of me adding too many more trophies to the cabinet this season then, but either way I am pleased with how the team is progressing and our performances in all of the youth competitions this season. As soon as the season is finished I will report on which ones I won, lost and how small the margin was.
So one cup final down then, with another two to come. I’m currently waiting for my opponent to come online so we can play our XFA U17 Cup Final. The game is on red, but I never AI an active manager, especially in a final. Likewise with the CFA Lower League Cup Final, although the deadline for that game isn’t until tomorrow night, my opponent is currently set to ’on holiday.’
On top of that I am still within a chance of winning each of the CFA U19, U18 and U17 Premierships, although I’m going to be needing a lot of luck for those. In the U19 Premiership, I need to win all of my 6 games in hand and then hope that the team leading the league drop some points while I keep on winning. Slim chance on this one.
The U18 Prem is really mine to lose. Second with three games in hand I really should take this one, but you never know what will happen in FML.
My chances of winning the U17 Prem I would admit, are very slim. 10 points behind with ten games left, I need Carlisle City to lose most of those whilst not dropping a point myself.
Not much chance of me adding too many more trophies to the cabinet this season then, but either way I am pleased with how the team is progressing and our performances in all of the youth competitions this season. As soon as the season is finished I will report on which ones I won, lost and how small the margin was.
Thursday 21 October 2010
Living The Dream!
It’s been a while now since I rebooted my youth dream in Lemerre after a brief [unsuccessful] stint in game world Wegerle. Six seasons on and I’m finally getting to where I’ve always wanted to be. The latest rankings update has me at 5th in the game world! I know the ranking system means next to nothing these days, but it still gives some indication as to where you are compared to other teams in the world.
Last season I won the CFA U17 League, and am in good shape to retain my title this term. On top of that I am also knocking around at the top of the U19 league, fighting it out at the top with 3 other very good sides. Add to that my forthcoming CFA U17 Cup Final and also the XFA U17 youth Cup Final, hopefully this season will be a successful one for my young side.
My seniors however, are suffering. Mid to lower table in the Division 3 currently really isn’t good enough considering I really do have some top youngsters in the side. The leagues in the CFA though are currently under populated and we need to get them back up to 20 per league, so as long as I can above 16th I will still get promoted to Division 2. To miss out on that would be nothing short of a disaster for me personally.
Some of my youngsters are now asking for much higher wages thanks to the new update, but more on that and how it’s affecting my plans in a future post.
Last season I won the CFA U17 League, and am in good shape to retain my title this term. On top of that I am also knocking around at the top of the U19 league, fighting it out at the top with 3 other very good sides. Add to that my forthcoming CFA U17 Cup Final and also the XFA U17 youth Cup Final, hopefully this season will be a successful one for my young side.
My seniors however, are suffering. Mid to lower table in the Division 3 currently really isn’t good enough considering I really do have some top youngsters in the side. The leagues in the CFA though are currently under populated and we need to get them back up to 20 per league, so as long as I can above 16th I will still get promoted to Division 2. To miss out on that would be nothing short of a disaster for me personally.
Some of my youngsters are now asking for much higher wages thanks to the new update, but more on that and how it’s affecting my plans in a future post.
Wednesday 20 October 2010
The Groove Machine Moves On!
So onto a new blog, dedicated purely to my experience playing Football Manager Live (and a bit of FM as well). I’ll start with a bit of news. Well, not quite ‘news’ in that it happened a few weeks ago now, but this is my first posting of it so to anyone reading, it is news.
After many disappointing seasons in Voller - not performance wise, but community wise - I finally decided to mail support to ask for a game world transfer. A couple of moderators I knew from Lineker are now in charge of Butragueno, so I requested to be moved there. Less than 24 hours later, I was in a new game world once again picking my starting squad.
After many disappointing seasons in Voller - not performance wise, but community wise - I finally decided to mail support to ask for a game world transfer. A couple of moderators I knew from Lineker are now in charge of Butragueno, so I requested to be moved there. Less than 24 hours later, I was in a new game world once again picking my starting squad.
I always find picking my starting squad as boring and tedious. Whereas some people spend hours searching through all the players available to them, filtering and trying out formations and tactics before confirming their squad, I generally just tend to pick a solid squad of 16 and be done with it. There was three positions that I did pay particular attention to though and made sure I picked up some quality players. Obviously crucial to any side is the two centre backs, so they were first on my list, followed by a quick forward that had all the right attributes for a poacher. Next up was probably the most crucial position in any of my squads, the player to take the role as playmaker. Nothing too special with a £500k initial budget, but a fairly decent looking Zarija Pelicic was snapped up for the role.
When I joined it was just under a week before the end of the season, so I decided to keep some cash back for the forthcoming wage auctions. Bad idea as I soon realised that the prices even the average players were going for was way out of my price range. So instead, I scoured the transfer auctions, picking up 3 new wingers (none were signed in my initial squad) and an even better poacher than I already had for £1 per player. I also managed to get this winger for £1,001. Quite a bargain I thought.
When I first joined, my returning star was drafted to be Didier Drogba. Excellent I thought, although I knew I wouldn’t get him with new members due to sign up right up until the start of the next season. Ebi Smolarek it was that I ended up with. A 29 year old striker who has started well, playing for me in unofficial matches, although his goal tally isn‘t the best. I don’t plan to keep however, although I will try and sell him rather than waive the option. Doubt I will get anywhere near his transfer value of £1.2m though. Auto accept is currently set at £750k, will see what happens over the coming weeks.
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