Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - FM18 - The Rise of Sepsi: Romania Strong

Abe Sargent · 06-22-2018, 06:38 AM

So let’s break this down,.

Here are my goals:

My Seven Goals for Sepsi:

1. Create a powerful U19 squad. At the beginning of this game, we didn’t have a youth squad, just three players of note and value. Youth are the lifeblood of any team. I need to go out and sign out and jumpstart a new squad. CHECK
2. To do well enough this year to not get relegated. CHECK
3. Ideally, to do well enough this year to have a winning record. CHECK
4. Next year, to move Sepsi up to the Top 6, to qualify for the Romanian Champions Playoffs. CHECK ONE YEAR EARLY
5. In following years to increase Sepsi’s chances to make it out of Romania
6. To turn Sepsi into an Eastern European Powerhouse like Dynamo Kiev, Sparta Prague, and such
7. So secure financial footing to cement Sepsi into that role after I leave, so that Sepsi will not fade but will remain strong.

Now, why did this happen this quickly?

Here are my thoughts, in order.

1. Tactics. Our 3-5-2 was good against the many 4-5-1s. We struggled against Cluj’s 4-4-2, and Craiova, the class of the year, was the only other 3-5-2. Both over-achieving clubs used the 3-5-2 with 1 DMC and 4 middies.
2. The System. Romania has more teams than any other hitting continental play because of this system. It’s a whole lot easier to get hot (or cold) and punch above or below your expected place on the table in 26 games, rather than a normal 36 or 38 or something.
a. One of the keys of the system is the low umber of teams Romania has. Getting Top 6 for this cool playoff set was easier in a league with 14 teams, let’s be honest. In fact, we are not the first to do this well this quickly.
b. If I had told you that, in real life, our club hit 14th on a table of 20, but we took it to 8th in the same year, you might not think much. We did the same, just going from 12th to 6th.
3. Talent. We added many new players after taking over that were lifebloods of the team. Traore? Jakub Palenik? Martin Gimenez? Gabriel Dodoi? Even DC Stoychev. We brought in a good amount of talent to push the team more, and not settle for 12th. I also don’t feel that the talent level difference on the pitch was that different after this influx of talent, save for Cluj, and maybe Craiova.

Now, moving forward, I know that I can’t get out of this place until I can, reliably, beat Cluj.

In normal season, I would aim for a consistent roster that won’t embarrass you. Take a 20 team division with 38 games in it. I can finish above a better team that I lose to if I am more consistent with the lower teams. I don’t need to be better than the best club in the league, I just need to be better than the rest.

And you would often be able to secure promotion to a higher level or to European play. By coming in 2nd or 3rd. That’s fine. But here? I am playing Cluj not just two times, but four times. And I am doing do with just 13 other teams. Those two games against Cluj matter more in a 26 game season to set rankings than they so for a next season. And then I have two more that count even more.

I can’t get to EURO without pushing. I can’t get to Champions without winning the final ten-game playoff and coming in first because we dropped in our co-efficients.

So I have to build a different team. My new sub-goal is to build a roster to beat Cluj.

My EIGHT Goals for Sepsi:

1. Create a powerful U19 squad. At the beginning of this game, we didn’t have a youth squad, just three players of note and value. Youth are the lifeblood of any team. I need to go out and sign out and jumpstart a new squad. CHECK
2. To do well enough this year to not get relegated. CHECK
3. Ideally, to do well enough this year to have a winning record. CHECK
4. Next year, to move Sepsi up to the Top 6, to qualify for the Romanian Champions Playoffs. CHECK ONE YEAR EARLY
5. In following years to increase Sepsi’s chances to make it out of Romania
6. Build a roster that can reliably defeat Cluj.
7. To turn Sepsi into an Eastern European Powerhouse like Dynamo Kiev, Sparta Prague, and such
8. So secure financial footing to cement Sepsi into that role after I leave, so that Sepsi will not fade but will remain strong.

06-22-2018, 06:38 AM	#79
Abe Sargent Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Catonsville, MD	So let’s break this down,. Here are my goals: My Seven Goals for Sepsi: 1. Create a powerful U19 squad. At the beginning of this game, we didn’t have a youth squad, just three players of note and value. Youth are the lifeblood of any team. I need to go out and sign out and jumpstart a new squad. CHECK 2. To do well enough this year to not get relegated. CHECK 3. Ideally, to do well enough this year to have a winning record. CHECK 4. Next year, to move Sepsi up to the Top 6, to qualify for the Romanian Champions Playoffs. CHECK ONE YEAR EARLY 5. In following years to increase Sepsi’s chances to make it out of Romania 6. To turn Sepsi into an Eastern European Powerhouse like Dynamo Kiev, Sparta Prague, and such 7. So secure financial footing to cement Sepsi into that role after I leave, so that Sepsi will not fade but will remain strong. Now, why did this happen this quickly? Here are my thoughts, in order. 1. Tactics. Our 3-5-2 was good against the many 4-5-1s. We struggled against Cluj’s 4-4-2, and Craiova, the class of the year, was the only other 3-5-2. Both over-achieving clubs used the 3-5-2 with 1 DMC and 4 middies. 2. The System. Romania has more teams than any other hitting continental play because of this system. It’s a whole lot easier to get hot (or cold) and punch above or below your expected place on the table in 26 games, rather than a normal 36 or 38 or something. a. One of the keys of the system is the low umber of teams Romania has. Getting Top 6 for this cool playoff set was easier in a league with 14 teams, let’s be honest. In fact, we are not the first to do this well this quickly. b. If I had told you that, in real life, our club hit 14th on a table of 20, but we took it to 8th in the same year, you might not think much. We did the same, just going from 12th to 6th. 3. Talent. We added many new players after taking over that were lifebloods of the team. Traore? Jakub Palenik? Martin Gimenez? Gabriel Dodoi? Even DC Stoychev. We brought in a good amount of talent to push the team more, and not settle for 12th. I also don’t feel that the talent level difference on the pitch was that different after this influx of talent, save for Cluj, and maybe Craiova. Now, moving forward, I know that I can’t get out of this place until I can, reliably, beat Cluj. In normal season, I would aim for a consistent roster that won’t embarrass you. Take a 20 team division with 38 games in it. I can finish above a better team that I lose to if I am more consistent with the lower teams. I don’t need to be better than the best club in the league, I just need to be better than the rest. And you would often be able to secure promotion to a higher level or to European play. By coming in 2nd or 3rd. That’s fine. But here? I am playing Cluj not just two times, but four times. And I am doing do with just 13 other teams. Those two games against Cluj matter more in a 26 game season to set rankings than they so for a next season. And then I have two more that count even more. I can’t get to EURO without pushing. I can’t get to Champions without winning the final ten-game playoff and coming in first because we dropped in our co-efficients. So I have to build a different team. My new sub-goal is to build a roster to beat Cluj. My EIGHT Goals for Sepsi: 1. Create a powerful U19 squad. At the beginning of this game, we didn’t have a youth squad, just three players of note and value. Youth are the lifeblood of any team. I need to go out and sign out and jumpstart a new squad. CHECK 2. To do well enough this year to not get relegated. CHECK 3. Ideally, to do well enough this year to have a winning record. CHECK 4. Next year, to move Sepsi up to the Top 6, to qualify for the Romanian Champions Playoffs. CHECK ONE YEAR EARLY 5. In following years to increase Sepsi’s chances to make it out of Romania 6. Build a roster that can reliably defeat Cluj. 7. To turn Sepsi into an Eastern European Powerhouse like Dynamo Kiev, Sparta Prague, and such 8. So secure financial footing to cement Sepsi into that role after I leave, so that Sepsi will not fade but will remain strong. __________________ Check out my two current weekly Magic columns! https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/?action=search&page=1&author[]=Abe%20Sargent