Screamin' Seamen FC - 3rd Season

[DataKing]

Screamin’ Seamen Football Club – Season 3

For the first installment of this dynasty report, as well as an introduction to Hattrick, click here (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4766)

Screamin’ Seamen Prepared To Take Another Shot At Title

(Chicago, IL) The Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, under the ownership and management of Data King, are prepared to take a second shot at the Division IV title this season. In the club’s first season, they breezed to a Division V championship with a record of thirteen wins and one draw. Last season saw them in position to win a Division IV title with only one match to play, sitting at a record of eleven wins and two draws. But disaster struck on the last Sunday of the season, as the valiant Seamen fell to Croats in Miami by a score of 1-nil. It was the team’s first ever league-match loss, and it handed the Division IV title to the Ramblers.

The team now includes a couple of new faces added during the off-season, but due to the fiscal responsibility which King regularly preaches, fans will see largely the same club that they followed last year. Two of the new additions are 26-year-old Swedish midfielder Niklas Ivarsson, and 29-year-old Argentinean winger Valentin Rubio. Both players bring some experience, as well as more talent to the club.

“Our goal was to bring in some more experience to counteract the relative youth of our defense,” stated King at a press conference earlier this week. “Our defense is our cornerstone, and is quite talented, but Chuck Scales is the oldest starter on the back line at twenty-four. Arlen [Lucas] is only twenty-one years old. Heck, Tyler [Willard] can’t even buy beer yet!”

The third addition to the club is actually a product of the team’s youth squad; central defender Cameron McDonald. At only eighteen years of age, young Cameron is said to already be close to the level of play the other three have shown on defense. Although King and other team officials refuse to comment, it is expected that Cameron will become a starter for the club within a season or two.

But there are some that say that the Seamen are merely treading water, and may not be up to the challenges that face them in the coming season. Croats in Miami, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and league-champion Ramblers all return for another season. On top of this, four teams have been promoted from Division V, and a couple of them look to pose a significant challenge to the established teams in the division. SoccerWussies and Big Reds both look to be quite talented, and could very well contend for the series title.

“The division has certainly gotten a lot more competitive than it was last year,” stated King when asked about the division’s new participants. “We will be keeping a close eye on all four clubs in the early weeks of the season.” The Seamen will get an up-close look at the Big Reds in week two, as the Ithaca, New York-based club will visit Chicago for the SSFC home opener.

It should be an interesting season, to say the least.

Ivan Phillip Freely is an associated press writer for the Chicago Tribunal.

[DataKing]

Screamin’ Seamen Roster

Here is our starting roster for this 3rd season of SSFC soccer. I have included the numerical equivalents for all skill ratings, for any non-Hattrickers that may be reading.

Starters

Typical Formation: 3-5-2

Keeper

#1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Age: 24
-Current Form: Passable (6)
-Assessed Value: $472,000
-Wage: $3,460 per week
-Goaltending: Solid (7)

“Corny” Jernigan came to the club in a trade last season, and he rapidly replaced Darryl Read as our starting keeper. He performed quite well for us last season, and look forward to another season of solid performances from him. Normally I allow players to keep their jersey numbers, but I also believe that the starting keeper should wear the #1 jersey. Darryl Read gave up the #1 with a minimum of fuss.

Central Defender

#2 Chuck Scales
-Age: 24
-Current Form: Passable (6)
-Assessed Value: $162,000
-Wage: $1,490 per week
-Defending: Excellent (8)

Chuck was one of our original team members, and has been our starting sweeper since day one. He is the quarterback of the defense, and helps to keep our two youngsters on the wings in line.

Wingbacks

#5 Arlen Lucas
-Age: 21
-Current Form: Excellent (8)
-Assessed Value: $221,000
-Wage: $1,580 per week
-Winger: Passable (6)
-Defending: Excellent (8)

Arlen is perhaps the best young talent on the team, and was the winner of last season’s Best Defender and Team MVP awards. He excels at defending against headers on corner kicks, and has tallied a few header goals of his own along the way (7 of them in 29 appearances).

#22 Tyler Willard
-Age: 20
-Current Form: Inadequate (5)
-Assessed Value: $149,000
-Wage: $1,320 per week
-Winger: Passable (6)
-Defending: Excellent (8)

Tyler is the weakest of our three starting defenders, but not by much. He was promoted from the youth squad at the end of January, and became an instant starter. He is, however, a bit unpredictable, and has been known to give both myself and coach Ken Brown fits from time to time.

Inner Midfielders

#8 Niklas Ivarsson
-Age: 26
-Current Form: Excellent (8)
-Assessed Value: $161,000
-Wage: $1,776 per week
-Playmaking: Solid (7)
-Passing: Inadequate (5)

The Swedish striker was one of our off-season signings, brought in to help us compete with the ever-improving midfields in the division, as well as to add some extra oomph to our attack. Although he has only played in one friendly match thus far, we like what we’ve seen from Niklas.

#6 Charlie Bautista
-Age: 26
-Current Form: Inadequate (5)
-Assessed Value: $112,000
-Wage: $1,320 per week
-Playmaking: Solid (7)
-Passing: Inadequate (5)

Charlie is another player who has been with us since day one, and has always been a starter for the Seamen. He is a solid possession midfielder, and is known to jump up onto the attack from time to time as well. He has had good offensive production for a midfielder, scoring 9 goals in 31 appearances.

#4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Age: 33
-Current Form: Solid (7)
-Assessed Value: $42,000
-Wage: $1,010 per week
-Playmaking: Passable (6)
-Passing: Passable (6)
-Defending: Passable (6)

“The Old Goat” has been a starter for us since the beginning. Although he is getting a bit long in the tooth, his experience has been invaluable so far, as well as his ability to play either “up” or “down” (offensive or defensive). Pete has a nasty streak about him, though, and was once ejected for head-butting an opposing player. Still, he is one of the most popular guys in the locker room, and will likely find a position in the front office or training staff when he decides to retire.

Wingers

#3 Ben McMahon
-Age: 28
-Current Form: Weak (4)
-Assessed Value: $148,000
-Wage: $1,990 per week
-Winger: Solid (7)
-Defending: Solid (7)

Once a wingback for the club, Ben made the transition to winger after the promotion of Tyler Willard from the youth squad. While he is able to hold his own on the wing, his real specialty is as a defensive winger. He is often matched up against the opposition’s most dangerous wingers, and generally does a good job of shutting them down.

#9 Valentin Rubio
-Age: 29
-Current Form: Solid (7)
-Assessed Value: $95,000
-Wage: $1,512 per week
-Winger: Passable (6)
-Passing: Passable (6)

The Argentinean winger was our other off-season signing, and has yet to play a match for the club, so we aren’t sure of what to expect just yet. From what we have seen of him on tape and the practice field, though, Valentin excels at moving the ball up the side of the field and sending in good cross-passes, and should provide a good offensive counter-balance to Ben McMahon’s defensive wing-play. Valentin is also tall (6’2”) with a good vertical and body control, and is always a threat for a header off of corner kicks.

Forwards

#11 Johannes Henriksson
-Age: 26
-Current Form: Excellent (8)
-Assessed Value: $93,000
-Wage: $1,272 per week
-Scoring: Passable (6)
-Set Pieces: Solid (7)

The Swedish striker is our team captain, and is an invaluable member of the club. He leads both on and off the field by example as well as by words, and even the older members of the team respect him. He has maintained a goal-a-game average throughout his career (currently 59 goals in 56 appearances), and is the team’s designated set pieces ace as well.

#15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Age: 21
-Current Form: Inadequate (5)
-Assessed Value: $47,000
-Wage: $780 per week
-Scoring: Solid (7)

“Gump” is another product of the team’s youth squad, from the tail end of our first season, and became an immediate starter. He has maintained a goal-a-game average so far in his young career (18 goals in as many appearances), and has proven to be a very clutch player from time to time. This was particularly evident when he scored two goals in the last five minutes of a match last season to give us a narrow 4-3 victory.


The B-Team

Typical Formation: 5-4-1

Keeper

#13 Darryl Read
-Age: 27
-Current Form: Inadequate (5)
-Assessed Value: $186,000
-Wage: $1,940 per week
-Goaltending: Passable (6)

Darryl is another of our original team members, and was our starting keeper until the trade which garnered us “Corny” Jernigan. He has typically put up solid performances and good numbers, allowing only 20 goals in 23 appearances, and tallying 12 clean sheets. Impressive numbers indeed.

Central Defenders

#18 Cameron McDonald
-Age: 18
-Current Form: Passable (6)
-Assessed Value: $100,000
-Wage: $1,000 per week
-Defending: Solid (7)

Cameron was an off-season promotion from our youth squad, and looks to have all the makings of a star sweeper someday. He is also tall, and should learn a thing or two from Arlen Lucas on how to use his height to his advantage on defense. Cameron has yet to see the pitch, though, so we still aren’t exactly sure in what we have here. But all signs point to something positive, that much is for sure.

#20 Keith Stubbs
-Age: 19
-Current Form: Passable (6)
-Assessed Value: $45,000
-Wage: $720 per week
-Defending: Solid (7)

Keith Stubbs was also a promotee from our youth squad last season, which seems to have a knack for producing good defensive talent. Although he started off a little weak, Keith improved by leaps and bounds in his defensive skills last season, and even earned the team’s Most Improved Player award. However, the recent arrival of Cameron McDonald means that Keith has become somewhat expendable.

#21 Zarpas Lerma
-Age: 19
-Current Form: Inadequate (5)
-Assessed Value: $44,000
-Wage: $888 per week
-Defending: Passable (6)

This young Spaniard is another of our tall defensive trainees, but has yet to prove to be anything special. Still, he is quite young and the training staff assures me that he still has the capability to become a decent defender someday.

Wingbacks

#17 Mattias Leier
-Age: 19
-Current Form: Solid (7)
-Assessed Value: $88,000
-Wage: $1,104 per week
-Winger: Passable (6)
-Defending: Passable (6)

The young Estonian is one of our most promising defensive trainees, and is one of coach Brown’s favorites. He has shown himself to be of steady form, and has even managed a couple of scoring chances from the back line in his six friendly match appearances thus far.

#24 Christian Kvam
-Age: 19
-Current Form: Inadequate (5)
-Assessed Value: $46,000
-Wage: $924 per week
-Winger: Passable (6)
-Defending: Passable (6)

Yet another tall (Specialty: Head) defensive trainee on the club, we have yet to be terribly impressed with the Norwegian. His form has been quite erratic since he joined the club back in January, but we’re hoping that he will level out sometime soon.

Inner Midfielders

#7 Lucian Tere
-Age: 27
-Current Form: Solid (7)
-Assessed Value: $59,000
-Wage: $1,080 per week
-Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
-Passing: Inadequate (5)
-Defending: Inadequate (5)

A semi-regular starter for the club until this past off-season, the Romanian makes up in size what he lacks in skill. He is a big, strong body in the middle of the pitch (Specialty: Powerful), and has been a solid contributor throughout the past two seasons. Lucian should continue to be a regular substitute for us, particularly in wet-weather matches.

#19 Jerry Smith
-Age: 20
-Current Form: Excellent (8)
-Assessed Value: $82,000
-Wage: $870 per week
-Playmaking: Solid (7)

We received Jerry in the same trade that brought “Corny” Jernigan to the club early last season. While he has the skills to be a starter for us in the midfield, he lacks the necessary fitness level, and did not respond very well to our off-season training regimen. Still, especially with Father Time beginning to catch up with “The Old Goat,” Jerry may very well see some playing time with the starting squad again this season.

Wingers

#25 Paul Peralta
-Age: 28
-Current Form: Solid (7)
-Assessed Value: $133,000
-Wage: $1,540 per week
-Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
-Winger: Weak (4)
-Scoring: Inadequate (5)
-Defending: Passable (6)

Paul is perhaps the single most valuable member of our B-team. While he normally plays on the wing, he is actually a “super-sub,” capable of playing just about any position in the outfield with some degree of skill. He is often called upon to cover for an injury or suspension on the starting squad.

#10 Olav Mauffret
-Age: 22
-Current Form: Inadequate (5)
-Assessed Value: $47,000
-Wage: $948 per week
-Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
-Winger: Inadequate (5)

Olav has been a regular starter for us on the wing for the past two seasons, but has been bumped down to the B-team with the addition of Valentin Rubio in the off-season. While he lacks any special amount of skill, he may still be called upon to play with the starters if there is an injury.

Forward

#14 Jesper Gravesen
-Age: 28
-Current Form: Passable (6)
-Assessed Value: $32,000
-Wage: $924 per week
-Scoring: Passable (6)
-Set Pieces: Solid (7)

Jesper gives us a third option at forward, and is an experienced striker and set pieces ace. He typically acts as captain for the B-team, and is capable of stepping in for either Johannes Henriksson or “Gump” Tobias should anything unfortunate happen to one of them.

Note: I did not list William Brown or Otis Johnson, as they will both be placed on the transfer market soon.

Up Next: Results from Round One of the U.S.A. Cup. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – U.S.A. Cup – Round 1

Connecticut Samurai vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: April 2nd, 2003
Venue: Connecticut Arena (Hartford, CT)
Attendance: 4,911 (7,000)
Weather: Overcast

We start off the new season full of hope and promise today. Our first test should be an easy one, as we face a team from the U.S.A.’s recently-added Division VI. This match won’t be much of a test of us, but will be a nice way to get our players into match-fitness, as well as a way to earn an easy ‘W.’

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
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: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

We’re playing our starting line-up today. It’s hardly fair, and should not prove to be much of a contest, but will give our starters a chance to get into match-fitness before we take on Ramblers in the season-opener on Sunday.

We will be keeping a specially close eye on both Niklas Ivarsson and Valentin Rubio, as both are making their competitive-match debuts for us today. We will find out soon whether or not the combined $227,000 we spent to get them will be worth it or not.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

4911 spectators had come to Connecticut Arena this cloudy day. Connecticut had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Stone - Simmons, Koehler, Wise, Vega - Tipton, Quick, Huntley, Wing-Koo - Erwin, Manning.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

As Arlen Lucas had, completely unprovoked, swept the legs out from under an opponent in front of a linesman, the referee gave the Screamin' player a red card without batting an eye.

Screamin' took the lead after 18 minutes with 0 - 1. Johannes Henriksson placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left.

The visitors Forrest Tobias took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 27:th minute. 0 - 2 for Screamin'.

In the 34:th minute the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 3 as Ben Mcmahon finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 3. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 90 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

In the 59:th minute the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 4 as Johannes Henriksson finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick.

After 61 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Johannes Henriksson who increased Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 5. By then Johannes Henriksson was a three time scorer - a hat trick!

The structure of the game started to change as Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

Connecticuts August Vega got himself booked after a foul.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Chuck Scales spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

After 79 minutes of game time Johannes Henriksson received an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but Kenneth Stone was in the right place, tipping the ball to a corner.

Charlie Bautista received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 80:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

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' held the ball, with a clear 98 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Connecticut player was without a doubt Howard Manning. Odell Quick was a disappointment, however.

Screamin'´s best player was Niklas Ivarsson. Ben Mcmahon was a disappointment, however.

The match ends 0 - 5.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, Connecticut Samurai 0

Goals
Henriksson – 3 (1,2,3)
Tobias – 1 (1)
McMahon – 1 (1)

Cards
Lucas (red)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Willard: **~
Scales: ***
Lucas: ??? (ejected)

Rubio: ***
Tomlin: **~
Bautista: **~
Ivarsson: ***~
McMahon: **

Henriksson: **~
Tobias: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-DKI/NSI: 47/51

Connecticut Samurai
-Midfield: Disastrous (1)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)
-DKI/NSI: 25/26

Comments

This was hardly a top-notch performance from our starters, and missing Arlen Lucas for almost the entire match hurt our ratings considerably, but it still proved to be an easy win.

First, the positives: Team captain Johannes Henriksson earned his third career hattrick. “Gump” Tobias found the twine, and even Ben McMahon (commonly referred to by the team as “the man who never scores") got in on the fun, tallying his second career goal. Valentin Rubio and especially Niklas Ivarsson performed well in their debuts, and our money appears to have been well-spent. We were also quite relieved to find that Chuck Scales’ injury was little more than a stinger, and he should be good-to-go on Sunday.

Now for the bad news. We got exactly what we did not need from Arlen Lucas; a red card. Arlen is our single best defender, and now he is ineligible for Sunday’s match against defending series champion Ramblers. This is his third suspension in as many seasons. He needs to learn how to keep his composure.

Other News

Two more teams have joined the army of Screamin’ Seamen faithful. We would like to welcome the following teams to the SSFC Supporter Club:

Else United (Owner: rexallsc, Seeded #1 in series V.251)
Fort Wayne Wanderers (Owner: DennisMoore, Seeded #3 in series V.236)

Welcome, fellow Hattrickers, and thank you very much for your support.

Up Next: The current state of the team this weekend. After that, we visit the Ramblers on Sunday, in what is sure to be a bit of a grudge-match. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Our roster is over-full, so two players have been placed on the transfer wire.

William Brown

Listed As: Wing Back
Asking Price: $90,000
Deadline: 4/7/2003 @ 22:45 HT-time

21 years old, inadequate form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is fiery and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities.

Specialty: Quick

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $68,000
Wage: $910 per week

Stamina: Passable
Playmaking: Poor
Winger: Inadequate
Scoring: Poor
Goaltending: Disastrous
Passing: Poor
Defending: Solid
Set Pieces: Poor

William seems to have pretty good base form, and has put up 2.5 stars as either a wingback or central defender in his last six matches.


Otis Johnson

Listed As: Inner Midfielder
Asking Price: $1,000
Deadline: 4/7/2003 @ 22:46 HT-time

20 years old, solid form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is tranquil and honest.
Has disastrous experience and solid leadership abilities.

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $30,000
Wage: $650 per week

Stamina: Solid
Playmaking: Inadequate
Winger: Weak
Scoring: Wretched
Goaltending: Disastrous
Passing: Inadequate
Defending: Poor
Set Pieces: Poor

Otis has good base form, and has been at passable or better form since October of 2002. He can also function as a pseudo-clown (solid leadership, pleasant personality).

[GoldenEagle]

DataKng, I have enjoyed your dynasty reports very much. If you dont mind, I would like to ask you a quick question. How can you tell what kind of talent your opponents in your league have?

[DataKing]

Originally posted by GoldenEagle
DataKng, I have enjoyed your dynasty reports very much. If you dont mind, I would like to ask you a quick question. How can you tell what kind of talent your opponents in your league have?

Sorry for the delay in responding. I tend to get caught up in other things on the weekends. :p

I have found that the best way to judge the talent of the others in your series is to look at their match history. Take a look at their typical match ratings, as well as the number of stars their players generally put up.

This is not only a good way to judge talent, but you can also use it to determine if the other teams have any tendencies which you may be able to exploit when you play against them.

I hope this helps, and I'm glad you've enjoyed the dynasty reports thus far.

[daedalus]

Wow @ world class.

[DataKing]

State of the Team

Note: Rather than compare these numbers and statistics to the week prior, as I have done in the past, I will simply list them here. I am doing this to establish a ‘base-line’ for the remainder of the season. Also, in my imagination at least, the off-season weeks actually represent months of ‘game-time,’ so comparing these to the week prior just doesn’t feel right.

Value

Average Player Value: $116,545
Total Player Value: $2,564,000

*Note: These values exclude William Brown and Otis Johnson, who are currently listed on the transfer wire.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm
Team Confidence: Wonderful

Sponsor Attitude: Satisfied
Supporter Attitude: Satisfied
Supporter Club: 1,328 members

Balance Sheet

Previous Balance: $489,096

Revenue

Crowd (U.S. Open Cup match vs. Connecticut Samurai) - $7,508
Sponsors - $48,750
Temporary (7 new supporters) - $210

Total Revenue: $56,468

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $25,440
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Cameron McDonald) - $2,000
Temporary (purchase of Valentin Rubio) - $74,000
Temporary (fired specialist) - $1,500
Temporary (arena expansion project) - $297,525
Temporary (transfer listing for Otis Johnson) - $1,000
Temporary (transfer listing for William Brown) - $1,000
Staff and Specialists - $33,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $466,736

Net Income/Loss: -$410,268

New Balance: $78,828

Obviously, the big expense during the off-season was spending nearly $300,000 on an ambitious expansion project for The Docks. The improved stadium will have seating for 30,000 SSFC faithful, and will include a special surprise for the fans. :)

We took the club a little below the normal $100,000 “safety valve” I like to maintain, but that was by design. I knew that the pending sale of Otis Johnson, and particularly William Brown, would take us back into a comfortable financial situation.

Up Next: Results of our league-play opener against the defending series champion Ramblers. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #1

Ramblers vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: April 6th, 2003
Venue: Ramblers Arena (Detroit, MI)
Attendance: 46,507 (51,750)
Weather: Overcast

Prior Meetings

1/5/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 2, Ramblers 2
2/23/2003 – Ramblers 1, Screamin’ Seamen 2

We open the season with a rather daunting task; travel to Detroit and take on the Ramblers, the defending series champions still flush with excitement over capturing last season’s title.

The Ramblers look to be much the same team that we encountered last season, having added no new players during the off-season. Despite the psychological advantage of having won last season’s title, we felt that we still had the advantage, having gotten the better of the Ramblers in our two prior meetings.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

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

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Conspicuous in his absence from the starting lineup, star wingback and last season’s Team MVP, Arlen Lucas, was suspended from the match for having been red-carded in the club’s U.S. Open Cup match on Wednesday. We weren’t terribly comfortable with any of our options to replace Arlen, but eventually decided on Mattias Leier, our 19 year old Estonian trainee. Mattias has shown himself to be the best pure wingback amongst our trainees, and responded well to practice during the week.

The Ramblers always bring their strongest attack on their left-hand side, so we’ll be stacking the defense to our right. Hopefully Tyler Willard and Ben McMahon can contain superstars Philip Gallo (4.5* winger) and Eric Holmes (4* midfielder).

Game time…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

46507 spectators had come to Ramblers Arena this cloudy day.

Ramblers had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Chugg - Arredondo, Powell, Campos - Niemelä, Whittington, Maddox, Holmes, Gallo - Hansson, Barik.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Leier - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Henriksson, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

Bhima Barik gave his Ramblers 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 16:th minute Ramblers´s Perry Maddox fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Perry Maddox for taking a dive.

After 16 minutes Bhima Barik put Ramblers ahead 2 - 0 as he rose to head in a hooked ball, the result of an effort from the right side.

Charlie Bautista seemed highly inexperienced when in the 17:th minute he was loitering with the ball, allowing Gus Whittington to intercept and strike 3-0 for Ramblers.

By now Ramblers were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead.

The home side´s Stefan Hansson came close to extending the lead in the 24:th minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Cornelius Jernigan managed saving with a fingernail.

Bhima Barik almost managed to score another goal for Ramblers, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie.

3 - 0 was the half-time score. Ramblers held the ball, with a clear 57 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

In the 55:th minute Ramblers´s Stefan Hansson tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net.

After 67 minutes Screamin'´s Valentín Rubio contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game.

In the 71st minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Stefan Hansson dashed through, knocking home 4 - 0 for Ramblers.

The referee showed Screamin's Valentín Rubio the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Ramblers player was without a doubt Philip Gallo. Kurt Arredondo was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Niklas Ivarsson. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The match ends 4 - 0.

Final Score: Ramblers 4, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals
None

Cards
Rubio – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Willard: ***
Scales: ***~
Leier: **~

McMahon: **
Tomlin: **~
Bautista: **~
Ivarsson: ***~
Rubio: ***

Tobias: **
Henriksson: **~

Team Match MVP: #8 Niklas Ivarsson

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: World Class (13)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-NSI: 66

Ramblers
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Outstanding (10)
-NSI: 71

Comments

Ouch. This one hurt, boys and girls. Our tactics were sound and possession was roughly even between the two halves. Although we faced a team with a little more talent than our own, there is no way that we deserved a 4-nil drubbing. This just goes to show you that sometimes the ball doesn’t roll your way. I am sure that the home-field advantage for the Ramblers had something to do with it as well.

The good news (if you can call it that), is that Valentin Rubio’s foot injury is a minor one; just a strained arch. Still, the Argentinean is no spring chicken (29 years old), so we’ve brought in a foot specialist to tend to his injury, and ensure that he will be ready to go next weekend.

Series Scores and Standings

-Croats in Miami opened up the season with a bang, shutting out Neon Genesis Evangelion, 3-nil.
-Sweden Heights surprised some people, taking down SoccerWussies, 3-1.
-Big Reds performed admirably in their debut, defeating Syracuse Supers, 4-nil.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Name Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Big Reds 1 4-0 3 64
2. Ramblers 1 4-0 3 71
3. Croats in Miami 1 3-0 3 62
4. Sweden Heights 1 3-1 3 63
5. SoccerWussies 1 1-3 0 61
6. Neon Genesis Evangelion 1 0-3 0 57
7. Screamin’ Seamen 1 0-4 0 66
8. Syracuse Supers 1 0-4 0 43
</pre></font>

As I expected, the competition in our series has gotten a lot tougher this season, and I have added the NSI ratings for all of the teams in the series to illustrate this point. Also, HatStats has rated Series IV.49 as the 5th toughest Division IV series in the entire United States! (Thanks to Eilim for pointing this out to me).

Duplicating our performance from last season looks to be well-nigh impossible. I have predicted that 30 points will win the series. There is no way anyone is getting out of this series with an automatic promotion. The competition is just going to be way too tight.

Other News

Otis Johnson was sold on Monday to Indos, a relatively new team from San Francisco. This is good news for Otis, as it looks like he may be able to fight his way into a starting spot. The sale was completed for $9,000, of which $8,100 has found its way into the club’s coffers.

Of much more importance to our bank account was the sale of William Brown on Monday as well. The 21 year old defender/wingback was sold for $135,000 to Hodechlopfer, a Swiss 5th Division side. Willie looks like a definite starter for his new club, which is always nice to see. We get to keep $121,500 of the money.

We would also like to make mention of the following three clubs and their owners, who have joined the ever-growing ranks of the Screamin’ Seamen Supporters:

Tomahawks (Owner: -Panther, 2nd place in Series V.220)
goldurnears (Owner: robbgmaier, 4th place in Series V.230)
booger balers (Owner: fflix, 1st place in Series V.158)

Welcome and thank you folks. Representatives from the club should be arriving shortly to deliver your VIP tickets (and a bit of mischief as well, I suspect ;) ).

Up Next: We get to escape from the ice storm that has struck Chicago, and travel to Tempe, Arizona. There we hope to rebound with a U.S. Open Cup victory over the Arizona Wolves. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – U.S. Open Cup – Round 2

Arizona Wolves vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: April 9th, 2003
Venue: Arizona Field (Tempe, AZ)
Attendance: 6,913 (7,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We’ve managed to escape from the harsh weather that struck Chicago recently, and are in Tempe, Arizona for a 2nd round U.S. Open Cup match against the Arizona Wolves. The Wolves, like many of the new Division VI teams in the U.S., is searching for new ownership, but have managed to claim 2nd place in their series thus far.

Still, the Wolves do not pose a serious threat to the club, so we should be looking at an easy advance to the 3rd round of the cup. We’re fortunate, because this is exactly what our lads need; a nice easy win. Their confidence was pretty well shattered by the drubbing we took in Detroit last week, but this match should go a long way towards repairing that psychological damage.

Formation: 4-4-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ve decided to go with a 4-4-2 approach today, which is something we haven’t done in quite a while. We want to get our defensive trainees on the pitch, but I am not comfortable with the idea of playing a 5-4-1. Winning today is too important to the psychology of the team to take that much of a chance.

Arlen Lucas will see the pitch today, as he was suspended from our league match this past weekend. Hopefully he can keep his nose clean this time around, because we will need him on Sunday against the Big Reds.

Forrest “Gump” Tobias is the other starter that will play for us today. We need a second forward to accompany Jesper Gravesen up front, and Johannes Henriksson is far too valuable to risk in a match like this. On top of that, any match experience we can get for “Gump” is a definite plus.

Today also marks the professional debut for youth squad phenom Cameron McDonald. Cameron is one of the most highly-touted players to ever come out of our youth program, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what he can do on the pitch.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Arizona Field saw a crowd turnout of 6913.

Arizona started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Stapleton - Gary, Goodson, Friedman, Atkins - Rivers, Aceña Lopez, Anderson, Wynn - Jiménez Asensio, Lake.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Read - Kvam , Stubbs, Mcdonald, Lucas - Peralta, Tere, Smith, Mauffret - Gravesen, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

Screamin' took the lead after 18 minutes with 0 - 1. Jesper Gravesen placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left.

After 33 minutes Arizona´s Karl Friedman contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game.

The visitors Lucian Tere took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 33rd minute. 0 - 2 for Screamin'.

Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 34:th minute Screamin' goal, making it 0 - 3. Lucian Tere was noted down as the scorer.

The structure of the game started to change as Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

Halftime score was 0 - 3. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 68 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Screamin'´s Christian Kvam got himself booked.

After the ball got lifted in from the left Jerry Smith was on his own in the home side´s penalty area 62 minutes into the game, and should have scored, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration.

Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 80:th minute Screamin' goal, making it 0 - 4. Jesper Gravesen was noted down as the scorer.

Paul Peralta was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Forrest Tobias managed to kick one of them into 0 - 5 in the 83rd minute.

Screamin's Keith Stubbs got himself booked after a foul. The Arizona player was Karl Friedman who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 83 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Arizona player was without a doubt Tommy Rivers. Bobbie Atkins on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Olav Mauffret on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The match ends 0 - 5.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, Arizona Wolves 0

Goals
Gravesen – 2 (1,2)
Tere – 2 (1,2)
Tobias – 1 (2)

Cards
Kvam – yellow (1)
Stubbs – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Read: **

Kvam: **
McDonald: *** :D
Stubbs: **
Lucas: ***~

Peralta: **
Smith: **~
Tere: **
Mauffret: **

Gravesen: **
Tobias: **

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 48

Arizona Wolves
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 27

Comments

A nice easy win, as was expected. Although Arlen Lucas earned Team Match MVP honors, Lucian Tere deserves some special notice. The big Romanian midfielder pegged home two goals in approximately two minutes! That’s the kind of performance that I like to see, even from backups. Jesper Gravesen added two goals of his own, and “Gump” Tobias got in on the action late, adding his second cup goal of the young season.

In retrospect, we probably could have played a 5-4-1 and still won the match, but I was not prepared to take the risk at the time. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a pretty conservative manager when it comes to decisions about my team. :)

I am particularly pleased with Cameron McDonald, and his outstanding three-star debut performance. He quietly went about his business all game long, sweeping out the area in front of Darryl Read like a pro. Some of the other starters were teasing Chuck Scales about his job being in danger after the match. Chuck looked a little worried, and he should be!

Author’s Note: Given Cameron’s three-star performance and assessed value of $100,000 “out of the box,” I suspect he’ll bump up to excellent defending in a week or two. If only he were a year younger (he’s 18), he’d be possible U-20 team material.

Other News

The incredible support for the Screamin’ Seamen continues to come in, and I can’t begin to tell you all how proud I am to have so much support (primarily from the FOFC). I would like to welcome the following clubs to the family of SSFC supporters:

Golden Eagles FC (Owner: GoldenEagle, 3rd place in Series V.167)
Calibiri (Owner: daelalus, 3rd place in Series V.46)

This brings us to 29 supporting teams, making us #2 in the entire United States! A heart-felt thanks to all of our supporters. :)

Up Next: Training results and the weekly financial updates in the next few days. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 1 Training Results

We returned to our defensive training regimen this week, but did not see any immediate results. We were rather hoping that Cameron McDonald would show some marked improvement after his performance on Wednesday, but that was not the case.

Jesper Gravesen, our b-team striker, did improve to weak (4) experience, though.

And now for the bad news…

Form Changes

2 players improved a level in form (both starters).
13 players had their form remain the same.
7 players dropped in form (1 of them a starter).

We did not have a good training week, that much is obvious. We’re hoping that this is just a temporary setback, perhaps a bit of a hang-over from our loss on Sunday.

The really bad news is that Cameron McDonald dropped two levels in form! :( Cameron is a hot prospect for the club, so we’re hoping and praying that this is not a sign of lousy base-form.

In The Zone

Both of our Swedes are playing some excellent soccer (they must be high on life after Sweden won the U-20 World Cup). Team captain Johannes Henriksson and midfielder Niklas Ivarsson are both in excellent (8) form, as is back-up midfielder Jerry Smith. Jerry may see some playing time with the starters on Sunday.

Form Dogs

Unfortunately, we have four different players currently in weak (4) form. Defensive trainee Zarpas Lerma (who hasn’t played in three weeks), Cameron McDonald, winger Ben McMahon, and keeper Darryl Read are all stinking up the joint at the moment. The good news is that only one of them (McMahon) is a normal starter.

Value

Average Player Value: $114,455 (-$2,090)
Total Player Value: $2,518,000 (-$46,000)

Up Next: The weekly financial update on Saturday. After that, we have our home opener against the Big Reds. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Team U.S.A. Makes History

The United States National Team made history day, defeating the Swedish National Team for the first time ever. The final tally was U.S.A. 3, Sweden 1.

Match # 6875160

Congratulations to Slashers (even though I don't think he reads this).

It's a great day for the U.S. of A.

[illinifan999]

USA USA USA!!!!!

[Havok]

WWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!


USA USA!!!!!!!!!

[illinifan999]

Sweden is a damn good team. Only 2 losses since the inception of national teams. And the US is now one of them. That is an amazing job.

[DataKing]

Youth Pull

The youth squad performed for us pretty well again this week. Although Sam won’t be staying with the club (I’m not training playmaking), he should give us a nice financial boost and make a good midfield trainee for someone.

Sam Young

Listed As: Inner Midfielder
Asking Price: $30,000
Deadline: 4/16/03 @ 20:33 HT-Time

17 years old, passable form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and righteous.
Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities.

Specialty: Technical

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $31,000
Wage: $640 per week

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

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $78,828

Revenue

Crowd (U.S. Open Cup match vs. Arizona Wolves) - $10,445
Sponsors - $56,100
Temporary (19 new supporters) - $570
Temporary (sale of Otis Johnson) - $8,100
Temporary (sale of William Brown) - $121,500

Total Revenue: $196,715

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $11,271
Player Wages - $31,508
Temporary (youth squad promotion) - $2,000
Temporary (fired specialist) - $1,500
Staff and Specialists - $40,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $106,779

Net Income/Loss: $89,936

New Balance: $168,764

Of particularly good news is that the renovations and expansions of The Docks has been completed. 30,000 brand-spanking-new seats (and a special surprise) are ready and waiting for our home opener against the Big Reds.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Content (up 1 level)
Team Confidence: Strong (down 1 level)

Sponsor Attitude: Delirious (up 1 level)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (up 1 level)
Supporter Club: 1,347 (up 19 from last week)

Our U.S. Open Cup win on Wednesday repaired some of the damage to the team’s confidence, but not all of it.

Up Next: The Screamin’ Seamen home opener at the “New and Improved” Docks. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #2

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Big Reds

Date: April 13th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 28,873 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Today we play host to the Big Reds, one of the newcomers to the division, in our home opener. It looks like we have magnificent weather for the debut of the “new and improved,” Docks, 65 degrees and partly cloudy. The Docks now looks like a smaller version of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, complete with faux pirate ship on one end of the stadium. :cool:

Despite being new to Division IV, Big Reds are not a team to be taken lightly. They dominated the Syracuse Supers (admittedly the weakest team in the division) last week in their home opener, 4-nil. They are an all-around solid club, with a dangerous striker in Willibald Roth (what kind of name is Willibald, anyway?) and a fine 19-year-old midfielder by the name of Theo Juarez.

Still, with home field advantage and Arlen Lucas returning to the line-up, we expect a win, although a narrow one. I would not be surprised to see this one end up 2-1 or 3-2.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
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: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

As was mentioned earlier, last season’s Team MVP Arlen Lucas returns to the lineup, after having served his one game suspension last Sunday. Other than that, it’s pretty much business-as-usual as far as our starting line-up goes.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

28873 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

Reds had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Morgansson - Sifres Belenguer, Ryan, Conde - Tønnessen, Williams, Juarez, Crabtree, Freixes - Levin, Roth.

FIRST HALF

David Ryan received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 7:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

Many thought Pete Tomlin ought to have been awarded a penalty shot in the 29:th minute, as he went down trying to circle the visitors keeper Martin Morgansson.

Reds had a good opportunity to score the lead goal but the home team goaltender Cornelius Jernigan saved Willibald Roth´s shot headed for the top corner.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. Reds held the ball, with a clear 52 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Screamin' made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Ben Mcmahon completely alone with keeper Martin Morgansson, who made a spectacular block.

n the 71st minute Redss Martin Sifres Belenguer received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Screamin' could have put themselves ahead in the 74:th minute as Forrest Tobias missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right.

Robert Levin came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 80:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Cornelius Jernigan managed to tip the ball to a corner.

No one team arose to dominate this half, ending in a deadlock.

POST-GAME

Most important Screamin' player was Arlen Lucas. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The most dominating Reds player was without a doubt Theo Juarez. Martin Sifres Belenguer on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 0, Big Reds 0

Goals
None

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

Rubio: ***
Tomlin: **~
Bautista: **~
Ivarsson: ***~
McMahon: **~

Henriksson: **~
Tobias: **

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 72

Big Reds
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 66

Comments

I do so enjoy tough defensive battles, but this one was a little too defensive for my tastes, particularly on our side of the scoreboard. The defense performed admirably, as per usual, and when they did get a little leaky, “Corny” Jernigan was right there to shut the door on the Reds. Unfortunately, our own offense remained woeful. Ben McMahon (who we have been less than pleased with lately) and Forrest “Gump” Tobias both had opportunities to give us the lead, but could not finish the deal.

Despite the fact that we only ended up with a draw, there are plenty of good things to draw from this match. We had our best-ever (if memory serves) overall team rating, and our first ever solid-rated midfield. Our entire back line put up ***~ performances each, another first for the club.

It’s obvious that our defense is usually up to the challenge. Our offense, on the other hand, has been lackluster to say the least. Unfortunately, we’re not in a financial position at the moment to make a meaningful change, but will look to address the offense in the future.

Series Scores and Standings

-Sweden Heights scored twice in the last 15 minutes to snatch a 3-2 victory over Neon Genesis Evangelion.
-Croats in Miami had their way with the Syracuse Supers, 4-nil. However, Croats’ starting keeper Don Smith suffered a major injury (5 weeks) in the match.
-SoccerWussies surprised everyone by dominating Ramblers, 4-nil. This confirms my suspicion that Ramblers MOTSed the match against us last week.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Name. Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Croats in Miami 2 7-0 6 56
2. Sweden Heights 2 6-3 6 60
3. Big Reds 2 4-0 4 66
4. SoccerWussies 2 5-3 3 66
5. Ramblers 2 4-4 3 64
6. Screamin’ Seamen 2 0-4 1 72
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 2-6 0 62
8. Syracuse Supers 2 0-8 0 43
</pre></font>

Next Week’s Matchups

Croats in Miami vs. Screamin’ Seamen
SoccerWussies vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Big Reds vs. Ramblers
Sweden Heghts vs. Syracuse Supers

Other News

We would like to welcome the 30th member of our supporters.

McGees (Owner: whitesoxmcgee, Currently 2nd place in Series V.195)

Welcome McGee, and thank you for your support.

Up Next: We travel to Brooklyn, Wisconsin for our 3rd-Round U.S. Open Cup match against the Brooklyn Ex-Pats. Stay tuned!

[Barkeep49]

Looks to be a rough season for the Seaman. I hope you guys snap out of it and soon!

[robbgmaier]

Congratulations on getting out of the basement (oooh, that was kind of mean) :)

[DataKing]

Things certainly have not started out as planned, but I am certain that things will turn around. I just hope that it is sooner, rather than later.

Series IV.49 was rated as the 4th toughest series in all of Division IV this week (5th last week) by HatStats. Also, our team rating of 72 tied us for 21st in all of Division IV. The ball just hasn't been rolling our way so far this season.

Actually, while it is a little early to look that far ahead, I expect a strong second half from our club, because we get to play the Syracuse Supers back-to-back in weeks 7 and 8. Those matches should be a nice boost to team spirit and confidence, and prepare us for a stretch run.

I don't know if I've mentioned it earlier, but my goal for this season is the same as it was last season; finish in the top four, earn some prize money, and avoid a relegation match. With the dramatic increase in competition in Series IV.49 this season, asking anything more of my club is just downright unrealistic in my book.

[Havok]

I think we all got spoiled with DK kicking everyone's ass every game :)

anyway... just looked through your division and it is very tough. if you get top 3 (which i think you will) that will be a victory in it self.

[DataKing]

Thanks for the encouragement Havok. I know I was spoiled by winning week in-week out. :)

And there is one good thing that we can still cling to. We have yet to lose a home league match, ever! 12 wins, 3 draws, 0 losses.

Of course, I've probably jynxed the team now by mentioning it. :D

[DataKing]

Season 3 – U.S. Open Cup – Round 3

Brooklyn Ex-Pats vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: April 16th, 2003
Venue: Brooklyn Ex-Pats Arena (Brooklyn, WI)
Attendance: 6,319 (15,000)
Weather: Rain

For the 3rd round of this year’s U.S. Open Cup, we’ve drawn the Brooklyn Ex-Pats as our competition, from the sprawling metropolis of Brooklyn, Wisconsin (population 916). The two-hour bus trip has resulted in a bit of a culture shock for some of our players, as we have gone from a land of skyscrapers and six-lane highways to a place where cows outnumber cars. Indeed, one rather stubborn heffer delayed our arrival by more than ten minutes by refusing to budge from in front of the bus. :)

The Ex-Pats are currently leading series V.168, despite having only been formed just last month. Still, we don’t foresee having any major problems with this club, and our B-team should not have too much trouble advancing us to the 4th round of the Cup, assuming that our convoluted tactics work out how we expect them to.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier (defensive)
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma (offensive)
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

Inner Midfielder: #25 Paul Peralta (towards wing)
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere (offensive)
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret (offensive)

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ve gone back to a 5-4-1 formation, looking to gain one week of full training for our defenders before we will have to run a 3-5-2 in order to advance in the cup. But we’re trying something a little different this time around with the 5-4-1. We’ll be playing with three midfielders (one towards the wing) and only one winger in the central of the field. The hope is that the extra possession afforded us by the third midfielder should keep the opposition from exploiting the while on our right side. If anything should get through the whole, we have our best wingback trainee, Mattias Leier, there to control things until help can arrive.

It started raining about an hour ago, and has shown no signs of letting up, which will hurt the play of some of our more technically-oriented players (Gravesen and Smith in particular). Lucian Tere, on the other hand, is loving every minute of it. The big Romanian plays his best when he’s able to just bowl over smaller opposition, and usually performs admirably on a wet pitch. We’ll keep an eye on him today and try to feed him the ball if he’s got a size-friendly matchup.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

6319 spectators had found their way to Brooklyn Ex-Pats Arena, despite the heavy rain.

Brooklyn tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Beltrán - Gabriel, Fleming, Harder - Gerber, Francoeur, Tillman, Rabella, Shepherd - Florence, Saldana.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Read - Leier, Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Kvam - Tere, Peralta, Smith, Mauffret - Gravesen.

FIRST HALF

John Harder gave his Brooklyn the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post.

There wasn´t much opportunity for rapid movements this wet day, which hindered Dom Shepherd in particular.

Screamin' seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team.

Lucian Tere came close to levelling the score in the 28:th minute, as he was set up with a through ball coming in from the left, but his shot hit the post.

Halftime score was 1 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Brooklyn, with an impressive 57 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

During the break Screamin'´s coach went through the teams new tactics yet again.

Screamin' had obvious problems in finding their positions.

Brooklyn put themselves up 2 - 0 when Miguel Florence broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him.

The structure of the game started to change as Brooklyn decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

The referee showed Brooklyns Jay Fleming the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Olav Mauffret spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

Screamin' had a fair chance to reply after 81 minutes, due to some fine moves down the left, but in the end no one was there to put their head to the ball as it was lifted into the box.

Hayden Saldana should probably have put his team up another goal in the 87:th minute, but some great goaltending by Darryl Read kept the visitors in the game.

This part of the game had been a standoff between the teams.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Brooklyn player was without a doubt Hayden Saldana. David Gerber on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Most important Screamin' player was Keith Stubbs. Zarpas Lerma on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Brooklyn Ex-Pats 2, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals
None

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Read: **

Leier: **~
Stubbs: **~
McDonald: **~
Lerma: *~
Kvam: **

Peralta: *~
Smith: **~
Tere: **
Mauffret: **

Gravesen: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Wretched (2)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 43

Brooklyn Ex-Pats
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 39

Comments

The woes that seem to surround the Screamin’ Seamen continue to plague us, as we lost a match that we should have won, and have been bounced from the U.S. Open Cup much earlier than anticipated. A large share of the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of Jesper Gravesen, who as team captain (weak experience, inadequate leadership) should not have allowed the play of the team to disintegrate the way it did (our experience with 5-4-1 was at passable).

I suspect that coach Brown will also be receiving quite a bit of heat this week, as his “5-4-1 alternative” formation backfired in a major way. We shall see if anything comes of that.

Other than that, I have very little to say at this time about the whole fiasco. When you’re as ticked off as I am, you’re probably best just keeping your mouth shut. :mad:

Other News

Youth pull Sam Young is heading south of the equator, as he sold earlier today for a nice tidy sum of $102,000. The purchasing club was C.A. Daedra (B. Bca.), a 4th Division side from Argentina. $93,840 of the money found its way into the club's coffers.

We would also like to welcome a new member to the growing group of Screamin’ Seamen supporters:

Plowboys (Owner: Gathis, Currently 8th place in Series V.202)

The Plowboys are from Kansas…Woohoo and Welcome! :D

Up Next: The one good piece of news out of all of this is that all of our defensive trainees receive training this week. Training update to be posted on Thursday evening. Stay tuned!

[sterlingice]

Ow, this season is going bad quick. I think this is a good omen: you're lulling everyone into a false sense of security so you can win the FOFC Cup and make a miraculous comeback to take 1st in your series. You're just making it more dramatic. :)

Well, at least you still have the Wing-- never mind (couldn't resist)

SI

[DataKing]

Week 2 Training Results

In what continues to be a disappointing trend, none of our defenders showed any marked improvement this week. Trainees Mattias Leier and Cameron McDonald, both of whom are expected to take a “step up” soon, have refrained from doing so.

Form Changes

3 players improved in form this week (including winger Ben McMahon)
14 players saw their form remain the same.
5 players dropped in form this week (including Johannes Henriksson and Charlie Bautista)

Another poor week of training, which saw the average form of the team drop. I’m at a loss for how to explain it. Just some lousy luck on our part, I suppose. This team’s form and performance is nowhere near what it was at this point last season.

In The Zone

The good news is that midfielder Niklas Ivarsson continues to play some of the best soccer of his life. Also in top form is substitute midfielder Jerry Smith, who may very well see the field this Sunday against Croats in Miami.

Form Dog

Newcomer Cameron McDonald continues to disappoint in practice as well as on the pitch, and has dropped to poor (3) form this week. Folks around the front office are hoping and praying that this is just a slump, as Cameron gets used to playing at the professional level, and not an indicator of lousy base-form.

Value

Average Player Value: $116,045 (+$1,590)
Total Player Value: $2,553,000 (+$35,000)

Up Next: This week’s youth squad promotion as well as the financial update on Saturday evening. After that, we’re on the road again, as we travel to Miami to take on the league-leading Croats. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

This week’s youth pull wasn’t with the team long enough for me to remember his name. :p

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $168,768

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Big Reds) - $150,026
Crowd (U.S. Open Cup match vs. Brooklyn Ex-Pats) - $9,583
Sponsors - $60,750
Temporary (sale of youth squad promotee Sam Young) - $93,840

Total Revenue: $314,199

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $29,948
Temporary (youth squad promotion) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Sam Young) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $40,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $112,948

Net Income/Loss: $201,151

New Balance: $370,015

Despite our disappointments on the pitch, this was a very profitable week for us, with the promotion and sale of Sam Young acting as a nice little bonus. The expansion to The Docks certainly seems to be paying for itself quickly, as we brought in just over $150,000 from Sunday’s league match. We’re in a good spot financially. Now it’s just a matter of turning that into better on-the-field performances.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Satisfied (up 1 level)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (up 1 level)
Supporter Attitude: Content (down 2 levels)
Supporter Club: 1,346 (down 1 from last week)

For the first time in club history, we actually had a supporter leave the organization. Apparently the supporters were none too pleased with us getting shut out at home, even though the game did end in a draw. And I’m sure that getting knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup by a Division V side didn’t help matters any, either.

Up Next: We look to exact a little revenge upon the Croats in Miami on Sunday. For those of you who may not remember, this is the club that cost us the series title last season and handed us our first ever league loss. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #3

Croats in Miami vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: April 20th, 2003
Venue: Croats in Miami Arena (Miami, FL)
Attendance: 29,117 (33,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

It’s payback time! This week we travel back down to Miami, to take on the Croats in Miami, the club that handed us our first ever league match loss, and cost us the series title last season. This has rapidly evolved into quite a little rivalry, and we’re looking forward to another good, hard-played match this time around.

The Croats come into today’s match in first place in the standings, and have yet to give up a goal through the first two weeks of play. But this can be quite deceiving, since they have only played two of the weakest teams in the division thus far; Neon Genesis Evangelion and Syracuse Supers. Truth be told, their defense isn’t all that good, and has been made even more suspect with the injury to starting keeper Don Smith last week.

Thus far, the all-time series is tied at one win a piece.

Previous Meetings
12/16/2002 – Screamin Seamen’ 5, Croats in Miami 1
3/17/2003 – Croats in Miami 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

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

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

The one change to our starting lineup this week is youngster Jerry Smith starting in place of Charlie Bautista in the midfield. Charlie has not been performing well at all as of late, and his slip has opened up a spot in the lineup for Jerry, at least on a temporary basis. Jerry has a bright future with the club, and has been playing excellent soccer as of late, so we want to get him into the starting lineup whenever possible.

With the Croats’ starting keeper out injured, we’ve decided to test the backup, Chris Keys. To do this, we’re playing with a much more aggressive formation than is typical for us, with McMahon, Ivarsson, Tomlin, and Rubio all being given the green-light to jump up on the attack when the situation warrants. Even wingbacks Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard will play a little bit forward from their usual positions in the back, looking to feed the long ball to the wingers when given the opportunity.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Croats in Miami Arena saw a crowd turnout of 29117.

Croats tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Keys - Schofield, Göransson, Howe - Parish, Allen, Blackwell, Schwab, Rönnerberg - Patrick, Broderick.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Tomlin, Smith, Rubio - Henriksson, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

At the beginning of the game, Croats appeared to already have taken this victory to the bank.

Croats were very close to putting themselves one up in the 11th minute as Lester Schofield got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide.

Rolf Schwab 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.

After 18 minutes Screamin' put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Johannes Henriksson finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post.

After a fatal mistake from the away teams right side defense in the 31st minute, an alert Tony Allen bagged the ball, evening the score to 1 - 1.

Croats made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Ryan Broderick completely alone with keeper Cornelius Jernigan, who made a spectacular block.

Screamin's Arlen Lucas got himself booked after a foul.

The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 1. Croats held the ball, with a clear 58 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Some quick foot work on the left side of the field in the 52nd minute left Screamin'´s Forrest Tobias completely free to score. 1 - 2 for the visitors.

Due to some great work on the right wing Croats:s Ryan Broderick was able to even the score in the 53rd minute to 2 - 2.

Croats had a good opportunity to take the lead as Michael Patrick came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of Cornelius Jernigan.

Rolf Schwab of Croats received a yellow card in the 87:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Croats held the ball, with a clear 59 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Croats player was without a doubt Tony Allen. Chris Keys on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Most important Screamin' player was Chuck Scales. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Croats in Miami 2, Screamin’ Seamen 2

Goals
Henriksson – 1 (1)
Tobias – 1 (1)

Cards
Lucas – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

McMahon: **
Ivarsson: ***~
Smith: **~
Tomlin: **~
Rubio: ***

Henriksson: **
Tobias: **

Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 65

Croats in Miami
-Midfield: Excellent (8)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Formidable (9)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 62

Comments

With the offensive troubles that we have had thus far this season, it is nice to finally see some offensive production from the strikers. We only had two really good scoring opportunities in the match, and both Johannes Henriksson and Forrest “Gump” Tobias did not waste them, as each tallied their first league goals of the season.

Unfortunately, the Croats were able to respond to both of our goals, and we had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Despite the fact that we have yet to earn a league win this season, I am not all that upset about the result. The competition level in the series is such that, in most cases, a draw on the road is as good as a win.

I have also discovered what I think to be a big part of the reason that we have experienced trouble this season. Because of the way that the schedules are arranged, each team that we play against in the first half of the season is coming off of a game against the Syracuse Supers, the one safely PIC-able team in the league. This means that, assuming that the other managers in the league are intelligent (which they appear to be, for the most part), we’re playing with a team spirit deficit each and every time out for the first six weeks of the season.

The good news to come out of this little epiphany is that, in weeks six through nine, we will get to play our matches against what appear to be the two weakest teams in the league; Neon Genesis Evangelion and Syracuse Supers. This four week stretch should give us a lot of momentum to make a run at the end of the season. Needless to say, I am not as concerned with our sixth place standing as I was before I figured all of this out.

Series Scores and Standings

-Sweden Heights had an easy time at home against Syracuse Supers, winning 5-nil.
-SoccerWussies survived two second-half goals by Neon Genesis Evangelion, winning 3-2.
-Big Reds won a tough defensive battle against Ramblers, 1-nil.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Sweden Heights 3 11-3 9 60
2. Croats in Miami 3 9-2 7 62
3. Big Reds 3 5-0 7 76
4. SoccerWussies 3 8-5 6 68
5. Ramblers 3 4-5 3 64
6. Screamin’ Seamen* 3 2-6 2 65
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion 3 4-9 0 60
8. Syracuse Supers 3 0-13 0 40
</pre></font>

Our draw with Croats in Miami knocked them out of contention for 1st place, leaving that honor for Sweden Heights (whom we play host to next week). Also of note are Ramblers, who have yet to score a goal since their 4-nil MOTS victory over us in week one. This just goes to show how damaging an ill-advised early-season MOTS can be to a team’s season.

Week 4 Matchups

Ramblers vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Screamin’ Seamen vs. Sweden Heights
Syracuse Supers vs. SoccerWussies
Big Reds vs. Croats in Miami

Ramblers should be able to recover next week against NGE, and SoccerWussies should increase their position with an easy win over Syracuse Supers. The matches to watch next week are ours against league-leading Sweden Heights, and Big Reds hosting Croats (the winner of which could claim first place with a Seamen victory over Heights).

Up Next: We’ve arranged for a friendly match this Wednesday against Rexall’s Else United, to take place at The Docks. Stay tuned!

[GoldenEagle]

Just a quick question. Is there anyway to tell if your players have changed in form? Or do you just remember it all like some super-computer? :)

[DataKing]

Originally posted by GoldenEagle
Just a quick question. Is there anyway to tell if your players have changed in form? Or do you just remember it all like some super-computer? :)

I am a Data King after all. ;)

Actually I use an excel spreadsheet to track things like player values, skills, form, and performance from week to week. I've looked at programs like HAM and the like, but I find it more enjoyable to track things myself, rather than have a tool do it for me. This way, I feel I get to know my players and their abilities better than I would otherwise.

[vex]

HattrickPoli is the way to be:)

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Week 3 Friendly Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Else United

Date: April 23rd, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 774 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We certainly didn’t expect to be playing friendly matches at this point in the season, but find ourselves doing just that after an early exit from the U.S. Open Cup last Wednesday. We’re determined to make the best of it, though, and have returned to concentrating our efforts on training for our young defenders.

Today we play host to rexallsc’s Else United, who have flown in from Los Angeles for the match. We expect a typically low-scoring affair from the match, as our defense should be more than adequate to contain United’s strikers. The big question is whether or not our anemic offense will be able to find a way to get the ball on net.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

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

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’re back to our standard 5-4-1 lineup this week, after the resounding failure of Coach Brown’s “alternative” 5-4-1 last time out. The one change to our standard B-team lineup is Charlie Bautista. Charlie’s weak play as of late means that he has been relegated to B-team duty, but we’re hoping that he will recover his previously good form and return to the starting lineup soon. We’ll be keeping a close eye on him today.

A wary eye will also be placed upon striker and team captain Jesper Gravesen. Jesper did a horrible job last week of managing the team on the pitch, and was partially responsible for our exit from the U.S. Open Cup. His continued presence on the club may very well depend on how well the team responds to his commands today. We shall see.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

774 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. Lineup: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Bautista, Peralta - Gravesen.

United had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Põlluste - Braxton, Chance, Figueiredo Costa, Aldrich - Ubierna, Esparza, Burch, Calvert - Ridgeway, Mcqueen.

FIRST HALF

Keith Stubbs behaved like an inexperienced youth player in the 7:th minute as he gave the ball away to an opponent. Lucky for him though, there was no goal.

Screamin's Keith Stubbs gave, after 7 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

Halftime score was 1 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 75 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

With 64 minutes played Keith Stubbs could have brought this one home for Screamin', had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high.

One of many good passes from José María Ubierna at the wing was recieved and skillfully taken care of by Sheldon Ridgeway, scoring for United to 1 - 1.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 89 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. However, Jesper Gravesen made a disastrous appearance.

Most important United player was Alexandre Figueiredo Costa. Arthur Mcqueen was a disappointment, however.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Else United 1

Goals
Stubbs – 1

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Read: **

Kvam: **~
McDonald: **
Stubbs: **~
Lerma: **
Leier: **~

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

Gravesen: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-:Left Attack: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 51

Else United
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-:Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 34

Comments

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the Keith Stubbs Show with me, your host, Data King! It’s pretty unusual when all of the notable events for your team focus around one player. It’s even more unusual when that player is a defender! Keith had himself a whale of a game today and, despite his early blunder, I am duly impressed. Stubbs reminds me more and more of a young Sandis Ozolinsh; a defender who jumps up onto the attack with (sometimes disturbing) regularity, whether he is asked to or not. (And no, I did not instruct Keith to play offensive or anything of the sort.)

I have to give credit to the sky-blues of Else United. Despite our early lead and shut-down defense, they kept digging, and were finally able to get the equalizer with about 20 minutes left to play. I am quite impressed with the effort put forth by rexallsc’s club, and would have expected a more lop-sided result (or at least a victory) given the massive possession advantage that we enjoyed.

As far as the players we were keeping our eyes on are concerned, Charlie Bautista passed with flying colors. I was expecting a bit less out of him, to be frank, and now expect him to return to the starting line-up in short order.

Jesper Gravesen, on the other hand, continues to disappoint. Although I am not at liberty to discuss the details at this point (read: I don’t have enough money yet :p ), we will be looking to make some offensive changes to the club soon. You can be relatively certain that, if those changes require that we let anyone go, Jesper will be the first name on a very short list of expendables.

Other News

We would like to welcome the 32nd member of the Screamin’ Seamen Supporter Group:

Manhattan Marauders (Owner: NAIWF, Currently 6th place in Series V.152).

Welcome Marauders, and thank you very much for your support.

After only 16 days with Swiss club Hodechlopfer, former Seaman William Brown has moved on to F.C. Botarell, a Spanish 5th Division Side. The transfer earned us a nice little bonus of $5,310.

Up Next: Our weekly training results on Thursday evening. Stay tuned!

[vex]

Ummm, our match ratings for today were remarkebly similar.



NE Oklahoma Sidekicks
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: passable (6)
Right Side Defence: excellent (8)
Central Defence: outstanding (10)
Left Side Defence: formidable (9)
Right Side Attack: wretched (2)
Central Attack: weak (4)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)


Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-:Left Attack: Wretched (2)

[rexalllsc]

Thanks for agreeing to the Friendly. Hopefully, this non-loss (after two defeats in a row) will springboard us onto the League title, but I'm not optimistic.

I'm pretty surprised/thankful you didn't beat the tar out of me :)

[DataKing]

The 5-4-1 formation doesn't beat the tar out of anybody, believe me. ;)

[DataKing]

Week 3 Training Results

Once again, we had to marked increases amongst our defensive trainees this week. I know that both Cameron McDonald and Mattias Leier are close, and am rather surprised/disappointed that neither of them has taken the next step just yet.

Form Changes

4 players increased in form (all reserves).
12 players had their form remain the same.
6 players decreased in form this week (3 of them starters).

This is getting rather depressing, as our team’s average form continues to drop slowly, and all of this while training at full intensity (100%). I’m at a loss to explain it, except that we just appear to be having a run of bad luck that will not stop.

In The Zone

The one bright spot for us remains Swedish midfielder Niklas Ivarsson, who continues to shine on the pitch and on the practice field. The best $153,000 I’ve ever spent, at least thus far.

Form Dogs

Defensive trainee Cameron McDonald showed a little bit of improvement this week, which we’re hoping is a sign of good things to come from the 18 year old. He currently shares the dubious title of “form dog” with trainee Zarpas Lerma and midfielder Charlie Bautista (all at weak form).

Value

Average Player Value: $119,682 (+$3,637)
Total Player Value: $2,633,000 (+$80,000)

Wingback and last season’s Team MVP Arlen Lucas becomes the first non-keeper on the club to break the quarter-million mark, and is currently valued at $256,000.

Up Next: The weekly youth squad promotion and financial update on Saturday. After that, we play host to Sweden Heights, the current league leaders, as we continue to seek our first league victory of the season. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 3 Youth Pull

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Wesley Blount. And as soon as you’re done, you’ll probably want to say goodbye to Wesley. He will be listed on the transfer market on Monday, and should bring in at least $75,000 or so.

Wesley Blount

19 years old, passable form, healthy.

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

Nationality: U.S.A.
Assessed Value: $66,000
Wage: $840 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Passable (6)
Winger: Solid (7)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Poor (3)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)

I am tempted to keep Wesley on the team, but I do not have the spare time necessary to bring his fitness up to a suitable level. I am certain that a club that trains wingers or midfielders will be able to find the time, however.


Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $370,015

Revenue

Crowd (friendly match vs. Else United) - $2,055
Sponsors - $63,000
Temporary (mother club money) - $300
Temporary (6 new supporters) - $180
Temporary (Re-sale bonus from William Brown) - $5,310

Total Revenue: $70,845

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $29,948
Temporary (youth squad promotion of someone who sucked) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $40,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $111,948

Net Income/Loss: -$41,103

New Balance: $328, 912

Team Information

Team Spirit: Satisfied (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Content (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,352 (up 6 from last week)

We’re finally starting to see a growth in the supporter club this season, albeit a small one. Still, the way things have been going around here lately, we’ll take whatever we can get.

Up Next: Our league match against the league-leading Sweden Heights. Stay tuned!

[Havok]

your the king of youth pulls.... i hate you :)

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #4

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Sweden Heights

Date: April 27th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 21,542 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We’re back home this week for league play, as we play host to the league-leading Sweden Heights. Heights look to be a decent club (like just about everyone else in the series), and have a good defense that can perhaps rival our own. But their first place standing and nine points is a little misleading, as they have had the luxury of playing against some of the weaker clubs in the division.

We’re looking for solid defense on both sides of the ball, and expect good scoring chances to be few and far between today. Still, we should have the advantage in the number of chances we get, as we appear to have the superior midfield. The question is whether or not our suspect offense can take advantage of those chances.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

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

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

We’re back to our regular starting eleven this week. Charlie Bautista continues to struggle, but even a struggling Charlie Bautista appears to be better than a top-form Jerry Smith in the midfield. Both Johannes Henriksson and Forrest “Gump” Tobias are struggling with their form, but Jesper Gravesen is in coach Brown’s doghouse at the moment, and is not about to see the pitch except for in an emergency.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 21542 to The Docks.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Henriksson, Tobias.

Heights had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Wilkinson - Flamkvist, Bergman, Claesson - Stoner, Jansson, Eriksson, Thomas, Song - Leijonstål, Doyle.

FIRST HALF

The referee showed Screamin's Arlen Lucas the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Tyson Doyle came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 30:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Cornelius Jernigan managed to tip the ball to a corner.

After 31 minutes Heights´s Lars Eriksson contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game.

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.

In the 32nd minute Heightss Mats Claesson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Chuck Scales spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

1 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

With 53 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.

Heights got a chance to level the score as Tyson Doyle suddenly found himself free with the goaltender but the finishing shot hit the bar.

In the games 73rd minute Screamin'´s Tyler Willard fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Tyler Willard for taking a dive.

A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 78 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Screamin'. However, Trent Wilkinson made a spectacular save.

In the 83rd minute Screamin' put themselves up 2 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Tyler Willard 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 Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 62 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson was a disappointment, however.

Most important Heights player was Mats Claesson. Tomas Leijonstål on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Sweden Heights 0

Goals
Henriksson – 1 (2, GWG)
Willard – 1 (1)

Cards
Lucas – yellow (2)
Willard – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

McMahon: **
Ivarsson: ***~
Bautista: **~
Tomlin: **~
Rubio: **~

Henriksson: **
Tobias: **

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: World Class (13)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 72

Sweden Heights
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 61

Comments

BOOYEAH! We finally got our first victory of the season, and a solid one at that. Team captain Johannes Henriksson gave us the game winner, and wingback Tyler Willard scored the first goal of his young career as well. The match also earned Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan the eighth clean sheet of his career.

Arlen Lucas performed admirably at wingback, earning his (and the team’s) first ever four-star rating. Unfortunately, Arlen also received a yellow card, and now has two. He has already been suspended once this season, and will have to cool his heels if he does not want to get suspended again.

Series Scores and Standings

-Ramblers managed their second victory of the season, defeating Neon Genesis Evangelion in a 4-3 shootout.
-SoccerWussies narrowly escaped from Syracuse with a 1-nil victory over the Supers.
-Big Reds claimed the top spot in the series, defeating Croats in Miami, 2-1.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Big Reds 4 7-1 10 76
2. Sweden Heights 4 11-5 9 61
3. SoccerWussies 4 9-5 9 61
4. Croats in Miami 4 10-4 7 65
5. Ramblers 4 8-8 6 69
6. Screamin’ Seamen* 4 4-6 5 72
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion 4 7-13 0 60
8. Syracuse Supers 4 0-14 0 46
</pre></font>

While the victory did not improve our sixth-place standing, it did serve to tighten things up a bit in the standings. Only five points separate the top six teams in the series now.

Week 5 Matchups

SoccerWussies vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Croats in Miami vs. Ramblers
Sweden Heights vs. Big Reds
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Syracuse Supers

Next week’s match against SoccerWussies is definitely a winnable one, even if we will be on the road. I suspect that Big Reds will be able to handle Sweden Heights, and Neon Genesis Evangelion should finally get a victory against Syracuse Supers. Croats in Miami vs. Ramblers is anyone’s guess, however.

Other News

Please help me in welcoming the 33rd and 34th members of the Screamin’ Seamen Support Club:

West Henrietta FC (Owner: bigjdotcom01, currently 3rd place in Series V.53)
Frankfort United (Owner: DukeRulesMAB, currently 7th place in Series V.22)

Welcome, and thank you very much for your support.

Up Next: We’ve scheduled a friendly match this week against another FOFC club, Reign. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Originally posted by Havok
your the king of youth pulls.... i hate you :)

Having an excellent youth squad pays off in the long run, believe me. :cool:

[The Afoci]

Nice win, hopefully you can make a push toward DIII now that you got the first one under your belt!

[DataKing]

Originally posted by The Afoci
Nice win, hopefully you can make a push toward DIII now that you got the first one under your belt!

Division III would be nice, but it's going to be a lot harder to get there this season. With the competition as tight as it is in my series, there's no way anyone is going to earn enough points for automatic promotion, which means whoever comes out of this dog fight on top will have to play a qualifier. Getting to Div. III is going to be no small task.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Week 4 Friendly Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Reign

Date: April 30th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 1,634 (30,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy

We play host to another one of our supporting teams this week, heavyreign’s Reign. It looks like we’ve got good weather again this week, and the supporters are in a considerably better mood than they have been previously this season, so we’re expecting a nice turnout.

As is typical for our friendly matches with a 5-4-1 formation, the defense is not our major area of concern. The question is, as it seems to be every time, whether or not our offense can step up and produce. We shall see.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #24 Christiam Kvam

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’re playing our standard second-team lineup this week. We’ll be keeping a particularly close eye on both Keith Stubbs and Cameron McDonald today, as both are competing for the primary back-up (and heir apparent) spot to Chuck Scales. Cameron appears to have more raw talent, but Keith has been the apple of Coach Brown’s eye as of late. It should be interesting to see which one steps up as things move forward.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Docks saw a crowd turnout of 1634.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. They fielded: Read - Leier, Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Kvam - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Gravesen.

Reign had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Gaize - Moran, MacDaid, Boulton, Rodríguez - Braun, Robinsson, Herndon, Humphries - Swärdér, Dalstål.

FIRST HALF

In the games 4:th minute Screamin'´s Christian Kvam fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Christian Kvam for taking a dive.

Seemingly due to lack of experience, Ramón Boulton needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed.

Screamin's Lucian Tere gave, after 19 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

In the 23rd minute Screamin's Keith Stubbs received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Reign were forced to a substitution as Antonio Braun couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment.

In the 26:th minute Screamin' put themselves up 2 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Mattias Leier coming up from the left, who proceeded to cooly round the goaltender and knock the ball home.

With 27 minutes played Zarpas Lerma could have brought this one home for Screamin', had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high.

2 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 70 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 3 - 0. Jesper Gravesen finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle.

The referee showed Screamin's Paul Peralta the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Screamin' put their lead ahead another goal as Olav Mauffret struck home the 4 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper.

In the games 72nd minute Reign´s Ivan Månblad fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Ivan Månblad for taking a dive.

In the 76:th minute Screamin' put themselves up 5 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Jerry Smith 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 Screamin' decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 78 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Screamin'´s best player was Keith Stubbs. Paul Peralta on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Reign´s best player was Jordie Moran. However, Andreas Robinsson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, Reign 0

Goals
Tere – 1
Leier – 1
Gravesen – 1
Mauffret – 1
Smith – 1

Cards
Kvam – yellow
Stubbs – yellow
Peralta – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **

Leier: **~
Stubbs: **~
Lerma: **
McDonald: **~
Kvam: **~

Mauffret: **
Tere: **
Smith: **
Peralta: *~

Gravesen: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 48

Reign
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Weak (4)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Poor (3)
-NSI: 30

Comments

We are quite pleased with the results of this match, to say the least. For the first time in club history, we managed to tally five goals with a 5-4-1 formation. We saw all-around decent performances from our reserves, with a couple of exceptions, and this should serve as a nice confidence-booster for the kids on the b-team. This is exactly the sort of performance we were looking for, with FOFC Cup III starting in a couple of weeks.

As far as the competition goes between Keith Stubbs and Cameron McDonald, the jury is still out as far as I am concerned. Keith played himself a fine game, but his penchant for picking up yellow cards (two in the last four weeks) makes me a little leery of playing him in a competitive match. Hopefully Chuck Scales will keep himself healthy, and I will not have to make a decision between Keith and Cameron.

Up Next: Weekly training results Thursday evening. Hopefully a couple of our defensive trainees will take the next step. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Just a quick note for all the faithful Seamen-lovers out there (:p). Updates are forthcoming. I was busy Friday and all weekend with a wedding (congratulations Aylmar) and all the festivities that go along with that (bachelor party :D ). On top of that, my broadband connection decided to die on me, and I haven't had a chance to get it fixed yet, so I couldn't even get on-line to adjust my lineup.

Anyway, expect to see a few updates soon (hopefully).

[DataKing]

Week 4 Training Results

This week, the two defensive trainees that we have been expecting to step up did so. Both Cameron McDonald and Mattias Leier improved in their defensive abilities.

Cameron McDonald

Jersey # 18

18 years old, weak (4) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and wretched (2) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $99,000
Wage: $1,000 per week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Poor (3)
Scoring: Weak (4)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

Cameron has a ton of talent, but his form has been considerably lacking since his promotion from the youth squad a month ago. If he shows some improvement soon, he will probably be considered the heir-apparent to Chuck Scales starting spot on the defensive line. But if not, I will have to consider letting him go. The revenue from the sale of a young defender of his caliber would help us considerably in other areas.


Mattias Leier

Jersey # 17

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

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

Nationality: Estonian
Assessed Value: $101,000
Wage: $1,104 per week

Stamina: Passable (6)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)

Mattias is the most promising of our young wingbacks, and it’s nice to see him finally take the next step. However, it is unlikely that he will replace Tyler Willard as one of our starting wingbacks any time soon.

Form Changes

9 players increased in form this week (including 6 starters :eek: ).
11 players saw their form remain the same.
2 players dropped a level in form (including Johannes Henriksson)

Overall, we had the best week of training so far this season, and the team’s average form rose considerably, which is nice to see. The only down-side if team captain Johannes Henriksson, who continues to struggle.

In The Zone

Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson continues to play excellent soccer, and is joined by last season’s Team MVP winner, wingback Arlen Lucas. Aside from a small one week dip, Arlen has been in solid (7) or better form since the middle of January. Now that’s what I call good base-form. :D

Form Dog

We have three players who are really struggling at the moment, in weak (4) form. Two of them are on the b-team; the aforementioned Cameron McDonald and Romanian midfielder Lucian Tere. The third is a cause for real concern, as team captain Johannes Henriksson has dropped to weak form as well this week. The Swedish striker hasn’t played this poorly since September, and we’re hoping that he will snap out of his slump soon. Our offense needs all the help it can get.

Value

Average Player Value: $123,409 (+$3,727)
Total Player Value (22 players): $2,715,000

Assessed Value Milestones

$100,000+
-Wingback #17 Mattias Leier ($101,000)

$200,000+
-Defender #2 Chuck Scales ($207,000)
-Wingback #22 Tyler Willard ($206,000)

Up Next: The weekly financial update and this week’s youth squad product. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 4 Youth Pull

Our youth squad continues its on-again, off-again performance. This week’s youth squad is worth more as a medical test subject than as a soccer player. Frank Ruffie has been shipped off to The Fighting Crawfish. Do with him as you wish, The_Afoci. :D

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $328,912

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Sweden Heights) - $113,528
Crowd (friendly match vs. Reign) - $4,211
Sponsors - $64,350
Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660
Temporary (sale of youth pull Wesley Blount) - $99,360

Total Revenue: $282,109

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $29,948
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Wesley Blount) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Wesley Blount) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $40,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $112,948

Net Income/Loss: +$169,161

New Balance: $498,073

With a cool half-million now in the bank, expect to see a roster change or two happen in the near future.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Content (down one level)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (up two levels)
Supporter Club: 1,374 (up 22 from last week)

Amazing what a win (and a shutout to boot) can do for the attitude of the supporters, huh?

Up Next: Our week five league matchup against SoccerWussies. Stay tuned!

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by DataKing
With a cool half-million now in the bank, expect to see a roster change or two happen in the near future.[/B]

*cough*striker*cough*

SI

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #5

SoccerWussies vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: May 4th, 2003
Venue: SoccerWussies Arena (Atlanta, GA)
Attendance: 17,000 (17,000)
Weather: Overcast

No pre-game commentary this week. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was unable to travel with the team this weekend.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
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: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

I was unable to make any alterations to our standard line-up this week (see the earlier post for an explanation), so we were forced to go with our default line-up this week.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

At SoccerWussies Arena, 17000 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came.

SoccerWussies had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Tullbrant - Danielsson, Åhlstedt, Dehlbrant - Wilson, Göransson, Myung-Dae, Bower, Udd - Hansson, Casillas.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

After a fine move down the middle Tony Göransson nearly gave the home side one up in the 9:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

Man, what a shot by Lin Myung-Dae! Firing from 35 yards he didn't give the enemy goalie a chance and it was 1 - 0.

In the 18:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Jessie Casillas dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for SoccerWussies.

In the 24:th minute SoccerWussies´s David 'Follen' Hansson tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net.

The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 0. SoccerWussies held the ball, with a clear 52 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Screamin' showed some good morale and were, in the 68:th minute, able to reduce the score to 2 - 1 as Forrest Tobias got past the home sides full backs straight in front of the goal.

The referee showed SoccerWussiess Urban Danielsson the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Björn R. Dehlbrant was clearly tired at the end of the game and Tyler Willard nicked the ball from him, but was unable to put it past the keeper.

Screamin' got a chance to level the score as Forrest Tobias suddenly found himself free with the goaltender but the finishing shot hit the bar.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 62 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

SoccerWussies´s best player was Tony Göransson. Hans Udd was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: SoccerWussies 2, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals
Tobias – 1(2)

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

Rubio: **~
Tomlin: **~
Bautista: **~
Ivarsson: ***~
McMahon: **~

Henriksson: **
Tobias: **~

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: World-Class (13)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 70

SoccerWussies
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 64

Comments

Coach Brown was left to his own devices this weekend, and needless to say I am not happy with the results. It looks as though the perpetual team spirit deficit we are operating on this season continues to haunt us, and I am certain that playing on the road did not help matters any. Despite great ratings, the defense allowed two early goals from which we were never able to recover.

“Gump” Tobias did make things more interesting with his second-half goal, but he was basically operating alone up front as team captain Johannes Henriksson continues to play the worst soccer we have seen from him in over two seasons. Still and all, both “Gump” and Tyler Willard had opportunities late to change the outcome of the match, but weren’t able to finish things off. Forrest’s shot hitting the bar late in the match was particularly painful, as we were mere inches away from earning at least one point on the road.

Not a good day, to say the least. I cannot wait for the second half of the season, when we are no longer chasing the Syracuse Supers (the one PICable team in the series) through the fixture order. That, more than anything else, is killing the first half of this season.

Series Scores and Standings

-Croats in Miami put up a magnificent ( :eek: ) midfield, and defeated Ramblers 3-1.
-Big Reds had no trouble with Sweden Heights, handing them an embarrassing 5-1 defeat at home.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion earned their first points of the season with a 5-1 beat-down of Syracuse Supers.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Big Reds 5 12-2 13 75
2. SoccerWussies 5 11-6 12 64
3. Croats in Miami 5 13-5 10 80
4. Sweden Heights 5 12-10 9 62
5. Ramblers 5 9-11 6 66
6. Screamin’ Seamen* 5 5-8 5 70
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion 5 12-14 3 62
8. Syracuse Supers 5 1-19 0 45
</pre></font>

I’m trying not to let our low standing bother me, because I don’t believe the series standings are a fair gauge of a team until half the season is played (once each team has played every other team once). I know that we’re better than our sixth place standing shows, and that should improve soon. Our next four matches are against the two teams below us; Neon Genesis Evangelion and the (apparently abandoned) Syracuse Supers. We should be able to rise into the top four by the end of the month.

Week 6 Matchups

Screamin Seamen vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Croats in Miami vs. Sweden Heights
Big Reds vs. SoccerWussies
Ramblers vs. Syracuse Supers

Other News: Some good news amidst the bad. As some of you may recall, we traded a great youth pull, Hyman Morey (solid playmaking and solid defending) last season for “Corny” Jernigan and Jerry Smith. Hyman was sold over the weekend for a cool million, which netted us a nice $50,000 in mother club money. Despite not having a home league match this week, we should still break even.

Up Next: We’re off to the Big Easy this week, for the last friendly match before the start of FOFC Cup III. Our hosts are Doug5984 and his Louisiana Cyclones. It should be a tough, defensive match. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Originally posted by sterlingice
*cough*striker*cough*

SI

Give the man a cigar!

I already priced excellent strikers last week, and for half a million (or perhaps a touch more) I should be able to land a good one.

[sterlingice]

Well, with your defensive coach, you need a damn fine striker while Henrikksson is down. Do you have a set pieces guy and team leader who can step in if you sub for him?

*smokes cigar... then hacks out a lung* damn, i forgot i was allergic to smoke

SI

[Alf]

I'm contacting my travel agency in order to book tickets for my whole squad from Rennes to Chicago. I'm still wondering if I'll play a dull 5-4-1, the league standard 3-5-2 or the newly tried 4-5-1.

Alf Trickers - fellow FOFC III Cup team

[DataKing]

Originally posted by sterlingice
Well, with your defensive coach, you need a damn fine striker while Henrikksson is down. Do you have a set pieces guy and team leader who can step in if you sub for him?

*smokes cigar... then hacks out a lung* damn, i forgot i was allergic to smoke

SI

Henriksson is my best team leader and set pieces ace. The only other guy I have who qualifies as a set pieces ace (solid or better) is Jesper Gravesen, who hasn't done well lately either. My three strikers are all in pretty poor shape (with Gump being the best of the three at the moment, but he sucks on corner and free kicks).

I'm looking for another set pieces guy in my hunt for a striker, but SPs are secondary right now. I just need offense, period.

Alf: It all depends on whether or not you want to sacrifice some training (I assume you train D) in order to improve your chances in the cup. Whatever you decide to do, I'm looking forward to the match. I can also recommend a good place for "after-hours entertainment" if your players are into that sort of thing. I'm sure a few (OK, most) of my players can show your guys around. :D

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Week 5 Friendly Match

Louisiana Cyclones vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: May 7th, 2003
Venue: The Cyclone Center (New Orleans, LA)
Attendance: 1,038 (14,050)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We’re in the Big Easy this week for the last friendly match prior to the beginning of FOFC Cup III. Our gracious hosts are Doug5984 and his Louisiana Cyclones, and the match should be a tough, defensive one. Both clubs run a 5-4-1 formation, so scoring opportunities should be few and far between.

The Cyclones’ b-team looks to be a pretty decent one across the board, but the question mark for them will be up front. With the sale earlier today of striker Elliott Aguilera, we’re not sure who will be the main forward for the Cyclones in today’s match. It will be up to our defenders though, to contain whoever it is that is trying to score goals for the opposition.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

The two Seamen to watch today are central defender Cameron McDonald and wingback Mattias Leier. Both of them showed marked improvement in practice over the past week, and we are eager to see if this translates into better performances on the pitch. Of particular interest is Mattias Leier, who also appears to be recovering from a minor form slump. We’re expecting to see good things from the young Estonian today.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

1038 spectators arrived at The Cyclone Center, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Louisiana tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Glenn - Stubblefield, Henry, Batts, Blalock, Gravbrøt - Blissenbach, Spalding, Gabrielsen, Neely - Mastroianni.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Gravesen.

FIRST HALF

Ralph Batts of Louisiana received a yellow card in the 3rd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Screamin'´s Zarpas Lerma could have put the guests one up in the 10:th minute, chasing a through ball but Erin Glenn was fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose.

Christian Kvam of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 16:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Halftime score was 0 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Screamin'´s Zarpas Lerma could have put the guests one up in the 63rd minute, chasing a through ball but Erin Glenn was fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose.

Screamin' took the lead after 64 minutes with 0 - 1. Jesper Gravesen placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left.

Christian Kvam seemed to be floating in the air at will as he elegantly headed in 0-2. The previous Screamin' corner kick was executed by Jesper Gravesen.

Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 74:th minute Screamin' goal, making it 0 - 3. Zarpas Lerma was noted down as the scorer.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 65 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Louisiana player was without a doubt Cody Stubblefield. Lawrence Neely was a disappointment, however.

Most important Screamin' player was Keith Stubbs. However, Lucian Tere made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Louisiana Cyclones 0

Goals
Gravesen – 1 (GWG)
Kvam – 1 (assisted by Gravesen)
Lerma – 1

Cards

Kvam – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **

Kvam: **~
McDonald: **
Lerma: **
Stubbs: **~
Leier: **~

Mauffret: **~
Tere: *~
Smith: **
Peralta: **

Gravesen: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 46

Louisiana Cyclones
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 37

Comments

We certainly cannot argue with this sort of performance. While neither Cameron McDonald, nor Mattias Leier performed as well as we were hoping for, they still both had productive (if quiet) matches. Keith Stubbs continues to perform admirably on the back line, and both Jesper Gravesen and Zarpas Lerma appear to be coming around. Just in time for FOFC Cup III to boot.

The B-Team has actually been performing well as of late, and have outscored their opponents 9-1 since our early exit from the U.S. Open Cup. This certainly bodes well, and will hopefully equate to a nice, deep run into the FOFC Cup.

We would like to thank Doug5984 and his Louisiana Cyclones for their gracious hospitality.

Up Next: After training results and the weekly financial update, we return home to The Docks for league play. There we will be fighting for a much-needed victory (and three precious points) against Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned!

[Doug5984]

DataKing thanks for the friendly, i wish my team would have been able to put up more of an attack but I can't be disappointed with a 37 NSI, and a formidable D from my B-team. Had I not sold my other stiker I might have been able to ateast score 1 goal, but man that $100,000 and be clearly out of debt feels great, good luck to your team in the upcoming FOFC Cup.

[DataKing]

Originally posted by Doug5984
DataKing thanks for the friendly, i wish my team would have been able to put up more of an attack but I can't be disappointed with a 37 NSI, and a formidable D from my B-team. Had I not sold my other stiker I might have been able to ateast score 1 goal, but man that $100,000 and be clearly out of debt feels great, good luck to your team in the upcoming FOFC Cup.

I was actually keeping half an eye on that bidding this afternoon, just out of curiosity. I was as surprised as you were to see the bidding go that high. You certainly can't argue with that sort of scratch.

I see that Mastroianni put up **, but is only valued at $13,000. Low passable scoring?

[Doug5984]

Originally posted by DataKing

I see that Mastroianni put up **, but is only valued at $13,000. Low passable scoring?

Mastoianni was my youth pull this past weekend (3rd consecuative to make the team, starting keeper, and a high inadequate 17 year old defender the 2 previous weeks) these are his ratings, it appears that he is probably an average inadequate and the 2 stars were a result of good form (although i could be completely wrong since I have little expereince with forwards:

Pasquale Mastroianni (11472889)
19 years, passable form, healthy

A controversial person who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 13 000 US$
Wage: 560 US$/week
Owner: Louisiana Cyclones
Warnings: 0

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

I though about firing him, but since he was a youth pull of mine, and I could use the cash from Aguilera (didn't think it was going to be that much though) I decided to keep him around to just be the B-Team forward and now knowing that he can put up 2 stars I am comfortable knowing he could come in and play if he had to.

[DataKing]

I would think that he would have a pretty decent inad. scoring rating if he is able to put up two stars with passable form, but like you I have little experience with forwards. Now if you want to talk defenders and wingbacks, that's a different matter. :cool:

It's nice when you're able to get kids off the youth squad that can contribute. Two of my starters (Tyler Willard and "Gump" Tobias) as well as two of my defensive trainees (Cameron McDonald and Keith Stubbs) are products of the youth squad.

Best of luck to the Cyclones in FOFC Cup III.

[Doug5984]

edit: I moved this question over the hattrick forum so that maybe it will get more views, and help someone else out with a similar question.

[DataKing]

Week 5 Training Results

After a rather lengthy dry spell, our training program has really started producing results over the last couple of weeks. For the second week in a row, two of our players improved their defensive ratings.

Chuck Scales

Jersey #2

24 years old, solid (7) form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is calm and honest.
Has poor (3) experience and poor (3) leadership abilities.

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $217,000
Wage: $1,490 per week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Weak (4)
Scoring: Inadequate (5)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Formidable (9)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

If you follow this dynasty report, then you know that Chuck has been with us since the beginning, and has been our starting sweeper since day one. Apparently he was rather tired of hearing about Cameron McDonald and Keith Stubbs competing for his job, and he is the first Seaman to achieve a formidable rating in anything.

Christian Kvam

Jersey #24

19 years old, inadequate (5) form, healthy.

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

Specialty: Head

Nationality: Norwegian
Assessed Value: $63,000
Wage: $924 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)

Hot on the heels of Mattias Leier’s improvement to solid defense, Christian Kvam has made the jump as well. Leier and Kvam are our two best wingback trainees, and there certainly appears to be a good deal of competition between the two.

We actually had a third player improve in defense this week, but that player was striker Forrest “Gump” Tobias. His improvement to weak (4) defending doesn’t make a lick of difference, naturally.


Form Changes

4 players improved in form this week (including one starter, midfielder Charlie Bautista).
13 players saw their form remain the same.
5 players dropped a level in form this week (including one starter, midfielder Niklas Ivarsson).

The team’s form pretty much held level this week, and most of the shifts that did occur were contained to the reserves.

In The Zone

Wingback Arlen Lucas continues to play some of the best soccer of his young career, and earns top-form honors this week. This is his second consecutive week in excellent (8) form.

Form Dogs

Team captain Johannes Henriksson, along with defensive trainees Cameron McDonald and Zarpas Lerma are in weak (4) form this week. Johannes continues to be the primary area of concern, as the Swedish striker just can’t seem to remove his head from his rectum. His play has been in sharp decline since the beginning of the season, and all we can do is hope that he finds his stride again soon.

Value

Average Player Value: $126,727 (+$3,318)
Total Player Value (22 players): $2,788,000

Assessed Value Milestones

None

Up Next: This week’s youth squad product and the weekly financial update. Stay tuned!

[GoldenEagle]

*cough* Update *cough*:D

[DataKing]

It's on the way. :)

[DataKing]

Week 5 Youth Pull

I find this guy humorous for some reason. He’s been listed as a Set Pieces player, just to see if I can get a noob to bite. ;)

Rigoberto Jimenez

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities.

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $1,000
Wage: $500 per week

Stamina: Wretched (2)
Playmaking: Wretched (2)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Poor (3)
Set Pieces: Solid (7)

He’s listed for $5,000, but I do not recommend that anyone here buy him. This is more of an experiment than anything else. And he would be fun to follow if someone did pick him up and play him.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $498,073

Revenue

Crowd (friendly match vs. Louisiana Cyclones) - $2,690
Sponsors - $65,850
Temporary (mother club money from resale of Hyman Morey) - $50,000
Temporary (16 new supporters) - $480

Total Revenue: $119,020

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $29,948
Temporary (youth squad promotion of someone who sucked) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $40,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $111,948

Net Income/Loss: +$7,072

New Balance: $505,145

The mother club money we received from the sale of Hyman Morey was quite nice, as it allowed us to pretty much break even this week, despite not having a home game. We’re still looking for a quality striker to spend our half-million on, and hope to land one within a week or so.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (down one level)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,390 (up 16 from last week)

It’s nice to see that our fickle fans were understanding for once, and are still delirious despite our league loss this week. I guess they’re finally figuring out just how difficult it is to win on the road in this league.

Up Next: We try for a much-needed victory in league play as we host Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #6

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Date: May 11th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 21,602 (30,000)
Weather: Rain

Today marks the first day in what will be the easiest four-week stretch of the season for SSFC. We play host to Neon Genesis Evangelion, a club that is struggling at the moment. NGE finished in fourth place last season, but has not been able to compete with the new additions to the series, and are currently staring at automatic relegation if they do not improve their standing.

The weather could very well play a big factor today. It is downright nasty in Chicago today, with periodic rain and ferocious win gusts as high as forty miles-per-hour. If you’ve followed this dynasty report, then you know the Screamin’ Seamen aren’t a very good wet-weather team, despite what the team name might suggest. We’re just hoping that the Neon Genesis Evangelion players have as much trouble as we do finding our footing on a wet, wind-blasted pitch.

Our clubs have met twice in the past, and we have owned NGE thus far, taking all six possible points.

Previous Meetings
12/22/2002 – Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, Screamin’ Seamen 3
3/9/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 1

The match back in December of last year was a memorable one. In a back-and-forth match, the unlikely hero for SSFC was central defender Chuck Scales. His strike in the 76th minute gave the Seamen a hard-fought 3-2 victory on the road. Let’s hope that Chuck has another admirable performance in him today, as we desperately need three points.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
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: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

We’re going with our standard lineup today, with only one minor change. Due to the severe slump that team captain Johannes Henriksson is in, Ben McMahon will be taking the corner and free kicks. He isn’t as skilled as Johannes when it comes to this sort of thing, but is the best alternative we have.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

21602 spectators had found their way to The Docks, despite the heavy rain.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

EVA started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Åkesson - Calloway, Waldrop, Vick - Ayres, Andersson, Ødegård, Taylor, Villiard - Lachance, Alfaro.

FIRST HALF

After 3 minutes EVA put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Douglas Alfaro finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post.

Stanley Lachance was, after 14 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors lead with a well placed diving header but home side keeper Cornelius Jernigan saved.

The referee showed Screamin's Chuck Scales the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

After 30 minutes Screamin'´s Chuck Scales contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 54 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Johannes Henriksson pulled a real crowd pleaser as he, in the 60:th minute, wove through the guests whole central defense line and put the 1 - 1 equaliser away.

Screamin' broke through to the left in the 68:th minute, Charlie Bautista firing at an acute angle giving the home side a 2 - 1 lead.

71 minutes into the game EVA´s Stanley Lachance found a gap in the home sides central defense scoring with a long shot, making it 2 - 2.

Screamin''s Johannes Henriksson scored 3 - 2 by shooting accurately and hard from a long distance, leaving the opponent goalie no other option than to pick up the ball from the net.

A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 4 - 2. Forrest Tobias finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle.

The referee showed EVAs Ed Vick the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The player down was Arlen Lucas. The Screamin' bench looked worried a while but in the end he managed to get up.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 60 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating EVA player was without a doubt Geir Ødegård. However, Théo Villiard made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2

Goals
Henriksson – 2 (3,4,GWG)
Bautista – 1 (1)
Tobias – 1 (3)

Cards
Scales – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

Rubio: **~
Ivarsson: ***
Tomlin: ***
Bautista: **~
McMahon: **~

Tobias: **~
Henriksson: *~

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 73

Neon Genesis Evangelion
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Formidable (9)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-NSI: 62

Comments

I have to say that I am pleased with the results from this one. We were a little concerned being down by a goal at the end of the first half, but credit is due to “Corny” Jernigan for keeping things from getting out of hand early. As the second half started, team captain Johannes Henriksson was able to dig deep, despite his slump, and managed two of the team’s four goals, including the one that proved to be the game winner.

Forrest “Gump” Tobias and midfielder Charlie Bautista added goals of their own, and we tallied more than two goals for the first time this season. Things were a little rough on the pitch as well, with both Chuck Scales and Arlen Lucas getting dinged up in the match. Neither were serious injuries, but we’ve made arrangements for a doctor to come in and treat both of them, just to be on the safe side.

Series Scores and Standings

-Ramblers had no trouble with the woeful Syracuse Supers, dominating them 4-nil.
-Big Reds held onto their first place position, defeating SoccerWussies, 2-nil.
-Croats in Miami took care of business at home, defeating Sweden Heights, 3-nil.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Big Reds 6 14-2 16 69
2. Croats in Miami 6 16-5 13 75
3. SoccerWussies 6 11-8 12 56
4. Ramblers 6 13-11 9 62
5. Sweden Heights 6 12-13 9 59
6. Screamin’ Seamen* 6 9-10 8 73
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion 6 14-18 3 62
8. Syracuse Supers 6 1-23 0 45
</pre></font>

Week 7 Matchups

Syracuse Supers vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Sweden Heights vs. Ramblers
SoccerWussies vs. Croats in Miami
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Big Reds

We get our two matches against the only safely PICable team in the series, Syracuse Supers, over the next two weeks. While that is happening, Ramblers and Sweden Heights will be beating each other up, and hopefully either splitting the series or playing to a couple of draws. Either way, we should be in either 4th or a close 5th place by the end of week eight. And more importantly, we should be the ones with the team spirit advantage down the stretch. The Syracuse Supers will be chasing us through the fixture order this time around, which should play to our advantage.

Up Next: It’s the most wonderful time of the year…FOFC Cup Time! We kick off group play in FOFC Cup III action this Wednesday as we play host to Alf Trickers. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 1

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Alf Trickers

Date: May 14th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 3,347 (30,000)
Weather: Overcast

This is what we’ve been waiting for, the start of the FOFC Cup III. We’ve been placed in Group F for group play, along with the following teams:

-Alf Trickers (Team Owner: Alf)
-Fantastic Flying Froggies (Team Owner: fantastic flying froggie)
-Manhattan Marauders (Team Owner: NAIWF)
-Shadow Dragons (Team Owner: Astott)
-North Plainfield Plague (Team Owner: cthomer5000)

We are the #1 seed in the group (#6 overall), and have drawn the Alf Trickers (#2 seed, #23 overall) for the first round of group play. Judging by past performances, we should have the advantage in talent level today. Whether or not we are victorious will come down to execution, as we all know that nothing is guaranteed in the world of professional soccer.

One match from the first round has already been decided, as the Fantastic Flying Froggies and Manhattan Marauders fought to a 1-1 draw earlier today. If we are victorious today and earn a full three points, that should play to our advantage as group play progresses. An early two point lead over the 3rd and 4th seeds would be nice indeed.

Today’s match should be a slow-paced defensive one, as both teams prefer defensive formations. We will run our box-standard 5-4-1 formation, of course.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ll be using our standard b-team lineup against the Trickers today, with Jesper Gravesen retaining his role as team captain. Jesper’s play has improved, if only slightly, over the past couple of weeks, so today we will see if he can lead the team to victory against our French visitors.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

At The Docks, 3347 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Peralta, Tere, Smith, Mauffret - Gravesen.

Trickers tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Wikhult - Sahlstål, Tati, Duquesne - Vassen, Martinsson, Johansson, Hoffmann, Boulanger - Redon, Manjón.

FIRST HALF

Screamin' were very close to putting themselves one up in the 13th minute as Olav Mauffret got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide.

Mattias Leier 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.

After a fine move down the middle Jesper Gravesen nearly gave the home side one up in the 28:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

The 68:th minute saw the home team take a 1 - 0 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for Screamin' was Jerry Smith.

Some brilliant football from the visitors right wing resulted in a 74:th minute levelling of scores as Trickerss Olivier Redon equalised to 1 - 1.

Screamin's Zarpas Lerma gave, after 75 minutes, the home team a 2 - 1 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

In the game's 77:th minute Screamin'´s Jesper Gravesen limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 68 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. Jesper Gravesen on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Trickers´s best player was Luís Manjón. However, Henke Johansson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Alf Trickers 1

Goals
Smith – 1
Lerma – 1 (GWG)

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Read: **

Kvam: **~
Stubbs: ***
Lerma: **
McDonald: **
Leier: **~

Peralta: **
Tere: **
Smith: **
Mauffret: **

Gravesen: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 46

Alf Trickers
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Poor (3)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 35

Comments

The Trickers surprised us a little bit by coming out in a 3-5-2 formation, which may explain some of the difficulty we had in the first half of the match. Things seemed to get on track in the second half when midfielder Jerry Smith knocked one home, but Olivier Redon was able to tally the equalizer a scant six minutes later. Not to be outdone, central defender Zarpas Lerma (in weak form no less) swung around to the right and gave us a 2-1 lead only a minute later. That is how things would end, and we earned a hard-fought three points against a competitive Trickers team.

It was a good match all-around, and could just as easily have gone the other way. I was pleased to see the referee leave the cards in his pocket and let the lads play, and Jesper Gravesen’s injury is a slight one. We expect him to be back to 100% shortly.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings

-NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders traveled to France and managed a 1-1 draw against the Fantastic Flying Froggies.
-cthomer5000’s North Plainfield Plague earned three points on the road, defeating Astott’s Shadow Dragons, 1-nil.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Seed GF GA Diff Pts. NSI
1. Screamin’ Seamen 1 2 1 +1 3 46
2. North Plainfield Plague 6 1 0 +1 3 30
3. Fantastic Flying Froggies 3 1 1 0 1 37
4. Manhattan Marauders 4 1 1 0 1 42
5. Alf Trickers 2 1 2 -1 0 35
6. Shadow Dragons 5 0 1 -1 0 38
</pre></font>

We couldn’t be more pleased with the way things turned out in the first week of group play. We’ve earned an early two point lead on the #3 and #4 seeds, and a three point lead on the #2 seed. The only downside, I suppose, is that it took one of our three home matches to get that lead, but I’ll take it nonetheless.

Group F Round 2 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Shadow Dragons
North Plainfield Plague vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies
Alf Trickers vs. Manhattan Marauders

Astott’s Shadow Dragons are next up for the Screamin’ Seamen. With it being another home match and all, we should do well, but nothing is guaranteed with the 5-4-1 formation. We shall see.

Up Next: Rumor has it that the club is about to announce a major signing off the transfer market. Stay tuned!

[Alf]

Alf Trickers players are still excited about their road trip to the USA as none of them has ever been there.

I knew that presenting myself with a 3-5-2 formation would be the best solution to counter Dataking's 5-4-1 training formation. As I decided to stick with playmaking training, I chose to also stick to my League 3-5-2 formation (excellent experience).

The passable defense rating was also unexpected as the scrubs were playing there. Unfortunately, Dataking's weak attack was sufficient to overcome my passable defense...

The good news is that I managed to cash $8727 in while spending $6K in travel expenses netting me $2727 cash !!! Something not expected. From what I've seen in Screamin Seamen history the 3,347 spectators is a club record for a friendly. Nice to see US citizen appreciate French Football. Maybe the fact that we are sitting atop our Div IV helped them come see us !

Other good news is that no one got hurt on both sides.

Good luck for the rest of the FOFC Cup (I now need you to also beat our fellow FOFC teamer) and for your league duties. Looking forward to reading more Screamin' Seamen dynasty reports.

[DataKing]

Screamin’ Seamen Announce Addition Of Half-Million-Dollar-Man Guido Metman

(AP – Chicago, IL): Data King, owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, held a press conference Thursday morning to announce the signing of Dutch striker Guido Metman. Metman comes to SSFC from the Xkicks, a 3rd Division side based in his native Rotterdam. Exact financial terms were not disclosed, but front office personnel did indicate that the total price was somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000. This is, by far, the most expensive transfer the club has ever made. Metman’s salary also makes him the second most highly-paid player on the club’s roster, after starting goalkeeper Cornelius Jernigan.

“We’re extremely happy to have Guido as a part of the club,” stated King at today’s press conference. “He is a pure ball-striker the likes of which this club has never seen, and his unpredictable nature makes him extremely difficult to defend against. Guido also brings with him a great deal of experience from his European play, and certainly has a thing or two he can teach our younger players.”

“Experience” may be the single best word for describing Metman, who has experience beyond his twenty-five years. The Dutchman has tallied seventy-seven goals in his career, including hattricks on six separate occasions. Combine that with the 66 career goals of Johannes Henriksson, and the Screamin’ Seamen now have an incredible amount of goal-scoring experience up front.

Club ownership has been criticized in the past for being too conservative with their finances, and this criticism has only increased over the course of what has been, up to this point at least, a very disappointing season. The Seamen have only tallied nine goals thus far this season (second fewest in the league) and sit in a very uncomfortable sixth place in the standings. King fervently denies that the addition of Metman is little more than a knee-jerk reaction to a disappointing season.

“We’ve had an eye on improving our offense for some time now,” stated King, “and have been planning on making just such a move since before this season began. Frankly, the criticism we’ve received thus far baffles me. This is a town that cheers for John Shoop and the Bears. How in the hell can they criticize us for a lack of offense?”

Knee-jerk or not, the addition of Metman is certain to make the Screamin’ Seamen a much more dangerous club from here on out.

Ivan Phillip Freely, Associated Press.


Guido Metman

Jersey # 12

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

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has inadequate (5) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Unpredictable

Nationality: Dutch
Assessed Value: $371,000
Wage: $3,348 per week
Warnings: 0

Stamina: Passable (6)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Excellent (8)
Goaltending: Wretched (2)
Passing: Disastrous (1)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Disastrous (1)

We finally settled on Guido as our new striker, who should be a steady three-star performer for us. He couldn’t pass his way out of a paper bag, and is utterly useless when it comes to set pieces, but other than that there is absolutely nothing to not love about the guy. He has a good personality (but still caused a small team spirit loss when he joined the team :confused: ), and can play a number of other positions in a pinch. I especially like the unpredictable specialty, which is nice to have in a forward.

Other News

Former Seamen Luis Javier Prada was recently sold by Oulun Karpat (Finland Division 5) to RoxOrS (Denmark Division 5) for $108,000, earning us a nice little bonus of $3,240. A drop in the bucket, really, but those drops can add up over time.

Up Next: The weekly training and financial updates over the next few days. After that, Guido Metman should be making his American debut against the Syracuse Supers on Sunday. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Alf, you're absolutely right about Wednesday's match being a new record attendance for a friendly. Previous the best attendance we had was 2,395 against Bbors way back in December.

Maybe the lies we told everyone about Thierry Henri playing for the Trickers had something to do with the attendance. :D

[DataKing]

Week 6 Training Results

Another one of our defensive trainees improved this week, Spaniard Zarpas Lerma.

Zarpas Lerma

Jersey #21

19 years old, poor (3) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and upright.
Has disastrous (1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: Spanish
Assessed Value: $49,000
Wage: $888 per week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Inadequate (5)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Disastrous (1)
Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

The young Spaniard is another of our defender/wingback trainees, and is the last one to reach at least a solid rating in defense. While he does appear to have some potential, his form has been suffering all season long. Mattias Leier and Christian Kvam are better alternatives for us on the back line, so Zarpas will likely find himself on the transfer market when our current training program comes to a conclusion (probably at the end of next season).


Form Changes

6 players increased in form this week (including 2 starters).
10 players saw their form remain the same.
7 players dropped in form this week (including 4 starters).

Apparently the transition for our new striker, Guido Metman, has been a difficult one, because he has dropped two levels in form (to inadequate) since arriving in the states. We aren’t too concerned about this, however, as it is most likely just a temporary setback while he gets used to a new system. We also have two weeks of easy matches for Guido to get accustomed to things. We will be keeping a close eye on him.

In The Zone

Wingback Arlen Lucas continues to play out of his head on the back line, and is the one Seaman in excellent (8) form this week.

Form Dogs

Any hopes of team captain Johannes Henriksson coming out of his slump were quickly dashed in practice this week. The struggling Swede has dropped to poor (3) form this week (the worst it has been since he joined SSFC). The addition of Guido Metman means that Johannes will likely be relegated to FOFC Cup duties until he gets his act together.

Joining Johannes as this week’s form dogs are defensive trainees Cameron McDonald and Zarpas Lerma, both also in poor (3) form.

Value

Average Player Value: $138,304 (+$11,577)
Total Player Value (23 players): $3,181,000 (+$393,000)

These numbers are skewed, naturally, due to the recent addition of Guido Metman.

Assessed Value Milestones

$300,000+
-Arlen Lucas ($301,000)

Up Next: This week’s youth squad product and financial update. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 6 Youth Pull

I feel rather sorry for this week’s youth squad product. John’s parents must have had a sick sense of humor.

John Doe

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A nasty fellow who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and disastrous (1) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Powerful

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $35,000
Wage: $680 per week

Stamina: Passable (6)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Inadequate (5)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Weak (4)
Set Pieces: Inadequate (5)

We don’t expect to get much from the market for John, but he has been listed at $1,000 nonetheless. It’s too bad he’s not a candidate for team clown. I’d like to keep him around, just so the other players will have someone to make jokes about. :D

Week 6 Financial Update

Previous Balance: $505,145

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion) - $117,296
Crowd (FOFC Cup III match vs. Alf Trickers) - $8,727
Sponsors - $66,750
Temporary (22 new supporter) - $660
Temporary (resale bonus for Luis Javier Prada) - $3,240

Total Revenue: $196,673

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $29,948
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Rigoberto Jimenez) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Rigoberto Jimenez) - $1,000
Temporary (purchase of Guido Metman) - $510,000
Staff & Specialists - $40,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $622,948

Net Income/Loss: -$426,275

New Balance: $78,870

Obviously, the majority of our available cash was spent on the purchase of Guido Metman. We will find out on Sunday whether or not he was worth it.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (up one level)
Supporter Club: 1,412 (up 22 from last week)

Up Next: We have what should be an easy win against the last-place Syracuse Supers. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #7

Syracuse Supers vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: May 18th, 2003
Venue: Syracuse Supers Arena (Syracuse, NY)
Attendance: 7,000 (7,000)
Weather: Sunny

We’re in sunny Syracuse, New York this week for the first of two back-to-back matches against the last place Syracuse Supers. The Supers are the one truly non-competitive team in the series, and have only managed to tally one goal all season. These two matches should be a nice opportunity for our guys to get some momentum for the run through the second half of the season.

The Supers always run an asymmetrical 3-5-2 formation, without a wingback on the left side of their defense. It’s extremely predictable as well, so fans can expect to see us attack hard on the right side in today’s match. We’re actually going with an official “play it cool” attitude today, which is something I am hesitant to do on the road. The obvious weakness in their formation, combined with our sixth-place standing, have led me to this decision. It is a calculated risk, but the spirit of the team needs all of the help it can get if we’re to improve our standing in the second half of the season and avoid potential relegation.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Today’s match will mark Guido Metman’s debut as a Screamin’ Seaman. He will replace the slumping Johannes Henriksson in the lineup, and will wear the captain’s armband as well. Johannes is struggling so much right now that he isn’t even dressing for the match today, as Jesper Gravesen will act as a substitute forward in case of injury to either Guido or “Gump.”

As was mentioned earlier, we will be pressing hard down the right side today, with both Valentin Rubio and Niklas Ivarsson jumping up on the play, should the opportunity present itself. We’re even giving Arlen Lucas more freedom than he is used to, and he may jump up onto the attack as well given the right situation.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

The 7000 spectators at Syracuse Supers Arena were in for an afternoon of sunshine.

Syracuse had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Trahan - Muñoz, Walls, Lockwood - Dominguez, Brown, Varner, Stokes, Heller - Askensten, Mcnamara.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Metman, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

A lunatic dribble by Alfredo Muñoz, in front of the own keeper, set up Screamin'´s Guido Metman for an embarrasingly easy strike. 0 - 1...

In the 15:th minute Screamin's Pete Tomlin received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Screamin' had, after 17 minutes of the game, worked the left side industriously, creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but somehow didn´t achieve closure.

Unsportsmanlike behaviour by Pete Tomlin rendered him his second booking of the match, and Screamin' had to finish the game with a reduced squad.

In the 22nd minute Matt Mcnamara went down in a suspected penalty situation after a challenge from the visitors right guard, but the referee, having a good line of sight, signalled to keep on playing.

In the 25:th minute Screamin's Valentín Rubio received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Jordi Dominguez spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Syracuse, with an impressive 59 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

In the 49:th minute Screamin' put themselves up 0 - 2 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Charlie Bautista.

Syracuse had a brilliant opportunity to reply as Chad Stokes received a high ball from the right, striking the ball still in the air. Only Cornelius Jernigan´s reflexes saved him.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Syracuse, with an impressive 59 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Syracuse player was without a doubt Don Brown. Alfredo Muñoz was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Tyler Willard. Guido Metman on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Syracuse Supers 0

Goals
Metman – 1 (1,GWG)
Bautista – 1 (2)

Cards
Tomlin – 2 yellow (suspended)
Rubio – yellow (2)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

Rubio: **~
Ivarsson: ***~
Tomlin: ??? (ejected)
Bautista: ***
McMahon: **~

Metman: **~
Tobias: **~

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 63

Syracuse Supers
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 50

Comments

This match didn’t exactly go as planned, as you can well imagine. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin managed to get himself into the referee’s dog house early on, and had been thrown off the pitch halfway through the first half. This left our midfield dangerously weak, but already with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Guido Metman’s debut goal. With Charlie Bautista adding some insurance early in the second half, we were well on our way. Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan earned his clean sheet, stopping a great scoring opportunity by the Supers later in the match. It wasn’t exactly the 4-nil blowout we were sort of expecting, but we’ll take it nonetheless.

Guido Metman, despite his early goal, was less than spectacular in his debut. But as I have mentioned earlier, he seems to be having a little trouble adjusting to his new surroundings and teammates. Fortunately, we has at least another week or two to get his bearings before we get back into the nasty part of our schedule. Everyone else left on the pitch performed admirable, especially wingback Tyler Willard, who earned his first ever Team Match MVP award.

Series Scores and Standings

-Sweden Heights and Ramblers fought to a 1-1 draw.
-Croats in Miami dominated SoccerWussies, to the tune of 5-1.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion pulled a shocker, downing the Big Reds, 2-1.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Croats in Miami 7 21-6 16
2. Big Reds 7 15-4 16
3. SoccerWussies 7 12-13 12
4. Screamin’ Seamen* 7 11-10 11
5. Ramblers 7 14-12 10
6. Sweden Heights 7 13-14 10
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion 7 16-19 6
8. Syracuse Supers 7 1-25 0
</pre></font>

Our victory over the Supers, combined with a fortunate 1-1 draw between Ramblers and Sweden Heights, catapulted us from sixth to fourth place, and out of the relegation zone. Croats in Miami reclaimed the top spot by virtue of Big Reds unexpected loss. The entire table was shaken up, as spots 1,2,4,5, and 6 all changed hands this week.

Week 8 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Syracuse Supers
Ramblers vs. Sweden Heights
Big Reds vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Croats in Miami vs. SoccerWussies

Next week could very well see us in third place, as we draw the woeful Supers again, while SoccerWussies face the daunting task of traveling to Miami to take on the Croats.

Up Next: Round two of FOFC Cup III group play, as we play host to Astott’s Shadow Dragons. Stay tuned!

[Havok]

sweet... you should be in 3rd place after next week. You still have a shot at winning the divison this year. Its gonna be tough but you can pull it out.

Looking at your schedule its quite possible you'll win all 4 of your next games. Then you have 3 VERY tough and VERY important games to end the season. Lucky for you 2 of them are at home.

First place is still possible bro =)

[vex]

I still can't believe last season's end:(

[DataKing]

Havok: Anything is possible, and it looks like Croats and Big Reds are the teams to beat. I am pretty confident that we can take care of business against the others, and we actually managed draws against those two teams. And only six points separate the top six teams. This one will likely come down to the wire.

vexroid: It was a heartbreaker, that's for sure, but "that which does not kill me makes me stronger" and all that. :)

[The Afoci]

Data, I think if your strikers every get their form up, you will do just fine. You just seem to have the worst luck with your strikers form of anyone in the history of hattrick!

[DataKing]

Prior to this season, Henriksson's form has been pretty steady, and (with the exception of a week here or there) he has been in passable or solid form since September. Prior to that, he had about a one month slump, which makes me hope that he will pull out of his current slump soon.

Only time will tell.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 2

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Shadow Dragons

Date: May 21st, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 1,245 (30,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy

We’re at home for the 2nd round of FOFC Cup group play this week, and we play host to Astott’s Shadow Dragons today. The Dragons lost a 1-nil heartbreaker at home last week to the North Plainfield Plague, and should be coming to the Windy City hungry for a victory. We’ll be doing our best to make sure they’re sent to bed without any dinner. :)

The Shadow Dragons appear fond of the box-standard 4-4-2 formation, and have a couple of dangerous players to contend with. Defender Derrick Jordan is an experienced sweeper who is pretty good at keeping the area in front of the keeper clean of opponents, and young winger Devon Berry can send some fine balls into the opponent’s penalty area. We’ll be sure to mark Devon closely whenever he touches the ball.

All in all, though, we should have a talent advantage today, as well as the benefits of playing on our home pitch. We’re expecting a low-scoring (what else?) match, but a victory and three points nonetheless.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ve only made one change to our starting lineup this week, and it is a very obvious one. Team captain Johannes Henriksson will be starting for us at forward today. We’re hoping that a couple of weeks as the lone striker for our b-team will act as a change of pace, and help to pull the Swede out of the horrible slump that he is in.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

1245 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

Dragons had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Snider - Christy, Jordan, Adam, Bernal - Berry, Barnes, Wilcox, Kinney - Wolford, Beltran.

FIRST HALF

Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a 15:th minute goal by Olav Mauffret for Screamin', putting them ahead 1 - 0.

Halftime score was 1 - 0. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 74 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, Eric Snider made a spectacular save.

The home side´s Johannes Henriksson came close to extending the lead in the 80:th minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Eric Snider managed saving with a fingernail.

Lamar Beltran of Dragons received a yellow card in the 81st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 87 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. Zarpas Lerma was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Dragons player was without a doubt Derrick Jordan. Lamar Beltran on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Shadow Dragons 0

Goals
Mauffret – 1

Cards
None

Player Ratings

GK - Read: **

RWB - Kvam: **~
CD – Stubbs: ***
CD – McDonald: **
CD – Lerma: *~
LWB – Leier: ***

RW – Mauffret: **
MF – Smith: **
MF – Tere: **
LW – Peralta: **

FWD – Henriksson: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 49

Shadow Dragons
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 37

Comments

An unexpected goal from winger Olav Mauffret early in the match gave us a narrow lead going into halftime. In the second half, our midfield advantage really came into play, and the Shadow Dragons had little opportunity to even things up. Credit has to be given to Dragons’ keeper Eric Snider, who made two fantastic saves in the 80th minute to keep the match close. Unfortunately for him, he would get no goal support from the rest of his team, and the match would end 1-nil.

Johannes Henriksson’s shot in the 80th minute is a good sign, and hopefully is a sign of him coming out of his slump. Of course, we’ve said similar things in past weeks, yet his performance has continued to slip. We’ll be keeping a very close eye on Johannes’ performance in practice in the coming weeks.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings

-The North Plainfield Plague certainly appear to be the Cinderella story of Group F. The last seed in the group, they’ve earned all six possible points thus far, defeating the Fantastic Flying Froggies, 3-1.
-The Alf Trickers rebounded from their defeat at our hands last week, handing the Manhattan Marauders a 3-1 defeat.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Seed GF GA Diff. Pts. NSI
1. North Plainfield Plague 6 4 1 +3 6 30
2. Screamin’ Seamen* 1 3 1 +2 6 49
3. Alf Trickers 2 4 3 +1 3 39
4. Fantastic Flying Froggies 3 2 4 -2 1 31
5. Manhattan Marauders 4 2 4 -2 1 38
6. Shadow Dragons 5 0 2 -2 0 37
</pre></font>

The North Plainfield Plague grab the top spot this week, by virtue of goal differential. While there is still much soccer to be played, it appears as though our round 4 matchup against the Plague could very well determine who grabs the #1 spot in Group F.

Group F Round 3 Matchups

Fantastic Flying Froggies vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Manhattan Marauders vs. North Plainfield Plague
Alf Trickers vs. Shadow Dragons

Next up for us in group play are the Fantastic Flying Froggies. The players (and myself) are looking forward to this one, as we’ll be travelling to the Sunny South of France. I like to give my players at least one international trip every season, and no one is objecting to the idea of the French Riviera. Many of the guys are hoping there is a topless beach in the neighborhood of Montpelier. :)

Up Next: We’ve got weekly training and financial updates coming soon. After that, we’ve got our rubber match against the Syracuse Supers in league play. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 7 Training Results

It was a damn good week for our defensive training program, as both of our starting wingbacks, Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, improved to formidable (9) defending. Both are in excellent (8) form as well, and should give the Syracuse Supers’ offense fits on Sunday.

Arlen Lucas

Jersey #5

21 years old, excellent (8) form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has wretched (2) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $317,000
Wage: $1,580 per week
Warnings: 2

Stamina: Solid (7)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Formidable (9)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)


Tyler Willard

Jersey #22

20 years old, excellent (8) form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Unpredictable

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $262,000
Wage: $1,320 per week
Warnings: 1

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Wretched (2)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Formidable (9)
Set Pieces: Inadequate (5)

Also of note this week, midfielder Charlie Bautista improved to poor (3) experience.


Form Changes

8 players improved their form this week (only 2 of them are starters, however).
11 players saw their form remain the same this week.
4 players decreased in form by a level this week (including 3 starters)

It appears that we were correct in assuming that our new striker, Guido Metman, was simply having a little trouble adjusting. He recovered some of his lost form this week, improving to passable (6), and gained $30,000 in assessed value as well. We’re looking forward to seeing what he does on the pitch Sunday.

Six of our b-team members improved in form this week as well, which does not bode well for our FOFC Cup opponents.

In The Zone

Both of our wingbacks, on top of their recent defensive improvements, are in top form and should be a nightmare to try to play against. Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, as mentioned previously, are now both in excellent (8) form.

Form Dogs

Team captain Johannes Henriksson remains in poor (3) form this week, as does defensive trainee Cameron McDonald.

Value

Average Player Value: $143,391 (+$5,087)
Total Player Value (23 players): $3,298,000

No assessed value milestones this week.

Up Next: Our youth squad product and financial update for this week. Stay tuned!

[daedalus]

Originally posted by DataKing
Defending: Formidable (9)

Nice! And both young enough to keep improving, even. Maybe mid- to high-formidable by season's end? Now if they can just stop taking turns getting booked. :D

Are you still considering plans to give them some wing training early next season?

[DataKing]

Given their age and how long it takes to train defenders, both should be mid-formidable by the end of the season. And I do intend to train winger for all of my wingbacks (starters and trainees) during the cup next season. I'm hoping I can get both of these guys to solid winger while that is going on. I think Lucas is close to solid winger, but Willard may take a bit longer.

[sterlingice]

Eep... a pair of 21 and 20 yo form defenders. Wow.

SI

[daedalus]

Even going from low- to mid-passable to high-passable should help give a minor boost to the offense. It may be just perception but I seem to notice a bit of an improvement difference at what seems to be the half-way point between levels.

And, given their age, if you continue your winger training during each cups for the next season or two, I wouldn't think a mid- to high-solid would be out of the question. Especially if you get the solid coach you're planning on.

[PilotMan]

Happy 30th Bithday DK. Last decade until your old! Muahahahahah!

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by PilotMan
Happy 30th Bithday DK. Last decade until your old! Muahahahahah!

On that note, boy you're old :D *runs*

SI

[fantastic flying froggies]

Still not planning on playing just 9 players in our FOFC cup game today DK ?

Please ?

;)

[fantastic flying froggies]

Oh and happy birthday to you !

My present will be to let you win the game...

[vex]

Happy Birthday, DK.

[DataKing]

Thanks alot everyone. It is appreciated. :)

This old man has been under the weather lately, but is feeling better now. I should have this thing updated today.

[DataKing]

Week 7 Youth Pull

Daniel Brown

Player ID#: 12191165

17 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

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

Specialty: Unpredictable

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $41,000
Wage: $680 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Passable (6)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

Listed as: Central Defender
Asking Price: $1,000
Deadline: 5/31/2003 at 19:56 HT-time


Daniel is an intriguing trainee possibility, with the upcoming rules change to allow defenders to utilize their passing abilities more often. We considered placing him into our training program, but our other trainees are much further along, and we cannot abandon any of them now in order to make room for Daniel. We’re certain that other clubs that train defenders will be taking a look at Daniel, given his knack for passing the ball and the low asking price.


Week 7 Financial Update

Previous Balance: $78,870

Revenue

Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Shadow Dragons) - $3,267
Sponsors - $67,650
Temporary (sale of youth promotee John Doe) - $2,760
Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660
Temporary (mother club money from resale of John Doe) - $600

Total Revenue: $74,937

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $33,296
Temporary (youth squad promotion of John Doe) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing of John Doe) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $117,796

Net Income/Loss: -$42,859

New Balance: $36,011

We’re a bit too close to the zero line for our liking, but our home league match on Sunday should help to rectify that situation. Also, our rate of gain with our sponsor payments seems to have leveled off at $900 per week. We will be adding a new spokesperson to the payroll soon.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Content (up one level)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (up one level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,434 (up 22 from last week)


Up Next: The second of our back-to-back matches against the struggling Syracuse Supers. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #8

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Syracuse Supers

Date: May 25th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 15,703 (30,000)
Weather: Rain

Today we’ve got our rubber-match against the Syracuse Supers, who we defeated on the road 2-nil last week. Despite the ejection of midfielder Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin, we still managed a dominant performance against the lowly Supers, and do not foresee having any trouble with them again this week. Considering that we are home this time around, we expect nothing less than a blow-out.

Previous Meetings

5/19/2003 – Syracuse Supers 0, Screamin’ Seamen 2

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Our lineup is pretty much identical to last week’s, with one notable exception. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin managed to get himself ejected from last week’s match, and is therefore suspended from playing today as well. Our big Romanian midfielder Lucian Tere will start today in his place. Otherwise, it’s business-as-usual for the Seamen today.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

15703 spectators had found their way to The Docks, despite the heavy rain.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Rubio, Ivarsson, Tere, Bautista, Mcmahon - Metman, Tobias.

Syracuse had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Trahan - Muñoz, Walls, Lockwood - Dominguez, Brown, Varner, Stokes, Heller - Askensten, Mcnamara.

FIRST HALF

Screamin's Forrest Tobias gave, after 6 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

Valentín Rubio increased Screamin's lead to 2 - 0 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right.

Valentín Rubio was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Forrest Tobias managed to kick one of them into 3 - 0 in the 23rd minute. By now Screamin' were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead.

Jordi Dominguez could´ve grabbed a goal in the 25:th minute when he got a pass putting him free of the home side´s defence, but he was unable to take advantage of the situation.

Guido Metman should probably have put his team up another goal in the 25:th minute, but some great goaltending by Francis Trahan kept the visitors in the game.

Syracuse will have to do without Harold Lockwood for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Hugh Moya.

The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Anders Askensten had a hard time on the water infested pitch - his trademark technique was nowhere in sight this day.

Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Chuck Scales squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 59:th minute, asserting the lead to 4 - 0.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 55 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Most important Screamin' player was Tyler Willard. Lucian Tere on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Most important Syracuse player was Don Brown. Hugh Moya on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Syracuse Supers 0

Goals

Tobias – 2 (4,5,GWG)
Rubio – 1 (1)
Scales – 1 (1)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

Rubio: **~
Ivarsson: ***~
Tere: **
Bautista: ***
McMahon: **~

Metman: **~
Tobias: **~

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 71

Syracuse Supers
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Poor (3)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 46

Comments

Today proved to be a nice, easy win, and will most likely be the last one of those we experience this season. Lucian filled in well enough for “The Old Goat” in the middle, and Valentin Rubio had himself a fine day on the wing, scoring his first goal as a Seaman and assisting one of Forrest “Gump” Tobias’ two goals. Central defender Chuck Scales added his first goal of the season (the 5th of his career), and keeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan recorded his tenth career clean sheet.

Series Scores and Standings

-For the second week in a row, Neon Genesis Evangelion defeated Big Reds, 2-1.
-Croats in Miami remained on top this week, downing SoccerWussies, 3-1.
-Ramblers managed to slip past Sweden Heights, 2-1

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Croats in Miami 8 24-7 19
2. Big Reds 8 16-6 16
3. Screamin’ Seamen* 8 15-10 14
4. Ramblers 8 16-13 13
5. SoccerWussies 8 13-16 12
6. Sweden Heights 8 14-16 10
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion 8 18-20 9
8. Syracuse Supers 8 1-29 0
</pre></font>

By virtue of the Big Reds’ second consecutive loss, Croats in Miami are now in sole possession of first place. We moved up from 4th to 3rd place this week, but things are exceptionally tight. Only four points separate 2nd place from 5th.

Week 9 Matchups

Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Screamin’ Seamen
SoccerWussies vs. Big Reds
Sweden Heights vs. Croats in Miami
Syracuse Supers vs. Ramblers

Neon Genesis Evangelion have really stepped up their play as of late (funny how the threat of automatic relegation can do that), and we will be taking next week’s match against them very seriously. NGE has won three of their last four (their one loss being against us back in week six). We will need to win if we’re going to maintain third place, as we expect the Croats, Big Reds, and Ramblers all to win their respective matches.

Up Next: FOFC Cup III group play continues, as we travel to the Sunny South of France to take on the Fantastic Flying Froggies. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 3

Fantastic Flying Froggies vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: May 28th, 2003
Venue: Fantastic Flying Froggies Arena (Montpellier, France)
Attendance: 1,643 (16,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’re in the Not-So-Sunny South of France today, for our FOFC Cup match against the Fantastic Flying Froggies. I like to give my players at least one international trip each season, and fortunately that turned out to be part of our schedule for the Cup. The players are eager for the match, and also for the match to be over. I’ve promised them the day off so they can enjoy what the Mediterranean coast has to offer. I foresee a topless beach or two in their future. ;)

We expect to see a 4-5-1 formation from the Froggies, so we should be looking at another tough, defensive battle. And frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way (so there, Coffee Warlord). We should have the edge in talent, but like everything else, it all comes down to execution. We’ll see how our lads perform today, and hopefully they won’t be too distracted by their surroundings.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

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

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

The one noticeable change to the lineup this week is the presence of The Old Goat, Pete Tomlin. Due to his suspension from last week, he was unavailable for the match on Sunday against the Syracuse Supers. We don’t want the old man to get rusty, nor do we want Lucian Tere to be pulling double-duty this week, so Pete will be suiting up for us today. Hopefully he can keep his nose clean, and keep the rest of the midfield under control as well.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

At Fantastic Flying Froggies Arena, 1643 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came.

Fantastic tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Tuil - Guéron, Guillotin, Momot, Douglade - Randoux, Pailler, Faillon, Racher, Fringant - Aussedat.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. They fielded: Read - Leier, Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Kvam - Mauffret , Tomlin, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

FIRST HALF

Screamin' had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 1st minute when Johannes Henriksson came up alone against Aristide Tuil who managed a block.

Cameron Mcdonald of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 12th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Cameron Mcdonald came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 14:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Aristide Tuil managed to tip the ball to a corner.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 72 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Screamin''s Johannes Henriksson scored 0 - 1 by shooting accurately and hard from a long distance, leaving the opponent goalie no other option than to pick up the ball from the net.

Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson made it through the home teams defence in the 58:th minute, and had only to place the ball in an unguarded goal when the home side´s defender sprang up from the left, clearing the ball on the line.

The away team´s Mattias Leier took advantage of a mistake to the home side´s right in the 73rd minute increasing Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 2.

Fantastic made a substitution in the 84:th minute. Pascal Fringant limped off the field and was replaced by Georges Couve.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 84 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Fantastic player was without a doubt Anatole Momot. Yannick Pailler was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Fantastic Flying Froggies 0

Goals

Henriksson – 1
Leier – 1

Cards

McDonald – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Leier: ***
Lerma: **
McDonald: **
Stubbs: ***
Kvam: ***

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

Henriksson: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 52

Fantastic Flying Froggies
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 37

Comments

Froggies’ keeper Tuil was on top of his game in the first half, and held us scoreless despite two good opportunities. Unfortunately for him, he did not appear to get much help from the rest of the club, and finally surrendered goals to Johannes Henriksson and Mattias Leier in the second half. With Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin in the lineup due to his suspension, we dominated play in the middle of the pitch, and did not allow any good scoring opportunities.

Henriksson’s goal may be a good sign, but I am not putting too much stock into it. He has been scoring semi-regularly, despite his slump, but it doesn’t seem to be making much difference in his general level of play. The Swedish striker continues to struggle, and we will make no further evaluations of him until we have analyzed his play on the practice field as well.

All in all, though, a good win on the road (and over the ocean) for our second team.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings

-The Manhattan Marauders earned their first victory in group play, with a 2-nil defeat of theNorth Plainfield Plague.
-The Alf Trickers were dominant at home, downing the Shadow Dragons, 3-nil.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Seed GF GA Diff Pts. NSI
1. Screamin’ Seamen 1 5 1 +4 9 52
2. Alf Trickers 2 7 3 +4 6 34
3. North Plainfield Plague 6 4 3 +1 6 33
4. Manhattan Marauders 4 4 4 0 4 48
5. Fantastic Flying Froggies 3 2 6 -4 1 37
6. Shadow Dragons 5 0 5 -5 0 42
</pre></font>

The Manhattan Marauders did us a favor this week by taking care of business against the North Plainfield Plague. This places us in the driver’s seat for Group F with only two weeks remaining. Thank you NAIWF! :)

Group F Round 4 Matchups

North Plainfield Plague vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Manhattan Marauders vs. Shadow Dragons
Alf Trickers vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies.

Up Next: Weekly training and financial updates. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 8 Training Results

We weren’t expecting any of our players to take the “next step” defensively this week, and so were not surprised with the training results. What did surprise us a little bit is that Father Time finally seems to be catching up with Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin. Not to worry though, it is only Pete’s winger ability which dropped from poor (3) to wretched (2). It’s not like we ever play Pete on the wing anyway.

Form Changes

7 players improved in form this week, including three starters;
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: solid (7)
-Winger Valentin Rubio: passable (6)
-Midfielder Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin: passable (6)

9 players saw their form remain the same this week.

6 players decreased a level in form this week, including four starters;
-Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson: passable (6)
-Wingback Arlen Lucas: solid (7)
-Winger Ben McMahon: inadequate (5)
-Forward Forrest “Gump” Tobias: passable (6)

We pretty much broke even this week, and only one of our current starters (Ben McMahon) is at form lower than a passable level.

In The Zone

Wingback Tyler Willard is our only player “in the zone” this week. Young Tyler has been playing some of the best soccer of his life as of late, as evidenced by his two consecutive Team Match MVP awards.

Form Dogs

Swedish striker Johannes Henriksson remains in his horrible slump, and is this week’s only form dog with poor (3) form.

Value

Average Player Value: $152,909 (+$9,518)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,364,000 (+$66,000)

*Note: These values do not include Jesper Gravesen, who is currently listed on the transfer market and has been bid upon.

No assessed value milestones again this week.

Up Next: The weekly youth pull land financial update. After that, we travel to Pennsylvania for our league match against the resurgent Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned!

[daedalus]

I saw somebody in conference (strangely stable lately, huh?) mention just letting the player sit for a week as a possibility in a real desperate down form situation.

[DataKing]

Originally posted by daedalus
I saw somebody in conference (strangely stable lately, huh?) mention just letting the player sit for a week as a possibility in a real desperate down form situation.

I've tried that before, with Max Dodge (remember him?) and it did not seem to help at all. But it certainly might be worth another try. Henriksson's form seems to be stuck at poor, but at least the rate at which he is losing assessed value is decreasing (only $1,000 this past week). I'll keep it in mind as a possibility. Thanks.

[daedalus]

No problemo. Need to step into the Wayback Machine for Max Dodge! :)

[DataKing]

I get to be Mister Peabody! Dibs on Mister Peabody! :D

[sterlingice]

Homer:I'm the first non-Brazilian person to travel backwards through time.
Mr. Peabody: Correction, Homer: you're the second.
Sherman: That's right, Mr. Peabody!
Mr. Peabody: Quiet, you.

(from [2F03] "Treehouse of Horror V")

SI

[DataKing]

Week 8 Youth Pull

Otis Grant has been shipped off to Houston, where he will hopefully find work at the Houston Hippopotami McDonalds. ‘Nuff said. :p

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $36,011

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Syracuse Supers) - $85,928
Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies) - $4,285
Sponsors - $68,550
Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660
Temporary (sale of youth squad promotee Daniel Brown) - $7,360
Temporary (sale of Jesper Gravesen) - $19,800

Total Revenue: $186,583

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $33,296
Temporary (promotion of Daniel Brown from youth squad) - $2,000
Temporary (travel expenses for FOFC Cup match) - $6,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Daniel Brown) - $1,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Jesper Gravesen) - $1,000
Temporary (fired specialist: doctor) - $1,500
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $126,296

Net Income/Loss: +$60,287

New Balance: $96,298

We had a disappointing turnout at this week’s home league match, partially because of the heavy rain and partially because of the Supers’ cellar-dweller status. The transfer money from Daniel Brown and Jesper Gravesen helped us this week, but only a little bit.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Satisfied (up one level)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,456 (up 22 from last week)

Up Next: We’re on the road this week, travelling to Pennsylvania to take on Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #9

Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 1st, 2003
Venue: Shinji’s Stadium (Pennsylvania)
Attendance: 37,253 (67,000)
Weather: Rain

We’re on the road again today, this time in rainy Pennsylvania to take on Neon Genesis Evangelion. We’ve had good successes against NGE in the past, but today looks like it may be a bit of a challenge. We’ve never been a good wet-weather team, and the pitch is pretty well water-logged today. Also, NGE has really surged forward lately, knocking off Big Reds in two consecutive 2-1 victories. Add in the fact that we are on the road, and you have the makings for what could be a difficult day.

Previous Meetings

12/23/2002 – Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, Screamin’ Seamen 3
3/10/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 1
5/12/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 4, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2

Our previous matches against NGE have all been relatively high-scoring affairs, and despite our defense, we’ve never managed to hold them scoreless. Hopefully today will be a first for us in that respect.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Forward: #12 Guido Metman

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin returns from his one-game suspension today, and will start in the midfield for us once again. Other than that, it is pretty much business as usual as far as our lineup goes, with the obvious exception of Johannes Henriksson riding the bench.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Due to an all-day shower, 37253 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Shinji's Stadium.

EVA tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Åkesson - Waldrop, Calloway, Vick - Ayres, Andersson, Ødegård, Fortune, Taylor - Lachance, Ricketts.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

Ed Vick behaved like an inexperienced youth player in the 9:th minute as he gave the ball away to an opponent. Lucky for him though, there was no goal.

EVAs Geir Ødegård gave, after 19 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

A speedy charge from the left side of the field put EVA lead up with 2 - 0. Geir Ødegård finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle.

After 36 minutes Tyler Willard made a complete fool of himself and dropped the ball to Eloy Ricketts who shuffled it into goal. 3-0 for EVA.

The structure of the game started to change as EVA decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

Screamin' fought on and, in the 39:th minute Forrest Tobias was able to reply with 3 - 1 after some excellent moves on the right side finished off by an incredibly clever chip.

Screamin'´s Chuck Scales refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon in the 40:th minute.

Cornelius Jernigan was caught napping a bit later as Geir Ødegård lifted a ball over him after a free kick, but the ball hit the bar, rebounding into the keepers arms.

3 - 1 was the half-time score. EVA held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

A great save by goaltender Cornelius Jernigan in the 46:th minute kept the visitors in the game as Michael Waldrop struck from the left with a real cannonball.

EVA had to manage with a reduced squad from the 73rd minute on, as Eloy Ricketts got sent off for a foul in a free situation.

Screamin' had a fair chance to reply after 80 minutes, due to some fine moves down the left, but in the end no one was there to put their head to the ball as it was lifted into the box.

Jörgen Andersson of EVA received a yellow card in the 84:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 51 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating EVA player was without a doubt Geir Ødegård. Junior Taylor was a disappointment, however.

Most important Screamin' player was Tyler Willard. However, Ben Mcmahon made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Neon Genesis Evangelion 3, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals

Tobias – 1 (6)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

McMahon: **~
Ivarsson: ***
Tomlin: **~
Bautista: ***
Rubio: **~

Tobias: **~
Metman: **~

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: World Class (13)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 73

Neon Genesis Evangelion
-Midfield: Excellent (8)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Outstanding (10)
-Central Attack: Formidable (9)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 74

Comments

I hate it when I’m right. :( I suspected this might be a rough day for us, and was unfortunately correct. Our defense had a horrible first half, allowing three goals in the first 36 minutes of the match. “Gump” Tobias managed to get one back for us before halftime, but things were still looking rather grim. Despite a good opportunity later in the second half and NGE finishing the game with only ten men on the pitch, we weren’t able to close things up at all.

Our road woes continue this season, as we’ve now accumulated only four points in five road matches. At home, on the other hand, we remain a force to be reckoned with, earning ten of a possible twelve points thus far. The Screamin’ Seamen have yet to be defeated at home in their entire history (excluding Cup and friendly matches).

Series Scores and Standings

-League-leading Croats in Miami fought to a 4-4 draw with Sweden Heights
-Big Reds also drew in their match, 1-1 against the SoccerWussies
-Ramblers had the pleasure of demolishing the Syracuse Supers this week, 4-nil.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Croats in Miami 9 28-11 20 68
2. Big Reds 9 17-7 17 65
3. Ramblers 9 20-13 16 66
4. Screamin’ Seamen* 9 16-13 14 73
5. SoccerWussies 9 14-17 13 64
6. Neon Genesis Evangelion 9 21-21 12 74
7. Sweden Heights 9 18-20 11 62
8. Syracuse Supers 9 1-33 0 49
</pre></font>

The good news for this week is that, despite the loss, we did not lose much ground on the league leaders. We did drop to fourth in the standings, but with things being so incredibly tight right now, standings are almost useless. The Croats maintain a three point lead on the Big Reds, but after that it’s a giant cluster-f*ck. Only six points separate the 2nd place team (Big Reds) from the 7th place team (Sweden Heights). The series is still very much anybody’s ball game.

Week 10 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. SoccerWussies
Syracuse Supers vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Big Reds vs. Sweden Heights
Ramblers vs. Croats in Miami

With the competition level as tight as it is right now, every week there are three good matches to be played. The only easy win is whoever gets to play against the Syracuse Supers that week. We get the opportunity to avenge our 2-1 loss to SoccerWussies earlier this season, and we get to do it at The Docks, where we are a force to be reckoned with.

Up Next: Round 4 of FOFC Cup Group Play on Wednesday, when we travel to North Jersey to take on the North Plainfield Plague. Stay tuned!

[NAIWF]

Tough break yesterday. I was watching your game as my team put up a stinker and was disappointed to see you lose. All I can say is that when you finally do get to D3, you'll know what it's like to build up a winner. I mean, the competition can't get much tighter than your series now, right?

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by DataKing Otis Grant has been shipped off to Houston, where he will hopefully find work at the Houston Hippopotami McDonalds. ‘Nuff said. :p

We had too many to staff a Mickey D's so we upgraded to the Hippos Memorial Piggly Wiggly(TM). Needless to say, there's more than enough room for him.

SI

[DataKing]

News and Notes from Screamin’ Seamen-Land

(Author’s Note: This is the first installment in what I hope will be a weekly or bi-weekly installment in this dynasty report. Here I will present some small “human-interest” type stories and such, which will hopefully provide more of an element of realism to the exploits of this completely fictional team.)

Making A Name For Himself

If you’ve been following the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club this season, then you already know all about the horrible slump striker Johannes Henriksson finds himself in. You also probably know about Guido Metman, the “half-million dollar man” that was brought in to boost the club’s ailing offense, but has only managed one goal in his first three games with the club.

But there is one bright spot to the SSFC offense that has been overshadowed this season, and his name is Forrest Tobias. “Gump,” as he is affectionately called by his teammates, has very quietly provided steady offense for the struggling Seamen. His six league goals thus far this season means that he is tied for third in the series scoring race, behind Tomas Leijonstal (8 goals, Sweden Heights) and George Herrmann (7 goals, Croats in Miami). The 21-year-old has accounted for nearly half of the club’s 16 goals this season.

So the next time you’re at The Docks to catch a match, pull your eyes off of the defense for a moment and take a good look at young number 15, Forrest “Gump” Tobias. This young man certainly appears to be making a name for himself.


Playing Through The Pain

No player has exhibited more toughness on the pitch this season than Chuck Scales. The 24-year-old center-back is one of the club’s most valuable members, and is the quarterback of the team’s formidable defense. On no less than four separate occasions this season (three in the last six weeks), Scales has been hurt during a match. But every time, he has refused to come off of the pitch, despite the protestation of the team’s physiotherapists.

“They don’t pay me to sit on the bench,” was Scales’ comment after his most recent disagreement with club physios, which occurred during the club’s 3-1 loss to Neon Genesis Evangelion this past weekend. “They pay me to play.”

The likable young man with the bright blond hair and the perpetual five o’clock shadow recently spoke with reporters regarding his injuries.

“It all started with the game against the Samurai, way back at the start of the U.S. Open Cup,” stated Scales. “That idiot Vega came in with a tackle that was way late, and I ended up rolling my ankle something fierce. Truth be told, it’s never fully healed. Every time I think the ankle is all right, I get dinged in a match or on the pitch, and it flares up on me again. But I don’t plan on letting something like this slow me down. So long as I can walk, I’m going to play.”

While fans must certainly admire Scales’ dedication, they have to be concerned about the possibility of long-term damage to the star defenseman. Some of those concerns have been alleviated, however, as Dr. Kay Vorkian, the head physiotherapist for the Seamen, recently confirmed that Scales will have surgery on his ankle as soon as the season is over.


Fabulous!

Data King, the owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, recently announced that SSFC has received the official support of another team. Fabulous!, under the owner- and leadership of BillyMadison, have become the 35th member of the Official SSFC Support Association. The club is currently placed in Series V.44, and recently earned their first victory, a 5-1 clubbing of The Polish Moose. Congratulations Billy, and thank you for your support.

[Havok]

Dk..... i know your offense is hurting pretty bad, and money is very tight. But i wanna throw a idea your way and see what ya think.

I say sell the Excellent forward and buy a Solid/Solid with passable or higher set pieces with the "head", "unpredictable" or "Quick" skill for around 300k. I'd be willing to bet money he'd score more goals for ya, and create more chances then the excellent forward and he'd be cheaper.

Thats just my opinion, Excellent/Disastrous for 500k is way to much in my book. The passing skill is pretty important for a forward.

Or if you have to.... sell that forward and get one with better passing for a little more. Sell a back-up trainee if you need to.

[DataKing]

Thanks for the idea Havok. I will consider it.

Just so you all know, there are a few things that I am currently considering, regarding the state of the Screamin' Seamen.

1. Metman certainly hasn't paid off just yet, but I feel like it is too early to write him off. He suffered a form drop when he joined the team, and hasn't fully recovered yet. $500,000 may seem like a lot to have paid for him, but I spent over a week scouring the transfer market for players who met my criteria, and Metman was about as good as I could do for the money I had available. The main criteria was that the player had to be capable of putting up three stars, and no solid scorer/solid passer than I looked at was capable of doing so. Metman is capable of that, his form just needs to get better first, and it is improving.

2. I am currently saving up for a new coach. Coach Brown has been with us since the beginning, but is really no longer up to the task. He is only a passable/defensive coach. Now that my training program is fully operational (maximum physios and assistant coaches with good trainees), a solid coach is the next logical step. I am hoping that I will be able to land an offensive coach as well. That would help our offense immensely, and my defense is more than good enough to make up for that.

3. From a certain standpoint, I am only treading water at the moment. This is by design. I am running this team from a very long-term perspective. A lot of the other managers out there seem to be making transfers almost daily, while mine are few and far between (with the exception of selling youth pulls). Yes, I have a number of trainees that could sell for decent money right now (all are solid or better in defending), which in turn could be spent on some better players (forwards, midfielders). But the money they would sell for now pales in comparison to what they will be worth when my current training program comes to an end. At the end of next season, all of my defensive trainees should be formidable defenders, at least. I salivate at the thought of the money they will bring in, and the drastic improvements I will be able to make when that happens. But it takes patience, considering that it will be the fall of 2003 before these changes take place. So if it seems like the improvement of SSFC is occurring at a snail's pace, now you may be able to understand why. Just wait...

So there you have it, my perspective on the state of the SSFC in a nutshell. This game is a very long-term endeavor (it's been running for over five years), and that is what I like most about it.

Here endeth the sermon. :p

[The Afoci]

That will be an exciting time when you have 3 or 4 expendable formidable defenders. It will be interesting to see how you will be able to transfer from defensive training to playmaking(I would guess that is what you are going to).

Should make for some very interesting reading over the next few seasons.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 4

North Plainfield Plague vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 4th, 2003
Venue: The Infestadium (North Plainfield, NJ)
Attendance: 902 (20,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy

It seems as though we’ve been living out of our suitcases lately, and today is no exception. We’re in New Jersey today for an FOFC Cup match against cthomer5000’s North Plainfield Plague. The Plague have done pretty well for themselves thus far, earning six of a possible nine points and currently standing in third place in the Group F standings. The team was rolling until their 2-nil defeat at the hands of the Manhattan Marauders last week, and will certainly be looking to get back on track today.

Though their offense has been a little lacking in group play thus far (who are we to judge?), the Plague appear to have a relatively balanced team. We expect to see them run a 3-5-2 formation against us today. Combined with the fact that we are on the road, where we have certainly struggled in league play, this could spell a certain amount of difficulty for the Seamen.

But our players know exactly what is at stake in today’s match, and the formula is quite simple. If we are victorious today, we will have clinched first place within Group F, and will receive one of the top 14 seeds in the upcoming single-elimination tournament. Needless to say, this makes today’s match important, as we do not want to have to wait until next week’s match with the Manhattan Marauders for an opportunity to lock things up.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

With the obvious exception of struggling striker Johannes Henriksson, we’ll be keeping a close eye on defenders Zarpas Lerma and Cameron McDonald today. Both of these young men have been struggling as of late, but look as though they may have turned the corner. Both have made good progress in practice this week, and will hopefully continue to improve in the weeks to come.

Wingback Mattias Leier, winger Paul Peralta, and midfielder Jerry Smith have all been performing well as of late (solid form), and we are expecting to see good things from them today as well.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

902 spectators arrived at The Infestadium, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Plainfield tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Clevenger - Wedner, Lind, Etheridge - Babb, Matthews, Lankford, Ring, Bray - Malin, Shoemaker.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

FIRST HALF

In the 12th minute the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending and Cameron Mcdonald put the ball away for 0 - 1.

Screamin's Johannes Henriksson got himself booked after a foul.

Gerard Matthews made a superb strike at the goal in the 23rd 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 27:th minute Plainfields Byron Bray received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 54 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Alan Malin hit the ball just perfect in the 54:th minute and could score for Plainfield with a fab long shot to 1 - 1.

In the games 54:th minute Cameron Mcdonald almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a spectacular scissors shot just past the bar.

A free kick aimed at the keepers far post almost gave Screamin' the lead in the 73rd minute, but the ball just wasn´t able to squirm it´s way through the defensive wall.

The referee showed Screamin's Zarpas Lerma the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

The terraces were silenced in the 88:th minute as Screamin'´s Olav Mauffret put the guests ahead 1 - 2, following an attack from the right.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 73 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

Most important Plainfield player was Edward Clevenger. However, Scott Ring made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Mattias Leier. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, North Plainfield Plague 1

Goals

McDonald – 1
Mauffret – 1 (GWG)

Cards

Henriksson – yellow
Lerma – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: ***
Lerma: **
McDonald: **~
Stubbs: ***
Leier: ***

Mauffret: **
Smith: **
Tere: **
Peralta: **

Henriksson: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 49

North Plainfield Plague
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 35

Comments

Winger Olav Mauffret is certainly the man of the hour for the Screamin’ Seamen! The Plague played a hard-fought match, and it looked as though the match would end in a draw, denying us a guaranteed 1st place finish in Group F. But with only a couple of minutes remaining, Olav Mauffret struck the ball true, sending it into the twine and silencing the 900 or so fans who had turned out to the Infestadium.

As far as the players we were keeping a close eye on go, Zarpas Lerma did little to impress. Cameron McDonald, on the other hand, played a fine game and scored his first ever goal. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from the tall defender.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings

-Alf Trickers stayed hot on our heels, defeating the Fantastic Flying Froggies, 2-nil.
-The Manhattan Marauders had a dominant performance at home, drubbing the Shadow Dragons, 4-nil.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Seed GF GA Diff. Pts. NSI
1. Screamin’ Seamen 1 7 2 +5 12 49
2. Alf Trickers 2 9 3 +6 9 38
3. Manhattan Marauders 4 8 4 +4 7 46
4. North Plainfield Plague 6 5 5 0 6 35
5. Fantastic Flying Froggies 3 2 8 -6 1 34
6. Shadow Dragons 5 0 9 -9 0 43
</pre></font>

Today’s victory over the Plague locked down our first-place finish in Group F, as we hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Alf Trickers. The only other change in the standings occurred to NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders, who moved into third place by virtue of their victory over the Shadow Dragons.

Group F Round 5 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Manhattan Marauders
North Plainfield Plague vs. Alf Trickers
Shadow Dragons vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies

Our match against the Marauders next week may seem like a meaningless game, but that is not the case. We’ll still be playing to win, as we want to receive the highest seeding possible going into the single elimination portion of the tournament. We want to get as much home field advantage as we can muster. Sorry NAIWF.

Up Next: Training results will be posted Thursday evening or Friday. Stay tuned!

[NAIWF]

Just so you know, I was rooting for you to lose or tie that game with the Plague as it would have given me a chance to advance with a win over you next week. But alas, Olav 'Little Miss' Mauffret had to score in the 88th minute and ruin my chances! Oh well, I guess I'll stick with the 5-4-1 and get an extra week of training for my 9th defender instead of trying to slay the giant. You just HAD to win yesterday and ruin a potential 2-1 or 1-0, epic showdown between defensive teams :D

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by DataKing
3. From a certain standpoint, I am only treading water at the moment. This is by design. I am running this team from a very long-term perspective. A lot of the other managers out there seem to be making transfers almost daily, while mine are few and far between (with the exception of selling youth pulls). Yes, I have a number of trainees that could sell for decent money right now (all are solid or better in defending), which in turn could be spent on some better players (forwards, midfielders). But the money they would sell for now pales in comparison to what they will be worth when my current training program comes to an end. At the end of next season, all of my defensive trainees should be formidable defenders, at least. I salivate at the thought of the money they will bring in, and the drastic improvements I will be able to make when that happens. But it takes patience, considering that it will be the fall of 2003 before these changes take place. So if it seems like the improvement of SSFC is occurring at a snail's pace, now you may be able to understand why. Just wait...

Slow and steady wins the race for the old turtle ;)

SI

[DataKing]

Week 9 Training Results

Once again, we did not see any drastic improvements in our defenders this week, nor were we expecting any. We expect Keith Stubbs to be the next to improve in ability level, but that should not occur for another three weeks or so.

Form Changes

3 players improved in form this week, including one starter:
-Winger Valentin Rubio: solid (7)

16 players saw their form remain the same this week.

3 players dropped in form this week, including two starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: passable (6)
-Forward Forrest “Gump” Tobias: inadequate(5)

We seem to be snake-bitten when it comes to the form of our strikers, as “Gump” Tobias has dropped in form for the second consecutive week. The good news is that it appears Johannes Henriksson may finally be coming out of his slump, as he has improved to weak (4) form.

In The Zone

Tyler Willard is joined “in the zone” this week by Estonian wingback trainee Mattias Leier. Although he did not score, Mattias was the best player for us on the pitch Wednesday in our FOFC Cup victory over the North Plainfield Plague.

Form Dogs

As was mentioned earlier, Swedish striker Johannes Henriksson improved to weak (4) form this week. While it is an improvement, he still qualifies as one of this week’s “form dogs,” along with defensive trainee Cameron McDonald.

Player Value

Average Player Value: $156,955 (+$4,046)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,453,000 (+$89,000)

No assessed value milestones this week.

Up Next: Our weekly youth pull and financial update. Hopefully our youth squad will actually produce someone decent this week. After that, we seek revenge against the SoccerWussies, who defeated us 2-1 back in week 5. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 9 Youth Pull

This week’s youth pull, Joseph Ruff, is nothing exceptional, but should at least bring in a few thousand dollars to the club’s coffers. He should make a decent trainee as a defensive midfielder or offensive defender. Our youth squad hasn’t been producing lately like it was earlier in the season, but I guess what comes around, goes around.

Joseph Ruff

19 years old, passable form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is fiery and honest.
Has disastrous(1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Powerful

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $12,000
Wage: $560 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Poor (3)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $96,298

Revenue

Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. North Plainfield Plague) - $2,339
Sponsors - $70,200
Temporary (14 new supporters) - $420

Total Revenue: $72,959

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Otis Grant) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $115,872

Net Income/Loss: -$42,913

New Balance: $53,385

We’ve only been treading water financially as of late, which has been primarily due to poor turnout at our recent home games. We’ve had rain at our last two home matches, but are hoping for a better turnout on Sunday against the SoccerWussies.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Content (down one level)
Team Confidence: Strong (down one level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (down one level)
Supporter Club: 1,470 (up 14 from last week)

The loss last week on the road to Neon Genesis Evangelion didn’t help our situation any. Hopefully we will turn things around this week.

Up Next: We play host to the SoccerWussies, hoping to avenge our 2-1 loss back in week five. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #10

Screamin’ Seamen vs. SoccerWussies

Date: June 8th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 30,000 (30,000)
Weather: Overcast

We have an opportunity to earn some vengeance this week, as we play host to the SoccerWussies, who defeated us in Atlanta back in week five, 2-1. The SoccerWussies are a tough defensive team, similar to our own, due primarily to the play of 23-year-old Swedish keeper Tobias Tullbrant (valued at $498,000, averages 3.5 stars). They also have a dangerous attacking midfielder in 32-year-old Tony Goransson (valued at $167,000, also averages 3.5 stars).

We’ll be playing a bit more aggressively than is typical for the Seamen, as we feel we need to get shots on target against Tullbrant, and make him earn his keep. We will also be modifying our defensive setup a bit today, as the strength of the SoccerWussies attack tends to be right up the middle, while the strength of our defense is on the wings.

Needless to say, every match from here on out is extremely important. The standings are so tight in Series IV.49 that one small slip could easily land just about any team down in the relegation zone. We’ll be more than happy if we can get through the next couple of weeks and remain within striking distance of the league-leading Croats in Miami.

Previous Meetings

5/4/2003 – SoccerWussies 2, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 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: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Forward: #12 Guido Metman

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We’re going with our standard line-up this week, but the orientation of the team will be a little different than normal. As I mentioned previously, the strength of the SoccerWussies' attack tends to be right up the middle, so wingback Tyler Willard will be playing closer to the middle of the field than he is accustomed to. With less of a threat on the wings than we typically face, Arlen Lucas will be given more free reign to move up the field if the situation warrants such a move (normal).

The SoccerWussies’ defense also tends to be weaker on their right side, so we’ll be pushing the ball on the left. Midfielders Charlie Bautista and Niklas Ivarsson will be pushing the ball up the pitch, as will winger Valentin Rubio (all offensive). Defensive-specialist winger Ben McMahon will play in front of Tyler Willard, to help cover the open spot on the right side of our defense (normal).

We’ll be watching closely to see how this defensive adjustment works on the pitch, and if we’re pleased with the results we will likely use it in the future. Also, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Forrest “Gump” Tobias up front. He is quietly in third place in the series scoring title race, but his form has been slipping a bit as of late.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

30000 spectators had come to The Docks this cloudy day.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Tobias.

SoccerWussies had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Tullbrant - Bower, Larsson, Dehlbrant - Udd, Fjelér, Göransson, Myung-Dae, Wilson - Casillas, Molinari.

FIRST HALF

The 14:th minute saw the home team take a 1 - 0 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for Screamin' was Niklas Ivarsson.

Screamin' put their lead ahead another goal as Charlie Bautista struck home the 2 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper.

The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 70 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

In the 49:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Forrest Tobias dashed through, knocking home 3 - 0 for Screamin'.

Arlen Lucas sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 4-0 in after a corner kick after 58 minutes of play. After this Screamin' lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts.

In the 59:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Guido Metman dashed through, knocking home 5 - 0 for Screamin'.

The visitors got a chance of pulling one back in the 73rd minute, due to a defensive blunder leaving Franco Molinari completely unmarked. His strike was pathetic though, easy prey for the home side´s keeper.

Tobias Tullbrant was caught napping a bit later as Ben Mcmahon lifted a ball over him after a free kick, but the ball hit the bar, rebounding into the keepers arms.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 78 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

Screamin'´s best player was Tyler Willard. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day.

SoccerWussies´s best player was Björn R. Dehlbrant. However, Mikey Bower made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 5, SoccerWussies 0

Goals

Ivarsson – 1 (1, GWG)
Bautista – 1 (3)
Tobias – 1 (7)
Lucas – 1 (1)
Metman – 1 (2)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

McMahon: **
Bautista: ***
Tomlin: **~
Ivarsson: ***
Rubio: ***

Tobias: **
Metman: ***

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-NSI: 71

SoccerWussies
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: World Class (13)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 51

Comments

Wow! We were expecting a victory today (we never lose at home), but we weren’t expecting to see such a dominant performance in all areas of the game. Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson opened things up for us in the fourteenth minute with his first goal as a Seaman, and that just seemed to open the flood gates. It was great to see everyone contributing, and five goals from five different players pleases me to no end. We displayed damn fine ball distribution.

Defensively we weren’t as strong down the middle as I had expected, but it was still more than enough to contain the SoccerWussies. “Corny” Jernigan was never seriously challenged, and earned his sixth clean sheet of the season (fifth in league play). Tyler Willard and Chuck Scales were solid, as always, and Arlen Lucas finally landed one of his patented headers on target (his first goal of the season).

The stars in the middle were certainly Niklas Ivarsson and Charlie Bautista. Niklas finally got himself onto the scoring charts for the Seamen. Charlie was not to be out-done, however, and followed with a goal of his own later in the half. The midfield also did a fine job of controlling the ball and the pace of the match. The SoccerWussies had precious few opportunities to test our strange defensive formation.

The good news certainly seems to outweigh the bad up front. Although “Gump” Tobias’ form has been slipping as of late, he tallied his fourth goal in the last three weeks. He remains in third place in the series scoring race, behind George Herrmann (Croats in Miami) and Tomas Leijonstal (Sweden Heights), both of whom have nine goals on the season (Gump has seven). Guido Metman also finally proved that he was worth the half-million it cost to bring him aboard, as he turned in the sort of performance we were expecting to see a month ago. He did a great deal to open things up for Tobias and the others, as well as tallying a goal of his own.

All in all, it was an excellent day to be a Seaman. We won handily in front of a sellout crowd, our first since we expanded to 30,000 seats during the past off-season. We also did it without attracting any injuries or cards. A fine day for the Seamen, indeed.

Series Scores and Standings

-Neon Genesis Evangelion had surprising difficulty with the Syracuse Supers, narrowly escaping with a 2-1 victory.
-Big Reds continue to struggle, drawing with Sweden Heights, 1-1.
-Croats in Miami had a narrow escape of their own, slipping past Ramblers, 3-2.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Croats in Miami 10 31-13 23 77
2. Big Reds 10 18-8 18 74
3. Screamin’ Seamen* 10 21-13 17 71
4. Ramblers 10 22-16 16 71
5. Neon Genesis Evangelion 10 23-22 15 60
6. SoccerWussies 10 14-22 13 51
7. Sweden Heights 10 19-21 12 63
8. Syracuse Supers 10 2-35 0 49
</pre></font>

While the standings are still extremely tight, it looks as though we may finally be starting to separate the wheat from the chaff. SoccerWussies put up a surprisingly poor performance against us today, and may have decided to PIC the match and take their lumps, given our impressive home record. Neon Genesis Evangelion also slipped a bit as well, and it nearly cost them an easy one against the Syracuse Supers. It would appear that NGE MOTSed their match against us last week.

Week 11 Matchups

Sweden Heights vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Croats in Miami vs. Big Reds
SoccerWussies vs. Syracuse Supers
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Ramblers

We’ll be travelling to New York City next week, to take on Sweden Heights, who we defeated back in week four, 2-nil. Croats vs. Big Reds promises to be a big match, as the top two teams go head to head. NGE vs. Ramblers will also be an interesting one to watch, with the critical fourth place on the line.

Up Next: We wrap up FOFC Cup Group Play on Wednesday, when we play host to NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 5

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Manhattan Marauders

Date: June 11th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 1,526 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Today the group play stage of FOFC Cup III wraps up, and we play host to NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders. We’ve already guaranteed ourselves the #1 spot coming out of Group F, by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Alf Trickers, who will most likely claim the #2 spot out of the group. While today may seem like a meaningless game to some, we are not approaching it with that attitude. Your beloved Seamen greatly desire the prestige which would come along with claiming all of the possible fifteen points available in group play.

That being said, it does not appear that claiming these last three points will be an easy task for our reserves. The Marauders have come on strong as of late, winning their last two FOFC Cup matches by a combined score of 6-nil. Unfortunately for the Marauders, it appears that their effort has been one of too little, too late. They need a victory over us today at The Docks, as well as a loss by the Alf Trickers to the North Plainfield Plague, in order to advance. A desperate team is a dangerous team.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’re going with our usual lineup of reserves today, but our defensive orientation will be a little different. The Manhattan Marauders’ attack tends to be strongest along the edges of the field. To counteract this, both Zarpas Lerma and Cameron McDonald will be playing towards their respective wings, to help out our wingbacks. Zarpas is more accustomed to this sort of play, and so should be more effective. Cameron will be playing on the left side along with Mattias Leier, the stronger of our two wingbacks.

The player to watch on the pitch today is up front, striker Johannes Henriksson. It appears that the Swede may finally be coming out of his horrible slump, so we will be looking for positive signs from him on the pitch today.

The Marauders desperately need a win today, as well as some help. But we’re not laying down for anybody. If the Marauders want a chance at advancement in the FOFC Cup, they’re going to have to earn it.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

1526 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. Lineup: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

Manhattan had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Nesserberg - Eddy, Livingston, Thomas, Collado - Judd, Pagan, Sommerhäuser, Waggoner, Bradshaw - Stern.

FIRST HALF

Many thought Zarpas Lerma ought to have been awarded a penalty shot in the 18:th minute, as he went down trying to circle the visitors keeper Christer Nesserberg.

Christian Kvam of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 31st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

37 minutes into the game Aaron Livingston was a hair´s breadth away from giving Manhattan the lead. A prompt block by Darryl Read saved the home team that time.

A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area, but at last Screamin'´s Paul Peralta was able to shove the ball in. 1-0.

Thomas Waggoner almost scored an equalising goal for Manhattan in the 40:th minute, but Darryl Read made an excellent save, tipping the awkwardly curled shot past the post.

1 - 0 was the half-time score. Manhattan, bringing the final ball possession rate to 58 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Tillmann Sommerhäuser made a run for the goal in the 51st minute but the home teams far left defense managed to sort the situation out in the end.

Thomas Waggoner of Manhattan received a yellow card in the 82nd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

In the 82nd minute Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net.

In the games 83rd minute the visitors levelled to 1 - 1 as Aaron Livingston struck home on a bar rebound, following a shot from the right.

Mattias Leier received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 84:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

Manhattan, bringing the final ball possession rate to 58 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Mattias Leier. Johannes Henriksson on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The most dominating Manhattan player was without a doubt Jamey Judd. Dustin Stern on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Manhattan Marauders 1

Goals

Peralta – 1

Cards

Kvam – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: ***
Lerma: **
Stubbs: ***
McDonald: **
Leier: ***

Mauffret: **
Tere: **~
Smith: **
Peralta: **

Henriksson: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 53

Manhattan Marauders
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 53

Comments

The match started out well enough for SSFC. Although Zarpas Lerma should have received a penalty kick early on, veteran winger Paul Peralta was able to put us up one later in the match. But the true hero of the first half was keeper Darryl Read. Darryl made two fantastic saves late in the half to keep our 1-nil lead going into halftime.

Late in the second half, Johannes Henriksson had a chance to nail the coffin shut, but his shot off the crossbar proved to be a killer. Only a minute later, the hard-working Marauders were able to bring home the equalizer, by virtue of an Aaron Livingston shot off of a bar rebound. Though Johannes has been improving lately in practice, it is obvious that he is still not himself. Last season, his shot would have sailed true, and the entire match would most likely have turned out very differently.

The Marauders, up against a wall as far as the standings go, decided to play a number of their regular starters against us today. Given that, I certainly cannot be disappointed with the results, even if it was a home match. And as it turns out, the match didn’t make much difference anyhow, as far as we’re concerned. We’ve still claimed first place in the group, and are the #6 seed overall of the remaining 32 teams.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Final Standings

-The North Plainfield Plague pulled off the upset, defeating the Alf Trickers 2-1.
-The Shadow Dragons were a no-show this week, awarding the Fantastic Flying Froggies a 5-nil walkover victory.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Seed GF GA Diff. Pts. NSI
1. Screamin’ Seamen 1 8 3 +5 13 53
2. North Plainfield Plague 6 7 6 +1 9 33
3. Alf Trickers 2 10 5 +5 9 36
4. Manhattan Marauders 4 9 5 +4 8 53
5. Fantastic Flying Froggies 3 7 8 -1 4 NA
6. Shadow Dragons 5 0 14 -14 0 NA
</pre></font>

The Marauders received the help they were looking for from the North Plainfield Plague, but were unable to attain the victory they needed against us today. As a result, in a surprising turn of events, the Plague have advanced to the Round of 32 in FOFC Cup III, by virtue of their head-to-head victory over the Alf Trickers. Congratulations, cthomer5000!

FOFC Cup Round of 32 Matchup

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Concord Assassins.

We’ve drawn BishopMVP’s Concord Assassins for the Round of 32. The Assassins advanced by claiming 1st place in Group A, surprisingly beating out the MoKan Mighty Bastards for the Group A title. It should prove to be a challenging match.

Up Next: Training results Thursday evening or Friday. Stay tuned!

[NAIWF]

Congrats on winning the # 1 spot in Group Play. At least I can say that neither team that advanced from our group beat me :) I'll be cheering you guys on though, since those other groups suck! :D

[Alf]

Yeah, that stupid head to head rule got me out of the cup. I have the same points as North Plainfield Plague but a better goal differential but I'm out.

Plus I played the two qualified teams at their place barely losing 2-1 each time !

Anyway, congrats to both of you and good luck for the rest of the competition.

[DataKing]

Week 10 Training Results

I am usually the first person to admit when I am wrong, and I am happy to admit that I was incorrect about Keith Stubbs in the training results update from last week. Keith has taken the next step towards becoming a fantastic central defender, and has reached excellent (8) defending.

Keith Stubbs

Jersey #20

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

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

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $91,000
Wage: $720 per week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Weak (4)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

Also of note this week is Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin, who improved to inadequate (5) experience.

Form Changes

7 players improved in form this week, including four starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: solid (7)
-Wingback Arlen Lucas: excellent (8)
-Forward Guido Metman: solid (7)
-Midfielder Pete “The Old Goat’ Tomlin: solid (7)

13 players saw their form remain the same this week.

2 players dropped in form, including one starter:
-Goalkeeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan: inadequate (5)

Overall we had a fine week of training, with Keith Stubbs’ improvement and a drastic increase in our overall form. “Corny” Jernigan struggled a little it in practice this week, but I am not going to concern myself greatly over this just yet. Hopefully it’s just a temporary dip in performance from our clutch keeper.

In The Zone

Wingback Tyler Willard remains “in the zone” this week with excellent (8) form, and is joined once again by his partner in crime, wingback Arlen Lucas. These two seem to feed off of each other, and comprise perhaps the most formidable defensive duo in all of series IV.49. They are joined “in the zone” this week by reserve midfielder Lucian Tere.

Form Dogs

Johannes Henriksson has the dubious honor of being this week’s only “form dog,” as he remains in weak (4) form. He has, however, shown some small signs of improvement over the course of the week, and we’re hoping that he will break out of his slump any day now.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $160,682 (+$3,727)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,535,000 (+$82,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

$300,000+
-Wingback Tyler Willard ($309,000)

Up Next: I will be out of town this weekend, so financial updates and our league match against Sweden Heights should be posted on Monday or Tuesday. Stay tuned!

[daedalus]

Have a good trip! :)

[DataKing]

Week 10 Youth Pull

Another mediocre talent off of the youth squad this week. Still, he might make a halfway decent striker trainee for someone. He will be listed for $1,000.

Michael Herron

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and poor (3) leadership abilities.

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $10,000
Wage: $540 per week

Stamina: Wretched (2)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Poor (3)
Scoring: Inadequate (5)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Weak (4)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

We’ll probably be calling up a goalkeeper next week. It’s not that we necessarily need one, but it seems like the talent level in the outfield is pretty diluted right now, and we’ve never promoted one of our keepers.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $53,385

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. SoccerWussies) - $159,000
Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Manhattan Marauders) - $3,957
Sponsors - $71,100
Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660
Temporary (mother club money from resale of Daniel Brown) - $600
Temporary (sale of Joseph Ruff) - $920

Total Revenue: $236,237

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Joseph Ruff) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Joseph Ruff) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $116,872

Net Income/Loss: +$119,365

New Balance: $172,750

The league match sellout against SoccerWussies helped our finances out immensely, and we’re back above the $100,000 “safety line” that I like to maintain.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Content (no change)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (up one level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (up one level)
Supporter Club: 1,492 (up 22 from last week)

Up Next: Our week 11 league match against Sweden Heights. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #11

Sweden Heights vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 15th, 2003
Venue: Sweden Heights Arena (New York, NY)
Attendance: 25,000 (25,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’re in one of my favorite places, New York City, this week for our match-up with 7th place Sweden Heights. Heights have a similar team to our own, with a very good defense. 32-year-old wingback Mats Claesson anchors the defense (3.5*, $112,000), and gets a great deal of assistance from 28-year-old central defender Patrik Flamkvist (3.5*, $210,000). Sweden Heights also have a pair of very good inner midfielders in 22-year-old Timothy Thomas (3.5*, $271,000) and Jan Jansson (4*, $523,000). The club also features one of the top scorers in the series, striker Tomas Leijonstal (2.5*, $47,000). All of these players will need to be marked closely today.

We expect today to be a tough one, as Sweden Heights have talent that belies their seventh place standing. Also, one cannot ignore the fact that we are on the road this week. With the overall talent level so even throughout much of the series, home field advantage can, and very often is, the difference between winning and losing.

Previous Meetings

4/27/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 2, Sweden Heights 0

We shut out the Heights at The Docks back in week four, which was our first victory of the season. Our opposition will certainly be looking for some measure of payback today on their home pitch.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We’ve got our standard starting lineup again this week, and will be pushing the ball up the right side of the pitch as much as possible, where we expect the defensive resistance to be weakest. Business as usual, really.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

25000 spectators had come to Sweden Heights Arena this cloudy day.

Heights tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Wilkinson - Claesson, Flamkvist, Domínguez - Stoner, Jansson, Thomas, Czerwinski, Song - Leijonstål, Lucero.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Metman, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

5 minutes into the game Tyler Willard was a hair´s breadth away from giving Screamin' the lead. A prompt block by Trent Wilkinson saved the home team that time.

Arlen Lucas of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 16:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

In the 28:th minute Mats Claesson almost put the home team one ahead on a cross pass coming in from the right, but the shot went wide.

Screamin's Valentín Rubio got himself booked after a foul. Heights were forced to a substitution as Marvin Stoner couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment.

Sam Cooper gave his Heights 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 37:th minute Heightss Mats Claesson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Pete Tomlin spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. Heights held the ball, with a clear 57 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Heights held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Heights player was without a doubt Jan Jansson. Sam Cooper was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Ben Mcmahon on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Sweden Heights 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

Lucas – yellow (suspended)
Rubio – yellow (suspended)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

Rubio: ***
Bautista: ***
Tomlin: **~
Ivarsson: ***
McMahon: **

Metman: ***
Tobias: **

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Right Attack: Excellent (8)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 71

Sweden Heights
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 65

Comments

Last week was one of the best weeks of the season for the Screamin’ Seamen, and we have followed that up with perhaps one of the worst weeks for us. I am really at a loss for explaining how it is that we lost today. Despite having the favorable match-ups, particularly with our strongest attack against Sweden Heights’ weakest defense, we were only able to generate one good attack early on, and weren’t able to capitalize. To make matters worse, Heights managed to score the only goal they would need, despite having an attack that is even worse than ours.

Despite the 1-nil deficit at halftime, I was still relatively optimistic. We tend to play our best soccer in the second half, due to superior conditioning, and I figured that our small midfield disadvantage would melt away. But we were never able to generate another scoring opportunity, and ended up on the short end of a 1-nil shutout. Painful.

To make matters even worse, we have two suspensions as a result of today’s match. Both wingback Arlen Lucas and winger Valentin Rubio will be inelligible for next week’s match, when we face the league-leading (and likely series champion) Croats in Miami. The timing could not have been worse.

As I mentioned earlier, home field advantage has played a tremendous part in this series thus far, and seems to be the deciding factor, with the talent level so even between the majority of teams. If you discount games involving the Syracuse Supers, the home team in series IV.49 has a record of 22 wins, 6 draws, and 5 losses. Thus far this season, our home record is 4-1-0, while our road record is 1-1-4. Winning on the road is proving exceedingly tough for everybody.

Series Scores and Standings

-Croats in Miami were dominant at home, defeating the lingering Big Reds, 4-1.
-SoccerWussies barely slipped past the Syracuse Supers, with a 2-1 victory.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion pushed their winning streak to five in a row, with a 4-nil drubbing of the Ramblers.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Croats in Miami 11 35-14 26 80
2. Big Reds 11 19-12 18 70
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion 11 27-22 18 68
4. Screamin’ Seamen* 11 21-14 17 71
5. Ramblers 11 22-20 16 67
6. SoccerWussies 11 16-23 16 61
7. Sweden Heights 11 20-21 15 65
8. Syracuse Supers 11 3-37 0 44
</pre></font>

If you’ve ever wondered what the ultimate logjam looks like in a series race, now you know. Croats in Miami will win the series with a match remaining against the lowly Syracuse Supers, but we do not expect them to let up on anyone, as they are still two points behind the automatic-promotion line. After that, it’s a complete and utter mess. A grand total of three points separate the 2nd and 7th place teams, so it is still possible for anyone to improve their standing, at the expense of others, naturally. Things are so tight that goal differential could very well make the difference, and in that respect we have the advantage at the moment with Big Reds, as both of our clubs sit at +7.

Week 12 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Croats in Miami
Ramblers vs. Big Reds
Syracuse Supers vs. Sweden Heights
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. SoccerWussies

Our undefeated streak at home is in jeopardy, as we host the red-hot Croats next week, missing two starters from the lineup. As a matter of fact, we’re going to have a hard time avoiding a relegation match, as our three remaining matches are against the Croats, Big Reds, and Ramblers.

Up Next: We host BishopMVP’s Concord Assassins in the FOFC Cup Round of 32. Stay tuned!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Ouch...what a brutal division, as great as your team is, even auto-demotion seems an outside possibility. :(

Are you considering a MOTS against Croats? Getting points there would really, really help. Of course, if they're putting up 80s in NSI, maybe MOTSing might not even be enough, considering your missing players.

If all of DIV is like this, I better not promote for 5 seasons.

[DataKing]

Originally posted by DukeRulesMAB
Ouch...what a brutal division, as great as your team is, even auto-demotion seems an outside possibility. :(

Are you considering a MOTS against Croats? Getting points there would really, really help. Of course, if they're putting up 80s in NSI, maybe MOTSing might not even be enough, considering your missing players.

If all of DIV is like this, I better not promote for 5 seasons.

I would have at least considered MOTSing against the Croats this week, but I feel that losing Lucas and Rubio puts us at too much of a disadvantage. Odds are, we will suffer our first ever league match loss at The Docks this week. But if we do, we're going down swinging (no PIC either).

And no, most of Div. IV is not this bad, at least from what I have seen. Series IV.49 was rated as the toughest series in Division IV this past week, and has been in the top-5 every week except for one this season.

So don't shy away from promotion. Just don't land here. :D

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Elimination Play – Round of 32

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Concord Assassins

Date: June 18th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 1,199 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

The club cruised through group play pretty well, and have advanced to the single-elimination portion of the FOFC Cup Tournament. Our first draw appears to be a difficult one, as we will be hosting BishopMVP’s Concord Assassins. I call this a difficult draw, because it looks as though the Assassins played their reserves in their league match on Sunday (or at least took it easy on their opposition, and were still victorious 3-nil). Odds are, we will be facing the Assassins’ starting squad today, which is no small task for our reserves. We have been preparing for such, and are as ready as we will ever be.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #5 Arlen Lucas
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

We will have our standard b-team personnel on the pitch today, but as usual we will be mixing up their individual orders a little bit. We expect to face off against a 3-5-2 formation today, with a healthy midfield to go along with that. To counter this, we’re going to try to give Smith and Tere some help in the middle. Winger Paul Peralta will be pinching in from the right side to help out, and defender Cameron McDonald has been ordered to carry the ball up-field as much as possible to help out. Hopefully this will be enough, and we will see relatively even possession ratings. If so, then I’d say that home pitch advantage and our superior defense should result in a win.

We shall see…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

1199 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

Assassins had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Schaaf - Bakker, Pettersson, Kardel - Trujillo, Huff, Eriksson, Russev, Greco - Demian, Häggner.

FIRST HALF

Christian Kvam of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 18:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Screamin' created a good opportunity to score in the games 22nd minute when Keith Stubbs`s hooked ball created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors defenders had a hard time clearing the ball.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. Assassins, bringing the final ball possession rate to 52 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

The referee showed Assassinss Kenny Häggner the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

A well placed corner kick from Johannes Henriksson was followed by Zarpas Lerma´s hard but accurate header. The nice combination meant 1-0 for Screamin'.

The crowd was silenced in the 73rd minute as the visiting teams Skip Huff came in from the left, levelling the score to 1 - 1.

In the games 76:th minute Assassins´s Nils Eriksson fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Nils Eriksson for taking a dive.

80 minutes into the game Pompiliu Demian was a hair´s breadth away from giving Assassins the lead. A prompt block by Darryl Read saved the home team that time.

Assassinss Lee Greco got himself booked after a foul. Jerry Smith the unlucky victim, couldn´t continue the game.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 57 percent possession of the ball.

OVERTIME

After the regular 90 minutes, the agonizing of overtime followed.

In 95:th minute of game time Assassins´s Lee Greco received his second yellow card and was sent off.

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

Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson was seemingly taken by the gravity of the moment, producing a badly laid penalty, blocked by Heiner Schaaf. Score still 1 - 1.

Assassins´s Stefan Pettersson cooly put the ball past Darryl Read. 1 - 2.

Screamin'´s Darryl Read cooly put the ball past Heiner Schaaf. 2 - 2.

Assassins´s Kenny Häggner penalty shot was very well placed but Darryl Read went the right way, blocking it spectacularly. The score was still 2 - 2.

Screamin'´s Lucian Tere looked insecure all the way from laying the ball down to clipping the ball miles wide of the crossbar. No goal.

Assassins´s Borislav Russev cooly put the ball past Darryl Read. 2 - 3.

Screamin'´s Paul Peralta was seemingly taken by the gravity of the moment, producing a badly laid penalty, blocked by Heiner Schaaf. Score still 2 - 3.

Assassins´s Skip Huff cooly put the ball past Darryl Read. 2 - 4.

Screamin'´s Mattias Leier had nerves of steel at the penalty, changing the score to 3 - 4.

Assassins´s Fulco Trujillo cooly put the ball past Darryl Read. 3 - 5.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Charlie Bautista. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating Assassins player was without a doubt Heiner Schaaf. Pompiliu Demian on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Concord Assassins 5, Screamin’ Seamen 3 (4-2 on penalty kicks)

Goals

Lerma – 1 (assisted by Henriksson)
Read – 1 (penalty kick)
Leier – 1 (penalty kick)

Cards

Kvam – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: **~
Lerma: **~
Stubbs: ***
McDonald: **
Leier: ***

Mauffret: **
Smith: *~ (injured, replaced by Bautista)
Bautista: ***
Tere: **~
Peralta: **

Henriksson: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 51

Concord Assassins
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 59

Comments

And so, our seasonal run in the FOFC Cup comes to a close. Last season we got as far as the quarterfinals, and obviously did not match that achievement this time around. Of course, the FOFC Cup field is much deeper now, with 84 teams participating, compared to the 32 participants in FOFC Cup II. And it did take the Assassins’ starters to beat us, and on penalty kicks to boot. All the same, we wish BishopMVP and his Concord Assassins the best of luck through the rest of the cup.

Despite the loss and the poor showing in the penalty kicks, there were some definite positive signs today. One of those comes from Johannes Henriksson, who, despite missing the first PK, put up his best performance in the last six weeks. His corner kick in the second half was dead on, and was the perfect height for Zarpas Lerma to head home. It looks like we were correct, that Henriksson is finally, if slowly, coming out of his horrible slump.

Jerry Smith’s injury is not as bad as we originally thought, which is another positive sign. We have brought in a couple of sports doctors to tend to his wounds, as well as to hopefully get Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin back to tip-top shape before our league match on Sunday.

Up Next: The weekly training update. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 11 Training Results

No significant improvement in our defensive trainees this week. However, we do expect Cameron McDonald, Mattias Leier, and Christian Kvam all to improve by the end of the season (McDonald to formidable, Leier and Kvam to excellent).

Form Changes

5 players improved in form this week, including two starters.
-Chuck Scales: solid (7)
-Valentin Rubio: excellent (8)

13 players had their forms remain the same.

4 players dropped in form this week, including two starters.
-Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin: passable (6)
-Niklas Ivarsson: weak (4)

In the Zone

Wingbacks Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, along with reserve midfielder Lucian Tere, all remain in excellent (8) form this week, and they are joined by winger Valentin Rubio. Wonderful timing, as both Lucas and Rubio are suspended from this weekend’s league match. :mad:

Form Dogs

As if things weren’t bad enough right now, starting midfielder Niklas Ivarsson’s form took a major dip this week, dropping two levels. He joins struggling striker Johannes Henriksson as this week’s form dog, at weak (4) form. :( Henriksson is improving, but slowly.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $163,864 (+$3,182)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,605,000 (+$70,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

$100,000+
-Defender Zarpas Lerma: $101,000

Up Next: The weekly youth pull and financial update on Saturday. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 11 Youth Pull

We weren’t able to unload last week’s youth pull, Michael Herron, and he has since been canned. This week, the mediocrity which describes our youth squad during the last half of this season continues. Despite being 17 years old, I highly doubt that anyone would be willing to pay for Juan Berman, this week’s product. He has been sent back to high school, where he belongs.

I probably should have pulled a keeper this week, but did not. That appears to have been a mistake. I will probably pull keepers for the remainder of the season, and see what we get.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $172,750

Revenue

Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Concord Assassins) - $3,158
Sponsors - $72,150
Temporary (6 new supporters) - $180

Total Revenue: $75,488

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Michael Herron) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Michael Herron) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $116,872

Net Income/Loss: -$41,384

New Balance: $131,366

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (down one level)
Team Confidence: Strong (down one level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Satisfied (down 2 levels)
Supporter Club: 1,498 (up 6 from last week)

Up Next: What is sure to be our toughest league match of the season, as we host Croats in Miami. Stay tuned!

[daedalus]

A question, if you don't mind . . .

A team in my division has a player name Arron Barrera (http://195.149.159.154/Common/playerDetails.asp?playerID=7397241). He put up 3-stars today in solid form. What I'm curious about is his value, which is at 314 000. What kind of defensive ratings am I looking at with that kind of value and performance?

[Havok]

My Solid defender puts up 3 stars in Solid form.

I'd say that guy just has a bunch of other good skills in winger,scoring etc knocking his value up.

[DataKing]

I have to agree with Havok on this one. Keith Stubbs typically puts up three stars for me in solid form at the central defender position. He just recently moved up to excellent defending, but has an assessed value under $100,000.

Barrera must have a couple of others skills also in the solid range that are boosting his value beyond that of a typical 3* defender.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #12

Croats in Miami vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 22nd, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 30,000 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We’re back home this weekend, thankfully, but have a very tall order in front of us; defeat the Croats in Miami. The Croats have all but locked up the series title, and have become the dominant team in the series, bar-none. However, we’re certain that they’re hungry for more. A victory today would seal the series title for them, and they’re also chasing the automatic promotion line (they’re two points behind it at the moment). We expect them to come at us with everything they’ve got.

The real strength of the Croats is their phenomenal midfielders, particularly Donald Blackwell (4.5*, $1,202,000) and Tony Allen (4*, $840,000). These two make for a lethal combination, and are complimented up front by striker George Herrmann (3*, $65,000), who is currently in the lead for the series scoring title (10 goals thus far).

Needless to say, today’s match is a daunting task. The series standings are so tight that every point counts, and we have a difficult road ahead of us during these last three weeks. Also on the line is our reputation at The Docks. We’ve never lost a league match at home, and have no intention of starting now. This has led us to try some odd tactics today in order to slow down the Croats, but more on that in a moment.

Previous Meetings

12/15/2002 – Screamin’ Seamen 5, Croats in Miami 1
3/16/2003 – Croats in Miami 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0
4/20/2003 – Croats in Miami 2, Screamin’ Seamen 2

As you can see, the all-time series between our two clubs is tied, with each club having a 1-1-1 record. Unless today’s match ends in a draw (not an entirely undesirable result from our perspective), someone will take the lead in this budding rivalry.

Formation: 4-4-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Like I said before, we’re going with some unusual tactics for today’s match. We’ve decided to go with a 4-4-2, 3 midfielder formation today. The reasons for this are many:

1. Valentin Rubio and Arlen Lucas are both suspended for this match. We’re not happy with any of our backups for Valentin, and he’s always been an attacking winger, who has never helped our midfield much anyway.
2. The strength of the Croats’ attack is right up the gut, so instead of a second winger, we’re giving Cameron McDonald his first start in league play. Cameron is there to help out Chuck Scales in the middle, and to help the midfielders move the ball up the pitch. He is also the only head specialist we will have on the pitch today (Lucas and Rubio are both head specialists), so he will play a key roll on corner kicks.
3. The Croats typically pinch in their winger on the left side of their formation, so we will not lose much from missing our winger on that side.
4. We know that we cannot even pretend to compete with the Croats in the midfield, so we aren’t even going to try. Instead, we will concentrate on stopping their attacks up the middle, and look for counter-attacking opportunities (McMahon, Bautista, and Ivarsson will all play offensively).
5. The one weakness of the Croats is their defense, so we should get some of these counter-attacking opportunities. We just have to make sure we make them count.

Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin is still not at 100% after getting dinged up in last Sunday’s match, so Lucian Tere will start in his place. Lucian has been playing very well as of late (excellent form) and Pete will be on the bench as a back-up, just in case. In place of the suspended Arlen Lucas, we will start our best wingback trainee, Mattias Leier.

Time to head to The Docks and see if this works. Cross your fingers…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Docks saw a crowd turnout of 30000.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. They fielded: Jernigan - Leier, Scales, Mcdonald, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Tere, Bautista - Metman, Tobias.

Croats started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Keys - Schofield, Göransson, Moustakis - Parish, Allen, Blackwell, Hand, Schwab - Broderick, Herrmann.

FIRST HALF

After 19 minutes Croats put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Alexander Parish finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post.

In the games 26:th minute Ulf Göransson nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through and fired from just outside the box, his shot passed just over the bar.

Halftime score was 0 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Croats, with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Croats came close to extending their lead as Lester Schofield delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was to sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal.

The visitors George Herrmann took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 62nd minute. 0 - 2 for Croats.

In the 68:th minute Croatss Antonis Moustakis received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Screamin's Charlie Bautista got himself booked after a foul.

In the 76:th minute Guido Metman passed through the guests central line of defense, scoring the 1 - 2 goal.

Croats, bringing the final ball possession rate to 63 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Tyler Willard. However, Ben Mcmahon made a disastrous appearance.

Most important Croats player was Donald Blackwell. However, Chris Keys made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Croats in Miami 2, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals

Metman – 1 (3)

Cards

Bautista – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **~

Leier: ***
McDonald: **~
Scales: ****
Willard: ****~

McMahon: **
Bautista: ***
Tere: **~
Ivarsson: **~

Metman: ***
Tobias: **

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: World Class (13)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 68

Croats in Miami
-Midfield: Formidable (9)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Outstanding (10)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 68

Comments

Our undefeated streak of nineteen straight league matches at The Docks, dating all the way back to the inception of the club, comes to an end. I realize that it had to happen sometime, but that does not make the pill any easier to swallow. The really frustrating part is that I know, had all of our starters been available, we could have at least earned a draw from the formidable Croats. Missing Lucas, Rubio, and The Old Goat all on the same day was just too much for us to overcome.

Now that I’ve had a little time to digest this loss, there are some positives to come out of the match. Our two defensive reserves that played, Mattias Leier and Cameron McDonald, both did pretty well, and we only conceded two goals to the Croats, despite a slumping “Corny” Jernigan in net. We had our second consecutive home sellout, despite the rather lackluster attitude of our supporters, which brings in a healthy $159,000 into the club’s coffers. We sustained no additional injuries, and were only carded once (Charlie Bautista).

Tyler Willard’s performance is also worthy of note, as he put up his (and the team’s) first ever ****~ performance. Tyler and Arlen Lucas are currently neck-and-neck for this season’s Team MVP Award.

Series Scores and Standings

-Ramblers completely dominated a struggling Big Reds side, 6-nil.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion were also dominant at home, whipping the SoccerWussies 5-nil.
-Sweden Heights had little trouble with the Syracuse Supers on the road, winning 4-1.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Croats in Miami 12 37-15 29 68
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion 12 32-22 21 69
3. Ramblers 12 28-20 19 70
4. Sweden Heights 12 24-22 18 63
5. Big Reds 12 19-18 18 70
6. Screamin’ Seamen* 12 22-16 17 68
7. SoccerWussies 12 16-28 16 58
8. Syracuse Supers 12 4-41 0 47
</pre></font>

The Croats in Miami have now clinched the division title, and will be pulling out all the stops to promote to Division III (I have seen no indication from him that he intends to be a water buffalo). Neon Genesis Evangelion is red hot, having won six straight, but face the Croats in the last match of the season. Either they or Ramblers should take second place.

As far as our own situation is concerned, things don’t look quite as grim as they might appear. The SoccerWussies have really tapered off, and with matches remaining against Ramblers (away) and Sweden Heights (at home), I suspect that they will be the ones to finish in 7th place and be relegated to Division V. For us, I think that steering clear of a qualification match will require wins in our last two matches. This is not an unattainable goal, however, as we play the struggling Big Reds next week (away), and finish the season at The Docks to face the Ramblers (who I suspect just MOTSed against Big Reds). If we win both, we should be able to take fourth place, or perhaps even third. If we lose one, we’ll have a qualifier in three weeks. If we get a draw in there somewhere, well, who the hell knows what will happen then. :D

Week 13 Matchups

Big Reds vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Sweden Heights vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Croats in Miami vs. Syracuse Supers
Ramblers vs. SoccerWussies

We’re on the road next weekend, which usually isn’t a good thing, but as I mentioned before, the Big Reds are struggling mightily. They’re actually winless in the last six weeks. We’ll be doing whatever we can to make sure that becomes seven weeks.

Up Next: We’ve arranged for a friendly match at The Docks against Big Lizards X1, an English 4th Division side. Stay tuned!

[The Afoci]

That would be tough to imagine you in a qualification match. Although dropping down a division, then moving back up would probably be a quicker way to DIII than staying in the division from hell!

[DataKing]

I plan on doing everything I can, within reason, to avoid relegation. Yes, it would probably mean an easy return to Division IV, but that would mean a boring season, and there are no guarantees. On top of that, I'd lose about 150 supporters and my sponsor money would drop significantly. Not an entertaining proposition when you consider my payroll (about $75,000 per week between players and staff).

If things go as planned, SSFC will be a serious contender in Div. III in three seasons.

[The Afoci]

I kind of figured you wouldn't want to drop a division in your plans to move up. Good luck the rest of the season and whoop some ass!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Seems like in your losses, you're getting largely outclassed in the midfield. Maybe it's time to trade in the Old Goat for a younger, better model?

[DataKing]

Originally posted by DukeRulesMAB
Seems like in your losses, you're getting largely outclassed in the midfield. Maybe it's time to trade in the Old Goat for a younger, better model?

I'd like to, but right now my money is earmarked for a solid coach. As soon as Coach Brown has been shown the door, then I'll be looking to upgrade, but not until then.

[Havok]

*cough*.......*cough*....sell Chuck Scales ....*cough*....*cough* to old to train....*cough*.....*cough* 1.2-1.5 million.... *cough....cough... :)

[DataKing]

Originally posted by Havok
*cough*.......*cough*....sell Chuck Scales ....*cough*....*cough* to old to train....*cough*.....*cough* 1.2-1.5 million.... *cough....cough... :)

Perhaps, once either Cameron McDonald or Keith Stubbs becomes a suitable replacement.

[Havok]

well, a Excellent defender is very suitable bro :)

I bet you still get at least a formidable central defence. And thats better then most in your divison :)

[daedalus]

Awesome. I was hoping it was spread out over a few different skills. He hasn't used him offensively the few games that I've looked so I'm hoping it's not midfield. Other than that, I don't really mind other ratings. :)

Thanks, y'all. :)

[Alf]

I only have passable defenderrs and get excellent to formidable defensive ratings. Of course they are in good form and my coach is defensive minded ! 2 get 2.5 stars, the 3rd one gets 2. Not bad hey ! And cheap.

[DataKing]

I guess I just don't subscribe to the "make my team better right now" which seems to pervade the FOFC teams at the moment. I don't think Hattrick is really set up for steady, small improvements. I think the current system is better-used for large-scale, drastic improvements to a team's talent level, basically at the end of each 3-4 season training "rotation."

You've all probably noticed that I do not buy passable defenders, train them up to solid, then sell them off for a small profit. I would rather take a passable defender, train them up to outstanding in three seasons, and then sell them off for a huge profit.

It does take patience, and despite my occasional pouting session or tirade after a loss, I do not feel the need to improve my team right now. I will take my lumps for the remainder of this season and next, and then start kicking butt and taking names.

But that's just me. Hattrick strikes me as a very long-term game, which is one of the things I love most about it. I have chosen a more long-term approach than most in these parts, that's all. We'll see how it all pans out.

[NAIWF]

I just wanted to say that I agree with you. Sometimes I look at Hatstats and wonder how much more I'd enjoy cruising through another series, but then realize it would be more harmful in the long run. Sure I COULD be in 1st in some places, but would have my ass handed to me on a weekly basis next season in D4. Right now I'm content with building up the defense knowing I can eventually switch to playmaking when I get further along.

Good for you for sticking to your guns and not worrying about immediate small improvements :)

[GoldenEagle]

Originally posted by DataKing
Hattrick strikes me as a very long-term game, which is one of the things I love most about it.

That and the fact that you have the second largest fan club in the US. :D

[DataKing]

Originally posted by GoldenEagle
That and the fact that you have the second largest fan club in the US. :D

That helps. :)

[robbgmaier]

This long term thing could lead to some heavy teeth gnashing for me next season. I'm currently training midfield, and plan to sell them when they get to formidable. On the other hand, I'm going to D-IV next season, and long term short term full term, I'm going to try and stay there. The question maybe, around the halfway point of the season, and I'm sitting on the relegation line, whether or not I should sell my solid or excellent midfield trainees and try and hang around.

Should be an interesting season.

[DataKing]

Interesting comments all around, guys. I'm actually kind of curious as to whether the short-term or long-term approaches are more beneficial, or if it all turns out to be a wash in the end.

[Havok]

I guess its all up to you bro. Yeah you could wait..... and in the long long run it would probally be worth it. bbbuuutttttt.........

Your defense is badass right now with a defensive coach and your 3 back-up defenders you'll still post awsome ratings :)

i say, sell your 3 formidables now and you'll be sitting on around 4 - 4.5 million. Buy 3 solid/passable back-up defenders and then you can build a kick ass midfield training program with the rest. Buy 3 17/18 year old starting solids and 3 17 year old passable trainee's all with good secondary's. Then with whatever you have left you can upgrade your offense some. By the end of next season you'll have 3 starting formidable midfielders and 3 back-up excellent midfielders. You'll be in divison III in no time!!! :)




P.S. - Im just trying to throw different ideas your way DK. I've grown very anti-defense over the past couple weeks and since you read my dynasty report you know why. I have a bad feeling that if you don't do something to upgrade your midfield at least some next season you might get regulated.

Since "The Supers" are so bad i have a feeling your gonna get another very very good divison V team in your divison next year.

[DataKing]

There is the distinct possibility of a small upgrade to the midfield in the near future. First I want to get up to $500,000 or so in the bank, at which point I will go for a solid coach. Assuming it does not take me all of that money to find a solid coach, the rest will probably be put towards a short-term (read: old, 30+) improvement at midfielder and/or winger. I'll be switching to playmaking training at the end of next season anyhow, so age is not a concern for any improvements I do make.

[Havok]

Arn't they changing the way you get coaches next season??? i don't think it will be random now. I think your just gonna pay for whatever you want.

Like 300,000 for a solid, 150,000 passable etc....

Might wanna try to find out before you try to randomly get one.

[DataKing]

I've been looking, but haven't seen anything on the way coaches will be handled now. Either way, one could still get lucky and get a solid coach for cheap, compared to whatever the new price will be.

[daedalus]

Originally posted by DataKing
Interesting comments all around, guys. I'm actually kind of curious as to whether the short-term or long-term approaches are more beneficial, or if it all turns out to be a wash in the end.
I think a long-term approach is more beneficial in the, uhh, long term. (I say this even though I've been a practioner of short-term approach.) When your defense training finishes at the end of next season, Scales and Lucas will probably be at high outstanding or low brilliant. That should more than last you awhile and, certainly, at least 2 levels (defense is a bit different because of how much keepers factors into defensive ratings). I also think Scales would be at the right age to "keep". I tend to feel like having someone over 24 at a position you're not going to train is sort of a waste of possible resource (Lucas will still be under 24 but I'm sort of partial to him.) That gives you 5-7 seasons (4, if you intend to sell them while they still fetch big money) to play with before Hattrick's Father Time comes knocking. That leaves you 3-5 trainees to sell (depending on position, keepers changes the number and time frame a bit) and should provide enough money to seed the next group of trainees AND provide upgrades at a few positions.

Just wanted to chime in with my two pennies. :)

[DataKing]

Right now, the plan (subject to change, obviously) is to sell four players in the formidable range, which should net me between 5 and 6 million.

1 million - two backup defenders, around excellent (4 current defenders will be kept)
2.5 million - Upgades at keeper and forward (1)
2.5 million - 10 trainees (6 IM, 4 Winger).

With an average of $250,000 to spend per trainee, we should have high quality training candidates.

[The Afoci]

That is very similiar to my plan right now. I have 2 solid middies up for sale for 90k. Assuming both sell, that is 180k. I recieve 162k of that. With that I plan to purchase a solid forward. Being I tend to over spend when I make purchases, that leaves me enough to restock with some Jif.

I will let the public decide which plan is better.

[sterlingice]

Realize that training wingers at IM is a really slow process... I wouldn't spend too much at that. You gain maybe 1 level of PM per year and I haven't even seen that.

SI

[dacman]

Originally posted by sterlingice
Realize that training wingers at IM is a really slow process... I wouldn't spend too much at that. You gain maybe 1 level of PM per year and I haven't even seen that.

SI

True, but I rotate my IM trainees so that all but a couple of them (A teamers basically) spend some time at winger. Adds to the total time to level up some, but I've seen many other PM trainers do the same. This also allows me to train my starting wingers in PM as IM's in friendlies, so the overall benefits are spread out more. Maybe not the best long term plan, but it works for me.

[daedalus]

I think Frogger does that, too.

[DataKing]

Originally posted by sterlingice
Realize that training wingers at IM is a really slow process... I wouldn't spend too much at that. You gain maybe 1 level of PM per year and I haven't even seen that.

SI

I believe that wingers receive 50% the training that inner midfielders do, but the other skills necessary for a decent winger (winger, passing, possibly defending) means that these players will be more expensive than your standard midfielder trainee, so the amount spent should be roughly the same.

Bear in mind, if I have 2.5 million to spend on trainees, I probably won't budget myself strictly $250,000 per trainee. I'll spend more on some (17 year old future-starters) and a little less on others (18-19 year old immediate starters). There is also the possibility of going after a future U-20 team possibility, as the start of season 21 will be the next time future U-20 players are pulled from youth squads.

Dacman brings up an interesting point, playing your wingers as inner midfielders in friendly matches so they receive full training. I can actually come up with good arguments for doing that, as well as having a full load of 10 trainees. You can have 8 trainees, 6 of which receive 100% training, or 10 trainees, 6 of which receive 100% training. The advantage to Dacman's approach is that all five of your midfield starters are receiving full training. An interesting decision, and one I will have to think about over the course of the next season.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Week 12 – International Friendly

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Big lizards X1

Date: June 25th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 2,030 (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Now that our run through the FOFC Cup has come to an end, it’s time to arrange a few international friendly matches before the end of the season. Our opponents this week are Big lizards X1, a 4th Division side from Sussex, England. The lizards run a very balanced 3-5-2 formation in their friendly matches, and should present us with a healthy challenge today. We do have two advantages in the match. First, we have two starters available due to suspensions this past weekend, and second, the match is here in Chicago, at The Docks.

Formation: 4-4-2

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #25 Paul Peralta

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Due to our running of a 4-4-2 formation on Sunday, we only have four defenders that need to play today, so we will run a box-standard 4-4-2 formation against the lizards. Arlen Lucas was suspended from Sunday’s match, so he will play at the left wingback position today. We’re going to try a bit of an experiment with Arlen today, as he will be playing in a much more offensive stance than he is used to. We want to see how much this affects our offensive and defensive capabilities on the left side of the pitch.

We’ve done a lot of shuffling with the midfield and forward positions today. Valentin Rubio was also suspended from Sunday’s match, and so will take the left winger position today. In the middle, we’re forced to play Lucian Tere and Niklas Ivarsson, both of which also played on Sunday. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin and Jerry Smith are both still dinged up from the injuries they’ve sustained recently, so they will sit this one out. We don’t want to risk further injury to either of them in a training match.

Up front, Paul Peralta will join Johannes Henriksson as our second striker today. Paul is one of those guys who can play nearly any position on the pitch with at least a small degree of ability, so he will get a rare opportunity to be one of our primary goal scorers.

Now it’s time for the spokesladies and I to head to The Docks. :D

Match Report

PRE-GAME

2030 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Tere, Mauffret - Henriksson, Peralta.

lizards had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Bowman - Heafield, Roelofs, Espinoza - Wallace, Beneitez, Brosjö, Harper, Kumar - Sisson, Mouthaan.

FIRST HALF

Many thought Paul Peralta ought to have been awarded a penalty shot in the 5:th minute, as he went down trying to circle the visitors keeper Paul Bowman.

8 minutes into the game Jim Sisson was a hair´s breadth away from giving lizards the lead. A prompt block by Darryl Read saved the home team that time.

Keith Stubbs received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 9:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

Ad Roelofs came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 13th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Darryl Read managed to tip the ball to a corner.

In the game's 17:th minute lizards´s Lars Brosjö limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

lizards took the lead in the games 77:th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Lars Brosjö was the scorer.

Due to some great work on the right wing Screamin':s Olav Mauffret was able to even the score in the 81st minute to 1 - 1.

Valentín Rubio was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Paul Peralta managed to kick one of them into 2 - 1 in the 83rd minute.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 61 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

Screamin'´s best player was Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The most dominating lizards player was without a doubt Ad Roelofs. Andrew Wallace on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Big lizards X1 1

Goals

Mauffret – 1
Peralta – 1 (assisted by Rubio)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: **~
Stubbs: ***
Lerma: ***
Lucas: ***~

Rubio: ***
Tere: **~
Ivarsson: **~
Mauffret: **

Henriksson: **
Peralta: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 55

Big lizards X1
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 47

Comments

Today’s match was a rather odd one. We saw a flurry of activity in the first seventeen minutes of the match, but no goals were scored, due in no small part to two excellent saves by keeper Darryl Read. After that, there was a long stretch in the middle of the match where neither team could muster up any serious scoring chances. That is, until the last thirteen minutes or so, which saw all three of the match’s goals. Rather odd, indeed.

Paul Peralta did pretty well for us at striker today, including tallying the game winner thanks to a terrific pass from winger Valentin Rubio. Arlen Lucas’ rating wasn’t what we’re used to seeing from him, but he is rather unaccustomed to playing with such an offense attitude. The experiment was a valuable one, though, as we now have a pretty good idea of what those sort of orders will do to our offensive and defensive ratings.

Up Next: The team’s training update for week 12. Stay tuned

[DataKing]

Week 12 Training Results

We saw no drastic improvements in our defenders this week, but as I mentioned in the last installment, we’re expecting to see better play from three of our defensive trainees very soon. Central defender Cameron McDonald and wingback Mattias Leier have each received eight weeks of training since their last “bump,” and wingback Christian Kvam has received seven weeks.

Form Changes

Five players improved in form this week, including two starters:
-Forward Johannes Henriksson: inadequate (5)
-Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson: passable (6)

Fourteen players saw their form remain the same this week.

Three players dropped in form this week, including two starters:
-Keeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan: weak (4)
-Forward Guido Metman: passable (6)

In The Zone

All four of our previous “in the zone” members remain in excellent (8) form this week: wingback Arlen Lucas, wingback Tyler Willard, winger Valentin Rubio, and reserve midfielder Lucian Tere. This week they are joined by another of our reserves, super-sub Paul Peralta.

Form Dogs

The good news is that both of our Swedes, forward Johannes Henriksson and midfielder Niklas Ivarsson, have improved. Johannes is definitely on his way out of his slump, and has risen to inadequate (5) form. Niklas Ivarsson’s drop was just a one-week event, and he regained the two levels of form he had lost last week, returning to passable (6) form.

The bad news is that this week’s “form dog” is none other than starting keeper, Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan. “Corny” has been slipping a bit the last couple of weeks, and has dropped to weak (4) form. We’re unsure yet as to whether or not he will play against the Big Reds on Sunday.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $168,955 (+$5,091)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,717,000 (+$112,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

We had a slew of these this week.

$100,000+
-Wingback Christian Kvam ($100,000)
-Central Defender Keith Stubbs ($112,000)

$200,000+
-Central Defender Cameron McDonald ($218,000)

$400,000+
-Wingback Arlen Lucas ($408,000)

Up Next: Our weekly youth pull (a goalkeeper this time) and the weekly financial update. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 12 Youth Pull

We decided to change things up this week, and see what sort of goalkeeper our youth squad could produce. The results, however, were no better than anything else we have seen recently. Shannon Romo would be worth more to us if he were dismembered and his organs were sold on the black market.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $131,366

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Croats in Miami) - $159,000
Crowd (friendly match vs. Big lizards X1) - $5,402
Sponsors - $72,600
Temporary (8 new supporters) - $240

Total Revenue: $237,242

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,912
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Juan Berman) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $45,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $119,412

Net Income/Loss: +$117,830

New Balance: $249,196

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Satisfied (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,506 (up 8 from last week)

Up Next: We’re back on the road, travelling to Ithaca, New York for a match against the Big Reds. Stay tuned!

[dacman]

Originally posted by DataKing
... Dacman brings up an interesting point, playing your wingers as inner midfielders in friendly matches so they receive full training. ...

I only do that now with 1 (one) of my wingers because the other is too old (27) to bother with -- however that will be changing next season as my week 12 youth pull (solid wing/passable passing/ inad play) will be replacing the older guy.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #13

Big Reds vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 29th, 2003
Venue: Big Reds Arena (Ithaca, NY)
Attendance: 24,008 (24,750)
Weather: Overcast

It’s getting down to crunch time, and we have a considerable task ahead of ourselves today. We’re on the road this week, certainly not our strong suit, in New York state to take on the Big Reds. The Reds are a struggling team, just like us, and are winless in their last six matches. Particularly painful was the 6-nil thrashing they sustained at the hands of the Ramblers last weekend in Detroit. In short, the Reds are a desperate team. And a desperate team is a dangerous team.

The Reds are a solid defensive team, and the key member of their defense is net-minder Martin Morgansson (3.5*, $416,000). They also boast a pretty good midfield, with Theo Juarez (4*, $599,000), Gareth Williams (4*, $601,000), and Mikey Streeter (4*, $762,000) all pretty good. We have our work cut out for us.

Previous Meetings

4/13/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 0, Big Reds 0

The only prior meeting between these two clubs was a scoreless draw, back in week two of the season.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

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

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’re returning to our usual 3-5-2 formation, but with a couple of changes. The most obvious change is that Johannes Henriksson has returned to the starting lineup, at least for this week. “Gump” Tobias has been rather cold as of late, and Johannes has been coming out of his slump, slowly but steadily, for the past month or so. We’ve decided to go with Johannes in today’s lineup, as we could use his set pieces expertise to set up headers in the goal box.

The other change this week is super-sub Paul Peralta starting on the wing in place of Ben McMahon. We’ve been less than pleased with Ben’s performance this season, and Paul has been playing quite well with our reserve squad as of late. Like Ben, Paul has more aptitude as a defensive winger, so we’re going to try something a little different with him. Tyler Willard, the wingback on the same side, will be making numerous runs up that side of the field, and Paul will be there to cover that defensive side when Tyler is playing up the field. We’re hoping that this will give us more offensive push up the right side, without sacrificing much in the way of defense.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

24008 spectators had come to Big Reds Arena this cloudy day.

Reds had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Morgansson - Sifres Belenguer, Lievonen, Conde - bin Saleh, Williams, Streeter, Juarez, Freixes - Rolfsson, Roth.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Peralta, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Henriksson.

FIRST HALF

The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 in the 3rd by a breakthrough from Gareth Williams, who unaided came in out of the right wing hooking the ball over the visitors keeper.

The referee showed Redss Willibald Roth the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Guido Metman spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

1 - 0 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Reds, with an impressive 58 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Screamin' were close to putting the equaliser away in the 47: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.

In the 57:th minute Screamin's Johannes Henriksson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Reds´s Magnus Rolfsson had an excellent opportunity in the 62nd minute, shooting on a through ball, but he missed the goal by miles!

A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Reds´s Magnus Rolfsson putting the lead up to 2 - 0.

The structure of the game started to change as Reds decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

Chuck Scales made several blunders at the end of the game, causing a good deal of unrest in the defensive line.

Reds held the ball, with a clear 58 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Reds´s best player was Mikey Streeter. However, Armas Lievonen made a disastrous appearance.

Most important Screamin' player was Chuck Scales. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Big Reds 2, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

Henriksson – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **~

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

Peralta: **~
Ivarsson: ***
Tomlin: **~
Bautista: ***~
Rubio: ***

Metman: **~
Henriksson: **

Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 76

Big Reds
-Midfield: Formidable (9)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 76

Comments

Sigh. Another week, and once again our opposition puts up one of their best performances of the season against us. This is getting very old, very quick, as we are once again f*cked over by the schedule. Big Reds get to finish the season next week against the Syracuse Supers, and so had no reason to be concerned over their team spirit. In fact, the way the schedule was arranged for this season, we were doubly screwed. During the first half of the season, we chased the Supers through the fixture orders, therefore facing teams fresh off a PIC victory. The second half of the season, we’ve been followed by the Supers, meaning that a team can MOTS against us with relative impunity. Foul, I say…a schedule most foul.

This match was frustration incarnate, as we were only able to muster one decent attacking opportunity, and squandered it. Johannes Henriksson received his first ever booking during a competitive match. He had never been booked in sixty-three matches prior.

Also, playing Tyler Willard offensively was apparently a mistake, as it appeared to make little difference, and if anything only weakened our defense on the right side. I doubt we’ll be trying that again any time soon.

These are the sorts of matches that make me wonder why I even bother. Just downright depressing. :(

Series Scores and Standings

-Sweden Heights fought hard, and managed a draw against red-hot Neon Genesis Evangelion, 1-1.
-Croats in Miami had their way with the Syracuse Supers, 8-nil.
-Ramblers had a little early trouble with SoccerWussies, but were victorious at home, 4-2.

<pre><font>
No. Team Played Goals Pts. NSI
1. Croats in Miami 13 45-15 32 68
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion 13 33-23 22 66
3. Ramblers 13 32-22 22 71
4. Big Reds 13 21-18 21 76
5. Sweden Heights 13 25-23 19 69
6. Screamin’ Seamen* 13 22-18 17 66
7. SoccerWussies 13 18-32 16 74
8. Syracuse Supers 13 4-49 0 44
</pre></font>

It sickens me to see that SSFC, with a goal differential of +4, has one more point than the SoccerWussies, who have a goal differential of –14. (OK DK, that’s enough. No more feeling sorry for yourself. :p ).

While 2nd through 5th place are still up for grabs, our situation has become much more simple. If we win next week against the Ramblers, we will have a relegation match to stay in series IV.49. If we lose to the Ramblers, then the SoccerWussies can grab the #6 spot from us with a victory over Sweden Heights. The SoccerWussies’ match will be at home, and we expect to see Sweden Heights PIC in order to prepare for their (most likely) relegation match.

Win next week, and we get a shot at staying in Division IV. Lose, and odds are we’re headed back down to obscurity. That’s about as simple as it gets, folks.

Week 14 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Ramblers
Syracuse Supers vs. Big Reds
SoccerWussies vs. Sweden Heights
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Croats in Miami

Up Next: We’ve arranged for a friendly match with Coffee Warlord’s Avengers at The Docks on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Keep the faith, DK! Whatever happens next week, we all know that long term, the Seamen are set.

[Coffee Warlord]

BTW DK, just for shits and giggles, Galesburg will be wielding the dreaded 2-5-3 vs the Seamen for this match. Be afraid. Be very afraid. :)

[DataKing]

Originally posted by Coffee Warlord
BTW DK, just for shits and giggles, Galesburg will be wielding the dreaded 2-5-3 vs the Seamen for this match. Be afraid. Be very afraid. :)

The match doesn't matter the tiniest little bit, so the Seamen will be unveiling their 5-4-1 "Buccaneer" formation. It should be interesting.

[Coffee Warlord]

*laughs*

This should be entertaining, at the very least. 2 weirdo formations pitted against each other.

Of course, I could go *really* weird and run a 4-5-1, just to scare you. :)

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Coffee Warlord
*laughs*

This should be entertaining, at the very least. 2 weirdo formations pitted against each other.

Of course, I could go *really* weird and run a 4-5-1, just to scare you. :)

Who are you and what have you done with CW?!?

SI

[Coffee Warlord]

Hey, if it was a legal formation, I'd bust out the 1-5-4 :)

[DataKing]

News and Notes from Screamin’ Seamen-Land

Headcase

Nicknames are a common occurrence among professional athletes, and the players for SSFC are no exception. There are currently a number of colorful monikers attached to players on the team, like Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin, Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan, and Forrest “Gump” Tobias. But one player who has been mysteriously lacking a nickname is the club’s star wingback, Arlen Lucas. That is, until now.

Mark Giangreco, a Chicago-area TV sportscaster, recently showed a small segment on his program which highlighted soccer players from the area. The segment was done to the song “Headstrong,” by Trapped, and mostly featured some of the bigger-name talent from the Chicago area, such as Stephen Cullen (striker for Streamwood United FC), Andre Bengtsson (midfielder for CrazyCoCo), and Noble Dejesus (defender for Green Man). However, one small section did show Lucas heading in a goal against SoccerWussies earlier this season.

Lucas’ teammates jumped at the opportunity, and began to call the tall wingback Arlen “Headstrong” Lucas. However, it was not long before the nickname had evolved (or some would say devolved) to “Headcase” Lucas, a reference to Arlen’s penchant for losing his temper with opposing players and referees alike. Indeed, “Headcase” Lucas is the most highly-penalized member of the club. But at least he has a cool nickname now.


Stay of Execution?

Rumors have been flying for many weeks now, regarding head coach Ken Brown and his future with the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club. The club has had what can only be described as a disappointing season, and will need to fight hard this Sunday if they are to avoid the possibility of relegation back to Division Five. Throughout all of the turmoil, one thing has remained constant; rumors that Coach Brown would be fired any week now.

With the season rapidly drawing to a close, and the Seamen in a dangerous 6th position in the standings, many thought that Brown’s time was drawing near. After the club lost this past weekend, a 2-nil defeat at the hands of the Big Reds, most were certain that the axe would fall on Brown come Monday morning. However, the front office has remained very quiet. It is now Wednesday, and Coach Brown is still with the club.

Silence from the team’s management has only served to fuel the fires of the rumor mill, and team owner Data King has also remained mute on the subject. Fans can only wonder exactly what is going on with their beloved Seamen, and what the future holds.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Week 13 – Training Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Galesburg Avengers

Date: July 2nd, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 874 (30,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’ve arranged for a training match this week with Coffee Warlord’s Galesburg Avengers. Our original attention was to have a training match during the off-season, when we could pit our starters against one another and not worry about losing training. An offensive vs. defensive showdown, if you will. Unfortunately, it does not look as though this is a possibility. The Avengers will most likely be looking at a qualification match for Division IV, and we most likely will have a relegation match coming up as well. So we’ve decided to have a regular training match instead, with no real bragging rights at stake.

Previous Meetings

1/1/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 2, Galesburg Avengers 1

We played host to the Avengers back on New Years Day, and we were the first ever training match for the Avengers. It was a 2-1 decision back then, but the Avengers have come a long way since then.

Formation: 5-4-1 “Buccaneer”

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

We’ve made a couple more changes to our standard 5-4-1 lineup today, as a result of the players we used this past Sunday. Paul Peralta took Ben McMahon’s usual spot on the wing against the Big Reds, so Ben will play the wing for us today, as well as handle the team’s set piece duties. Also, we went with Johannes Henriksson at striker on Sunday, which in turn has bumped “Gump” Tobias to b-team duties for this week.

We’re trying something a little different again this week, something I call the 5-4-1 “Buccaneer.” It is named after the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with their point-scoring defense. Basically, the 5-4-1 Buccaneer is a standard 5-4-1 formation, with everyone possible playing with an “offensive” mentality. This means that four of our five defenders, as well as all four midfielders, will be playing offensively. I’m curious to see what sort of results this formation will bring.

Time to find out…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

874 spectators had come to The Docks this cloudy day.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. They fielded: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Mcmahon - Tobias.

Galesburg had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. The following players had been chosen: Tirado - Andres Alvaro, Perales - Quiroz, Poulin, Farrell, Dommer-Toft, Shaffer - Mosley, Street, Boone.

FIRST HALF

After a fine move down the middle Forrest Tobias nearly gave the home side one up in the 6:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

Vladimiro Perales of Galesburg received a yellow card in the 8:th minute for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Ken Shaffer was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Daryl Mosley managed to kick one of them into 0 - 1 in the 9:th minute.

In the 18:th minute Christian Kvam went down in a suspected penalty situation after a challenge from the visitors right guard, but the referee, having a good line of sight, signaled to keep on playing.

18 minutes into the game Mattias Leier was really close to evening the score out with a dangerous long range shot, but the ball went just wide of the bar.

0 - 1 was the half-time score. This part of the game had been a standoff between the teams.

SECOND HALF

Forrest Tobias was just a finger´s breadth away from an equalizer for Screamin', but Arden Tirado managed to ward the closing shot off for a corner.

After a fatal mistake from the away teams right side defense in the 63rd minute, an alert Mattias Leier bagged the ball, evening the score to 1 - 1.

As David Dommer-Toft had, completely unprovoked, swept the legs out from under an opponent in front of a linesman, the referee gave the Galesburg player a red card without batting an eye.

Screamin' took the lead in the 70:th minute after a magnificent free kick. Ben Mcmahon adjusted the score to 2 - 1.

Tommy Joe Poulin of Galesburg received a yellow card in the 73rd minute for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Lucian Tere was the first to reach the corner kick, but his header was saved by the keeper. However, Screamin'´s Christian Kvam managed to get hold of the rebound and scored the 3-1 goal.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Most important Screamin' player was Cameron Mcdonald. However, Jerry Smith made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating Galesburg player was without a doubt Arden Tirado. Emerson Farrell on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Galesburg Avengers 1

Goals

Leier – 1
McMahon – 1 (GWG)
Kvam – 1

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: **~
Stubbs: **~
McDonald: ***~ :D
Lerma: **~
Leier: ***

Mauffret: **
Tere: **~
Smith: **
McMahon: **

Tobias: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 45

Galesburg Avengers
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 46

Comments

We were pleasantly surprised with the 3-1 tally in this one, and were expecting a much closer score, but we certainly had a number of advantages that played a factor. For starters, we obviously had a stamina advantage which played a large part in the second half, when we scored all three of our goals. It also certainly helped when Avengers’ David Dommer-Toft got tossed from the match halfway through the second half. The two goals that gave us the victory came after he was removed from the pitch. Our team spirit was horrible coming into the match as well, but I figure that home-field advantage helped to counteract that. Let’s hope that it helps just as much this Sunday.

We’re excited with the play of central defender and highly-touted prospect Cameron McDonald. Cameron put up the first ***~ performance of his career today. He was, one should note, the only defender who did not play in an offensive stance today. That certainly harmed the performance ratings of the rest of our defenders. I am also pleased with Estonian wingback Mattias Leier, who still managed a *** performance despite the offensive orientation.

I have mixed feelings regarding the 5-4-1 Buccaneer formation. While we certainly saw better attack ratings than we typically see with the 5-4-1, particularly along the wings, we were fortunate that this played against the disadvantage of the Avengers’ 2-5-3 formation (they pulled both wingbacks, and used two central defenders). Also, I am at a loss to explain the passable defensive rating on the left-hand side, where Mattias Leier was stationed directly behind Ben McMahon (who is a solid defender in his own right). It’s a quandary, but I certainly cannot argue with the results. We will have to consider the Buccaneer formation in next season’s FOFC Cup.

Up Next: Training results on Thursday evening, and then some big news. Stay tuned!

[GoldenEagle]

Big News??? Anyone want to speculate?

I am going to have to go with the removal of the coach at SSFC.

[The Afoci]

I think he is planning to take the world over with an army of some sort of animal that has been altered to be much meaner than the original one. That would be cool.

[Doug5984]

I think it is going to be a new head coach also, but maybe DK could be selling 'old' Chuck Scales?

[Coffee Warlord]

Ooh oooh! I know! I know!

Not telling though. Nyah ha.

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Coffee Warlord
Ooh oooh! I know! I know!

Not telling though. Nyah ha.

Ah, so apparently the big news is that after losing his game, CW also lost a bet and now has to clean the entirety of the Docks before DK's next fixture :D

SI

[Coffee Warlord]

Actually, the Docks are going to be host to a massive Crawfish boil. I didn't wanna tell Afoci though. :)

[DataKing]

Hush! You're going to ruin the surprise! :p

[The Afoci]

Originally posted by Coffee Warlord
Actually, the Docks are going to be host to a massive Crawfish boil. I didn't well tell Afoci though. :)

You will regret that statement when the Army of Crawfish with Laser Blasters instead of Claws is on the edge of Galesburg! MUHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHHHAHHAA!!!

[Coffee Warlord]

Mmm. Sounds good. I'm getting hungry anyway.

Can you tell those crawfish to hurry up? The water's boiling and I'm ready to eat!

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Coffee Warlord
Mmm. Sounds good. I'm getting hungry anyway.

Can you tell those crawfish to hurry up? The water's boiling and I'm ready to eat!

Mmm... I'll help. I have a giant pot of gumbo just waiting for some meat.

SI

[GoldenEagle]

I am not a big crawfish fan. I did like them but when I started playing Hattrick, I stopped. I just think one of them is going to jump at me with a laser beam and blow me up.

[The Afoci]

Everybodies a funny man until someone loses their eyes to laser blasts. You have been warned!

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by The Afoci
Everybodies a funny man until someone loses their eyes to laser blasts. You have been warned!

/me sets up a large mirror array so the crawfish cook themselves.

SI

[DataKing]

Week 13 Training Results

Two of the three trainees that we are expecting improvements from soon have “popped” this week, wingback Mattias Leier and central defender Cameron McDonald.

Mattias Leier

Position: Wingback
Jersey: #17

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

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

Nationality: Estonian
Assessed Value: $172,000
Wage: $1,104 per week

Stamina: Passable (6)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)

Cameron McDonald

Position: Central Defender
Jersey: #18

18 years old, inadequate (5) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and wretched (2) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $211,000
Wage: $1,000 per week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Poor (3)
Scoring: Weak (4)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Formidable (9)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

Form Changes

Four players improved in form this week, including two starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: excellent (8)
-Forward Johannes Henriksson: passable (6)

14 players saw their form remain the same this week.

Four players dropped in form this week, including one starter:
-Forward Guido Metman: inadequate (5)

The good news is that Johannes Henriksson has officially recovered from his slump. The bad news is that Guido Metman continues to be a form yo-yo, dropping right before the most important match of the season. Still, we expect these two to play for us up front on Sunday against the Ramblers.

In The Zone

We have four different starters at excellent (8) form this week, which is certainly good news. Wingbacks Arlen “Headcase” Lucas and Tyler Willard remain in excellent form, as does winger Valentin Rubio. This week they are joined by midfielder Charlie Bautista. Reserve midfielder Lucian Tere remains in excellent form as well.

Form Dogs

Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan remains this week’s “form dog,” which is a reason for concern. All the same, Corny will still probably start in net for us on Sunday, as reserve keeper Darryl Read isn’t much better off.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $171,909 (+$2,954)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,782,000 (+$65,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

$300,000+
-Defender Chuck Scales ($302,000)

Up Next: Some big news from the front office. Stay tuned!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Wow, 18-YO formidable, that is *nice*. Will he be sold after next year (presumably being your most valuable sell), or will he at his young age be sticking around as a Seaman virtual lifer?

[DataKing]

Originally posted by DukeRulesMAB
Wow, 18-YO formidable, that is *nice*. Will he be sold after next year (presumably being your most valuable sell), or will he at his young age be sticking around as a Seaman virtual lifer?

Whether or not he sticks around depends on what happens with his form over the course of next season. He has been a bit of a "form dog" up to this point, but if he shows consistent and decent form, he may very well replace Chuck Scales as our starting central defender. He should be roughly equal to Scales in skill level by the end of next season.

As much as I like Chuck, I really do hope that Cameron pulls his form around. The idea of having two head specialist defenders on the back line (along with Arlen Lucas) makes me *drool.* :D

[DataKing]

Say Goodnight, Mister Brown

(AP – Chicago) For some, the announcement was long overdue. For those living in caves, it is a complete surprise. But for most, it was expected, and the timing is just about right.

Early Friday morning, Data King, team owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, announced that the team’s head coach, Ken Brown, had been released, and that the remainder of his contract had been bought out by the organization.

“It is with a heavy heart that I make this announcement,” stated King to various members of the sports press. “Ken has been our coach since the very beginning, and has been an integral part of the Screamin’ Seamen family. Unfortunately, things have not worked out as well as we all would have liked. Coach Brown and I have spoken on numerous occasions over the past weeks regarding this, and we both agree that it is the right thing to do at this juncture.”

King also announced that former assistant coach Jack Stein would act as interim manager for the time being. Stein has been an assistant with SSFC since the club’s inception, and has been primarily responsible for the team’s strikers and their development.

“We have full confidence in Jack [Stein] and his ability to focus the club for the last couple weeks of the season,” stated King as he introduced Stein to the press. “He has a difficult task ahead of him, but we are quite confident that Coach Stein is up to the task.”

Stein answered a few questions from the press, and implied that fans would see a much more aggressive game plan on Sunday than they were used to seeing.

Ken Brown is reportedly “in seclusion” for the time being, and was unavailable for comment.

Ivan Phillip Freely is an Associated Press reporter for the Chicago Soccer Enquirer.


[B]Jack Stein

Age: 40

A poor (3) coach who is fond of attacking.
A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has solid (7) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Truth be told, Jack doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming our permanent coach. He is strictly temporary, and will be fired at the end of next week, so as to reset our team spirit once again. We actually paid $20,000 for Jack, as our first coach pull was disastrous, and I had no intention of losing that much from our training this week.

Up Next: Our youth pull and weekly financial update. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 13 Youth Pull

This week’s pull was so bad, it is almost funny. Tony Kidd is supposedly an 18 year old goalkeeper prospect. I will not disgrace this dynasty report by actually listing his attributes. Let’s just say that stamina was his best ability, and that was wretched (2). You do the math.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $249,196

Revenue

Crowd (friendly match vs. Galesburg Avengers) - $2,337
Sponsors - $72,900

Total Revenue: $75,237

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Shannon Romo) - $2,000
Temporary (coaching change) - $20,000
Staff & Specialists - $45,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $138,872

Net Income/Loss: -$63,635

New Balance: $185,561

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Content (down one level)
Supporter Club: 1,506 (no change)

Up Next: A potential make-or-break match, as we host the Ramblers to finish off the season. Stay tuned!

[dacman]

A quick peek at the new IV.49 teams for season 20.

4 Tortioses SC V.120 1 94 10 84 42 replaces SoccerWussies IV.49 7 19 34 -15 16

Hmm...a mid-60's ratings team replaced by a low-40's ratings team.

111 JP8 V.254 1 53 8 45 39 replaces Syracuse Supers IV.49 8 4 55 -51 0

A high 40's ratings team replaces another high 40's ratings team.

Looks like your replacing a decent team and a bad team with TWO bad teams. What I want to know is how the hell can Tortioses be the #4 promotee out of D5 with such awful ratings (relatively speaking).

DK, you are a lucky bastard. :)

[DataKing]

Originally posted by dacman

DK, you are a lucky bastard. :)

I think I've earned a little karmic pay-back this season.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #14

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Ramblers

Date: July 6th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 30,000 (30,000)
Weather: Overcast

It all comes down to this, boys and girls. Today we play host to the Ramblers, with potential automatic relegation to the 5th Division on the line. The situation is pretty simple. If we win today, we guarantee ourselves a relegation match next weekend. If we draw or lose, then our fate will be decided by the results of the match between the 5th place Sweden Heights and 7th place SoccerWussies. A victory by Sweden Heights would guarantee us a relegation match as well, even if we lose.

The Ramblers have a number of good players, but their real star is 30 year old winger Phillip Gallo. He is valued at over $1,000,000, and is capable of putting up ***** performances. Arlen “Headcase” Lucas and Ben McMahon will be stuck to him like glue today (we hope).

Previous Meetings

1/5/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 2, Ramblers 2
2/23/2003 – Ramblers 1, Screamin’ Seamen 2
4/6/2003 – Ramblers 4, Screamin’ Seamen 0

We’ve played the Ramblers three times previously, and the series is all tied up at 1-1-1. We got the better of them last season, but they spanked us in Detroit back in week 1, 4-nil (which I still suspect was an ill-advised MOTS on their part). Today we hope to take some measure of revenge for the embarrassment back in April.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters (# start w/ SSFC, *s last time out)

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan (22nd start, **~)

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen “Headcase” Lucas (42nd start, ****)
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales (43rd start, ****)
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard (22nd start, ***~)

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon (40th start, **)
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin (40th start, **~)
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson (15th start, ***)
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista (44th start, ***~)
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio (14th start, ***)

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson (39th start, **)
Forward: #12 Guido Metman (8th start, **~)

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read (25 career starts)
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier (3 career starts)
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere (31 career starts)
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias (32 career starts)
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta (15 career starts)

If the Ramblers are one thing, they are predictable. They always rely heavily on Phillip Gallo and a strong left-side attack, so we will be stacking the right side of our defense against them. Arlen Lucas and Ben McMahon will both play defensively along the right side, and should receive some help from Chuck Scales and The Old Goat (our best two-way midfielder).

The real weakness of the Ramblers is that they play an asymmetrical 3-5-2, and never use a wingback on their right side. Obviously, we’ll be attacking heavily on the left, with winger Valentin Rubio and midfielder Charlie Bautista pushing the ball up the pitch at every opportunity.

We have two real advantages today, which give me hope. First off, we are at The Docks, and the players are plenty ticked off about their first ever league-match loss at home two weeks ago to the Croats. I expect a healthy home field advantage today. Our other advantage is height. The Ramblers don’t have any starters that are good header-players, while we have serious height with both Arlen Lucas and Valentin Rubio on the pitch. For this reason, I have decided that Johannes Henriksson will play for us today. He seems to have recovered from his horrible slump, and is the most skilled player we have at corner kicks.

We’re also returning the captain’s armband to Johannes. I’m hoping that will give an additional psychological edge to our players.

Time to put up or shut up.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 30000 at The Docks today.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Henriksson.

Ramblers had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Chugg - Arredondo, Powell, Campos - Sanden, Whittington, Maddox, Holmes, Gallo - Hansson, Barik.

FIRST HALF

Ramblerss Gerhard Sanden got himself booked after a foul.

Ramblers took the lead in the games 13th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Bhima Barik was the scorer.

In the 23rd minute Screamin's Pete Tomlin received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

In the 25:th minute the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 2 as Kurt Arredondo finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick.

In the 26:th minute Ramblerss Stefan Hansson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Niklas Ivarsson the unlucky victim, couldn´t continue the game.

0 - 2 was the half-time score. Ramblers held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

In the 68:th minute Ramblers put themselves up 0 - 3 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Gus Whittington.

After 70 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Eric Holmes who increased Ramblers´s lead to 0 - 4.

The structure of the game started to change as Ramblers decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 51 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson was a disappointment, however.

Most important Ramblers player was Philip Gallo. Kurt Arredondo on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Ramblers 4, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

Tomlin – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **~

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

McMahon: **
Tomlin: **~
Ivarsson: ** (injured)
Tere: **~ (replaced Ivarsson)
Bautista: ***~
Rubio: ***

Henriksson: **
Metman: **~

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: World Class (13)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Outstanding (10)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 72

Ramblers
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Outstanding (10)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 70

Comments

The perfect finish to a perfectly crappy and frustrating season. All of the advantages belonged to us (head specialty, home field advantage, formation matchups), but the ball and the referees seem to have their own ideas about how the match should go. Looking at the match ratings, I cannot for the life of me understand how we got shelled, 4-nil. Their best attack (outstanding) was lined up against our WORLD CLASS right defense. Our best attack (outstanding left attack) was pitted against their passable right defense, and we didn't have a single good scoring opportunity, despite possession that was practically even. I just don’t get it, and I don’t want to think about it any more. Time to move on.

(grumble) (grumble) (grumble)

To add injury to insult, the injury to Niklas Ivarsson is a considerable one. He has a severe ankle sprain, thanks to a careless tackle by Ramblers’ striker Stefan Hansson, and will almost certainly miss our qualification match next week.

(grumble) (grumble) (grumble)

Series Scores and Final Standings

-Luck was on our side today, as Sweden Heights did us a huge favor and defeated the SoccerWussies, 2-1.
-Big Reds finished off the season with a bang, crushing the Syracuse Supers, 6-nil.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion played spoiler today, drawing with the Croats in Miami, 2-2, and ruining any hopes the Croats had of automatic promotion.

<pre><font face=courier>
No. Team W-D-L Goals Pts. NSI
1. Croats in Miami 10-3-1 47-17 33 61
2. Ramblers 8-1-5 36-22 25 70
3. Big Reds 7-3-4 27-18 24 69
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 7-2-5 35-25 23 68
5. Sweden Heights 6-4-4 27-24 22 67
6. Screamin’ Seamen* 5-2-7 22-22 17 72
7. SoccerWussies 5-1-8 19-34 16 77
8. Syracuse Supers 0-0-14 4-55 0 46
</pre></font>

Ramblers, Big Reds, and Neon Genesis Evangelion all shuffled around a bit in the final week, but otherwise the standings remained the same. We owe Sweden Heights a big, wet, sloppy kiss for beating SoccerWussies, allowing us to play a qualification match even though we lost today.

Qualification Week Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Jedi Mind Tricks (Series V.63)
Sweden Heights vs. Izzy’s Diaper Bombers (V.169)
Miami Redskins SC (Series III.13) vs. Croats in Miami

Neither Sweden Heights nor our club should have much difficulty with next weekend’s qualification matches. Both of our opponents seem to be a little weak, as far as Division V clubs go, and neither has ever put up an NSI rating of 60 or better.

The match between Croats in Miami and Miami Redskins SC should be a good one, as the teams look to be pretty evenly matched. The Croats are capable of putting up the better midfield, but the Redskins have a much better supporting cast, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Both clubs are capable of putting up an 80 NSI rating. This should be one to watch on Sunday.

Up Next: Malvineros F.C., an Argentinean 4th Division side, has agreed to come to The Docks for an international training match on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Man, that had to have sucked.

On the other hand, I don't know if you noticed, but SoccerWussies *clearly* outplayed Sweden Heights at home getting a better NSI and a better midfield, and still lost. So at least your bad luck got spread around to the team you needed to have it. :)

Kick some ass this week!

[sterlingice]

Well, either you spent a past life on the "Urinate on Every God's Altar, Every Disciple's Grave, and on Every Place of Worship's Front Steps World Tour", or your due for some karmic payback next year. :D

SI

[DataKing]

Originally posted by sterlingice
Well, either you spent a past life on the "Urinate on Every God's Altar, Every Disciple's Grave, and on Every Place of Worship's Front Steps World Tour", or your due for some karmic payback next year. :D

SI

All right, who snitched?

;)

[Desnudo]

Edit: Sorry, wrong post. Nice recap though btw.

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Desnudo
Edit: Sorry, wrong post. Nice recap though btw.

Been there, done that- happens to the best of FOFC (and the rest of us, too). :D

SI

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Week 14 – International Training Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Malvineros F.C.

Date: July 9th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: (30,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Malvineros F.C., an Argentinean 4th Division side has agreed to come to Chicago this week for an international training match. There’s absolutely nothing at stake here today, except perhaps a little bit of pride for the club. We would very much like to get a win, even a meaningless one, if for no other reason than to remove some of the sting from Sunday’s loss to the Ramblers.

Formation: 5-4-1 “Buccaneer”

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #7 Lucian Tere
Set Pieces: #13 Darryl Read

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ve decided to run the Buccaneer formation again today, just for grins. I’m a little curious to see what sort of ratings it gives us with an offensive coach (Jack Stein) at the helm. Other than that, it’s pretty much business as usual for us today.

The one odd thing is that keeper Darryl Read will be taking the set pieces for us today. I know it seems weird, but Darryl is actually the best set piece player we will have on the pitch today.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Docks saw a crowd turnout of 1480.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Peralta, Tere, Smith, Mauffret - Tobias.

Malvineros tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Serrano - Reinders, Caro, Fisscher - Coulon, Camara Villar, Kurkawa, Koompakan, Hess - Gillery, Jadudova.

FIRST HALF

A well placed corner kick from Jan Fisscher was followed by Kasem Koompakan´s hard but accurate header. The nice combination meant 0-1 for Malvineros.

Masakazu Kurkawa could have put his team up another one in the 12th minute, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post.

13 minutes into the game Forrest Tobias was really close to evening the score out with a dangerous long range shot, but the ball went just wide of the bar.

0 - 1 was the half-time score. Malvineros, bringing the final ball possession rate to 60 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Malvineros´s Masakazu Kurkawa made it through the home teams defence in the 51st minute, and had only to place the ball in an unguarded goal when the home side´s defender sprang up from the left, clearing the ball on the line.

The game had been on for 53 minutes when Kasem Koompakan broke through to the right, upping the score to the home crowd´s dismay. Malvineros´s were up 0 - 2.

Malvineros´s Jan Fisscher received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 55:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 3. The home crowd was not pleased with that one.

After this Malvineros lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts.

After the ball got lifted in from the left Laurent Gillery was on his own in the home side´s penalty area 56 minutes into the game, and should have scored, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration.

Malvineros, bringing the final ball possession rate to 59 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

Screamin'´s best player was Zarpas Lerma. Jerry Smith on the other hand, had a terrible day.

The most dominating Malvineros player was without a doubt Hugo Serrano. Marcos Caro was a disappointment, however.

Final Score: Malvineros F.C. 3, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam (off): ***
Stubbs (off): **~
Lerma: ***
McDonald (off): **~
Leier (off): ***

Peralta (off): **
Smith (off): *~
Tere (off): **~
Mauffret (off): **

Tobias (off): **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 41

Malvineros F.C.
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 57

Comments

We were manhandled pretty badly today, not that it really matters much. Our ratings were a good deal lower than we are used to, but there are a couple of easy reasons for this to identify. First of all, our offensive coach has skewed the ratings some, but even more obvious is that, after the difficulties we’ve had at the end of the season and the recent MOTS against Ramblers, our team spirit is in the crapper.

Not much else to say today, really. I cared very little about this match. All of my thoughts are bent on Sunday, and making sure that we remain in Division IV.

Up Next: Weekly training results. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 14 Training Results

None of our defensive trainees showed any dramatic improvement this week, though we’re certain that Norwegian wingback Christian Kvam and Spanish defender Zarpas Lerma are relatively close. There were, however, a number of other significant changes this week.

Form Changes

2 players improved in form this week, including one starter:
-Goalkeeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan: Inadequate (5)

16 players saw their form remain the same this week.

4 players dropped in form this week, including two starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: Solid (7)
-Central Defender Chuck Scales: Passable (6)

Bautista and Scales don’t concern me much, as both are still in pretty good shape. The real good news here is that Corny appears to be coming out of his slump, which I am very glad to see. I did not relish the idea of benching him this weekend for our qualification match.

Experience

Two of our players improved in experience this week. Wingback Tyler Willard improved to wretched (2) experience. Also, injured midfielder Niklas Ivarsson improved to inadequate (5) experience. Unfortunately, Niklas is nursing a severe ankle sprain, and will not be available to play on Sunday.

Old-Timers

Father time seems to be catching up with some of our older players. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin dropped to solid (7) stamina this week. More painful is winger Valentin Rubio’s loss of a level of passing skill, to inadequate (5).

In The Zone

We’ll have four players in excellent (8) form on the pitch this Sunday. Wingbacks Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, along with winger Valentin Rubio, all remain in excellent form. Also in excellent form is reserve midfielder Lucian Tere, which is great timing, since he will be playing in place of the injured Niklas Ivarsson.

Form Dogs

Reserve midfielder Jerry Smith is this week’s form dog, as he is in weak (4) form for the second week in a row (I believe I forgot to mention Jerry in this section last week).

Player Values

Average Player Value: $173,182 (+$1,273)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,810,000 (+$28,000)

Assessed Value Milestones

Not a true milestone this week, but worthy of mention nonetheless is wingback Arlen Lucas. This week, Arlen becomes the most highly valued member of the entire club, with an assessed value of $445,000, (keeper “Corny” Jernigan is presently valued at $431,000).

Up Next: Our weekly youth pull disappointment and financial update. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 14 Youth Pull

For the first time in quite a while, our youth squad has turned out a quality promotee. Tracy Cheatham should make a fine two-way midfielder or winger someday. Midfield and winger trainees take note.

Tracy Cheatham

Listed As: Winger
Asking Price: $90,000
Deadline: 7/16/2003 @ 20:13 HT-Time

17 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

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

Specialty: Powerful

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $98,000
Wage: $960 per week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Inadequate (5)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Passable (6)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Poor

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $185,561

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Ramblers) - $159,000
Crowd (friendly match vs. Malvineros F.C.) - $3,909
Sponsors - $72,900

Total Revenue: $235,809

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Tony Kidd) - $2,000
Temporary (coaching change) - $10,000
Staff & Specialists - $45,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $128,872

Net Income/Loss: +$106,937

New Balance: $292,498

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Content (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,492 (down 14 from last week)

Our supporters were none too pleased with the 4-nil drubbing we took in the last week of the regular season, and fourteen of them left the supporter club. Hopefully we’ll be able to get them back this week after winning our relegation match on Sunday.

Up Next: It’s do-or-die (figuratively speaking), as we host Jedi Mind Tricks to see who earns the right to play in the Series Of The Beast [tm] next season. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Relegation Match

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Jedi Mind Tricks

Date: July 13th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: (30,000)
Weather: Sunny

This is it, ladies and gentlemen. The moment you’ve all been waiting for, but were hoping would never come. Today we have our relegation match against the Jedi Mind Tricks. The winner earns the right to play in the Series Of The Beast [tm] next season, while the loser is stuck in Division V for at least one season.

Talent-wise, he have a definite edge over the Jedi Mind Tricks. They do have a few quality players, but also have some gaping holes in their lineup that we will hope to take advantage of. Here is a small preview of three of the key players for Jedi Mind Tricks:

Cody Brothers (Goalkeeper): Cody is a solid keeper, who has been playing quite well as of late. He has pitched shut-outs in his last two matches, but the amount of support he will receive from the back three of the Jedi Mind Tricks is suspect. (Value: $467,000, ***~ last time out).

Gilbert Skelton (Inner Midfielder): At only 19 years old, Gilbert is a fine attacking midfielder who has a knack for finding the net. He has tallied numerous scores this season, and does a good job of contributing to possession as well. (Value: $460,000, ***~ last time out).

John Hammond (Forward): Hammond is an experienced and dangerous striker, who excels at pulling away from slower defenders. He has scored an impressive 15 goals this season in league play. Unfortunately for John, it is a scorching summer day here in Chicago, so he will have to conserve his energy or have problems in the second half. (Value: $214,000, *** last time out).

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters (# start w/SSFC, *s last time out)

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan (23rd start, **~)

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen “Headcase” Lucas (43rd start, ****~)
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales (44th start, ****)
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard (23rd start, ****)

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon (41st start, **)
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin (41st start, **~)
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere (33rd start, **~)
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista (45th, start, ***~)
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio (15th start, ***)

Forward: #12 Guido Metman (9th start, **~)
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson (40th start, **)

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

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read (25 career starts)
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier (3 career starts)
-Midfielder: #25 Paul Peralta (15 career starts)
-Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias (32 career starts)
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret (31 career starts)

Absent from the lineup is one of our usual inner midfielder, Niklas Ivarsson. Niklas is nursing a severe ankle sprain sustained in last week’s match against the Ramblers, and will be replaced by veteran back-up Lucian Tere. We’re fortunate that Lucian has been playing extremely well as of late (excellent form), and should fill in nicely. He may have some trouble though, as we’ve got scorching weather today, which is a deficit to the big man. But “The Old Goat” Tomlin and Charlie Bautista should both more than make up for this, as they thrive on days like this (both are technical specialists).

Jedi Mind Tricks have a respectable attack, but we should have a significant edge over them on possession, so we should be able to keep the ball away from them, and especially John Hammond. Defensively, the Mind Tricks are suspect, particularly on the right side of their defense. As a result, we’re tilting the offense towards the left, with both midfielder Charlie Bautista and winger Valentin Rubio pushing the ball up the left side of the pitch at every opportunity.

One other change this week is in our substitutions. Reserve midfielder Jerry Smith would normally be our reserve midfielder in a situation like this, but he has been playing horribly as of late. As a result, super-sub Paul Peralta will be our substitute midfielder, while Finn Olav Mauffret will take Paul’s usual spot as out reserve winger for the day.

Time to head for The Docks and get ready. But first, I think I need a drink to calm my nerves…

Match Report

PRE-GAME

A scorching day at The Docks, where 29990 spectators were in place for today’s match.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Henriksson.

Jedi had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Brothers - Mcdonald, Marx, Brown - Everett, Garcia, Skelton, Sacristán, Barandiarán Pied - Hammond, Tolbert.

FIRST HALF

The crowd was amused as Jason Tolbert of Jedi used a few interesting tricks and dribbles to get into the penalty box. The finish wasn’t very amusing, though.

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.

After an industrious effort down the middle Guido Metman could have closed the game off in the 9:th minute, but his finishing shot hit the post.

1 - 0 was the half-time score. The forty-five minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 60 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Pete Tomlin should probably have put his team up another goal in the 61st minute, but some great goaltending by Cody Brothers kept the visitors in the game.

Neal Brown of Jedi received a yellow card in the 69:th minute for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Johannes Henriksson almost managed to score another goal for Screamin', but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie.

Unsportsmanlike behavior by Neal Brown rendered him his second booking of the match, and Jedi had to finish the game with a reduced squad.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 70 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Most important Screamin' player was Arlen Lucas. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

The most dominating Jedi player was without a doubt Gilbert Skelton. Cole Everett on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Jedi Mind Tricks 0

Goals

Tomlin – 1(1, GWG)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

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

McMahon: **
Tomlin: **~
Tere: **~
Bautista: ***
Rubio: ***

Metman: **~
Henriksson: **

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Formidable (9)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 69

Jedi Mind Tricks
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-Experience: Poor (3)
-NSI: 50

Comments

Success! By the way the teams played on the pitch, the score should have been rather lop-sided, I can honestly say that I don’t give a damn. We won today, and that’s all that matters. We’ve earned the right to play in The Series Of The Beast [tm] for at least one more season, and that suits me and the rest of the team just fine.

Although Arlen Lucas was the official Team Match MVP, Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin was the Man Of The Match as far as I am concerned. His early goal stood up as the only tally of the game, and he came very close to giving us a 2-nil lead early on in the second half. Mad props have to be given to Cody Brothers, the goalkeeper for the Jedi, however. He played a fantastic game, stopping two great scoring chances in the second half, in order to keep things close. Unfortunately for him, he got no goal support from the rest of his club, as the attackers of the Jedi just did not have an answer to Arlen Lucas, Chuck Scales, and Tyler Willard.

Elsewhere in Series IV.49

-In the other relegation match from the series, Sweden Heights absolutely demolished Izzy’s Diaper Bombers (interesting name), 8-nil. It was a completely lop-sided affair, as the Bombers appeared to make no effort to even make the match competitive. Sweden Heights remain in the series.

-In the qualification match, Croats in Miami fell to Miami Redskins S.C., 3-1, and will remain in series IV.49 as well. The match was actually proof that midfield isn’t everything. Croats had the midfield advantage (54% possession to 46%), but were out-played on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. All the possession in the world won’t do you any good if you can’t do anything with it. (NSI ratings were 85 for Miami Redskins S.C. and 78 for Croats in Miami).

So, aside from two auto-promotees (who will be summarily dismissed at the end of next season, barring a miracle), the clubs comprising The Series Of The Beast [tm] will remain the same for at least one more season.

Up Next: A friendly match with vexroid’s N.E. Oklahoma Sidekicks. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Qualification Week – Training Match

NE Oklahoma Sidekicks vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: July 16th, 2003
Venue: Sidekick Stadium (Oklahoma)
Attendance: 947 (31,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’ve arranged for a friendly match with vexroid’s NE Oklahoma Sidekicks for this week, and have agreed to travel to Oklahoma for the match. Our supporters have been none too pleased with us as of late (although winning our qualification match on Sunday helped), so we thought it best to get out of Chi-Town for a couple of days.

Frankly, we expect to get smoked today. The Sidekicks had no qualification match on Sunday, so we should be facing their starters today. This match is for training purposes only, as far as I am concerned, and there is nothing at stake whatsoever.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #7 Lucian Tere
Set Pieces: #13 Darryl Read

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ve got our typical reserves on the pitch today, but will be reverting back to a box-standard 5-4-1 formation. The reason for this is two-fold. First off, we want to get an idea of how our players will perform with the new rules in place. We want to use today’s match as a base-line, particularly to help determine whether Keith Stubbs or Cameron McDonald will be our new starting sweeper (more on that in a later post).

The second reason is that this is the first match for our new head coach (more on him later as well). He is the new “neither attack nor defense minded” coach, so I want to see what sort of ratings we can expect with him at the helm.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

947 spectators had come to Sidekick Stadium this cloudy day. Sidekicks had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation.

The following players had been chosen: Podboj - Johnson, Alonso, Thompson - Needham, Andersson, Stensson, Anduaga, Issjö - Tuvin, Perez.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Tobias.

FIRST HALF

After a fine move down the middle Patrik Tuvin nearly gave the home side one up in the 2nd minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

Göran Andersson received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 3rd minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

After a fine move down the middle Keith Perez nearly gave the home side one up in the 20:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

After 33 minutes of play, the free-spirited Ola Issjö decided to aim straight for the goal as he struck a free kick from the corner of the pitch. The ball deflected off a defender and went out of bounds.

After 35 minutes Sidekicks´s Admir Podboj contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game.

Sidekicks had a good opportunity to take the lead as Patrik Tuvin came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of Darryl Read.

39 minutes into the game Olav Mauffret had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Ben Mcmahon.

In the games 41st minute Screamin'´s Cameron Mcdonald fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Cameron Mcdonald for taking a dive.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 0. Sidekicks held the ball, with a clear 78 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Sidekickss Alanzo Anduaga gave, after 60 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

In the 64:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Byron Johnson dashed through, knocking home 2 - 0 for Sidekicks.

Cameron Mcdonald made several blunders at the end of the game, causing a good deal of unrest in the defensive line4.

Sidekicks, bringing the final ball possession rate to 78 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Sidekicks player was without a doubt Göran Andersson. Ola Issjö on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Screamin'´s best player was Keith Stubbs. Jerry Smith on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: NE Oklahoma Sidekicks 2, Screamin’ Seamen 0

Goals

None

Cards

McDonald – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Kvam: ***
Stubbs: ***~
Lerma: ***
McDonald: ***
Leier: ***~

Mauffret: *~ (injured)
McMahon: **~ (replaced Olav Mauffret)
Smith: *~
Tere: **~
Peralta: **~

Tobias: **~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: World-Class (13)
-Central Defense: Supernatural (14)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 58

NE Oklahoma Sidekicks
-Midfield: Excellent (8)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Formidable (9)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Experience: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 62

Comments

Our defense did a good job of keeping the Sidekicks off the board in the first half, but it was only a matter of time before they found their way through, especially with the massive possession advantage that they enjoyed. I look forward to trying out the “counter-attack” tactic once it comes out with the 5-4-1 formation, as well as perhaps the “play destruction” tactic.

Our defensive ratings were impressive, to say the least. To be honest, I always felt that the defensive ratings provided by the 5-4-1 formation were rather “cheap,” for lack of a better term, but it appears that it has been tweaked some. Five defenders plus a keeper should form a considerably defensive wall, and that is certainly what we enjoyed today.

We have solved our dilemma regarding Keith Stubbs and Cameron McDonald, at least for the time being. It is obvious from today’s match that Keith is better-prepared to step in for Chuck Scales than Cameron McDonald is. After the match, we announced to the club that Keith would be our new starting sweeper, until I say otherwise.

Up Next: Results from this week’s training. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

News and Notes from Screamin’ Seamen-Land

Seamen Hire Permanent Coach, Stein Given The Boot

Data King, team owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, held a press conference on Tuesday to announce that SSFC had found its new head coach. He announced that thirty-four year old Ioan Fluieras, native of Ploesti, Romania, had been hired as the new head coach for the Seamen.

“We are very pleased to announce Mr. Fluieras as the new head coach for the Screamin’ Seamen,” announced King to various members of the press. “Ioan [Fluieras] brings with him a great deal of experience, both as a former player and as a coach, moreso than one would expect of a man of relatively tender years.”

Fluieras has a relatively colorful history within the soccer world. He spent seven years as a midfielder for Fremen Spirit, one of the premier 2nd Division sides in his native Romania. Unfortunately, his playing career was cut short when he was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer. After two years of treatment, Fluieras beat the odds and his cancer went into remission. Unfortunately, his playing days were over at that point.

After a failed attempt to regain his lost skills, Fluieras instead turned to coaching. He initially landed a position as an assistant coach with Motaneii, a Romanian 4th Division club. It was there that he first met Lucian Tere, currently a reserve midfielder for the Screamin’ Seamen. Tere claims that a great deal of his skill as a midfielder came from his training under Motaneii.

Tere, who also attended Tuesday’s press conference, commented to the press. “Ioan [Fluieras] quickly earned my respect when I was playing for Motaneii, and he taught me a great deal. I always felt that he would make an excellent head coach someday, and when Mr. King announced that he was looking for a new head man, I recommended that he take a look at my old friend.” The rest, as they say, is history.

By all accounts, Fluieras is a solid trainer, and does quite well at developing young talent. However, the one criticism of the man is that he does not have a strong sideline presence, and is really more of a practice-field coach than a game-day leader. “This was definitely taken into account during our interviews with Ioan,” stated King regarding this issue. “We feel that we have plenty of on-field experience and leadership as it is, with veterans like Pete [Tomlin], Niklas and Guido [Metman] on the pitch.

Financial terms were undisclosed, but it is believed that Fluieras carried a price tag in excess of $250,000.

Ioan Fluieras

Age: 34

A solid coach who is neither attack nor defense minded.
A controversial person who is balanced and dishonest.
Has formidable experience and poor leadership abilities.


[I]Fluieras Makes His Move, Sweeper Scales Sent to Sweden

Ioan Fluieras, the new head coach of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, wasted no time in making alterations to the club’s roster. On Friday morning, Fluieras and team owner Data King announced that Chuck Scales, the Seamens’ starting sweeper for the past three seasons, had been sold to the Lunden Loafers, a Swedish 4th Division side. The price tag was a considerable $1.1 million, by far the largest transfer the club has ever been involved in.

“We’re sorry to see Chuck [Scales] go,” stated King at Friday’s press conference, “but we also know that it is the best thing for the club in the long run. We have some good young talent that we feel is ready to fill Scales’ considerable shoes. Both Keith [Stubbs] and Cameron [McDonald] have shown a great deal of promise thus far at the sweeper position, and we’re positive that one of them will really step up and take over.”

King and Fluieras were unwilling to name either Stubbs or McDonald as the official replacement for Scales in the starting rotation. However, reliable sources have indicated that 20-year-old Keith Stubbs will start at the centerback position at the open of next season’s U.S. Open Cup.

King stated that he had opened up practically all of the money earned in the Scales transfer to Fluieras, who in turn stated that he was looking to shore up the club’s midfield and striker positions. No specific details were given, however.

[DataKing]

Qualification Week Training Results

Both of our remaining solid defensive trainees improved to excellent defense this week. Excellent news.

Christian Kvam

Position: Wingback
Jersey #24

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

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

Specialty: Head

Nationality: Norwegian
Assessed Value: $116,000
Wage: $924 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)


Zarpas Lerma

Position: Central Defender
Jersey #21

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

A pleasant guy who is balanced and upright.
Has disastrous (1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: Spanish
Assessed Value: $129,000
Wage: $888 per week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Inadequate (5)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Disastrous (1)
Defending: Excellent (8)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

Also this week, starting keeper “Corny” Jernigan improved to weak (4) experience. This is more good news, with the increased importance of experience now in the Hattrick engine.

Form Changes

1 player improved in form this week, a starter:
-Goalkeeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan: passable (6)

14 players saw their form remain the same this week.

6 players dropped in form this week, including 4 starters:
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: passable (6)
-Injured midfielder Niklas Ivarsson: inadequate (5)
-Wingback Arlen Lucas: solid (7)
-Wingback Tyler Willard: passable (6) (down 2 levels)

I guess we have to take the good with the bad this week. We had nice improvement skill-wise this week, with the improvements by Kvam and Lerma, as well as the improved experience and form for Corny. However, the average form for our starters got hammered, and our starting wingbacks have finally come back down to earth, after spending a lot of time at excellent (8) form.

In The Zone

Only one player on the roster remains in excellent form this week, Argentinean winger Valentin Rubio.

Form Dogs

Reserve midfielder Jerry Smith continues to be a disappointment, and remains in weak (4) form. Another disappointment is Cameron McDonald, who after a couple of weeks with respectable form, has dropped back down to weak (4) as well. That is unfortunate for Cameron, as it makes Keith Stubbs the likely replacement for Chuck Scales in the middle.

Player Values

Average Player Value: $171,714 (-$1,468)
Total Player Value (21 players): $3,615,000 (-$195,000)

Note that the sale of Chuck Scales means that these numbers are heavily deflated, compared to last week’s values.

Assessed Value Milestones

$200,000+
-Wingback Mattias Leier ($204,000)

Up Next: The weekly youth pull and financial update. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Qualification Week Youth Pull

This week’s youth pull is about as useful on the pitch as the Sesame Street character with the same first name. Elmo Walton has been summarily fired, and will be seeking employment in the children’s television industry.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $292,498

Revenue

Crowd (relegation match vs. Jedi Mind Tricks) - $79,400
Crowd (friendly match vs. NE Oklahoma Sidekicks) - $2,529
Sponsors - $72,450
Temporary (annual supporter dues) - $44,760
Temporary (14 new supporters) - $420
Temporary (sale of Chuck Scales) - $1,012,000

Total Revenue: $1,211,559

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $32,372
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Tracy Cheatham) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing of Chuck Scales) - $1,000
Temporary (2 transfer listings for Tracy Cheatham) - $2,000
Temporary (hiring of head coach Ioan Fluieras) - $268,700
Staff & Specialists - $45,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $390,572

Net Income/Loss: +$820,987

New Balance: $1,113,485

With over $1 million in the bank, we’re obviously looking at a very busy off-season on the transfer market. Fans can expect to see some improvements in the midfield as well as a new striker wearing SSFC black and red next season.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Irritated (down 2 levels)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (up 1 level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (up 2 levels)
Supporter Club: 1,506 (up 14 from last week)

Not that any of this really matters, as these factors will be reset soon during the off-season. I would like to point out, however, that the fourteen supporters who left last week came crawling back, $30 in hand, begging our forgiveness. :D

Up Next: More off-season news and team awards, as well as the first ever voter-decided Team MVP award. Stay tuned!

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by DataKing
Qualification Week Youth Pull

This week’s youth pull is about as useful on the pitch as the Sesame Street character with the same first name. Elmo Walton has been summarily fired, and will be seeking employment in the children’s television industry.


Does he have a high pitched voice?

SI

[DataKing]

Originally posted by sterlingice
Does he have a high pitched voice?

SI

Not any more. We tore out his vocal chords in disgust before firing him.

It's too bad that he sucked, really. Elmo "Tickle Me" Walton has a nice ring to it. :D

[DataKing]

I'm a little bit behind with this part of the dynasty report, chronologically, and still need to take care of a couple of things before I officially close this chapter of the SSFC dynasty.

However, with U.S. Open Cup matches starting this evening, I have also started a new thread for the 4th season of the Screamin' Seamen. I will run these two threads concurrently until I close this one out. The new thread can be found here (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11862)

I would also like to point out that, instead of me determining who this past season's Team MVP was, I will leave that decision up to the fans (you folks, I hope). As this is Hattrick-specific dynasty, I have posted the voting poll for the Team MVP award in the Hattrick Forum section. You can find it there, or follow this link (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11864)