Hattrick Newbie: Frankfort United (HELP!)

[DukeRulesMAB]

So I've taken the plunge into what appears to be a real cool game. I got my team about 30 minutes ago, and have taken over Frankfort United in Series V.22

The season, of course, is underway. We've already been bounced from the Cup, and we're 0-2 thus far with a scary ass goal margin of 1-7. Hopefully, that was just the result of non-management. There are no obvious bot teams in this series, but I don't know the tells.

First thing I do: up to 20K in the Youth Squad. I will have great youth facilities; it's a must. :)

My coach is inadequate with weak leadership skills...I assume I should bounce him? What's the minimum I should be seeking there? And what (if any) secondary staff should I be bringing in?

Without further ado, the squad:

Arthur Eaton (11025303)
30 years, poor form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has inadequate experience and wretched leadership abilities.


Speciality: Unpredictable

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 51 000 US$
Wage: 920 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Solid defender, nice start. Could be a potential transfer to raise funds.

Chad Felton (11025300)
25 years, poor form, healthy

A controversial person who is temperamental and honest.
Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities.


Speciality: Unpredictable

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 14 000 US$
Wage: 600 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Well, he's not that old at least. Doesn't do much for me, though.


David Brisebois (11025288)
27 years, weak form, healthy

A popular guy who is tranquil and honest.
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 95 000 US$
Wage: 1 220 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Inad keeper, definately someone to have at this level, I'd guess.


Enrique Linera (11025304)
25 years, poor form, healthy

A controversial person who is temperamental and honest.
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 9 000 US$
Wage: 560 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Guessing this is about as good as the playmaking is gonna get for me. Maybe I'm wrong.

Giampaolo Novara (11025289)
21 years, weak form, healthy

A nasty fellow who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 97 000 US$
Wage: 1 080 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

This guys looks real good to me, but I'm new to the game and likely a moron on this. I will probably list him, as I have better current options all over the midfield.

Herbert Rudd (11025291)
25 years, poor form, healthy

A popular guy who is calm and honest.
Has wretched experience and weak leadership abilities.


Speciality: Powerful

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 8 000 US$
Wage: 540 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Not sure what this guy is supposed to be, should I just fire him or list him and hope?

Ignacio Escrivá (11025292)
22 years, poor form, healthy

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

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 16 000 US$
Wage: 600 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Either an inad winger or defender; dunno what to think of him.

Jacob Knapp (11025294)
20 years, wretched form, healthy

A popular guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has wretched experience and solid leadership abilities.


Speciality: Head

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 54 000 US$
Wage: 800 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Career Goals: 0
Career Hattricks: 0
League goals this season: 0
Cup goals this season: 0

Looks like a starting forward to me. Young, too.


Jesse Mcwhorter (11025301)
28 years, passable form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and honest.
Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 45 000 US$
Wage: 860 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

I don't have much in the way of "solid", so this works for me.

Kenneth Clifford (11025295)
24 years, passable form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is tranquil and honest.
Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 34 000 US$
Wage: 720 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Hey, a passable playmaking midfielder. Should I be worried that his passing is that suck-tacular?


Kevin Macartney (11025290)
25 years, poor form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and upright.
Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities.


Speciality: Quick

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 30 000 US$
Wage: 700 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Another passable winger...I get the feel we'll be able to put an almost-all passable or better team on the pitch, at least.

Lloyd Hoyle (11025293)
21 years, inadequate form, healthy

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

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 11 000 US$
Wage: 560 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Ugh, I guess he's a forward with the passing? I'd rather him just not see the pitch.

Mack Snow (11025296)
31 years, inadequate form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has inadequate experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 1 000 US$
Wage: 500 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Will be released at first opportunity.

Mark Schaeffer (11025299)
30 years, poor form, healthy

A controversial person who is balanced and dishonest.
Has inadequate experience and weak leadership abilities.


Speciality: Powerful

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 2 000 US$
Wage: 500 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Ditto


Milton Watts (11025298)
24 years, wretched form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities.


Speciality: Head

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 17 000 US$
Wage: 600 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Young-ish solid winger...I definately see being able to let go some others on the team.

Sonny Travis (11025297)
22 years, poor form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is fiery and upright.
Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 40 000 US$
Wage: 740 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Career Goals: 0
Career Hattricks: 0
League goals this season: 0
Cup goals this season: 0

Geez, another one. We are gonna have to sell some of these guys and bring in some defense, cuz we have absolutely none.

William Morales (11025302)
23 years, poor form, healthy

A controversial person who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 48 000 US$
Wage: 800 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

The other forward. Not bad.



So there we go...my questions

- In CM, it's bad to "burn out" your young players by playing them too much. Is that the case here as well?

- Wingers should play on the side midfield, correct? Like the primary skill in a 4-4-2 would look:

goaltending
defense --- defense --- defense --- defense
winger --- playmaking --- playmaking --- winger
scoring --- scoring

- I've decided to train Playmaking at 75%; is that ludicrous for some reason I'm not aware of?

Going by that, my team (to me) looks like:

Brisebois
Escrivá --- Eaton --- ??? --- ???
Watts --- Travis --- Clifford --- Mcwhorter
Morales --- Knapp


I will be attempting to get at least two, probably 3 defenders off the transfer wire. A backup keeper who has a pulse, as well.

Of the 8 non-starting players, my inclination on them is the following:

Keep as backup: Felton, Linera, Maccartney
List: Novara (start at 90K), Hoyle (start at 5K)
Release: Rudd, Snow, Schaeffer

Any massive mistakes there?

[Qwikshot]

If you sell your star winger I would try selling Novara at 200k. Keep him train him...sell Eaton for about 100k.

Before you do anything...check your opponents out...see what their strengths are...they may all be 3-5-2's...Ultra Nox is in one tough division...I started out with three solid defenders, and sold one to make some cash (I'm a transfer junkie)...and realized that I had some teams in my division with massive firepower...and had to buy a solid defender to replace the one I've sold...

Young wingers are hard to find...the worse thing that could happen is that he doesn't sell for 200k, it's a 1k back to you...put him on the market for 150 then...I have a feeling that you'll be pleasantly surprised...but I could be wrong.

For best team lineups...go to www.mybestteam.tk
The website will give you insight into your team, you can make adjustments, but it'll definately let you know who you should play and who you shouldn't

Don't go hog wild in the transfer market, read some of the dynasties, they'll point you in the right direction...

From a quick glance your main area of weakness that you will have to concentrate on is midfield...which is why I would keep Novara (for now at least) as you have very few other decent options...


Good luck

[Doug5984]

"In CM, it's bad to "burn out" your young players by playing them too much. Is that the case here as well?"
No.

"Wingers should play on the side midfield, correct? Like the primary skill in a 4-4-2 would look:

goaltending
defense --- defense --- defense --- defense
winger --- playmaking --- playmaking --- winger
scoring --- scoring"
That is correct.

"I've decided to train Playmaking at 75%; is that ludicrous for some reason I'm not aware of?"
Playmaking is good, but train at much higher than 75%, you should never go below 90%, and the rule of thumb is if you hire some psycotheropsists (sp?) you can raise it to 100%

"Going by that, my team (to me) looks like:

Brisebois
Escrivá --- Eaton --- ??? --- ???
Watts --- Travis --- Clifford --- Mcwhorter
Morales --- Knapp"

I didn't look at your roster reallly closely yet so I can't comment here.

"I will be attempting to get at least two, probably 3 defenders off the transfer wire. A backup keeper who has a pulse, as well.

Of the 8 non-starting players, my inclination on them is the following:

Keep as backup: Felton, Linera, Maccartney
List: Novara (start at 90K), Hoyle (start at 5K)
Release: Rudd, Snow, Schaeffer

Any massive mistakes there?"

I would see if you can find a good passable keeper on the transfer market, another thing your teams form isn't to great right now....when buying players you should look to make sure they have decent form as it is very important....
And 1 more thing- Your really good forward, Knapp is also a team 'Clown' which raises the team spirit, and clowns alone sell for around $70K- So you got a great player in him...definatly keep him.

[Nyarlahotep]

Your team's form is horrible, so you should deffinately train at 100% to help improve that. However, you need to train stamina a couple weeks off the bat and kill the form a little more first.

[Havok]

your team doesnt look to bad at the moment. Train form for a week or 2 then train stamina for 1 or 2 weeks Then move on to playmaking. You should buy at least 5-6 assistant coaches, and 5 Physiotherapists and bump your training level up to 98%. Also pick-up up 1 spokesperson and 2 goalkeeper coaches. Ill say my peice about your squad......


Arthur Eaton (11025303)
30 years, poor form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has inadequate experience and wretched leadership abilities.


Speciality: Unpredictable

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 51 000 US$
Wage: 920 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

very good Central defender, i'd keep him around

Chad Felton (11025300)
25 years, poor form, healthy

A controversial person who is temperamental and honest.
Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities.


Speciality: Unpredictable

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 14 000 US$
Wage: 600 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

He'd be a good back-up winger, maybe even a starter. But his lack of good secondary skills kinda hurts. But his salary is low and he's not that old. i'd keep him a round for now.


David Brisebois (11025288)
27 years, weak form, healthy

A popular guy who is tranquil and honest.
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 95 000 US$
Wage: 1 220 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

keep him, he's your starter for now or if you decided to buy a passable GK he'll be a good back-up

Enrique Linera (11025304)
25 years, poor form, healthy

A controversial person who is temperamental and honest.
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 9 000 US$
Wage: 560 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


He's a back-up middy at best, his lack of any good secondary skills hurts him alot.


Giampaolo Novara (11025289)
21 years, weak form, healthy

A nasty fellow who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 97 000 US$
Wage: 1 080 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

This guy is nice, he's a very good offensive inner mid, and since your training playmaking he will only get better.


Herbert Rudd (11025291)
25 years, poor form, healthy

A popular guy who is calm and honest.
Has wretched experience and weak leadership abilities.


Speciality: Powerful

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 8 000 US$
Wage: 540 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Can this guy


Ignacio Escrivá (11025292)
22 years, poor form, healthy

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

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 16 000 US$
Wage: 600 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

he's probally a starting Wingback for you now. Once you get a couple better starting Wingback's he will make a good back-up.


Jacob Knapp (11025294)
20 years, wretched form, healthy

A popular guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has wretched experience and solid leadership abilities.


Speciality: Head

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 54 000 US$
Wage: 800 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Career Goals: 0
Career Hattricks: 0
League goals this season: 0
Cup goals this season: 0

if i were you i'd play this guy at forward in league games, then play him at innner mid during friendly's so he gets the playmaking training. One day he'll be a very good offensive Middy.




Jesse Mcwhorter (11025301)
28 years, passable form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and honest.
Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 45 000 US$
Wage: 860 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Good starting winger here, i'd play him offensive.


Kenneth Clifford (11025295)
24 years, passable form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is tranquil and honest.
Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 34 000 US$
Wage: 720 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Not sure what i'd do with this guy, the passable playmaking is nice but his secondary skills suck big time. This is your call. he can start now but i'd try to upgrade him in the future.


Kevin Macartney (11025290)
25 years, poor form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and upright.
Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities.


Speciality: Quick

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 30 000 US$
Wage: 700 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Another passable winger with crappy secondary skills :(
maybe you could start him and play him towards the middle since his playmaking is at inadequate.



Lloyd Hoyle (11025293)
21 years, inadequate form, healthy

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

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 11 000 US$
Wage: 560 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

he sucks... can him once you have better back-up's



Mack Snow (11025296)
31 years, inadequate form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has inadequate experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 1 000 US$
Wage: 500 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


fire him

Mark Schaeffer (11025299)
30 years, poor form, healthy

A controversial person who is balanced and dishonest.
Has inadequate experience and weak leadership abilities.


Speciality: Powerful

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 2 000 US$
Wage: 500 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Fire him


Milton Watts (11025298)
24 years, wretched form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities.


Speciality: Head

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 17 000 US$
Wage: 600 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

good offensive wonger... i wish his passing was a little higher but he should score ya a few goals. He might catch a nice price on the market, so if ya need some cash he might be a good person to sell.


Sonny Travis (11025297)
22 years, poor form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is fiery and upright.
Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 40 000 US$
Wage: 740 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Career Goals: 0
Career Hattricks: 0
League goals this season: 0
Cup goals this season: 0


I'd play him as a winger towards the middle or sell him. he will catch a very very nice price on the market. good young player



William Morales (11025302)
23 years, poor form, healthy

A controversial person who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 48 000 US$
Wage: 800 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


good forward



Your starting team isn't to bad. Not the best i've seen but better then the one i started with. i wouldn't sell anyone until you get there form and stamina up. You'll get a much better price for a midfielder with good stamina and form then a midfielder with shitty form and stamina.



Form - Form is very important. 2 levels of form is equal to 1 level of skill, always remember that. So a guy with passable form and inadequate defense plays as good as a guy with passable defense and weak form.


Transfer Market - Be Patient!!! dont get into bidding wars on average guys. there are plenty more guys out there. ya just gotta be patient. Also... dont become an addicted or you'll find yourself in debt with no relief in sight.


Debt - stay away from it. you can build a solid team and still stay out of debt. I've done it and quite a few other guys have done it.


Team - Since your Training playmaking fill your B-team with young inadequate playmakers with average secondary skills. Get at least 3 of them. Now for the rest of your team.... since your not training defending buy older defenders. You can get a 26-31 year old passable defender for a hell of alot less then a 17-21 year old one. There's no point in buying very young players in postions your not training. There's a few people who do it but i cant for the life of be figure out why. Alot of the players you buy now are just quick fixes. The only thing you should be concernedwith now is winning some games. getting your supporters up, keeping your sponsers happy and getting a bigger stadium.


Ask Questions!!

Dont be afraid to ask us anything. Its best to ask and do it right, then to do it by yourself and fuck it up :)


good luck with your team and welcome to the Hattrick :)

[DukeRulesMAB]

New coach:

Robert Weir (11040771)
36 years, disastrous form, healthy
A inadequate coach who goes all out
A controversial person who is balanced and honest.
Has passable experience and passable leadership abilities.

Better, but is that good enough? Or should I keep cycling till I get a passable or solid?

Another question...how do you tell what a "clown" is? If that's something in demand, I guess I'd better be able to recognize it. :)

I've hired several specialists...keeping it relatively "low" for now, I think. 1 keeper coach, 3 assistants, a spokesperson, a physiotherapist, and a doctor.

For now, I'm setting up a 3-5-2 by mybestteam's recommendations; this may change if I get the other guy who I now don't want. Like I said, for now, just want to feel out the process.

[Havok]

that coach is fine for now.... save your money for more important things. A clown is a guy who has the highest leadership on your team.... like passable or solid and he also as to have a good personality, like Plesent or Sympathtic.

Playing time means nothing for a clown. Just having a clown on the team is good for Team spirt.

Now a team captain is something completely different. I think Leadership and experiance matter to a team captain and they have to be playing in the game to be the captain.

Dont confuse the two.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Two transfers we've brought in:

Alexander Apelblad (8518167)
20 years, inadequate form, healthy

A popular guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities.

Nationality: Sverige
Assessed value: 76 000 US$
Wage: 1 080 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Starting defender for us, cost 50K. He isn't great, but he's far better than some of the turds we were looking at starting.

Courtney Sellers (5263809)
28 years, passable form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is balanced and dishonest.
Has wretched experience and weak leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 31 000 US$
Wage: 760 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Cost 3K, I see him as a quality all-around backup. He can play anywhere on the field if needed except central mid and keeper.


I've also canned Shaeffer, Snow, and Rudd. They were all horrid.

I'm continuing to look for a passable keeper; I suspect I'll get one soon, though probably not before this week's game. I'd also like to pick up one more passable defender.

The formation for this week's game:

K: Brisebois
WB: Sellers, Apelblad
CD: Eaton
MF: Novara, Travis, Clifford
WG: McWhorter, Watts
FW: Knapp, Morales

The idea in the long run to is replace Sellers in the backfield, let him back up at forward. Once that happens, and the keeper is acquired, I'll have inad backups everywhere, which is a good start.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Another new import...we got our 3rd defender

William Hawkins (2946992)
28 years, passable form, healthy

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


Speciality: Technical

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 68 000 US$
Wage: 940 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Cost 29K. I also decided to move Apelblad to central back. His talents are just better suited for that. I'll move Hawkins around to both wingback positions, so other teams can't just load up one side or the other against me.

I'm also nearly out of money, cuz I've spent a pile on a bigass stadium expansion. Adding about 6,000 seats, including some higher class. At any rate, I'm down to 12-13K in cash, we'll wait and see how the long term costs go before doing anything else.

Finally, decided to list Chad Felton. We have a zillion wingers, all better than him, and we can save his salary.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Borrowing heavily from the Dataking format. He is, after all, the king. :)

Youth Pull

Decided to make a youth pull after all...why not? Went with a keeper this week, and pulled this:

Richard Valencia (11161073)
19 years, passable form, healthy

A controversial person who is tranquil and honest.
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 30 000 US$
Wage: 660 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Yes, he stinks, but that's not bad for a "poor" rated youth squad. Moreover: 1) I don't have a backup keeper, and 2) if we can get the passable keeper I'm hoping for, we'll be training goalkeeping for a few weeks. So for now he stays. I wouldn't settle in though if I were him.

Finances

Starting Balance: 300,000

Revenues

Temporary (supporters signing up): 210

Expenses

Youth Squad: 20,000
Temporary: 268,720
- Apelblad: 50,000
- New coach: 10,000
- Sellers: 3,000
- Arena: 175,720
- Hawkins: 29,000
- Listing Felton: 1,000

Total: 288,720

Net Loss: (288,510)

New Balance: 11,490


Well, I'm off to a nice, spend-happy start. :) We should be pretty solidly in debt by the time the next update rolls around, especially if I get the keeper type I'm after.


Team Info

Spirit: Calm (Down a bit, as Sellers import caused a hit)
Confidence: Poor (I'm recording this after the game on Sunday; hardly a shock)

Sponsers: Content
Supporters: Calm
# of supporters: 523


The team spirit and confidence are worrisome. Not nearly as worrisome as the team talent level though. :)

[DukeRulesMAB]

Latest news:

Hoyle was released after the youth pull. He won't be alone.

Season 1 - Match 3

Team Jooky vs. Frankfort United

Date: April 21, 2003
Arena: Team Jooky Arena (Washington)
Crowd: 4700 (12,600)
Weather: Rain

Of course, really this is match #1 for me. The team dropped two games before I came over.

Starters (Unbalanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: David Brisebois

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Central Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Jesse McWhorter
Central Midfield: Giampaolo Novara
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Sonny Travis
Left Wing: Milton Watts

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Jacob Knapp


This lineup is fluid...it's also the first time playing the 3-5-2 so that could be problematic. Changes are also incoming, for reasons you will see below.


The Match

Due to an all-day shower, 4700 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Team Jooky Arena. Jooky had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Alonso - Pomar, Leal, Jackson - Scarborough, Todd, Swift, Skelton, Spence - del Corral, Ross.

Frankfort started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Brisebois - Hawkins, Apelblad, Eaton - Mcwhorter, Novara, Clifford, Travis, Watts - Knapp, Morales.

Raúl del Corral gave his Jooky the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Jooky lead up with 2 - 0. Robert Skelton finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. The structure of the game started to change as Jooky decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Frankfort had obvious problems in finding their positions. Sonny Travis seemed highly inexperienced when in the 19:th minute he was loitering with the ball, allowing Erick Todd to intercept and strike 3-0 for Jooky. The crowd was amused as Warner Spence of Jooky used a few interesting tricks and dribbles to get into the penalty box. The finish wasn´t very amusing, though. Jooky´s Erick Todd had an excellent opportunity in the 32nd minute, shooting on a through ball, but he missed the goal by miles! 3 - 0 was the half-time score. Jooky held the ball, with a clear 74 percent possession rate.

During the break Frankfort´s coach went through the teams new tactics yet again. In the 50:th minute Frankforts Arthur Eaton received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Jooky´s Jud Swift refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon in the 56:th minute. Corey Ross almost managed to score another goal for Jooky, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. When Arthur Eaton made yet another studs first tackle, in the games 85th minute, the referee was obliged to book the Frankfort player for the second time, sending him off the pitch. In the 86:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Raúl del Corral dashed through, knocking home 4 - 0 for Jooky. In the games 87:th minute Jooky´s Roberto Leal head butted an opponent nastily and so the referee sent him off immediately. In the 87:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Raúl del Corral dashed through, knocking home 5 - 0 for Jooky. This third goal made a hat trick for Raúl del Corral. Jooky held the ball, with a clear 76 percent possession rate.

Most important Jooky player was Richard Jackson. However, Jud Swift made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt William Hawkins. However, Sonny Travis made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 5 - 0.

Goals: none
Yellow Cards: Eaton 2 (2)

Brisbois: *~

Hawkins: **~
Eaton: None given (two yellow cards)
Apelblad: **

McWhorter: **
Novara: *~
Clifford: *~
Travis: *
Watts: *

Morales: **
Knapp: *~

Team Match MVP: William Hawkins

Frankfort United

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: poor (3)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)

Team Jooky

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)



Suffice to say, we've got issues. We had no possession. We didn't have a single notable scoring chance. We had a player ejected. We had problems with the formation. You name it, it was bad.

On the bright side, we're already up to "solid" on the 3-5-2. Now to worry about the midfield. And defense. And attack. :)

I'll worry about the rest of the division once my team is competitive enough to do so. Until then, it will suffice to say we stink real bad.

[DukeRulesMAB]

And as expected, I've plunged deeper into the hole.


Shen Seung-Hae (11083264)
20 years, passable form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and upright.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: Hong Kong
Assessed value: 276 000 US$
Wage: 2 472 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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



Solid for 108K...my thinking by his value is that he's a near solid. I'll be training keeping, needless to say.

Brisebois hits the transfer wire; no need for an inad keeper at this point.

EDIT: I love Hong Kong now. :)

[RonnieDobbs]

I think the confusion you suffered from your formation didn't help you at all. My guys didn't really get the hang of it until their third game in the formation. And it is a noticable difference. You look to have a not-as-bad-as-you-think team. You need midfield help. And develop a long-term training strategy, so you know what 17 y.o. inadequates to get to start training (after your keeper pops that is).

Keep it up :)

[DukeRulesMAB]

I'm a sick, sick man. :)

Theodore Arnold (3929976)
27 years, passable form, healthy

A popular guy who is balanced and dishonest.
Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities.


Speciality: Technical

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 98 000 US$
Wage: 1 150 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Picked him up for 51K; he has the potential to solidify our midfield. And he allows us to list Novara, who really had to go once the decision was made to go with keeper training.

[DukeRulesMAB]

News:

Felton sold for 1K, so we actually lost a little money fby listing him. Oh well. Brisebois and Novara will be sold by Sunday's game I believe.

Friendly

Mt. Holly City vs. Frankfort United

Date: April 23, 2003
Arena: Mt. Holly City Arena (New Jersey)
Crowd: 250 (7,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

This is a D6 team picked up by a friend of mine over the weekend...he didn't really get into the game, so I'm reasonably sure he never set instructions. Should be a near walkover.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Shen Seung-Hae

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Alexander Apelblad
Left Defender: Ignacio Escrivá

Right Wing: Kevin Macartney
Central Midfield: Enrique Linera
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Central Midfield: Jacob Knapp
Left Wing: Milton Watts

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Far superior lineup than what we'll usually put out on Wednesday's, seeing as how Arnold and Seung-Hae are new acquisitions that we just needed to get into a game. I'm also curious to see how Knapp does in the inner midfield, and if Watts can bounce back from a bitterly disappointing opener.

The Match

250 spectators arrived at Mt. Holly City Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Holly had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Boyd - Lowry, Conley, Schwartz, Herndon - Messer, Ruiz, Barrow, Skinner - Lynch, Welch.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Seung-Hae - Hawkins, Apelblad, Escrivá - Macartney, Arnold, Knapp, Linera, Watts - Sellers, Morales.

Frankfort took the lead after 22 minutes with 0 - 1. Milton Watts placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. In the 25:th minute Frankfort put themselves up 0 - 2 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Courtney Sellers. The visitors Courtney Sellers took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 42nd minute. 0 - 3 for Frankfort. After this Frankfort lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. The referee showed Hollys Kristopher Skinner the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Frankfort had obvious problems in finding their positions. Frankfort appeared unsure on how to play. 0 - 3 was the half-time score. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 64 percent possession rate.

Frankfort -coach had an extra briefing during the break, and after that his players looked a lot more organized. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Frankfort´s Alexander Apelblad got himself booked. Frankfort appeared unsure on how to play. In the games 68:th minute William Morales 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. Frankfort had obvious problems in finding their positions. Ignacio Escrivá hit the ball just perfect in the 79:th minute and could score for Frankfort with a fab long shot to 0 - 4. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 80 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Holly player was without a doubt Herbert Conley. Jesús Ruiz on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Shen Seung-Hae. Enrique Linera on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 4.

Goals: Watts - 22; Sellers - 25, 42, Escriva - 79
Yellow Cards: Apelblad

Seung-Hae: **~

Hawkins: **~
Apelblad: **
Escriva: *~

Macartney: **
Linera: *
Arnold: **~
Knapp: *
Watts: *

Morales: **
Sellers: **

Team Match MVP: Shen Seung-Hae

Mt. Holly City

Midfield: disastrous (1)
Right Side Defence: weak (4)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: poor (3)
Central Attack: wretched (2)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)


Frankfort United

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: weak (4)
Right Side Attack: inadequate (5)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)


Better for sure. I like winning, even if the other team isn't much. :) The best news to come out of this game is that we're up to excellent experience in the 3-5-2, so that should really help us out there. Second best is that Seung-Hae and Arnold were both quite solid. Pleasent surprises were Sellers and Macartney, both of whom gave us solid efforts

The bad news was Knapp and especially Watts. Depending on post-training form, they may both be sitting for this week's game, as Macartney and Sellers both deserve a shot at the big time. The midfield rating is depressing, but I think with Arnold, Clifford,a and Travis, we shouldn't be that bad when it counts.

Let's put it this way: It didn't improve my team's confidence but it sure as hell helped mine. A new owner of a bad team sometimes needs a 4-0 win over a crap team in a meaningless game. :)

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training

We had excellent news from our first week of training, as 20 year-old new acquisition Shen Sueng-Hae popped to solid in keeping. The rumor mill has him being listed this afternoon, as management hopes to turn a quick profit, and bring in someone whose name I can remember how to spell. ;)


It was a good week for our form, also. 7 gainers and 2 losers, which tells me our initial crappy form hopefully wasn't our base form in general. Better yet, the 2 losers were Escriva (a backup) and Brisebois (see below).

Our best form is Solid, held by Theodore Arnold and William Hawkins. Worst form now is poor by Escriva and Milton Watts. Also at Weak are Brisebois and Jacob Knapp. Watts and Knapp, who are normal starters, will sit this week for that reason.

Total team value (pre-training): $1,241,000 (1,187,000)


Other news

Brisebois was sold for 11,000 about 30 minutes after the training results were posted. I'm a touch disappointed in that, was hoping more for 20, but I think I listed him at the wrong time. Novara is at a disappointing 51K right now, ends later tonight.


Next up is the week-end update on Saturday. Novara will be sold by then, and Seung-Hae listed. We'll probably use the profits from Seung-Hae as debt management (after of course grabbing a new passable keeper), but depending on our performance Sunday, there may be more changes in the offing.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Our brand new 13,076 seat stadium is done; it will be renamed when I'm better off financially.

Youth Pull

Didn't last long enough for me to remember anything about him. He's in the thread on the Hattrick board if you really care.

Economy

Revenue

Crowd (friendly @ Mt. Holly United): $581
Sponsers: $25,350
Temporary: $65,440
- New supporters: $120
- Felton: $920
- Brisebois: $10,120
- Novara: $54,280

Total: $91,371

Expenses

Youth Squad: $20,000
Arena: $3,900
Staff: $10,500
Wager: $14,040
Temporary: $164,000
- Youth Promotion: $2,000
- Listing Costs: $3,000
- Seung-Hae: $108,000
- Arnold: $51,000


Total: $212,440

Net Loss: ($121,069)

New Balance: ($109,579)

Not as bad as it looks. Really. Seung-Hae is on the list, and will draw well more than that. Granted that a large amount of those proceeds will go toward a new keeper to replace him, but still. I see a light at the end of the financial tunnel. Just hope is isn't a train looking to blindside me.

Team Info

Spirit: Calm
Confidence: Decent (Up from Poor when I last checked after last Sunday's game)

Sponsers: Satisfied (Up from Content)
Supporters: Calm
# of Supporters: 527 (Up from 523)

Don't know what caused the confidence boost (maybe the win in the friendly?) Not complaining though

Up next: We play host to Lazio 02/03 in our brand new digs.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Latest news:

We have a new starting keeper, picked up during the match.

Matthew Matlock (11113430)
18 years, passable form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 173 000 US$
Wage: 1 260 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Paid 113K; he will replace Seung-Hae in the net. Unlike his predecessor, Matlock
is a long way from popping (in fact, I'm reasonably sure he just popped to passable).
He can unpack his bags, he may be staying a while. In fact, I see him as a potential
long-term keeper; we shall see.

Season 1 - Match 4

Frankfort United vs. Lazio 02/03

Date: April 28, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 6512 (13,076)
Weather: Partly Cloudy.

Very important game for us. Lazio sits in 5th. The top 3 teams appear to be
locked in, so the team goal is 4th. I'd be perfectly happy with 5th or even 6th though
to avoid auto-relegation. At any rate, this is a must win. Lazio is abandoned or bot-run
(I don't know how to tell the difference), and runs a 4-4-2; we have made improvements since
last week's disaster. Let's hope.


Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Shen Seung-Hae

Right Defender: Ignacio Escriva
Central Defender: Alexander Apelblad
Left Defender: William Hawkins

Right Wing: Jesse McWhorter
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Sonny Travis
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Left Wing: Kevin Macartney

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Balanced 3-5-2 is definately our full-time formation. Differences from normal:

- Eaton is suspended, Escriva in at wing, Apelblad shifts to center.
- Sellers and Macartney are in for their forms (and Knapp/Watts' lack of form)


The Match

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 6512 to Frankfort United Arena. Frankfort tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Seung-Hae - Escrivá, Apelblad, Hawkins - Mcwhorter, Arnold, Clifford, Travis, Macartney - Sellers, Morales.

Lazio had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. They fielded: Buckner - Coburn, Gabriel, Mayberry, Webber - Gullén, Tovar, Mendizábal, Dumas - Mathis, Leary.

Frankfort took the lead in the 28:th minute after a magnificent free kick. William Morales adjusted the score to 1 - 0. Courtney Sellers of Frankfort received a yellow card in the 28:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. 29 minutes into the game Frankfort were awarded a penalty that William Morales turned into 2 - 0 without a problem. The referee showed Frankforts Theodore Arnold the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. In the games 30:th minute Frankfort´s Sonny Travis fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Sonny Travis for taking a dive. Always quick and a menace to his opponents,Kevin Macartney was in the 31:e minute very close to getting through, but Paul Coburn managed to avert the attack. Halftime score was 2 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Frankfort, with an impressive 59 percent possession of the ball.

After 67 minutes, Kevin Macartney swiftly ran past Paul Coburn to put away the 3-0 goal. The structure of the game started to change as Frankfort decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. With 80 minutes played William Morales could have brought this one home for Frankfort, had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. Frankfort´s Kevin Macartney had an excellent opportunity in the 83rd minute, shooting on a through ball, but he missed the goal by miles! A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 84 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Frankfort. However, Kendrick Buckner made a spectacular save. The referee showed Lazios Michael Mayberry the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The Frankfort player was Alexander Apelblad who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game. With 86 minutes played Kenneth Clifford could have brought this one home for Frankfort, had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. The game was close to savage at times, and Frankfort`s Theodore Arnold received a second yellow card in the 87:th, his ticket out of the game. 88 minutes into the game Sonny Travis had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Jacob Knapp. Frankfort, bringing the final ball possession rate to 58 percent, dominated the battle.

Most important Frankfort player was Shen Seung-Hae. Enrique Linera on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Lazio player was James Webber. Paul Coburn was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 0.


Goals: Morales 2 (28,29; 2), Macartney (67; 1)
Yellow Cards: Arnold 2 (2), Sellers, Travis


Seung-Hae: **~

Escriva: *
Apelblad: *~
(Linera: *)
Hawkins: **~

McWhorter: **
Clifford: *~
Travis: ~
(Knapp: *~)
Arnold: None given (two yellow cards)
Macartney: *~

Morales: **
Sellers: **

Team Match MVP: Shen Seung-Hae

Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


Lazio 02/03

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: formidable (9)
Left Side Defence: excellent (8)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)



Good news is our first ever win! Hell, our first ever goals. And by a strong margin, too. Obviously, this game was won in the midfield. The midfield will have to get better if that's to continue. And the decision to start Macartney really paid off; he was all over the field.

The bad news: At least one and up to three players out for next week. Arnold, our best midfielder, is suspended for the two yellows. Apelblad, a starting wingback, is out 2 weeks with an injury; I can't help but wonder if our best defense will ever see an entire game together. And Travis, on paper our second best mid-fielder, is bruised but training for a week. That said, his perforamce before the injury was even worse than normal, and I've had it. A new central mid will be brought in this week, and Travis will be listed at the first convenient moment.

The worse news: These injuries hit as we are about to play dbob, the #1 team in V.22. They destroyed Team Jooky this week 4-1. You may remember Team Jooky as the team that dismantled us last week. So ouch. We probably should PIC it next week to gear up for the rest of the season, but I can't bring myself to do it. Yet. Goal differential might be meaningful.

In other V.22 action, Ya Yas and Dog Bowl Chaos battled to a 4-4 tie. That's bad news for us, as we have to top Dog Bowl to take the #4 spot and stay completely clear of relegation. Might not be possible. Finally, the Pimpin' Penguins and Prancing w/ Deer tied 2-2. That's the best possible result from our perspective; we absolutely must finish ahead of both of these bottom feeders, and this gives the least points to them.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Some transfer news (I am such an addict)...

Seung-Hae ended up selling for 195K, of which 175.5K went to me. Not quite the super-profit I'd hoped for, but still a nearly 90K turnover in less then a week.

Incoming to help out in the midfield:

Michael Chopin (5234142)
23 years, weak form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and honest.
Has poor experience and weak leadership abilities.


Speciality: Powerful

Nationality: England
Assessed value: 32 000 US$
Wage: 888 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 1


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


I love the stamina and playmaking. The passing is a downer, but at this stage, we need people strong in the primaries; worry about the little stuff later. The form hopefully will come up soon. Not sure if Travis or Watts is on the way out. Probably Travis, but not until he's healed up and his form's up a bit.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the best part about Chopin; he only cost 9K. Decent investment, I say.

[RonnieDobbs]

9K!?!?!?!

You learn quickly, grasshopper. :D

That's a hell of a steal. His form should go up pretty fast, and he'll regularly put 2 stars up at midfield-normal. Nicely done, ya bastard.

[Havok]

buy cheap baby!!!! always :)
the deals are out there... ya just gotta find them. Here's a few of my latested transactions........

Amir Hajjaj (8353524)
26 years, weak form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has poor experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: Nederland
Assessed value: 36 000 US$
Wage: 900 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Maniacal Misfitz
Warnings: 0

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

Paid 4k

Mathias Liebers (3659315)
26 years, inadequate form, healthy

A nasty fellow who is temperamental and upright.
Has poor experience and passable leadership abilities.

Nationality: Deutschland
Assessed value: 60 000 US$
Wage: 1 116 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Maniacal Misfitz
Warnings: 0


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

Paid 16k and he's a very very high Inadequate playmaker, he puts up 2 stars a game in inadequate form


i love the transfer market :)

[DukeRulesMAB]

Very nice Havok; I'd love to give myself a bunch of credit, but I got him pretty soon after the server troubles, so I suspect I was just one of the few stubborn enough to keep refreshing until it was working again. :D

One thing while combing the transfer market that I've decided is that there's a real market out there for "niche" trainers. Someone who trains general or stamina can take someone cheap who has a gaping form or stamina weakness, correct it quick, and the list them. The downside is that there isn't much reason for a youth squad then, but this might generate enough cash to give that person a very, very solid veteran squad. Take your guy Hajjaj, Havok; if he's passable in form and stamina instead of weak, he draws 50-75K, easy.

Of course, despite figuring this out, I have no plans on going to it, cuz I find youth planning more interesting, but still, I see some potential there.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Friendly

Frankfort United vs. Manhattan Marauders

Date: April 30, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 455 (13,076)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Man, I can't wait to get enough money to comfortably change that stadium name. :) Until then, every 4K counts. Anyway, we welcome NAIWF's Manhattan squad to a nicely barren new arena.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Ignacio Escrivá

Right Wing: Milton Watts
Central Midfield: Jacob Knapp
Central Midfield: Enrique Linera
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Kevin Macartney

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Since we don't have a "second team" as such (because we can't afford one), the lineup goes by process of elimination. Eaton has to play because he missed Sunday's game due to suspension. Similarly, Linera and Watts needed to play, having missed Sunday's game cuz they suck. And Escriva and Knapp only played briefly, so they got the call. Finally, Matlock and Chopin had to play, as they are the new guys, and I want to get a look at them. Meanwhile, Apelblad and Travis were definately out with injury. Therefore, this is what we came up with. Whew. Mix of our very best and very worst.

The Match

455 spectators arrived at Frankfort United Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Matlock - Hawkins, Eaton, Escrivá - Watts, Chopin, Knapp, Linera, Macartney - Sellers, Morales.

Manhattan tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Brown - Collado, Rawlings, Wiling, Szalai, Mortensen - Säfing, Man-Chung, Berting, Gwilt - Albaret.

Frankforts Jacob Knapp gave, after 27 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Manhattan had obvious problems in finding their positions. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Frankfort lead up with 2 - 0. William Hawkins finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. With 37 minutes played Arthur Eaton could have brought this one home for Frankfort, had his hooked ball gone in, but it went just a bit too high. In the 37:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Jacob Knapp dashed through, knocking home 3 - 0 for Frankfort. 3 - 0 was the half-time score. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 74 percent possession rate.

During the break Manhattan´s coach went through the teams new tactics yet again. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Frankfort lead up with 4 - 0. Courtney Sellers finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. By now Frankfort were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. In the 61st minute Frankfort´s Jacob Knapp tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net. Arthur Eaton increased Frankforts lead to 5 - 0 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 63 percent possession rate.

Most important Frankfort player was William Hawkins. Enrique Linera was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Manhattan player was without a doubt Ubaldo Matildo Collado. He Man-Chung on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 0.


Goals: Knapp 2, Hawkins, Sellers, Eaton
Yellow Cards:

Matlock: **~

Hawkins: **~
Eaton: **~
Escriva: *

Watts: *
Knapp: *~
Linera: *
Chopin: *~
Macartney: *~

Morales: **
Sellers: **

Team Match MVP: William Hawkins

Frankfort United
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: passable
Central Defence: inadequate
Left Side Defence: weak
Right Side Attack: inadequate
Central Attack: inadequate
Left Side Attack: inadequate


Manhattan Marauders

Midfield: disastrous (1)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: inadequate (5)
Central Attack: poor (3)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)


Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: weak (4)
Right Side Attack: inadequate (5)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)


Wow; that was unexpected. Of course we had several starting calibre players in there, but still. Every message in the game was completely positive for us. I'm pleased with our defensive possibilities once all 3 are healthy and not suspended, and I think Chopin will make a fine middy when his form is up.

Thanks to NAIWF for the game; hopefully when it comes time for me to return the favor by coming to your stadium, I'll have a B side up and ready for you to wax.

Up Next

Training results (yay), financial update (boo), and Sunday's waxing at the hands of dbob (ouch).

[NAIWF]

Congrats on the thorough butt whipping you handed out yesterday. The result was sort of what I expected, though I thought I'd hold you to 2 or 3 goals. It was my first time playing the 5-4-1 for D training and it went well considering the D posted 17 points as opposed to my normal 19 or 20 with the starters. No one got hurt and that hefty $1,209 ;) pays off two of my scrubs weekly salaries, so thanks for the road trip

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training

Not a particularly strong week in Frankfort this time around. 2 form bumps (Knapp and Watts), and two drops (Escriva and Chopin). The latter is particularly crippling, as we desperately needed him.

Strongest form is still Arnold and Hawkins at Solid. Too bad Arnold is suspended this week.

Escriva's down to Wretched form; he would have started this week had he been at least Weak. Chopin's Poor form; he has to start anyway. Sad state of affairs. Watts is now up to weak; when he's back to Inad, he'll get another shot in the lineup.

We did get two experience bumps for Morales (to wretched) and Sellers (to Poor). I really, really like Sellers. He's gonna play all over the field for me this year as a patchwork.

Total Team Value (before training): 943,000 (944,000)

It's not really quite that bad; Apelblad's value plumetted with the injury, but I don't think it's permanent. Just gotta wait till he's better.

Up next: Saturday's Economy Update and youth pull.

[TargetPractice6]

(This message was left blank.)

[TargetPractice6]

Are you from Fankfort?

[DukeRulesMAB]

TP - Yep, I grew up in Frankfort, KY. I live in DC now, tho.

General News

Well, we've decided to use our last bit of debt leeway up...

Hein van de Castel (11182693)
21 years, passable form, healthy

A controversial person who is tranquil and honest.
Has disastrous experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: Nederland
Assessed value: 234 000 US$
Wage: 2 280 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Got him for 102K. He'll actually start for us for now, as he's slightly better than Matlock. I expect he'll bump to solid in 4 weeks or so, at which point he'll be out the door. I figure that we'll still make a nice profit, even taking into consideration the added wages and interest. On a related note, Valencia is released, as we no longer have need of his services. And speaking of youth pulls...

Youth pull

Abject crap again. Still a weak squad, I can't help but wonder if I'm just throwing 2K down the drain by pulling now.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 35,787
- vs. Lazio 02/03: 34,578
- vs. Manhattan: 1,209
Sponsers: 27,150
Temporary: 176,280
- Seung-Hae: 175,500
- New Supporters: 780

Total revenues: 239,217

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 14,862
Staff: 19,500
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 5,479
Temporary: 226,000
- Youth pull: 2,000
- Chopin: 9,000
- Matlock: 113,000
- van de Castel: 102,000

Total Expenses: 294,211

Profit (Loss): (54.994)
New Balance: (164,573)

Yep, I'm nicely in debt now. I'm banking on the keeper training being worthwhile in the long run.


Other stats

Team Spirit: Composed (Down from calm, as the team was miffed by Seung-Hae leaving)
Confidence: Decent

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Delerious (Up from Calm)
# of Supporters: 553 (Up from 527)


The supporters love of me won't last, me thinks. I'm concerned by the team spirit, and I think it's about to take another hit with van de Castel's arrival. Does it ever naturally increase over time, or will I have to PIC to get it back up to something acceptable?


Next up: Our beating at the hands of dbob

[TargetPractice6]

Ah okay, I don't live too far from there.

Edit: Frankfort that is.

[DukeRulesMAB]

TP - Cool; what town?



Season 1 - Match 5

dbob vs. Frankfort United

Date: May 4, 2003
Arena: dbob Arena (San Francisco)
Crowd: 13,363 (15,500)
Weather: Sunny

The best team in my series. On the road. This is no good. The one possibility: he plays an unbalanced 3-5-2 with the same back removed every time. I doubt I have the personnel or planning skills to take advantage of it, but I can try.


Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Courtney Sellers

Right Wing: Kevin Macartney
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Sonny Travis
Left Wing: Jesse McWhorter

Striker: Jacob Knapp
Striker: William Morales

Arnold is suspended. Apelblad is out with injury. Travis got better soon enough to play, but he still stinks. We shuffled things around a bit to account for that. Sellers and McWhorter are on "offensive" in a desperate attempt to take advantage of their "weakness". Oh, and apparently I accidentally started Matlock instead of my new Dutch pickup. Not a huge dropoff, but still an irritating mistake.


The Match


A scorching day at dbob Arena, where 13363 spectators were in place for today´s match. dbob had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Flores - Kawczynski, Lagunas, Einarsson - Henriksson, Forsmo, Eren, Murray, Eckstad - Cooke, Gagnon.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Matlock - Hawkins, Eaton, Sellers - Macartney, Chopin, Clifford, Travis, Mcwhorter - Knapp, Morales.

In the games 32nd minute dbob´s Peter Eren fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Peter Eren for taking a dive. dbob had a good opportunity to take the lead as Fredrick Cooke came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into thearms of Matthew Matlock. Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a 44:th minute goal by Phillip Gagnon for dbob, putting them ahead 1 - 0. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, dbob´s Julio Lagunas got himself booked. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. dbob held the ball, with a clear 74 percent possession rate.

Visitors Kenneth Clifford was alert on a play coming in from the left, making the score a tie at 1 - 1 in the 48:th minute. Phillip Gagnon of dbob received a yellow card in the 63rd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. It wasn´t a good day at all for Richard Henriksson. His powerful style of play didn´t fit the bill this warm day. In the 80:th minute Phillip Gagnon almost put the home team one ahead on a cross pass coming in from the right, but the shot went wide. The 82nd minute saw the home team take a 2 - 1 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for dbob was Fredrick Cooke. In the 83rd minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Stigbjörn Eckstad dashed through, knocking home 3 - 1 for dbob. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by dbob, with an impressive 81 percent possession of the ball.

dbob´s best player was Pedro Tomás Flores. Olgierd Kawczynski on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt William Hawkins. However, Sonny Travis made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 1.


Goals: Clifford (1)
Yellow Cards: None


Matlock: **~

Hawkins: **~
Eaton: **~
Sellers: *~

Macartney: **
Chopin: *~
Clifford: *~
Travis: *
McWhorter: **~

Jacob Knapp: **
William Morales: **


Team Match MVP: William Hawkins

Frankfort United

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: poor (3)
Right Side Attack: inadequate (5)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: excellent (8)



dbob

Midfield: passable (6)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: inadequate (5)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)

So close, yet so far. Honestly, despite us being tied until the 82nd minute, we were crushed here. Maybe if Arnold and Apelblad were there....

On the plus side, I'm really starting to like McWhorter. On the minus side, I'm totally sick of Travis. However, he's gonna play some wing in the next week or two as a last ditch chance to not piss me off. My lineup machinations didn't work, as Sellers could have been just as good up front as Knapp was, and Knapp would have been a plus in the midfield over Travis. I'd have had to have taken a crap rating at left defense, but I think I'd have been better off. Regardless, Travis has seen his last midfield action.

In other action, Ya Yas absolutely smoked Team Jooky 6-0. I consider them series favorites now. Dog Bowl Chaos (one of the team we'd need to pass to get to 4th) beat Prancing w/Deer 3-0; they will be tough to overcome. And the Pimpin Penguins were all over the new elliot squad (replacing Lazio who I whipped last week) 6-0. All in all, this puts me temporaily in last place, but I'm pretty confident I can wax the Pimpin Penguins next week to alleviate that.

It looks like a really bad result, getting beat, and ending up in last, but I'm as confident as ever that we're ready to go strong into the future.

Next up: A Friendly against -Panther's Tomahawk squad.

[TargetPractice6]

Lexington

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by DukeRulesMAB
On the plus side, I'm really starting to like McWhorter.

I'm sorry, but that just looks like a funny line.

SI

[DukeRulesMAB]

Friendly

Tomahawks vs. Frankfort United

Date: May 7, 2003
Arena: Tomahawks Arena (North Carolina)
Crowd: 594 (16,020)
Weather: Cloudy

Thanks to Panther for hosting us this week in our final tuneup before the FOFC Cup. :)

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Hein van de Castel

Right Defender: Ignacio Escrivá
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: William Hawkins

Right Wing: Milton Watts
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Central Midfield: Enrique Linera
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: Jacob Knapp
Striker: Courtney Sellers

A moderately typical "friendly" squad for us, a mix of our B-teamers and whatever A-teamers we need to fill in. Most interesting to me will be seeing how Travis performs on the wing. This is also van de Castel's Frankfort Utd debut.

The Match

At Tomahawks Arena, 594 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came. Tomahawks had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Hedwald - Swancutt, Beckmann, Gorham - Hicks, Pitts, Barney, Marsh, Adamson - Bethea, Anderson.

Frankfort started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: van de Castel - Escrivá, Eaton, Hawkins - Watts, Arnold, Chopin, Linera, Travis - Sellers, Knapp.

Frankfort took the lead in the games 7:th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Ignacio Escrivá was the scorer. After a fatal mistake from the away teams right side defense in the 16:th minute, an alert Damon Bethea bagged the ball, evening the score to 1 - 1. Tomahawks had made all their substitutions when Damon Bethea had to leave the game in the 31st minute because of a pulled tendon, leaving the team a man short. Halftime score was 1 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Frankfort, with an impressive 70 percent possession of the ball.

Cleo Marsh received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 55:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. In the 58:th minute the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending and Ignacio Escrivá put the ball away for 1 - 2. Dustin Pitts of Tomahawks received a yellow card in the 67:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Frankfort, with an impressive 85 percent possession of the ball.

The most dominating Tomahawks player was without a doubt Miguel Adamson. However, Clinton Anderson made a disastrous appearance. Frankfort´s best player was Hein van de Castel. Ignacio Escrivá on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 2.



Goals: Escrivá 2
Yellow Cards: None

van de Castel: **~

Escrivá: *
Eaton: **~
Hawkins: **~

Watts: *
Chopin: *~
Linera: *
Arnold: **~
Travis: *~

Knapp: **
Sellers: **

Team Match MVP: Hein van de Castel


Tomahawks

Midfield: disastrous (1)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: weak (4)
Central Attack: poor (3)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)



Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: weak (4)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


Active day for Escriva, the worst player on my roster. He is involved in all 3 goals (he was the "right defense" that screwed up on the Tomahawk's goal), and is named Worst Player of the Match, for us at least.

Worth noting: Travis still sucked. He'll get another shot next week. Watts is still miserable. Everyone important played well except Chopin; I'll have to decide between him and Knapp for Sunday's game. Hopefully one will take a step up in form.

Thanks to -Panther for hosting us!

Up Next

Training results , financial update , and a home game we should cruise in against the Pimpin Penguins.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

There is none. :) Not really any expected for at least a couple weeks either.

Form Update

Starters Going Up: 2 (Eaton, Morales to Passable)
Starters Going Down: 4 (Hawkins to Passable, McWhorter/van de Castel to Inad, Apelblad to Weak)
Reserves Going Up: 2 (Linera to Passable, Escriva to Poor)
Reserves Going Down: 1 (Matlock to Inad)

Not a great week, but we'll live. Apelblad was expected, as he didn't get in either game due to injury. Mcwhorter was just starting to come into his own, disappointing. Also disappointing is that both of my keepers dropped; one of them dropping is no big deal, because they are so close in value, but both is more irritating. All in all, nothing crushing, though.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,173,000 (1,147,000)

I think after van de Castel pops, instead of buying a new keeper trainee, I'll just start pulling them. I'll use the van de Castel cash toward upgrading my coach. Better investment in the long run, I think.

Coming Saturday: Our sure to be crappy youth pull and the 100% dead lock to be crappy financial update.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth pull

Up to an inad squad, but we drew the single worst outfielder I've ever seen. Thus, he is toast.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 1,566 (at Tomahawks)
Sponsers: 28,800
Temporary: 540 (New Supporeters)

Total revenues: 30,906

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,818
Staff: 19,500
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 8,228
Temporary: 2,000 (Youth Pull)

Total Expenses: 74,916

Profit (Loss): (44,010)
New Balance: (208,583)

Slow week; as we're now nicely ensconsed in debt, there won't be a whole lotta action until we are out. Which may be quite a while.


Other stats

Team Spirit: Composed
Confidence: Decent

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Satisfied (Down from Delirious)
# of Supporters: 571 (Up from 553)

Series V.22 preview

New feature, as I'm pretty comfortable with what's going on now, so I like to follow along with what's going on. First, the standings going into the week:

1. dbob 5 16 - 2 15

2. Ya Yas 5 24 - 5 11
3. Dog Bowl Chaos 5 15 - 10 8
4. Team Jooky 5 16 - 13 7

5. elliot 5 4 - 11 4
6. taylorwins 5 4 - 14 4

7. Pimpin Penguins 5 8 - 22 4
8. Frankfort United 5 5 - 15 3


Team Jooky - taylorwins

Team Jooky has been pounded since they kicked the crap out of me my first week. Fortuantely, they get a much needed week off here. taylorwins replaces Prancing w/Deer, and hasn't logged in since they got the team.

Dog Bowl Chaos - elliot

Dog Bowl is a pretty solid squad, and they should handle this team. elliot has at least logged in since getting the team, but has made no transfers, so they're doomed against any team of reasonable talent (as Dog Bowl is).

dbob - Ya Yas

The marquis matchup of the league, these are clearly the two best squads in my opinion. Though dbob is undefeated, I like Ya Yas to pull the upset here. Of course, depends on who MOTS's if anyone.

Frankfort United - Pimpin Penguins

More details in the game post, but I'm pretty confident here. They haven't logged in this week, and their last lineup was unimposing to say the least (31 NSI if I'm counting right, and I might well not be).


If everything goes as expected, I should be able to leap from 8th to 5th place. Which is good, because my next two games are against Ya Yas, which makes for two almost certain losses.


Next up: Game day

[RonnieDobbs]

5th place is yours for the taking. FYI - instead of calculating NSI's myself, just go to Hatstats (http://usa.hatstats.info), go to your division, and they will have the NSIs there for ya. The three teams ahead of you are very bad. Keep at it, and you'll be donig just fine.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 6

Frankfort United vs. Pimpin Penguins

Date: May 1, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 11,343 (13,076)
Weather: Cloudy

Last week I played the #1 team in my series. The next two weeks, I play perhaps the best team in my series twice. In between, I get these guys. They are pretty horrid, but I desperately need a win, preferably with a nice goal spread.


Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Hein van de Castel

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Jacob Knapp
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Left Wing: Kevin Macartney

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

This is more or less my "A" team though Knapp and Macartney are rotated in based on form more than anything else. It should be by a wide margin the best squad I've ever put on the field.


The Match

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 11343 at Frankfort United Arena today. Frankfort started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: van de Castel - Hawkins, Eaton, Apelblad - Mcwhorter, Arnold, Knapp, Clifford, Macartney - Sellers, Morales.

Penguins tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Espinosa - Kincaid, Downing, Hale - Ruff, Corcoran, Herrero, Conner, Harden - Mcdermott, Loc-Truong.

Gonzalo Herrero received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 4:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. In the 5:th minute Penguinss Howard Hale received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. 9 minutes into the game Kevin Macartney had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Sonny Travis. After a fine move down the middle Courtney Sellers nearly gave the home side one up in the 23rd minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. The referee showed Penguinss Gonzalo Herrero the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The player down was Arthur Eaton. The Frankfort bench looked worried a while but in the end he managed to get up. Frankfort took the lead in the 33rd minute of the game by 1 to 0, as William Hawkins elegantly received a pass going deep, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. 1 - 0 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Frankfort, with an impressive 56 percent possession of the ball.

Frankfort put their lead ahead another goal as Kenneth Clifford struck home the 2 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. By now Frankfort were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. Frankfort put themselves up 3 - 0 when Alexander Apelblad broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. In the games 73rd minute Frankfort´s Jacob Knapp fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Jacob Knapp for taking a dive. Sonny Travis was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Courtney Sellers managed to kick one of them into 4 - 0 in the 75:th minute. William Morales increased Frankforts lead to 5 - 0 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 71 percent possession rate.

Frankfort´s best player was Hein van de Castel. Kenneth Clifford on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Penguins player was without a doubt Steven Kincaid. Gonzalo Herrero on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 0.




Goals: Morales (3), Clifford (2), Apelblad (1), Sellers (1), Hawkins (1)
Yellow Cards: Knapp


van de Castel: **~

Hawkins: **~
Eaton: **
Apelblad: *~

Mcwhorter: **
Clifford: *~
Knapp: *~
Arnold: **~
Macartney: *~
Travis (replacing Macartney): **

Morales: **~
Sellers: **

Team Match MVP: Hein van de Castel

Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


Pimpin Penguins

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: poor (3)
Central Attack: weak (4)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)

Very, very nice effort from the boys in the second half. I was quite worried in the first half, being only up 1-0, and only with 56% possession against a team I believed I should kill. But we were much better in the second half. Particularly encouraging was the performance of Morales, as well as the performance of Travis off the bench. This is what I've been looking for from him the whole time.

In other v.22 news, the big match had dbob and Ya Yas tying at 3. Their match was a back and forth war, and I expect more of the same when they play again in a couple weeks. Ya Yas (Who we play the next two league games) features an inad midfield, and an unbalanced 3-5-2. I have some ideas on how to play them, but I seriously doubt any amount of game planning can overcome the talent defibit. Oh yeah, they feature a ***~ keeper worth 622K. And he's 18 years old. Ick.

The other games went completely as expected, with Team Jooky punking the new taylorwins squad 5-0 and Dog Bowl Chaos obliterating elliot 6-0. Due to those results, I have moved into 5th, a position I should hold onto for a while. Even while I'm playing Ya Yas the next two weeks, the other 3 celler dwellars also play the better teams, so they should all get a zero, too. Unfortunately, this will likely be the final separation between 4th and 5th, effectively ending my hopes of avoiding a qualification game. Oh well. :)


Next up: The FOFC Cup begins!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Friendly

FOFC Cup Group C: Rochester Roosters vs. Frankfort United

Date: May 14, 2003
Arena: The Rooster Yard (Indiana)
Crowd: 917 (20,000)
Weather: Cloudy

The FOFC Cup gets underway at dacman's Rochester squad.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Alexander Apelblad
Left Defender: Ignacio Escrivá

Right Wing: Sonny Travis
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Enrique Linera
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Milton Watts

Striker: Courtney Sellers
Striker: Jacob Knapp

And we counter with the typical mix of backups and fill in starters. Macartney and Eaton are hurt, so they're sitting. Nothing special otherwise.

The Match

917 spectators had come to The Rooster Yard this cloudy day. Rochester had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. They fielded: Valsta - Acker, Martino, Cerda, Capotã - Alexander, Tryggvesson, Labayen, Randolph, Amador - Hobson.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Matlock - Hawkins, Apelblad, Escrivá - Travis, Chopin, Clifford, Linera, Watts - Sellers, Knapp.

Rochester were very close to putting themselves one up in the 4:th minute as Randy Randolph got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. Rochester seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. After 13 minutes Frankfort put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Michael Chopin finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. Fine winger Milton Watts made one of his many passes from the wing into the middle in the 38:th minute. Jacob Knapp went to the air and hit the ball firmly with his forehead for 0 - 2. Rochester seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. In the 42nd minute Göran Tryggvesson passed through the guests central line of defense, scoring the 1 - 2 goal. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 2. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Rochester, with an impressive 68 percent possession of the ball.

The Rochester players spent the half-time break getting a rerun of the teams tactical organization. The referee showed Rochesters Göran Tryggvesson the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. After 73 minutes of play Randy Randolph equalised for Rochester after an elegant attack from the right. Frankforts Michael Chopin got himself booked after a foul. After a fine move down the middle Randy Randolph nearly gave the home side one up in the 89:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. Rochester seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. After 90 minutes Frankfort put themselves up by 2 - 3 as William Hawkins finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. Rochester, bringing the final ball possession rate to 75 percent, dominated the battle.

Most important Rochester player was Maximilian Capotã. Randy Randolph on the other hand, had a terrible day. Frankfort´s best player was Matthew Matlock. Enrique Linera on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 3.


Goals: Chopin, Knapp, Hawkins
Yellow Cards: Chopin


Matlock: **~

Hawkins: **
Apelblad: **
Escrivá: *

Travis: **
Chopin: *~
Linera: *
Clifford: *~
Watts: *~

Sellers: **
Knapp: **


Team Match MVP: Matthew Matlock


Rochester Roosters

Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: solid (7)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: poor (3)
Central Attack: weak (4)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)


Frankfort United

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: weak (4)
Left Side Defence: weak (4)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


Wow; best finish ever! We had no possession, but we did good things on the rare occasions when we had it. Not much else to say other than that. I doubt our FOFC Cup will last past group stage unless our midfield improves for some reaosn.


Up Next

Training results , financial update , and we get spanked by Ya Yas.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

Form Update

Starters Going Up: 1 (Travis to Passable)
Starters Going Down: 3 (Arnold to Passable, Clifford to Inad, Chopin to Wretched)
Reserves Going Up: 1 (Matlock to Passable)
Reserves Going Down: 1 (Macartney to Weak)

That's just a miserable week. My 3 "starters" at midfield all dropped in form. Though Chopin clearly won't be playing with that kind of form. Needless to say, any hope of an upset on Sunday is down the toilet.

Matlock will start this week, as he's only slightly behind van de Castel in talent, and has one better form now. Travis should hopefully be productive. And Macartney was expected; he couldn't train due to injury. With Travis's emergence, he's nowhere near a lineup anyway.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,179,000 (1,173,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull, and our first ever profitable financial update.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth pull

Second weak at inad, and we get our first even youth pull that wasn't an auto-reject.

Bryan Reyna (11881941)
19 years, passable form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and righteous.
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 7 000 US$
Wage: 520 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


I'm going back and forth on whether or not to bet $1K by listing him...right now I'm leaning toward it. Any thoughts?

Economy

Income

Crowd: 61,917
- 59,520 (Pengions)
- 2397 (at Rochester)
Sponsers: 29,700
Temporary: 8,310
- 810 (New Supporeters)
- 7,500 (Sell-on fee of Seung-Hae)

Total revenues: 99,927

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,158
Staff: 19,500
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 10,429
Temporary: 2,000 (Youth Pull)

Total Expenses: 76,457

Profit (Loss): 23,470
New Balance: (185,113)

Hey, our first ever profitable week. Still a long way to go, though, as we lose more on non-home weeks than we make on home weeks.

The Seung-Hae sellon is really irritating. He sold for 250K, after selling for only 185K for me. He doesn't appear to have gotten any more training, and has had a drop in form to inad since then.


Other stats

Team Spirit: Composed
Confidence: Strong (up from Decent)

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Delirious (Up from Satisfied)
# of Supporters: 598 (Up from 571)

Love the fickle fans. It'll be back down after this week's ugliness.

Series V.22 preview


1. dbob 6 19 - 5 16

2. Ya Yas 6 27 - 8 12
3. Dog Bowl Chaos 6 21 - 10 11
4. Team Jooky 6 21 - 13 10

5. Frankfort United 6 10 - 15 6
6. elliot 6 4 - 17 4

7. taylorwins 6 4 - 19 4
8. Pimpin Penguins 6 8 - 27 4



Ya Yas - Frankfort United

Let's see...I put up a 45 NSI last week, a career high. He put up a 52, a pretty ho hum effort for his squad. It's gonna be a long two weeks for us. More on specific strategy in the game post.

taylorwins - dbob

dbob is one of the two contenders for the Series title. Their opponents put up a disastrous midfield last week. Nothing happening, right? Wrong: taylorwins made 563K in purchases this week (with 294.3K in sales)...completely new team. We'll have to see results on the field.

elliot - Team Jooky

In contrast to taylorwins, elliot put up a 23 NSI last week...and hasn't logged in since. Team Jooky is no superteam, but this will be ugly.

Pimpin Penguins - Dog Bowl Chaos

The Penguins are nothing special, albeit a step up from taylorwins. Dog Bowl is a dark horse to win the whole division, and will wipe the floor with them (the Penguins are abandoned).


The next two weeks features the top 4 against the bottom 4. The good news is that I shouldn't lose any ground to the auto-demotion slots; the bad news is that getting into the top 4 and out of the playoff games will likely be out of the question after they're over. I fully expect 8 wins in the two weeks from the top guys. taylorwins will be interesting to watch though; I really want to hang onto 5th, and if they are much improved, that could be tough.



Next up: Game day

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 7

Ya Yas vs. Frankfort United

Date: May 18, 2003
Arena: Little Altars (Arkansas)
Crowd: 15,000 (15,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Ya Yas is coming off a tie with series leading dbob. They are regularly in the low 50s for NSI. Needless to say, we're doomed, especially after Thursday's form drops.


Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Theordore Arnold
Central Midfield: Jacob Knapp
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Ya Yas runs an unbalanced 3-5-2, so we're stacking the offense toward our right (their left). McWhorter has an offensive instruction, Morales is our best forward, and Hawkins is our best offensive defender. Apelblad is playing defensively on the left, as is Clifford in the midfield.

All these machinations, I'd still be stunned if we lost by less than 3 goals.


The Match


Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 15000 to Little Altars. Yas tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Edo Peiro - Suárez-Guanes, Metzger, Hackett - Flamborn, Engstad, Beck, Klintborn, Taylor - Whitney, Nyhander.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Matlock - Hawkins, Eaton, Apelblad - Mcwhorter, Arnold, Knapp, Clifford, Travis - Sellers, Morales.

Almost all the way down to the corner flag Jesse Mcwhorter somhow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for William Morales who struck for 0 - 1. With a shot floated in from just outside the penalty area in the 11th minute, Barry Whitney of Yas evened the score to 1 - 1. Yass Tobias Klintborn gave, after 22 minutes, the home team a 2 - 1 lead after an attack coming in from the right. After 24 minutes Barry Whitney put Yas ahead 3 - 1 as he rose to head in a hooked ball, the result of an effort from the right side. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Frankfort´s William Hawkins got himself booked. Yas nearly produced a goal as Fredrik Flamborn set up Merle Taylor for a strike from a seemingly unpossible angle. The receiver wasn´t as clear-headed though, and put the shot wide. The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 1. Yas held the ball, with a clear 71 percent possession rate.

Buster Metzger almost managed to score another goal for Yas, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. Yas put themselves up 4 - 1 when Johannes Nyhander broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Frankfort´s Theodore Arnold got himself booked. A great save by goaltender Matthew Matlock in the 74:th minute kept the visitors in the game as Collin Hackett struck from the left with a real cannonball. Unsportsmanlike behaviour by William Hawkins rendered him his second booking of the match, and Frankfort had to finish the game with a reduced squad. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Yas´s Bernhard Engstad putting the lead up to 5 - 1. Frankforts Jacob Knapp got himself booked after a foul. Yas held the ball, with a clear 77 percent possession rate.

Yas´s best player was Jorge Edo Peiro. Barry Whitney on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Arthur Eaton. Kenneth Clifford on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 1.




Goals: Morales (4)
Yellow Cards: Hawkins 2, Arnold, Knapp


Matlock: **~

Hawkins: None (Sent off)
Eaton: **~
Apelblad: **

Mcwhorter: **
Arnold: **
Knapp: *~
Clifford: *~
Travis: **

Morales: **~
Sellers: **~

Team Match MVP: Arthur Eaton

Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)


Ya Yas

Midfield: passable (6)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: formidable (9)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)

Well, that went as poorly as possible. But it was a good object lesson in where I'm at. With this mauling, plus the absense of my best defender (Hawkins), I'll PIC next week. I have no chance, so might as well take the chance to up my team spirit.

Knapp's now one yellow away from suspension, but he's a moving part more than a must at this point. On the bright side, we appear to have stablized in the 44-45 NSI range. I just really, really need to get some new midfield.

Elsewhere, things went as expected in v.22. Dog Bowl Choas and Team Jooky won 6-0 and 5-0 respectively. The one moderately interesting game was dbob defeating the rebuilt taylorwins 4-1. The losers still just put up a Wretched midfield, but a 43 NSI overall. I think we can beat them, but they're definately a possible problem.

Next up: FOFC Cup Group Play continues as we host the Eugene Emeralds.

[DukeRulesMAB]

We have our first supporter, RonnieDobbs and Boston Wyckyd Sceptre. Thanks! We are now supporting them as well.


Friendly

FOFC Cup Group C: Frankfort United vs. Eugene Emeralds

Date: May 21, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 343 (13,076)
Weather: Rain

Group C continues as JHandley's Eugene squad visits. Our supporters aren't really in love after last week's loss, and the rain was all they need to keep them away in droves.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Hein van de Castel

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Bryan Reyna
Left Defender: Ignacio Escrivá

Right Wing: Milton Watts
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Enrique Linera
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: Jacob Knapp
Striker: Courtney Sellers

This is on paper the worst team we've ever put on the field. Travis randomly gets a toward the middle instruction, just to see how it turns out. And Reyna is playing as an afterthought; he's on the list for 2K (no bids), but not playing him might hurt his form, so he gets in the game.

The Match

Due to an all-day shower, 343 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Frankfort United Arena. Frankfort started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: van de Castel - Hawkins, Reyna, Escrivá - Watts, Chopin, Clifford, Linera, Travis - Sellers, Knapp.

Emeralds had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Kern - Ivey, Rosmar, Cardwell - Neil, Leiber, Larsson, Rodrigues Azeved, Braxton - Shell, Gustavsson.

In the 9:th minute Jacob Knapp almost put the home team one ahead on a cross pass coming in from the right, but the shot went wide. In the 13th minute the excellent ball from the wing bySonny Travis reached Jacob Knapp's head, and he is not one to miss such an opportunity - 1 - 0. A great save by goaltender Glen Kern in the 23rd minute kept the visitors in the game as Jacob Knapp struck from the left with a real cannonball. Emeraldss Hud Shell got himself booked after a foul. The Frankfort player was Milton Watts who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game. In the games 29:th minute Emeralds´s Lars Rosmar fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Lars Rosmar for taking a dive. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Frankfort, with an impressive 65 percent possession of the ball.

Emeralds could level the score in the 61st minute at 1 - 1, as Richard Gustavsson struck home after a fine midfield combination, leaving him completely unmarked. The referee showed Frankforts William Hawkins the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. In the 72nd minute Jacob Knapp almost put the home team one ahead on a cross pass coming in from the right, but the shot went wide. Frankfort tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but kept getting stuck on the visitors defenders. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Frankfort, with an impressive 66 percent possession of the ball.

Frankfort´s best player was William Hawkins. Enrique Linera on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Emeralds player was Hud Shell. However, Ricardo Rodrigues Azevedo made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 1.



Goals: Knapp
Yellow Cards: Hawkins

van de Castel: **~

Hawkins: **~
Reyna: **
Escrivá: *

Watts: *~
Mcwhorter (replacing Watts): **
Clifford: *~
Linera: *
Chopin: *
Travis: *

Knapp: **
Sellers: **


Team Match MVP: William Hawkins


Eugene Emeralds

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)


Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: weak (4)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)


Feel like we gave this one away. Knapp had 4 scoring chances, and only scored once. Ah well, we lucked into 3 points last week, so it evens out. We're still tied for 2nd in Group C.

A couple interesting notes. Travis only gets one star...but how on earth did we get a poor midfield?!? I'm trying it again Sunday; if we can manage a weak midfield, I'll stick with it. And where did Reyna come up with two stars? He will get some PT on Sunday, with Hawkins out (unless of course he sells). If nothing else, he's obviously a hell of a lot better than Escriva.

Up Next

Training results , financial update , and we get spanked by Ya Yas. Just like last week.

[sterlingice]

Wow, that stinks. Are you taking shooting lessons from my team? ;)

SI

[DukeRulesMAB]

FYI, out of town for the weekend, so I don't have spreadsheet access, so no updates till Tuesday at the earliest.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

No pops this week, but van de Castel quite clearly will pop next traning. He's at 287K in passable form. He's played either his last or second last game with the team (because he'll be listed the moment he pops, or at least within the day).

Form Update

Starters Going Up: 1 (van de Castel to Passable)
Starters Going Down: 1 (Arnold to Inadequate)
Reserves Going Up: 2 (Watts to Inad, Escriva to Weak)
Reserves Going Down: 0

Not much news this week. Second dive in a row for Arnold, which is quite disturbing. If he and Chopin were both passable or better, we'd be so much better. van de Castel going up is good as maybe it'll increase his listing value. Watts and Escriva are two of my worst backups, Escriva having been passed on the depth chart by a 7K youth pull.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,246,000 (1,186,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull, and we lose some more money. Yay!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth pull

Third week at inad; guy had 12K of value, but no important skill above weak. He's toast.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 942 (Eugene)
Sponsers: 30,750
Temporary: 540 (New Supporeters)


Total revenues: 32,232

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,158
Staff: 19,500
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 9,256
Temporary: 3,000
- 2,000 (Youth Pull)
- 1,000 (Listing of Reyna)

Total Expenses: 76,284

Profit (Loss): (44,052)
New Balance: (229,165)

Back into the debt, though we should be very briefly out of debt after the next update and the van de Castel sale. We'll immediate hit the coach market, then the transfer market when that happens to get back around 200K in the hole. :)


Other stats

Team Spirit: Composed
Confidence: Decent (down from Strong)

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Satisfied (down from Delirious)
# of Supporters: 616 (Up from 598)

As predicted last week, the fans happiness was down after getting maimed by Ya Yas.

Series V.22 preview

Doing this after the games actually happened, so I'll be brief. It's the same 4 matches as last week, and one would expect the same 4 blowouts.


Next up: Game day

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 8

Frankfort United vs. Ya Yas

Date: May 25, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 13,020 (13,076)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We got drubbed last week; this week we're at home. Near sellout for the good team visiting.


Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Hein van de Castel

Right Defender: Bryan Reyna
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Theordore Arnold
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Central Midfield: Jacob Knapp
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Same as last week, we stacked our offense toward the left. Three changes; one was accidental in that I meant to start Clifford, but plugged in "Wretched Form" Chopin instead. Not a major dropoff, but one nonetheless. Travis gets a "Toward the middle" instruction in hopes of boosting our midfield rating. I don't expect it to work, cuz his stamina is shit, but we'll give it a shot. And last week's youth pull Reyna gets the call as Hawkins was sent off last week, and he shocked us with a solid performance on Wednesday.


The Match


13020 spectators arrived at Frankfort United Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Frankfort tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: van de Castel - Reyna, Eaton, Apelblad - Mcwhorter, Arnold, Chopin, Knapp, Travis - Sellers, Morales.

Yas had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Edo Peiro - Suárez-Guanes, Metzger, Hackett - Flamborn, Engstad, Beck, Klintborn, Taylor - Whitney, Nyhander.

Man, what a shot by Jacob Knapp! Firing from 35 yards he didn't give the enemy goalie a chance and it was 1 - 0. Johannes Nyhander made a good effort at breaking through from the right, but the visitors left defender cleared the ball to a corner. William Morales should probably have put his team up another goal in the 40:th minute, but some great goaltending by Jorge Edo Peiro kept the visitors in the game. Frankforts Courtney Sellers got himself booked after a foul. Collin Hackett made a run for the goal in the 44:th minute but the home teams far left defense managed to sort the situation out in the end. Yas will have to do without Johannes Nyhander for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Bill Tripp. 1 - 0 was the half-time score. Yas held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

54 minutes into the game Yas´s Barry Whitney found a gap in the home sides central defense scoring with a long shot, making it 1 - 1. Bryan Reyna received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 58:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. Yas took the lead after 59 minutes with 1 - 2. Heiko Beck placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. The game had been on for 70 minutes when Merle Taylor broke through to the right, upping the score to the home crowd´s dismay. Yas´s were up 1 - 3. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 73rd minute Yas goal, making it 1 - 4. Barry Whitney was noted down as the scorer. After this Yas lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. In the game's 75:th minute Frankfort´s Alexander Apelblad limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Yas, with an impressive 63 percent possession of the ball.

The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Hein van de Castel. Michael Chopin was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Yas player was without a doubt Jorge Edo Peiro. Barry Whitney on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 4.





Goals: Knapp (1)
Yellow Cards: Sellers


van de Castel: **~

Reyna: **
Eaton: **~
Apelblad: *~

Mcwhorter: **
Arnold: **
Chopin: *
Knapp: *~
Travis: *

Morales: **~
Sellers: **

Team Match MVP: Hein van de Castel

Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)


Ya Yas

Midfield: inadequate (5)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: formidable (9)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)


No shock, except for the 1-0 halftime lead. Where did *that* come from?

Chopin was predictably a disaster. Travis obviously didn't work either; that experiment is over. But Reyna...wow. Not only did he put up **, his side put up a solid defense. I'm very glad no one bought him now, because at the momement, he's a starting wingback.


In other v.22 action, Team Jooky and dbob took care of business, 9-0 and 6-0. Of note, taylor wins put up a 41 NSI; they're definately looking tougher than the sad ass team they replaced. But there was one massive upset, as the Pimpin Penguins tied Dog Bowl Chaos 2-2. Dog Bowl appeared to be a darkhorse contended in the second half, but this ends that. I'm guessing they got caught PICing; certainly wasn't anything the Pengiuns did, as they still haven't logged in in forever. We play the Penguins next week, and as that is very much a must-win, we will most certainly not be PICing.

Next up: FOFC Cup Group C treks onward as we visit the West Fargo Stangs.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Friendly

FOFC Cup Group C: West Fargo Stangs vs. Frankfort United

Date: May 28, 2003
Arena: The Corral (North Dakota)
Crowd: 597 (10,000)
Weather: Cloudy

The halfway point of group play arrives, as we visit leverb66's Stangs. We still entertain some thoughts of advancing, but need a win here, as the formidable Bees loom on the horizon.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Bryan Reyna
Left Defender: Ignacio Escrivá

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Enrique Linera
Central Midfield: Kevin Macartney
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: Jacob Knapp
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Nothing out of the ordinary here. Watts is still down from the injury in last week's cup match, so Mcwhorter gets a start. Macartney gets a start in the inner midfield as an experiment; his form is crap, but his talents indicate he could handle it, especially if his form ever goes up.


The Match

597 spectators had come to The Corral this cloudy day. Stangs started off with a 4-5-1 lineup. Lineup: Bergman - Omaña, Fai, Anderson, Kannika - Moore, Cole, Fink, Crockett, Nessblad - Hansen.

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

In the 2nd minute Frankforts Jacob Knapp received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. The Stangs player was Todd Anderson who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game. Stangs seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. Stangs made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Ron Cole completely alone with keeper Matthew Matlock, who made a spectacular block. Stangs were very close to putting themselves one up in the 35:th minute as Ola Hansen got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. Stangs created a good opportunity to score in the games 36:th minute when Ola Hansen`s hooked ball created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. Jacob Knapp sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 0-1 in after a corner kick after 36 minutes of play. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 38:th minute Frankfort goal, making it 0 - 2. Jacob Knapp was noted down as the scorer. By now Frankfort were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 2. Stangs held the ball, with a clear 58 percent possession rate.

The Stangs players spent the half-time break getting a rerun of the teams tactical organization. Benjamin Nessblad had a good opportunity to reduce in the 63rd minute but wasn´t cool enough. The ball went miles over the bar. The referee showed Stangss Lawrence Moore the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Stangs seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. The home crowd was given a certain amount of consolation when Ron Cole, after a brilliant midfield combination, put the reducing 1 - 2 goal away for Stangs. William Hawkins of Frankfort received a yellow card in the 88:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Frankforts Sonny Travis got himself booked after a foul. Stangs were forced to a substitution as Benjamin Nessblad couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. After a fatal mistake from the away teams right side defense in the 89:th minute, an alert Ola Hansen bagged the ball, evening the score to 2 - 2. The referee showed Frankforts Bryan Reyna the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Mario Jesus Jiménez the unlucky victim, couldn´t continue the game. Enrique Linera of Frankfort received a yellow card in the 90:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Stangs held the ball, with a clear 69 percent possession rate.

Stangs´s best player was Rino Giulietti. Daniel Crockett was a disappointment, however. Most important Frankfort player was Matthew Matlock. Kevin Macartney was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 2.



Goals: Knapp 2
Yellow Cards: Knapp, Hawkins, Reyna, Linera, Travis


Matlock: **~

Hawkins: **
Reyna: **
Escrivá: *

Mcwhorter: **
Clifford: *
Linera: *
Macartney: *
Travis: **~

Knapp: **
Sellers: **


Team Match MVP: Matthew Matlock


West Fargo Stangs

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: weak (4)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)


Frankfort United

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: weak (4)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)


We give another one away late, but when you go */*/* in the inner midfield, you aren't gonna win much. At least we know the results of the Macartney experiment: disaster. Reyna still doing well, though.

In other Group C action, Bees squashed the Emeralds 4-1, and Rochester got on the board by beating Isla Vista in a 6-5 shootout. As a result, I am (briefly) in 2nd place, but am only 2 points out of last; very bunched up after the Bees. Speaking of whom, I play them next week, which will end my stay in second most likely.


Up Next

Training results, financial update, and a must-win against the Pimpin Penguins.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

Productive week. van de Castel popped, and thus will hit the list at 190K tommorow afternoon.

Hein van de Castel (11182693)
21 years, passable form, healthy

A controversial person who is tranquil and honest.
Has disastrous experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: Nederland
Assessed value: 296 000 US$
Wage: 2 280 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

He may have played his last game in a Frankfort U uniform depending on Saturday's youth pull. If we get someone worth training, Matlock will go Sunday and the new guy Wednesday, otherwise van de Castel will get one last go.

Also, winger Sonny Travis increased his experience to poor.

Form Update

Starters Going Up: 2 (Sellers to Solid, Chopin 2 levels to Weak)
Starters Going Down: 2 (Hawkins to Inad, Clifford to Weak)
Reserves Going Up: 1 (Watts to Passable)
Reserves Going Down: 1 (Matlock in Inad)

Interesting; very, very happy to see Chopin recovering, he's back in the lineup this week, especially with Clifford now in the tank. I'm hoping the proceeds from van de Castel will draw a new inner mid (the quality of which depends on how much it costs me to get a decent coach), but for now, we definately need the help. And Sellers has been such a bargain for 3K that I lack the words to describe it. Best form on the team. Watts I'm hoping to see good things out of in Wednesday's FOFC Cup match; he could see some PT if it goes well. Matlock has fluctuated a lot recently, no big deal, though.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,285,000 (1,246,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull (crossing our fingers for a competant keeper trainee) and we make some $$$.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth pull

We've hit passable, but the pull still stinks. Poor keeper, already released. This means van de Castel will start Sunday, and Matlock will start Wednesday, with no backup if the Dutchman sells.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 69,288
- 67,818 (Ya Yas)
- 1,470 (at West Fargo)
Sponsers: 31,350
Temporary: 300 (New Supporeters)


Total revenues: 100,938

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,678
Staff: 21,000
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 9,658
- 11,458 (interst)
- (1,800) (investment)
Temporary: 3,000
- 2,000 (Youth Pull)
- 1,000 (Listing of van de Castel)

Total Expenses: 78,706

Profit (Loss): 22,232
New Balance: (206,933)

Looks like we'll come up slightly short of being briefly out of debt when (if) van de Castel sells, but we'll get close. Of course, most of those proceeds will be "reinvested".


Other stats

Team Spirit: Composed
Confidence: Decent

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Content (down from Satisfied)
# of Supporters: 626 (Up from 616)

Supporters drift down further as we get creamed at home. Possible problem: all of our home games the rest of the way are against some of the better teams in the series. Hope that doesn't kill me too bad.

Series V.22 preview

elliot - Dog Bowl Chaos

elliot is the worst team in all of creation. Dog Bowl is coming off a disappointing loss. They will PIC and still kill this team by 6 or 7 goals.

Ya Yas - dbob

The top two teams in the series match up again. Ya Yas must win if they are to have any hopes of finishing first, while a win here for dbob sets them up for potential auto-promotion. They're a touch below the line now, but winning out would probably get them above the line as some of the teams ahead of them lose or tie.

Pimpin Penguins - Frankfort United

Pimpin pulled the shocking tie of Dog Bowl last week. This concerns me, but not too much. What *does* concern me is that their owner logged in for the first time in like a month this week. Did he make changes? will they be better? We *must* win this game.

taylorwins - Team Jooky

The second most interesting game on paper this week. The home side has been extremely active on the transfer wire. Of course, he was active before and improved everything except his midfield. Wretched ain't gonna get it done. He's clearly trying, but also doesn't seem to have anyone helping him (witness: his 2,550 seat addition to his arena). Jooky is vulnerable. I could use a taylorwins shocker, or at least a tie. My goal is still to avoid a playoff game. That will be freakin' hard, as I'm 9 points behind Dog Bowl and 10 behind Jooky, but enough upsets could do it for me.


Next up: We visit the Pengiuns.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 9

Pimpin Penguins vs. Frankfort United

Date: June 1, 2003
Arena: Pimp Arena (Iowa)
Crowd: 8,762 (15,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We hit the road to take on one of the league's dormats. Two warning signs though: they logged in for the first time in like forever this week, and pulled a miracle tie against a team ranked higher than me last week.

Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Hein van de Castel

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Bryan Reyna

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Central Midfield: Jacob Knapp
Central Midfield: Theordore Arnold
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Traditional style lineup for us. Hoping Chopin's return to "Weak" form can yield good things. Reyna continues to play, as he's been amazingly decent since his promotion from the youth squad.


The Match


Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 8762 to Pimp Arena. Penguins had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Espinosa - Kincaid, Downing, Hale - Ruff, Corcoran, Herrero, Conner, Harden - Mcdermott, Loc-Truong.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: van de Castel - Hawkins, Eaton, Reyna - Mcwhorter, Arnold, Chopin, Knapp, Travis - Sellers, Morales.

Penguins made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in from the right hand side left Daniel Downing completely alone with keeper Hein van de Castel, who made a spectacular block. Penguins created a good opportunity to score in the games 9:th minute when José Ruff`s hooked ball created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. The referee showed Frankforts Jacob Knapp the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Michel Harden managed to make an excellent pass from the flank, but José Ruff was not as skillfull in scoring. Frankfort´s Courtney Sellers gave the visitors a 0 - 1 lead in the 31st minute with a superb strike from the right. Frankforts Sonny Travis got himself booked after a foul. Frankfort increased the lead to 0 - 2 as William Morales scored from the penalty spot, putting the ball in near the top left corner. Halftime score was 0 - 2. Penguins held the ball, with a clear 51 percent possession rate.

Arthur Eaton hit the ball just perfect in the 62nd minute and could score for Frankfort with a fab long shot to 0 - 3. After 63 minutes Steven Kincaid could have reduced had it not been for an excellent block by the visitors keeper Hein van de Castel. Unsportsmanlike behaviour by Jacob Knapp rendered him his second booking of the match, and Frankfort had to finish the game with a reduced squad. William Hawkins increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 4. The structure of the game started to change as Frankfort decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. The visitors Jesse Mcwhorter took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 66:th minute. 0 - 5 for Frankfort. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 69 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Penguins player was without a doubt Steven Kincaid. Gonzalo Herrero on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Arthur Eaton. However, Michael Chopin made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 0 - 5.






Goals: Sellers (2), Morales (5), Eaton (1), Hawkins (2), Mcwhorter (1)
Yellow Cards: Knapp 2, Travis


van de Castel: **~

Hawkins: **
Eaton: **~
Reyna: **

Mcwhorter: **
Chopin: *~
Knapp: None Given (Sent off)
Arnold: **
Travis: **~

Morales: **~
Sellers: **

Team Match MVP: Arthur Eaton

Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)



Pimpin Penguins

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: weak (4)
Right Side Attack: weak (4)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)


Very nice effort. Penguins midfield can compete with mine (though they clearly lack stamina), but they bring absolutely nothing else to the table. How about that Solid defense on Reyna's side? Or the double Solids on the wings? I'm happy. :) Also, hell of a (probable) last game for van de Castel, with 2 huge stops when the game was still tight.

On the down side, Knapp will miss next week's game. But dbob should kill us anyway, and, assuming van de Castel sells, we'll have a new inner mid for next week anyway.

Elsewhere in v.22, dbob will be pissed and out for blood, as Ya Yas smoked them 4-2. That makes the race for #1 a very interesting one, though someone else will still have to steal a point from dbob for Ya Yas to have a chance. Much though I'd like it to be me, probably won't be. Team Jooky killed taylorwins 4-1; all those machinations just don't seem to be working. In fact, they seem to be getting worse. And Dog Bowl maimed elliot 7-0. I can only hope elliot doesn't change ownership before I get my turn at them.


Next up: The top two teams in FOFC Group C (so far) meet, as the Bees visit Frankfort.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Active day in Frankfort.

First, van de Castel finally got a bid, and thus solid for 190K, 171K of which goes directly into my bank account (or against our line of credit, more accurately :) ).

Second, we immediately charged to the transfer market, and landed:

Robert Mullineux (5183508)
28 years, weak form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has inadequate experience and weak leadership abilities.

Nationality: England
Assessed value: 63 000 US$
Wage: 1 236 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

Career Goals: 11
Career Hattricks: 0
League goals this season: 0
Cup goals this season: 1


Robert, like Chopin when we picked him up, is not in the best of form, but when he is, he'll be our best midfielder. Even as is, I expect him to start, barring a complete form collapse. 73K was the price, I consider that quite reasonable. I am going to have to consider a round of general training eventually, unless the midfield's form picks up. Robert will also be the new team captain.

And finally, Enrique Linera finds himself out of a job. We have more than enough people to play the midfield (Arnold, Mullineux, Chopin starters/ Knapp, Clifford backups / Travis, Macartney deep backups). We'll save his meager salary, at least.

Mullineux will debut in Wednesday's cup match. Go FU!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Friendly

FOFC Cup Group C: Frankfort United vs. Bees

Date: June 4, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 758 (13,076)
Weather: Sunny

We take on the Group C leaders and favorites, needing points badly. We don't figure to get them, though; this is a tough, tough team.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: Ignacio Escrivá
Central Defender: Alexander Apelblad
Left Defender: Bryan Reyna

Right Wing: Kevin Macartney
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Milton Watts

Striker: Jacob Knapp
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Obivously, they one to watch here is our new star middy and his weak form. This is a better group that we used to put out there, and will continue to be with Linera voted off the island.


The Match

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 758 to Frankfort United Arena. Frankfort tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Matlock - Escrivá, Apelblad, Reyna - Macartney, Mullineux, Chopin, Clifford, Watts - Sellers, Knapp.

Bees tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Muller - Clifton, Strozynski, Siegel - Bortone, Martínez, Mahoney, Jackson, Martin - Gallegos, Ladd.

Bees´s Omar Bortone gave the visitors a 0 - 1 lead in the 16:th minute with a superb strike from the right. Mikey Siegel increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 2. Frankfort reduced the score in the 36:th minute to 1 - 2 when Ignacio Escrivá got the best of a ball floated in from the left. In the 39:th minute Frankfort was able to score the equalising 2 - 2 goal. Jacob Knapp picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away teams goalie. In the 40:th minute Frankforts Robert Mullineux received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. 2 - 2 was the half-time score. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 59 percent possession rate.

Kevin Macartney made a nice rush in the 46 minute, but was eventually stopped by Mikey Siegel. After a fine move down the middle Michael Chopin nearly gave the home side one up in the 49:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. Fine winger Milton Watts made one of his many passes from the wing into the middle in the 57:th minute. Jacob Knapp went to the air and hit the ball firmly with his forehead for 3 - 2. Bryan Reyna received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 58:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. Frankfort put their lead ahead another goal as Robert Mullineux struck home the 4 - 2 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. Frankfort, bringing the final ball possession rate to 74 percent, dominated the battle.

Frankfort´s best player was Matthew Matlock. Kenneth Clifford on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Bees player was without a doubt Omar Bortone. Lance Mahoney on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 2.



Goals: Knapp 2, Escriva, Mullineux
Yellow Cards: Mullineux


Matlock: **~

Escrivá: *~
Apelblad: **
Reyna: **

Macartney: *~
Mullineux: **
Clifford: *
Chopin: *~
watts: **

Knapp: **
Sellers: **


Team Match MVP: Matthew Matlock


Bees

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)



Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)



Big win! We really controlled the midfield, and got better as the game went on. Very solid effort. Mullineux did as I expect, and if his form can get up some, he'll be a monster addition.


Elsewhere in Group C, Eugene tied Isla Vista 1-1, and Rochester beat West Fargo 4-2. That leaves points as this:

Bees - 9
Frankfort - 8
Rochester - 6
Eugene - 5
Isla Vista - 4
West Fargo - 1

The last week sees Bees take on West Fargo, Isla Vista visit Frankfort, and Eugen battle Rochester. A win would cinch advancement for us, while a tie would put us in a precarious situtation. A loss would mean almost certain elimination. Isla Vista put up a weak midfield this week, so we're probably doomed.

Up Next

Training results, financial update, and series leading dbob comes to Frankfort.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

For the second straight week, a keeper pops in Frankfort.

Matthew Matlock (11113430)
18 years, inadequate form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 281 000 US$
Wage: 1 260 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


Unlike van de Castel, he stays. We need to locate him a training partner. If this week's youth pull isn't productive, we'll have to pick up a cheap inad.

Form Update

Starters Going Up: 2 (Apelblad, Chopin to Inad)
Starters Going Down: 3 (Travis to Inad, Mcwhorter to weak, Mullineux to poor)
Reserves Going Up: 0
Reserves Going Down: 0

Well, looks like Mullineux is gonna go like Chopin and keep diving for a while. He'll still start, but man, this needs to stop. Chopin, on the other hand, is in the best form since he joined the club.

Our winger situation went downhill fast this time around. Watts will replace Mcwhorter, while Travis will stay in. Apelblad gets back into the lineup (replacing Reyna) as well.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,071,000 (1,041,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull (crossing our fingers again for a competant keeper trainee) and finances.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth pull

Second week of passable, weak keeper, already toast. I'm probably gonna bite down and buy a inad keeper to train early this week.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 1,951 (vs. Bees)
Sponsers: 31,650
Temporary: 171,660
- 660 (New Supporeters)
- 171,000 (Sale of van de Castel)

Total revenues: 205,261

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,678
Staff: 21,000
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 8,147
- 10,347 (interst)
- (2,200) (investment)
Temporary: 75,000
- 2,000 (Youth Pull)
- 73,000 (purchase of Mullineux)

Total Expenses: 149,194

Profit (Loss): 56,067
New Balance: (150,866)

Finances looking decent, and we have a home game (which will sell out, I think) coming this week. Money will be spent this coming week on 1) an inadequate keeper trainee and 2) possibly getting a new coach. If our supporters are happy after tommorow (not bloody likely), I won't be able to justify the hit I'll take, but assuming I lose, and they're pissed, it'll be time to get a passable or solid.


Other stats

Team Spirit: Composed
Confidence: Decent

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Delirious (up from Content)
# of Supporters: 648 (Up from 626)

Road shutout has the supporters thrilled, as if that'll last.

Series V.22 preview

Pimpin Penguins - elliot

These teams both stink, but elliot is beyond stink. Penguins will win this handily.

Dog Bowl Chaos - taylorwins

The road team here is still very active on the transfer market. Unless they've upped their wretched midfield, ain't gonna mean anything, though. I could really use an upset here, but I don't find it likely.

Team Jooky - Ya Yas

Biggest game of the week. Team Jooky does not impress me, but they are only 3 points out of first. This is a possible MOTS for them. Ya Yas, though in 2nd by a point, are the best team in the series, and should smoke Jooky all things equal.

Frankfort United - dbob

Well, here we go. dbob is the #1 team in the series, we could really, really use an upset. I bought Mullineux with an eye toward managing a weak midfield this game, but with inad/inad/poor form, I just can't see it happening. If we can stay with them in the middle, we have an outside shot.

Next up: dbob comes to Frankfort.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 10

Frankfort United vs. dbob

Date: June 8, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 13.076 (13,076)
Weather: Partly cloudy

The #1 team in our series visits Frankfort. Our fans respond with the first true sellout in team history (we came 20 short when Ya Yas visited 2 weeks ago).

Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Sonny Travis
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Theordore Arnold
Left Wing: Milton Watts

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Several changes here from recent weeks. First, Apelblad returns, as he is back to Inad form. Second, Mcwhorter is out, Watts is in, due to form concerns. Finally, Mullineux replaces Knapp (who is suspended, but wouldn't have done today anyway). The teamwide form isn't very good, but it isn't awful either, with the exception of Mullineux.


The Match

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 13076 to Frankfort United Arena. Frankfort started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Matlock - Hawkins, Eaton, Apelblad - Travis, Arnold, Mullineux, Chopin, Watts - Sellers, Morales.

dbob tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Flores - Cisneros, Lagunas, Einarsson - Henriksson, Gunnarsson, Breemen, Vikér, Eckstad - Morgan, Olrik.

The 22nd minute saw the home team take a 1 - 0 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for Frankfort was William Morales. In the games 31st minute the visitors levelled to 1 - 1 as Rickard Vikér struck home on a bar rebound, following a shot from the right. In the 31st minute Frankforts Sonny Travis received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. In the 36:th minute the home side managed to get a 2 - 1 lead as Courtney Sellers flipped the ball after a cross pass from the right. Frankfort will have to do without Courtney Sellers for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Ignacio Escrivá. With clinical precision the cross pass from winger Sonny Travis found it's way to Milton Watts's head, and a screaming header gave Frankfort 3 - 1. dbobs Rickard Vikér got himself booked after a foul. The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 1. Frankfort, bringing the final ball possession rate to 54 percent, dominated the battle.

Frankfort put their lead ahead another goal as William Morales struck home the 4 - 1 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. The structure of the game started to change as Frankfort decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. dbobs Julio Lagunas got himself booked after a foul. The home side failed to add to their score as William Morales shot a penalty wide in the 65:th minute. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.

Frankfort´s best player was Arthur Eaton. Ignacio Escrivá on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important dbob player was Stigbjörn Eckstad. Rickard Vikér on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 1.


Goals: Morales 2 (7), Sellers (3), Watts (1)
Yellow Cards: Travis


Matlock: **~

Hawkins: **
Eaton: **~
Apelblad: **

Travis: **
Chopin: **
Mullineux: **
Arnold: **
Watts: **~

Morales: **~
Sellers: *
Escriva (in for Sellers): *

Team Match MVP: Arthur Eaton

Frankfort United

Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)


dbob

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: weak (4)
Central Defence: solid (7)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)


Wow! Complete stunner. Last time, we were able to hang with them for a while, before a 3-1 loss. This time, complete change. We scored early, we scored again after they tied it, then blew it open. Our first ever weak midfield, and this is with what I would consider to be crap form! One of the keys was our solid left attack vs. their weak right defense. Watts really came to play in his first appearance for the first team in quite a while.

There is bad news. First and foremost, Courtney Sellers is out 5 weeks with his injury. Really, this isn't the worst thing ever, as Knapp is just as good (better when his form is up). But Knapp was our top midfield sub, and our only forward sub. Any more suspensions or injuries up front, and we're hurting. Travis will also miss next week's game with his 3 yellow, but that's no big deal, as we play the worst team in all of d5 (if they aren't, it's close).

The other piece of bad news came from the other v.22 results. Dog Bowl beat taylor wins 2-0; disappointing, but expected. The latter team puts up great ratings everywhere except the midfield, where they are awful. But the real crusher was Team Jooky beating Ya Yas 6-3 in a complete stunner. If I was to come back and get out of a playoff game, that was a game they had to lose. Alas. The other v.22 game saw the Pimpin Penguins beat our next week's opponent 4-0. Needless to say, the first PIC in Frankfort history is upcoming.

Here are the standings:

1. Team Jooky 10 45 - 17 22

2. dbob 10 32 - 14 22
3. Dog Bowl Chaos 10 38 - 12 21
4. Ya Yas 10 43 - 18 21

5. Frankfort United 10 21 - 25 12
6. Pimpin Penguins 10 14 - 40 8

7. taylorwins 10 6 - 35 4
8. elliot 10 4 - 42 4

That's gotta be one of the tightest races in all of division 5. Too bad I'm not in it. The only hope remaining is that Dog Bowl plays over the last 4 weeks in order: at Ya Yas, vs. dbob, at Team Jooky, vs. Frankfort. I would have to win out (which is unlikely, but not impossible), but if I could, and Dog Bowl took a complete dive, I could squeeze into 4th. Not counting on it, but that's the goal.

For now, we celebrate the biggest win in team history. Go FU!

Next up: Frankfort United plays host to the Isla Vista Vandals in Group C's last week.

[Havok]

nice upset Duke :)

Its anyone's divison right now.....

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by DukeRulesMAB
For now, we celebrate the biggest win in team history. Go FU! [/B]

FU, too ;)

SI

[DukeRulesMAB]

Well, I got my keeper trainee. Unfortunately, I let my competitiveness and impatience get the better of me, and spent 45K, quite a touch more than I'd intended to spend.

Lorenzo Porras (12542447)
17 years, passable form, healthy

A controversial person who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities.

Nationality: España
Assessed value: 142 000 US$
Wage: 1 416 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


First the negative affects of this: No new coach. The fact is, I wasn't getting one any time soon anyway, because I can't justify pissing off my suporters at the moment. My next window to can him isn't for at least 2 weeks, and maybe (hopefully) not even then. Still, I shouldn't have let this get away, as I could have gotten someone 2-3 weeks behind this guy for less than 20K.

Now the good. I wanted a 17 YO inad. I love this guy because he will (probably) pop this week or next. I want to keep him at least until he's excellent, which should be sometime next season. Using the dataking model of patient training. :) Of course, I may have to cut bait before then if my finances get too ugly, but that's the goal.

How bad did I screw the pooch here? In the long run, we shall see. For now, I'm very excited about Porras's potential with the club.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Thanks Havoc, it's really an even division among the top 5 teams. If I'd had this team all year long, I think I'd be right there in the mix, but alas, it's just a fight for survival now. And sterlingice, I've always enjoyed using various forms of "F.U." as my team name, being from Frankfort. Started when I created a school in some old PSX NCAA game, Frankfort University, and realized I quite liked the abbeviated version. :)

Friendly

FOFC Cup Group C: Frankfort United vs. Isla Vista Vandals

Date: June 11, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 741 (13,076)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Well, Isla Vista is a very, very good team. A win here advances us. We have an outside shot with a tie or loss, but we're rather not press our luck.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Lorenzo Porras

Right Defender: Ignacio Escrivá
Central Defender: Alexander Apelblad
Left Defender: Bryan Reyna

Right Wing: Kevin Macartney
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Jacob Knapp

Big name to watch this week is Porras' debut. We expect ** today, and for him to advance quickly. Other than that, typical lineup for us. Morales/Knapp will be pulling double duty in the midfield for a while.


The Match

741 spectators arrived at Frankfort United Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Frankfort started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Porras - Escrivá, Apelblad, Reyna - Macartney, Mullineux, Chopin, Clifford, Mcwhorter - Knapp, Morales.

Vandals tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. Lineup: Febrer - Palmbratt, Bennebroek, Hewitt - Pinilla, Hoyng, Gaudreault, Areggo - Nguyen, Hyatt, Moore.

Frankforts Jacob Knapp gave, after 2 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Vandals could level the score in the 22nd minute at 1 - 1, as Paul-Arnaud Gaudreault struck home after a fine midfield combination, leaving him completely unmarked. Vandals seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. A foul after 24 minutes resulted in a free kick. William Morales cannonballed it, giving the hometeam the lead 2 to 1. William Morales hit the ball just perfect in the 30:th minute and could score for Frankfort with a fab long shot to 3 - 1. William Morales almost managed to score another goal for Frankfort, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. In the 42nd minute Frankforts Robert Mullineux received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Halftime score was 3 - 1. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 67 percent possession rate.

Vandals -coach had an extra briefing during the break, and after that his players looked a lot more organized. William Morales increased Frankfort´s lead to 4 - 1 from a penalty spot cannonball. This third goal made a hat trick for William Morales. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Vandals´s Frank Bennebroek got himself booked. Vandals had obvious problems in finding their positions. Alexander Apelblad increased Frankforts lead to 5 - 1 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. After this Frankfort lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Frankfort´s Jacob Knapp putting the lead up to 6 - 1. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Michael Chopin squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 86:th minute, asserting the lead to 7 - 1. Jacob Knapp of Frankfort received a yellow card in the 86:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Vandals had obvious problems in finding their positions. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Frankfort lead up with 8 - 1. Bryan Reyna finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 84 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt William Morales. Kenneth Clifford on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Vandals player was Patrick Hewitt. However, Raymond Hyatt made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 8 - 1.




Goals: Morales 3, Knapp 2, Apelblad, Chopin, Reyna
Yellow Cards: Mullineux, Knapp


Porras: **

Escrivá: *~
Apelblad: **
Reyna: **

Macartney: **
Mullineux: **
Clifford: *
Chopin: **
Mcwhorter: **

Morales: **~
Knapp: **



Team Match MVP: William Morales


Frankfort United

Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


Isla Vista Vandals

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)


Jesus, wasn't expecting that. We're so thin now, that starters are playing, especially in the central midfield and forward positions, so we put the goals on the board. Still, that's insane. Can't believe we got a weak midfield either, Clifford is horrible right now.

We have advanced to knockout play of the FOFC Cup, which is quite the accomplishment, even if it was solely driven by my team's lack of depth (and thus good players playing).

Lastly, Porras was as expected, 2 stars. May he advance quickly.



Up Next

Training results, financial update, and we get to destroy the hapless elliot squad.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

For the third straight week, a keeper pops in Frankfort.

Lorenzo Porras (12542447)
17 years, passable form, healthy

A controversial person who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities.

Nationality: España
Assessed value: 160 000 US$
Wage: 1 416 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


I briefly considered "daytraining" him, and immediately selling him, but I like where he is. He should be solid early next season, then excellent sometime in the middle. Hopefully, I can afford to keep him that long.

Also, sometime team captain Arthur Eaton went to passable experience. Mullineux still gets the call though, cuz his leadership isn't terrible.


Form Update

Starters Going Up: 1 (Mullineux to Weak)
Starters Going Down: 2 (Hawkins, Apelblad to Weak)
Reserves Going Up: 1 (Macartney two levels to Passable)
Reserves Going Down: 0

Well, my defense takes a him here. Sadly, Hawkins has to stay in, but Reyna is back in for Apelblad. Never would have though Reyna would end up with his much PT when we pulled him, but he's been an invaluable backup.

The other news is great, as Mullineux is pulling a quick turnaround, back to weak. And Macartney's form increase is well timed, because we need a winger this week with Travis suspended. This is Macartney's first first-team action in a while, hopefully he'll take advantage.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,244,000 (1,213,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull and finances.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth Pull

Third week at passable yield a possible sellable commodity.

Mikey Huber (12845288)
17 years, passable form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and upright.
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 16 000 US$
Wage: 560 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

He'll be listed at 1K tommorow.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 70,191
- 68,266 (vs. dbob)
- 1,925 (vs. Isla Vista)
Sponsers: 32,400
Temporary: 780 (New Supporeters)

Total revenues: 103,371

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 15,074
Staff: 21,000
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 5,543
- 7,543 (interst)
- (2,000) (investment)
Temporary: 47,000
- 2,000 (Youth Pull)
- 45,000 (purchase of Porras)

Total Expenses: 118,987

Profit (Loss): (13,616)
New Balance: (164,482)

Never good to lose money the week of a home game. That Porras gamble better pay off. :)


Other stats

Team Spirit: Composed
Confidence: Decent

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Delirious
# of Supporters: 674 (Up from 648)

Supporters oddly stable after the huge home win. We did get a nice boost in numbers, though.

Series V.22 preview

dbob - Team Jooky

1 point separates 1st and 4th, and those 4 teams match up this week. This is the first of those matchups. These guys are 2 and 1, but despite Jooky having the better goal differential, I've considered dbob the better team. Jooky has played great the last few weeks, though.

Ya Yas - Dog Bowl Chaos

The 3 and 4 teams here. I consider Ya Yas the best team in the series, despite their loss last week, so they should win here at home. I need this, too, as Dog Bowl is the team I hope to catch.

taylorwins - Pimpin Penguins

Quietly important game, as taylor wins must win, or else will be auto demoted. The Penguins will be in serious trouble with a loss here, as taylorwins still has elliot on the schedule.

elliot - Frankfort United

We'll kill them. They've never logged in after getting the team, this is a PIC and a laugher.

Next up: We squash elliot like a bug.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 11

elliot vs. Frankfort United

Date: June 15, 2003
Arena: elliot's big baller park (Alabama)
Crowd: 5,208 (22,070)
Weather: Sunny

elliot is dead last in our series, and is completely miserable (NSI's in the 20s). This will be our best ever PIC game. Seeing how far our ratings drop will be key, as I'd like to PIC taylorwins later on, but won't be able to if it puts us in a danger area.

I was wrong though when I said that elliot's owner had never logged in. He apparently logged in once, long enough to build the biggest and nicest park in the series and rename it. Sadly, it remains nearly empty for obvious reasons.

Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Bryan Reyna

Right Wing: Milton Watts
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Central Midfield: Theordore Arnold
Left Wing: Kevin Macartney

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Jacob Knapp

Few changes here. Reyna is in for form reasons, while Macartney is for Travis due to suspension. Knapp takes over up front in the wake of Sellers' injury, but he was likely taking over in the lineup as soon as form permitted anyway.


The Match

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 5208 to elliot's big baller park. elliot had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Reale - Wells, Quinn, Darden, Hawley - Fernandes, Minter, Staton, Wagner - Mojica, Sheldon.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Matlock - Hawkins, Eaton, Reyna - Watts, Arnold, Mullineux, Chopin, Macartney - Knapp, Morales.

After a fine move down the middle Murray Staton nearly gave the home side one up in the 5:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. Some quick foot work on the left side of the field in the 12th minute left Frankfort´s Theodore Arnold completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. Jacob Knapp sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 0-2 in after a corner kick after 34 minutes of play. After 35 minutes of game time Jacob Knapp received an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but Sante Reale was in the right place, tipping the ball to a corner. elliots James Fernandes got himself booked after a foul. Frankfort were forced to a substitution as Theodore Arnold couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. Frankfort's William Morales scored 0 - 3 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. Frankfort came close to extending their lead as Jacob Knapp delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was to sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal. Halftime score was 0 - 3. Frankfort, bringing the final ball possession rate to 77 percent, dominated the battle.

Frankfort´s William Morales received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 47:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 4. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The visitors Bryan Reyna took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 58:th minute. 0 - 5 for Frankfort. After this Frankfort lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. Kenneth Clifford increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 6. elliots James Sheldon got himself booked after a foul. Frankfort´s Milton Watts left the field after 72 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Jesse Mcwhorter. Frankfort increased the lead to 0 - 7 as William Morales scored from the penalty spot, putting the ball in near the top left corner. By then William Morales was a three time scorer - a hat trick! Frankfort, bringing the final ball possession rate to 94 percent, dominated the battle.

The most dominating elliot player was without a doubt James Sheldon. Jimmy Darden on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Arthur Eaton. Kenneth Clifford was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 7.


Goals: Morales 3 (10), Knapp (2), Arnold (1), Reyna (1), Clifford (3)
Yellow Cards: none


Matlock: **~

Hawkins: **
Eaton: **~
Reyna: **

Watts: *~
McWhorter (in for Watts): **
Mullineux: **
Chopin: **
Arnold: *~
Clifford (in for Arnold): *
Macartney: **~

Morales: **~
Knapp: **

Team Match MVP: Arthur Eaton

Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


elliot

Midfield: disastrous (1)
Right Side Defence: weak (4)
Central Defence: weak (4)
Left Side Defence: weak (4)
Right Side Attack: weak (4)
Central Attack: weak (4)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)

Are those not the worst ratings you've ever seen? Geez, that's terrible.

The biggest news coming out of the game is our injury situation. Watts is out 1 week, so I'm optimistic he'll be ready to go on Sunday. Not so with Arnold, who is out 2 weeks. Unfortunately, Sunday is a huge game against division leading Team Jooky. Normally we would plug Knapp into the midfield, but without Sellers we don't have another option at forward. We're gonna give a few options a try in Wednesday's game (which coinicidentally will mean our ejection from the FOFC Cup, but we have to have all the information). Cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Obviously we dominated an amazingly inferior team. Congrats to Morales for the team's first ever hat trick! Nice performance also for Macartney.

In other action, Team Jooky took control of the series with a 2-0 road win over freefalling dbob. Jooky is playing the best soccer of the season, just in time to visit me. Ugh. Ya Yas took care of business against Dog Bowl, keeping my slim hopes of 4th place alive. And the Penguins and taylorwins battled to a 0-0 draw, which pretty much ends taylorwins hopes of avoiding auto-demotion. Too bad, cuz he's obviously trying, but has no clue about how important the midfield is (he's going with a 5-3-2 now). So now Jooky has a 1 point year on Ya Yas, 3 over dbob. Frankfort is 6 down from 4th place Dog Bowl. And the Penguins have a 4 point cushion over taylorwins for 6th.


Next up: In the Round of 32 of the FOFC Cup, we visit Bees for a return match from Group C.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Friendly

FOFC Cup Round of 32: Bees vs. Frankfort United

Date: June 18, 2003
Arena: Bee Hive (Tennesee)
Crowd: 1212 (22,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We meet again. The top two finishers in Group C have a rematch from two weeks ago, except this time at Bees' place.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Lorenzo Porras

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Alexander Apelblad
Left Defender: Bryan Reyna

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Jacob Knapp
Central Midfield: Kevin Macartney
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Left Wing: Mikey Huber

Striker: Sonny Travis
Striker: Ignacio Escrivá

Well, this is certainly the worst lineup we have ever put on the field, but it has a purpose. Sure Bees will kill us in the process, but we gotta do what we gotta do.

With Arnold out, as well as Sellers still down, we had to figure out what we're gonna do in the midfield and forwards. Normally, Knapp would slide into the midfield, but with Sellers out, we don't have another backup forward. So we went with our 3 candidates in the midfield, and two candidates at forward. I'm hopeful that Macartney can step up and take the midfield slot.

Also of note, Mikey Huber gets his first and last Frankfort United appearance. He's become the first ever Frankfort United youth product to get a bid, so yay him.

The Match

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

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

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

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

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




Goals: Clifford
Yellow Cards: Travis


Porras: **

Hawkins: **
Apelblad: **
Reyna: **

Mcwhorter: **
Knapp: *~
Macartney: *~
Clifford: *
Huber: **

Travis: *~
Escrivá: *


Team Match MVP: Lorenzo Porras


Bees

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: excellent (8)
Central Defence: solid (7)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: excellent (8)
Central Attack: solid (7)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


Frankfort United

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: weak (4)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)


Well, they teased me early with a quick goal and another scoring chance, but it was clearly not to be. Looking at Bees' ratings, I'm lucky it wasn't worse than it was. Congrats to ausonny, and best of luck in the rest of the FOFC Cup!

More importantly, seems as though we have some options for Sunday. Escriva and Clifford are essentially out of the running, but I can either put Knapp or Macartney in the midfield, with Travis sliding to forward if needed. I'm still undecided; we'll probably just put the best form that we can in the midfield, and hope from there.


Up Next

Training results, financial update, and series leading (and smoking hot) Team Jooky comes to Frankfort.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

As if; we are a looooong way from our next pop. :)


Form Update

Starters Going Up: 4 (Knapp, Chopin to Passable; Hawkins, Apelblad to Inad)
Starters Going Down: 3 (Morales to Inad, Matlock to Weak, Mullineux to poor)
Reserves Going Up: 2 (Macartney to Solid, Escriva to Inad)
Reserves Going Down: 1 (Watts to Inad)

What a roller coaster; dunno if this is good or bad on the whole. Our defense gets a nice boost, and should be ready for Sunday. However, my freakin' keeper is down to Weak form, so I don't even know who I'm gonna start.

In the midfield, Chopin goes up, but Mullineux goes down. Wash at best. However, Macartney going to solid makes my decision easy, he gets plugged in.

Forwards are also a wash (Morales down, Knapp up).

Should be an interesting game, I'm gonna get killed.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,278,000 (1,260,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull and finances.

[DukeRulesMAB]

First things first. Huber solid for 4K, putting about 3,600 cash in the Frankfort bank (or paid to the Frankfort creditors). He's the first youth pull of ours to ever sell, and he even generates a mild profit! (I count the 2K pull and the 1K listing fee against profit; I don't count the 20K youth squad fee because it is pointed toward a higher goal).


Youth pull

Fourth week of passable, and we hit for (what us is) the jackpot.

Gavin Valdes (13063632)
19 years, passable form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is tranquil and upright.
Has disastrous experience and wretched leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 73 000 US$
Wage: 880 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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


He'll be listed tommorow, but in the meantime, we're short on wingers due to injury (Watts is still hurt), so he'll get a quickie start tommorow. Love those secondaries to go with the Solid wing.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 3,150 (at Bees)
Sponsers: 33,000
Temporary: 4,460
- 780 (New Supporeters)
- 3,680 (Sale of Huber)

Total revenues: 40,610

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,490
Staff: 21,000
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 6,724
- 8,224 (interst)
- (1,500) (investment)
Temporary: 3,000
- 2,000 (Youth Pull)
- 1,000 (Listing of Huber)

Total Expenses: 75,584

Profit (Loss): (34,974)
New Balance: (199,456)

Should turn a nice profit next week between the home match and the sale of Valdes.

Other stats

Team Spirit: Calm (up from Composed)
Confidence: Strong (up from Decent)

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Delirious
# of Supporters: 700 (Up from 674)

Our first above median team spirit in quite a while.

Series V.22 preview

Frankfort United - Team Jooky

Team Jooky was the first team I played after I took over. Needless to say, they smoked me. I'd like to get some revenge here, but injuries may prevent that. This is a crucial game, as a win here really puts Jooky in the driver's seat, while a loss throws the series into disarray (again).

elliot - taylorwins

The nothing game of the week, taylorwins will cruise, and it won't matter cuz they're still going to D.VI

Pimpin Penguins - Ya Yas

Ya Yas should smash the Penguins. They'll spend most of their time scoreboard watching and cheering for us.

Dog Bowl Chaos - dbob

The other important game of the week for us, we need a dbob win, or at least a tie, here. They've been struggling lately, though, and road points might be too much to ask.

Next up: The big tilt against Jooky.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 12

Frankfort United vs. Team Jooky

Date: June 22, 2003
Arena: Frnakfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 13,076 (13,076)
Weather: Sunny

For the second time in 3 weeks, we play the #1 team in the series in our home arena. Different team this time, though. They slapped us 5-0 in my first ever game after getting the team. we are quite a different squad now, though. We really need a win here, but not so much that I'm willing to MOTS. If we MOTS and win, I'm screwed because I play another good team soon. If we MOTS and lose, we're screwed because my spirit won't be recovered before the qualification game.

Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Lorenzo Porras

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Gavin Valdes
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Kevin Macartney
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Jacob Knapp

Some new faces in different spots here. Porras gets his first league match action, as Matlock's form is in the toilet. And Valdes will start his first (and likely only, as he's on the list) match for his mother club. Meanwhile, Macartney is in the inner midfield. I really wish we were full strength here today.


The Match

A scorching day at Frankfort United Arena, where 13076 spectators were in place for today´s match. Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Porras - Hawkins, Eaton, Apelblad - Valdes, Mullineux, Chopin, Macartney, Travis - Knapp, Morales.

Jooky had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Alonso - Pomar, Jackson, Swift - Scarborough, Todd, Sanjeevi, Skelton, Leal - del Corral, Ross.

Raúl del Corral of Jooky received a yellow card in the 8:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Jooky took the lead in the games 11th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Corey Ross was the scorer. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 15:th minute Jooky goal, making it 0 - 2. Corey Ross was noted down as the scorer. The structure of the game started to change as Jooky decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Frankfort´s William Morales got the home crowd going when he finished off a left wing charge putting the away teams lead down to 1 - 2. In the 24:th minute Frankforts Arthur Eaton received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. After a fatal mistake from the away teams right side defense in the 28:th minute, an alert Michael Chopin bagged the ball, evening the score to 2 - 2. 2 - 2 was the half-time score. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 51 percent possession rate.

Jooky took the lead after 58 minutes with 2 - 3. Raúl del Corral placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. The game had been on for 60 minutes when Raúl del Corral broke through to the right, upping the score to the home crowd´s dismay. Jooky´s were up 2 - 4. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 65:th minute Jooky goal, making it 2 - 5. Roberto Leal was noted down as the scorer. Jake Scarborough was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Corey Ross managed to kick one of them into 2 - 6 in the 74:th minute. This third goal made a hat trick for Corey Ross. The home crowd brightened somewhat when Michael Chopin scored with a header after an attack from the right, making the numbers 3 to 6. Jooky made a substitution in the 79:th minute. Jud Swift limped off the field and was replaced by Del Sweeney. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Arthur Eaton. However, Kevin Macartney made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Jooky player was without a doubt Andy Alonso. Del Sweeney was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 6.

Goals: Chopin 2 (2), Morales (11)
Yellow Cards: Eaton


Porras: **~

Hawkins: **
Eaton: **~
Apelblad: **

Valdes: **~
Mullineux: **
Macartney: *~
Chopin: **
Travis: **

Morales: **
Knapp: **


Team Match MVP: Arthur Eaton

Frankfort United

Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: excellent (8)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


Team Jooky

Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: excellent (8)
Central Attack: solid (7)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)

Well that was an ugly second half. Despite that, we're happy with the game. Our ratings were very close to theirs, so I expect they were higher in their individual ratings than we were. Still, put Arnold in for Macartney (who was fine, mind you, just not as good as Arnold), and maybe things change...

How about that performance from Valdes in his debut? 2 and a half stars and an excellent on his wing (only our second ever excellent rating). Too bad that's likely his last game with us. :)

If it seems like I am taking this well, that's because Dog Bowl Choas beat the free falling dbob 3-2. That means I was finished in my race for 4th place regardless of my result. I have clinched 5th place, so we will hope for good results these last two weeks to set up an easier relegation match, but nothing earthshatteringly important.

In other V.22 action, Ya Yas kept up with Jooky by taking out the Penguins 5-0. They're just one back, but Jooky remains in the driver's seat with a home game against Dog Bowl, and a game at the Pimpin Penguins to close. And taylorwins dropped an absolute hammer on elliot 8-0. They've switched to a 4-4-2; lord only knows what they'll toss out there against us.

Next up: We relax for a friendly at Yukon Quest.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Well, let's start with the good news, before moving on to the bad. :)

Valdes sold for 50K, 46K coming to my greedy hands. About what I expected for our best ever youth pull, may he be trained so that I can pocket some more in the future off of him.

Now the bad news. I foolishly decided to spend the proceeds by upgrading my inadequate coach. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

140K later, I got this guy, and he will be here pretty much forever.

Donny Mccullough (13198406)
39 years, disastrous form, healthy
A passable coach who is fond of attacking
A sympathetic guy who is tranquil and upright.
Has outstanding experience and inadequate leadership abilities.


So how am I rationalizing this to myself?

Obviously, the guy isn't worth 140K. Not when I had to go 270K in debt to get him. But I got inadequate coaches on the following tries: 4, 9, 13

Perhaps I should have stopped at 4 and taken the sunk costs. However, that coach was a nasty person with solid leadership (100% anti-clown), and I was still confident it wouldn't take too long.

I *really* should have stopped at 9, but you know what? Everything before that was a sunk cost, so the 50K it cost me from that point on is all that "counts", and he's worth that.

By 13, I was drunk with anger. I was very fortunate this guy was next. :)

Stopping anywhere else wasn't an option; I wasn't going to have a weak or worse coach.


Anyway, what does this mean for Kentucky? In the short-term, it means I'll be pulling keepers for the rest of the season, and praying for passables. In the long-term, it likely means Porras will have to go sooner than I would have liked. Or perhaps Matlock, we'll see when exactly desperation hits.

One question for any readers, at what point of debt does a second economist become worthwhile (meaning it adds 1.5K over the first economist)? Has anyone figured that out?

[DukeRulesMAB]

Still recovering from yesterday's coachfest. :)

To no one's surprise, elliot was replaced, new team is called Metrostrar. The owner has already logged in, so that's a good sign for them, but they're going down to DVI anyway.


Friendly

Yukon Quest vs. Frankfort United

Date: June 25, 2003
Arena: Yukon Quest Arena (New Orleans)
Crowd: 649 (17,797)
Weather: Cloudy

First normal friendly in a while. Now that FOFC Cup's over, and we know our players pretty well, only goal in these is get everyone in and avoid injury. Thanks to albionmoonlight for hosting us.

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: Ignacio Escrivá
Central Defender: Alexander Apelblad
Left Defender: Bryan Reyna

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Kevin Macartney
Left Wing: Milton Watts

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Jacob Knapp

Nothing special here. Matlock's here cuz his form kept him out of Sunday's game. Morales because of Sellers' injury. And the rest are a very typical group.


The Match

649 spectators had come to Yukon Quest Arena this cloudy day. Yukon started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Vi-Chi - Hurley, Thorn, Ullman - Sikes, Burns, Rodgers, Abney, Kearney - Bledsoe, Thomas.

Frankfort started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Matlock - Escrivá, Apelblad, Reyna - Mcwhorter, Chopin, Macartney, Clifford, Watts - Knapp, Morales.

Grant Ullman sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 1-0 in after a corner kick after 34 minutes of play. In the 37:th minute Yukons Robert Hurley received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Frankfort were forced to a substitution as Matthew Matlock couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. 1 - 0 was the half-time score. Yukon held the ball, with a clear 53 percent possession rate.

In the 52nd minute Yukon put themselves up 2 - 0. The visitors defenders lost the ball to Herman Abney coming up from the left, who proceeded to cooly round the goaltender and knock the ball home. By now Yukon were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. The home side´s Ken Thomas came close to extending the lead in the 71st minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Lorenzo Porras managed saving with a fingernail. After an industrious effort down the middle Ken Thomas could have closed the game off in the 71st minute, but his finishing shot hit the post. Ignacio Escrivá tired completely after a while, but the team mates managed to cover for his mistakes. Frankfort had a good opportunity to reduce the score in the 83rd minute, breathing new life into the game, but the home side´s defenders cleared the ball on the line, after a long range shot coming in from the left, rebounding off the The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Frankfort, with an impressive 59 percent possession of the ball.

The most dominating Yukon player was without a doubt Tsang Vi-Chi. However, Philip Burns made a disastrous appearance. Most important Frankfort player was Lorenzo Porras. However, Kenneth Clifford made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 0.



Goals: None
Yellow Cards: None


Matlock: **
Porras (on for Matlock): **~

Escrivá: *~
Apelblad: **
Reyna: **

Mcwhorter: **
Chopin: **
Clifford: *
Macartney: *~
Watts: **

Morales: **
Knapp: **


Team Match MVP: Lorenzo Porras


Yukon Quest

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)



Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)


First thing's first: The Matlock injury isn't bad, only one week, and he is still training. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the injury.

Team played well, just couldn't put the ball in the net. I wish I could get Solid/Passable/Solid on the attack every Sunday. :)


Up Next

Training results, financial update, and our last home game of the year as the always mysterious taylorwins comes to town.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

Nada, though hopefully the new coach will bring them around faster. I still don't expect anything before early next season, though.


Form Update

Starters Going Up: 2 (Apelblad to Passable, Matlock to Inad)
Starters Going Down: 3 (Eaton to Inad, Arnold, Morales to Weak)
Reserves Going Up: 4 (Porras to Solid, Escriva, Watts to Passable, Clifford to Inad)
Reserves Going Down: 0

Eh.

Morales is the real crusher here, he was among my best players in Passable form, but this is awful. However, without Sellers, no choice but to play him.

Apelblad and Eaton sort of cancel each other out on the defense. Matlock goes up, but remains on the bench, as Porras joins Macartney and the still-injured Sellers at Solid form.

Arnold is still hurt, so his form drop is not unexpected. It does not appear he will be able to play Sunday, so Macartney stays in the middle for another week. That will bring Watts back up to the starting squad on a wing. Clifford and Escriva are my two worst players, so their advancement means nothing. Clifford might have some value if he does well in the offseason stamina training, but for now, he stinks.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,342,000 (1,262,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull and finances.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth pull

The good news, we hit solid for the first time.

The bad news, we pull a 2K wretched keeper. After Valdes, I certainly can't complain though.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 69,986
- 68,266 (vs. Team Jooky)
- 1,720 (at Yukon Quest)
Sponsers: 33,750
Temporary: 46,510
- 510 (New Supporeters)
- 46,000 (Sale of Valdes)

Total revenues: 150,246

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,490
Staff: 21,000
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 8,373
- 9,973 (interst)
- (1,600) (investment)
Temporary: 143,000
- 140,000 (New Coach)
- 2,000 (Youth Pull)
- 1,000 (Listing of Valdes)

Total Expenses: 217,233

Profit (Loss): (66,987)
New Balance: (266,443)

Sigh.

Well, we screwed up, time to accept it and move on. We'll recover from this, it may just take a while. :)


Other stats

Team Spirit: Calm
Confidence: Decent (down from Strong)

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Content (down from Delirious)
# of Supporters: 717 (Up from 700)

The loss to Jooky caused the confidence loss. The coaching fiasco caused the support reset. Actually, they'd have reset even if it wasn't a fiasco, but it's more fun to pretend they're pissed cuz of how bad I screwed up. :)

Series V.22 preview

Ya Yas - Metrostrar

Well, the new guy has logged in a couple times, but not for a few days, and no transfers. Doesn't look like he's a keeper, though he still might be. Doesn't much matter either since he's going to DVI in two weeks. Either way, Ya Yas is gonna maul them.

Team Jooky - Dog Bowl Chaos

Biggest match of the week by far. A win by Dog Bowl here throws the division into disarray (again), while a Jooky win pretty much seals things up with the Penguins on the schedule the last week. Count on the latter, Jooky has really improved in the second half.

dbob - Pimpin Penguins

dbob has faded horribly, but not this horribly. Easy win.

Frankfort United - taylorwins

As usual, no idea what to think with these guys. It's a new formation every week, though the constant is always miserable midfields. I'd like to PIC, but I fear them too much. Even playing normal, I think there's a chance we lose/tie here. This is a definate MOTS candidate for them, as a tie or win here probably gets them out of auto-demotion. Cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Next up: taylorwins visits Frankfort.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 13

Frankfort United vs. taylorwins

Date: June 29, 2003
Arena: Frnakfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 13,076 (13,076)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Our last home game of the year (well, our last home game until the qualifier). taylorwins is #7 in the series, but has a very active owner. Unfortunately for them, that owner hasn't figured out the importance of the midfield, but they always put up great defensive ratings. This is a MOTS possibility for them, and I am, as such, concerned.

The sellout is a pleasent surprise, I figured between the coaching fiasco and the 7th place team, we'd be lucky to top 10K.

Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Lorenzo Porras

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Milton Watts
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Kevin Macartney
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Jacob Knapp

Same lineup as last week, except for Watts on the wing. My midfield, which should be a team strength, should be pretty mediocre here with Macartney in and Mullineux in poor form.


The Match

13076 spectators arrived at Frankfort United Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Porras - Hawkins, Eaton, Apelblad - Watts, Mullineux, Chopin, Macartney, Travis - Knapp, Morales.

taylorwins tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: Widerfeldt - Drãghicescu, Krieg, Aranda, Dyrgård - Boone, Falkquist, Lazãr, Remenyik - Vila, Näyhö.

In the 22nd minute the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending and Francisco Javier Vila put the ball away for 0 - 1. After a fatal mistake from the away teams right side defense in the 30:th minute, an alert Alexander Apelblad bagged the ball, evening the score to 1 - 1. Halftime score was 1 - 1. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 65 percent possession rate.

After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Frankfort´s William Morales got himself booked. After a fine move down the middle Jacob Knapp nearly gave the home side one up in the 66:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though. The home side put themselves ahead 2 - 1 in the 71st by a breakthrough from Robert Mullineux, who unaided came in out of the right wing hooking the ball over the visitors keeper. William Morales of Frankfort got sent off for kicking the ball after the whistle, a completely uncalled for move, earning him his second yellow card of the game. Frankfort, bringing the final ball possession rate to 78 percent, dominated the battle.

The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Lorenzo Porras. Kevin Macartney on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating taylorwins player was without a doubt Martin Dyrgård. However, Bruno Falkquist made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 1.

Goals: Apelblad (2), Mullineux (1)
Yellow Cards: Morales 2


Porras: **~

Hawkins: **
Eaton: **~
Apelblad: **~

Watts: **
Mullineux: *~
Macartney: *~
Chopin: **
Travis: **

Morales: No rating given
Knapp: **


Team Match MVP: Lorenzo Porras

Frankfort United

Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)



taylorwins

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: formidable (9)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: weak (4)


The game was exactly as you'd expect from those ratings, we dominated possession, but could not get shots on goal because of their great defense. In the end, we got just enough opportunities to win. Crap form, crap ratings or not, I still love Mullineux for that one. :)

Ratings wise, Porras is really, really good already. I do wish our team defensive ratings were higher, but beggars cannot be choosers. Congrats to Apelblad for his first ever **~ rating.

The bad news is clearly Morales missing next week's game, but next week's game has little meaning aside from pride. In fact, Dog Bowl can (and I assume will) MOTS with impunity, since that is their last game of the year. Morales' form is miserable anyway, and we can slide Watts or someone into the second striker slot. Hopefully, we'll have all our options on the table for the relegation game.

Everything else in v.22 went as expected. Team Jooky likely wrapped up a series title, by taking out our next opponents, Dog Bowl Chaos, 3-1. Very impressive second half run for Jooky after a midseason swoon. This series will be fun next year, as Jooky has about .00001% chance of promoting, so it'll be the same 4 teams plus me battling it out. And never know, we could get a good team up from D.VI as well. In less suspenseful games, Ya Yas spanked the new Metrostrar 4-0, and dbob took out some frustrations on the Pimpin' Penguins 6-0. Standings:

1. Team Jooky 13 56 - 21 31

2. Ya Yas 13 54 - 18 30
3. dbob 13 40 - 19 25
4. Dog Bowl Chaos 13 42 - 19 24

5. Frankfort United 13 33 - 32 18
6. Pimpin Penguins 13 14 - 51 9

7. taylorwins 13 15 - 37 8
8. Metrostrar 13 4 - 61 4

The last week is very simple. Team Jooky needs only beat the Penguins (which they will) to take the series title. taylorwins needs to pull out miracle points (via tie or win) against Ya Yas to claw into 6th place, but that is unlikely. dbob is safely in 3rd, as the new Metrostrar club is miserable. As for us, we'd like a win, but we're not pushing it. We're a better club than Dog Bowl, I believe, but he can MOTS and we can't, and it's at their place, so I don't expect anything. Doesn't bother me, we will finish ahead of them next season.

Next up: A friendly at our one supporter, Boston Wycked Sceptre.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Friendly

Boston Wyckyd Sceptre vs. Frankfort United

Date: July 2, 2003
Arena: Globo-Chem Center for the Performing Arts (Boston)
Crowd: 462 (16,400)
Weather: Sunny

We visit our sole supporter (and a team we support in return). Disappointing turnout today, but that's what happens when my crappy team visits. :)

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Bryan Reyna
Left Defender: Ignacio Escrivá

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: Milton Watts
Striker: Jacob Knapp

Watts is the leading candidate to replace Morales with his red card, so he gets a tryout here. Arnold is finally back from injury. Not much else notable here.


The Match

A scorching day at Globo-Chem Center for the Performing Arts, where 462 spectators were in place for today´s match. Sceptre tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Noel - Bosch, Sörensson, Clifton, Nyholt - Coelho, Åkerkvist, Bruchhaus, Ruardi - Miklos, Floyd.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Matlock - Hawkins, Reyna, Escrivá - Mcwhorter, Arnold, Mullineux, Clifford, Travis - Knapp, Watts.

Sceptre created a good opportunity to score in the games 15:th minute when Carroll Floyd`s hooked ball created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 in the 17:th by a breakthrough from Hardi Bruchhaus, who unaided came in out of the right wing hooking the ball over the visitors keeper. The referee showed Frankforts Sonny Travis the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The visitors almost came back with an equaliser in the 19:th minute after a good combination down the middle, but as Jesse Mcwhorter was to put closure on the raid he couldn´t deliver a shot hard enough to seriously challenge the keeper. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Carroll Floyd squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 31st minute, asserting the lead to 2 - 0. The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 0. Sceptre held the ball, with a clear 64 percent possession rate.

Sceptre put themselves up 3 - 0 when Maarten Bosch broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. Sceptre put themselves up 4 - 0 when Per Åkerkvist broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. Carroll Floyd should probably have put his team up another goal in the 76:th minute, but some great goaltending by Matthew Matlock kept the visitors in the game. In the 78:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Berend Ruardi dashed through, knocking home 5 - 0 for Sceptre. Frankfort´s Sonny Travis left the field after 82 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Kevin Macartney. Seemingly due to lack of experience, Taylor Clifton needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 86 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Sceptre. However, Matthew Matlock made a spectacular save. Sceptre held the ball, with a clear 60 percent possession rate.

Most important Sceptre player was Per Åkerkvist. Carroll Floyd was a disappointment, however. Frankfort´s best player was Kevin Macartney. However, Kenneth Clifford made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 5 - 0.




Goals: None
Yellow Cards: Travis


Matlock: **~

Hawkins: **
Reyna: **
Escrivá: *~

Mcwhorter: **
Mullineux: *~
Clifford: *
Arnold: *~
Travis: *~
Macartney (on for Travis): **~

Watts: **
Knapp: **


Team Match MVP: Kevin Macartney


Boston Wyckyd Sceptre

Midfield: inadequate (5)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: excellent (8)
Left Side Defence: excellent (8)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)




Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)


Damn, I'd kill for those ratings in a regular game, much less a friendly. Best of luck to RonnieDobbs and his squad, I'd expect promotion to DIV next season.

Travis is out 3 weeks, which more or less ends his season. We can work through that, though, Mcwhorter even in weak form is good for ** and a passable attack. Watts' tryout went pretty well, and he will work in well at forward. Our midfield form is shit, I really need it to improve soon.


Up Next

Training results, financial update, and our the last week of Series V.22 for season 18, as we visit Dog Bowl Chaos

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

No pops, of course, but Matlock became the first F.U. player to top 400K in assessed value. Also , Knapp is at 100K even, my best outfielder.


Form Update

Starters Going Up: 3 (Apelblad to Solid, Matlock, Eaton to Passable)
Starters Going Down: 1 (Arnold to Poor)
Reserves Going Up: 0
Reserves Going Down: 0

Matlock gets his starting spot back, as he's back to passable form. I *think* we've got a shot at our first ever *** game this week. Our defense gets a nice little boost as well.

However, our midfield form is completely in the toilet. Passable/Poor/Poor. Among other annoyances, this is gonna wreak havoc with my stamina training plans for the offseason. Ugh.


Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,438,000 (1,342,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull and finances.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth pull

Second week of solid. We get a sellable commodity:

Leo Brown (13507747)
18 years, passable form, healthy

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

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 113 000 US$
Wage: 1 080 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

He'll be listed for 15K tommorow.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 69,486
- 68,266 (vs. taylorwins)
- 1,220 (at Boston Wycked Sceptre)
Sponsers: 34,200
Temporary: 600 (New Supporeters)


Total revenues: 104,286

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,490
Staff: 21,000
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 11,422
- 13,322 (interst)
- (1,900) (investment)
Temporary: 2,000 (Youth Pull)

Total Expenses: 79,282

Profit (Loss): 25,004
New Balance: (241,439)


Other stats

Team Spirit: Calm
Confidence: Decent

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Satisfied (Up from Content)
# of Supporters: 737 (Up from 717)

Supporters bouncing back already. Fickle bastards. :)

Series V.22 preview

Pimpin Penguins - Team Jooky

All Jooky needs here is a win to take the series. They're going nowhere, though, whatever DIV team they play will kill them. Regardless, they're likely to PIC here to up team spirit, so there's a minor chance of an upset. As if.

taylorwins - Ya Yas

Important only in so far as if Jooky slips, Ya Yas can take the division. Ya Yas will certainly MOTS and certainly win. If taylorwins somehow pulls out a point, they could stay in V.22.

Metrostrar - dbob

Metrostrar has already pretty much quit after less than 2 weeks; not that it matters, they are relegated anyway. dbob will win here, and start gearing up for next season.

Dog Bowl Chaos - Frankfort United

It's completely meaningless, but I can't bring myself to PIC. I'm sure he will MOTS me into oblivion, but I gotta try anyway. We should win the qualification game regardless.

Next up: Frankfort goes to Dog Bowl Chaos for the last regular season game of Season 19

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Match 14

Dog Bowl Chaos vs. Frankfort United

Date: July 6, 2003
Arena: Dog Bowl (Dallas)
Crowd: 17,000 (17,000)
Weather: Rain

And season 1's regular fixtures come to a close. This is a generally meaningless game, though I assume Dog Bowl will be MOTSing. Regardless, we would like to win this game (though not enough to MOTS it), because this is a team we have to finish ahead of next season.

They run a very normal 4-4-2, so this is a team that I should have no problem with in the long run. For now, though, they're as good or better than I am.

Side note, this is the first time I can remember that we've played in rain.

Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Kevin Macartney

Striker: Jacob Knapp
Striker: Milton Watts

Matlock is back after form problems had him miss a couple games. Arnold is back after injuries knocked him from a couple games. Form is a major problem in the midfield this week, with both Arnold and Mullineux in poor form. With that in mind, we will be fortunate to get a week midfield. Mcwhorter gets a wing start, despite continued bad form, as Travis is hurt, and Watts has to play forward in place of the suspended Morales. All in all, not looking good this week.

Main thing to look for (aside from the midfield rating): We anticipate the first ever Frankfort United *** game. With Matlock's form back to passable, and his value over 400K, he's got a good shot.

The Match



Goals: Watts 2 (3)
Yellow Cards: None


Matlock: ***

Hawkins: **
Eaton: **~
Apelblad: **~

Mcwhorter: *~
Mullineux: *~
Arnold: *~
Chopin: **~
Macartney: **~

Knapp: **
Watts: *~


Team Match MVP: Matthew Matlock

Frankfort United

Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)


Dog Bowl Chaos

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: solid (7)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)

Wow, great comeback! Down 2 goals on the road, with the rain messing with us, we struck back. And both goals by a guy who's never played forward in a competitive match before, and never will again. :)

And congrats to Matthew Matlock for getting the team's first ever *** performance. May there may many more from him.

Elsewhere, Team Jooky took out the Penguins 2-0 (obviously PICing) to win the V.22 title. Congrats to them, now look forward to getting maimed in your promotion match. Ya Yas cruised into second place with a 5-0 win over taylorwins, in the latter's last V.22 game. And dbob trounced metrostrar to end their brief V.22 run, 5-0. Final standings:

1. Team Jooky 14 58 - 21 34

2. Ya Yas 14 58 - 18 33
3. dbob 14 45 - 19 28
4. Dog Bowl Chaos 14 44 - 21 25

5. Frankfort United 14 35 - 34 19
6. Pimpin Penguins 14 14 - 53 9

7. taylorwins 14 15 - 41 8
8. Metrostrar 14 4 - 66 4

We'll have an update over the next couple days with a series V.22 wrapup once the promotion/relegation matchups are announced.

Next up: We visit the Spring Grove Fighting Eagles.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Series V.22 Wrap-Up

1. Team Jooky 14 58 - 21 34

2. Ya Yas 14 58 - 18 33
3. dbob 14 45 - 19 28
4. Dog Bowl Chaos 14 44 - 21 25

5. Frankfort United 14 35 - 34 19
6. Pimpin Penguins 14 14 - 53 9

7. taylorwins 14 15 - 41 8
8. Metrostrar 14 4 - 66 4


Top Scorers:

1. Corey Ross Team Jooky 15
2. Raúl del Corral Team Jooky 15
3. Barry Whitney Ya Yas 14
4. Johannes Nyhander Ya Yas 13
[/b]5. William Morales Frankfort United 11[/b]
6. Bogdan Przybysz Dog Bowl Chaos 8
7. Phillip Gagnon dbob 7
8. Jesper Olrik dbob 7
9. Max Milligan Dog Bowl Chaos 7
10. Nathan Haskins Dog Bowl Chaos 7

Impressive for Morales, considering he didn't exist for the first two games. With some luck, he'll have a shot at the title next year.

Promotion matchup:

FC PURPLE - Team Jooky

FC Purple

# 5 in IV.56


5. FC PURPLE 14 32 - 37 19


Last two match ratings:

Midfield: weak
Right Side Defence: excellent
Central Defence: formidable
Left Side Defence: passable
Right Side Attack: passable
Central Attack: solid
Left Side Attack: passable
NSI: 54

Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: excellent
Central Defence: formidable
Left Side Defence: passable
Right Side Attack: passable
Central Attack: passable
Left Side Attack: inadequate
NSI: 49

Commentary: Great draw for Team Jooky, this is a winnable match. I, for one, am cheering for Jooky, as Purple does not play friendlies very often and thus is not much of a long-term threat.



Frankfort United - Mississippi Gurus

Mississippi

# 1 in VI.971


1. Mississippi Gurus 14 26 - 12 29


Last two match ratings:

Midfield: disastrous
Right Side Defence: poor
Central Defence: passable
Left Side Defence: passable
Right Side Attack: wretched
Central Attack: poor
Left Side Attack: poor
NSI: 26

Midfield: disastrous
Right Side Defence: poor
Central Defence: passable
Left Side Defence: passable
Right Side Attack: wretched
Central Attack: poor
Left Side Attack: poor
NSI: 26

Commentary: What a joke. We will kill these goofs. Now watch them get taken over midweek. ;)

Pimpin Penguins - Texas Indians

Texas

# 1 in VI.709

1. Texas Indians 14 37 - 7 34

Last two match ratings:

Midfield: wretched
Right Side Defence: passable
Central Defence: passable
Left Side Defence: inadequate
Right Side Attack: poor
Central Attack: poor
Left Side Attack: weak
NSI: 33

Midfield: wretched
Right Side Defence: passable
Central Defence: passable
Left Side Defence: inadequate
Right Side Attack: poor
Central Attack: poor
Left Side Attack: weak
NSI: 33

Commentary: Much better bot team here. Should be a "good" matchup. Honestly, I'd prefer the penguins to win here. Their owner seems to log in just often enough to keep his team, but never so much as to improve his team. I like those type of owners. :) Texas would almost surely be taken over at some point, and with that carries the risk of an actual threat.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Our youth pull sold for 18K, giving us a little over 16.5K.

Friendly

Spring Grove Fighting Eagles vs. Frankfort United

Date: July 9, 2003
Arena: The Eagles Nest (Illinois)
Crowd: 1,569 (20,820)
Weather: Sunny

We'd like to thank Spring Grove for hosting us. They're waaaay better than us, so this should be a spanking, but we're very happy with the gate. :)

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Lorenzo Porras

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Bryan Reyna
Left Defender: Ignacio Escrivá

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Left Wing: Milton Watts

Striker: Jacob Knapp
Striker: William Morales

Nothing really to say here. Very typical lineup.


The Match

A scorching day at The Eagles Nest , where 1569 spectators were in place for today´s match. Fighting had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Duggan - Dowell, Westfall, Phelps - Moore, Scruggs, Stapleton, Guevara, Cagle - Breaux, Trujillo.

Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Porras - Hawkins, Reyna, Escrivá - Mcwhorter, Arnold, Mullineux, Clifford, Watts - Knapp, Morales.

In the games 3rd minute Theodore Arnold almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a spectacular scissors shot just past the bar. Joaquín Trujillo gave his Fighting the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. Charles Guevara sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 2-0 in after a corner kick after 24 minutes of play. A bit later, a magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Fighting´s Joaquín Trujillo putting the lead up to 3 - 0. Kristopher Westfall almost managed to score another goal for Fighting, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. 3 - 0 was the half-time score. Fighting, bringing the final ball possession rate to 58 percent, dominated the battle.

At 48 minutes, the visitors got a chance to reduce the score when a penalty was awarded, but William Morales, intimidated by the crowd, missed it. In the games 54:th minute Fighting´s Rob Dowell fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Rob Dowell for taking a dive. In the 71st minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Aaron Phelps dashed through, knocking home 4 - 0 for Fighting. The referee showed Frankforts Bryan Reyna the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Fighting were forced to a substitution as Joaquín Trujillo couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment. In 85:th minute of game time Fighting´s Rob Dowell received his second yellow card and was sent off. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 57 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Fighting player was without a doubt Leon Breaux. However, Tyrell Cagle made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Lorenzo Porras. Kenneth Clifford on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 0.





Goals: None
Yellow Cards: None


Porras: **~

Hawkins: **
Reyna: **
Escrivá: *~

Mcwhorter: *~
Arnold: *~
Clifford: *~
Mullineux: *~
Watts: **

Knapp: **
Morales: **


Team Match MVP: Lorenzo Porras


Spring Grove Fighting Eagles

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: poor (3)
Central Defence: weak (4)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: formidable (9)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)


Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)


As expected we got killed, though the NSI has us actually slightly better. The Midfield ratings are obviously deceiving, as they controlled possession. They also took strong advantage with a remarkable attack. Best of luck to illinifan999 the rest of the way!




Up Next

Training results, financial update, the relagation game.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Training News

No pops yet, I am not 100% sure, but I expect the first full week of next season Porras will bump, then Matlock soon thereafter. To be honest, with a 17 and a 18 YO keeper traninees, I'm probably better off in the relegation match, as another week of keeper training is more important than a second stamina week.


Form Update

Starters Going Up: 4 (Knapp to Solid, Hawkins to Passable, Arnold/Mullineux to Weak)
Starters Going Down: 1 (Matlock to Inad)
Reserves Going Up: 1 (Clifford to Passable)
Reserves Going Down: 1 (Escriva to Inad)

Very, very nice update here. Knapp becomes our 5th solid form player (Macartney, Porras, Apelblad, Sellers). If Sellers is healthy for Sunday (I'm hoping he'll get there just in time), all 5 will be on the field.

Even better, our midfield is starting to bounce back, as both of my form laggers take steps forward. A weak midfield should be a lock now, especially with the MOTS. Hawkins puts our defense form in good territory as well.

Only slight downer is Matlock, and that's no big deal as Porras is still in solid form and very ready to step in.



Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,518,000 (1,438,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull and finances.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Youth pull

Third week of solid. We a very similar player to last week:

Mikey Hiatt (14228344)
19 years, passable form, healthy

A controversial person who is balanced and righteous.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 144 000 US$
Wage: 1 280 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

He'll be listed at 15K a little later today.

Economy

Income

Crowd: 3,955 (at Spring Grove Fighting Eagles)
Sponsers: 34,800
Temporary: 17,100
- 540 (New Supporters)
- 16,560 (Sale of Brown)

Total revenues: 55,855

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,490
Staff: 21,000
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 9,472
- 12,072 (interst)
- (2,600) (investment)
Temporary: 3,000
- 2,000 (Youth Pull)
- 1,000 (Listing Costs)

Total Expenses: 78,332

Profit (Loss): (22,477)
New Balance: (263,915)

Getting even a moderately profitable youth pull really does help when you don't have home game for the week. That's why I'll be continuing to pull keepers under I get under 100K in debt (with the exception that I'll be taking an outfielder next week, hoping to hit the lottery, or at least get a secondary prize).

Other stats

Team Spirit: Calm
Confidence: Decent

Sponsers: Satisfied
Supporters: Satisfied
# of Supporters: 755 (Up from 737)

I should be just over 1,000 supporters a year from now, maybe better if I have a more successful season than anticipated. At that point, it'll be stadium update time.

Series V.22 preview

FC PURPLE - Team Jooky

Should be a wide open match, something I didn't anticipate for Team Jooky. They got a fortunate draw. I'm definately cheering for Jooky here, as FC Purple doesn't play friendlies, and is thus zero long-term threat.

Frankfort United - Mississippi Gurus

The only completely uninteresting (except to me :D ) match of the week. I'm hoping for 10-0, anything less than 8-0 would be a disappointment.

Pimpin Penguins - Texas Indians

A quasi-abandoned team against a bot team. Should be a close (but ugly) matchup. I cheer for the Penguins here, as they keep logging in just often enough to keep the team. Indians would likely be taken over at some point, and there's a chance that would be an active owner.

Next up: Frankfort hosts a the computer-controlled Mississippi Gurus for a slot in V.22

[DukeRulesMAB]

Season 1 - Relegation Match

Frankfort United vs. Mississippi Gurus

Date: July 13, 2003
Arena: Frankfort United Arena (Kentucky)
Crowd: 9,821 (13,076)
Weather: Part cloudy

Bot team. And bad, bad bot team at that. I really want 10-0 :D

Starters (Balanced 3-5-2):
Keeper: Lorenzo Porras

Right Defender: William Hawkins
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Alexander Apelblad

Right Wing: Kevin Macartney
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Central Midfield: Michael Chopin
Left Wing: Milton Watts

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Jacob Knapp

All starters on the pitch, except for Matlock (form) and Travis (injury). We'd hoped to have Sellers back to replace weak-formed Morales up front, but he is irritatingly not ready to go. This is our first ever MOTS.

The Match

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Frankfort United Arena saw a crowd turnout of 9821. Frankfort had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Porras - Hawkins, Eaton, Apelblad - Macartney, Arnold, Mullineux, Chopin, Watts - Knapp, Morales.

Mississippi tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: Nance - Black, Knutson, Wolff, Ching-Kai - Webster, Barquero Estevan, Mcgowan, Mckee - Sherman, Diaz.

Frankfort broke through to the left in the 9:th minute, Jacob Knapp firing at an acute angle giving the home side a 1 - 0 lead. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. William Morales squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 19:th minute, asserting the lead to 2 - 0. 2 - 0 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Frankfort, with an impressive 88 percent possession of the ball.

Frankfort put themselves up 3 - 0 when Jacob Knapp broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. After this Frankfort lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. Milton Watts sailed high, high above the opponents as he headed the 4-0 in after a corner kick after 88 minutes of play. In the 89:th minute of the match the visitors central line of defence had to look on as Jacob Knapp dashed through, knocking home 5 - 0 for Frankfort. By then Jacob Knapp was a three time scorer - a hat trick! Frankfort put themselves up 6 - 0 when Jacob Knapp broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 95 percent possession rate.

The most dominating Frankfort player was without a doubt Lorenzo Porras. Theodore Arnold on the other hand, had a terrible day.


Goals: Knapp 4 (6), Morales (12), Watts (4)
Yellow Cards: None


Porras: **~

Hawkins: **~
Eaton: **~
Apelblad: **~

Macartney: **~
Mullineux: **
Arnold: **
Chopin: **~
Watts: **

Morales: **
Knapp: **~


Team Match MVP: Lorenzo Porras

Frankfort United
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: inadequate (4)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)


Mississippi Gurus
Player rating and Team formation
Midfield: disastrous (1)
Right Side Defence: poor (3)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: wretched (2)
Central Attack: poor (3)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)



There were 7 events in the game. 6 goals, and 1 us pulling back. Still a disappointing performance, but at least I know I can pull a inad midfield when MOTSing. :)

Only other notable thing is the 3 **~'s accross the defense, which makes me happy. And Knapp's first ever **~. One more year in V.22, nonetheless.

The other results were a bad week for this year's V.22 squad. Team Jooky got waxed by FC PURPLE 6-0. Ugly, ugly, ugly. And the Penguins lost a squeaker to the bot Texas Indians 1-0. I just hope we get to play then before they are replaced. For now though, the top 5 teams in V.22 will be pretty much the same.


Next up: We take on the North County Raiders in a friendly.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Frankfort United - Season 1 Wrap-Up

Competition games played: 13 (12 league, 1 relegation)
Record: 7-5-1 (6-5-1 league, 1-0-0 relegation)
Goals Scored: 40
Goals Allowed: 27

Team stats (* = No longer on squad)

Games Started (Numbers in parentheses are sub appearances)

1. Eaton, 12
1t. Hawkins, 12
1t. Morales, 12
4. Knapp, 11 (1)
5. Apelblad, 10
6. Travis, 9 (1)
7. Arnold, 9
7t. Chopin, 9
9. Mcwhorter, 8 (1)
10. Macartney, 8
11. Sellers, 7
12. Mullineux, 6
12t. Watts, 6
14. Clifford, 5 (1)
15. Matlock, 5
16. Porras, 3
16t. Reyna, 3
16t. van de Castel*, 3
19. Escriva, 1
20. Brisbois*, 1
20t. Novara*, 1
20t. Seung-Hae*, 1
20t. Valdes*, 1
24. Linera*, 0 (1)


Goals

1. Morales, 12
2. Knapp, 6
3. Watts, 4
4. Clifford, 3
4t. Sellers, 3
6. Hawkins, 2
6t. Apelblad, 2
6t. Chopin, 2
9. Mcwhorter, 1
9t. Eaton, 1
9t. Arnold, 1
9t. Macartney, 1
9t. Mullineux, 1
9t. Reyna, 1


Yellow Cards (Second yellows are included here, not in Red Cards)

1. Knapp, 4
2. Eaton, 3
2t. Arnold, 3
2t. Travis, 3
5. Morales, 2
5t. Sellers, 2
5t. Hawkins, 2


Red Cards

none given


Team MVP

1. Eaton, 5
2. Hawkins, 2
2t. Porras, 2
2t. van de Castel*, 2
5. Matlock, 1
5t. Seung-Hae*, 1


Average Match Rating (Minimum, 7 matches played)

1. Eaton, 2.45
2. Hawkins, 2.27
2t. Morales, 2.27
4. McWhorter, 2.00
5. Apelblad, 1.95
6. Macartney, 1.94
6t. Arnold, 1.94
8. Chopin, 1.89
9. Knapp, 1.82
10. Sellers, 1.79
11. Travis, 1.6


-----------------------------

Team MVP: Arthur Eaton
Most Promising Youngster: Matthew Matlock
Best Newcomer: Not Awarded (Everyone is a newcomer this year :) )
Most Inspirational Player: Courtney Sellers


-----------------------------

Thus ends a successful first season at the helm of Frankfort United. We achieved our goal of reaching 5th place, and are well positioned to set our sights higher next year. We'll do the friendly, training update, and weekend update in this thread, then fire up a new one for the Cup Match.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Friendly

North County Raiders vs. Frankfort United

Date: July 16, 2003
Arena: Dave Sumner-Raider Field (Missouri)
Crowd: 2,223 (31,000)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We continue our tour of the better FOFC teams, as we visit Ardent's Raiders. I expect to be blown out, of course (especially with our furious team spirit), the the best part is the gate, which is our best ever take for a friendly. Thanks!

Starters (3-5-2):

Keeper: Matthew Matlock

Right Defender: Ignacio Escrivá
Central Defender: Arthur Eaton
Left Defender: Bryan Reyna

Right Wing: Jesse Mcwhorter
Central Midfield: Theodore Arnold
Central Midfield: Kenneth Clifford
Central Midfield: Robert Mullineux
Left Wing: Sonny Travis

Striker: William Morales
Striker: Courtney Sellers

Sellers and Travis return from injury, so its good to see them back on the pitch if only in a friendly.

Thing to look out for: We made sure to get Eaton and Mullineux on the pitch, as they are the two most experienced players on our team. Want to see if they show any improvement.


The Match

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 2223 to Dave Sumner-Raider Field. Raiders had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Penn - Cagle, Warner, Montalvo - Russell, Dailey, Boykin, Lyon, Claassen - Arrington, Lay.

Frankfort tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Matlock - Escrivá, Eaton, Reyna - Mcwhorter, Arnold, Mullineux, Clifford, Travis - Sellers, Morales.

Raiders seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion about the organization of the team. Raiderss Michael Dailey got himself booked after a foul. Raiders appeared unsure on how to play. The referee showed Frankforts Sonny Travis the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Matthew Lay hit the ball just perfect in the 33rd minute and could score for Raiders with a fab long shot to 1 - 0. Some brilliant football from the visitors right wing resulted in a 35:th minute levelling of scores as Frankforts Robert Mullineux equalised to 1 - 1. Halftime score was 1 - 1. Frankfort, bringing the final ball possession rate to 59 percent, dominated the battle.

The Raiders players spent the half-time break getting a rerun of the teams tactical organization. After 51 minutes Frankfort put themselves up by 1 - 2 as Arthur Eaton finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. The referee showed Frankforts Bryan Reyna the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Raiders´s Ronny Arrington left the field after 57 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Jerome Betts. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 59:th minute Frankfort goal, making it 1 - 3. Ignacio Escrivá was noted down as the scorer. The structure of the game started to change as Frankfort decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 65:th minute Frankfort goal, making it 1 - 4. Robert Mullineux was noted down as the scorer. In the 69:th minute Raiderss Victor Boykin received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Matthew Matlock spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. Courtney Sellers increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 1 - 5. The referee showed Raiderss Matthew Lay the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The Frankfort player was Bryan Reyna who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game. Frankfort held the ball, with a clear 67 percent possession rate.

Raiders´s best player was Jerome Betts. Ralph Montalvo was a disappointment, however. Frankfort´s best player was Arthur Eaton. Ignacio Escrivá on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 5.






Goals: Mullineux 2, Eaton, Escrivá, Sellers
Yellow Cards: Travis, Reyna


Matlock: **

Escrivá: *
Eaton: ***
Reyna: *
Hawkins (on for Reyna): **

Mcwhorter: **
Arnold: **
Clifford: *
Mullineux: **
Travis: **

Morales: **
Sellers: **


Team Match MVP: Arthur Eaton


North County Raiders

Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: weak (4)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: weak (4)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: excellent (8)
Left Side Attack: inadequate (5)


Frankfort United

Midfield: poor (3)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: passable (6)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: passable (6)


Wow! Great performance, though ardent's boys didn't appear to be anywhere near full strength. Glad to see Travis and especially Sellers contributing.
What does concern me is Matlock's performance. One level of form drop since last week is a whole * drop? Scary, might have something to do with experience. Or that he was bruised during the match might have done something, dunno.

Speaking of experience, it definately affected Eaton. His first ever *** performances, our team's first, and the first ever by an outfielder. Very happy with that.

For the record, Matlock has the old band-aid post game, while Reyna is just out a week. He was unlikely to play for a while anyway, as I plan on largely playing starters full time until I am out of the cup (except for course for rotating my keepers).

Thanks to ardent for the great gate, and best of luck on next season!


Up Next

Training results, financial update, and Season 20 gets underway in a new thread!

[DukeRulesMAB]

Well, that didn't take long. All 3 bot teams in my series have been replaced. Welcome to HellsGuardians, Elk Thunders, and Hawklings. The latter two have already logged in multiple times and made a transfer or two, so it looks like a very competitive series this year. The former has yet to log in, though we have more than a week until we meet them in the league opener, so we'll be keeping a close eye on their activity and cup match.


Training News

Well, we got a pop, and it wasn't the one I expected to go first

Matthew Matlock (11113430)
18 years, inadequate form, healthy

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 437 000 US$
Wage: 1 260 US$/week
Owner: Frankfort United
Warnings: 0


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

First ever excellent skill (aside from stamina) for FU. We're very thrilled, he should be outstanding or damn close by the time the keeper training program closes.

Porras is over 300K in value at solid form, so I have to assume he's right on the edge of popping solid, with formidable looming by the end of the season.

Form Update

Starters Going Up: 4 (Hawkins to Solid, Arnold/Mullineux/Morales to inadequate)
Starters Going Down: 3 (Knapp and Sellers 2 levels to inadequate, Apelblad to Passable)
Reserves Going Up: 0
Reserves Going Down: 2 (Macartney to Passable, Watts to Inad)

Guh.

We'll start with the positive, our midfield is in the best shape it has ever been. Hawkins is up to Solid form, where he is one of our best players, and Morales is finally bouncing back.

But what a bloodbath. Two strikers fallign two levels, one I could have dealt with because Morales is back up to inad, but both of them? Ugh. And though he is listed as a reserve, Macartney was (and because Watts dropped still is) a starter.

The bigger problem is that with stamina training coming this week, form is likely to get even worse. I'm dreading the update a week from tonight.

Total Team Value (Before Training): $1,576,000 (1,518,000)


Coming Saturday: Youth pull and finances.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Hiatt sold for 15,001, but I had to list him twice to do it. Oh well better than nothing. And speaking of nothing...


Youth pull

Fourth week of solid. Weak midfielder pulled, already canned. I'm only mildly jealous of NAIWF and TP. :D

Economy

Income

Crowd: 31,853
- 26,134 (vs. Mississippi Gurus)
- 5,719 (at North County Raiders)
Sponsers: 35,250
Temporary: 37,140
- 720 (New Supporters)
- 13,800 (Sale of Hiatt)
- 22,650 (Annual Dues)

Total revenues: 104,273

Expenditures

Youth Squad: 20,000
Wages: 16,490
Staff: 21,000
Arena: 8,370
Interest: 10,795
- 13,195 (interst)
- (2,400) (investment)
Temporary: 4,000
- 2,000 (Youth Pull)
- 2,000 (Listing Costs)

Total Expenses: 80,655

Profit (Loss): 23,618
New Balance: (240,298)

Honestly, my financial situation is very worrisome. I'm gonna need at least a passable keeper very soon.

Other stats

Team Spirit: Composed
Confidence: Decent

Sponsers: Content
Supporters: Calm
# of Supporters: 779 (Up from 755)

Obviously, the reflects the rest. Hopefully, we'll maul that poor bot team on Wednesday to star the upward climb.

This ends the first season of Frankfort United. We'll be firing up a new thread after the age updates for season two. Stay tuned!