Screamin' Seamen FC - A Hattrick Dynasty [Archive]

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:14 AM

Hattrick: The Basics

Here are the basics to the Hattrick game. I am explaining this, so it is easier for non-Hattrickers to follow along with this dynasty, as well as others.

1. The Youth Squad

The youth squad is one of the most important elements in Hattrick. Every week, a team can promote one player from the youth squad that their team supports, and this activity costs a team $2,000. This is how new players are introduced into the game. Each week, a team can invest either $5,000, $10,000, or $20,000 into their youth squad. The more money a team puts into its youth squad, the better the quality of the squad, and therefore the better quality (generally) of young players that will be promoted. There is still a large amount of luck involved in the youth pull, but one good 17-year-old player can make the entire investment worthwhile. There is a serious premium placed on good young players (I will get more into the reasons for this later), and this is the best way to get those players on one's team.

2. Specialists (the staff)

There are seven different type of staff members that you can have supporting your Hattrick team. Each of these specialists costs a team $1,500 per week.

Goaltending Coach: Improves the 'form' (more on this term later) and skill level of your goaltenders.
Assistant Coach: Assists your head coach in training players other than goalkeepers.
Sports Psychologist: Increases team confidence and team spirit.
Spokesperson: Improves the attitude of your team's sponsors and supporters.
Economist: If your team has a large debt or a large amount of cash on hand, economists can reduce your interest payments, or invest your surplus.
Physiotherapist: Reduces the chance of player injuries.
Doctor: Rehabilitates injured players more rapidly.

3. Supporters and Sponsors

Supporters are those hardcore fans that buy season tickets, adorn their domiciles with team paraphernalia, get arrested for stalking your team's star forward, name their firstborn children after your goalkeeper (even if the baby is the wrong gender), that sort of thing. The size of your team's supporter club gives a good indication of your team's general popularity, and also give the manager an indication of the number of seats they can expect to sell for a home game.

Sponsors are another significant source of income for a club. If your team succeeds and you keep your sponsors happy, you can expect to see healthy rises in the amount of sponsorship money you receive from week to week. However, if you go on a losing streak or fail to provide adequate "entertainment" for these fat-cats, you can soon find yourself in financial hardships.

4. Economy

A team's income and expenses are handled on a weekly basis, and come from a number of sources.

Income
Crowd: Home league and cup matches are the single best source of income for a club. This includes ticket prices, concessions, parking, etc.
Sponsors: The money you receive for having gawdy endorsements blanketing your stadium and your players' jerseys.
Financial: Any interest you are earning on your current cash holdings, courtesy of economists.
Temporary: A catch-all for other sources of income, including annual dues from new supporters (they pay $30 each per season), and the sale of players on the transfer market (more on this later).

Expenses
Arena: The bigger your arena, the more you have to spend on upkeep for the thing every week.
Wages: Players get a paycheck every week, whether they play or not. Big-name talent can command some serious moolah, especially for a newer team (like mine).
Interest: Go into debt, and the creditors will be looking for interest payments every week. If you go over $500,000 into debt, you lose your team.
Temporary: Temporary expenses include stadium improvements, money spent on new players, and the $2,000 it costs to promote a player from the youth squad.
Staff: The weekly salary of your specialists.
Youth Squad: The weekly investment your team makes in its youth squad.

Sponsors hand out prize money at the end of each season for teams finishing in 1st-4th place in each series. Also, teams earn bonus money for earning the possibility of promotion to a higher division (more on this later).

5. Formations and Positions

The basic formation in Hattrick is a 4-4-2 formation. There are always three 'layers' of players in front of the goalkeeper. 4-4-2 means that there are 4 defensemen (layer 1), 4 midfielders (layer 2) and 2 forwards (layer 3). Hattrick concerns itself with six basic player positions.

Goalkeeper: The guy who sits in front of the net. Duh!
Central Defender: Defenders who try to control the area of the pitch (field) in front of the net.
Wingback: Defenders that play to the sides of the net.
Inner Midfielder: A very important position. Concentrate on controlling the middle of the field, and are key to maintaining ball possession.
Winger: Play to the sides of the inner midfielders. This is the most versatile position on the field. They can play offensively, defensively, or in towards the middle to assist with ball possession.
Forwards: Strikers. These guys get a lot of the goals (along with a lot of the glory, and a lot of the chicks).

6. Players

There are 8 basic skills that, when combined with other factors, determine how well a player performs at a given position.

Stamina: General endurance. Important for midfielders, because they run all over the pitch.
Playmaking: The key skill for inner midfielders. The biggest determining factor in ball possession.
Winger: The ability to create scoring chances by advancing down the sides. Important for Wingbacks and especially Wingers.
Scoring: Putting the ball into the net. Duh! Only important for forwards.
Goaltending: I hope I don't need to explain this. :)
Passing: Nice for forwards and midfielders, but not critical.
Defending: Stopping opponent attacks. Key for central defenders and wingbacks.
Set Pieces: Free kicks, penalty kicks, corner kicks. Having a player on the pitch who is good at set pieces can make a huge difference.

Each of these skills is rated from Disastrous (level 1) to Divine (level 20). I will list all of these level ratings here, but note that it will be a LONG time before you see a Divine player playing for the Screamin' Seamen. :D

1 - Disastrous
2 - Wretched
3 - Poor
4 - Weak
5 - Inadequate
6 - Passable
7 - Solid
8 - Excellent
9 - Formidable
10 - Outstanding
11 - Brilliant
12 - Magnificent
13 - World Class
14 - Supernatural
15 - Titanic
16 - Extra-Terrestrial
17 - Mythical
18 - Magical
19 - Utopian
20 - Divine

Players are also rated in something called 'form,' which gives an indication of how the player is performing at the moment. Like all athletes, players in hattrick have good streaks and bad streaks. A player on a good streak, or in good 'form,' might be rated as excellent (the maximum for form), while a player on a cold streak may be rated as poor (or worse).

7. Training

Each week, the team owner decides what sort of training the team will perform. Each of the eight skills mentioned earlier can be trained, as well as General training, which helps out player form as well as providing minimal goalkeeper training. There are two things to keep in mind when deciding the sort of training to conduct.

First, young players learn considerably faster than older players. This is why a premium is placed on good, young players. A 17-year-old Excellent defender has the possibility of becoming Divine someday. However, a 25-year-old Excellent defender will never reach that level of expertise. Also, player skills begin to degrade at age 30, so a 17-year-old will be on your team for a lot longer.

Second, a player has to play at a position that uses the skill you are training, in order to receive the benefits of training for that week. If you are training defending, and a player plays as a forward that week, he will receive no training.

8. The Transfer Market

Aside from youth pulls, the only way to get a new player for your team is to use the transfer market. This is an open bidding system, similar to E-Bay and that sort of thing. When a player is placed on the transfer market, a minimum bid can be placed by the team selling the player. The player then remains on the transfer market for exactly 72 hours. Players are assessed 'values,' depending on their age and their skills, but this may or may not have much to do with what that player can fetch on the transfer market. Again, player age is the key factor here. A 17-year-old will fetch a lot more than a 25-year old with the same skill level, for the reasons discussed earlier.

9. The Series System

Each series, or 'conference,' in Hattrick contains 8 teams. These are the teams that you compete directly with during each season. The season is 14 weeks long, so your team plays against each other team in your series twice, once at home and once on the road. League matches are always played on Sundays. You get three points for a win, and one point for a draw. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the series, and has a chance at promotion.

The top Division in the U.S. is Major League, and has only one series in it. Each division beneath Major League has four times as many series' as the one above it. So, beneath Major League there is Division 2, which has 4 series in it (II.1 through II.4). Beneath that, there are 16 series in Division 3 (III.1 through III.16), then Division 4 (IV.1 through IV.64), and finally Division 5 (V.1 through V.256).

This part gets complicated, so I won't get into too much detail. The top team in each series may or may not move up, depending on how well they did. The 2nd through 4th place teams in each series are safe, and will be in the same series next season. The 5th and 6th place teams have to play a qualification match against series winners from the division below them, in order to keep their spot. The 7th and 8th place teams are automatically relegated to the division below them. They obviously suck and have no business in their current division. :P

10. The Cup and Friendly Matches

Each season, countries have their national cups. Most of the teams in a given country are able to participate in what amounts to a giant, single elimination tournament. These cup matches are played on Wednesdays, and are re-seeded after each round.

So, if there are 64 teams in a cup, then the #1 team plays #64, #2 plays #63, and so on. If #63 should happen to beat #2, they are rewarded by getting to play #1 the following week. Needless to say, these cups are definitely geared towards the top teams, but can be a nice source of additional revenue from ticket sales for the smaller teams involved.

Once a team has been eliminated from their national cup, they can then arrange 'friendly' matches with any other team that is also available. These matches don't mean anything as far as standings and statistics go. They are simply a way to provide training for additional players, generating a little extra income from those willing to pay to see a friendly match, and the like.

OK, this turned out a little more long-winded than I had originally intended, but as you can tell, this game can prove to be rather complex. There are several other facets that I have chosen not to get into, but I think this should give the casual reader a general idea of how things work.

If any of you are confused by any of this, or have questions not covered by what I have detailed here, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Up Next: An overview of the Screamin' Seamen Football Club as it stood at the beginning of Season 18, prepared to begin its assault on Division 4. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:15 AM

Screamin’ Seamen Player Profiles

Here is the roster for Screamin’ Seamen FC. I have included the key skill levels for these players and their numerical equivalents, to give you an idea of the level of talent (or lack thereof) that SSFC has at the moment. All statistics listed are as of the time of this writing, which is five games into our second season (3 cup and 2 league matches).

First Team

The first team typically plays a 3-5-2 formation. This means that we typically start:

1 Goalkeeper
1 Central Defender
2 Wingbacks
3 Inner Midfielders
2 Wingers
2 Forwards

Goalkeeper

#1 Darryl Read
-Age: 26
-Goaltending: Passable (6)
-Games Played: 18
-Goals Allowed: 14
-Goals Against Average: 0.78
-Clean Sheets: 10

Darryl is our best goalkeeper. Though his skill level leaves a bit to be desired, he usually benefits from having pretty good defenders playing in front of him. He usually manages to get the job done, and has pitched shutouts in 10 of his 18 matches.

Central Defender

#2 Chuck Scales
-Age: 23
-Defending: Solid (7)
-Games Played: 16
-Goals Scored: 3

Chuck is the key to our defense, and is responsible for keeping the area directly in front of Darryl clear of threats. He typically does a good job of this, and is the most consistent of our defenders. He is a genuinely pleasant individual, very level-headed, and has a decent amount of experience for his age. He has been named Team Match MVP eight times in his sixteen games.

Wingbacks

#3 Ben McMahon
-Age: 27
-Defending: Solid
-Winger: Passable
-Games Played: 16
-Goals Scored: 1

Ben was named our team’s Most Valuable Player at the conclusion of our first season, and for good reason. He shut down opposing forwards on his side of the field, and was named Team Match MVP 6 times last year. Although he is not a threat to score goals, he was also named as the team’s best defenseman last season.

#5 Arlen Lucas
-Age: 20
Defending: Solid
Winger: Passable
-Games Played: 16
-Goals Scored: 5

Arlen stands 6’6” tall, and is an imposing figure in the defensive box. Due to his height, he specializes in headers and defending against headers in our own zone. Thanks to him, we rarely give up goals off of corner kicks. He has also scored five goals of his own, which is an impressive feat for a defender. Unfortunately, Arlen is a little bit of a hothead, and has now served two 1-game suspensions due to his rough play.

Inner Midfielders

#4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Age: 32
Playmaking: Passable (6)
-Games Played: 16
-Goals Scored: 4

At 32 years of age, Pete is the oldest player on the team, and is the nastiest son of a bitch I have ever met. To give you an idea of what I am talking about, he was once ejected and suspended for a game for purposely head-butting an opposing player. Despite his rough demeanor, he is one of the most popular members of the team, and does a good job of managing the team’s midfield play. His skills are on the down-slide, however, but we will certainly find a spot for him on the team’s staff when he decides to retire.

#6 Charlie Bautista
-Age: 25
-Playmaking: Solid (7)
-Games Played: 18
-Goals Scored: 5

Charlie and Pete are best of friends, and that is probably because their personalities complement one another so well. Charlie is a fiery guy as well, and is the best trash-talker on the field. Once Charlie gets an opposing player fired up, Pete takes advantage of this by taking the player down. On top of this, Charlie is the most talented of our midfielders. He has been awarded with Team Match MVP honors twice.

#7 Lucian Tere
-Age: 26
-Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
-Games Played: 17
-Goals Scored: 8

The big Romanian is the gentle giant of our midfield trio, but can use his power to muscle over opposing players when the situation warrants. His eight goals in the last seventeen matches proves his value. Just don’t call him Lucy. One of our trainers made that mistake, and spent a week in the infirmary because of it. :D

Wingers

#8 Max Dodge
-Age: 23
-Winger: Inadequate (5)
-Playmaking: Passable (6)
-Games Played: 15
-Goals Scored: 5

Without a doubt, Max has the coolest name on the team, but that is not why we have kept him around. Good wingers are hard to find, and when he is playing well, Max is our best winger by far. The problem is that he is terribly inconsistent. When he plays well, he can be a dominant force on the pitch. But when he plays poorly, well, it can get just plain ugly.

#10 Olav Mauffret
-Age: 21
-Winger: Inadequate (5)
-Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
-Games Played: 17
-Goals Scored: 3

Olav is a young Finn who is probably the most mild-mannered player on the field. He says little, but works very hard at his game. There is little exceptional about him, but his consistency is a nice change of pace from Max’s erratic play.

Forwards

#11 Johannes Henriksson
-Age: 25
-Scoring: Passable (6)
-Set Pieces: Solid (7)
-Games Played: 44
-Goals Scored: 47

Our Swedish striker is the most consistent scorer we have, and has averaged a goal a game throughout his entire career. He is also our team captain and set pieces ace. He and Arlen Lucas have proven to be a lethal combination. Johannes is also the most level-headed player on the team. He has never been carded in 44 starts. He is, without a doubt, one of the most valuable members of the team.

#15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Age: 20
-Scoring: Solid (7)
-Games Played: 6
-Goals Scored: 6

“Gump” was promoted from our youth squad late last season, and became an immediate starter. He is a talented young striker, and scored a hattrick in his second match. He does have a bit of a nasty streak about him, though, and is none too fond of his nickname. :)

Second Team

The second team typically plays a 5-4-1 formation. This formation is extremely weak offensively, but allows us to train five additional defensive players every week. Below is our current alignment in the 5-4-1, but I can assure you that a couple of these players are on their way out the door. ;)

1 Goalkeeper
3 Central Defenders
2 Wingbacks
2 Inner Midfielders
2 Wingers
1 Forward

Goalkeeper

#13 Fredric McKinley
-Age: 21
-Goaltending: Inadequate (5)

Our lack of depth at goalkeeper hasn’t proven to be a problem yet, but the threat of injury to Darryl Read is always a concern. Frankly speaking, Fredric isn’t a very good keeper. We will be looking to unload Fredric as soon as our financial situation allows us to look for better options.

Central Defenders

#17 Luis Javier Prada
-Age: 21
-Defending: Inadequate (5)

Luis is a young defender that we’re grooming to perhaps take over for Chuck Scales on defense someday. The jury is still out on the young man, however, as he has not made as much progress as we would have liked. He is particularly fond of The Princess Bride.

#12 Brooks Brannon
-Age: 26
-Defending: Inadequate (5)
-Games Played: 4
-Goals Scored: 2

Brooks is a “super-sub,” meaning that he can play a number of positions with a decent level of skill. He can play central defender, inner midfielder, and forward all with some level of success. He and Paul Peralta are the ones most often called upon to replace injured or suspended starters on the first team.

#22 Bill Rubin
-Age: 20
-Defending: Inadequate (5)

Bill was promoted from the youth squad at the very end of last season, so we still don’t know much about him. He has only seen the pitch once so far, and his performance was about what we expected from him. He is fond of Reuben sandwiches. :)

Wingbacks

#23 William Brown
-Age: 20
-Defending: Passable (6)
-Winger: Inadequate (5)
-Games Played: 6
-Goals Scored: 2

Bad Bad Willie Brown is another promising young defender, and is the heir-apparent to Ben McMahon’s spot in the starting line-up. In fact, due to his solid play early in the current season, he has seen quite a bit of playing time and has faired well thus far. Willie is specially fast, and excels at beating wingers to the corner. He looks to have a bright future playing for SSFC.

#25 Paul Peralta
-Age: 27
-Defending: Passable (6)
-Winger: Weak (4)
-Games Played: 7
-Goals Scored: 0

Paul is perhaps the most valuable member of the second team. This is because, while he lacks any spectacular skills, he can play nearly any position on the pitch with some level of success. Because of this, he is one of our main back-ups when it comes to replacing injured or suspended starters. He has yet to score a goal in seven competitive matches, but has contributed to the team in many other ways.

Inner Midfielders

#18 Herbert Nelson
-Age: 24
-Playmaking: Passable (6)

Herb is an ugly, ugly man. He has apparently attempted one too many headers in his lifetime.

#20 Felix Pedersen
-Age: 21
-Playmaking: Inadequate (5)

A dour young man with no real future in professional soccer. I’ve suggested that he try stand-up comedy, but I don’t think he got the joke.

Wingers

#14 Jeffrey Nolan
-Age: 25
-Winger: Inadequate (5)
-Playmaking: Weak (4)
-Set Pieces: Passable (6)

Jeff is just a downright good guy, and is one of the most popular players on the team. While his skills as a winger are a little bit lacking, his experience and leadership abilities with the younger players on the team are invaluable. He is also skilled at set pieces, and is the captain for the second team.

#16 Otis Johnson
-Age: 19
-Winger: Weak (4)
-Playmaking: Inadequate (5)

Otis has alright skills for his age, but is unlikely to ever be anything more than a back-up. He has been infatuated with pirates ever since he was a child, though, and loves playing for SSFC.

Forward

#9 Ruben Stewart
-Age: 21
-Scoring: Passable (6)
-Games Played: 12
-Goals Scored: 9

Ruben was the #2 striker on our starting squad for most of last season, and accumulated nine goals in twelve matches before losing his starting spot to “Gump.” He is none too fond of Forrest, and has made it known that he would like us to sell him to a team where he can be a starter again. Unfortunately for Ruben, he is our best back-up at forward, so it is unlikely he will be going anywhere soon.

Up Next: I will get you all caught up on the state of affairs with SSFC thus far in our second season (Hattrick Season 18). Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:16 AM

Season 2 – Cup Match #1

Kingpin F.C. vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: December 11, 2002
Venue: Kingpin FC Arena (Dallas, TX)
Attendance: 4989 (7000)
Weather: Overcast

Our team didn’t receive an invitation to the U.S.A. Cup in our first season, so the players were understandably nervous about this match. Kingpin F.C. was a relatively new team, and we expected no real trouble from them. Normally, we would have played our second team in this situation, but after the off-season, we wanted to get our starters onto the pitch in order to get them ready for the start of league play. We made three changes to our normal starters. William Brown, one of our defensive trainees, would start in place of veteran wingback Ben McMahon, who has done little to impress in the off-season. Otis Johnson would also start, replacing Olav Mauffret on the wing. Olav, in turn, would play midfield, as we chose to rest the old-timer, Pete Tomlin.

Formation: 3-5-2
Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #10 Olav Mauffret
Left Winger: #8 Max Dodge

Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Match Report

Screamin' had a good opportunity to score the lead goal but the home team goaltender Shawn Carver saved Chuck Scales´s shot headed for the top corner. After 37 minutes Screamin's Forrest Tobias made his way through the middle, putting the visitors up 0 - 1. Screamin's William Brown got himself booked after a foul. The Kingpin player was Honorio Contreras who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game. Lucian Tere came close to extending the visitors lead as he, completely unmarked in front of the goal, lifted a ball over Shawn Carver, hitting the bar. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 65 percent, dominated the battle.

It was one fine day for Max Dodge at his wing, especially delicate was his cross pass serving to Otis Johnson after 49 minutes of play, but the keeper saved. Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 77:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 2. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The away team´s Forrest Tobias took advantage of a mistake to the home side´s right in the 77:th minute increasing Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 3. By now Screamin' were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 80:th minute Screamin' goal, making it 0 - 4. Chuck Scales was noted down as the scorer. After 86 minutes of game time Charlie Bautista received an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but Shawn Carver was in the right place, tipping the ball to a corner. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 90 percent possession rate.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Kingpin F.C. 0

Goals
Tobias – 2 (1,2)
Henriksson – 1 (1)
Scales – 1 (1)

Cards
Brown (yellow)

Comments

Things were a little dicey early in the match, as we had only a one goal lead and Shawn Carver played very well in Kingpin’s net. We finally rattled him in the 77th minute, however, as Henriksson and Tobias scored in rapid succession. Three minutes later, Chuck Scales added a gravy goal, and the match was decided.

Player Ratings

Hattrick rates individual performances in star ratings. Here are the number of stars that each of our players earned in this match:

Read: **1/2

Brown: **
Scales: ***
Lucas: **1/2

Johnson: **
Tere: **
Bautista: ***
Mauffret: **
Dodge: *1/2

Tobias: **1/2
Henriksson: **1/2

Team Match MVP: #6 Charlie Bautista

Team Ratings

Hattrick rates team performances with the same rating system that is used for rating player skills. Here are the performance ratings for both teams.

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Kingpin F.C.
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Wretched (2)
-Central Defense: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)

It’s easy to see why this was such a mismatch.

Up Next: We open up league play by hosting another recently promoted team, Croats In Miami. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:16 AM

Season 2 – League Match #1

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Croats In Miami

Date: December 15, 2002
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 15,784 (17,350)
Weather: Overcast

We began our first campaign in Division Four today against Croats In Miami, another team that was promoted from Division Five at the end of last season. At first glance, it looked to be a relatively even match, as we seemed to have similar talent levels. But after looking at game film, we noticed something peculiar about the Croats. They played the ever-popular 3-5-2 formation, but always removed their left wingback to gain a fifth midfielder, instead of replacing a central defender. They also seemed to do a poor job of compensating for this gap in their defense. We stacked our offense to the right side of the pitch, in order to hopefully take advantage of the oversight.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #3 Ben McMahon
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #23 William Brown

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

We’ve been quite pleased with the performance of the youngster William Brown, so decided to start him and save Arlen Lucas for Wednesday’s cup match. Olav Mauffret and Pete Tomlin returned to their normal positions at winger and midfield, respectively. Otis Johnson was selected to play in place of Max Dodge, who has been in poor form lately. With the upcoming cup match in mind, we also chose to rest Forrest Tobias. His replacement was Ruben Stewart, the man whose job he stole at the tail end of last season.

Match Report

Screamin's Lucian Tere gave, after 24 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Visitors Xu Tze-Kei was alert on a play coming in from the left, making the score a tie at 1 - 1 in the 30:th minute. The 32nd minute saw the home team take a 2 - 1 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for Screamin' was Johannes Henriksson. The referee showed Screamin's Pete Tomlin the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Screamin' were given a penalty in the 35:th, neatly put away by Johannes Henriksson. 3 - 1 for the home side. A lovely rush by Screamin''s Ruben Stewart pastJoe Howe could have resulted in a goal, but the finish was just outside. Screamin' put themselves up 4 - 1 when Johannes Henriksson broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. By then Johannes Henriksson was a three time scorer - a hat trick! After this Screamin' lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. Halftime score was 4 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 56 percent possession of the ball.

After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Croats´s Tony Allen got himself booked. After 59 minutes Lucian Tere put Screamin' ahead 5 - 1 as he rose to head in a hooked ball, the result of an effort from the right side. A great save by goaltender Jan Evering in the 63rd minute kept the visitors in the game as Johannes Henriksson struck from the left with a real cannonball. With 66 minutes played Olav Mauffret could have brought this one home for Screamin', had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 67 percent possession rate.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, Croats in Miami 1

Goals
Henriksson – 3 (2,3,4)
Tere – 2 (1,2)

Cards
Tomlin (yellow)

Player Ratings

Read: **1/2

McMahon: **
Scales: ***
Brown: **1/2

Mauffret: **1/2
Bautista: **1/2
Tomlin: **
Tere: **
Johnson: **

Henriksson: **1/2
Stewart: *1/2

Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Croats In Miami
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Comments

Our strategy for the season opener worked like a charm, and team captain Johannes Henriksson earned his second career hat trick. We were also pleasantly surprised with the offensive production we received from Lucian Tere, who is typically more of a possession-type midfielder. We will face the Croats again at the tail end of the season, and I doubt we will see them make the same mistake twice.

Up Next: We enter the second round of the U.S.A. Cup. We will travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Democrats. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:17 AM

Season 2 – Cup Match #2

Democrats vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: December 18, 2002
Venue: Freaks Arena (Washington D.C.)
Attendance: 4,870 (7,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Our draw in the second round of the U.S.A. Cup looked to be a relatively easy one. Democrats was a team from America’s Division Five, and played a standard 4-4-2 formation. This meant that, with a 3-5-2 formation, we should be able to dominate the midfield and therefore get the majority of the scoring chances. Because of this, we elected to play most of our second team, still confident that we could advance.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Fredric McKinley

Right Wingback: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #17 Luis Javier Prada
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #8 Max Dodge
Inner Midfielder: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #20 Felix Pedersen
Inner Midfielder: #18 Herbert Nelson
Left Winger: #14 Jeffrey Nolan

Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #12 Brooks Brannon

Three starters were used to supplement the talent level for the match; wingback Arlen Lucas, winger Max Dodge, and forward Forrest Tobias.

Match Report

After a fine move down the middle Daniel Mcgrath nearly gave the home side one up in the 17:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. Screamin' took the lead in the games 24:th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Jeffrey Nolan was the scorer. Screamin'´s Brooks Brannon received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 24:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 2. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. Mi Li-Ken challenged the visitors full backs eagerly, producing a good chance in the 29:th minute as he went for a through ball combination. But as so many times before, the guest´s defensive efforts got the best of it as a defenders The referee showed Screamin's Brooks Brannon the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. 37 minutes into the game Mi Li-Ken had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Thomas Felix. After 38 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Brooks Brannon who increased Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 3. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 3. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 70 percent, dominated the battle.

Jeffrey Nolan could have added one to the visitors lead if his free kick had gone just a little lower. In the 67:th minute the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 4 as William Brown finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. In the game's 87:th minute Demo´s Marco King limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 92 percent possession rate.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Democrats 0

Goals
Brannon – 2 (1,2)
Nolan – 1 (1)
Brown – 1 (1)

Cards
Brannon (yellow)

Player Ratings

McKinley: *1/2

Brown: **1/2
Prada: *1/2
Lucas: **1/2

Dodge: *1/2
Peralta: *1/2
Pedersen: *1/2
Nelson: *1/2
Nolan: *1/2

Tobias: **1/2
Brannon: *1/2

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Democrats
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Comments

We were pleasantly surprised with results from this match. While we fully expected a victory and a trip to the third round, we did not expect a 4-nil shutout by our second team. Brooks Brannon was particularly busy with two goals and a yellow card. And William Brown’s scissor kick goal was a thing of beauty, let me tell you!

Up Next: We return to league play, with a tough match-up on the road against Neon Genesis Evangelion. This one was exciting. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:18 AM

Season 2 – League Match #2

Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: December 22, 2002
Venue: Shinji’s Stadium (Pennsylvania)
Attendance: 52,796 (67,000)
Weather: Overcast

N.G.E. looked to be our toughest competition to date. Although our midfield was superior, they boasted a solid offense and a ferocious defense. And to make matters worse, the match was on the road. Pre-season polls had picked Neon Genesis Evangelion to finish second in the series, and we definitely appeared to be the underdogs. We would be satisfied with a draw in what was sure to be a tough match.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #23 William Brown

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

We made two changes to our standard line-up, one at wingback and one at winger. At wingback, we felt that Ben McMahon still wasn’t playing up to snuff, and could not deny the intensity with which William Brown had been playing lately. We also were displeased with Max Dodge’s continued troubles early in the season, and replaced him with Otis Johnson, a young backup who had played well thus far.

Match Report

A well placed corner kick from Johannes Henriksson was followed by Arlen Lucas´s hard but accurate header. The nice combination meant 0-1 for Screamin'. In the game's 17:th minute Screamin'´s Lucian Tere limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. EVAs Leslie Smiley got himself booked after a foul. The Screamin' player was Otis Johnson who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game. Frederick Ayres was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Johan S. Beckquist managed to kick one of them into 1 - 1 in the 27:th minute. EVA broke through to the left in the 40:th minute, Steven Fortune firing at an acute angle giving the home side a 2 - 1 lead. In the games 41st minute EVA´s Michael Waldrop fell dramatically just outside the penalty area.The referee, however booked Michael Waldrop for taking a dive. The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 1. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 57 percent, dominated the battle.

47 minutes into the game Screamin'´s William Brown found a gap in the home sides central defense scoring with a long shot, making it 2 - 2. Screamin' had to manage with a reduced squad from the 54:th minute on, as Arlen Lucas got sent off for a foul in a free situation. Screamin' had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 75:th minute when Olav Mauffret came up alone against Xian Wai-Wah who managed a block. Screamin' took the lead after 76 minutes with 2 - 3. Chuck Scales placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. Screamin' came close to extending their lead as Forrest Tobias delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was to sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 80 percent, dominated the battle.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2

Goals
Lucas – 1 (1)
Brown – 1 (2)
Scales – 1 (2)

Cards
Lucas (red)

Player Ratings

Read: **1/2

Lucas: ??? (Ratings are not provided for ejected players)
Scales: ***
Brown: **1/2

Johnson: *1/2 (injured)
-Peralta: ** (replaced Johnson)
Tere: **
Tomlin: **
Bautista: **1/2
Mauffret: **1/2

Tobias: **1/2
Henriksson: **1/2

Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Neon Genesis Evangelion
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)

Comments

Woohoo! Chuck Scales is da man! :D After we scratched back to earn a draw, our central defender knocks home the game winner with only 15 minutes remaining. The lads carried Chuck off the pitch and were buying him beers for days after that one! The ironic thing about this match was that all three of our goals came from our three defenders.

The bad news is that Arlen Lucas was ejected. Not only was he removed from this match, leaving us a man down (making our comeback even more unlikely), he will also be unavailable to play in our upcoming Cup match, which looks to be a tough one.

All the same, I’ll take it. Any league road win is a good one, especially against a good team.

Up Next: Our round 3 cup draw looks to be a very tough one, as we face off against FC Zeljeznicar from U.S.A. Division Three. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:18 AM

Season 2 – Cup Match #3

Screamin’ Seamen vs. FC Zeljeznicar

Date: December 25, 2002
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 17,350 (17,350)
Weather: Cloudy

Going into the third round of the U.S.A. Cup, we encountered something completely new to us. For the first time in the short history of the franchise, we found ourselves honestly out-matched on every side of the ball. Offensively and defensively, FC Zeljeznicar looked like the obvious favorites. This was somewhat to be expected, however, since they were from U.S.A.’s Division Three.

All the same, the fact that it was a home game in front of a sellout crowd gave us hope. We could find no real tactical flaws in the sort of game Zeljeznicar typically played. In fact, they proved to be somewhat unpredictable, so we put together the best team that we could and hoped for the best.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #3 Ben McMahon
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #23 William Brown

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Fredric McKinley
-Defender: #17 Luis Javier Prada
-Inner Midfielder: #20 Felix Pedersen
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #8 Max Dodge

We had to play our starters to have any chance of advancing to the fourth round, but did make a couple of changes. The suspension of Arlen Lucas forces us to start Brown and McMahon at wingback. Also, winger Max Dodge has yet to show us anything this season, but we have an experienced alternative in Paul Peralta.

Match Report

After 15 minutes Zeljo put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Jon Mårtensson finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. A header from Jon Mårtensson connected with a corner kick after 24 minutes, and the ball ended up with Antti Mäkelä of Zeljo who shot the 0-2 goal. After 29 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Bengt Tran who increased Zeljo´s lead to 0 - 3. The structure of the game started to change as Zeljo decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Screamin's William Brown got himself booked after a foul. Juha Byman came close to extending the visitors lead as he, completely unmarked in front of the goal, lifted a ball over Darryl Read, hitting the bar. Zeljo´s Tommy Kjellen received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 35:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 4. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The referee showed Screamin's Lucian Tere the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Bengt Tran spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. 0 - 4 was the half-time score. Zeljo held the ball, with a clear 51 percent possession rate.

After 46 minutes Pete Tomlin could have reduced had it not been for an excellent block by the visitors keeper Bruni Desmarais. In the 48:th minute Johannes Henriksson passed through the guests central line of defense, scoring the 1 - 4 goal. Screamin' managed a superb strike in the 55:th minute that would have left goaltender Bruni Desmarais without a chance, had it been on the inside of the post. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 53 percent, dominated the battle.

Final Score: FC Zeljeznicar 4, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals
Henriksson – 1(5)

Cards
Brown (yellow)
Tere (yellow)

Player Ratings

Read: **1/2

McMahon: **1/2
Scales: ***
Brown: **1/2

Peralta: **
Tomlin: **
Tere: **
Bautista: **1/2
Mauffret: **1/2

Henriksson: **1/2
Tobias: **1/2

Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)

FC Zeljeznicar
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Formidable (9)

Comments

We played 45 minutes of great soccer, but unfortunately this is a 90 minute game. We were down 4-0 at halftime, which was far too steep of a deficit to overcome. Henriksson’s goal was little consolation, and for the first time since the team was formed, we lost a competitive match.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that we can now concentrate on league play and get back to our normal defensive training regimen.

Up Next: Our league match looks to be an easy one this week. We host a relatively new Gazzaly FC team. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:19 AM

Season 2 – Week 3 – League Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Gazzaly FC

Date: December 29, 2002
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 13,739 (17,350)
Weather: Overcast

Team morale was a little low after our first ever loss in a competitive match, but Gazzaly FC looked to be exactly what we needed to recover. A newly formed team that had the misfortune of being placed in Division Four, the visitors looked to be outmatched in every category. We didn’t expect much trouble with this one.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #3 Ben McMahon
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Fredric McKinley
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Inner Midfielder: #18 Herbert Nelson
-Forward: #12 Brooks Brannon
-Winger: #8 Max Dodge

We only made one change to our normal starting lineup, and that was Paul Peralta again playing in place of Max Dodge, who has yet to regain the good form with which he played in our first season.

Match Report

Forrest Tobias gave his Screamin' 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 6:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Olav Mauffret dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Screamin'. Lucian Tere of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 9:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Screamin'´s Forrest Tobias putting the lead up to 3 - 0. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Johannes Henriksson squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 14:th minute, asserting the lead to 4 - 0. 4 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 75 percent possession rate.

Screamin' put themselves up 5 - 0 when Johannes Henriksson broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. After this Screamin' lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. After 71 minutes Paul Peralta put Screamin' ahead 6 - 0 as he rose to head in a hooked ball, the result of an effort from the right side. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 86 percent possession rate.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 6, Gazzaly FC 0

Goals
Tobias – 2(3,4)
Henriksson – 2(6,7)
Mauffret – 1(1)
Peralta – 1(1)

Cards
Tere (yellow)

Player Ratings

Read: **1/2

McMahon: **1/2
Scales: **1/2
Lucas: ***

Mauffret: **1/2
Bautista: **1/2
Tere: *1/2
Tomlin: **
Peralta: **1/2

Tobias: **1/2
Henriksson: **1/2

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack : Inadequate (5)

Gazzaly FC
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Comments

This was about the kind of result we expected from this match, and exactly what the team needed. We jumped out to a huge 4-nil lead in the first 14 minutes, and then were able to put it into cruise control. I am most impressed with the fact that Gazzaly FC never even had a good scoring opportunity against us. A completely dominating performance, without doubt.

Up Next: Our first friendly match of the season, as we host the newly-formed Galesburg Avengers and their manager, Coffee Warlord. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:20 AM

Season 2 – Week 4 – Friendly Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Galesburg Avengers

Date: January 1, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 583 (17,350) (Friendly matches don’t draw much in the way of crowds)
Weather: Rain

We looked to start the new year off right, with a friendly match against Coffee Warlord’s Galesburg Avengers. The Avengers were a new team, but we figured they would be playing their starters against our backups, and the 5-4-1 formation we typically play in friendly matches is far from competitive. We also had a couple of new acquisitions that would be playing as Seamen for the first time. Given all of this, we really had no idea what to expect from the matchup.

New to the team were a pair of 18 year old defenders. First was #24 Christian Kvam. Christian is Finnish, and came over to the U.S. from Oddballs for the price of $18,000. He is 6’3” and excels and defending against headers on cross passes and corner kicks. He is rated as a passable (6) winger and inadequate (5) defender.

Our second addition was #21 Zarpas Lerma, an 18 year old Spaniard. Zarpas came to SSFC from Smiths F.C. in Spain for $6,000. Zarpas is 6’2” and is also good at defending against headers. He is rated as an inadequate (5) winger and inadequate (5) defender.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Fredric McKinley

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #22 Bill Rubin
Central Defender: #17 Luis Javier Prada
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #23 William Brown

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #8 Max Dodge
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #14 Jeffrey Nolan

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #14 Jeffrey Nolan
Set Pieces: #14 Jeffrey Nolan

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #5 Arlen Lucas
-Inner Midfielder: #20 Felix Pedersen
-Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Some positions had been re-arranged, given the presence of our new acquisitions, and some of these players knew that they may very well be playing their last game as a member of SSFC. The two new additions meant that two other players had to go.

Match Report

The referee showed Screamin's Bill Rubin the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. One of many good passes from Wiley Otero at the wing was recieved and skillfully taken care of by Paul Street, scoring for Galesburg to 0 - 1. 34 minutes into the game Max Dodge was really close to evening the score out with a dangerous long range shot, but the ball went just wide of the bar. Screamin's Luis Javier Prada got himself booked after a foul. Ruben Stewart made a superb strike at the goal in the 39:th minute with a long shot coming in from straight in front of the goal, but one of the visitors defenders got a foot in and warded it off to a corner. In the games 41st minute Galesburg´s Paul Street fell dramatically just outside the penalty area.The referee, however booked Paul Street for taking a dive. Screamin' seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. Martin Schrader could have put his team up another one in the 44:th minute, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. After 45 minutes Galesburg´s Daryl Mosley contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. 0 - 1 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 59 percent possession rate.

The Screamin' players spent the half-time break getting a rerun of the teams tactical organization. Due to some great work on the right wing Screamin':s Zarpas Lerma was able to even the score in the 53rd minute to 1 - 1. Jesse Matson of Galesburg received a yellow card in the 54:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Luis Javier Prada gave his Screamin' the lead with 2 - 1, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. Screamin' seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. 81 minutes into the game William Brown had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Arlen Lucas. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 57 percent, dominated the battle.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Galesburg Avengers 1

Goals
Lerma – 1
Prada – 1

Cards
Rubin (yellow)
Prada (yellow)

Player Ratings

McKinley: *

Kvam: **
Rubin: *1/2
Prada: *1/2
Lerma: *1/2
Brown: ** (injured)
-Lucas: *** (replaced injured William Brown)

Johnson: **
Dodge: *1/2
Brannon: **
Nolan: *1/2

Stewart: *

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Galesburg Avengers
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Comments

I have to say that I was quite pleased with the outcome of this one. We’ve been trying to find a way to generate some midfield possession and scoring chances, and were finally able to do it. The two second-half goals and the fact that the Avengers had no good scoring chances in the second half were good signs. The newcomers, Lerma and Kvam, both played well. Kvam took care of business on his wing, and Lerma gave us the game-tying goal.

The bad news is that William Brown’s injury is not a minor one. He is expected to miss the next two weeks. We hope to have him back a little sooner, but can’t count on it.

Up Next: More personnel changes, as the Seamen announce a trade with a team from Division Two. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:21 AM

Season 2 – Week 4 – Roster Changes

Screamin’ Seamen Announce Trade With Middlesex Athletic (January 2, 2003)

Rumors have been circulating regarding a trade by SSFC, and today those rumors were confirmed. Spokesmen announced that youth product Hyman Morey has been traded to Middlesex Athletic (II.4).

In return, SSFC received midfielder Jerry Smith and keeper Cornelius Jernigan. Jernigan is expected to take the #1 jersey from Darryl Read sometime this season.

To make space, SSFC has sold midfielder Herbert Nelson. Jeffrey Nolan, Felix Pedersen, and Fredric McKinley are also transfer listed.

New Faces

In addition to Christian Kvam and Zarpas Lerma, we have added a pair of Americans to the roster as a result of the trade.

#19 Jerry Smith – Inner Midfielder
-Age: 19
-Playmaking: Solid (7)
-Games Played: 2
-Goals Scored: 1

Jerry is a replacement in the making for the aging Pete Tomlin. While his playmaking abilities are good, his conditioning leaves a bit to be desired. Fans can expect to see him break into the starting lineup next season, and he will play in all of our friendly matches up until then.

#13 Cornelius Jernigan – Goalkeeper
-Age: 23
-Goaltending: Solid (7)
-Games Played: 17
-Goals Allowed: 39
-Goals Against Average: 2.29
-Clean Sheets: 3

Cornelius is exactly the sort of upgrade we’ve been looking for at the keeper position, and was the linchpin in the trade with Middlesex Athletic. Without him, no deal would have been struck. While his statistics and GAA does not rival that of Darryl Read, they are a result of Cornelius playing in Division Two for his entire career. His skills exceed those of Darryl, and we fully expect him to become our #1 keeper as soon as he shakes the rust off and becomes accustomed to our defensive system.

Hyman Morey was a youth pull who was valued at $213,000, and was by far the best youth pull our squad has produced thus far. At 19 years old, he was rated as solid in both playmaking and defending, making him an excellent candidate for a defensive midfielder position. I was tempted to keep him, or see what we could get on the transfer market, but the temptation of finally landing a solid keeper with some experience (Jernigan) was too great to resist.

Wave Goodbye

Because we’ve added four new players this week, we had to let four others go. The following four men are no longer a part of Screamin’ Seamen FC, and we wish them all the luck in the world (unless we happen to play against them, naturally).

Herbert Nelson (Inner Midfielder): Sold to Los Dorados de Villa (Texas) for $21,000.

Felix Pedersen (Inner Midfielder): Sold to Centennial (Tennessee) for $4,000.

Fredric McKinley (Goalkeeper): Sold to TOL (Netherlands) for $10,000.

Jeffrey Nolan (Winger/2nd Team Captain): Sold to malcziki (Poland) for $1,000.

Jeff was the hardest player to let go. While his skills were a bit under our standards, his leadership abilities will be missed. Unfortunately, we simply no longer had a roster spot for him.

Up Next: Now that we’re pretty much caught up with the state of the current season, I’ll give the lowdown on our team status. After that, we face our toughest league match in team history! Ramblers, the team picked by most to win the series, are coming to town. Be sure not to miss this one!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:22 AM

Season 2 - Team Status

Here is the status of the Screamin' Seamen organization, as we move into the fourth week of league play.

Players

-Players Under Contract: 22
-Nationalities: American (17), Romanian (1), Finnish (1), Swedish (1), Spanish (1), Norwegian (1)
-Average Age: 23 years old
-Total Squad Value: $1,761,000
-Average Player Value: $80,045
-Total Weekly Wages: $24,462

Training and Team Spirit

-Training Level: 97%
-Training Type: Defending (our standard, and the reason we play 5-4-1 in friendly matches)
-Team Spirit: Content
-Confidence: Strong

The Docks

Our team's arena is called the Docks, and can currently seat 17,350 rabid Seamen fans. The number of seats are broken down as follows, by type:

-Terraces: 10,845
-Basic Seating: 4,340
-Seats Under Roof: 1,735
-Seats in VIP Boxes: 430

A home sellout earns us $91,900 in profit, but the stadium costs us $11,271 every week in upkeep, whether we use it or not. It's not all gravy. :)

Financials

We're in a better financial state than a lot of other clubs. A big part of that is due to the fact that I have never allowed my club to go into debt. I do not believe in operating under the break even line. That, combined with the success we have had thus far in league play, means that we are financially sound. We currently have nearly $160,000 in the bank, and receive sponsorship payments of nearly $50,000 every week. Aside from the expenses already mentioned, we also pay out $31,500 per week on out staff, and $20,000 per week on our youth squad. All of this, combined with the income from home games and other sources revenue means that we're doing well, financially.

-Sponsors: Delirious
-Supporter Club (The Swabbies): 1,069 members strong.
-Supporter Attitude: High on Life.

The Club

-Youth Squad Level: Solid (Only one step away from the highest possible; excellent).

Specialists
-Goaltending Coaches: 2
-Assistant Coaches: 7
-Sports Psychologists: 1
-Spokespersons: 3 (or "Spokesladies", typically hired away from The Admiral Theater. Got to keep those other sponsors and supporters happy. :) )
-Physiotherapists: 7
-Doctors: 1

Overall

Overall, we are in very good shape. Our player wages are below average for a Division Four team, yet we continue to win. We have a good training program going, concentrating on developing young defensive talent to either replace aging starters or be sold off in the future. On top of all that, we are financially sound, and continue to generate a small but steady profit.

Up Next: Our toughest match to date, as we face off against Rambers. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:23 AM

Season 2 – Week 4 – League Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Ramblers

Date: January 5, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 17,350 (17,350)
Weather: Sunny

We faced what was clearly the most superior team in the series this week. Ramblers were picked by just about everyone to win the series. Both of our teams had won all three of our league matches up to this point. Technically, we were in first place, but only because our goal differential was one higher than that of the Ramblers.

Ramblers were a particularly frightening team for two reasons. The first was Phillip Gallo. Phillip is certainly one of the premier wingers in the entire nation (and in my opinion, should be playing for the U.S.A. national team). He regularly puts up five stars, is valued at over one million dollars, and is a dominant force on the wing.

The other reason was Eric Holmes. At only 20 years old, Eric is one of the better midfielders in the country, and typically plays in close proximity to Gallo. The two of them make a potent threat to any team, and were sure to give us trouble.

We hoped to contain these two powerhouses, by playing an especially defensive game on their side of the pitch.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #3 Ben McMahon
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #12 Brooks Brannon
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Max Dodge continues to disappoint in practice, and has yet to come anywhere close to the good form he held most of last season. In his place we start Paul Peralta. One of our most experienced players, and a good defensive wingback, it would be Paul’s job to try to contain Phillip Gallo.

Match Report

Ramblers took the lead in the games 5:th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Philip Gallo was the scorer. Screamin's Paul Peralta got himself booked after a foul. Ramblers were forced to a substitution as Perry Maddox couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. Screamin'´s Arlen Lucas made an attempt at equalising in the 28:th minute, coming in from the right, but the ball hit the post, the defense clearing the rebound. Eric Holmes enjoyed the sunshine and demonstrated his stunning technique over and over again. Screamin' tried to reply with long plays towards the centrally placed strikers, but the visitor´s defence got the best of it. The visitors Xiao Hai-Au took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 36:th minute. 0 - 2 for Ramblers. By now Ramblers were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. 0 - 2 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

Screamin's Pete Tomlin got himself booked after a foul. Kurt Arredondo went down after a savage challenge, but could keep on playing after som medical attention. Screamin' didn´t give in and in the 72nd minute Forrest Tobias was able to put the 1 - 2 goal away after a play from the right. In the 75:th minute Ramblerss Ronny Stefansson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. After 85 minutes Charlie Bautista made a dash down the middle past the away teams defenders scoring 2 - 2. When Pete Tomlin made yet another studs first tackle, in the games 86th minute, the referee was obliged to book the Screamin' player for the second time, sending him off the pitch. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 65 percent possession of the ball.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Ramblers 2

Goals
Tobias – 1(5)
Bautista – 1(1)

Cards
Peralta (yellow)
Tomlin (red)

Player Ratings

Read: **1/2

McMahon: **1/2
Scales: ***
Lucas: **1/2

Peralta: **1/2
Tomlin: (ejected)
Tere: *1/2
Bautista: **1/2
Mauffret: *1/2

Henriksson: **1/2
Tobias: **1/2

Team Match MVP: Chuck Scales

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Rambers
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Outstanding (10)

Comments

Woohoo! I have to admit, I am very pleased with the result from this one. A draw is about the best that we could realistically hope for, and that is exactly what we got. Gallo’s early goal made me worry a bit, but we continue to show good form in the second half, and game back from a two goal deficit on clutch goals from Forrest Tobias and Charlie Bauitista. This was Charlie’s first goal of the season, and it could not have come at a better time.

The draw means that we remain at the top of the table in series IV.49, if only by the narrowest of margins. For the first time this season, I honestly believe that we have a shot at winning this thing.

Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin continues to be a mean bastard, and got himself ejected from the game. This also means that he will miss next week’s league match, but it looks to be an easy one, so I am not that concerned about it.

Series Standings

Here is what the table looks like in our series after four weeks of play.

<pre>
Pos. Team Played Goals Points
1. Screamin’ Seamen 4 16-5 10
2. Ramblers 4 13-3 10
3. Farmer of Fire 4 5-6 7
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 4 9-6 6
5. Croats in Miami 4 10-10 6
6. Cariocas 4 8-5 5
7. Gazzaly FC 4 1-11 1
8. Gohira 4 0-16 0
</pre>

Up Next: We host Airhog’s Oklahoma City Rednecks in a friendly match on Wednesday, our last warm-up game before FOFC Cup action begins next week. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:24 AM

Season 2 – Week 4 – Friendly Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Oklahoma City Rednecks

Date: January 8th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 957 (17,350)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

This week we welcomed Airhog’s Oklahoma City Rednecks to Chicago for the last warm-up game before the start of the FOFC Cup. Our big concern going into the match was the poor form some of our reserves were in, due to a lack of playing time earlier in the season. Participation in the U.S.A. Cup tends to have this effect on teams. When you’re forced to play your starters, the form of your reserves can suffer. We hoped that this match would help to get some of our back-ups in fighting trim for the upcoming cup competition.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #22 Bill Rubin
Central Defender: #17 Luis Javier Prada
Left Wingback: #23 William Brown

Right Winger: #8 Max Dodge
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #16 Otis Johnson
Set Pieces: #12 Brooks Brannon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #5 Arlen Lucas
-Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Cornelius Jernigan and Jerry Smith, new to the squad as a result of our trade with Middlesex Athletic, would be wearing SSFC jerseys for the first time today. We were eager to see how the newcomers would perform, particularly Jernigan. We fully expect him to take over as our starting keeper within the next week or two.

We were hesitant to start William Brown, who is still recovering from a nasty blow to the knee in last week’s match against the Galesburg Avengers. Willie has been recovering nicely with the assistance of our team doctors, however, and he assured us that he was ready to go. Coach Brown told him to take it easy, however, and make sure no further damage to the knee was sustained.

Match Report

Screamin' were very close to putting themselves one up in the 14:th minute as Luis Javier Prada got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. Screamin' could have put themselves ahead in the 27:th minute as Ruben Stewart missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right. In the games 27:th minute Oklahoma´s Brice Pratt fell dramatically just outside the penalty area.The referee, however booked Brice Pratt for taking a dive. Screamin' made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Ruben Stewart completely alone with keeper Ted Greenwood, who made a spectacular block. Screamin' created a good opportunity to score in the games 32nd minute when William Brown`s hooked ball created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 0. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 84 percent, dominated the battle.

In the 54:th minute Ruben Stewart almost put the home team one ahead on a cross pass coming in from the right, but the shot went wide. William Brown of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 56:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. In the game's 61st minute Screamin'´s Jerry Smith limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. In the games 71st minute Oklahoma´s Jacob Cummings fell dramatically just outside the penalty area.The referee, however booked Jacob Cummings for taking a dive. Screamin' seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. Joe Morris hit the ball just perfect in the 77:th minute and could score for Oklahoma with a fab long shot to 0 - 1. The referee showed Oklahomas Ken Swain the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The player down was Max Dodge. The Screamin' bench looked worried a while but in the end he managed to get up. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 93 percent possession of the ball.

Final Score: Oklahoma City Rednecks 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals
None

Cards
Brown (yellow)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **

Kvam: **
Lerma: **
Rubin: *1/2
Prada: **
Brown: **1/2

Dodge: * (slight injury)
Smith: *1/2 (slight injury)
Brannon: **
Johnson: **

Stewart: *

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Wretched (2)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Oklahoma City Rednecks
-Midfield: Disastrous (1)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Comments

This was one of the most frustrating performances by our players that I’ve ever had to witness. We completely dominated the possession game, and must have had at least five good scoring opportunities. We simply weren’t able to capitalize on any of them. Ruben Stewart’s form has been suffering lately, and it was terribly obvious today. We have to seriously consider the possibility of benching him during the FOFC cup, unless his play improves dramatically.

Still, we have to give credit where credit is due. Airhog and the Rednecks took advantage of the opportunities that they did have, and walked away with the win. We take our hats off to them.

Up Next: Weekly updates occur on Saturday, so we will update the status of the team (financial and otherwise) then. After that, we travel to San Francisco to take on Gohira in league play. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:25 AM

Stubbs Promoted From Youth Squad, Finds Spot on SSFC Roster

(AP – Chicago, IL) Data King, GM and owner of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, announced earlier today that a new player had been added to the SSFC roster. Keith Stubbs, an 18 year old defender from nearby Schaumburg, Illinois, was promoted from the club’s youth squad and has been granted a space on the B-Team roster.

“Keith looks to be a decent young player on the back line,” stated King during a brief press conference. “He still needs some seasoning, but is significantly younger than some of our other defensive trainees.”

When asked if this meant SSFC would be selling the rights to another of their defensive trainees, King refused to comment.

Stubbs was officially placed on the Screamin’ Seamen payroll earlier today, with a modest listed salary of $30,160.

Youth Pull

Keith Stubbs has been promoted from the youth squad and will play with our second team. He is rated as inadequate (5) in defending, and is two years younger than one of our other inadequate defenders, Bill Rubin. Bill will be placed on the transfer market soon, for anyone who may be interested. Keith will wear the #20 jersey for SSFC, and will see his first action this Wednesday against the Hamas Mad Bombers.

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $159, 040

Income

Crowd (home match vs. Ramblers) - $91,900
Crowd (friendly match vs. Oklahoma City Rednecks) - $2,507
Sponsors - $51,150
Temporary (sale of keeper Fredric McKinley) - $9,000
Temporary (sale of winger Jeffrey Nolan) - $920
Temporary (sale of youth winger Amburaja Pai) - $1,840
Temporary (26 new supporters) - $780

Total Income: $158,097

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $26,512
Temporary (youth squad pull) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer market listing) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $93,783

Net Income/Loss: $64,314

New Balance: $223,354

As you can see, we’re in pretty good shape financially. Part of this is because three of our first four league matches were home games, and we only have four home matches in the last ten weeks of the season.

We’re pretty well off, all the same, but barring any more good youth pulls like Hyman Morey, I have no plans to make any major personnel changes for the remainder of the season. We will hold onto our money, and see what would be most beneficial for us come the end of the season.

Up Next: We’re in San Francisco, preparing for a match against a winless Gohira team. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:25 AM

Season 2 – League Match #5

Gohira vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: January 12, 2003
Venue: Gohira Arena (San Francisco, CA)
Attendance: 3,908 (11,150)
Weather: Partly cloudy

We traveled to San Francisco this weekend to face a struggling Gohira team that had yet to score a goal this season, much less win a match. Given the tremendous mismatch that this game was, we fully expected a win, and an easy win at that.

The tricky part of the match was that our main competition for the series title, Ramblers, were facing off against the other struggling team in the series, Gazzaly FC. We went into the match in first place, but only because of a one goal lead in goal differential. If Ramblers were to score more goals than us, we could potentially lose our first place standing.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #3 Ben McMahon
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Expecting an easy match, we decided to start a couple of our younger players this week. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin was serving out his suspension, which opened the door for Jerry Smith to make his first start as a Seaman. 19 year old winger Otis Johnson also got to start for us, instead of a frustrating Max Dodge.

Match Report

In the games 10:th minute Charlie Bautista almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a spectacular scissors shot just past the bar. A mistake by the home sides central defence in the 17:th minute allowed Johannes Henriksson to score 0 - 1 for Screamin'. After the ball got lifted in from the left Forrest Tobias was on his own in the home side´s penalty area 28 minutes into the game, and should have scored, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 75 percent possession rate.

Screamin'´s Otis Johnson received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 50:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 2. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. In the game's 53rd minute Gohira´s Vance Gomes limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Arlen Lucas seemed to be floating in the air at will as he elegantly headed in 0-3. The previous Screamin' corner kick was executed by Johannes Henriksson. After the ball got lifted in from the left Forrest Tobias was on his own in the home side´s penalty area 60 minutes into the game, and should have scored, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. Forrest Tobias increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 4. In the games 69:th minute Screamin'´s Ben Mcmahon fell dramatically just outside the penalty area.The referee, however booked Ben Mcmahon for taking a dive. The away team´s Lucian Tere took advantage of a mistake to the home side´s right in the 71st minute increasing Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 5. After this Screamin' lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. Chuck Scales increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 6. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 89 percent possession of the ball.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 6, Gohira 0

Goals
Henriksson – 1(8)
Johnson – 1(1)
Lucas – 1(2)
Tobias – 1(6)
Tere – 1(3)
Scales – 1(3)

Cards
McMahon (yellow)

Player Ratings

Read: **1/2

McMahon: **
Scales: ***
Lucas: ***

Johnson: **
Tere: *1/2
Smith: *1/2
Bautista: **
Mauffret: **

Tobias: **1/2
Henriksson: **1/2

Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Gohira
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Comments

We were a bit concerned at halftime, because Gohira had done a good job of containing our offense, and we only led by one goal. At the same time, Ramblers had jumped out to a huge 4-0 lead over Gazzaly FC. Fortunately for us, the flood gates opened in the second half. We ended up with six goals from six different players. Very nice all-around offensive production. Even better news came after the match, when we learned that Ramblers had won their match 6-0 as well. Of course, this meant that we would hold on to first place in the series for at least one more week.

Johannes Henriksson had a special reason to celebrate when he scored his first half goal. That goal was a milestone for him, the 50th goal in the Swedish striker’s career. Congratulations go out to Johannes. That’s quite an accomplishment.

Series Scores and Standings

-As I mentioned before, Ramblers dominated their match with Gazzaly FC, winning 6-nil.
-Cariocas appears to be coming apart at the seems. They fell 5-nil to Neon Genesis Evangelion.
-Croats in Miami put together a solid performance, defeating Farmer of Fire 3-1.

<pre>
Pos. Team Played Goals Points
1. Screamin’ Seamen 5 22-5 13
2. Ramblers 5 19-3 13
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion 5 14-6 9
4. Croats in Miami 5 13-11 9
5. Farmer of Fire 5 6-9 7
6. Cariocas 5 8-10 5
7. Gazzaly FC 5 1-17 1
8. Gohira 5 0-22 0
</pre>

Up Next: The 2nd FOFC Cup begins this Wednesday. The Screamin’ Seamen travel to Idaho for the first half of a home-and-home series against the Hamas Mad Bombers. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:26 AM

Season 2 – FOFC Cup Round 1 – First Leg

Hamas Mad Bombers vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: January 15, 2003
Venue: Hamas Mad Bombers Arena (Idaho)
Attendance: 485 (7,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy

We’ve drawn astralhaze’s Hamas Mad Bombers in the first round of the 2nd Annual FOFC Cup, and we open the home-and-home competition at the Bombers’ home stadium in Idaho.

As much as I would like to play my starters in this matchup, I simply cannot bring myself to do it. My first priority is doing as well as possible in league play, and since we’re currently in first place, I cannot bring myself to run the risk of injury to my starters. I also insist on playing all of my players in a given week if at all possible, so as not to damage their form. Having a back-up who is in decent form and is ready to rumble when the call comes can be a big factor late in the season.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan

Right Wingback: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #17 Luis Javier Prada
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #8 Max Dodge

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #25 Paul Peralta
Set Pieces: #12 Brooks Brannon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #5 Arlen Lucas
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

You may notice that there are a few changes here to our typical starting eleven for friendly matches.

1. Recent youth call-up Keith Stubbs will make his first appearance wearing the black and red. Because he’s untested, we’ve sandwiched him between Prada and Kvam, two of the better defensemen who will see the pitch today.
2. Bill Rubin is no longer a member of the Screamin’ Seamen. Airhog’s Oklahoma City Rednecks snatched him up off the transfer market earlier today for $3,000. Hopefully the warmer climate down there will suit Bill better, and we wish him and the Rednecks all the best.
3. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin served out his suspension this past weekend, and was unable to play in our league match. We don’t want the old man to get rusty, however, so #4 gets the nod at midfield.

Match Report

Screamin's Brooks Brannon got himself booked after a foul. Bombers´s Jacob Hendrickson left the field after 10 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Jimmie Carroll. In the 16:th minute the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as Austin Atkins flipped the ball after a cross pass from the right. David Cornelius of Bombers received a yellow card in the 20:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 65 percent possession rate.

Screamin' got a chance to level the score as Zarpas Lerma suddenly found himself free with the goaltender but the finishing shot hit the bar. Keith Stubbs of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 61st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The crowd was silenced in the 62nd minute as the visiting teams Luis Javier Prada came in from the left, levelling the score to 1 - 1. This was a good period for the visitors with several opportunities to take the lead, in particular when William Brown slipped through the defense to come up alone with Alejandro Bayo - but the home side´s keeper showed some lightning reflex Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 88 percent, dominated the battle.

Final Score: Hamas Mad Bombers 1, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals
Prada – 1

Cards
Brannon (yellow)
Stubbs (yellow)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **1/2

Brown: **
Lerma: **
Prada: **
Stubbs: *1/2
Kvam: **

Peralta: **
Tomlin: **1/2
Brannon: *1/2
Dodge: *

Stewart: *

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)

Hamas Mad Bombers
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Comments

We certainly had out opportunities, especially in the second half with a whopping 88% of the ball possession. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t finish on the opportunities that we had. Lerma’s shot off the bar really hurt, as that could very well have been the difference. I am particularly impressed with the Bombers’ keeper Bayo. He snatched the ball away from William Brown, who is one of the fastest guys on my team (specialty: quick).

Ruben Stewart continues to frustrate the hell out of me. He has been going steadily downhill, and now has a four game scoring drought. As much as I hate to buy backups (my theory is to let starters who are surpassed become the backups), I may be forced to sell Ruben and do just that. Right now, an injury to Henriksson or Tobias would really hurt my team.

As disappointed as I am with Ruben, I still have to come away from the match satisfied with the result. Aside from Stewart and Dodge, our reserves played well, and we managed a 1-1 draw on the road. In my mind, that’s the equivalent of a victory in a home-and-home situation. Now its up to the Bombers to come to Chicago and beat us in our own back yard next week.

Up Next: Training results occur on Fridays, and I plan to start documenting the highlights of our weekly training then. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:27 AM

Two Screamin’ Defensemen Take A Step Forward

(AP – Chicago, IL) The Screamin’ Seamen Football Club held their weekly player evaluation meetings earlier today, and appear to have a great deal to be thankful for in the new year. Team owner and general manager Data King met briefly with the press once the meetings had concluded.

“We feel that two of our defensemen have really taken a step up in the past week,” said King. “We were extremely pleased to learn that young Keith Stubbs appears even better than we thought when he was promoted from our youth program last week. He performed well in Wednesday’s match against the Bombers, and has been picking up our defensive system at an impressive pace.”

“But even more impressive is Chuck Scales,” King continued. “Chuck has been with us since the beginning, and has without a doubt become our best defender. He has really come into his own this season, especially in the last week or two. We’ve even received a couple of informal calls regarding him, asking if we had any intention of placing him on the market anytime soon.”

King paused here for a moment, then said with a smile. “Not a chance in hell.”

The Seamen return home for the first time in a week and a half this weekend, when they host a struggling 6th place Cariocas team.

Weekly Training Update

We had two players “pop” in skill level this week. Our starting central defender, Chuck Scales, moved up to an “excellent” rating in defense, our first player to reach a rating of excellent (8) in any attribute besides stamina and form. Although his assessed value is only $92,000 at the moment, this is the area where assessed value become really unreliable. Once you get into players rated at excellent, the price on the transfer market can really skyrocket, due in large part to the rarity of such players. At the moment, there are only two excellent defenders listed on the American market, and none in Chuck’s age range (he’s 23). I suspect that, if sold, he could garner somewhere in the $300,000 to $500,000 range. Not that I intend to sell him anytime soon.

The other skill “pop” that we had was a complete surprise. Last week’s youth pull, Keith Stubbs, has increased from inadequate (5) to passable (6) defending in only one week. I had toyed with the idea of keeping Rubin instead of Stubbs, but I’m sure glad that I didn’t. Although his assessed value is only $19,000 right now, the fact that he is only 18 makes him much more valuable than that. I suspect that we could net somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000 were we to sell Keith right now. But again, I have no intentions of selling either of these guys anytime soon.

The other good news is that it appears Ruben Stewart may finally be coming out of his slump, as his form has increased for the first time since back in November when he lost his starting job to Forrest Tobias. He still has a way to go, but hopefully it will be enough for us to get past the Hamas Mad Bombers on Wednesday.

Also, Cornelius Jernigan continues to improve in form, having gained three levels since we acquired him from Middlesex Athletic. But starting keeper Darryl Read has no intention of letting his starting spot slip away, and is now in solid form for the second consecutive week (he has only been in solid form once before during his career, and that was for one week). So it looks like we have an intense battle for the starting keeper spot in the making.

Team Average Form: 5.3 (same as last week)
Team Average Value: $85,409 (up $2,454 from last week’s $82,955)

Up Next: Although weekly updates occur on Saturday evening, I’m not likely to get to those or our weekly youth pull until Sunday. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:28 AM

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $223,354

Income

Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Hamas Mad Bombers) - $1,107
Sponsors - $52,500
Temporary (sale of defender Bill Rubin) - $2,760
Temporary (26 new supporters) - $780

Total Income: $57,147

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $24,962
Temporary (youth squad pull) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer market listing) - $1,000
Temporary (fired 2 team doctors) - $3,000
Staff & Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $95,233

Net Income/Loss: -$38,086

New Balance: $185,268

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Satisfied
Team Confidence: Strong

Sponsor Attitude: Delirious
Supporter Attitude: High on Life
Supporters: 1,121 (up 26 from last week)

Up Next: We host a struggling Cariocas team in league play this evening, as we try to cling to first place in the series. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:29 AM

Season 2 – League Match #6

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Cariocas

Date: January 19th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 17,350 (17,350)
Weather: Overcast

This week we returned home for the first time in a week and a half. We would play host to a struggling Cariocas team. Cariocas had some talent on their squad, but what they seriously lacked was depth. They were seriously short of substitutes. Between that and some questionable tactics by their leadership, they had fallen to 6th place on the table.

I had no doubt that we could handle Cariocas. There was plenty of confidence around the locker room and practice field all week. My concern was that the Ramblers were playing Gohira this week, the team that we smashed just a week ago. If the Ramblers blew out a hapless Gohira team, then we very well could lose our hold on first place.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #3 Ben McMahon

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Paul Peralta has been playing like a house a’fire as of late (read: excellent form), so he gets to start on the wing opposite our Finn, Olav Mauffret. Aside from that, it’s business as usual for the Seamen, now that Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin has returned from his suspension.

Match Report

Screamin's Forrest Tobias gave, after 11 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Screamin' were given a penalty in the 13th, neatly put away by Johannes Henriksson. 2 - 0 for the home side. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 3 - 0. Paul Peralta finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. Halftime score was 3 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 67 percent possession rate.

Forrest Tobias increased Screamin's lead to 4 - 0 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. In the 59:th minute Screamin's Lucian Tere received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Cariocass Bill Gustafson had to leave the pitch, the team having noone to substitute him with! After an industrious effort down the middle Paul Peralta could have closed the game off in the 71st minute, but his finishing shot hit the post. Man, what a shot by Mike Miller! Firing from 35 yards he didn't give the enemy goalie a chance and it was 4 - 1. The visitors replied in the games 75:th minute, scoring the 4 - 2 goal, as Julius Ball broke through from the left, easily lobbing the ball over the home teams keeper. In the games 75:th minute Kyle Levine recieved a blow to the hip due to a collision, and was unable to continue. Cariocas had made all their substitutions, and were forced to go on with a reduced lineup. Several players now looked tired, especially Chuck Scales who quite horribly caused the 4 - 3 goal as he lost the ball to Juan Luis Garrido of Cariocas, who seemed to have some energy left. A header from Charlie Bautista connected with a corner kick after 80 minutes, and the ball ended up with Forrest Tobias of Screamin' who shot the 5-3 goal. By then Forrest Tobias was a three time scorer - a hat trick! Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Forrest Tobias squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 83rd minute, asserting the lead to 6 - 3. The structure of the game started to change as Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Cariocas had made all their substitutions when Hendrick de Boer had to leave the game in the 84:th minute because of a pulled tendon, leaving the team a man short. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 76 percent possession rate.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 6, Cariocas 3

Goals
Tobias – 4(7,8,9,10)
Henriksson – 1(9)
Peralta – 1(2)

Cards
Tere (yellow-suspended)

Player Ratings

Read: **1/2

Lucas: ***
Scales: **1/2
McMahon: **

Peralta: **1/2
Tomlin: **1/2
Bautista: **
Tere: *1/2
Mauffret: **1/2

Tobias: **1/2
Henriksson: **1/2

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Cariocas
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Comments

It certainly looked like we would cruise to an easy win after the first half, when Cariocas never even got any solid scoring opportunities. But I have no idea what happened there in the second half. Normally we’re a solid second-half team, but for some reason we fell apart for a 5-minute span and allowed three goals! It seems like the players that Cariocas was missing from the field opened up enough space for those remaining to start scoring goals. Combine that with a rare mistake from Chuck Scales, and you’ve got yourself a frightened football club on your hands.

Fortunately for us, Forrest Tobias would have none of that. He gave us some insurance while tallying the second hattrick of his short career. Overall, four goals on the day for the young striker. Way to go Gump!

Unfortunately for us, what I feared would happen did. The Ramblers demolished Gohira 7-1 and took a 2 goal lead in the goal differential race.

Series Scores and Standings

-As I mentioned, Ramblers dominated Gohira 7-1 and claimed first place in the series.
-Croats in Miami demolished Gazzaly FC, 7-nil.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion’s defense was stout once more, as they shut out Farmer of Fire 3-nil.

<pre>
Pos. Team Played Goals Points
1. Ramblers 6 26-4 16
2. Screamin’ Seamen 6 28-8 16
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion 6 17-6 12
4. Croats in Miami 6 20-11 12
5. Farmer of Fire 6 6-12 7
6. Cariocas 6 11-16 5
7. Gazzaly FC 6 1-24 1
8. Gohira 6 1-29 0
</pre>

Up Next: We play the second leg of our first-round FOFC Cup matchup against Hamas Mad Bombers this Wednesday. A win, and we advance to the 2nd round to face the Toads. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 11:30 AM

Season 2 – FOFC Cup Round 1 – Second Leg

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Hamas Mad Bombers

Date: January 22, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 1,010 (17,350)
Weather: Cloudy

After our 1-1 draw in the first leg of our FOFC Cup matchup, we returned home to host astralhaze’s Hamas Mad Bombers.

The plan was to concentrate on defense and ball possession, and hold the Bombers scoreless, a task more easily said than done. But given the rules for the FOFC Cup, even a scoreless draw would mean that we would advance to the second round.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #17 Luis Javier Prada
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #23 William Brown

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #8 Max Dodge

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #16 Otis Johnson
Set Pieces: #12 Brooks Brannon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #5 Arlen Lucas
-Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

There were no significant changes to our lineup this week, as we had no injuries or suspensions to compensate for. The good news was that Ruben Stewart and Max Dodge appeared to be slowly coming out of their slumps. We hoped that a good performance today would give them a boost and get them back into competitive form.

Match Report

After a fine move down the middle William Brown nearly gave the home side one up in the 21st minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. Screamin' made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Max Dodge completely alone with keeper Alejandro Bayo, who made a spectacular block. Heliodoro Alonso of Bombers received a yellow card in the 38:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. 0 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

Max Dodge was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Ruben Stewart managed to kick one of them into 1 - 0 in the 48:th minute. 49 minutes into the game Screamin' were awarded a penalty that Brooks Brannon turned into 2 - 0 without a problem. Heliodoro Alonso of Bombers got sent off for kicking the ball after the whistle, a completely uncalled for move, earning him his second yellow card of the game. Luis Javier Prada really should have scored when he was chosen by fate to confront a wide open goal after a corner, but he lost his nerve. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 77 percent, dominated the battle.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Hamas Mad Bombers 0

Goals
Stewart – 1(assisted by Dodge)
Brannon – 1

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **1/2

Kvam: **
Lerma: *1/2
Prada: **
Stubbs: *1/2
Brown: **

Johnson: **
Brannon: *1/2
Smith: *1/2
Dodge: *1/2

Stewart: *1/2

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Hamas Mad Bombers
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Comments

With a two goal lead for us and with the Bombers having one of their strikers thrown off the pitch in the second half, it was all over but the screaming. Brown and Prada missed opportunities to make it a lop-sided game, but a win is a win and I will definitely take it. Especially heartening is the long-overdue good play of Max Dodge and Ruben Stewart. This gives me hope for our performance in round two of the cup.

Speaking of which, we get a rare opportunity at revenge. The Cedar Pond Horned Toads were the team to knock us out of the cup last season, and we get the opportunity for some payback. While it will be tempting to throw a bunch of starters at the Toads, I have to remind myself that we are in the midst of a hotly contested series battle, and winning that has to be our top priority.

Up Next: Training results come out on Friday, and hopefully the Hattrick gods will smile kindly upon us once again. Stay tuned!

DataKing

01-28-2003, 12:01 PM

SSFC Youth Squad Continues To Produce

(AP – Chicago, IL) A scant two weeks after defenseman Keith Stubbs was promoted from the Screamin’ Seamen youth squad, SSFC struck gold yet again. Team owner and general manager Data King announced earlier today that 19 year old Tyler Willard had been promoted to the team’s second squad, and had a good chance of becoming a starter in the near future.

“Our youth squad continues to impress us, and has proven to be a very worthwhile investment,” stated King during a press conference. “Tyler is a pretty wild character, but his abilities on the wing and on defense are quite impressive.”

Given the team’s reputation for keeping 22 active players on the roster, no more and no less, speculation has been running rampant this weekend as to which player is on his way out the door. While King has yet to make any official announcement, all fingers seem to point to 21 year old defenseman Luis Javier Prada.

Youth Pull

#22 Tyler Willard (Wingback/Defender)

-Assessed Value: $84,000
-Winger Skill: Passable (6)
-Defending Skill: Solid (7)
-Specialty: Unpredictable

For those of you out there who are balking at the idea of spending $20,000 every week on your youth squads, all I can say is that you are missing out. This is the second player with a solid rating I have pulled this season, and the third since my youth squad achieved ‘solid’ status.

While unpredictability isn’t exactly a trait I am looking for in my defenders, I simply could not justify selling or trading Tyler away. At 19 years old, he is nearly as good as one of our starting wingbacks, 27 year old Ben McMahon, and it is entirely likely that Tyler will replace Ben in the starting lineup by the end of next season. In the meantime, we have acquired yet another good defensive trainee. It’s a happy day in Seaman-land! :D

On the other hand, this means that we do have to let one of our current defensive trainees go, and the rumors are correct. Luis Javier Prada is a passable defender (better than some of our other trainees), but at 21 years old has to be considered the expendable one. I have started a thread for transfer advertisements in the General Discussion section of the new board here.

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $185,268

Income

Crowd (league match vs. Cariocas) - $91,900
Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Hamas Mad Bombers) - $2,658
Sponsors - $53,700
Temporary (mother club money for sale of Quincy Wilson) - $2,500
Temporary (26 new supporters) - $780

Total Revenue: $151,538

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $24,942
Temporary (youth squad pull) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $30,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $88,213

Net Income/Loss: $63,325

New Balance: $248,593

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Content
Team Confidence: Wonderful

Sponsor Attitude: Delirious
Supporter Attitude: High on Life
Supporters: 1,147 (up 26 from last week)

Up Next: The first half of our mid-season rubber match against Farmer of Fire. Stay tuned!

RPI-Fan

01-28-2003, 12:48 PM

Great job, DK!

A couple of questions...

1) What's the maximum form a player can have? Excellent? Also, I remember reading that there were two 'types' of form? If this is the case, what are they? If not, please correct me.

2) How the hell do you do trades??

Thanks!
~rpi-fan

DataKing

01-28-2003, 12:59 PM

Thanks for reading RPI-Fan, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

To answer your questions:

1. You are correct that maximum form is Excellent. As far as the two 'types' of form, each player has their current form, and a 'base' form. The base form is something that you cannot see, but you can guess at if you monitor a player's form over a long period of time (I would recommend a season). This is not to say that, for example, a player with a base form of weak cannot get into excellent current form, but he will do so less often than a player with 'passable' base form. Let me know if this requires further explanation.

2. There is no official means to conduct trades in the game. The only way to handle it is by following these four steps.

a. Arrange to make a trade with another manager.
b. Inform a Hattrick GM that you will be conducting a trade. Let them know which players are being traded.
c. List your players on the transfer market.
d. Each of you bid way over what the player should end up going for. The bids should be equal in value. That way, no money is really changing hands.

Trades are typically very rare. For the most part, they are unnecessary, because you can usually simply go out into the transfer market and find what you are looking for. I conducted the trade with Middlesex Athletic because the youth pull I traded away was quite a rare commodity (you don't find many teenage players with solid playmaking and solid defending).

I hope this answers your questions. The results of our league match from this past weekend will be up soon.

RPI-Fan

01-28-2003, 01:14 PM

Thanks!

Just one followup on the base form thing (sorry)... does it change? Or is it permanent, for the player's whole career?

Thanks!
~rpi-fan

DataKing

01-28-2003, 01:16 PM

RPI-Fan,

That is one thing that I have not yet been able to determine, although one of my players (Max Dodge) has me suspecting that yes, it can. But of that I am not even close to being certain.

Anybody else have any evidence to lead us one way or the other?

DataKing

01-28-2003, 01:44 PM

Season 2 – League Match #7

Farmer of Fire vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: January 26, 2003
Venue: Ring of Fire (Oklahoma)
Attendance: 14,326 (33,000)
Weather: Rain

This week we had the first half of our mid-season home-and-home matches against Farmer of Fire, currently 5th in the series standings. The talent level that the Farmers have at their disposal is less than impressive, with one notable exception. At only 21 years old, Charles McCrary is the best keeper in the series, bar none. Valued at over $1,000,000, he alone means that the Farmers have a defense that we must respect. Goals will be difficult to come by for both teams, and we expect a low-scoring affair.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #3 Ben McMahon

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

The only significant change in our lineup this week is young Jerry Smith starting at midfield. He is playing in place of Romanian international Lucian Tere, who is serving out a red-card suspension. Lucian should return to the lineup for us next week.

Match Report

In the 8:th minute Thomas Gage almost put the home team one ahead on a cross pass coming in from the right, but the shot went wide. Screamin' took the lead after 12 minutes with 0 - 1. Olav Mauffret placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Farmer, with an impressive 52 percent possession of the ball.

Charles Mccrary kept the home side in the game with a magnificient save, as Johannes Henriksson delivered an almost perfect free kick to the far cross bar. Farmer evened the score out after a penalty brilliantly laid by Will Early. The boggy pitch disrupted the game, especially for technical players like Pete Tomlin whose skills weren´t made justice at all. Farmer were very close to putting themselves one up in the 63rd minute as Ivan Block got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. 68 minutes into the game Will Ziegler had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Walter Titus. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Farmer, with an impressive 55 percent possession of the ball.

Final Score: Farmer of Fire 1, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals
Mauffret – 1(2)

Cards
None

Player Ratings

I like SterlingIce’s idea of using the ~ to represent ½ star, so I’m going to steal it :D

Read: **~

Lucas: ***
Scales: **~
McMahon: **

Peralta: **
Tomlin: **~
Smith: *~
Bautista: **
Mauffret: **

Tobias: **
Henriksson: **~

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Farmer of Fire
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Comments

I must admit that I am quite disappointed in our performance today, as this is a match that we should have won, even though we were on the road. I can make all sorts of excuses if I care to; we were missing one of our starting midfielders in Lucian Tere, the rain hurt the performance of our technical players, their keeper got lucky on a save early in the second half that should have won the match for us, the list goes on and on.

But the simple fact is that we didn’t win the match. Johannes’ free kick early in the second hand was almost perfect, but not quite. A perfect shot would have scored, and we’ve come to expect little else from our team captain. After breaking down the individual performances by each of our players, something scary is possible. It is possible that we have been playing beyond ourselves for the first half of the season, and this match was the first step in a painful trip back to reality.

Coach Brown and I have some work to do, that much is obvious. We let two points slip away from us here, and want to get out ahead of any potential slippage for the entire team. It’s going to be a busy week.

Series Scores and Standings

-Ramblers crushed Cariocas 9-nil, giving them a 2 point lead in the standings and a massive lead in goal-differential.
-Croats in Miami shut out Neon Genesis Evangelion 2-nil. The Croats are red-hot, having won five straight, and are threatening us for 2nd place.
-And in the match no one cares about, Gazzaly FC defeated Gohira 3-1.

Here is what the standings look like at the midpoint of the season.

<pre>
Pos. Team Played Goals Points
1. Ramblers 7 35-4 19
2. Screamin’ Seamen 7 29-9 17
3. Croats in Miami 7 22-11 15
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 7 17-8 12
5. Farmer of Fire 7 7-13 8
6. Cariocas 7 11-25 5
7. Gazzaly FC 7 4-25 4
8. Gohira 7 2-32 0
</pre>

Up Next: We face our old foes, the Cedar Pond Horned Toads, in 2nd Round FOFC Cup action this Wednesday. You aren’t going to want to miss this one, folks! Stay tuned!

HornedFrog Purple

01-28-2003, 02:06 PM

Rats I just replied about my form theory and hit the wrong button.

Anyways, I have been thinking about form. My theory is each player has a hidden basic form which is static. As the player goes higher or lower, the hidden form rating increases its pull to get him back to his "natural" form.

Just as an example, I will use a 10 point scale:

Hidden form is 5 (call that average)

Current form is 6, somewhere around average so he will stay there for a while until a change happens which has more to do with your training, staff and games he plays in. These accumulate into eventually making this player lets say a 8 or 2. Therefore the "5" will pull this player back quickly to his usual static form.

These work all the way around... if a guy is naturally "poor" (in this example I will use the number 2) in hidden rating, and he gets up to excellent, he gets yanked back down to his hidden static rating much more quickly then a player whose natural hidden form rating is above average (somewhere around 6 or 7)

I call this the "hidden form volatility rating" which I will trademark tomorrow. ;)

Anyways just a guess.

vex

01-29-2003, 12:38 AM

Are youth pulls always at passable form?

Interesting theory as well.

vex

01-29-2003, 12:40 AM

Just read this on the Hattrick board:

By: NLG100
To: Everyone 159867.1
1/29/2003 at 06:47
Can someone please tell me the difference between CURRENT form and GENERAL form?

If I have a player that has "inadequate fom" I assume that is his current form. So then what is his general form?

Reply to this

By: Canadasage
To: NLG100 159867.2 as reply to 159867.1
1/29/2003 at 07:15

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can someone please tell me the difference between CURRENT form and GENERAL form?

If I have a player that has "inadequate fom" I assume that is his current form. So then what is his general form?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

General Form is the form that the player will always tend. Some players have a high general form, so although their form will vary, it will always tend toward the higher end. Other players have poor general form and will tend toward the lower end of the scale.

````````

Better trademark fast!:)

Poli

01-29-2003, 02:53 AM

Go Seamen! I'm a proud supporter! I wish you no luck, however, in your match against Horned. I must remain neutral. While at the match in Oklahoma, I will wear my official Seamen shorts and Horned Frog socks.

I will wear the socks to make sure everyone knows who Ardent Enthusiast is at the match. As an additional bonus, no one will dare take a photo or video tape me while I wear those socks.

DataKing

01-29-2003, 09:39 AM

Good find there vexroid. I guess that pretty much answers the question. And in response to your other question, yes youth pulls are always in passable form. Obviously, that does not mean that their 'base' form is passable as well.

Ardent, I can only assume you're referring to the second leg of the match next week. This week's is at The Docks.

At any rate, it sounds like we should get you one of those half-and-half jerseys to go alone with the shorts and socks. I'll see what I can put together. :)

DataKing

01-29-2003, 09:26 PM

Season 2 – FOFC Cup Round 2 – 1st Leg

Our former defenseman, Luis Javier Prada, sold earlier today for $27,000 to Oulun Karpat, a brand new team in Finland. We wish Luis and his new team all the best in their future endeavors.

$24,300 finds its way into the club’s coffers.

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Cedar Pond Horned Toads

Date: January 29, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 918 (17,350)
Weather: Overcast

We begin our bid to advance further in the prestigious FOFC Cup today, but a formidable barrier stands in our way. The Cedar Pond Horned Toads are in town, and this time we’re out for blood. For those of you who may not remember, the Toads are the team that knocked us out of last year’s inaugural FOFC Cup. This time around, we’ll be looking for some payback.

But that payback will not be easy to come by. Both teams have a bit of an ‘edge’ about them, and play some seriously defensive soccer. Goals will be few and far between in this home-and-home series, to be certain. Our best hope is for a solid defensive effort here at home, and hopefully win while holding the Toads scoreless. If we can accomplish that, then all we will need to do against them next week is score one goal to advance.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #8 Max Dodge

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #7 Lucian Tere
Set Pieces: #9 Ruben Stewart

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #5 Arlen Lucas
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

The promotion of Tyler Willard from the youth squad, and the subsequent sale of defenseman Luis Javier Prada means that some shuffling on the back line is in order. Tyler is a natural wingback, so he has taken William Brown’s typical spot on the left side. Willie, in turn, has slid over to the center of the defense, filling the gap left by the departed Prada.

A change in the midfield is necessary as well. Our big Romanian, Lucian Tere, is typically a starter, but he was suspended this past weekend due to yellow cards, so he gets to start in place of Jerry Smith on the right side of the midfield. We’re hoping that the big guy steps on a few Toads on his way to the net. :D

Match Report

Screamin' were very close to putting themselves one up in the 3rd minute as Keith Stubbs got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area, but at last Screamin'´s Otis Johnson was able to shove the ball in. 1-0. Screamin' put themselves up 2 - 0 when William Brown broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. 2 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 54 percent possession rate.

Horneds Jarrod Knapp got himself booked after a foul. Horneds Tommy Andersson got himself booked after a foul. Miguel Ángel Villalvilla Martínez of Horned received a yellow card in the 82nd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 56 percent, dominated the battle.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Cedar Pond Horned Toads 0

Goals
Johnson – 1
Brown – 1

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **~

Kvam: *~
Stubbs: *~
Brown: **
Lerma: **
Willard: *** :eek:

Johnson: *~
Tere: **
Brannon: *~
Dodge: *

Stewart: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)

Cedar Pond Horned Toads
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Comments

Two early goals from winger Otis Johnson and defender William Brown gave us a nice cushion, and after that we were definitely concentrating on defense. The second half of the match could hardly be called spectacular soccer, but it was terribly effective. The Toads never had any real scoring chances against us, and I think their players were beginning to get rather frustrated, hence the rash of yellow cards handed out late in the match.

I have to admit that I was very surprised with wingback Tyler Willard’s performance in his professional debut. I knew the kid was good, but I did not know that he was three stars good! I was expecting more like two or two and a half. Given this new development, I have to give serious consideration to replacing Ben McMahon with young Tyler Willard in our starting line-up. Unless Tyler’s form plummets into the basement, that is what will happen.

Which leaves me in an interesting quandary. If Willard becomes a starter for us, and it certainly appears that he will, then the sale of Luis Javier Prada just earlier today certainly appears to have been a bit premature. At 27 years old, Ben McMahon is far too long in the tooth to be considered a trainee. But I also do not like the idea of selling him. Solid wingers/solid defenders do not grow on trees.

It is entirely possible that we may move Ben to winger. With the continuing frustrating performances by Max Dodge, we’re thin on decent wingers, and Ben certainly has the stamina to contribute (excellent stamina). He could actually prove quite useful as a defensive winger. This would allow us to sell off Dodge, as well as acquire an additional defensive trainee. And Ben will always be there for backup on defense, if need be.

I’m not one to make hasty decisions, so it is unlikely that anything will be done right away. I’d like to see this week’s training updates, and test out Ben on the wing before doing anything drastic.

All in all, today is a great day to be a Seaman! :D

Up Next: Training results and week-end reports coming in a couple of days. Stay tuned!

vex

01-29-2003, 09:54 PM

Great win!

DataKing

01-30-2003, 10:37 AM

Screamin’ Seamen FC Supporters

Here at the halfway point in the season, SSFC would like to thank the following clubs for their continuing support:

Gargoyles (Owner: Ravenhawk, Series IV.19)
North County Raiders (Owner: ArdentEnthusiast, Series IV.43)
WestHam (Owner: Hammers 25, Series V.133)
Berwyn Wednesday (Owner: Kevinho, Series IV.17, Founder of the Chicagoland Football Association)
Aardvarks (Owner: Aylmar, Series V.74)
The Chicago Sting (Owner: Kingsguard, Series V.57)
Cedar Pond Horned Toads (Owner: HornedFrog Purple, Series V.97)
Chi Town Dragons (Owner: jkincaid, Series IV.7)
Galesburg Avengers (Owner: Coffee Warlord, Series V.38)
FC Hartford (Owner: samifan24, Series V.14)
Morrisville Morrisvillians (Owner: Nevstar, Series V.93)

We would also like to pledge our continuing support for the following clubs. And believe me, if we weren’t limited to five supported clubs, a lot more of you would find yourselves on this list.

Gargoyles
North County Raiders
Aardvarks
Berwyn Wednesday
The Chicago Sting

DataKing

01-30-2003, 10:45 AM

Originally posted by vexroid
Great win!

Thanks Vex. I was quite pleased, to say the least.

And speaking of great wins, it looks like your lads really took the Avengers back behind the woodshed this week! Better watch your back, I'm sure they'll be out for blood next Wednesday. :cool:

vex

01-30-2003, 10:53 AM

All I have to do is score ONE goal though, right? Since he got blanked at my place?

DataKing

01-30-2003, 11:13 AM

Actually, I took a look and I was wrong regarding how the tiebreakers work. From the original post of the rules for the first two rounds:

The tiebreakers are like this in the home-and-home:

1. Team with most wins. ex: One team wins game and other game is a draw.

2. If both have a win or there are 2 draws, team with most goals in both games.

3. If both are even after that, the team with the most away goals advances.

Like I said, I was wrong. I forgot about #2. For example, if the Toads beat me at their place 3-0, then the Toads would advance. However, if the score were 3-1, then SSFC would advance.

All in all, I'd say you're pretty safe. A 7 goal lead practically guarantees you'll be in the 3rd round, pending a complete breakdown.

vex

01-30-2003, 11:22 AM

I don't have but maybe 3 non starters who didn't play, so it'll be about the same bunch.

Yeah, I had forgotten about #2 as well.

DataKing

01-31-2003, 11:35 AM

Week 7 Training Results

We stayed with our defensive training this week, and for the second week in a row did not see any skill level increases. However, 20 year old striker Forrest “Gump” Tobias did increase in experience from disastrous (1) to wretched (2).

7 players gained a level of form.
12 players remained at their current form level.
3 players saw their form drop this week.

Team average form raised by 0.1 to 5.5

Top Form

We don’t have any players in excellent (8) form at the moment. However, the following four players are all in solid (7) form:

Wingback #5 Arlen Lucas
Winger #25 Paul Peralta
Goalkeeper #1 Darryl Read
Midfielder #4 Pete “Old Goat” Tomlin

The lowest form on the team belongs to none other than the ever-frustrating Max Dodge. Max has been in poor (3) form for two months now. It is likely that he will not even dress for a match next week. If that doesn’t shake things up for him, he’s out the door.

Value

Average player value rose to $95,333 this week, up $7,560 from last week’s $87,773.

Team overall value finally broke the two million dollar mark this week ($2,002,000 to be exact).

Big Gainers

Midfielder Charlie Bautista has been slipping a bit as of late, but seems to be on the rebound. His value gain of $20,000 was third on the team for this week, taking him to a current assessed value of $107,000.

Wingback Ben McMahon must realize that newcomer Tyler Willard is threatening his starting job, because Ben’s hard work on the training ground this week resulted in a value gain of $21,000. He is currently valued at $169,000.

This week’s big gainer was new goalkeeper Cornelius Jernigan. Along with a form jump to passable (6), Cornelius’ value leaped $45,000 this week, to $451,000. Despite Darryl Read’s solid play as of late, it is likely that Cornelius will take over the starting keeper responsibilities this coming week.

Up Next: Weekly financial updates and our next youth squad pull on Saturday. After that, we try to bounce back from our draw with Farmer of Fire in league play. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-01-2003, 08:56 PM

Youth Squad Production Once Again For SSFC

(AP – Chicago, IL) The Screamin’ Seamen continue to get solid production from their well-supported youth squad. In the past three weeks, the youth squad has produced trainee defenseman Keith Stubbs and newly-announced starting wingback Tyler Willard. Expecting that the youth squad would take a little time to ‘replenish’ itself, so to speak, team officials were quite surprised when learning that they had yet another youngster who was prepared to turn professional.

This week’s product is 18 year old Samuel Zavallos, a promising-looking winger for the club. However, to the surprise of many, team owner and general manager Data King has decided to list the young man on the world-wide transfer market, with a hefty price tag of $120,000. This decision seems strange to many, considering that the wing is a definite weakness for the club, primarily due to the continued poor form of Max Dodge.

“We had a very difficult time with this decision,” stated King during a brief press conference earlier today. “Samuel would certainly be a valuable addition to the club, but he may very well prove even more valuable to someone else, hence the high price tag. In effect, we’re allowing the market to make our decision for us. If he stays here, Samuel will certainly be at least a part-time starter. However, there are probably more opportunities for him to improve somewhere else, and we in turn would benefit from the influx of cash.”

When asked if the money received would be used to find a replacement for the frustrating Max Dodge, King refused to comment.

Youth Pull

Samuel Zavallos (Winger)

-Assessed Value: $85,000
-Winger Skill: Solid (7)
-Playmaking Skill: Inadequate (5)
-Specialty: Technical

I have two problems with keeping Samuel on the team. First of all, he is slightly better than some of our other wingers, but not considerably so. He is also strictly a possession-type winger, lacking the passing and defending skills to play “up” or “down” with any special skill.

The second problem is that I do not train wingers, and Samuel may very well be more valuable to someone who is.

But at the same time, he seems like a great addition to the team, and a very timely one, given the troubles we have had with Max Dodge this season.

Therefore, I have decided to let the transfer market make my decision for me. If someone is willing to shell out $120,000 I will not be sad to see Samuel go. However, if no one wants to pay that much for him, then we have found a replacement for Max. Simple as that. :)

Also, as an FYI, I have started a thread in the General Discussion section for advertising transfer listed players. Just so you all know.

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $248,593

Income

Crowd (friendly match vs. Cedar Pond Horned Toads) - $2,427
Sponsors - $54,750
Temporary (18 new supporters) - $540
Temporary (mother club money) - $1,220
Temporary (sale of Luis Javier Prada) - $24,300

Total Revenue: $83,237

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $24,942
Temporary (youth squad pull) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Luis Javier Prada) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $31,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $90,713

Net Income/Loss: -$7,476

New Balance: $241,117

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Calm (down from Content)
Team Confidence: Wonderful

Sponsor Attitude: Delirious
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (down from High on Life)
Supporters: 1,165 (up 18 from last week)

Supporters certainly are fickle. Everything was roses until we only managed a draw, and we were on the road to boot. Oh well.

Up Next: We seek some vengeance against Farmer of Fire, and hopefully maintain our grip on 2nd place in the standings. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-02-2003, 03:21 PM

Well it hasn't taken long at all for the transfer market to make my decision for me regarding Samuel Zavallos. Within the first 24 hours of his listing, we received a bid of $120,000 from Team Ahtava, of Finland's 3rd division. Hopefully the early bid means that there'll be even more interest as the deadline (7:50 pm central time on Tuesday) gets closer.

DataKing

02-02-2003, 09:03 PM

Season 2 – League Match #8

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Farmer of Fire

Date: February 2, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 17,350 (17,350)
Weather: Partly cloudy

Today we have our rubber-match against the 5th place Farmer of Fire team. Our 1-1 draw with them last weekend has placed us in a tough spot as far as the standings are concerned. We dropped a full two points behind league-leading Ramblers, and only two points ahead of a red-hot Croats in Miami team. However, we expect to have a much better showing this time out. Last week’s match was played in a downpour, and we are not a good wet-weather team. The weather today looks to be much more in our favor.

I’m actually more concerned with holding on to second place than I am about claiming first. Ramblers certainly appear to be the class team in the series, and any chances we have of claiming the series title will be decided when we visit the Ramblers week 11. Right now, our goal is to stay as far ahead of Croats in Miami as possible, and hopefully stay within striking distance of the Ramblers, should they happen to falter.

I would also like to take this opportunity to mention that the Houston Hippopotami have become official supporters of the Screamin’ Seamen. Earlier this week, striker Forrest “Gump” Tobias went to Houston to thank owner sterlingice and deliver his VIP tickets. Welcome to the SSFC family, SI.

And on a related note, team captain Johannes Henriksson will no longer be acting as the team’s “supporter welcome wagon” after an unfortunate incident with the secretary for NevStar’s Morrisville Morrisvillians. We hope that the Morrisville ownership will not deem it necessary to pursue any further legal action. ;)

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #3 Ben McMahon
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Aside from the return of Romanian midfielder Lucian Tere to the lineup, we’ve made two changes in the back this week. First of all, one month to the day after joining the Screamin’ Seamen, keeper Cornelius Jernigan gets to start in net. Cornelius has been getting familiar with our defensive system and players for the past month, and we’re confident that he is ready to step in. If he performs well today, then the starting job is his. If not, then at least Darryl Read gets a well-deserved rest.

Also added to the line-up is 19 year old wingback Tyler Willard. We were so impressed with his performance Wednesday against the Cedar Pond Horned Toads that we’ve decided to give him a shot at playing with the big boys. This is a trial game for him as well, however, and we will not hesitate to insert veteran Ben McMahon back into the lineup should the need arise.

Well, its less than two hours to kick-off as I write this. Best be on my way to the stadium. More later…

Match Report

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Docks saw a crowd turnout of 17350. Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Peralta, Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Mauffret - Henriksson, Tobias.

Farmer had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Mccrary - Titus, Holliday, Rogers - Gage, Quintana, Davis, Early, Ross - Block, Barclay.

In the games 2nd minute Screamin'´s Charlie Bautista fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Charlie Bautista for taking a dive. 4 minutes into the game a free kick combination hooked into the box almost resulted in the home team taking the lead, but the last header went wide. Halftime score was 0 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 59 percent possession rate.

Pete Tomlin gave his Screamin' the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. Man, what a shot by Johannes Henriksson! Firing from 35 yards he didn't give the enemy goalie a chance and it was 2 - 0. Johannes Henriksson should probably have put his team up another goal in the 73rd minute, but some great goaltending by Charles Mccrary kept the visitors in the game. After 74 minutes Farmers Bernie Holliday had to be carried off on a stretcher in agony. Kev Chisholm came in instead of him. Arlen Lucas seemed to be floating in the air at will as he elegantly headed in 3-0. The previous Screamin' corner kick was executed by Johannes Henriksson. Screamin' put themselves up 4 - 0 when Pete Tomlin broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. The visitors reduced the score in the 80:th minute to 4 - 1 as a free kick by Will Early slunk past the home sides goaltender. With 86 minutes played Forrest Tobias could have brought this one home for Screamin', had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 61 percent possession of the ball.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. However, Olav Mauffret made a disastrous appearance. Farmer´s best player was Charles Mccrary. Kev Chisholm on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 1.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Farmer of Fire 1

Goals
Tomlin – 2 (1,2)
Henriksson – 1 GWG (10)
Lucas – 1 (3 – assisted by Henriksson)

Cards
Bautista – yellow

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Willard: ***
Scales: **~
Lucas: ***

Peralta: **
Tomlin: **~
Tere: **
Bautista: **~
Mauffret: *~

Henriksson: **
Tobias: **~

Man of the Match: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Farmer of Fire
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Comments

The first half of the match was hardly an exciting game to watch, as both teams seemed hesitant, apparently feeling one another out. But the floodgates certainly opened in the second half. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin chose a good time to score his first goals of the season, and captain Johannes’ Henriksson’s cannonball proved to be the game winner. Arlen Lucas was dominant on defense, as usual, and also scored on a beautiful header, earning himself Man of the Match honors.

I also have to say that I was quite pleased with the performances of our new starters. Cornelius Jernigan did allow a soft goal late in the match, but otherwise he played a game superior to what Darryl Read is capable of. And Tyler Willard continues to impress, showing the good skill and form that he displayed in our FOFC Cup match on Wednesday. It certainly appears that both of these young men have earned themselves starting spots.

All in all, a solid performance and a solid win for the Screamin’ Seamen.

Series Scores and Standings

-Unfortunately we did not gain any ground on Croats in Miami, as midfielder Tony Allen’s strike in the 80th minute gave the Croats a 2-1 victory over Neon Genesis Evangelion.
-As expected, Ramblers handed it to a struggling Cariocas club, 5-nil.
-After a very poor start, Gazzaly FC has turned it on as of late, defeating Gohira 6-nil.

Here is how the standings look with 8 matches down and 6 to go. As you can see, the top three teams have begun to pull away from the rest of the pack.

<pre>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Ramblers 8 40-4 22
2. Screamin’ Seamen 8 33-10 20
3. Croats in Miami 8 24-12 18
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 8 18-10 12
5. Farmer of Fire 8 8-17 8
6. Gazzaly FC 8 10-25 7
7. Cariocas 8 11-30 5
8. Gohira 8 2-38 0
</pre>

Up Next: The second leg of our FOFC Cup match against the Cedar Pond Horned Toads. We lead two goals to none, but the Toads certainly will not go down without a fight. Stay tuned!

NevStar

02-02-2003, 10:17 PM

Originally posted by DataKing

And on a related note, team captain Johannes Henriksson will no longer be acting as the team’s “supporter welcome wagon” after an unfortunate incident with the secretary for NevStar’s Morrisville Morrisvillians. We hope that the Morrisville ownership will not deem it necessary to pursue any further legal action. ;)

:D - Never fear DataKing, Robby Dudley-Evans took that secretary out on one of his world-famous "around the world" pub crawls & now she can't remember a thing about that day. She also can't remember where she lives, how to count or what her name is, so perhaps there were some unfortunate side effects.

DataKing

02-03-2003, 10:36 AM

*sends Robby Dudley-Evans a nice fruit basket.*

:D

DataKing

02-04-2003, 09:46 PM

Samuel Zavallos was sold earlier this evening for $165,000 to French 3rd Division side Asse-Online.com. $151,800 of that found its way into the club's coffers.

We're looking at approximately $450,000 in the bank at the end of this week. We have about $200,000 earmarked for stadium improvements at the end of the season, and another $100,000 labeled as "reserve funds." This is in case of emergency, such as a rash of injuries at one position.

This leaves us with about $150,000 to play with right now. No decisions will be made until we see how the team performs tomorrow against the Cedar Pond Horned Toads, but at this level $150,000 is nothing to snicker at. We're exploring some intriguing possibilities. :)

Poli

02-04-2003, 10:55 PM

Frog legs, anyone?

DataKing

02-04-2003, 11:10 PM

I'm not saying a word about the frog legs until after the match tomorrow. I think I jynxed myself with that shpeel last season. :D

vex

02-04-2003, 11:37 PM

Yum, frog legs. Cajun style.

DataKing

02-05-2003, 08:39 PM

Season 2 – FOFC Cup – Round 2 – 2nd Leg

Cedar Pond Horned Toads vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: February 5th, 2003
Venue: The Condemned Mud Pond (Texas)
Attendance: 1,085 (11,995)
Weather: Overcast

We travel to Texas this week for the second leg of our FOFC Cup match against the Cedar Pond Horned Toads. With a two goal lead over the toads, things certainly appear to be in our favor. Also, despite threatening clouds and fervent prayers for rain from Cedar Pond, it looks as though the pitch will remain dry, which should play to our advantage as well. It will be a hard-fought battle, for sure, but I am confident that our lads will prevail and propel us into the 3rd round of the cup.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #7 Lucian Tere
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #25 Paul Peralta
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Do to the recent shake-up of the starting line-up for the first team, we see a few changes to the starters for today’s match as well.

1. Darryl Read has been demoted to second-team goalkeeper, at least for the time being. He has been performing well lately, just not as well as Cornelius. We’re confident that he will have a fine game against the Toads.
2. We’re trying out Ben McMahon at winger today. As I mentioned earlier, I am hesitant to let Ben go, as his winger and defensive skills are pretty good. Assuming Ben performs well at his new position, we’ll keep him on the team.
3. The promotion of Tyler Willard to the starting squad, and our decision to bench Max Dodge in a last-ditch effort to pull him out of his form-funk, means someone has to pull double-duty. We’ve decided that person should be big Lucian Tere. Lucian had a good game last week against the Toads, and will hopefully repeat that performance. Utility player Brooks Brannon slides back to cover the open spot on the defensive line.

The clouds threaten, but refuse to drop any rain as the teams take to the pitch…

Match Report

1085 spectators had come to The Condemned Mud Pond this cloudy day. Horned had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. Lineup: Anderson - Diaz, Ames, Villalvilla Mart, Omalley - Gaines, Hinkle, Monroe, Gaston, Mcconnell - Robison.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Read - Brown, Brannon, Lerma, Stubbs, Kvam - Mcmahon, Tere, Smith, Johnson - Stewart.

Seemingly due to lack of experience, Keith Stubbs needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. This was a good period for the visitors with several opportunities to take the lead, in particular when Brooks Brannon slipped through the defense to come up alone with Alex Anderson - but the home side´s keeper showed some lightning reflex 27 minutes into the game Keith Stubbs was a hair´s breadth away from giving Screamin' the lead. A prompt block by Alex Anderson saved the home team that time. Screamin' took the lead after 28 minutes with 0 - 1. Keith Stubbs placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. The referee showed Screamin's William Brown the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Alex Anderson the unlucky victim, couldn´t continue the game. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 57 percent, dominated the battle.

In the game´s 50:th minute a free kick by Ben Mcmahon found it´s way through the home side´s poorly assembled defensive formation, making Screamin'´s lead 0 - 2. The structure of the game started to change as Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Horned´s Christopher Gaston got himself booked. Ruben Stewart could have put his team up another one in the 64:th minute, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

Horned´s best player was Don Yancey. However, Christopher Gaston made a disastrous appearance. Most important Screamin' player was Darryl Read. Brooks Brannon on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 2.

Goals
Stubbs – 1
McMahon – 1

Cards
Brown – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Brown: **
Lerma: **
Stubbs: **
Brannon: *~
Kvam: *~

McMahon: **
Tere: **
Smith: *~
Johnson: *~

Stewart: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Cedar Pond Horned Toads
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Wretched (2)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Comments

After an early mistake, defender Keith Stubbs played the rest of the first half like a man possessed, and was finally able to score what proved to be the game-winning goal. One has to give credit to Toads keeper Alex Anderson, who was playing out of his head until William Brown decided to remove him from the game.

With an insurance goal early in the second half from a Ben McMahon free kick, it was business as usual for the Seamen defense, who proved to be water-tight when it mattered the most. I must say that I am very proud of our youngsters on the back line. They have recorded three consecutive shutouts in FOFC Cup play thus far, and have only permitted one goal in the first four matches.

The other good news is that we have found another winger in Ben McMahon. His skills as a defensive winger and as a set piece player make him very valuable, and today proved that he can probably play on the wing with his usual first-team mates.

Up Next: Training results and our week-end report. We will also be making a decision regarding Max Dodge in the near future. Stay tuned!

vex

02-06-2003, 01:19 AM

FYI, I just noticed that there are only 2 "Will" or "William Browns" in the USA. And seeing as how that's my name, if William Brown ever goes up for sale, please tell me. Or maybe we can work out a trade sometime.

vex

02-06-2003, 01:24 AM

And actually, after looking at it, he would fill a huge gap for me at wingback if you wouldn't mind getting rid of him.

Would a trade be possible? I would give somewhere around $65K for him if we could work something out.

DataKing

02-06-2003, 10:56 AM

I'm always open to offers, but I'm afraid I could not let William go for $65,000. He should reach solid defending right around the end of the season, at which point he becomes worth a lot more than $65,000. At that point he could probably fetch somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 on the market. Also, he is only one of two players on my team with a 'Quick' specialty, and I really like having some speed on the wings.

If you have something else in mind, let me know. But for the time being, I have to say 'no.'

vex

02-06-2003, 01:55 PM

I'll just have to wait and see then I guess. Thanks.

DataKing

02-06-2003, 10:16 PM

Week 8 Training Results

Defensive training again this week, and again we saw no skill level gains. This sort of thing is to be expected, though. Training defensemen is a slow process. We did, however, see another experience jump. Reserve midfielder Jerry Smith rose in experience from disastrous (1) to wretched (2). Jerry is only 19 years old, so we were pretty glad to see this. He’s likely to be a starter for us at midfield in the future.

7 players saw their form rise this week (striker Forrest “Gump” Tobias rose 2 levels!)
13 players remained steady with their current form
Only 2 players saw their form drop (striker Ruben Stewart and winger Paul Peralta)

Team average form rose by 0.3 to 5.8 (high inadequate).

Top Form

Once again, we have no players in excellent (8) form. However, this week we have 6 players in solid (7) form.

Wingback #23 William Brown
Wingback #5 Arlen Lucas
Winger #10 Olav Mauffret
Keeper #1 Darryl Read
Forward #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Midfielder #4 Pete “Old Goat” Tomlin

The form “dog” on the club remains Max Dodge, and quite frankly, I’m fed up with it. The only thing that might bring him out of his funk is a week of general training, but I cannot afford to waste an entire week of defensive training for one player. Max will find himself listed on the transfer market soon.

Value

Average player value rose this week to just shy of $100,000 ($99,857 to be exact), which is up $4,524 from last week.

Total player value sits at $2,097,000, up a healthy $95,000 from last week.

Big Gainers

Central defender Chuck Scales seems to have responded very well to the addition of wingback Tyler Willard to the back line. Chuck had an excellent week of practice, and his assessed value has risen by $10,000 this week to an even $100,000.

27 year old Ben McMahon has responded extremely well to his position switch. His practice as a winger, with a defensive tilt, seems to suit him quite well, and he gets to run a bit more than he ever did before. His value rose $15,000 this week, and he is currently assessed at $184,000.

Goalkeeper Cornelius Jernigan continues to grow more and more comfortable with his defensive teammates, especially now that he is a starter, and it shows. His stock continues to rise; $34,000 this week to a current value of $485,000!

Up Next: Max Dodge will most likely find himself on the transfer market tomorrow. After that, our weekly financial update and our next youth pull. Hopefully our youth squad can produce for us yet again. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-07-2003, 05:36 PM

Max Dodge has found his way to the transfer market. I simply cannot justify keeping him around any longer. It's possible that a week or two of general training might break him out of his form-funk, but I don't intend to do that. My defensive training is more important to me.

If anyone is interested...

Max Dodge

Listed As: Inner Midfielder
Asking Price: $50,000

23 years old, poor form, healthy

Sympathetic, balanced, honest
Disastrous experience, poor leadership

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $89,000
Wage: $1,300/week

Stamina: Passable
Playmaking: Passable
Winger: Inadequate
Scoring: Inadequate
Goaltending: Disastrous
Passing: Inadeqaute
Defending: Weak
Set Pieces: Inadequate

As you can see, Max can have some value as a utility player, capable of playing midfielder, winger, or (in a pinch) forward.

But I will come out and say that I do not recommend any of you bid on him. I think his base form is just too low to be of any real use. If any of you feel like taking a $50,000 chance, then by all means, bid away.

Just don't say I didn't warn you. :D

DataKing

02-08-2003, 09:23 PM

Youth Pull

We didn’t have the same kind of fortune with the youth squad this week that we have seen recently. Although Zhi Wing-Ning certainly has an entertaining name, he will never be a professional soccer player. Valued at only $16,000, he has passable passing skill, but no skills above weak in any of the primary skills. Zhi has told us that he plans to go back to college. We wish him well.

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $241,117

Income

Crowd (league match vs. Farmer of Fire) - $91,900
Crowd (friendly match vs. Cedar Pond Horned Toads) - $2,850
Sponsors - $55,350
Temporary (24 new supporters) - $720
Temporary (sale of youth pull Samuel Zavallos) - $151,800

Total Revenue: $302,620

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $25,192
Temporary (youth squad pull) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Samuel Zavallos) - $1,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Max Dodge) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $31,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $91,963

Net Income/Loss: $210,657

New Balance: $451,774

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Calm
Team Confidence: Wonderful

Sponsor Attitude: Delirious
Supporter Attitude: High on Life
Supporters: 1,189 (up 24 from last week)

Other Notes

Smiths United, a team from England’s 5th division, is currently the leading bidder for the services of Max Dodge at $52,500. This means that we effective have $500,000 in the bank, $200,000 of which I am looking to spend on players. We are currently scouring the transfer market for another defensive trainee, as well as a possible improvement at midfield as well.

Also, the schedule for the first part of the 2nd Windy City Cup has been established. The tournament contains 32 teams, with the first round being group play similar to the format of the World Cup. Our 3 week schedule for group play looks like this:

2/12/03 – at Northern Lazies (Series III.1)
2/19/03 – vs. The Prestidigitators (Series V.52)
2/26/03 – vs. High Tops (Series V.28)

The Northern Lazies are expected to sweep group play and earn one of the top seeds in the Round of 16, and we fully expect to lose to them on Wednesday. Their second team would be a good match for our starters, and should dominate our reserves. The other two matches are definitely winnable, though, especially because we’re at home. We should be able to earn a spot in the Round of 16.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish luck to the Gargoyles and the Galesburg Avengers, who are participating in the Windy City Cup as well. Unfortunately, none of us were placed in the same group.

Up Next: We have what should be an easy match this Sunday, as we visit the 7th place Cariocas team in Miami. Stay tuned!

illinifan999

02-08-2003, 09:30 PM

Man with that name! Was he born in the USA?

DataKing

02-08-2003, 09:39 PM

Zhi was actually born in Hong Kong, but his parents moved to the States when he was about 2 years old.

You will get some very ethnic names for American players from time to time. Luis Javier Prada is an American.

DataKing

02-09-2003, 09:28 PM

Season 2 – League Match #9

Cariocas vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: February 9th, 2003
Venue: La Cosa Nostra Arena (Miami, FL)
Attendance: 8,560 (16,005)
Weather: Overcast

We travel to Miami this week to take on a struggling Cariocas team. Cariocas has lost five straight matches, and earned their last point way back in Week 3 with a 1-1 draw against Farmer of Fire. We foresee very little trouble in handling this club, so this is a good opportunity for our guys to take it easy and still come away with three points.

As far as the series standings go, we do not expect to see any change this week. All of the teams in the top half of the table face off against teams from the bottom half. Assuming that we are victorious, we should remain in 2nd place, two points behind the Ramblers and two points ahead of Croats in Miami.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “Old Goat” Tomlin
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We’ve only made one change to the lineup from last week. Winger Paul Peralta’s form has been dipping a bit as of late, and Ben McMahon proved to us on Wednesday that he can handle playing on the wing. Ben will start for us on the right side, where we expect to see the most pressure from our opponents.

Match Report

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 8560 at La Cosa Nostra Arena today. Cariocas had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Cousau - Harrison, de Boer, Levine, Westerström - Anderson, Ball, Garrido, Peacock - Miller, Fairchild.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mcmahon, Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Mauffret - Henriksson, Tobias.

Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson gave the visitors a 0 - 1 lead in the 15:th minute with a superb strike from the right. As Juan Luis Garrido had, completely unprovoked, swept the legs out from under an opponent in front of a linesman, the referee gave the Cariocas player a red card without batting an eye. Johannes Henriksson increased Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 2 by a superb free kick strike, flying in just under the far top corner. The visitors Forrest Tobias took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 40:th minute. 0 - 3 for Screamin'. By now Screamin' were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. Cariocas managed a superb strike in the 41st minute that would have left goaltender Cornelius Jernigan without a chance, had it been on the inside of the post. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 3. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 60 percent, dominated the battle.

After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Screamin'´s Tyler Willard got himself booked. Forrest Tobias was, after 58 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors lead with a well placed diving header but home side keeper Washington Cousau saved. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 64 percent possession rate.

Most important Cariocas player was Mort Harrison. Brett Fairchild was a disappointment, however. Most important Screamin' player was Cornelius Jernigan. Lucian Tere on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 3.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Cariocas 0

Goals
Henriksson – 2 (9,10)
Tobias – 1 (9)

Cards
Willard – yellow

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***~ :D

Willard: ***
Scales: **~
Lucas: ***

McMahon: **~
Bautista: **~
Tere: **
Tomlin: ***
Mauffret: **

Henriksson: **~
Tobias: **~

Man of the Match: #13 Cornelius Jernigan

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Cariocas
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Comments

Even early on, it was easy to see that Cariocas was outmatched. When midfielder Juan Luis Garrido was sent off the pitch in the first half, the game was all but over. We built up a three goal lead, and then, with the exception of one scare just before halftime, played airtight defense.

The match was, without a doubt, the best defensive effort we have ever put up. A large part of this was due to the great play of keeper Cornelius Jernigan, who put up the first ever 3.5 star performance by a Screamin’ Seaman! The clean sheet earned Cornelius Man of the Match honors. I’d say that our trade with Middlesex Athletic earlier this season has definitely paid off.

Series Scores and Standings

The Gohira club has folded, and a new club has been chartered. The team is based in Atlanta, Georgia and is called The Cheats. With a name like that, we will definitely be keeping a close eye on them.

-Farmer of Fire pulled off a small upset, shutting out Neon Genesis Evangelion and winning 1-nil.
-Ramblers welcomed The Cheats to the league with a rude 7-1 drubbing.
-Croats in Miami won their 7th straight, defeating Gazzaly FC, 5-2.

Series IV.49 remains a three horse race.

<pre>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Ramblers 9 47-5 25
2. Screamin’ Seamen 9 36-10 23
3. Croats in Miami 9 29-14 21
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 9 18-11 12
5. Farmer of Fire 9 9-17 11
6. Gazzaly FC 9 12-30 7
7. Cariocas 9 11-33 5
8. The Cheats 9 3-45 0
</pre>

Our schedule for the last five weeks of the season looks like this:

2/16 – vs. The Cheats
2/23 - @ Ramblers
3/2 - @ Gazzaly FC
3/9 – vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3/16 - @ Croats in Miami

The match in two weeks against Ramblers will decide whether or not we have any chance of winning the series. Other than that, we close the season at Croats in Miami, which could very well be a game that decides who takes home second place.

Up Next: We open up Windy City Cup play on Wednesday against 3rd Division side Northern Lazies. Stay tuned!

NevStar

02-09-2003, 09:51 PM

Congrats on the victory & another clean-sheet for Jernigan. Your team is proof-positive that you CAN have success with a defensive-oriented team, regardless of what the hattrick forum people say.

sterlingice

02-09-2003, 10:44 PM

You gonna PIC it for the next game and then MotS for the Ramblers game? I just PIC'd it and have two tough games coming up (one tough, the other very tough on the road) so I'm trying to decide what to do (check out my thread- it will be written up shortly) and sucking up to vets to get advice seems to be in order :D

SI

DataKing

02-09-2003, 11:17 PM

NevStar: Thanks. I think part of the reason everyone thinks defense is under-rated is that they disregard the midfield. To my way of thinking, the midfield is an extension of the defense, rather than a completely seperate entity. That's why I have put together a decent midfield. If your opponent has 75% possession, they're just going to keep hammering away at your defense, and eventually find a way through, no matter how good that defense is. They'll get 3 attacks to every one that you get. That's my take on it, anyway. My midfield deserves some of the credit for this shutout, for sure.

sterlingice: I PICed this match (hence the weak midfield rating), and I will certainly do it again next week against the new team. But whether or not I MOTS against Ramblers week 11 remains to be seen. My first priority right now is to make sure I stay in 2nd place, and Croats in Miami are on an absolute tear (7 straight wins). I'll analyze the games both Ramblers and Croats play next week, and see whether or not MOTSing would be shooting myself in the foot.

Your situation is certainly different than mine. Coming into the game in the middle of the season like you did, you have very little to lose. Do whatever you can to make sure you finish in the top four of your series, so you get a piece of the prize money at the end of the season. That's what I'd suggest. The more you can manage in prize money, the stronger your squad will be next season. CCs Dragons and the Darksiders are out of your reach, but you can take down Atlanta United and claim the $37,500 for 3rd place.

Poli

02-10-2003, 10:10 AM

I'd agree. He's got a chance at third. I don't see myself any higher than third over here. I gave them a good game up until the last ten minutes. Their stamina was just too high...and he told me that his stamina was way high as well. I'll be glad to see him leave.

What will interest me is the upcoming game against the Braves for both my Raiders and the Superstars. Whoever loses the game between them will quite possibly be the team that stays in D4. However, our team gets better nearly every week, and we're definitely leaps and bounds better than we were the first time we faced the Braves. A victory may not place us in second place, but would definitely improve the morale of our team out here.

DataKing

02-10-2003, 04:18 PM

Screamin’ Seamen Record To Date

I just realized that Sunday’s match was the 50th in the brief history of the Screamin’ Seamen. In honor of this small milestone, here is the team’s record to date:

League

Matches Played: 23

Wins: 20
Draws: 3
Losses: 0
Win %: 93.48%

Goals Scored: 92
Goals Allowed: 17
Goal Differential: +75

USA Cup

Matches Played: 3

Wins: 2
Draws: NA
Losses: 1
Win %: 66.67%

Goals Scored: 9
Goals Allowed: 4
Goal Differential: +5

Friendly

Matches Played: 24

Wins: 11
Draws: 3
Losses: 10
Win %: 52.08%

Goals Scored: 37
Goals Allowed: 32
Goal Differential: +5

Overall Record

Matches Played: 50

Wins: 33
Draws: 6
Losses: 11
Win %: 72.00%

Goals Scored: 138
Goals Allowed: 53
Goal Differential: +85

Up Next: We’re burning up the transfer wires at the moment. There is a nice little bidding war going on over the services of Max Dodge. We’re also working on landing an Estonian wingback to add to our second team. Stay tuned!

Poli

02-10-2003, 06:17 PM

Congratulations! I'd like to have done something like that...but I'd have to filter through the match lists and figure out the numbers. I did it a few weeks ago...not sure I want to sit down and do that again any time soon!

Congrats on the excellent league record! I've lost 6 matches to my knowledge...two to the Winners, two the Superstars, one to the Braves, and one to a team that is now defunct. The last one aggravates me...I should have won that one!

DataKing

02-10-2003, 10:19 PM

Wave Goodbye...

A nice little bidding war occurred just before the bidding ended on Max Dodge. He ended up selling to Badgers Unite, a 6th Division team from Surrey, England. The winning bid translated to $102,101, $93,932 of which found its way into the club's coffers.

...And Say Hello

The money didn't stay there for long, however. Less than two hours later, we acquired the services of wingback Mattias Leier for $102,000.

Mattias Leier

Position: Wing Back
Jersey: #17
Hometown: Parnu, Estonia
Age: 18
Personality: Popular, calm, honest
Experience: Disastrous (1)
Leadership: Weak (4)

Assessed Value: $55,000
Wage: $936/week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Keeper: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Passable (6)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)

Mattias is a promising young wingback, who should fit in nicely with the team. Mild-mannered and rather soft spoken, he should be a quiet yet solid contributor on the back line. We plan to start him at wing back in our Windy City Cup match this Wednesday, opposite William Brown.

DataKing

02-13-2003, 12:11 AM

Season 2 – Windy City Cup – Group Play – Match #1

Northern Lazies vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: February 12th, 2003
Venue: Heroes Field (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 2,626 (49,300)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We face a tough test in our first Windy City Cup match. To be frank, we’re outmatched today. The Northern Lazies are currently in first place in Series III.1, and appear to be a very good team. Their reserves would actually be a good match for our starters. They even boast two international team members; Gonzalo Elipe Songel of Team Columbia, and Gilles Mignot of the French U-20 team.

While I doubt we will see either of these internationals, we’re still outmatched. Goal differential can come to play a difference in group play, so I will be happy if we can keep this one close. A loss by only two goals would be acceptable. The other two teams in our group are both Division 5 sides, and look to be quite beatable.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #25 Paul Peralta
Set Pieces: #9 Ruben Stewart

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

It’s pretty much business-as-usual this week, except that Estonian youngster Mattias Leier will make his debut as a Seaman.

Time for the spokesladies and I to head to the stadium…

Match Report

2626 spectators arrived at Heroes Field, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Northern had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Engel - Polanco, Mcdonald, Larson - Delaplace, Mignot, Ramey, Bellavista, Galiano - Lim, Cheek.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. They fielded: Read - Brown, Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Leier - Johnson, Brannon, Smith, Peralta - Stewart.

The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 in the 16:th by a breakthrough from Alain Delaplace, who unaided came in out of the right wing hooking the ball over the visitors keeper. Jerry Smith seemed highly inexperienced when in the 20:th minute he was loitering with the ball, allowing Matteo Bellavista to intercept and strike 2-0 for Northern. The home sides Terrance Lim twisted a free kick home in the 29:th minute, putting Northern ahead 3 - 0. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Northern´s Terrance Cheek putting the lead up to 4 - 0. The structure of the game started to change as Northern decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. The teams went for a half-time break at 4 - 0. Northern, bringing the final ball possession rate to 67 percent, dominated the battle.

Cory Mcdonald should probably have put his team up another goal in the 62nd minute, but some great goaltending by Darryl Read kept the visitors in the game. Northern held the ball, with a clear 70 percent possession rate.

Northern´s best player was Adam Ramey. However, Matteo Bellavista made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Darryl Read. Ruben Stewart on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 0.

Final Score: Northern Lazies 4, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals
None

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Brown: **~
Kvam: **
Stubbs: **
Lerma: *~
Leier: **

Johnson: **
Smith: **
Brannon: *~
Peralta: **

Stewart: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Northern Lazies
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)

Comments

Like I said earlier, we were easily outmatched in this one. I was quite disappointed in our performance in the first half, but at least the defense stiffened up and didn’t allow a score in the second half (due in large part to Darryl Read).

Jerry Smith’s inexperience cost us one goal, but the rest of it was just a superior team taking advantage of an inferior one. It wasn’t fun to watch. Men playing against boys and all that.

But to be honest, it could have been worse. We had a match similar to this in last season’s Windy City Cup and lost that one 6-nil, so I suppose this match could be seen as a mark of some improvement. It just goes to show that there are some high quality clubs in the Chicagoland area.

In the other match from Group D, The Prestidigitators defeated High Tops, also by a score of 4-nil. We play host to the Prestidigitators next Wednesday, but a loss in that one means we’re all but eliminated.

Up Next: Training results tomorrow evening. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-13-2003, 11:58 PM

Week 9 Training Results

After a couple of weeks with no real results to show for it, our defensive training really paid off this week. Two of our defensive trainees, Norwegian Christian Kvam and Spaniard Zarpas Lerma have both improved to passable (6) in defending. This means that all five of our trainees are at a passable level. We expect William Brown, and possibly newcomer Mattias Leier, to improve to solid (7) within the next month or so.

6 players rose a level in form this week.
14 players remained at their current form level.
Only 2 players (Forrest “Gump” Tobias and Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin) dropped a level in form.

The team’s average form rose 2 points to an even 6.0 (passable).

Top Form

We still have no players in excellent (8) form, but are up to eight that are at a solid (7) level of play at the moment:

Wingback #23 William Brown
Forward #11 Johannes Henriksson (starter)
Keeper #13 Cornelius Jernigan (starter)
Defender #21 Zarpas Lerma
Wingback #5 Arlen Lucas (starter)
Winger #10 Olav Mauffret (starter)
Keeper #1 Darryl Read
Wingback #22 Tyler Willard (starter)

With Max Dodge no longer in the picture, the dubious honor of “form dog” is split this week. Super-sub Brooks Brannon and reserve forward Ruben Stewart are both stuck at weak (4) form. Better them than any of our starters.

Value

Average player value broke the $100,000 mark this week, and currently sits at $102,143 (up $2,286 from last week).

Total player value is currently at $2,145,000, up $48,000 this week.

Big Gainers

This week’s top gainer was goalkeeper Cornelius Jernigan once again. “Corny,” as the players have taken to calling him, must love being a Seaman, because his form has risen from disastrous (1) to solid (7) in only seven weeks. His value jumped another $34,000 this week, placing his current assessed value at $519,000 (the first SSFC player to break the half-million mark).

19 year old wingback Tyler Willard is also worthy of mention. After only a few short weeks with the team, Tyler has begun to look comfortable with his teammates, and it shows both on the pitch and the training grounds. His value rose $11,000 this week, bringing him to $106,000.

Up Next: Weekly financial updates and the status of the club on Saturday. After that, we play host to the new team to series IV.49, The Cheats. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-16-2003, 02:21 AM

Weekly Financial Update

Youth Pull

This week’s youth squad product is nothing to write home about, but should still garner at least a little bit of income for the club. For those of you out there thinking about training strikers, give Dante Webb a look.

Dante Webb

17 years old, passable form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $21,000
Wage: $600/week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Weak (4)
Scoring: Inadequate (5)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Poor (3)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

Although only rated as inadequate in scoring, Dante is just 17 years old, and should therefore train up rather quickly. We’ll let the market decide what we can get for him. He has been transfer listed at $1,000.

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $451,774

Income

Crowd (friendly match vs. Northern Lazies) - $6,751
Sponsors - $56,250
Temporary (24 new supporters) - $720
Temporary (sale of Max Dodge) - $93,932

Total Revenue: $157,653

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $25,192
Temporary (youth squad promotion) - $2,000
Temporary (purchase of Mattias Leier) - $102,000
Staff & Specialists - $31,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $191,963

Net Income/Loss: -$34,310

New Balance: $417,464

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Content (up 1 level from last week)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (up 1 level from last week)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporters: 1,213 (up 24 from last week)

So What Will You Do With All That Money DK?

Some of you are probably wondering why I am content to just sit on over $400,000. I’ve decided that, instead of purchasing some better players for the club, I am going to save cash for a while. The reason for this is simple; I want a better head coach for my club. Look at the teams in America’s 3rd Division and you will see that nearly all of them are solid coaches. We’re going to need the same thing here at SSFC eventually, and I am generally pleased with the quality of our players. So we’re going to bite the bullet now, and save. I have heard that $500,000 is a safe estimate for what it will cost to get a solid coach, so hopefully we will have that by the end of the season.

Up Next: We have what looks like an easy match this Sunday, as we host the new team in series IV.49, The Cheats. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-16-2003, 11:48 PM

Season 2 – League Match #10

Screamin’ Seamen vs. The Cheats

Date: February 16th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 17,350 (17,350)
Weather: Partly cloudy

This week’s league match certainly looks to be an easy one. The Cheats, a team that is only a week old and is in last place, comes to The Docks for a visit. Like last week, this looks like an excellent opportunity for our guys to take it easy and still come away with a full three points. We’ll also look to get a couple of our younger guys some league match experience.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Two changes were made to the starting lineup. First, Otis Johnson will start on the wing opposite Olav Mauffret. This gives us a lot of youth on the wings, something I am normally a little leary about, but the ease of this match means it’s a good time to get these young kids some experience.

The other change to the lineup is Jerry Smith in the midfield in place of Lucian Tere. We’re grooming young Jerry to take over for Lucian someday, and this looks like a great opportunity to see what he can do. Jerry’s play has improved quite a bit as of late.

Match Report

17350 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Johnson, Bautista, Tomlin, Smith, Mauffret - Henriksson, Tobias.

Cheats tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Higgins - Bauman, Hurt, Dewey - Dietz, Ubillos, Brock, Anderson, Edmunds - Kerns, Melic.

Screamin's Pete Tomlin gave, after 20 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. In the 26:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Johannes Henriksson dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Screamin'. Edward Hurt received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 31st minute and almost caused an opponent to score. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 3 - 0. Otis Johnson finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. Cheats appeared unsure on how to play. What ever got into Brooks Anderson, the crowd mumbled, as he suddenly struck a cross pass through the own defense - ending up right in front of Screamin'´s Olav Mauffret , who easily put the ball away for 4-0. Halftime score was 4 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 77 percent possession rate.

The Cheats players spent the half-time break getting a rerun of the teams tactical organization. The home side´s Johannes Henriksson came close to extending the lead in the 65:th minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Scott Higgins managed saving with a fingernail. Cheats appeared unsure on how to play. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 5 - 0. Charlie Bautista finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. Cheats seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. The home side´s Charlie Bautista came close to extending the lead in the 76:th minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Scott Higgins managed saving with a fingernail. Screamin' put their lead ahead another goal as Forrest Tobias struck home the 6 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. The structure of the game started to change as Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. In the 81st minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Charlie Bautista dashed through, knocking home 7 - 0 for Screamin'. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 86 percent, dominated the battle.

Most important Screamin' player was Cornelius Jernigan. However, Otis Johnson made a disastrous appearance. Most important Cheats player was Scott Higgins. Nate Bauman was a disappointment, however. The match ends 7 - 0.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 7, The Cheats 0

Goals
Tomlin – 1 (3)
Henriksson – 1 (11)
Johnson – 1 (2)
Mauffret – 1 (3)
Bautista – 2 (2,3)
Tobias – 1 (10)

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***~ :D

Willard: ***
Scales: **~
Lucas: ***~ :D

Johnson: *~
Tomlin: **~
Smith: **
Bautista: **~
Mauffret: **~

Henriksson: **~
Tobias: **~

Man of the Match: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

The Cheats
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Comments

This was an easy match, to say the least. Our defense had another admirable performance, and wingback Arlen Lucas had the best performance of his career to date. But he was outshone by “Corny” Jernigan, who earned his second consecutive clean sheet and Man Of The Match award.

The other thing that pleased me about this match was the lack of cards and injuries. We’ve been extremely fortunate regarding injuries thus far this season. Let’s just hope that I haven’t jinxed the club by mentioning it. :)

Series Scores and Standings

-Croats in Miami won their eighth straight match, defeating Farmer of Fire 3-nil.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion’s slim championship hopes have vanished, but they still defeated Cariocas 6-nil.
-Ramblers poured it on this week, pounding Gazzaly FC 9-nil.

There were no changes in the standings this week, as the top half of the table defeated the bottom half by a combined score of 25-0! :eek:

<pre>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Ramblers 10 56-5 28
2. Screamin’ Seamen 10 43-10 26
3. Croats in Miami 10 32-14 24
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 10 24-11 15
5. Farmer of Fire 10 9-20 11
6. Gazzaly FC 10 12-39 7
7. Cariocas 10 11-39 5
8. The Cheats 10 3-52 0
</pre>

Our remaining schedule:

2/23 - @ Ramblers
3/2 - @ Gazzaly FC
3/9 – vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3/16 - @ Croats in Miami

Next week’s match against Ramblers looms large, and will most likely be our last shot at a series title this season.

Up Next: The second leg of group play in the Windy City Cup occurs on Wednesday. We will play host to 5th Division side Prestidigitators. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-19-2003, 09:37 AM

Apparently the market for 17 year old inadequate scorers has completely dried up, because Dante Webb did not receive a single bid. No one deemed him worthy of even $1,000.

So be it. Dante's bags have been packed, and he's going back to high school where he belongs. :)

DataKing

02-19-2003, 08:40 PM

Season 2 – Windy City Cup – Group Play – Match #2

Screamin’ Seamen vs. The Prestidigitators

Date: February 19th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 799 (17,350)
Weather: Rain

Our second draw in the Windy City Cup is The Prestidigitators, a club from 5th Division. Despite being from Division 5, The Prestidigitators looks to be a pretty good match for our second team. They are fond of a defensive-oriented 3-5-2 formation, similar to our first team. The match-up actually looks to be a pretty even one, and will certainly be a defensive struggle. Goals will be difficult to come by, and this has the looks of being a tight match from start to finish.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #23 William Brown

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #25 Paul Peralta
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Resting midfielder Lucian Tere on Sunday looks to have been a good decision, because the forecast is calling for rain, and Lucian is the only player we have who really excels on a wet pitch. We also rested wingback-turned-winger Ben McMahon, so he will play today. Besides his skills as a winger, Ben is also adequate at set pieces, so he will handle these for us today.

Match Report

Due to an all-day shower, 799 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at The Docks. Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Read - Leier, Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Brown - Peralta, Tere, Brannon, Mcmahon - Stewart.

Prestidigitators had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Carranza - Johnson, Youngblood, Jefferson - Guerra, Carranza, Anderson, Benson, Crosby - Hai-Bang, Rhodes.

Christian Kvam sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 1-0 in after a corner kick after 9 minutes of play. The home side failed to add to their score as Ben Mcmahon shot a penalty wide in the 17:th minute. In the 19:th minute Prestidigitatorss Rudy Youngblood received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Almost all the way down to the corner flag Don Crosby somhow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for Herman Rhodes who struck for 1 - 1. After a fine move down the middle Zarpas Lerma nearly gave the home side one up in the 29:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. 1 - 1 was the half-time score. Possession of the ball saw an equal split between the teams during the fortyfive minutes.

Prestidigitators had a good opportunity to score the lead goal but the home team goaltender Darryl Read saved Arnold Johnson´s shot headed for the top corner. The cannonball from 35 metres by Huang Hai-Bang of Prestidigitators was an impressive sight, but didn´t make it into the net. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Prestidigitators´s Eddy Jefferson got himself booked. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 63 percent possession rate.

Most important Screamin' player was Darryl Read. Ruben Stewart was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Prestidigitators player was without a doubt Leroy Carranza. Juán Benson on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 1.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, The Prestidigitators 1

Goals
Kvam – 1

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Leier: **
Stubbs: *~
Kvam: **
Lerma: **
Brown: **~

Peralta: **
Tere: **
Brannon: **
McMahon: **~

Stewart: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

The Prestidigitators
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Comments

I’m a bit disappointed in our performance today, as this is one we really should have won. Ben McMahon’s miss on the penalty kick in the first half really hurt, as that very well could have meant a victory for us and three points instead of one. As things stand now, we will need a win in next week’s match as well as some help if we hope to advance to the Round of 16 (the stage at which we were knocked out of the cup last season).

I did not realize that High Tops, our opponents for next week, is actually operated by a fellow FOFCer, Professor58. I believe the Professor is a lurker, but so much the better. That means he’s less likely to mouth off when he beats me next week. (Just kidding about the mouthing off, naturally. :D ).

Up Next: Training results tomorrow evening. Stay tuned!

Poli

02-19-2003, 10:01 PM

Pretty nifty having another FOFCer in your windy city cup!

Professor58

02-20-2003, 12:53 PM

I will not mouth off.

Now back to lurking !

Look Ma - My 1st post

Coffee Warlord

02-20-2003, 01:21 PM

We're not going to discuss my 11-0 trouncing in this weeks WCC Cup match. :)

Poli

02-20-2003, 03:19 PM

Lurkers rule. I wonder if I have any Ardent lurkers out there. Probably not!

DataKing

02-20-2003, 03:22 PM

I'm just honored that I was indirectly responsible for Professor58's first post. :)

I iz spe-shul. :p

Professor58

02-20-2003, 04:07 PM

about Hattrick back in September, did a search and signed up. So, it might have been you that turned me on to this "crack" called Hattrick.

Two posts in one day, my lurker status is in jeopardy.

Poli

02-20-2003, 05:29 PM

I will assimilate everyone.

DataKing

02-20-2003, 10:41 PM

Week 10 Training Results

We’re dancing in the halls here at the Screamin’ Seamen clubhouse. Arlen Lucas has joined Chuck Scales in the “excellent defending” club. With two of our starters on the back line at excellent defending, and wingback Tyler Willard at solid, opponents should have a difficult time finding the twine against us.

Arlen Lucas

20 years old, solid (7) form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $154,000
Wage: $980/week

Stamina: Passable (6)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

We purchased Arlen from Knightz of Lord way back in August, as one of our original defensive trainees. At the time he was valued at $41,000, and we paid $74,000 for him. Since then, his defending ability has improved twice, and his assessed value has jumped $113,000. This just goes to show what a long-term training program can accomplish.

2 players rose 1 level in form.
18 players saw their form remain the same as last week.
2 players lost a level of form (wingback Tyler Willard actually dropped 2 levels).

Top Form

After a number of weeks that saw us with a number of players at solid (7) form, someone finally took the next step. Keeper Darryl Read is now the only player on SSFC with excellent (8) form. With Darryl playing out of his head, “Corny” Jernigan at solid (7) form, and our back line showing steady improvement, opponents will be hard-pressed to score against us. This is just the sort of thing I like to see. :D

Super-sub Brooks Brannon and forward Ruben Stewart remain our “form dogs,” as they both remain stuck in weak (4) form.

Value

Average Player Value: $103,909
Total Player Value (22): $2,286,000

Wingback-turned-winger Ben McMahon reached an assessed value of $200,000 this week, becoming the first non-keeper on the club to reach that mark.

Up Next: Financial updates and our weekly youth pull on Saturday. After that, we travel to Detroit to take on the 1st place Ramblers. Although nothing is written in stone, this match will likely determine the series championship. You don’t want to miss this one!

Poli

02-20-2003, 10:43 PM

WOW, DK, I am so happy for you! I'm so frustrated, I haven't had a pop in a while. Not even Lim Vien Van. Just totally frustrating. I've expected more.

DataKing

02-20-2003, 10:51 PM

Originally posted by ardent enthusiast
WOW, DK, I am so happy for you! I'm so frustrated, I haven't had a pop in a while. Not even Lim Vien Van. Just totally frustrating. I've expected more.

That probably just means that a lot of your guys are "in sync" and will pop within a few weeks of each other. I'd actually rather have it that way, personally. That way, when you go to switch training programs, you can be sure to get the best value by selling a bunch of players after they all just "popped."

DataKing

02-23-2003, 12:32 AM

Weekly Financial Update

Youth Pull

This week’s youth squad product doesn’t look like he will find a place on the Screamin’ Seamen roster, but he should still find a home somewhere. An 18 year old with solid winger ability is nothing to sneeze at. He will be placed on the transfer market on Sunday, with an asking price of $30,000.

Rafael Ubierna

18 years old, passable form, healthy.

A popular guy who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Unpredictable

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $34,000
Wage: $660/week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Solid (7)
Scoring: Weak (4)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Poor (3)
Set Pieces: Inadequate (5)

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $417, 464

Income

Crowd (league match vs. The Cheats) - $91,900
Crowd (friendly match vs. The Prestidigitators) - $2,184
Sponsors - $58,050
Temporary (24 new supporters) - $720

Total Revenue: $152,854

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $24,828
Temporary (youth squad promotion) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Dante Webb) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $92,099

Net Income/Loss: $60,755

New Balance: $478,219

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Satisfied (up 1 level from last week)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporters: 1,237 (up 24 from last week)

Having nearly half a million dollars in the bank is nice, but that balance is likely to dip soon. Only one of our four remaining matches is at home, so we will likely lose money before the end of the season. Unless we get another jackpot pull from the youth squad, that is.

Up Next: Our big matchup against Ramblers on Sunday. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-23-2003, 11:54 PM

Season 2 – League Match #11

Ramblers vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: February 23rd, 2003
Venue: Ramblers Arena (Detroit, MI)
Attendance: 37,250 (37,250)
Weather: Sunny

This is it, the match we’ve all been waiting for. We travel to Detroit this week, to take on the 1st place Ramblers on their home turf. You may recall that we came back from a 2-nil deficit the first time we played the Ramblers, and managed to earn a draw at The Docks. But this time around, we will need more if it is going to mean anything. Sitting at two points behind Ramblers and two points ahead of Croats in Miami, the race for the title is a tight one. We have to go for the jugular here. If we manage to win, then the series title will be ours to lose. A draw or loss does us no good, and means that the best we can realistically hope for is a second place finish.

We have four things going for us today:

1. Despite forecasts earlier in the week calling for rain, it has turned out to be a beautiful day here in Detroit. This is exactly the boost we need, as we’re not a very good wet-weather team.
2. Ramblers play an asymmetrical 3-5-2 formation, meaning that they replace a wingback with an extra inner midfielder. We will be looking to attack this weakness, and praying that they don’t pull a switch on us.
3. Ramblers midfielder Eric Holmes is injured. Eric is the second best player on the Ramblers squad (currently valued at over $600,000), but was injured last week and is not expected back for the match.
4. For the first time in the brief history of this franchise, we’re playing Match Of The Season. I have refrained from doing this in the past, but simply put, it’s do-or-die time for us. Lose this one, and we have practically no shot at the series title this season.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

It’s a pretty standard line-up for us this week, as we have our best and brightest players preparing to take the pitch. Ben McMahon, our defensive-specialist winger, will try to contain Phillip Gallo, Ramblers star player (valued at over $1,000,000). Other than that, we’re focusing on our defensive efforts and attacking the Ramblers’ right side, where they typically leave the afore-mentioned weakness on defense.

Time to see if all this preparation has paid off…

Match Report

A scorching day at Ramblers Arena, where 37250 spectators were in place for today´s match. Ramblers had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Chugg - Arredondo, Marvin, Campos - Niemelä, Whittington, Maddox, Nugent, Gallo - Hansson, Barik.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mcmahon, Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Mauffret - Henriksson, Tobias.

Proving his experience, Philip Gallo scored 1-0 for Ramblers after putting some pressure on the the enemy defence at a critical moment. Barry Campos should probably have put his team up another goal in the 21st minute, but some great goaltending by Cornelius Jernigan kept the visitors in the game. Ramón Nugent almost managed to score another goal for Ramblers, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. In the games 24:th minute Ramblers´s Gus Whittington fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Gus Whittington for taking a dive. Some brilliant football from the visitors right wing resulted in a 29:th minute levelling of scores as Screamin's Pete Tomlin equalised to 1 - 1. Halftime score was 1 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Ramblers, with an impressive 52 percent possession of the ball.

Unsportsmanlike behaviour by Gus Whittington rendered him his second booking of the match, and Ramblers had to finish the game with a reduced squad. Ramblerss Perry Maddox got himself booked after a foul. Man, what a shot by Johannes Henriksson! Firing from 35 yards he didn't give the enemy goalie a chance and it was 1 - 2. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 77 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Ramblers player was without a doubt Philip Gallo. Mark Marvin on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Cornelius Jernigan. Lucian Tere on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 2.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Ramblers 1

Goals
Tomlin – 1 (4)
Henriksson – 1 (12)

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***~

Willard: **~
Scales: ***
Lucas: ***

McMahon: **~
Tomlin: **~
Tere: **
Bautista: ***
Mauffret: **~

Henriksson: **~
Tobias: **~

Man of the Match: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: World-Class (13)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)

Ramblers
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Formidable (9)

Comments

:D THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE FIRST PLACE, BABY!

After giving up an early goal to give Ramblers a 1-nil lead, “Corny” Jernigan more than made up for it. He played out of his head for the remainder of the half, and made two great saves to keep us in the match. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin’s second goal in as many weeks tied it up for us heading into halftime. But the man of the hour is team captain Johannes Henriksson. A superb 35-yard strike in the second half gave us the win, and sole possession of first place. Way to go, Johan!

Luck certainly played a factor, as Gus Whittington’s second booking early in the second half left Ramblers short a man in the midfield. Which begs the question, was MOTSing the match necessary? Perhaps, and perhaps not, but I’m not second-guessing my decision at all. We did what we felt like we had to do, and for whatever reasons, it worked.

Series Scores and Standings

-Neon Genesis Evangelion demolished The Cheats, 7-1.
-Croats in Miami pushed their winning streak to nine matches, defeating Cariocas 4-1.
-Farmer of Fire shut down Gazzaly FC, 6-nil.

<pre>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Screamin’ Seamen 11 45-11 29
2. Ramblers 11 57-7 28
3. Croats in Miami 11 36-15 27
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 11 31-12 18
5. Farmer of Fire 11 15-20 14
6. Gazzaly FC 11 12-45 7
7. Cariocas 11 12-43 5
8. The Cheats 11 4-59 0
</pre>

Our win over Ramblers tightened up the standings at the top even further, with only two points separating the top three teams. But the important part is that we’re the ones on top now. :cool:

Our remaining schedule:

3/2 - @ Gazzaly FC
3/9 – vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3/16 - @Croats in Miami

Our match against Gazzaly FC next week will be a welcome break, and should be a chance to repair the damage we’ve just done to our team spirit. After that, we’ve got two tough ones against Neon Genesis Evangelion and especially Croats in Miami. The best possible outcome is for Ramblers and Croats in Miami to draw when they play in two weeks, which would give us a little more cushion. Either way, the series title is ours to lose now.

Up Next: Our third and final group play match in the Windy City Cup, when we play host to Professor58’s High Tops. It should be another classic intra-FOFC match-up. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-25-2003, 10:44 AM

I would like to take this opportunity to thank SplitPersonality and his Little Green Monsters for joining the ranks of the Screamin' Seamen Supporters. Welcome to our happy little soccer family, SplitP.

On a side note, we (along with ardent's North County Raiders) now have more supporter teams than the Kansas City Wizards, without a doubt the single best team in the entire U.S.A.!

vex

02-25-2003, 11:55 AM

Now if you could only combine teams...

Barkeep49

02-25-2003, 09:47 PM

This was an incredible read and one I will be referring to when I finally get my own hattrick team.

A question: What does making a match Match of the Season do?

DataKing

02-25-2003, 09:53 PM

Originally posted by Barkeep49
This was an incredible read and one I will be referring to when I finally get my own hattrick team.

A question: What does making a match Match of the Season do?

I'm glad you've enjoyed the dynasty so far, Barkeep. The rest of the season should be pretty exciting, as we try to win the series title with virtually no room for error.

Playing MOTS (Match of the Season) means that your team performs better on the pitch for that game(but not significantly so). The downside is that you do damage to your team spirit. Low team spirit means generally lower performance. We'll probably see a drop-off in performance until we can get our team spirit back up to a respectable level.

Doug5984

02-25-2003, 10:25 PM

Originally posted by DataKing
I would like to take this opportunity to thank SplitPersonality and his Little Green Monsters for joining the ranks of the Screamin' Seamen Supporters. Welcome to our happy little soccer family, SplitP.

On a side note, we (along with ardent's North County Raiders) now have more supporter teams than the Kansas City Wizards, without a doubt the single best team in the entire U.S.A.!

What exactly does supporting a team do?

And great dynasty...i really enjoy reading it...and hoping that someday I may be # 1 in Division IV.

Poli

02-26-2003, 01:17 AM

Supporting a team really doesn't do much other than allow you to know when that person logs in and gives you quick access to their team page. You are only allowed five slots, so you have to pick your teams somewhat wisely. I have dropped two teams and added to FOFC teams.

For me, I enjoy knowing when DK, Horned, and Coffee Warlord log in. I just wish I could support us all. I certainly would do it.

I'm also honored that FOFC has put DK and myself way up there on the supported team list for USA. We certainly have tried our best to help you all with the game!

vex

02-26-2003, 04:06 AM

If only you cared when I logged in, ardent:( ;)

DataKing

02-26-2003, 09:32 AM

I'm right there with ardent, honored to be chosen by so many FOFCers as a team worthy of supporting. You guys make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (Or maybe that's just heartburn ;) ).

I support three FOFC teams (two of which I know IRL), the founder of the Chicagoland Football Association, and another person I know IRL. I really wish we could support more than five other teams, but so be it.

I'm glad you've enjoyed the dynasty report so far, Doug. Hopefully we'll have more good stuff to report soon.

Poli

02-26-2003, 10:14 AM

You'll soon know me IRL as well. Just 8 months and 2 days until November 1. :)

My heart bleeds for you, Vex :) .

DataKing

02-27-2003, 10:43 AM

Season 2 – Windy City Cup – Group Play – Match #3

Screamin’ Seamen vs. High Tops

Date: February 26th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 712 (17,350)
Weather: Overcast

Today is the day for our much-anticipated match-up against a fellow FOFC team, Professor58’s High Tops. As I mentioned last week, we need a solid win over the High Tops, as well as some help from Northern Lazies, if we’re going to advance to the Round of 16 in the Windy City Cup. I don’t like the fact that our fate isn’t really in our own hands, but there’s nothing to do about that now. We’re best off just taking care of business on our own end, and seeing how the chips fall.

The High Tops are an offensive-oriented team, running a 3-4-3 formation primarily. The extra attacker means this match will be a good test of our defense. We seem to have a midfield advantage, and it’s a home game for us, so we should get our fair share of scoring chances. The difference, I believe, will be how well our defense holds up under pressure. But with keeper Darryl Read “in the zone” lately, I am pretty optimistic as to today’s outcome.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #25 Paul Peralta
Set Pieces: #9 Ruben Stewart

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

This is pretty much a standard line-up for our second team, as all of our regular starters played in Sunday’s big victory over Ramblers. 27-year-old winger Paul Peralta will wear the captain’s armband for us today.

Confident in the play of our defense lately, and needing some goals to have a chance at moving on to the Round of 16, we’re playing a few players “up” in their normal positions. Central defender Zarpas Lerma will be up, helping out our midfielders on occasion. Midfielder Jerry Smith and winger Otis Johnson will take their opportunities to push the ball up the left side, and speedy wingback William Brown will join the rush from the opposite side when the opportunity presents itself.

Well, no more time for strategizing. The spokesladies and I need to head down to The Docks now…

Match Report

At The Docks, 712 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. They fielded: Read - Brown, Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Leier - Peralta, Brannon, Smith, Johnson - Stewart.

High had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. Lineup: Larsson - Sellers, Latham, Schell - Medina, Chuong, Gangfeldt, O´Brien - Nobles, Sullivan, Basoco.

Christian Kvam received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 13th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. Highs Allan Sellers got himself booked after a foul. Otis Johnson went down after a savage challenge, but could keep on playing after some medical attention. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 in the 36:th by a breakthrough from Ruben Stewart, who unaided came in out of the right wing hooking the ball over the visitors keeper. A great save by goaltender Mikael Larsson in the 37:th minute kept the visitors in the game as Christian Kvam struck from the left with a real cannonball. The referee showed Screamin's Christian Kvam the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 53 percent, dominated the battle.

High got a chance to level the score as Christopher Sullivan suddenly found himself free with the goaltender but the finishing shot hit the bar. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 2 - 0. Ruben Stewart finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. No one team arose to dominate this half, ending in a deadlock.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Darryl Read. Ruben Stewart was a disappointment, however. High´s best player was Torbjörn Gangfeldt. Abe Medina on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 0.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, High Tops 0

Goals
Stewart – 2

Cards
Kvam (yellow)

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Brown: **~
Kvam: **~
Stubbs: **~
Lerma: **
Leier: **~

Peralta: **
Brannon: **
Smith: **
Johnson: *~

Stewart: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

High Tops
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Weak (4)
-Left Defense: Poor (3)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Comments

We seem to have a knack for 2-nil defeats over fellow FOFC clubs, as that has been the final score in our last four intra-FOFC matches (including the last three in the FOFC Cup). The High Tops surprised us with their quality midfield play, and we didn’t have the possession advantage that we expected. But we leaned on our defense, as expected, and they came through for us. I’ve got to give some props to High Tops though. They showed a lot of spunk out there on the pitch.

Unfortunately, I don’t think we got as much help from the Northern Lazies has we needed in order to advance in the Windy City Cup. I haven’t received the official word yet, but I believe The Prestidigitators earned the second spot from our group. We each ended up with four points, and with the same goal differential (-2), but they scored more goals than we did (6 to our 3). I hate to be denied advancement by such a small margin, but such is life.

The injury to winger Otis Johnson was just an ankle bruise, and a minor one at that. He should be fine in a few days. Our good luck with injuries continues.

Up Next: Weekly training results this evening. Stay tuned!

Coffee Warlord

02-27-2003, 10:51 AM

Wow. I wind up advancing in the WCC and you don't?

Well, I'll represent the FOFC with pride in the next round...and that's prolly it. :)

DataKing

02-27-2003, 11:10 AM

Do us proud Coffee. You and RavenHawk remain.

And speaking of Ravenhawk, I see a problem. By my calculations, there are four more friendly match dates available before next season's U.S.A. Cup starts up. And we need three weeks to determine the winner of this season's FOFC Cup. If Ravenhawk wins next Wednesday, he'll have to withdraw from one of the two cups.

As soon as I get the official word that I am out of the Windy City Cup, I will go about arranging a friendly match for next week. It seems like it has been ages since I've actually had a say in who we play on a Wednesday. Most likely I'll be looking for an international match, since open friendly dates are such a rarity for us.

Coffee Warlord

02-27-2003, 12:39 PM

I actually might make it outta the first round, too. Seeded vs another series V team. Looks a little more established than I am, but I've got a shot!

DataKing

02-27-2003, 02:38 PM

Seamen Announce Trip to London Next Week

The Screamin' Seamen Football Club announced earlier today that they would be travelling to London, England next week, for an international friendly match against Crazy Docs FC, a fifth division side. Team owner and general manager Data King held a brief press conference this afternoon to announce the trip.

"With our heavy involvement in the FOFC and Windy City Cups, open dates for matches are a rarity," stated King. "We wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, and give our lads a little international experience. Some of the best soccer in the world is played in England, and I'm sure Crazy Docs F.C. can teach our boys a thing or two."

The team will leave for London Monday afternoon.

In other SSFC news, recent youth squad product Rafael Ubierna is bound for Buenos Aires. The 18 year old winger was sold earlier today for $31,000 to Los Fiambres, an Argentinian fifth division side. $28,520 of that money found its way into the Screamin' Seamen coffers.

DataKing

02-27-2003, 10:15 PM

Week 11 Training Results

The good news just keeps pouring into Seamen-land, folks! Only one week after one of our starting wingbacks, Arlen Lucas, improves to excellent defense, the other one joins him! Take a gander at Tyler Willard:

Tyler Willard

19 years old, inadequate (5) form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Unpredictable

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $107,000
Wage: $940/week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Wretched (2)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Inadequate (5)

As you may recall, Tyler Willard came off of our youth squad about five weeks ago. At the time, he was valued at $84,000, and has improved by $23,000 since then. Our entire back line is now of ‘excellent’ skill level.

Just remember folks…defense is for wimps. :rolleyes:

Form Changes

4 players improved in form by one level.
16 players saw their form remain the same.
2 players dropped one level in form.

In The Zone

Backup keeper Darryl Read remains the only SSFC player in excellent (8) form, and his assessed value of $227,000 remains unchanged from last week as well. Seven other Seamen are in solid (7) form:

Keeper #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan (starter)
Defender #21 Zarpas Lerma
Wingback #5 Arlen Lucas (starter)
Winger #10 Olav Mauffret (starter)
Midfielder #19 Jerry Smith
Forward #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias (starter)

Struggling forward Ruben Stewart actually dropped in form, and now holds the dubious title of “form dog” all by himself at poor (3) form. Despite yesterday’s two goal performance, it is obvious that Ruben is not happy being a Seaman. More on this later.

Value

Average Player Value: $103,591 (-$318)
Total Player Value (22): $2,279,000 (-$7,000)

Despite four form increases and only two decreases, average player value dropped this week for the first time in a long time. Most of this was due to “Corny” Jernigan dropping $29,000 in value (yet his form remained the same).

Say goodbye to Ruben

I have been hoping for a while now that Ruben Stewart would get over losing his starting job to “Gump” Tobias, but apparently that is not going to happen. Only once in the last eleven weeks has Ruben’s form been above weak (4), and he has been making overtures about wanting to be sold for a while now. If he can’t start for us, I guess he figures he can start somewhere else.

The problem is something I have been turning a blind eye to for some time now, but I can no longer ignore it. Because we play a 5-4-1 formation in friendly matches, that means we only have one real backup for both Johannes Henriksson and “Gump” Tobias. We’ve been blessed with very few injuries thus far this season, but we’re in the midst of a heated series title race, and I simply cannot take the risk any longer.

I didn’t want to have to do this, but have been left with little choice. I have begun scouring the transfer market for a backup striker. I’m not looking for anything exceptional (passable scoring or so), and I am actually purposely looking at older players. I want someone with experience to step in for Johannes or Forrest should anything happen to either one of them. Let’s just hope I am being overly-cautious, and they both stay healthy.

I have made it clear to Ruben that he will not be placed on the transfer wire until we have secured his replacement.

Up Next: Weekly financial updates and the state of the club. After that, we travel to the Big Apple to face Gazzaly FC. Stay tuned!

DataKing

02-28-2003, 12:12 AM

Two new teams announced their official support for the Screamin' Seamen today. They are:

Louisiana Cyclones (Owned by Doug5984)
Bull Dogs (Owned by Eilim)

Thank you both for your support of SSFC. Two members of the team's starting eleven are on their way to your clubhouses, to deliver your VIP tickets in person.

I have also procured VIP tickets for all of our supporters for our Week 14 match against Croats in Miami, the match that will likely decide the series title. I understand if you all are too busy with your own matches to make it, but the tickets are on the way nonetheless.

We now have the official support of 15 teams, tying us for 6th in the United States (and moving us one ahead of Ardent. :p ).

I'm feelin' the love. :D

vex

02-28-2003, 12:18 AM

Once the election starts to get near, I'll probably add you as well, for looks:)

DataKing

02-28-2003, 12:24 AM

I've noticed you're working on my name recognition in the conference boards vex. Thanks.

:)

Poli

02-28-2003, 12:28 AM

Originally posted by DataKing
Two new teams announced their official support for the Screamin' Seamen today. They are:

Louisiana Cyclones (Owned by Doug5984)
Bull Dogs (Owned by Eilim)

Thank you both for your support of SSFC. Two members of the team's starting eleven are on their way to your clubhouses, to deliver your VIP tickets in person.

I have also procured VIP tickets for all of our supporters for our Week 14 match against Croats in Miami, the match that will likely decide the series title. I understand if you all are too busy with your own matches to make it, but the tickets are on the way nonetheless.

We now have the official support of 15 teams, tying us for 6th in the United States (and moving us one ahead of Ardent. :p ).

I'm feelin' the love. :D

Hmmph! :)

daedalus

02-28-2003, 12:34 AM

Wimp! :)

A few questions . . .

1) How do you achieve your 3-5-2, instruction-wise?

2) What level form would you consider as the lowest acceptable?

Thanks. :)

vex

02-28-2003, 12:39 AM

Originally posted by DataKing
I've noticed you're working on my name recognition in the conference boards vex. Thanks.

:)

Yeah, I figure adding the bold effect makes it stand out more:)

DataKing

02-28-2003, 12:41 AM

Originally posted by daedalus
Wimp! :)

A few questions . . .

1) How do you achieve your 3-5-2, instruction-wise?

2) What level form would you consider as the lowest acceptable?

Thanks. :)

Yep, I'm a wimp. A 1st place wimp, that is. :D

1. I switch out one of my central defenders for an extra inner midfielder. The side that I remove the central defender from is the same side as the stronger of my two wingbacks, generally.

2. I generally do not play starters if their form drops to weak or worse. At that point, I usually have a backup who would actually perform better, assuming their form is decent at the time. Exceptions are made, but rarely.

I hope this helps, and let me know if any of you have other questions. I'm always willing to help (unless I have a match scheduled against you, that is. :D ).

DataKing

03-02-2003, 01:04 PM

Weekly Financial Update

Youth Pull

We’ve received another youth pull that doesn’t appear to have a future with the Screamin’ Seamen, but should certainly find a home somewhere. Unfortunately Porter Callaway is 19 years old, and it is late in the season, otherwise we might be able to fetch more for him. He does have good potential as an offensive midfielder, with a decent amount of midfielder and stamina training. However, I am training neither currently. Porter has been listed on the transfer market for $1,000.

Porter Callaway

19 years old, passable form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $86,000
Wage: $960/week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Solid (7)
Defending: Weak (4)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $478,219

Income

Crowd (friendly match vs. High Tops) - $1,911
Sponsors - $59,250
Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660
Temporary (sale of youth pull Rafael Ubierna) - $28,520

Total Revenue: $90,341

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $24,828
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Rafael Ubierna) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Rafael Ubierna) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $92,099

Net Income/Loss: -$1,758

New Balance: $476, 461

The sale of youth pull Rafael Ubierna allowed us to nearly break even this week, despite not having a home league match.

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Composed (down 3 levels from last week)
Team Confidence: Strong (down 1 level from last week)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (down 1 level from last week)
Supporters: 1,259 (up 22 from last week)

The damage to team spirit was a result of MOTSing the league match against Ramblers, but the 2-1 victory and claiming first place was certainly worth it.

I think our supporters are getting spoiled, though. We continue to win, but their attitude and the rate at which they are signing up seems to be dropping off. We may hire another spokesperson if this trend continues.

Speaking of which, here is our current staff:

Goaltending Coaches: 2
Assistant Coaches: 7
Sports Psychologists: 2
Spokespersons: 4
Economists: 0
Physiotherapists: 7
Doctors: 0

We plan to move to a full complement of 8 assistant coaches and 10 physiotherapists during the off-season. Then our training program will really be rolling, and we will train at 100% intensity.

Up Next: We’re in New York City this weekend, to take on Gazzaly FC. Stay tuned!

daedalus

03-02-2003, 06:07 PM

Curse not having money. I'd love to pick up that kid. He'd be a darn solid middie in about a half a season to a season.

DataKing

03-02-2003, 09:56 PM

SSFC Owner Collapses After Match

(New York, NY) Data King, general manager and owner of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, collapsed earlier this evening at the conclusion of the team’s match against Gazzaly FC.

It is reported that King flew into a tirade near the end of the match, when Gazzaly FC was awarded a potentially game-tying penalty kick with only seconds remaining. King had to be restrained by club officials, anonymous sources say.

Seconds after the penalty kick flew wide, King collapsed. Emergency personnel were on the scene in moments, and quickly took King to a local hospital. Although club officials have yet to release any details, hospital staff members have indicated that King is in good condition, and is being kept overnight for supervision.

Model Francine Dee, one of King’s guests at the match, spoke briefly with reporters at the hospital.

“It was scary,” Dee stated. “One second DK was screaming, the next second he was cheering like a lunatic, and a second later he just collapsed. I sure hope he’ll be OK.”

King’s club, SSFC won the match in dramatic come-from-behind fashion, 4-3.

DataKing

03-02-2003, 09:57 PM

Season 2 – League Match #12

Gazzaly FC vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: March 2nd, 2003
Venue: Valentula (New York, NY)
Attendance: 5,358 (7,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’re on the road for the second week in a row, in The Big Apple to take on sixth-place Gazzaly FC. We expect this to be a pretty easy three points for us, as well as an opportunity to repair the damage we did to our team spirit last week against Ramblers.

It will be Standard Operating Procedure today against Gazzaly FC. They’ve made some improvements since we crushed them 6-nil back in week three, but they just don’t have the horses to run with us, even if they are at home.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We have no changes to the starting line-up this week.

Match Report

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 5358 at Valentula today. Gazzaly started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Huber - Griggs, Rouse, Andrade - Marcus, Song, Dumas, Vargas, Queen - Marrero, Mcintyre.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mauffret , Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

The referee showed Screamin's Charlie Bautista the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Gazzaly were forced to a substitution as Zeb Queen couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a 20:th minute goal by Bryan Vargas for Gazzaly, putting them ahead 1 - 0. In the 26:th minute Gazzaly put themselves up 2 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Roland Mcintyre coming up from the left, who proceeded to cooly round the goaltender and knock the ball home. The structure of the game started to change as Gazzaly decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Gazzaly, with an impressive 52 percent possession of the ball.

Screamin' showed some good morale and were, in the 79:th minute, able to reduce the score to 2 - 1 as Johannes Henriksson got past the home sides full backs straight in front of the goal. Richard Song was the first to reach the corner kick, but his header was saved by the keeper. However, Gazzaly´s Kirby Marcus managed to get hold of the rebound and scored the 3-1 goal. In the games 83rd minute Screamin' replied, reducing the lead to 3 - 2. Charlie Bautista scored on a marvellous cross pass coming in from the left. The visitors didn´t give in and after 85 minutes Forrest Tobias got through the home sides central line of defense, rolling in the levelling goal to make it 3 - 3 After 89 minutes Screamin's Forrest Tobias made his way through the middle, putting the visitors up 3 - 4. In the 89:th minute Screamin's Lucian Tere received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Gazzaly were forced to a substitution as Bryan Vargas couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. The home crowd were tearing their hair as Roland Mcintyre missed a penalty shot by miles in the 90:th minute. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 51 percent, dominated the battle.

Gazzaly´s best player was Richard Song. However, Merrill Griggs made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Cornelius Jernigan. Lucian Tere was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 4.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Gazzaly FC 3

Goals
Henriksson – 1 (13)
Bautista – 1 (4)
Tobias – 2 (11,12)

Cards
Bautista (yellow)
Tere (yellow)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***~

Willard: ***
Scales: **~
Lucas: ***

Mauffret: **~
Tomlin: **~
Tere: **
Bautista: **~
McMahon: **~

Tobias: **~
Henriksson: **

Man of the Match: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Gazzaly FC
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)

Comments

Holy crap! I don’t even know where to begin!

I guess I should start by saying that this was big “trap game” for us, and I didn’t recognize it as such. I told my guys to take it easy, figuring that we would have an easy time with Gazzaly FC, and looking to repair some of the damage we did last week. I was not expecting this kind of match at all.

Down 3-1 with less than ten minutes to go, I thought we were sunk. But Charlie Bautista had other ideas, knocking home the goal that brought us within one. That really seemed to get the rest of the team going, especially Forrest Tobias. “Gump” went absolutely berserk on the pitch, scoring two incredible goals in only four minutes, and we had the lead!

I damn near charged onto the field and throttled the referee when he gave Gazzaly FC a penalty kick with only seconds remaining in the game. But fortune smiled upon us once again, and Gazzaly striker Roland McIntyre missed the net completely. When I saw that kick go wide, I cheered, then started to feel light headed. The next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed…but I guess there’s been plenty of about that in the papers.

Author’s Note: No, I didn’t actually pass out or anything at the end of the match. But it sure was exciting!

Series Scores and Standings

Farmer of Fire has folded, and a new charter has been granted to a team from New Jersey named Inquisition.

I’m not sure what the deal is with The Cheats, but it appears as though they have fired all of their players. All they have on their roster is a coach.

-Inquisition lost their inaugural match to Cariocas, 3-2.
-Ramblers remained hot on our heels, defeating Neon Genesis Evangelion, 3-1.
- Croats in Miami were awarded a 5-nil walkover win against The Cheats.

<pre>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Screamin’ Seamen 12 49-14 32
2. Ramblers 12 60-8 31
3. Croats in Miami 12 41-15 30
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 12 32-15 18
5. Inquisition 12 17-23 14
6. Cariocas 12 15-45 8
7. Gazzaly FC 12 15-49 7
8. The Cheats 12 4-64 0
</pre>

If the season ended today, we would be the very last of the 32 teams awarded auto-promotion. Our goal differential is six below the next team with 32 points. Talk about cutting things close!

Our remaining schedule:

3/9 – vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3/16 - @ Croats in Miami

We were definitely looking past this week’s match, but we will not make the same mistake next week. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a quality club, but this time we will have the advantage of playing at home.

Also of interest, Ramblers play host to Croats in Miami next week. The best possible outcome for us is a draw between those two. Assuming that occurred, and we defeated Neon Genesis Evangelion, a draw is all we would need against Croats in Miami on the 16th to secure the series title.

Other News

Please help we welcome the newest part of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, Danish striker Jesper Gravesen.

Jesper Gravesen

27 years old, solid form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and upright.
Has poor (3) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Technical

Nationality: Denmark
Assessed Value: $36,000
Wage: $816/week

Stamina: Solid (7)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Weak (4)
Scoring: Passable (6)
Goaltending: Wretched (2)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Poor (3)
Set Pieces: Solid (7)

We purchased Jesper for $19,000 earlier today, from Aalbork BK, a club from Denmark’s 4th Division. Jesper has been used primarily as a backup during his career, but has made the most of his opportunities, scoring twelve goals in only seven competitive matches, including two hattricks.

Jesper is exactly what we were looking for as a replacement for Ruben Stewart. He has some experience, and can function as team captain when needed. He is also good on set pieces, which is a weakness of ours. Until now, Johannes Henriksson has been the only player on the team rated at solid (7) in set pieces.

Up Next: The club is flying straight from New York to London, for our international friendly against Crazy Docs FC on Wednesday. I’ll be catching up with them as soon as I can. Stay tuned!

Blade6119

03-02-2003, 09:58 PM

Ill go for porter, with the recent youth pulls grabbing me 300k...talented goalies keep coming from my inadequte youth squad....im really lucky....

Blade6119

03-02-2003, 10:06 PM

dola...real quick question...my last youth pull goalie is inadaquate, but serves as a great team clown with solid leadership and popular...i will play him in my friendlies, but without training goalkeeper, will his stats go up?

DataKing

03-02-2003, 11:05 PM

When you do general training, your keepers that played will receive a small amount of goaltending training. Otherwise, his goaltending ability will not increase without specific goalkeeper training.

Blade6119

03-02-2003, 11:21 PM

thnx for the response....with my team securly in 4th for the year, as my final 2 games are against #1/2 in the league, im going to train keeper to raise the stats.

Go Screamin Seamen

Blade6119

03-02-2003, 11:32 PM

wait....what am i doing taking up your time with silly questions...there are still japs to kill!!! go get em data!!!

Aesyrqwe

03-03-2003, 05:55 PM

White Sox Pride (71519) (owner - Aesyrqwe)
# 8 in V.167

daedalus

03-04-2003, 01:07 AM

Out of curiosity, since you alternate between 3-5-2 and 5-4-1 between league and friendly games, at what level does your formation experience usually stay at/around?

daedalus

03-04-2003, 01:13 AM

Ooh. I just noticed your team being on that Q-game edge. Keep up the good work! :)

DataKing

03-04-2003, 09:32 AM

Originally posted by daedalus
Out of curiosity, since you alternate between 3-5-2 and 5-4-1 between league and friendly games, at what level does your formation experience usually stay at/around?

My formation experience for these two formations is always either solid or excellent. Whichever one was played most recently is excellent, while the other one is solid. Basically, this means that I'm always running a formation in a match which I am 'solid' at. I have yet to suffer any sort of confusion in match from this.

DataKing

03-04-2003, 01:19 PM

We have listed Ruben Stewart on the transfer market, now that we have secured a replacement for him in Jesper Gravesen. Ruben's form appears to be a problem, but perhaps a change of scenery will help him out? Who knows.

Ruben Stewart

Listed As: Forward
Asking Price: $15,000
Bidding Ends: March 7th @ 1:14pm central

21 years old, poor form, healthy

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

Specialty: Quick

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $40,000
Wage: $790/week
Warnings: 0

Stamina: Excellent
Playmaking: Weak
Winger: Weak
Scoring: Passable
Goaltending: Disastrous
Passing: Poor
Defending: Inadequate
Set Pieces: Passable

DataKing

03-04-2003, 07:09 PM

Season 2 – Week 12 – International Friendly Match

Crazy Docs FC vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: March 4th, 2003
Venue: Crazy Docs FC Arena (London, England)
Attendance: 2,345 (18,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’re in jolly old England this week, for an international friendly against Crazy Docs FC, a club from England’s Fifth Division. We’ve been looking forward to this trip for a couple of different reasons.

First off, we’ve made this trip a little longer than most visits to opposing stadiums. I figure that the best thing for our lads right now is a little bit of R&R. The players need to unwind a little bit, after our harrowing visit to New York, and with two vital league matches rapidly approaching.

Second, and this may seem odd, but it’s nice to have a match that means absolutely nothing. Between the U.S.A. Cup, the Windy City Cup, and the FOFC Cup, open dates are extremely rare for our club. And scheduling is only going to get more difficult, with the rapid growth of the FOFC and the prospect of a higher seed in next season’s U.S.A. Cup (where we should advance beyond round three). More than likely, we will not be participating in the Windy City Cup next season, with the prospect of alternating between the FOFC and Windy City Cups in future seasons. But no official decision has been made just yet.

As far as today’s match goes, Crazy Docs FC run a 3-5-2 formation, with a decent balance of offense and defense. We have a small edge in talent, it appears, but with the strength of the 3-5-2 over the comparative weakness of the 5-4-1, I expect a pretty even contest.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #23 William Brown
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Jesper Gravesen makes his debut as a Screamin’ Seaman today, and will wear the captain’s armband for us as well. I know he’s brand new to the club, but I think the youngsters can learn a thing or two from Jesper. Fortunately for us, his English is at least marginally understandable. :D

We’ve also made a small change on the back line. Christian Kvam, our 18 year old Norwegian defender, has been showing good form lately, and so we will play him at left wingback. William Brown will slide over to central defender to make room for Christian on the wing.

Match Report

2345 spectators had come to Crazy Docs FC Arena this cloudy day. Crazy tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Dias - Falcon, Wilmot, Redwine - Conigliaro, Sohda, Parker, Peyrani, Paul - De Gabiola, Ekber.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Leier, Brown, Lerma, Stubbs, Kvam - Peralta, Brannon, Smith, Johnson - Gravesen.

Otis Johnson came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 17:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Francisco Dias managed to tip the ball to a corner. 17 minutes into the game Lee Redwine had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Lorne Cafferkey. Jerry Smith came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 31st minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Francisco Dias managed to tip the ball to a corner. In the 37:th minute Crazys Eric Peyrani received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Halftime score was 0 - 0. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 56 percent, dominated the battle.

After a fine move down the middle Eric Peyrani nearly gave the home side one up in the 48:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. Misao Sohda behaved like an inexperienced youth player in the 49:th minute as he gave the ball away to an opponent. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. Keith Stubbs came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 66:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Francisco Dias managed to tip the ball to a corner. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 67 percent possession rate.

OVERTIME

After the regular 90 minutes, the agonizing of overtime followed. Keith Stubbs had a good try in the 107:th minute, coming in on a fine move from the left, but the ball went wide. Refet Ekber of Crazy received a yellow card in the 109:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. 109 minutes into the game Lorne Cafferkey had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Edmund Schrattenecker. Screamin' had a good opportunity to score the lead goal but the home team goaltender Francisco Dias saved Mattias Leier´s shot headed for the top corner. There was still no winner after 30 minutes of extra time so the teams had to select a lineup for a penalty contest to settle the result.

PENALTY KICKS

Crazy´s Rufino De Gabiola made no mistake. Darryl Read didn´t have a chance. 1 - 0.

A badly laid penalty by Screamin'´s Jesper Gravesen was surrendered by Francisco Dias, taking an equally bad dive, making the score 1 - 1.

Crazy´s Refet Ekber looked insecure all the way from laying the ball down to clipping the ball miles wide of the crossbar. No goal.

Screamin'´s Brooks Brannon cooly put the ball past Francisco Dias. 1 - 2.

A badly laid penalty by Crazy´s Mervyn Parker was surrendered by Darryl Read, taking an equally bad dive, making the score 2 - 2.

Screamin'´s Darryl Read didn´t hesitate but Francisco Dias managed the save, resulting in an unchanged 2 - 2 score.

Crazy´s Thomas Paul looked insecure all the way from laying the ball down to clipping the ball miles wide of the crossbar. No goal.

A badly laid penalty by Screamin'´s Paul Peralta was surrendered by Francisco Dias, taking an equally bad dive, making the score 2 - 3.

Crazy´s Misao Sohda looked insecure all the way from laying the ball down to clipping the ball miles wide of the crossbar. No goal.

Screamin'´s Jerry Smith, obviously having last minute doubt´s, produced a loose ball to the right post. Unfortunately Francisco Dias made a premature move to the left and didn´t make it back. New score 2 - 4.

The most dominating Crazy player was without a doubt Francisco Dias. Jon Conigliaro was a disappointment, however. Most important Screamin' player was Darryl Read. Brooks Brannon on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 4. The match ends 2 - 4.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 0, Crazy Docs FC 0 (PK: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Crazy Docs FC 2)

Goals
None

Penalty Kick Goals
Gravesen
Brannon
Peralta
Smith

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Leier: **
Lerma: **
Stubbs: **~
Brown: **~
Kvam: **~

Peralta: **
Smith: **
Brannon: *~
Johnson: **

Gravesen: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Crazy Docs FC
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Comments

Just when you think you’ve got a nice, relaxed friendly match set up, the “Cardiac Kids” strike again! We had good opportunities throughout the match, and you could tell that the addition of Jesper Gravesen has helped the offense. But Crazy Docs’ keeper Francisco Dias just put up a force field in front of the net, saving three different goal attempts in regulation.

For the first time in history, we played more than 90 minutes in a match. After another 30 minutes (and Dias’ fourth goal save), we lined up for penalty kicks, and it appears that Crazy Docs’ relative inexperience finally got the better of them. 4-2 on penalty kicks, and we went out to hit the London pub scene as winners. :D

Up Next: Weekly training results Thursday evening. Stay tuned!

DataKing

03-05-2003, 01:29 PM

A nice little bidding war developed as the deadline approached for youth pull Porter Callaway. AX Surf, a club from Switzerland's Fifth Division, were the eventual winners, with a winning bid of $37,000. $34,040 of that found its way into the club's coffers.

DataKing

03-06-2003, 10:11 PM

Week 12 Training Results

Behold the power of a good training program! We’ve received more good news this week on the training front, as wingback William Brown has improved to solid defending.

William Brown

20 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is fiery and dishonest. (He’s a good guy, unless you piss him off.)
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Quick

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $59,000
Wage: $670/week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Inadequate (5)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

William was purchased way back in August, when we first formed Screamin’ Seamen FC, for a paltry $5,000. His assessed value at the time was $13,000, and has more than quadrupled in the past two seasons.

Form Changes

5 players saw their form increase from last week.
15 players had their form remain the same.
3 players saw their form drop from last week.

Ruben Stewart must love the idea of playing for someone else. Now that he is on the transfer market, his form jumped two levels this week, up to inadequate (5). His assessed value jumped by $7,000 as well. It figures. :rolleyes: Bidding for Ruben currently sits at $17,000.

In The Zone

Goalkeeper Darryl Read remains “in the zone” with excellent (8) form, and is joined this week by two of our defensive trainees; Norwegian Christian Kvam and Spaniard Zarpas Lerma. While the two 18-year-olds are certainly playing good soccer at the moment, they simply are not skilled enough to start for us, barring injury or suspension to one of our starters.

I don’t know that the term “form dog” really applies any longer, because the lowest form on the team currently is inadequate (5). Four of our players are at this level right now, and all of our other players are in passable (6) or better form.

Value

Average Player Value: $102,043 (-$1,548)
Total Player Value (excluding Ruben Stewart): $2,300,000 (+$21,000)

Up Next: The weekly financial update and youth pull. On Sunday, we play host to Neon Genesis Evangelion, who we narrowly defeated 3-2 back in week two. It looks like it will be a good matchup. Stay tuned!

DataKing

03-07-2003, 04:28 PM

Ruben Stewart Sold

Back-up striker Ruben Stewart finally got his wish granted, as he was sold earlier today for $30,000. The winner of the bidding was fellow FOFC team and SSFC supporter, Eilim's Bull Dogs. It's always nice to see players stay within the FOFC family. :)

$27,000 of that money found its way into the Screamin' Seamen club coffers.

International News

The American U-20 team kept their hopes for a U-20 World Cup title alive this afternoon, defeating the U-20 Finland team, 3-1. This sets up an interesting match next week against rival Mexico. U.S.A. will need a win against Mexico if they hope to advance to second round group play.

If you guys are interested in seeing some Hattrick drool-material, take a gander at Jude Sutherland (ID# 2471384). At 20 years old, Jude is already the single best American-born goalkeeper on the planet, and put up an incredible 8.5 stars ( :eek: ) against Finland in today's U-20 match. He already has 17 caps for the U-20 team and 11 caps for the national team.

Jude's assessed value is $10,147,000, and his weekly salary is $34,180 (greater than my entire team put together). He plays for the Yuma Bulldogs, the #1 team in series III.11. On an entertaining side note, the Bulldogs have given up 6 league goals this entire season!

Sutherland is one of those guys that I have kept half an eye on since I started playing the game. One of my long-term goals is to have Jude on my team someday (a long, long time from now, no doubt). Just something I thought you guys might find entertaining.

sterlingice

03-07-2003, 05:16 PM

If you guys are interested in seeing some Hattrick drool-material, take a gander at Jude Sutherland (ID# 2471384). At 20 years old, Jude is already the single best American-born goalkeeper on the planet, and put up an incredible 8.5 stars ( ) against Finland in today's U-20 match. He already has 17 caps for the U-20 team and 11 caps for the national team.

I think it's because he looks like Jesus. Any coincidence? ;)

If you has been quicker: (Transfer History)
2/5/2002 Aguilas Yuma Bulldogs 453 000 US$ (169 000 US$)
Then again, were you even playing a full year ago?

SI

Eilim

03-07-2003, 05:16 PM

Jude, I know him well. :) I like to check around and look at the higher teams and see what they have for talent. I usually also try to catch a couple premiere/series I games from around the world, they can be eye opening.

I watched a cup match the other day between the number one and three teams in the Svierge Series I. Besides drooling over the 92,000 fans going to a match. I nearly fainted seeing the lowest line rating was "brilliant", and the rest were Supernatural and extra-terrestrial, divine.

Some day, someday hattrick newbies will be watching my matches and drooling like that. ;)

sterlingice

03-07-2003, 05:21 PM

I watched a cup match the other day between the number one and three teams in the Svierge Series I. Besides drooling over the 92,000 fans going to a match. I nearly fainted seeing the lowest line rating was "brilliant", and the rest were Supernatural and extra-terrestrial, divine.

Some day, someday hattrick newbies will be watching my matches and drooling like that.
Speaking of drooling- check out those divine midfields in the Smackers United - IFK Livergården cup matchup this past week: a pair of devines. Hell, IFK Livergården's midfield got the same as my best star count ever for my entire team (22.5).

SI

DataKing

03-07-2003, 05:39 PM

Originally posted by sterlingice
I think it's because he looks like Jesus. Any coincidence? ;)

If you has been quicker: (Transfer History)
2/5/2002 Aguilas Yuma Bulldogs 453 000 US$ (169 000 US$)
Then again, were you even playing a full year ago?

SI

Naah, I started playing in August. August 5th, to be exact.

DataKing

03-09-2003, 04:09 PM

Weekly Financial Update

Youth Pull

This week’s youth pull, Millard Meadows, was very close to finding a spot on the Screamin’ Seamen B-team, but fell just short of making the grade. He is the first 17 year old we’ve pulled that is really worth a damn, but our training group is already filled with passable defenders. Had we pulled Millard a few weeks from now, he would be worth a lot more than he is now (he will turn 18 in only a few weeks). He has been listed on the transfer market with a starting price of $5,000.

Millard Meadows

17 years old, passable form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and upright.
Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $19,000
Wage: $580/week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Wretched (2)
Winger: Weak (4)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Passable (6)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $476,461

Income

Crowd (international friendly vs. Crazy Docs FC) - $6,125
Sponsors - $60,300
Temporary (24 new supporters) - $720
Temporary (sale of youth pull Porter Callaway) - $34,040
Temporary (sale of Ruben Stewart) - $27,000

Total Revenue: $128,185

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $24,828
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Porter Callaway) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Porter Callaway) - $1,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Ruben Stewart) - $1,000
Temporary (purchase of Jesper Gravesen) - $19,000
Temporary (travel expenses for international friendly) - $6,000
Staff & Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $118,099

Net Income/Loss: $10,086

New Balance: $486,547

Despite not having a home league match again this week, we were able to turn a small profit. This was mostly due to the sale of Ruben Stewart and youth pull Porter Callaway. We’re looking forward to turning a nice profit in the coming week, as we have our last home match of the season, and expect another sellout.

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Calm (up 1 level from last week)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (up 1 level from last week)
Supporters: 1,283 (up 24 from last week)

Playing it cool against Gazzaly FC this week nearly cost us first place, but fortunately we were able to escape from New York with a win. Now we have to hope that our current team spirit and confidence will carry us through, because we do not have the opportunity to help it along any more.

Other News

For those of you who play Hattrick that may not have noticed, a cool new feature has been added. The game will now tell you the best performance a player has ever given. This may lead to a new feature in this dynasty report, and will certainly help when scouring the transfer market (just how many stars can this guy put up, anyway?).

Up Next: A very important league match this evening, as we play host to the fourth place Neon Genesis Evangelion club. Stay tuned!

DataKing

03-09-2003, 08:39 PM

Season 2 – League Match #13

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Date: March 9th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 17,350 (17,350)
Weather: Overcast

If you’ve been following this dynasty report, then you know how important the last two matches of this season will be for us. We care currently in first place in the standings, but second-place Ramblers and third-place Croats in Miami are only one and two points behind us in the standings, respectively. To make things even more interesting, those two clubs play each other today. Needless to say, this is a pivotal week for the entire series.

Our task for today is to defeat fourth-place Neon Genesis Evangelion. We narrowly defeated Evangelion at their place way back in week two, due to a goal in the 76th minute by the most unlikely of heroes, central defender Chuck Scales. NGE’s midfield play seems to have improved quite a bit over the course of the season, and the talent level between our two teams looks to be very even.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Possession of the ball is going to be the key factor in today’s matchup. NGE’s offense is slightly better than ours, while we have a slight defensive advantage. I am sure that we will have our opportunities on offense, given that we are at home. Therefore, we will concentrate on keeping the ball away from NGE, to cut down on the number of opportunities they get against us.

The big change this week is 19 year old Jerry Smith starting at midfield in place of Lucian Tere. This is a calculated risk. Jerry is more of a possession-type midfielder than Lucian is, but isn’t in as good of shape. Still, we’re looking for anything that will help give us the advantage in the midfield today.

Because of that, Ben McMahon will play “up” from his usual defensive winger position. Ben is little threat to score, and won’t help the offense much, but he should be able to help our middle three control the flow of the game. Olav Mauffret, on the other side, will join the rush when the opportunity presents itself.

On to the game…

(Author’s Note: I’m going to alter the format of the match reports from now on, to make them a little more readable.)

Match Report

At The Docks, 17350 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mauffret , Bautista, Tomlin, Smith, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

EVA tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Åkesson - Calloway, Smiley, Waldrop - Ayres, Ødegård, Taylor, Fortune, Villiard - Lachance, Davenport.

FIRST HALF

Johannes Henriksson gave his Screamin' the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post.

Ben Mcmahon was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Johannes Henriksson managed to kick one of them into 2 - 0 in the 23rd minute.

The home side´s Forrest Tobias came close to extending the lead in the 35:th minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Erik Åkesson managed saving with a fingernail.

The referee showed EVAs Théo Villiard the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Halftime score was 2 - 0. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 62 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 80 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Screamin'. However, Erik Åkesson made a spectacular save.

A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 88 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Screamin'. However, Erik Åkesson made a spectacular save.

Frederick Ayres sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 2-1 in after a corner kick after 88 minutes of play.

A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 3 - 1. Pete Tomlin finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle.

The structure of the game started to change as Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

After an industrious effort down the middle Charlie Bautista could have closed the game off in the 88:th minute, but his finishing shot hit the post.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 68 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. However, Jerry Smith made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating EVA player was without a doubt Geir Ødegård. However, Théo Villiard made a disastrous appearance.

The match ends 3 - 1.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 1

Goals
Henriksson – 2 (14, 15 – 2nd goal assisted by McMahon)
Tomlin – 1 (5)

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Willard: ***
Scales: ***
Lucas: ***~

Mauffret: **~
Bautista: **~
Smith: **
Tomlin: **~
McMahon: **~

Tobias: **~
Henriksson: **

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Neon Genesis Evangelion
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Excellent (8)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)

Comments

With a 2-0 lead thanks to the industrious efforts of Johannes Henriksson and Ben McMahon, we pretty much played keep-away for a large portion of the second half. It was hardly scintillating soccer, but it was effective. We did see a flurry of activity late in the match, and were a little concerned when Frederick Ayres made the score 2-1. But Pete Tomlin wasted no time replying with a 3-1 goal to secure the victory.

More good news was announced over the loudspeaker at the conclusion of the match. Croats in Miami scored two goals in the last ten minutes of their match against Ramblers, forcing a 2-2 draw. Perfect! We could not have asked for a better result, as you’ll see below in the series standings.

Series Scores and Standings

-As I just mentioned, Ramblers and Croats in Miami fought to a 2-2 draw.
-Gazzaly FC and Cariocas also fought to a draw, this one 4-4.
-Inquisition was awarded a 5-nil walkover win over The Cheats.

<pre>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Screamin’ Seamen 13 52-15 35
2. Ramblers 13 62-10 32
3. Croats in Miami 13 43-17 31
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 13 33-18 18
5. Inquisition 13 22-23 17
6. Cariocas 13 19-49 9
7. Gazzaly FC 13 19-53 8
8. The Cheats 13 4-69 0
</pre>

As you can see, our win combined with the draw between Ramblers and Croats in Miami was the perfect development for us. Now, all we need is a draw next week when we visit Croats in Miami. I am certain that Croats will be looking to play the spoiler, however. Ramblers are certain to defeat Inquisition next week, which means that a loss to Croats in Miami would give the series title to Ramblers, based on goal differential.

We’re also in an interesting situation regarding automatic promotion. If we win next week against Croats, then we’re guaranteed automatic promotion to Division Three. However, A draw against the Croats would likely mean a qualification match to earn the right to promotion. There is also a $120,000 difference in prize money between auto-promotion and having to play a qualification match. Obviously, we haven’t won anything just yet, and next week’s match will be critical.

Up Next: The FOFC Cup is back in action this week. We play host to the_herd’s Ruskies in the quarterfinals. Stay tuned!

hazzardhotrod

03-09-2003, 10:05 PM

Great job Dataking, please finish up the rest of the season. Hilarious stuff.

sterlingice

03-09-2003, 10:57 PM

You going to MotS it next week just to be sure?

SI

DataKing

03-09-2003, 11:04 PM

Originally posted by sterlingice
You going to MotS it next week just to be sure?

SI

Yes, we're almost certain to MOTS the match next week. The first priority is to win the series title. A qualification match for Division III, if necessary, is secondary. There is a lot of money at stake here. For Division IV, here are the payouts:

1st Place: $120,000
2nd Place: $75,000
3rd Place: $60,000
4th Place: $30,000

The series winner also receives a bonus, based on whether or not that team auto-promotes.

Auto-Promotion: $170,000
Qualification Match: $50,000

The best-case scenario for us is $290,000 (series title plus auto-promotion), while the worst-case is only $75,000 for second place. Basically, next week's match is worth $215,000.

Yeah, I think we'll MOTS it. ;)

vex

03-09-2003, 11:27 PM

Everyone should MOTs the last week anyways.

DataKing

03-09-2003, 11:45 PM

Originally posted by vexroid
Everyone should MOTs the last week anyways.

Unless you're absolutely locked into a qualification/relegation match, that is.

vex

03-10-2003, 12:28 AM

Yeah, which I definitely am not:)

daedalus

03-10-2003, 02:58 AM

-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)

F'n WOW and a half. (Er, is that WOW~?) I was feeling pretty darn smug with my team's sometimes passables and occasional solids.

I need a drink now. Hope I have some mountain dew left. :)

daedalus

03-10-2003, 03:01 AM

Oh. And glad I read this 'cuz I would've definitely forget to MotS this upcoming game. Duh me.

DataKing

03-10-2003, 10:03 AM

You're looking at the benefits of almost two full seasons of defensive training. When your "back three" are all excellent in defense, and you have a solid keeper, this is the kind of defense you can put up.

Call me greedy, but I really wanted the clean sheet on Sunday. Oh well. ;)

DataKing

03-10-2003, 10:40 AM

New Supporter

We are pleased to announce that a new supporter has been added to the Screamin' Seamen family.

High Tops (Currently #3 in series V.28, owned by Professot58).

This ties us for 5th in the United States at 16 supporting teams. The other teams with 16 supporters are Slashers FC (Major League) and Bob Hemp (now retired).

Welcome to the club, Professor. Your VIP tickets are on the way.

robbgmaier

03-10-2003, 02:12 PM

quick question, does anyone know if training playmaking applies to the wingers as well as the inner midfielders? (I now return you to your originally scheduled thread)

DataKing

03-10-2003, 02:56 PM

Originally posted by robbgmaier
quick question, does anyone know if training playmaking applies to the wingers as well as the inner midfielders? (I now return you to your originally scheduled thread)

Wingers receive partial benefits from playmaking training, but I could not tell you what percentage "partial" equates to. Perhaps someone who has conducted playmaking training for a while can hazard a guess?

DataKing

03-12-2003, 11:19 PM

Season 2 – FOFC Cup – Quarterfinal Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Ruskies

Date: March 12th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 842 (17,350)
Weather: Rain

At long last, the FOFC Cup is back in action this week. We’ve drawn the_herd’s Ruskies team, and it looks to be an interesting match-up. We seem to have a small edge in talent with our second team, but the forecast for today is calling for rain. We aren’t a good wet-weather team, as players like midfielder Brooks Brannon and defender William Brown sometimes have trouble performing on a wet pitch.

Still, the fact that we are playing at home should give our players a boost. Hopefully that will be enough of a boost to move onto the semifinals next week.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Because he started for us in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Neon Genesis Evangelion, Jerry Smith will only be acting as a back-up for us today. Starting in his place will be Romanian midfielder Lucian Tere. Lucian is the one player on the club that seems to thrive in wet-weather situations, so we’re fortunate that we chose not to use him on Sunday.

Match Report

The crowd of 842 turning up at The Docks today were greeted by some nasty showers of rain. Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Read - Leier, Brown, Lerma, Stubbs, Kvam - Johnson, Tere, Brannon, Peralta - Gravesen.

Ruskies had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Sanderson - Swenson, Sharp, Hirsch, Khaira - Kapur, Payne, Holmes, Hinton, Randolph - Daugherty.

FIRST HALF

In the 6:th minute the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending and Stacy Hirsch put the ball away for 0 - 1.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. Ruskies held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Ruskies, bringing the final ball possession rate to 54 percent, dominated the battle.

POST GAME
The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Darryl Read. Paul Peralta was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Ruskies player was without a doubt Roy Payne. Paul Holmes was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 1.

(Author’s Note: No, I did not delete anything from this match report. It really was that boring!)

Final Score: Ruskies 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals
None

Cards
None

Signs Of Life From Our B-Team
None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Leier: **
Stubbs: **~
Brown: **~
Lerma: **
Kvam: **~

Johnson: **
Tere: **
Brannon: **
Peralta: *~

Gravesen: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Ruskies
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)

Comments

I feel sorry for the 842 poor saps that actually paid to see this match. We lost, a large majority of them got very wet, but the worst thing is that they watched what was perhaps the most uneventful match in the history of Hattrick! If I could give them their money back, I would.

Congratulations to Ruskies, though. They fought hard and earned a win. We wish them the best of luck in the semi-finals.

Other News

Youth pull defender Millard Meadows was sold earlier today for $23,000 to Los Pibes del Pecio, a club from Spain’s 5th Division. $21,160 of that money found its way into the SSFC coffers.

We would also like to welcome a new supporter to the Screamin’ Seamen family. Gasmasters (currently #1 in series V.222) are owned and operated by Flatulon. Welcome Gasmasters!

We are now in lone possession of 5th place in the United States as far as supporting teams, with 17.

Up Next: Weekly training updates tomorrow evening. Stay tuned!

daedalus

03-12-2003, 11:56 PM

Originally posted by DataKing
(Author’s Note: No, I did not delete anything from this match report. It really was that boring!)

Durn defensive teams . . . :)

The_herd

03-13-2003, 12:01 AM

I am willing to return my portion of todays profits so you can offer refunds to the poor fans that showed up to watch this ugly, ugly match.

DataKing

03-13-2003, 03:32 PM

We are pleased to announce that another FOFC club has been gracious enough to lend their support to the Screamin' Seamen:

The Rochester Roosters are owned and operated by dacman, and have clinched the title in series V.220. Congratulations Roosters, and thank you for your support!

DataKing

03-16-2003, 04:06 PM

Week 13 Training Results

For what seems like the first time in a while, none of our defenders showed significant improvement this week. However, veteran wingback-turned-winger Ben McMahon did improve from wretched (2) to poor (3) experience this week.

Ben McMahon

Jersey #: 3

27 years old, inadequate form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest. (Much like the misunderstood Erik Williams).
Has poor (3) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $190,000
Wage: $1,680/week
Warnings: 1

Stamina: Excellent (8)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Solid (7)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Passable (6)

Ben was one of our original players, and remains a valuable member of the club. Earlier this season, the arrival of youth-squad promotee Tyler Willard cost Ben his spot as one of our starting wingbacks. We wanted to keep Ben in our starting rotation, though, and asked him to make the transition upfield to winger. He has made the transition quite well, and has become an important part of our midfield. It’s also nice to know that he can shift back to wingback should Tyler Willard or Arlen Lucas be injured or suspended.

Form Changes

2 players saw their form increase from last week (including central defender Chuck Scales).
14 players had their form remain the same.
6 players saw their form drop a level from last week (including 5 starters! :( ).

This was not a good week for our starters, as five of them dropped in form. And just before the biggest match of the season too! I just hope they’ve got enough left in the tank for one more match.

In The Zone

Backup keeper Darryl Read’s run of excellent (8) form has come to an end after three weeks, but defensive trainees Christian Kvam and Zarpas Lerma remain “in the zone.”

We don’t really have anyone that qualifies as a “form dog,” as five different players are in inadequate (5) form

Value

Average Player Value: $105,636 (+$3,593)
Total Player Value: $2,324,000 (+$24,000)

Up Next: Our youth pull and weekly financial update. Stay tuned!

DataKing

03-16-2003, 04:23 PM

Weekly Financial Update

Youth Pull

For the first time in recent memory, the Screamin’ Seamen youth squad failed to produce. The SSFC management has taken pity on 19-year-old Vinnie Agee, though, and has given him a job as towel-boy and cup-cleaner for the team. (Vinnie’s assessed value was a whopping $4,000).

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $486,547

Income

Crowd (league match vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion) - $91,900
Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Ruskies) - $2,313
Sponsors - $61,350
Temporary (24 new supporters) - $720
Temporary (sale of youth pull Millard Meadows) - $21,160

Total Revenue: $177,443

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $24,854
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Millard Meadows) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Millard Meadows) - $1,000
Staff and Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $92,125

Net Income/Loss: $85,318

New Balance: $571,865

A good week, to say the least. We had another sell-out in our last home league match of the season, and the sale of youth pull Millard Meadows pretty much paid for the youth squad this week. We’ve breached the half-a-million mark for the first time in club history.

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Composed (down 1 level from last week)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (up 1 level from last week)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporters: 1,307 (up 24 from last week)

Given the number of supporters we have currently, we will be looking at considerable stadium improvements in the off-season.

Up Next: We’re in Miami this weekend, preparing to take on the Croats. In case you’ve been living in a Hattrick-cave, you should know that this match is HUGE! The series title and possible promotion to Division III are on the line. You don’t want to miss this one!

DataKing

03-17-2003, 02:59 AM

Season 2 – League Match #14

Croats in Miami vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: March 16th, 2003
Venue: Croats in Miami Arena (Miami, FL)
Attendance: 33,000 (33,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy

This is it. The match we’ve been fighting all season for. The formula is very simple. If we’re able to beat Croats in Miami today, then we will have won the series title and should receive automatic promotion to Division III. If we draw, then we will still get the series title, but will most likely have to play a qualification match. If we lose, then Ramblers will win the series and we will have to settle for second place.

For those of you with long memories, you will recall that we pounded Croats In Miami back in week one, 5-1. They were running an asymmetrical 3-5-2 defense back then, and we took advantage of that. But they will certainly not make the same mistake twice, and their team has improved considerably since the beginning of the season. This looks to be a very even matchup.

This match is so important that I actually considered “leasing” a player or two for it. That is, buy a good player or two, play them in this one match, and then re-list them on the transfer market. But I decided against that. If we don’t win the series on our own merits, then we don’t deserve the opportunity to move to Division III. It’s that simple.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We’re going pretty much with our standard line-up this week. Croats in Miami have a better midfield than we do, so we’re going to “pinch” winger Olav Mauffret to try to make up the difference. By “pinch,” I mean Olav will play towards the middle. It will hurt our wing attack on that side, as well as Olav’s star rating, but should help our midfield.

Deep breath…and away we go. A season hangs in the balance…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Croats in Miami Arena saw a crowd turnout of 33000. Croats had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Evering - Tze-Kei, Göransson, Howe - Schofield, Allen, Blackwell, Rönnerberg, Parish - Patrick, Broderick.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mauffret , Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

Croats could have put themselves ahead in the 6:th minute as Michael Patrick missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right.

In the 14:th minute Screamin's Chuck Scales received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Croats were forced to a substitution as Joe Howe couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment.

Clint Russell gave his Croats 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 games 30:th minute Croats´s Clint Russell head butted an opponent nastily and so the referee sent him off immediately.

Tyler Willard of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 33rd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. Croats, bringing the final ball possession rate to 65 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Croats made a substitution in the 48:th minute. Alexander Parish limped off the field and was replaced by Örjan Tranwald.

After an industrious effort down the middle Michael Patrick could have closed the game off in the 57:th minute, but his finishing shot hit the post.

After an industrious effort down the middle Michael Patrick could have closed the game off in the 63rd minute, but his finishing shot hit the post.

Croats held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Most important Croats player was Donald Blackwell. Örjan Tranwald was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Olav Mauffret on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The match ends 1 - 0.

Final Score: Croats in Miami 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals
None

Cards
Scales (yellow)
Willard (yellow)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Willard: ***
Scales: ***
Lucas: ***~

Mauffret: *~ (pinch)
Tomlin: **~
Tere: **
Bautista: **~
McMahon: **

Henriksson: **
Tobias: **~

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Author’s Note: I will now start including the ‘DKI’ Ratings (named by sterlingice) for my matches, in order to try to gauge the ratings’ effectiveness. The rating is generated simply by adding up all of the team ratings, counting midfield as double.

Screamin’ Seamen
-DKI Rating: 59
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Croats in Miami
-DKI Rating: 55
-Midfield: Excellent (8)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Excellent (8)
-Central Attack: Formidable (9)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)

Comments

Damn. Damn-damn-damn-damn-damn.

So close. One goal away from a series title and a qualification match. :(

The ejection of Clint Russell really opened up the Croats’ defense, but we just could not take advantage. Superior conditioning on our end helped to close the gap in possession in the second half, but our guys were never able to break free. The Croats’ midfield, combined with home-pitch advantage, was just too much for us to overcome, especially considering the form hits that our starters took this week.

I’m disappointed, for sure, but not as much as you might think. At the beginning of every season I set what I feel is a reasonable goal for my club. This season, I expected a top-four finish, therefore earning some prize money and securing our place in Division IV. The fact that we were one goal away from the series title was an unexpected bonus.

Our players have nothing at all to be ashamed of. In the immortal words of Bears and Cubs fans around the world, “there’s always next year!” :)

Series Scores and Final Standings

-As expected, Ramblers routed Inquisition, 8-nil.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion doomed Gazzaly FC to the lands of the auto-demoted, with a 6-1 drubbing.
-Cariocas received a 5-nil walkover win over The Cheats.

<pre>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Ramblers 14 70-10 35
2. Screamin’ Seamen 14 52-16 35
3. Croats in Miami 14 44-17 34
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 14 39-19 21
5. Inquisition 14 22-31 17
6. Cariocas 14 24-49 12
7. Gazzaly FC 14 20-59 8
8. The Cheats 14 4-74 0
</pre>

Looking at the final standings, I could actually raise hairs about Ramblers winning the series title. I understand that goal differential is the first tie-breaker, but if head-to-head matches were considered like they are in many sports, then we would still have won the title (having drawn with Ramblers in our first meeting and defeated them in the second). But that is not the case. So be it.

Looking at the bottom half of the table, I fully expect to see four new teams in our series next season. Gazzaly FC and The Cheats are automatic demotes. Inquisition inherited the position of Farmer of Fire, but have made no efforts at all to improve their team, and the Cariocas ownership have been inactive for a number of weeks now.

Don’t be surprised to see a lot of new faces in series IV.49 next season.

Other News

A word of warning to everyone; Keep your default line-up up to date! The trouble that the Hattrick site was experiencing this weekend could have cost me dearly. I had not yet submitted my line-up when the trouble began, and my default line-up is a very old one. Fortunately the site came back up a couple of hours before match time. Not that it ended up mattering any. :mad:

Johannes Henriksson ended up tied for 3rd for the series scoring title with 15 league goals, and Forrest Tobias claimed 5th place with 12 scored. Ramblers’ Steffan Hansson took home the honors with an impressive 22 league goals.

Up Next: We’ve arranged for a friendly this Wednesday against Eilim’s Bull Dogs. Stay tuned!

daedalus

03-17-2003, 03:41 AM

Ugh. So close.

You have a heck of a foundation to build on, though. Especially with the bonus coming in after the season.

Do you have any plans for changes this offseason?

NevStar

03-17-2003, 09:24 AM

Tough luck. I was watching your match with more interest than my own.

I'd also like to plug the NevStar Index as a substitute to the DKI Rating. They're the same, except midfield is tripled instead of doubled. This is justified since the defense & attack each get 3 ratings also (for left, central & right). Using this, the ratings for your match are much closer.

We'll get 'em next year.

vex

03-17-2003, 11:11 AM

Sorry about the game, better luck next season:)

DataKing

03-17-2003, 12:14 PM

daedalus: I'm working on my off-season plan right now. I don't have the details nailed down just yet, but I'm looking at expanding the stadium to approximately 30,000 seats. I will also be spending about $200,000 on a player or two. My midfield needs some help.

NevStar: I saw the NevStar Rating in your post, and it sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I think I will try both of them next season, and see which one gives the more accurate results.

vexroid: Thanks for the sympathy.

I will probably extend this thread until the end of qualification week, then start a new thread for Season Three. Expect to see some end-of-season specials (including the club's award banquet) in the next week or so.

Thanks for reading.

sterlingice

03-17-2003, 02:55 PM

Tough, tough loss. I went straight to your score before looking at mine. Too bad but at least you're the favs for next year. Plus, you'll be better equipped for div III after next year.

SI

DataKing

03-20-2003, 10:41 AM

Season 2 – Week 14 – Friendly Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Bull Dogs

Date: March 19th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 834 (17,350)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We’re back to a regular, domestic friendly this week. This is a match that we’re still looking forward to, however, because we get to play host to Eilim’s Bull Dogs. The Dogs are a team after our own heart, built on defense and sound financial planning. They have fared pretty well during their brief history (3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in league and friendly matches), so we’re interested in seeing what they bring to the pitch here in Chicago.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #1 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

There are no questions about our defense, but we’re trying to figure out a way to squeeze more offense out of the defensively-biased 5-4-1 formation. With the U.S.A. Cup rapidly approaching, we want to know if we can find enough offense to run a 5-4-1 in the first couple of weeks of the cup and still have a decent chance at winning. So today’s match should prove to be valuable experimentation time.

Wingbacks William Brown and Christian Kvam will stay back to help out Mattias Leier on defense, but Zarpas Lerma and Keith Stubbs will push upfield in order to help out our midfielders. Jerry Smith will stay home in the midfield, acting as our primary possession player, but the other three in the middle of the field (Peralta, Brannon, Johnson) will all push up towards Jesper Gravesen. Hopefully, this will help to generate more opportunities for Jesper without sacrificing too much on our half of the pitch.

Time to go pick up the spokesladies and head down to The Docks. :D

Match Report

PRE-GAME

834 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation.

The following players had been chosen: Read - Brown, Lerma, Stubbs, Leier, Kvam - Peralta, Brannon, Smith, Johnson - Gravesen.

Bull tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Arenas Arnal - Sobok, Taylor, Zaldua, Lloyd - Jorden, Chaudhury, Ghenea, Troubat, Baker - Yngvesson.

FIRST HALF

Screamin' tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but kept getting stuck on the visitors defenders.

Bull´s Guillermo Arenas Arnal refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon in the 22nd minute.

Bull had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 24:th minute when Gigel Ghenea came up alone against Darryl Read who managed a block.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 54 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

A foul after 63 minutes resulted in a free kick. Jesper Gravesen cannonballed it, giving the hometeam the lead 1 to 0.

The referee showed Screamin's William Brown the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Jerry Smith received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 74:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

Mattias Leier should probably have put his team up another goal in the 74:th minute, but some great goaltending by Guillermo Arenas Arnal kept the visitors in the game.

Bull were close to putting the equaliser away in the 77:th minute as the opposing defence lost control of the ball in a scuffle in front of the goal, but in the end the ball was cleared over the sideline.

Screamin' put themselves up 2 - 0 when Jerry Smith broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 53 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

Screamin'´s best player was William Brown. However, Brooks Brannon made a disastrous appearance.

Bull´s best player was Herbert Sobok. Anthony Jorden on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The match ends 2 - 0.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Bull Dogs 0

Goals
Gravesen – 1
Smith – 1

Cards
Brown (yellow)

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Brown: **~
Lerma: **
Leier: **
Stubbs: **
Kvam: **~

Peralta: **
Smith: **
Brannon: *~
Johnson: **

Gravesen: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-DKI/NSI: 44/47

Bull Dogs
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Wretched (2)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)
-DKI/NSI: 30/32

Comments

Eilim’s Bull Dogs showed some grit and toughness in the first half, staying with us. Were it not for a great save by Darryl Read, the Dogs would have gone into the break with a 1-0 lead. But we seemed to finally batter down their defenses in the second half. To their defense, though, there was precious little they could do about Jesper Gravesen’s cannonball that proved to be the game winner.

Despite the win, our little experiment has to be considered a failure. I was really hoping we could manage a little more offense, but it just doesn’t look like that is possible in the 5-4-1, at least not with the talent level we have currently. We’ll have to look at alternatives during our cup run next season.

Other News

We would like to welcome Masked’s Complex Spikes to the happy family of Screamin' Seamen supporters. The Spikes finished second in series V.249 this past season. Welcome!

Up Next: Training updates this evening. Stay tuned!

Awakening

03-20-2003, 01:45 PM

hey...as for squeezing out offense...what about bailing on your right attack by moving your winger to middle infield and playing him offensively or toward wing...like this:

..............G

..RD RCD CD LCD LD

.....RCM CM LCM LW

....................LS

you can accomplish that by playing your right forward as an extra inner mid and your right winger as an extra center defender. that should definitely boost left side attack. then what you do is key your one good attack up to go against the side your opponent takes his defender from to play 3-5-2.

and, like i said, you can either play your 3rd inner toward your LW or offensive, depending on his skills (winger vs. passing).

DataKing

03-20-2003, 01:55 PM

Thanks for the idea Awakening. I may give it a try in another friendly match. But what I was hoping for was a generally improved offense across the board, rather than a particularly strong one on only one side. With the addition of the 6th Division next season to the U.S., the first two cup matches will most likely be against computer teams, and these teams aren't likely to have a particular weakness to one side of the other. Or if they do, it will be difficult to tell which side that weakness is on in the first cup match (when they will not have participated in a match yet).

Looking back at the line-up, I probably should have run my wingbacks offensive as well, to go pretty much all-out and see what sort of offensive ratings I could really get.

All of this is to hopefully be able to run a 5-4-1 in a cup match or two, to give my defenders some additional training. Obviously, running a 3-5-2 in both cup and league matches will only allow me to train six (which means I may train winger instead, as most of my defensive trainees have the ability to play wingback).

Awakening

03-20-2003, 02:02 PM

well, if you're looking for overall improved offense with only 1 striker, you need to work on your midfielders' passing. what kind of ratings do your middies and striker have for the passing skill?

i recently upgraded my inners to solid passing across the board and i've been getting great (solid and better) offensive ratings even with backup strikers. my wingers weren't even that good...both were passable wingers with weak passing (i just bought some new ones with the $ i got from selling my 17 year old formidable goalie, tho :P). granted, i play with 2 forwards, but passing is the key to offense!

DataKing

03-20-2003, 02:07 PM

Brooks Brannon only has weak passing, and Jerry Smith's is only poor (the reason he was left playing 'normal'). Actually I'm in the process of acquiring an upgrade to midfield as we speak, and these guys are reserves anyways. One of the things I have been looking for is a good offensive (read: decent passing skill) midfielder. A couple of my starting middies have OK passing skills (inadequate and passable).

Brannon pretty much sucks, and will get his walking papers as soon as I finish the acquisition.

DataKing

03-21-2003, 02:54 PM

Home-Grown and International Improvement Announced by SSFC

AP (Chicago): Data King, owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen, announced earlier today that his club had made a valuable addition to their midfield. Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson was purchased from WKS Silver, a club from Poland’s Second Division. The price tag on the 25-year-old midfielder was said to be in the neighborhood of $150,000.

“We knew we had to make at least one purchase in the off-season, and wanted to get that taken care of as soon as possible,” stated King during a press conference to announce the purchase. “We looked very closely at about six different guys, but eventually settled on Niklas . He’s a solid midfielder who can move up on the attack when necessary, which is exactly what we were looking for. We’re certain than Niklas will help the club challenge for the series title again next season.”

King and other club officials also mentioned that defensive trainee Keith Stubbs had improved by leaps and bounds over the course of the season. “Keith finished the season very strong,” stated King. “He isn’t ready for the big time just yet, but has shown very rapid improvement, which we naturally like to see.” King would not comment on whether or not Stubbs would be challenging Chuck Scales for the club’s starting central defender position.

Niklas Larsson

Jersey Number: 8

25 years old, solid form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is tranquil and honest.
Has weak (4) experience and disastrous (1) leadership abilities.

Nationality: Swedish
Assessed Value: $152,000
Wage: $1,656/week

Stamina: Excellent (8)
Playmaking: Solid (7)
Winger: Weak (4)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Inadequate (5)
Defending: Poor (3)
Set Pieces: Inadequate (5)

We landed Niklas for $153,000, which was quite a bit less than the $200,000-$300,000 that other comparable players were going for recently. He’s a good midfielder for us who should put up a steady three stars for us next season, and will be part of a four-player rotation in the midfield. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin and Charlie Bautista will return to the midfield as well, and we hope to get Jerry Smith some more playing time after some conditioning training in the off-season. Romanian midfielder Lucian Tere will move to a back-up role. All of this will allow me to get rid of Brooks Brannon, who I have been looking for an excuse to let go for some time now.

Week 14 Training Results

Only nine weeks after his last improvement, youth squad product Keith Stubbs improved his defensive abilities again this week. Two of our five defensive trainees now have solid (7) defending, while the other three are currently at passable (6).

Keith Stubbs

Jersey #20

18 years old, passable form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $39,000
Wage: $580/week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Weak (4)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
[I]Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

Keith came off of our youth squad back in January, and improved in defending after only one week. His assessed value has jumped from $17,000 to $39,000 in only ten weeks, and should start increasing at a more rapid pace now that he has solid defensive abilities. If we continue to train him, he could potentially replace Chuck Scales as our central defender in a couple of seasons.

Form Changes

Only one player improved in form this week (Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin).
18 players saw their form remain the same.
3 players dropped a level in form this week.

Our general team form is definitely on the down-slide, although the effects aren’t as severe as they were last week. Hopefully things will level out before next season starts.

In The Zone

Defensive trainee Zarpas Lerma is the only player “in the zone” this week, with excellent (8) form. However, we do have seven players in solid (7) form.

Again, no “form dogs” this week, as no one is below inadequate (5) form.

Value

These values include our newest addition, Niklas Ivarsson.

Average player value: $108,652 (+$3,016)
Total Player Value (23): $2,499,000 (+$175,000)

Other News

The acquisition of Niklas Ivarsson means we can let Brooks Brannon go, which is something I have been looking to do for a while. Brooks is anything but exceptional, but his one saving grace is that he can be a mediocre back-up at three different positions (forward, inner midfielder, and defender), and could be a good addition for teams lacking in depth. We’ll take what we can get for him, though.

Brooks Brannon

Jersey #12

26 years old, inadequate form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and dishonest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Technical

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $81,000
Wage: $1,070/week

Stamina: Solid (7)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Inadequate (5)
Goaltending: Wretched (2)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Passable (6)

Listed As: Inner Midfielder
Asking Price: $1,000
Deadline: 3/24/2002 at 21:42 (Hattrick time)

Up Next: The weekly financial update on Saturday evening. Stay tuned!

DataKing

03-26-2003, 11:24 AM

Weekly Financial Update

Youth Pull

For the second week in a row, our youth squad has failed to produce. Guido Uburti isn’t fit to wash the team’ cups. He’s coming soon to a Burger King near you.

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $571,865

Income

Crowd (friendly match vs. Bull Dogs) - $2,218
Sponsors - $62,250
Temporary (8 new supporters) - $240

Total Revenue: $64,708

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $24,854
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Vinnie Agee) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing of Brooks Brannon) - $1,000
Temporary (purchase of Niklas Ivarsson) - $153,000
Staff & Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $245,125

Net Income/Loss: -$180,417

New Balance: $391,448

We have $300,000 slated for stadium expansion during the off-season. The other off-season move that we are looking at is a possible upgrade at winger. We also intend to keep around $100,000 in the kitty in case of emergency.

State of the Team

Team Spirit: Irritated (down 1 level from last week)
Team Confidence: Strong (down 1 level from last week)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Content (down 3 levels from last week)
Supporters: 1,315 (up 8 from last week)

The supporters didn’t like our end-of-season loss at all, and only eight new ones have seen fit to join up this week. They don’t seem to care that this was our first league-match loss EVER! :mad:

Up Next: A much-anticipated friendly match this week, as the Screamin’ Seamen face off against Raven Hawk’s Gargoyles for the first time ever. After that, we will close out the season and prepare for the next. Stay tuned!

illinifan999

03-27-2003, 10:48 AM

I'm just at a loss. I can't figure out how you can only draw 834 spectators with good weather. With overcast skies I was able to draw 2024. I must be reading something wrong, or something!?

DataKing

03-27-2003, 11:37 AM

Season 2 – Post Season – Friendly Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Gargoyles

Date: March 26th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 633 (17,350)
Weather: Rain

We have one of our most highly-anticipated friendly matches to round out the season this week. We have the honor of playing host to Raven Hawk’s Gargoyles, as the two top teams in the FOFC Ratings will square off. Surprisingly enough, this is the first time that our two teams have met. This one should be interesting.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

Because this is the off-season, we’ve decided to play our starters primarily. It’s is much more important to us to keep their form up, rather than the form of our reserves. This is the time of the year when the back-ups get precious little playing time. We did make two key changes to the line-up, however.

In order to save Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin’s 32-year-old legs, we’re letting him sit, and will be starting Jerry Smith in the midfield instead. We’re looking to get Jerry as much playing time as possible, with the hopes that he will become a regular starter for us next season.

Today will also be newcomer Niklas Ivarsson’s debut for the club. We expect good things from Niklas. For the $153,000 that we paid for him, we’d better see good things. ;)

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Due to an all-day shower, 633 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at The Docks.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mauffret , Ivarsson, Bautista, Smith, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

Gargoyles tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Kullenhult - Olesen, Dehlbratt, Payne - Holden, Newsom, Mccormick, Jackson, Ekmo - Salter, Dunn.

FIRST HALF

In the games 3rd minute Torben Olesen almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a spectacular scissors shot just past the bar.

Neal Dunn of Gargoyles received a yellow card in the 6:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Jerry Smith received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 30:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

Screamin' tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but kept getting stuck on the visitors defenders.

Screamin'´s Jerry Smith left the field after 32 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Lucian Tere.

The referee showed Gargoyless Tony Salter the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Many thought Niklas Ivarsson ought to have been awarded a penalty shot in the 41st minute, as he went down trying to circle the visitors keeper Torbjörn Kullenhult.

Gargoyles had obvious problems in finding their positions.

Halftime score was 0 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 55 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Gargoyles -coach had an extra briefing during the break, and after that his players looked a lot more organized.

Gargoyles seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team.

The referee showed Gargoyless Carlton Payne the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Gargoyles had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 75:th minute when Tony Salter came up alone against Cornelius Jernigan who managed a block.

Gargoyles, bringing the final ball possession rate to 53 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Lucian Tere was a disappointment, however.

Most important Gargoyles player was Neal Dunn. However, Carlton Payne made a disastrous appearance.

The match ends 0 - 0.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 0, Gargoyles 0

Goals
None

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Willard: ***
Scales: ***~
Lucas: ***~

Mauffret: **
Ivarsson: ***
Smith: *~ (injured)
Tere: ** (replaced Smith)
Bautista: **~
McMahon: **

Tobias: **
Henriksson: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-DKI/NSI: 57/62

Gargoyles
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-DKI/NSI:57/62

Comments

Talk about two evenly-matched teams! Our clubs played to a very hard-fought scoreless draw, and were also tied in both the DKI and NSI Ratings. I’ve got to give props to “Corny” Jernigan, whose great save with fifteen minutes to play kept the draw intact. Of course, this doesn’t answer the question; “Which team is truly better?” I guess Raven Hawk and I will have to face off again sometime to answer that. :)

Chuck Scales played extremely well, putting up his first ever 3 ½-star performance. Niklas Ivarsson’s debut was exactly what we expected (I intend to have words with the referee, for not awarding Niklas a penalty kick).

Jerry Smith’s injury had me worried, but it’s just a deep shin bruise, and he should be good to go in no time. Ah, the benefits of youth. :)

All around, a great defensive match. Many thanks to the Gargoyles for a game well-played.

Other News

Brooks Brannon was sold earlier this week for $12,000 to Professor58’s High Tops. $11,040 of that found its way into the club’s coffers.

We would like to welcome the following three clubs to the happy family of Screamin’ Seamen supporters:

Maniacal Misfitz (Owner: Havok12, Series V.253)
Reign (Owner: heavyreign, Series V.193)
Fighting Crawfish (Owner: The Afoci, Series V.77)

This brings our total number of supporting clubs to 22, making us 4th in the United States. Welcome!

Up Next: One more training update, then we will close out the season with our annual awards banquet. Stay tuned!

DataKing

03-27-2003, 11:41 AM

Originally posted by illinifan999
I'm just at a loss. I can't figure out how you can only draw 834 spectators with good weather. With overcast skies I was able to draw 2024. I must be reading something wrong, or something!?

I think there are a number of factors that figure into the sort of crowd you get for a friendly match.

How big is your supporter club? Mine is currently at 1,323.
Is the match you are playing an international friendly?
Is the match being played cup rules or normal? Cup rules draws slightly bigger crowds.

I'm sure there are other factors as well.

illinifan999

03-27-2003, 11:53 AM

I have 1016 supporters. It was an international friendly under normal rules. That must be it. That is it. Last home domestic friendly I drew 572. Havne't played a home domestic in a while. Usually just go for international. Don't know why I didn't think of that.

DataKing

03-27-2003, 03:09 PM

Data King, owner and General Manager of the Screamin' Seamen Football Club, reclines in his office chair, dictating to his secretary. Suddenly, there is a terrible commotion from outside the office, and loud voices can be heard.

Data King lets out a deep sigh, adjusts his clothing, and stands.

"What in the hell is going on out here," DK shouts as he opens the door to his office. "I'm trying to..."

He stops his tyrade when he sees wingback-turned-winger Ben McMahon lying on the floor of the room, being restrained by two security guards. A third guard stands over McMahon.

"We're sorry for the intrusion sir. It seems that Mr. McMahon here is a bit....addled..."

The guards pick McMahon up off the floor, but King has a hard time recognizing him. Small cuts can be seen all over the man's body, and a wild look is in his eyes.

"CRAWFISH!" he screams. "CRAWFISH! They're coming to get me!"

The two guards escort the screaming Ben McMahon away, as the third looks to Data King for instructions.

"Take him to Belleview Mental Hospital. We have an understanding with them. Just make sure he's still available for matches."

"Yes sir," replies the guard, who marches off.

"Crawfish indeed," Data King sighs and shakes his head sadly. "Mental illness is such a terrible thing to witness."

The Afoci

03-27-2003, 03:20 PM

Ah, its spreading, Ben got what he deserved trying to convert my players. Too bad the Crawfish with Laser Blasters instead of Claws weren't installed yet. Just remember after you are the U-20 coach to include some Fighting Crawfish or you may get a visit from "You better guard your daughters or they will be" Les "their" Cherry "s" Now it is time to return to the secret hide out to plot my world domination!

DataKing

03-28-2003, 10:45 AM

Post-Season Training Results

It’s been nothing but wind-sprints and the like for your beloved Screamin’ Seamen this week, as we hope to get some of our younger players in similar shape to that displayed by our veterans.

Thirteen different players increased in stamina this week. Normally, one would expect more than that from a 22-man squad, but seven of our players were already in excellent (8) form.

Unfortunately, the one guy that we really wanted to see improve, midfielder Jerry Smith, did not. The knock that he took in our friendly match on Wednesday proved worse than initially anticipated, and Jerry was unable to participate much in practice.

Form Changes

3 players improved a level in form.
11 players saw their form remain the same.
8 players dropped a level in form (including 6 starters! :mad: ).

Ouch. Six of our starters dropped form this week, which makes this the most expensive week of stamina training I have ever witnessed. I would have liked to have gone another week, but the form of our starters is a disturbing trend that needs to be rectified.

We open next season with a rematch against Ramblers (who lost their qualification match), and we’re going to need our guys to be in decent form if we’re going to win. Because of that, I’ve decided to revert to some general training next week, concentrating on our starters. This is something that I very rarely do, but the form of our starters is severely lacking. I hate to do it, but I feel like I have to.

In the Zone

None of our players are “in the zone” at the moment, but we have two that qualify as “form dogs.” Wingback Tyler Willard and winger Ben McMahon (poor bastard) are both in weak (4) form. I sincerely hope that these guys rebound in the coming week, before the next season begins.

Value

Average Player Value: $111,636 (+$2,984)
Total Player Value (22): $2,456,000 (-$43,000)

Up Next: After the weekly financial update Saturday, we’ll be closing out the season and preparing for the next. We’re still scouring the transfer market for a bargain as well. Stay tuned!

illinifan999

03-28-2003, 11:20 AM

I actually had players forms increase after stamina training. Weird......Only one player dropped, and he was a back-up B teamer.

FrogMan

03-28-2003, 11:40 AM

Originally posted by illinifan999
I actually had players forms increase after stamina training. Weird......Only one player dropped, and he was a back-up B teamer.

Same for me, three players increased both their stamina AND form. I've also experienced 11 players that dropped in form though...

FrogMan

DataKing

03-29-2003, 09:08 PM

Screamin’ Seamen Youth Squad Re-Stocked, Produces More Defensive Talent

(AP – Chicago): After a rather lackluster performance towards the end of the season, the youth squad of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club seems to have re-stocked for the upcoming Season 19 campaign. The same youth squad that has produced such fine talent as Keith Stubbs (B-team), Hyman Morey (traded to Middlesex Athletic), and Millard Meadows (sold), has struck defensive gold yet again.

The club announced earlier today that 18 year old Cameron McDonald has been promoted to the club’s B-team. Cameron could be the best pure defensive talent to come off of the club’s youth program so far, and is said to already rival William Brown in defensive abilities. An anonymous source within the SSFC organization stated that, with a bit of training and maturity, McDonald could very well challenge Chuck Scales for the club’s starting central defender position.

When asked if the promotion of McDonald would mean that another SSFC defender would be made eligible for transfer, team officials refused to comment.

Cameron McDonald

18 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and wretched (2) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $100,000
Wage: $1,000/week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Poor (3)
Scoring: Weak (4)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

While not exactly the 17 year old excellent lottery pull everyone is hoping for this week, I’m certainly happy with Cameron. I’m especially happy with his assessed value of $100,000. That leads me to believe that Cameron is actually close to an excellent (8) defensive rating. It looks like we’ve found the heir-apparent to Chuck Scales’ central defender position.

Weekly Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $391,448

Revenue

Crowd (friendly match vs. Gargoyles) - $1,729
Sponsors - $62,550
Temporary (annual supporter dues) - $39,450
Temporary (2nd place prize money) - $75,000
Temporary (8 new supporters) - $240
Temporary (sale of Brooks Brannon) - $11,040
Temporary (mother club money) - $420

Total Revenue: $190,429

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $26,510
Temporary (youth squad promotion of “what was his name again?”) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $92,781

Net Income/Loss: $97,648

New Balance: $489,096

Expect to see most of this money disappear within the next week or so, as we try to shore up our winger situation and break ground on the new-and-improved Docks.

State of the Team

Please note that all ratings have reset, due to the off-season.

Team Spirit: Composed
Team Confidence: Strong

Sponsor Attitude: Satisfied
Supporter Attitude: Calm
Supporter Club: 1,323 (up 8 from last week)

Up Next: The season’s end awards banquet, and perhaps another transfer market deal or two. Stay tuned!

daedalus

03-29-2003, 09:49 PM

Wow @ 100 000 value.

DataKing

03-30-2003, 02:08 AM

Originally posted by daedalus
Wow @ 100 000 value.

Yes, I am quite pleased. That $100,000 value is what leads me to believe that he is "high-solid." We'll find out whether or not I am right when I start training defense again.

daedalus

03-30-2003, 02:36 AM

That (popping to excellent) would be nice. Especially with a [Head] specialty. Hope you keep an eye on the value, it'll be interesting to see. :)

Alf

03-30-2003, 06:01 AM

lucky guy ! How is your Youth Squad ? Passable ? Solid ?

DataKing

03-30-2003, 11:29 AM

Originally posted by Alf
lucky guy ! How is your Youth Squad ? Passable ? Solid ?

Youth squad is excellent, and has been for about a half a season now.

Coffee Warlord

03-30-2003, 11:50 AM

BTW DK, nice writeup on the Q&A session for the U20 race.

robbgmaier

03-30-2003, 02:53 PM

would you mind posting your U-20 write up here?

daedalus

03-30-2003, 04:23 PM

Here be DK's answers. I'm posting because I want to read it but I have a tough time reading in the conference and in case other folks want to read it for reference.

Let me know if this clutters up your dynasty too much and want me to delete this post, DK.

1. Why do you want to be the US U-20 coach?

The national teams are one of my favorite aspects of Hattrick, and I have been following them pretty closely ever since I first started playing. I love the fact that the game is able to simulate the real World Cups that exist in soccer, where each country takes the “best of their best” and plays them against the others (even if the Swedes keep winning everything). ;)

I think it would be an enjoyable challenge, as well as a good deal of fun, to follow in the footsteps of Indy and Apoc and try to improve upon the fantastic groundwork which they have laid. I want to do my part to keep the U.S. as one of the premier leagues in the game, as well as try to improve our international standing even more than it already has been.

2. Tell us about your most notable HT accomplishment (teamwise or otherwise)

As many of you know, I have just completed my second season in Hattrick. I think my most notable accomplishment is the track record that my team has shown within those two seasons. I won automatic promotion out of Division V with a record of 13 wins and 1 draw. In Division IV this past season, I had a record of 11 wins and 2 draws going into the last week of the season. That last match was a 1-0 loss for my club, where a 1-1 draw would have earned us a series title and a qualification match. A win in that match would have given us automatic promotion to Division III. This was my first ever league match loss.

It is true that there is a lower higher percentage of inactive and semi-inactive teams in the lower leagues than there is in Division III and higher, but my team had its fair share of difficult matches along the way. In some of those matches, my club had a lower talent level than the opposition, yet we still managed to find a way to win or draw. I should also point out that this was accomplished without the “star player” and bigger stadium that some of the older teams out there began with.

3a. If a US team requested you not play their player for a US team friendly, what would you do?

I would try to convince the team owner to re-consider, but if they remain steadfast, then I would honor their decision.

3b. What if it was a Swedish coach?

No different.

3c. What if it was a US coach asking you to rest his US player for the World Cup final?

Assuming that the player would be a starter for the World Cup final, I would play him, no matter what the team owner asked. Friendly matches are one thing, but the Cup final is a different matter entirely. I will put the best team possible out on the field, and will do my best to help the team owner understand the reason for my decision.

3d. What if it was a Swedish coach asking you to rest his US player during the World Cup final?

4. A U-20 player gets hurt for 4 weeks. The player’s owner asks you to PERMANENTLY remove him from the U-20 team. The player is your best midfielder. What do you do?

Hmmm…good one Billy. I think it would depend on both the timing of the injury as well as the available alternatives. If the World Cup was starting in just a few weeks, then I would be very hesitant to honor the request of the owner. However, if it was early in the “U-20 Season”, if you will, then I would be more inclined to honor the request, as there would be a great deal of time available to find an alternative.

The alternatives available would also play into the decision, naturally. If there was another player available who had very close skill levels to the player in question, then I would be more likely to honor the request. If the player was, bar none, the best American U-20 midfielder, then I would be unlikely to do so.

5a. If a US team bought a U-20 player and stopped training him in his main area, what would you do? (ie. A team bought a 19 year old world class striker, but is training playmaking). If he was the best US player in that position, would the player stay on the team?

Obviously, I would try to convince the player’s new owner to re-think their decision, and either start training the player or re-sell him. If they were unwilling to train, I would try to convince them that they can get “more bang for their buck” by re-selling the player and buying an alternative, but older player, for less money.

Again, timing would decide whether or not the player remained on the team. If there was an alternative that would meet or pass that player’s skill level by the time the U-20 Cup rolled around, then the player would be removed from the club, or possibly kept on board as an alternate. But if the Cup was right around the corner, there would be little choice in the matter. Whatever decision was made, it would need to be made quickly, in order to get an alternative player (if necessary) as much experience as possible before the start of the U-20 Cup.

5b. Same question, but a Swedish club team.

No difference, although appeals to national pride and such naturally would not work with a Swedish owner in this case. :)

6. What are your feelings on formations? Would you plan on running a 3-5-2, experiment with different things, or have some other views on the nature of basic formations?

In my opinion, the 3-5-2 remains the overall strongest formation in Hattrick, and there are a number of ways to run it. Offensive wingers, pinching wingers (towards the middle), symmetrical and asymmetrical defenses, etc. 3-5-2 would remain the staple, but in group play I think there is the possibility of running a 3-4-3, against a team with a weaker midfield and when goal differential can come into play. This would be the exception, rather than the norm, however. I do not feel that U-20 players have enough experience, generally, to run “unorthodox” formations without the danger of confusion out-weighing any possible benefits.

7. Who do you view as the US’s biggest rival in HT? Why?

The first thing that comes to mind is Sweden, naturally, but they’re the “big dog” that everyone is trying to take down. I think that the other two teams from this year’s quarterfinals, England and Denmark, are significant rivals for the U.S. Both have significant Hattrick populations, and should remain U-20 contenders.
The other nation that has to be mentioned is Canada. But I see that as more of a friendly rivalry than anything else.

8. Is winning the HT World Cup a realistic goal? If not, what is? Either way, how do you plan to accomplish this goal?

I have never been one to set unreasonable goals, and I do not think that winning the U-20 World Cup is realistic. It would be a nice surprise, but would not be an expectation of mine for whoever wins the election. Sweden’s massive population within the game means that they are practically guaranteed numerous 17 year old excellent pulls every time a “lottery pull” like this weekend comes around. Without a significant amount of luck, the U.S. cannot hope to have as many 1st-week 17 year old excellent players.

That being said, I think what is a realistic goal is taking the next step for the U.S., which would be to reach the finals. Using the current U-20 Cup as an example, both England and Denmark look “beatable,” and reaching the finals would be my goal. No small task, to say the least.

9. What are your long term goals for your OWN club? How do you plan on accomplishing this?

I imagine my long-term goals are the same as for most clubs; to get to the Major League and to win a ML title. It may take five years to accomplish that, but so be it. :)

To accomplish this, I have established what I feel is a pretty solid training program, as well as fiscal responsibility with my club. I do not allow me team to go into debt, and I keep the long-term future of the club in mind. I am not keyed on “immediate success.”

I like to think of myself as a “plugger.” I keep plugging away at my club, using my training program, the transfer market, and smart tactics to make my team as competitive as possible. Eventually, I’ll get there.

That’s what I love most about Hattrick. It never ends. In theory, I could play the game for 20 years, and still be running the Screamin’ Seamen.

10a. As a “public figure” in US HT, the U-20 coach can expect to receive a large amount of HT mails, many of which aren’t remotely relevant to your job. How will you handle this?

As far as the time commitment goes, I have plenty of that. No wife, no kids, no serious constraints on my free time aside from a job and friends.

10b. How about emails from newbies asking for advice, or about basic questions?

I answer a lot of questions about Hattrick on the FOFC board, and would continue to do so. If I saw that the player was relatively new to the game, I would refer them to the rules as well. It is very likely that they would find answers there to questions that they hadn’t even thought of yet. :)

11. What are your views on wings, specifically “well-rounded” wings (good wing, good playmaking) versus “pure” wings (great wing, mediocre playmaking)?

The ideal situation would be to have some of both. If some help for the midfield were necessary in a match, then I would want to play a pair of “well-rounded” wings, but if the midfield could hold its own against the opposition, then the “pure” wings would be preferential. If I had to choose between the two, I would prefer “well-rounded” wings. Even better, I think, would be to have one of each.

12a. During the first week of the season, a coach pulled a 17 year old excellent playmaker. You find out he’s training playmaking, but only has an inadequate coach. What do you do?

If a team only has an inadequate coach, than they are most likely a new team. I would explain to the owner that by selling the player (presumably to a team with a good staff that is training playmaking), they will make a significant amount of money which they can use towards improving their entire team, as well as putting a good training program together.

12b. Same question, but he has a solid coach and is NOT training playmaking. However, it’s his best midfielder by far and he doesn’t plan on selling him.

This really amounts to about the same situation. The financial benefits of selling such a player would be huge to any team where an excellent playmaker could be a starter.

13. Many teams don’t have solid coaches and/or a lot of assistants. How important do you think this is to the U-20 team and what do you propose doing about it?

I would be the last person in the world to preach fiscal irresponsibility to a team owner, just to benefit a single player. I would suggest to such an owner that they sell the potential U-20 player they have in their possession. Given the large price of such players, the buyer would almost certainly be a well-established team with the means to train the player properly. The original owner, in turn, can use that money to improve their club, as well as afford the high-end coach and numerous assistants necessary for a good training program. The next time that owner gets a high-end youth pull, they will be equipped to train the player properly.

14. Many teams don’t put the max. 20k into their youth squads a week. How important is this to the U-20 team and what do you propose doing about it?

I think that owners putting 20k into their youth squad is very important, not only to the U-20 team but for their own club as well. Whenever I am asked for advice from a new player (which happens frequently on the FOFC board), I always recommend a 20k investment from day one, and will continue to do so. The investment is a big one at first for a new team, but the long-term rewards will generally pay for the initial investment and then some.

15. Unless you’re KC Wizards, there’s teams (in some cases, MANY teams) that are better than your own. Explain your views on upper level versus lower levels (versus your own team) as far as experience/playing time/success compared to managing.

Obviously I do not have the amount of playing time and experience that some of the other candidates have, and I suspect that this is where I will fall short in some people’s eyes. What I can say is that I have become quite a “student of the game,” if you will, since I began my Hattrick career, and I have learned a great deal about the game and its mechanics. The success that I have had with my club thus far, due in large part to the tactics that I have employed, speaks for itself. My club was unbeaten in its first 27 league matches (24 wins, 3 draws), and our first loss did not come until the very last match of this past season.

The “lower levels,” which I guess I represent, are becoming more competitive with each new team that signs up. The skill levels may be different (solid/excellent versus world-class/supernatural or whatever the case may be), but the desired effect is the same; find a way to beat your opponent. In two short seasons, I feel I have become quite good at scouting out the opposition, identifying tendencies, and then placing my own players in the best possible position to take advantage of the opponent’s weaknesses, while minimizing their own.

16. You have a personal emergency and will not be able to be online for a week. What do you do?

A very unlikely scenario for me, since I have a laptop and remote access. But, if I were in a situation where it would be impossible for me to go online for a week, I would do all that I could prior to leaving to set the team up as best I could during my absence (scheduling a match and submitting a line-up if possible). I would then ask one of the previous U-20 or National team coaches to “hold down the fort” during my absence. They are the only ones with experience running a national team, and would be the likely candidates to take care of things during the absence. I would also send a message to all U-20 team owners and post to the conference informing everyone of the absence, so there were no surprises.

17. What is more important: the US U-20 team winning or you helping other owners or having fun or something else? Explain.

Having the U-20 team enjoy as much success as possible is, in my mind, the most important thing for the U-20 Trainer. The whole point is to put together the best team possible, and give all of the American Hattrick players something to take pride in.

That being said, I think that having fun goes hand-in-hand with this. What’s the point in playing a game if you aren’t having fun?

The way that I make games more entertaining for myself (and for others as well, I hope), is what are called “Dynasty Reports,” which a number of people post on the FOFC board. I have one there that is based on the Screamin’ Seamen, where I detail the exploits of my club, and occasionally write little articles and side-stories to make things more entertaining. If I were elected U-20 coach, I would certainly continue with this, either working it into my pre-existing dynasty report, or starting a separate one just for the U-20 team. I think this sort of thing makes the game itself a lot more fun, and more immersive.

18. The US is being passed by other countries in amount of users. Do you view this as a major problem, and what do you plan on doing about it?

The existing and growing disparity between the number of active users in different countries is naturally a concern. More team owners means more youth pulls, which in turn means more U-20 and National team candidates.

I like to think that I have already done a small part to help recruit new team owners for the United States. The dynasty report that I mentioned earlier, along with the dynasty reports of others, have acted as a good recruiting tool within the FOFC community, and we have had a number of members start new teams. (I think we’re approaching 100 teams within the FOFC community).

Pre-existing online communities are, in my opinion, the best way to go about finding new players for Hattrick, especially those (like FOFC) that are based around test-based simulation games. These are people who already have an affinity for this sort of game, and it is natural that some of them would enjoy Hattrick as much as we all do.

19. What are your views on daytrading?

Personally, I do not like daytrading. I never have day-traded, and I never will. To my mind, it goes against the “spirit” of the game, even though it is not expressly prohibited within the rules, and would be rather difficult to enforce even if it were.
I tend to look down on day-traders personally, but I prefer to keep my opinions to myself on the matter. For me, it is that much more satisfying when I beat a day-trading club with my “honest” team. :)

20. No one likes a loser, and not everyone wins all the time. How do you handle criticism?

Constructive criticism is a good thing. No matter how good a manager someone is, mistakes and errors in judgment will be made, and a hundred minds are better than one. Constructive criticism often leads to new ideas, and can only serve to make the manager, and therefore the U-20 team, stronger.

Negative criticism, on the other hand, is something I do my best to ignore. It does not add anything to the situation, and usually comes from someone feeling the need to “vent,” or just plain mean-spiritedness. Neither adds anything to the situation, and is best ignored.

21. A potential long-term problem for US national and US U-20 teams is teams selling their young stars and teams buying them not training them (for example, a team might sell their 19 world class keeper. A team buying him might buy him because he’s a super keeper, and not plan on training him further). How would you plan on dealing with this problem?

I think this was at least partially touched on earlier, but I think I can add something here. I would hope (through a dynasty report, regular posts on the conference, or any other means) to create a more immersive atmosphere surrounding the U-20 team. This would hopefully lead to owners being more hesitant to sell their young stars, and more pride in having a U-20 player on one’s team.

In the end, though, whether or not to buy and/or train a player rests with the team owner and no one else. I would hope to help make the problem a smaller one, but I think it is something that will never go away completely.

22. All-out coach or defensive coach? Why?

I think that an all-out coach is preferable to a defensive one, but the difference is not as great as some people might think. I have a defensive coach on my team, but I have yet to have it “bite me in the butt” like some people have mentioned. I think where it makes the most difference is in group play, where goal differential can make a difference. Whatever sort of coach you have, you want to play to his strength. My defensive coach is a part of the reason I decided to train defenders with my own team. Give the coach the best possible talent to take advantage of his strength. By the same token, if you have an all-out coach, then playing an offensive game is important.

23a. How important do you view the passing attribute? Would you prefer a midfielder with one level less playmaking, but two levels more passing than another?

This is very similar to the winger question earlier, and my answer is pretty much the same. The ideal situation would be to have both types of players available. If the opposition has a midfield advantage, then higher playmaking ability would be more desirable. But if the team already has a midfield advantage, passing would be more desirable to spur the offense. If I had to choose one, I would rather have the player with the higher midfield rating. Without ball possession, the offense will not have that many opportunities, and your defense will be tested that much more.

23b. Same question, but this time, a striker. World class scoring/excellent passing or titanic scoring/passable passing?

I would rather have the titanic scoring/passable passing player. Passing has some effect on a striker’s ability, but I don’t believe that it is at a 2:1 ratio.

24. Do you use any external programs (HAM, etc) to help you with your current team? Which, and how?

I do not use HAM or any of the other “out of the box” programs available to help manage my team. I have never been a fan of these sorts of programs, because they never seem to do exactly what I want them to do.

Instead, I have a (rather large) excel spreadsheet that I use to track my players progress, team ratings, and all the rest. I prefer this sort of thing, because I can set it up exactly how I want it set up. Also, I find that entering the necessary information manually means that I pay closer attention to my players’ progress.

25. How important is form to you? At what point would you bench a “better” player than a worse one, due to form. (Let’s say, you have a titanic striker and a world class striker. How much worse form would it have to be for you to use the world class one)?

This gets a little tricky. My general rule of thumb is that (very roughly) two levels of form equals a level of skill, but that is variable. What I mean by variable, is that it depends on “how titanic” or “how world-class” a players skill is. A titanic striker who has received six weeks of training since going “titanic” will have a lot more “form leeway” over a striker who just “popped” to supernatural last week.

26. What are your views on player specialties, and how do you view them in the context of the U-20 team?

Player specialties are definitely something to consider when selecting the players for a match. Obviously, if we’re playing in the rain, and two players (one technical and one powerful) are of roughly the same skill level and form, I’m going to play the powerful player.

The one specialty that I will pay particular attention to is Head. I have found that a head specialist and a good set-pieces player can be a lethal combination. I am particularly fond of having a head-specialist defender. Not only do these players score some header goals off of corner kicks, but they also lower the likelihood of the opposition scoring a header goal against the team. I have a head-specialist wingback on my team, and I have had great success with him.

27. What are your views on secondary skills? (Ie. a midfielder’s passing or D; other skills for a defender besides D, etc)

I think we’ve pretty much covered the wingers and midfielders in previous questions. As far as central defenders go, while some playmaking ability would be a nice bonus, it is not a major concern for me. Obviously, if two players are identical except that one has better playmaking ability, then I will choose that player, but it is not a big concern. Central defenders are there to sweep.

For wingbacks, I look for defending and winger ability at a ratio of about 3:2. Also, I prefer defenders with at least inadequate stamina. Below that and you run the risk of the “tired defender” event goal.

28. How can Hattrick be improved?

Oh boy. I could probably write ten pages on this, but I don’t think you folks would want to read all of that. :)

As far as the match engine goes, I am pretty happy with the way it works, but there are two things that I would like to see. First, I would like to see midfield made a little less important for match results. Yes, the midfield is an important part of the real game of soccer, but I feel that it is a little over-powered (though not to the extent that some seem to think).

The other thing that I would like to see happen to the engine is for there to be less scoring. I would prefer for the scores to be a bit more realistic. You hardly ever see 5-4 matches in the EPL and other professional leagues, yet these sorts of matches seem to be rampant in the Hattrick engine. For me, it takes a way a bit of the realism when the final score of a match is 8-0.

Outside of the match engine, I think there are a number of things that could add to the “immersion factor” of the game. Things like official cups (set up a cup, have teams sign up for it, and then the engine schedules those matches in lieu of friendly matches) along with medals and trophies, more player statistics, more options for kit design, having the team logos displayed in the match report, and a place for short player biographies. The word limit on press releases and HT-mails is a personal pet peeve of mine, as I am always having to shorten what I write. As you’ve probably guessed by now, I can be rather long-winded. :)

But the single easiest way to make Hattrick better is to get more people involved. More team owners mean more participation, which means more fun for all.

29. What are your views on how a U-20 coach should (and shouldn’t) communicate with all US users?

I think that the U-20 coach should communicate general information regarding the team on a regular basis. By “general information,” I mean information that could be found out by anyone who cared to go and look for it anyhow (roster decisions, team spirit, that sort of thing). What should not be communicated, at least prior to 15 minutes before match time, is specifics regarding tactics that will be used, and the line-up. I have seen coaches post this sort of thing prior to match-time before, and I have been irked by it. What is to stop the opposition coach from looking at this information, seeing the lineup and tactics that they will be facing, and adjusting their line-up accordingly?

30. How would you work together with the national coach?

It is important for the U-20 and National Coaches to work closely together, for a couple of reasons. First and most obvious, is that the U-20 team is really a “training ground” for future National Team players, so it is important for the U-20 coach to keep the National coach up-to-date as far as player training and performance.

There are also some situations where a player is good enough to play for both the U-20 and the National team (Jude Sutherland anyone?). The U-20 and National team coach need to work together to determine who gets priority over these players at different times. Obviously, a player like Jude, as the best American keeper in the game, needs to be made available for whichever team needs him the most at the moment. I believe that it is the responsibility of the U-20 coach to keep the player’s owner informed as to these decisions.

31. Uh, anything else?

I would like to say that I hold the opposition in the highest esteem, and am honored that I am considered (at least by some) as a viable candidate for the U-20 coaching position. I am sure that whoever is elected will do a fine job in keeping the U.S.A. as one of the premier national teams in Hattrick, despite our numerical inferiority to some other nations.

I would also like to ask something of everyone who reads this. I urge you all to vote, even if it is for one of the other candidates. The percentage of those who vote, compared to the active U.S. population in previous elections has been rather disappointing. Urge the other teams in your series’ and federations to vote as well. I would really like to see a record turn-out for this election.

And remember, if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain when you don’t like the results. ;)

Thank you.

Edit: To format. Ow.