Hattrick - The Bees Redux

[ausonny]

Introduction:

This is my second attempt at a dynasty; hopefully RL will leave me alone for a bit. I thought this would be interesting for me, sort of a permanent record of the team, and I hope it’ll be interesting for some of you. The team is preparing for the jump to division 4, which is an almost certainty. We have only 1 tough game left, and we have a 7 point lead on second place. We are currently 110th in the autopromotion list on hatstats. While a loss today would kick us out of the autopromotion for the moment, I’m confident that we’ll be promoted, one way or the other. I’m not so confident about next year. I feel we’ll struggle, for reasons that will be obvious to most of you who look at the player list.

History of the club:

We came into existence in the 5th week of season 18 (Last season for those who don’t play.) In league play we have only lost once (last year), and only had one draw (this year.) The loss kept us out of a qualification match, but I’m sure whoever we played would have whooped us. Hard. Actually I just looked, and Seawatch, who won the series, played against the Rage, meaning had I been able to somehow win, we would have been in Ardent’s series. Yikes!

We won the FOFC Consolation cup last year, no small feat. Because I don’t believe in paying for 11 backups, I play more starters than most FOFC’ers in friendlies, giving me an advantage. When I see teams that have 24+ players I personally think they’re throwing money away, not to mention the teams with 30+. Daytrading is the only explanation I have come up with that makes any sense to me. I’m sure they have their reasons, and if anyone wants to enlighten me, feel free. (Apoc, are you listening?:D )

[ausonny]

Economy:

Cash: -48,490 (-96,031)
Sponsors: high on life
Supporter Club: 1008 members
Supporters: high on life

Back in the red, and it looks like we’ll be staying a couple weeks. I’m selling a couple players, but I don’t expect to get more than 40k combined, and I may not get that much. After this week 2 of our last 3 matches are at home, so I hope to be out of debt by the end of the season.

Arena: Bee Hive
Capacity: 22,000

If we promote, we’ll have in the neighborhood of 1200 supporters. I expect to struggle, so I’m thinking that 22k may be enough. I’ll decide to upgrade after I see where I end up. Obviously I’d rather buy the players I need than expand and have empty seats.

Training:
Team Spirit: Composed
Confidence: Wonderful

We train Playmaking at 100 %.

We have excellent experience in 3-5-2, and poor everywhere else. When you train playmaking I see no need to have 2 formations.

[ausonny]

Players

Starters:

Goalie:
Peter “Ula” Eck
Keeping: Solid
Form: Passable
Age: 27
Value: 332,000

Peter is the most recent addition to the team, picked up for about 220k. His arrival was financed by the departure of my first ever big purchase, Ron Muller. Ron was also solid, but his form stayed at weak most of the time. He sold for about 200k, so I spent about 40k.

Defender:
Teddy Christiansen
Defending: Solid
Form: Solid
Set Pieces: Passable
Age: 19
Value: 33,000 (injured for 2 weeks)
Speciaty: Quick

Teddy was a youth pull from around week 6. He went straight into the lineup, played 3 league games, and got injured in a friendly with the Roosters for 7 weeks. I hired 9 doctors, and he will be back in 2 weeks time, making it a 4 week injury. Normally I would have sold a solid pull, but at the time my current starter was injured. Teddy is younger and better, so I decided to go with him. Financially speaking not a sound move, but on the field it’s the right decision.

Wing Backs
Mikey “Never Say Die” Siegel
Defending: Inadequate
Winger: Inadequate
Form: Excellent
Age: 28
Value: 33,000

One of the last original Bees, Mikey is the type of player I wish I had more of. His excellent form puts him in the lineup, although his skills are not worthy, and soon age will take its toll. Actually, before that happens, I hope to replace him. I have tried with a couple players, but their form nosedives on their arrival. Personally I think he’s poisoning their food or something.

Nelson Clifton
Defending: Inadequate
Winger: Passable
Passing: Passable
Playmaking: Inadequate
Age: 25
Form: Solid
Value: 103,000

Nelson was bought to play as a Winger, but injuries have forced him into the defense. Form improvements have moved him from a 1 star player into a 2 ½ star player. He’s not a long term solution, but he will do for now.

Wingers:
Omar Bortrone
Winger: Solid
Stamina: Inadequate
Playmaking: Inadequate
Passing: Inadequate
Form: Solid
Age: 25
Value: 155,000
Specialty: Powerful

Omar became a fan favorite after scoring in his first appearance, merely half an hour after being bought. He’s developed into a 3 star winger with form improvements. He is one of our top outfield players, and was worth every penny of the 67k we spent on him.

Max Jackson
Winger: Passable
Stamina: Poor
Playmaking: Inadequate
Passing: Passable
Form: Solid
Age: 17
Value: 99000

Max was bought as an IM trainee/Winger starter. Eventually I will replace him on the wing, either when he gains a starting spot in the midfield, or when he is the weak link on the team on the wing. His stamina is poor, limiting his effectiveness, but I currently have no better options on the wing. Erik Martin, listed below could have the job, if his form would improve. He gets 2 ½ stars played as an offensive winger, and that will have to do for now.

Inner Midfield:
Lance “I wish I played for the Screamin’” Seaman
Playmaking: Excellent
Passing: Poor
Stamina: Inadequate
Form: Solid
Age: 24
Value: 161,000

An original Bee, Lance is in the lineup because of his excellent playmaking, and only because of his excellent playmaking. He popped 3 weeks ago. 4 weeks ago I was considering putting him on the bench. Lance will be gone by the beginning of next year. His excellent rating will bring in more money than he is actually worth. Looking over him again, I’m not sure why I dislike him so much, but I do. Solid form and excellent playmaking should make me happy. I dunno.

Alvin Sheldon
Playmaking: Solid
Passing: Weak
Stamina: Excellent
Form: Weak
Age: 27
Value: 98,000

Alvin is also an original Bee, and has been in the lineup of every A team game since. I hope to get him to high excellent before age forces me to sell him. His form is up and down, and is currently on a down swing.

Stephen Wolford
Playmaking: Passable
Passing: Inadequate
Stamina: Inadequate
Form: Inadequate
Age: 17
Value: 62,000

Stephen was a youth pull who popped to passable in his first week of training. He made the starting lineup when Antonio was sold, and is probably going to be with the team a long time, assuming his recent form dip isn’t a sign of things to come. His stamina will be fixed in the offseason, and he will pop to solid in a couple weeks, possibly 3 weeks. Stephen is a future star for the Bees.

Forwards:
Chad Gallegos
Scoring: Solid
Passing: poor
Form: Solid
Age: 25
Value: 115,000
Specialty: Quick

Chad is an original Bee, one of 2 solid scorers we were blessed with from the beginning. 23 goals in 16 league matches, with 2 Hat Tricks say all that need to be said. He will win the league top scorer unless he is injured or falls apart.

Rich Ladd
Scoring: Solid
Passing: Inadequate
Form: Inadequate
Age: 23
Value: 70000
Specialty: Quick

Also an Original Bee, Rich was 2 goals away from being the leading scorer last year, even though we entered the league in week 6. Rich’s form is erratic, which is worrisome. When it’s solid he’s a 3 star player. He has 20 career goals, including 9 this year, putting him on the top scorers list in 3rd.

Backups:

Ruben Sherwood
Defense: Solid
Form: Weak
Age: 23
Value: 40.000

An original Bee, Ruben is starting for Teddy during his injury, and if he can get his form up will be challenging for the starting spot. He has been a starter since the beginning, but his low form makes him expendable.

Erik Martin
Winger: Passable
Defending: Inadequate
Passing: Inadequate
Playmaking: Weak
Stamina: Solid
Form: Inadequate
Age: 21
Value: 81,000

Erik was bought to challenge for a starting position at Winger and Wing Back, but his form has denied him a place. He is more talented than Max or Mikey. His form has gone from poor to inadequate in the last 5 weeks or so, so maybe that starting spot is around the corner.

Grover Barrett
Keeper: Inadequate
Form: Poor
Age: 22
Value: 73,000

Grover is the backup keeper, and I hope he never sees the field for the A Team.

Florentino Martinez
Playmaking: Inadequate
Passing: Passable
Stamina: Weak
Form: Solid
Age: 18
Value: 40,000

Florentino is one of my trainees. His form has never wavered from Solid. I expect him to bring a profit; I don’t believe he’ll be on the team past excellent playmaking.

Witold Strozynski
Defending: Solid
Winger: Passable
Form: Wretched
Age: 23
Value: 40,000

Witold was a mistake buy. Somehow I missed his form, and in 3 weeks of playing on the B Team, it hasn’t improved. Not only that, but I overpaid for him. If it hasn’t improved by the end of the season, he’ll be gone. I want to wait until the prize money is given out, or I’d give up already. He was bought in an off market, so maybe I’ll get my money back. UPDATE: This was written before this week’s training, and he has now improved to weak form, which may bump him into the starting lineup. Maybe he needed to get used to the local cuisine.

Joshua Lutz
Scoring: Inadequate
Defending: Inadequate
Age: 26
Form: Weak
Value: 38,000

Joshua is an original Bee, and is still on the team as the backup forward. He’ll probably be here a while, until a youth pull can take his place.

Gerardus Vierhen
Playmaking: Passable
Passing: Solid
Stamina: Poor
Age: 18
Form: Passable
Value: 98,000

Gerardus is my newest trainee, and a borderline starter. At least he would be a borderline starter with better stamina. I paid too much for him; so much I’m not going to mention it here.

[ausonny]

This week’s match:

Series V.41 (8414)

Team Goals Points NSI

Bees 43–6 28 51.9 (one 48 is bringing this down artificially)
Puro Chivas 36-16 21 53.2
Seawatch Surf 23-12 19 41.0
Milwaukee Stormers 27-20 16 45.8
Harsh 20-34 16 40.3
Pittsburgh All Stars 18-33 8 43.5
The Timaaaah’s 9-31 7 32.1
Buckeyes 12-36 1 40.8


Puro Chivas - Bees
The Timaaah’s – Pittsburgh All Stars
Milwaukee Stormers – Buckeyes
Harsh – Seawatch Surf

Comments
This is a biggie for us. According to the NSI we should be in a closer race for first place, but Puro has a tendency to lose games he shouldn’t. If we win today we clinch first. A loss probably moves us out of the auto-promotion spots, temporarily anyway. We won 2-0 at home earlier, in a match I MOTS’d. This is our last important game of the season, so I’m MOTS’ing it. If we lose, I can PIC and win comfortably until the qualification game. Beating my only real competition would be a confidence booster for me, if not the squad.

My draw came in the first week to the Surf, a team that won this series last year. We were a 44 NSI team then. They haven’t improved in 2 years. Puro hasn’t improved in 2 years either, making me wonder what he is doing.

Can you guess which team gave me my only loss in a league game since the team was created in week 5 of last year? That’s right, the Timaaah’s. In a game that would have given me a qualification game last year, we laid an egg.

Should I not be promoted next year, a team to watch out for is the Pittsburgh All Stars. Their NSI has gone up 10 points in the last few weeks. They are the only team really improving themselves.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Good read!

Who'd you drop a tie to if not the Chivas? Get caught PICing a bad team, or did someone MOTS you?

[ausonny]

It was against the Surf. First game of the year, on the road, and I was only putting up about a 44 at the time. I was a little unlucky, but I can't complain too much.

[ausonny]

League Match 11

Puro Chivas - Bees 3 - 2

17700 spectators had come to El Chiverio this cloudy day. Chiva had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Ranjith - Holder, Kamesivic , Montes - Sinclair, Streeter, Hon-Yui, Russell, Ali - Pajares Montolío, Zamora.

Bees started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Eck - Siegel, Sherwood, Strozynski - Bortone, Sheldon, Seaman, Wolford, Clifton - Gallegos, Ladd.

Jouni Kamesivic received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 9:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. In a rapid move, Chad Gallegos of Bees lost his man, passed the ball to the unmarked Rich Ladd who easily hit it home for the 0-1 goal. Alvin Sheldon increased Bees´s lead to 0 - 2 by a superb free kick strike, flying in just under the far top corner. Chiva reduced the score in the 23rd minute to 1 - 2 when Jeremiah Zamora got the best of a ball floated in from the left. Jeremiah Zamora pulled a real crowd pleaser as he, in the 26:th minute, wove through the guests whole central defense line and put the 2 - 2 equaliser away. Halftime score was 2 - 2. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Bees, with an impressive 55 percent possession of the ball.

A free kick aimed at the keepers far post almost gave Bees the lead in the 52nd minute, but the ball just wasn´t able to squirm it´s way through the defensive wall. Chivas Tim Sinclair got himself booked after a foul. Chiva tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but kept getting stuck on the visitors defenders. In the 75:th minute the home side managed to get a 3 - 2 lead as Donny Holder flipped the ball after a cross pass from the right. Rich Ladd made a run for the goal in the 77:th minute but the home teams far left defense managed to sort the situation out in the end. Bees, bringing the final ball possession rate to 58 percent, dominated the battle.

The most dominating Chiva player was without a doubt Óscar Pajares Montolío. Ray Russell on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Bees player was without a doubt Omar Bortone. Stephen Wolford on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 2.


Puro Chivas
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: outstanding
Central Defence: outstanding
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: passable
Central Attack: solid
Left Side Attack: weak

Bees
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: weak
Right Side Defence: excellent
Central Defence: excellent
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: excellent
Central Attack: passable
Left Side Attack: passable


Peter ‘Ula’ Eck ***

Mkey Siegel **
Ruben Sherwood **~
Witold Stroznyski **

Omar Bortrone ***
Lance Seaman ***
Stephen Wolford **
Alvin Sheldon **~
Nelson Clifton **

Rich Ladd **
Chad Gallegos ***



Team Played Goals Points
1. Bees 11 45 - 9 28

2. Puro Chivas 11 39-18 24
3. Seawatch Surf 11 23-12 20
4. Milwaukee Stormers 11 29-21 19

5. Harsh 11 20-34 17
6. Pittsburgh All Star 11 20-33 11

7. The Timaaaah's 11 9-33 7
8. Buckeyes 11 13-38 1


Comments

It’s never fun to lose, and after going up 2-0, and increasing my midfield dominance in the second half, I really don’t expect to lose. But, on the road, against a team that is at least my equal, I guess I can’t complain too much. WE still have a four point lead, and a decent shot at auto promotion, although we need help to get there.

Next game is against Frankfort in the cup. I'll have a preview on Tuesday or Wednesday, although no tactics will be discussed. :D

[ausonny]

FOFC Cup Round ?
Every game from here one out for us in the cup is a bonus. Finishing in the top 32 is impressive to me, we in the FOFC have improved quite a bit in the last few weeks. As I said above, I play a mixture of reserves and starters in my friendlies, which will give me an advantage over some.

Bees - Frankfort United 4 - 1

Date: 6/19/2003 at 01:00
Arena: Bee Hive
Crowd: 1212


Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 1212 to Bee Hive. Bees had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Eck - Siegel, Christiansen, Strozynski - Bortone, Martínez, Jackson, Vieren, Martin - Gallegos, Ladd.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Porras - Hawkins, Apelblad, Reyna - Mcwhorter, Macartney, Knapp, Clifford, Huber - Escrivá, Travis.

Frankfort took the lead in the games 14:th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Kenneth Clifford was the scorer. Ignacio Escrivá was, after 16 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors lead with a well placed diving header but home side keeper Peter 'Ula' Eck saved. Due to some great work on the right wing Bees:s Rich Ladd was able to even the score in the 38:th minute to 1 - 1. Halftime score was 1 - 1. Possession of the ball saw an equal split between the teams during the fortyfive minutes.

Gerardus Vieren gave his Bees the lead with 2 - 1, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. Bees will have to do without Erik Martin for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Nelson Clifton. Sonny Travis of Frankfort received a yellow card in the 81st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area, but at last Bees´s Rich Ladd was able to shove the ball in. 3-1. Teddy Christiansen increased Bees´s lead to 4 - 1 from a penalty spot cannonball. Beess Chad Gallegos got himself booked after a foul. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 54 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Bees player was without a doubt Omar Bortone. However, Max Jackson made a disastrous appearance. Most important Frankfort player was Lorenzo Porras. Kenneth Clifford was a disappointment, however. The match ends 4 - 1.

Player Ratings
Peter Eck ***

Mikey Siegel **
Teddy Christianson **~
Witold Stoznyski **

Omar Bortone ***
Florentino Martinez *~
Gerardus Vieren *~
Max Jackson *~
Erik Martin *, inj (Nelson Clifton **)

Rich Ladd **
Chad Gallegos ***

Team Ratings
Bees

Midfield: wretched
Right Side Defence: excellent
Central Defence: solid
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: excellent
Central Attack: solid
Left Side Attack: passable

Frankfort United

Midfield: wretched
Right Side Defence: inadequate
Central Defence: inadequate
Left Side Defence: inadequate
Right Side Attack: passable
Central Attack: weak
Left Side Attack: inadequate



Comments

Erik is injured for 3 weeks, but he is a reserve, so that doesn't hurt too badly. This game was closer than the score would lead you to believe, it was 2-1 with 10 minutes to go. Erik getting hurt may have actually helped us, because a starter came in to replace him. Good luck to DukeRulesMAB in the rest of the season.

Teddy's first game back from injury wasn't too bad. 2 1/2 stars is his usual performance. His return will move Mikey to the bench Sunday. The wretched midfield is a little worrying for me. I need my young guys to improve to the point I can sell someone for a profit and pick up some help at defense or attack for next year. 3 weeks left, maybe a couple of them will pop.

Tomorrow will be training updates.

[ausonny]

Training
Stephen Wolford popped to Solid, regaining his starting place. Max Jackson should pop next week.

Form:
Witold continued his remarkable improvement, up another 2 levels to passable. He is now what I hoped I was buying, giving me some quality at wing back.

3 starters went up a total of 4 levels.
2 reserves went up one level each
1 reserve went down a level.

Comments
A good week of training for us. I wish it had happened one week earlier. We are almost certainly going to have to play a qualification game now. We currently sit in 190th on the promotion list, down from 110th. We need a lot of help to get promoted.

We will be PICing the game this week, and maybe every week left this season, so that we can get our team spirit up from furious in time for the qualification game. Tomorrow we'll take a look at the finances and youth pull.

[ausonny]

Youth Pull
Crap.
Fired.

Finances
Cash funds: -77 761 US$ (-47 861) US$
Sponsors: high on life
Supporter Club: 1039 members
Supporters: high on life

The bad weather hurt attendance, so we're not as close to even as i had hoped. We will probably still be in the red at season's end unless we get a good youth pull.

[ausonny]

League Match # 12

Pre-Match Comments
I have decided to PIC this match to get the team spirit up for a qualification match. I'm not worried, although this team kept me out of a qualification match last year. We are a much better team than the one that lost to them last year, and they have not impreved at all.

The Match
Bees - The Timaaaah's 6 - 1
Date: 6/23/2003 at 01:00
Arena: Bee Hive
Crowd: 14147


Due to an all-day shower, 14147 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Bee Hive. Bees had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Eck - Sherwood, Christiansen, Strozynski - Bortone, Seaman, Wolford, Vieren, Clifton - Gallegos, Ladd.

Timaaaah's tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Mixon - Mackey, Hoyt, Barbosa - Kelsey, Warden, Doherty, Christiansen, Vogel - Ransom, Bledsoe.

Timaaaah's had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 2nd minute when Lon Hoyt came up alone against Peter 'Ula' Eck who managed a block. In the 5:th minute Beess Rich Ladd received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. The boggy pitch disrupted the game, especially for technical players like Weston Christiansen whose skills weren´t made justice at all. In the 14:th minute cheers broke out as Chad Gallegos found his way through the guests central defense line, clipping the 1 - 0 goal in for Bees. Erik Vogel acted with superior experience when in the 30:th minute he predicted a pass, intercepted it and then finished off with a goal to 1-1 for his Timaaaah's. Chad Gallegos gave his Bees the lead with 2 - 1, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. Timaaaah'ss Erik Vogel got himself booked after a foul. In the 39:th minute Bees put themselves up 3 - 1. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Lance Seaman coming up from the left, who proceeded to cooly round the goaltender and knock the ball home. Halftime score was 3 - 1. Bees held the ball, with a clear 62 percent possession rate.

A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 67 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Bees. However, Kevin Mixon made a spectacular save. William Kelsey of Timaaaah's received a yellow card in the 69:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. 82 minutes into the game Ruben Sherwood had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Mikey Siegel. After 82 minutes Gerardus Vieren put Bees ahead 4 - 1 as he rose to head in a hooked ball, the result of an effort from the right side. Timaaaah's kept trying to force their way through on the right side. Sterling Bledsoe got his chance in the 83rd minute, but the home sides left defence held his position and was able to stop the attack. Bees put their lead ahead another goal as Chad Gallegos struck home the 5 - 1 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. By then Chad Gallegos was a three time scorer - a hat trick! Bees put themselves up 6 - 1 when Rich Ladd broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. The structure of the game started to change as Bees decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Teddy Christiansen of Bees received a yellow card in the 89:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Bees, with an impressive 68 percent possession of the ball.

Most important Bees player was Omar Bortone. However, Gerardus Vieren made a disastrous appearance. Most important Timaaaah's player was Sam Ransom. Dallas Mackey was a disappointment, however. The match ends 6 - 1.

Team Ratings
Bees
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: formidable
Central Defence: excellent
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: solid
Central Attack: solid
Left Side Attack: solid


The Timaaaah's
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: wretched
Right Side Defence: inadequate
Central Defence: inadequate
Left Side Defence: inadequate
Right Side Attack: weak
Central Attack: weak
Left Side Attack: inadequate

Player Ratings
Peter 'Ula' Eck ***

Ruben Sherwood **(injured) Mikey Siegel **
Teddy Christianson **~
Witold Stroznyski **~

Omar Bortrone ***
Lance Seaman ***
Gerardus Vieren **
Stephen Wolford **
Nelson Clifton **

Rich Ladd **~
Chad Gallegos ***
Standings

Team Played Goals Points NSI
1. Bees 12 51 - 10 31 53.5

2. Puro Chivas 12 43 - 19 27 53.0
3. Milwaukee Stormers 12 33 - 21 22 43.4
4. Seawatch Surf 12 23 - 16 20 39.3

5. Harsh 12 20 - 38 17 43.5
6. Pittsburgh All Star 12 24 - 33 14 41.9

7. The Timaaaah's 12 10 - 39 7 33.5
8. Buckeyes 12 14 - 42 1 42.6


Post Match Comments
The injury to Ruben hurts, but it's not going to kill us unless we get an injury to another defender. 6-1 PIC will always make me happy, and the 54 NSI rating is ok.

With 2 weeks left in the season, I am trying to decide if we are ready for div IV. 2 weeks ago I felt it was time. I knew we'd struggle, but whether the team was ready or not, I personally was ready to be challenged week in and week out. Now I'm more worried about the reality that there may not be(will not be?) as much money coming in, which would make it difficult to improve the team. If we stay down I'm confident we could be pulling down somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 NSI by the end of the season. Therefore we would win more games in our first season up, therefore we would make more money.

On the other hand, part of our recent problem is that our midfield rating has decreased. This is due to the fact that I sold Antonio Peris, an excellent midfielder with excellent stamina, and he was replaced by Stephen Wolford, a passable turned solid with inadequate stamina. Most of our midfielders are having stamina issues, which wil be resolved over the offseason, and that could be worth a rank or maybe two ranks in miidfield. We got our first formidable in defense Sunday, and nothing below solid(except midfield) We train midfield, meaning it should be a little better every week.

I think I'm going to continue to PIC the games, and see who I end up with in the qualification match. If the series looks too tough, we'll tank it. We're up to 170th in the autopromote list, which I think is too far back to make up.

Next up for us are the Concord Assasins on Wednesday, and they are playing their A-Team against us. I did hold back one starting midfield on Sunday, so that he could play on Wednesday. We'll see if he's enough to make a difference.

[BishopMVP]

My plan is basically use my defense to hold you to at most 1 goal and then dominate the midfield. With Rodstrom, my best middie, back this week I expect to put up at least passable in the midfield, maybe even excellent, but my attack will probably only end up with passable/solids so I'll have to get a lot of chances or get lucky. I think I'm the favorite, due to the fact I have a much better midfield and delirious team spirit, but you may be able to steal a win with homefield and good events.

[ausonny]

Your team has received 60 US$ because Ryan Polk (1672458), who was formerly a member of your squad, was recently sold for 2 000 US$.

WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ausonny]

Round of 16

Bees - Concord Assassins 0 - 3

Date: 6/26/2003 at 01:00
MatchID: 7195708
Arena: Bee Hive
Crowd: 1235

1235 spectators had come to Bee Hive this cloudy day. Bees had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Eck - Siegel, Christiansen, Strozynski - Clifton, Sheldon, Martínez, Jackson, Bortone - Gallegos, Ladd.

Assassins started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Schaaf - Skuja, Pettersson, Kardel - Greco, Rodström, Eriksson, Russev, Bakker - Häggner, Hansson.

Assassins's Kenny Häggner scored 0 - 1 by shooting accurately and hard from a long distance, leaving the opponent goalie no other option than to pick up the ball from the net. Kenny Häggner of Assassins received a yellow card in the 25:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. After 26 minutes Rich Ladd got through on the right and was very close to equalising for the home side, but didn´t get the shot away. After 31 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Borislav Russev who increased Assassins´s lead to 0 - 2. The structure of the game started to change as Assassins decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Lee Greco managed to make an excellent pass from the flank, but Kevin Bakker was not as skillfull in scoring. Halftime score was 0 - 2. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Assassins, with an impressive 63 percent possession of the ball.

Assassins´s Lee Greco left the field after 49 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Ben Burnham. In the 55:th minute Assassins put themselves up 0 - 3 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Kevin Bakker. 61 minutes into the game Nils Eriksson had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Skip Huff. Kristian Hansson could have put his team up another one in the 68:th minute, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. The referee showed Assassinss Ben Burnham the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Assassins held the ball, with a clear 76 percent possession rate.

Bees´s best player was Omar Bortone. Max Jackson was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Assassins player was without a doubt Jonas Rodström. Robert Kardel on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 3.

Team Ratings
Bees
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: formidable
Central Defence: solid
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: passable
Central Attack: passable
Left Side Attack: excellent

Concord Assassins
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: inadequate
Right Side Defence: formidable
Central Defence: excellent
Left Side Defence: excellent
Right Side Attack: passable
Central Attack: passable
Left Side Attack: passable


Comments
Well, about what I expected. I'm sort of satisfied that my reserve midfield put up a pretty good fight against his starters. We made it through without any injuries or cards. Good luck to the Assassins in the rest of the cup!

Injury Status
We currently have two players out, Erik Martin for two weeks, and Ruben Sherwood for one. A few weeks ago I changed the training percentage to 100. Over the next couple weeks we saw some serious injuries, all healed now. I upped the physios to ninw, and the injuries disappeared, although now we've had two in the last three games. I'm wondering if I should move the percentage back down, both for injuries and to save the money I'm paying all the physios. If I continue to get the injuries, I probably will, although the bump in form has been nice.

Coming up at the Hive

HT is still churning on the training updates, so tomorrow I'll give that info.

Sunday we play the fastest improving team in our division on the road, the Pittsburgh All Stars. I have a decision to make about PICing the game. Team spirit is up to composed, but 2 PICS would give me a nice bonus in my qualification match. Losing the game would not really hurt us too much in the standings, as we are 4 points ahead, and our last game should be a gimme. I'm leaning towards risking it, but I'm afraid if things start going wrong they could snowball.

Team needs
I put this here to help me sort out my thoughts. When I'm coding I keep an action figure or stuffed animal or something I can anthropomorphize on my desk. I explain my problems to it, and usually it (the talking, not the inanimate object :rolleyes: ) helps me sort it out.

Looking ahead to next year there are 2 possibilities.

1. We stay in div V.

If so, I feel that we would have to be favorites to win the series. The midfield will improve, and that may be all I need. I will use all my willpower to avoid spending any money on players except trainees. I will expand the stadium. At the end of the season I should be in a financial position to buy a couple players that can really help me. In the long run this may be the fastest way forward. (I'm tired, please ignore any grammatical inconsistencies :))

2. We promote.

If so we will need more quality. I figure we will need 2 of 3 positions we are not training upgraded (forward, defense and wing.) I'm not overly worried about keeper. Where will this money come from? We will have more supporters but win fewer games. The prize money will only keep us afloat in the offseason, not give us a real boost. Selling may be an option, but who? The trainees won't be really profitable for at least another season. Questions, questions, questions.

[ausonny]

Youth Pull
Derrick Burroughs (13294198)
21 years, passable form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 366 000 US$
Wage: 2 680 US$/week
Owner: Bees
Warnings: 0


Stamina: poor Goaltending: solid
Playmaking: disastrous Passing: wretched
Winger: wretched Defending: disastrous
Scoring: disastrous Set Pieces: disastrous

W00t! He will replace 'Ula' in goal this week. I think I may keep both indefinitely, and play the one with higher form every week. At least through the end of the season, since there isn't a whole lot of money out there on transfers.

Training
We had two pops this week, one expected and one surprise. Max Jackson, our trainee/sometime winger starter popped to passable as did Florentino my least useful trainee.

Form:
After last weeks nice week of training we suffered a setback this week. Only one starter went up, Chad Gallegos, but he went to excellent. Three starters from last week went down, Omar Bortrone, Nelson Clifton who lost 2 ranks, and Peter 'Ula' Eck. 'Ula' and Nelson lost their starting spots for this week, 'Ula' to the youth pull and Nelson, due to a combination of his form decrease and Max Jackson's popping.

Injuries
Going into the game tomorrow two players are out, Ruben Sherwood, replaced by Mr. Never Say Die(aka Mikey Siegel) and Erik Martin, a potential starter at wing.

Comments
We will be PICing tomorrow. If we win we lock up first place. We need to win by several goals to help ourselves in the autopromotion race.

The Pull this week helps out financially should we promote. I can sell 'Ula' if need be. I also picked up a new Bee on the transfer list this week: His name is Herve Marechal, and he is a 26 year old solid winger. He has stamina issues that keep him out of the starting spot, but that can be fixed in the offseason. If he does not do enough to gain a starting spot, I can sell him for a profit. I'll post his full ratings tomorrow. Good luck to everone in the final two weeks. A lot of us have a lot riding.

[ausonny]

League Match #13
A win today and we wrap up the league title. I'm PICing the match. I'm a little worried about the match. They are not a strong team yet, and they have injury issues. What worries me is that we are on the road, and they are an improving team. If we lose, I'm afraid that things will begin to snowball. But I need the help on my TS, so PICing it is.


Date: 6/30/2003 at 01:00
MatchID: 5543256
Arena: Pittsburgh All Stars Arena
Crowd: 13584

Due to an all-day shower, 13584 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Pittsburgh All Stars Arena. Pittsburgh had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Adler - Blount, Harlow, Correa - Magana, Bauer, Steiner, Gage, Snogdal - Matson, Favreau.

Bees had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Burroughs - Siegel, Christiansen, Strozynski - Bortone, Sheldon, Seaman, Wolford, Jackson - Gallegos, Ladd.

Jérome Favreau gave his Pittsburgh the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. In the 23rd minute Pittsburghs Casey Harlow received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Omar Bortone was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Rich Ladd managed to kick one of them into 1 - 1 in the 28:th minute. The terraces were silenced in the 33rd minute as Bees´s Chad Gallegos put the guests ahead 1 - 2, following an attack from the right. Sandy Correa of Pittsburgh received a yellow card in the 35:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Bees´s Max Jackson left the field after 39 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Hervé Marechal. After 40 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Chad Gallegos who increased Bees´s lead to 1 - 3. In the 41st minute Pittsburghs Todd Blount received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. 1 - 3 was the half-time score. Bees, bringing the final ball possession rate to 55 percent, dominated the battle.

In the 52nd minute Bees put themselves up 1 - 4 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Omar Bortone. Beess Chad Gallegos got himself booked after a foul. Bees came close to extending their lead as Stephen Wolford delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was to sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal. The visitors Mikey Siegel took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 72nd minute. 1 - 5 for Bees. The visitors Chad Gallegos took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 73rd minute. 1 - 6 for Bees. This third goal made a hat trick for Chad Gallegos. After this Bees lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. 74 minutes into the game Bees were awarded a penalty and Alvin Sheldon was able to increase the visitors lead to 1 - 7 rolling the ball in by the right post. Bees held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

Pittsburgh´s best player was Sylvester Matson. Sandy Correa on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Bees player was Omar Bortone. However, Mikey Siegel made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 7.

Team Ratings
Pittsburgh All Stars
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: solid
Central Defence: solid
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: passable
Central Attack: inadequate
Left Side Attack: inadequate

Bees
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: excellent
Central Defence: excellent
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: solid
Central Attack: passable
Left Side Attack: solid

Player Ratings
Derrick Burroughs ***

Mikey Siegel **
Teddy Christianson **~
Witold Stoznyski **~

Omar Bortrone ***
Alvin Sheldon ***
Lance Seaman ***
Stephen Wolford **~
Max Jackson ** (inj) Herve Marechal **

Rich Ladd **~
Chad Gallegos ***

Match Comments
Positives:
Stephen Wolford got his first **~ performance tonight.
Chad Gallegos has locked up the Top Scorer performance with 20 league goals.
Rich Ladd now has 12 league goals.
Herve got **, not bad for a guy with wretched stamina. He will probably not make the team next year, butI'm hoping to make a small profit.
Derrick's *** performance is nice, it gives me some flexiblity at keeper through the end of the year, at which point either he or 'Ula' wiill be gone.
5 Players had 3 stars, and 4 more had 2 1/2. We still miss Antonio Peris. Our midfield is not back to where it was yet, but we're close. Overall, we are pretty much at the top of our game, at the right time, which is nice.

Negatives:
Max's injury is only for a week, putting us at full strength for the qualifier, assuming no more injuries. (I'm ignoring all ass comments :D )
Our midfield is weaker than it might have been. Granted we were PICing on the road, but we put up a passable midfield one week, and now we consistently put up poor. Selling Antonio allowed me to expand the stadium and buy Witold which was the right long term decision, but if we lose in 2 weeks I know exactly where my second-guessing will begin.

Coming Up
If the season ended now we would be playing a team that we could beat. They put up a 49 last week. We put up a 52. They have improved the last few weeks, so that's bad news. Actually of course it doesn't matter, because we will probably not be playing them anyway. One more week to go, at home against a team who got a draw against us the first time around. Revenge will be sweet.

Tomorrow night my father's team is coming in from Phoenix. The mind games have already begun. (sigh)

[ausonny]

My internet connection went down sometime Thursday, and now I'm in NW Arkansas visiting family. So this is a quick note to say I'll update either Sunday night or Monday afternoon. We are PICing on Sunday, hoping to get Team Spirit above calm for next Sunday's qualifier. Good luck to everyone on Sunday!

[ausonny]

Finally have my internet connection back.

Friendly
This match was played against my father's team. He is in V.75 with Vampyres, among several other good teams, a division with 3 teams putting up 65+ and one 60+. It's been a frustrating season for him. He's going to tank his game against a bot team on Sunday just to get out of the series from hell.

The Match
Bees - Peakers 5 - 0
Arena: Bee Hive
Crowd: 597

Due to an all-day shower, 597 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Bee Hive. Bees had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Eck - Siegel, Christiansen, Strozynski - Sandoval, Martínez, van Morgen, Vieren, Clifton - Gallegos, Ladd.

Peakers started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Lambarri - Melia, Delgado, Håkansson - Bruce, Drobne, Shishov, Meeks, Jones - Thorstål, Clinton.

After 16 minutes Chad Gallegos made a speedy advance and dropped the ball to Rich Ladd who shuffled the ball past the keeper. The score was now 1 - 0. Juan Sandoval increased Beess lead to 2 - 0 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. In the games 32nd minute, Chad Gallegos could have extended the lead, but his very hard free kick went just over the bar. Rich Ladd almost managed to score another goal for Bees, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Bees lead up with 3 - 0. Chad Gallegos finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. The structure of the game started to change as Bees decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Beess Teddy Christiansen got himself booked after a foul. In the game's 41st minute Peakers´s Valon Drobne limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Halftime score was 3 - 0. Bees held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Florentino Martínez squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 62nd minute, asserting the lead to 4 - 0. Bees put their lead ahead another goal as Rich Ladd struck home the 5 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. In the 75:th minute Bees´s Teddy Christiansen tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net. The referee showed Beess Joop van Morgen the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Peakers were forced to a substitution as Boris Shishov couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. In the games 83rd minute Bees´s Florentino Martínez fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Florentino Martínez for taking a dive. Peakers held the ball, with a clear 72 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Bees player was without a doubt Chad Gallegos. Juan Sandoval on the other hand, had a terrible day. Peakers´s best player was Angel Melia. Michael Meeks on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 0.

Team Ratings
Bees
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: solid
Central Defence: solid
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: inadequate
Central Attack: solid
Left Side Attack: passable

[Player Ratings
Peter 'Ula' Eck **~

Mikey Siegel **
Teddy Christiansen **~
Witold Stoznyski **~

Juan Sandoval *
Joop Van Morgan *~
Gerardus Vieren *~
Florentino Martinez *~
Nelson Clifton **

Rich Ladd **~
Chad Gallegos ***

Comments
We played poorly. Juan and Joop are on an a week trading experiment, but I still hoped for more. Gerardus and Florentino are not causing the starters to lose any sleep. Ula's form dip has caused him to lose a half star. All in all not a good performance.

[ausonny]

Youth Pull
Yang Tien-Dung (13525204)
21 years, passable form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is calm and upright.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 264 000 US$
Wage: 2 496 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Högströms BK
Warnings: 0


Stamina: wretched Goaltending: passable
Playmaking: disastrous Passing: disastrous
Winger: wretched Defending: disastrous
Scoring: disastrous Set Pieces: wretched

As you can see his team name has changed. He was sold for 71k. Not bad.

Training
No pops this week.

Form:
Erik Martin and Stephen Wolford both went up to solid this week.

Mikey Siegel, Mr. Never Say Die slipped another rank this week to passable. He is in serious danger of being sold. 'Ula' dropped yet another rank to weak, as did Nelson Clifton. Both have lost starting spots because of their form troubles. Nelson is a borderline starter when he's on his game, and 'Ula' is a little below Derrick Burroughs when they are at equal form.

Comments

We will PIC the final game of the season. Then take a look at the series we'd be going into to decide on promoting or not. Of course if the team we're playing against is erally good, we may not have much choice.

[ausonny]

League Match #14
Should be easy.

Bees - Seawatch Surf 3 - 0
Date: 7/7/2003 at 01:00
Arena: Bee Hive
Crowd: 22000

At Bee Hive, 22000 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came. Bees had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Burroughs - Sherwood, Christiansen, Strozynski - Bortone, Sheldon, Seaman, Wolford, Marechal - Gallegos, Ladd.

Seawatch had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. They fielded: Redmond - Marcum, Paige, Green, Norton - Hawks, Kerr, Shackelford, Boyd - Salvador Escuder, Guidry.

Stephen Wolford received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 1st minute and almost caused an opponent to score. Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a 26:th minute goal by Rich Ladd for Bees, putting them ahead 1 - 0. The referee showed Beess Alvin Sheldon the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. In the 35:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Chad Gallegos dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Bees. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 43 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Bees. However, Stu Redmond made a spectacular save. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Bees lead up with 3 - 0. Ruben Sherwood finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. Halftime score was 3 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Bees, with an impressive 70 percent possession of the ball.

Seawatchs Shackelford got himself booked after a foul. Omar Bortone the unlucky victim, couldn´t continue the game. Chad Gallegos almost managed to score another goal for Bees, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. Stephen Wolford of Bees received a yellow card in the 61st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Bees held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

Bees´s best player was Derrick Burroughs. However, Max Jackson made a disastrous appearance. Seawatch´s best player was Brian Green. Shackelford on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 0.

Team Ratings
Bees
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: inadequate
Right Side Defence: outstanding
Central Defence: excellent
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: inadequate
Central Attack: passable
Left Side Attack: excellent

[Player Ratings
Derrick Burroughs ***

Ruben Sherwood **~
Teddy Christansen **~
Witold Stoznyski ***

Omar Bortrone **(injured) Max Jackson **
Lance Seaman ***
Alvin Sheldon ***
Herve Marechal **~

Rich Ladd **~
Chad Gallegos ***

Comments
We PICed and still set team records for stars (29.5) and NSI(59). Not bad. Omar's injury won't keep him out of the qualifier, and Herve's performance was nice from a guy I only payed like 10k for. We may just be ready for this jump after all.

We play el maraja on Sunday. they put up a 56 this week. Since we play there, I believe this will be a tough matchup. If we don't win, that's fine another season will see us make a lot of improvement. If we win, I feel we can hold our own.

We would be in the same series as leverb66's Stangs and Moriaty's Negative Waves. It has several teams in the 65+ range. It would be tough, but I think we can hack it.

edit for adding moriarty's team. Somehow missed that.

[ausonny]

Friendly
We challenged a IV Team. I was curiousabout how we would stack up ahead of our qualification match.

Ann Arbor B-52's - Bees 2 - 1

Date: 7/10/2003 at 01:00
MatchID: 7282478
Arena: Ann Arbor B-52s Arena
Crowd: 2520


2520 spectators had come to Ann Arbor B-52s Arena this cloudy day. B-52's had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. They fielded: Gil Pastor - Gannon, Greiner, Anderson - Parris, Clerc, Lopes Jardim, Goodwin - Edward, Nichols, Navarro.

Bees started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Eck - Siegel, Sherwood, Strozynski - Marechal, Martínez, Jackson, Vieren, Clifton - Gallegos, Ladd.

Florentino Martínez of Bees received a yellow card in the 7:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Bees took the lead after 32 minutes with 0 - 1. Chad Gallegos placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. B-52's were close to equalising on a free kick in the 35:th minute, but Peter 'Ula' Eck made a great save, tipping it to a corner. In the 38:th minute B-52's was able to score the equalising 1 - 1 goal. Teddy Navarro picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away teams goalie. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 1. B-52's, bringing the final ball possession rate to 61 percent, dominated the battle.

Beess Gerardus Vieren got himself booked after a foul. B-52's made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Paulo Lopes Jardim completely alone with keeper Peter 'Ula' Eck, who made a spectacular block. The 82nd minute saw the home team take a 2 - 1 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for B-52's was Herbert Greiner. B-52's, bringing the final ball possession rate to 85 percent, dominated the battle.

Most important B-52's player was Billy Edward. However, Daniel Parris made a disastrous appearance. Most important Bees player was Chad Gallegos. Max Jackson was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 1.

Team Ratings
Bees
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: wretched
Right Side Defence: solid
Central Defence: solid
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: solid
Central Attack: solid
Left Side Attack: passable

Player Ratings
Peter 'Ula' Eck **~

Mikey Siegel **
Ruben Sherwood **~
Witold Stroznyski ***

Herve Marechal **~
Florentino Martinez *~
Gerardus Vieren * ~
Max Jackson *~
Nelson Clifton *~

Ricj Ladd **~
Chad Gallegos ***

Comments
Considering their worst attribute besides midfield was excellent, I'm not too disapointed. They apparently play friendlies similarly to the way I do, mostly starters in attack and defense. The 85% possession in the second half was the obvious deciding factor. More on this in the next training update.

[ausonny]

Training
Inadequate
Excellent
Inadequate
Weak
Poor
Poor

That is the stamina of my best 6 Inner Midfielders. I took a long hard look at what I could do to help my team the most for Sunday's game this week. I have no money to spend. I had planned to train Stamina in the offseason, but now I decided to take a chance on destroying my form to improve stamina. I got half of what I wanted.

Passable
Excellent
Passable
Inadequate
Weak
Weak

Five out of Six improved. 17 players improved, including all the Wingers but one. I got what I wanted there.

Two starters, Rich Ladd and Witold Stoznyski, improved in form, Rich to passable and Witold to Solid. Witold has completed a massive turnaround. In the introduction to this dynasty I called Witold a mistake buy. He has since become a 3 star player and my best defender. 'Ula' my backup keeper improved to inadequate, closing the gap between him and Derrick.

Ahem.

Starters Lance "I wish I played for the Screamin'" Seaman, Ruben Sherwood, Chad Gallegos, Erik Martin and Omar Bortrone lost form. Backups Florentino and Gerardus lost as well.

Chad and Omar are the biggest worries. They are my best players, and I need them to perform on Sunday.

Injuries
We are healthy for the first time in weeks. Needless to say the timing couldn't be better.

Finances

Cash funds: 33 075 US$ (93 049) US$
Sponsors: delirious
Supporter Club: 1094 members
Supporters: high on life


This week

Revenue Expenses
Crowd 0 Arena 14 080
Sponsors 49 050 Wages 25 316
Financial 0 Interest 0
Temporary 107 820 Temporary 3 000
Staff 34 500
Youth squad 20 000
Total revenue 156 870 Total expenses 96 896
Expected income/loss 59 974


The prize money has gotten us out of debt. I need to buy an upgrade for the arena and a new trainee. I have 4 players up for sale, although no bites yet.

Youth Pull
Charley Yeager (14255536)
18 years, passable form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is calm and upright.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 191 000 US$
Wage: 1 480 US$/week
Owner: Bees
Warnings: 0

Stamina: wretched Goaltending: passable
Playmaking: disastrous Passing: disastrous
Winger: disastrous Defending: disastrous
Scoring: disastrous Set Pieces: weak

Charley is already up for sale.

This week
Sunday is the big day. I feel like the team is on the right track, and there are positives to both winning and losing. We'll improve faster if we lose, but of course winning means better competition. We're healthy, our form is ok, but on the downside team spirit could be better. We're playing a team we're comparable with. They have homefield advantage. We just put up our best ever numbers even though PICing. I feel confident. Good luck to everyone else involved in a match today. Up the FOFC!

[sterlingice]

GO BEES! And you'd better not get anyone hurt. I plan on beating you silly at full strength :D

SI

[ausonny]

:D

I figure we'll increase the 15-2 margin we have over y'all in the 2 games played. I felt like mentioning that scoring margin one last time, I figure this will be the last chance I have!

[ausonny]

Qualification match
Well, it was a good game:

El marajá - Bees 4 - 3

Date: 7/14/2003 at 01:00
MatchID: 7295534
Arena: El marajá Arena
Crowd: 19200

19200 spectators had come to El marajá Arena this cloudy day. marajá had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. The following players had been chosen: Robbins - Brownlee, Morales, Couture - Cuevas, Tudor, Piot, Po-Hung - Andres, Butterfield, Melvin.

Bees tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Burroughs - Strozynski, Sherwood, Christiansen - Bortone, Sheldon, Seaman, Wolford, Martin - Gallegos, Ladd.

The 15:th minute saw the home team take a 1 - 0 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for marajá was Justin Butterfield. In the 17:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Boris Piot dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for marajá. Almost all the way down to the corner flag Omar Bortone somhow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for Rich Ladd who struck for 2 - 1. marajá put their lead ahead another goal as Carson Melvin struck home the 3 - 1 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. Chad Gallegos sprinted between the opposing defenders after 33 minutes, but the keeper deflected Rich Ladd's shot. The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 1. Bees, bringing the final ball possession rate to 61 percent, dominated the battle.

A speedy charge from the left side of the field put marajá lead up with 4 - 1. Che Po-Hung finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. Bees managed to reduce a bit later to 4 - 2 as Rich Ladd finished off a well played combination from the left, carving through the defensive box. Bees showed some good morale and were, in the 67:th minute, able to reduce the score to 4 - 3 as Lance Seaman got past the home sides full backs straight in front of the goal. Bees held the ball, with a clear 62 percent possession rate.

Most important marajá player was Nelson Robbins. However, Michael Morales made a disastrous appearance. Bees´s best player was Lance Seaman. However, Erik Martin made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 4 - 3.

Team Ratings
Bees
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: passable
Right Side Defence: formidable
Central Defence: excellent
Left Side Defence: excellent
Right Side Attack: passable
Central Attack: passable
Left Side Attack: passable

El marajá
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: weak
Right Side Defence: solid
Central Defence: passable
Left Side Defence: inadequate
Right Side Attack: weak
Central Attack: outstanding
Left Side Attack: outstanding


Comments
What can I say? We won 5 of the 7 areas on the field, but where they beat us they killed us. We were also unfortunate to win 62% of the possesion and only get 40% of the attacks. I've been saying staying down another year might be the best way forward, so now I get to test that theory. I'm still a little bummed, 6 weeks ago I was sure I'd be promoted, but we're not, so it's time to regroup.

We should be one of the top teams in d5, but Puro Chivas have improved quite a bit lately. It should be a two team race again next year.

Coming Up
We have a rematch from the early days of the team with SI's Hungry Hippos. We hold a 15-2 lead in the history of the series, and if we can still have a lead in that statistic it might be a moral victory. Ok I don't expect to lose by 13, but this was set up to be an A team vs A Team match, and I'll be going with my B Team. They are bringing in a couple new players to swat some Bees. Would a Hippo even feel a Bee Sting? I guess we'll find out. We'll be going with our backups to get back the week of training I spent on stamina.

Our first league match is against Puro at home. We need a win to give us breathing room. Anything else would put us in a really bad situation from the get-go. With the new coaching changes I can't MOTS and then hire a new coach to reset TS, so I have a decision to make for the first game.

Upgraded Stadium

In a fit of madness I approved an expansion to 35,000 seats. We are currently at 1100+ supporters, so that is more than we need, but I'm hoping to avoid needing to build next year, letting me spend my money on players. 'Ula' is on his way out the door, paying for the expansion.

[sterlingice]

*in sing-songy voice* Somebody's going dooooown.

SI