Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Incompetence on Parade: The Life and Times of an Unknown Nobody(FM14)

Brian Swartz · 06-26-2014, 02:32 PM

** Actual game date as of now is December 6, 2016, so I'm almost three and a half years 'behind'. I'm planning on posting in fairly rapid-fire fashion for a while so that I can close the gap to current events.

October 13 vs. Persibas, we're favored 5-4.

I was frankly unsure of how the rules worked on this, but we are apparently allowed to scrounge up emergency players from local amateur clubs to fill out our squad in the event of ridiculous extremes like this. Even with a 'full eleven', I still ordered a very defensive approach with so many of our regulars out. Starting in a week or two, we expect to see the first players back, but until then ... the six competent outfield players we have are in defense and midfield, none of them natural attackers, so our only real hope is a 0-0 draw.

We're picked to lose despite the official line, due to the absence of our attacking players(specifically Yogi and Ewangin). This is a complete 'duh' moment for me.

It was such a depressing thing, after all the work to put in a plan to give us a chance to succeed, and then get out there on the pitch and realize that none of it had much chance to work today. It's like trying to play on one leg, frankly. Just a horrible feeling, but we had to do what we could and make the best of it, no other choice really.

And then there were the fans, who didn't come out here to see us turn turtle and stall at every opportunity -- but that was what we needed to do to have any chance of a result.

14' -- Shockingly, after the first couple of minutes we did very well to disrupt their attempts at a short passing, possession style game, surrendering nothing. A straight-on shot from just outside the area by one of our 'guys off the street' was well-placed, and it took a great effort by their keeper Sangra to push it wide. The fact that it was the first shot of any kind taken in this match shows that so far, our strategy is working.

25' -- One of their players had the ball at the corner of the six-yard box, but he was well bracketed by Fitriandi and Sutiono, both of whom were playing well today. He went down, and they called a penalty!! We complain, but to no avail. Ariyanto stepped up for the try and converted it, his first-ever goal for Peribas. 0-1. In the whole of the pre-season, a dozen friendlies I think it was, we were never once whistled for a penalty ... and we get one here.

I had no choice. I went to a less conservative counter-attacking strategy and ordered our defensive line higher up the pitch ... we had to try to create more chances now that we were behind.

41' -- We get a freekick, straight on just outside the area, with Persibas screaming it was a dive. Oh, the irony! Yarangga pushes it wide right and high though, so it comes to nothing.

HT -- Still down 0-1, even though we've outshot them 7-1. Most of ours have been speculative long-range efforts, but for my money they didn't earn the one they've gotten. We deserve at least a draw here, but we need a break to get it now.

48' -- A floating shot has a chance to sneak in for us, but it's off the crossbar.

51' -- A nigh-unbelievable sequence down in our end. They get a freekick, intercept our clearance and center again. A point-blank volley is blocked by Ferminus, then a straight-on floater from just outside the area hits the crossbar, and Batu(whose volley was blocked initially) volleys it in easily from right in front!! And .... it's disallowed on an offside call anyway.

We're not dead yet. That was more pressure in 20 seconds than they've put on us the rest of the match combined.

They controlled the action more and more from there on, not getting in a bunch of shots but dictating play and breaking up our counterattacks before they rightly were able to begin most times.

71' -- Sangra illadvisedly snags a ball and goes over the line to give us the first of a pair of corners, we get a weak long-range header on the second which is easily saved, and it's time to go for broke a little. I tell the guys to press harder for the equalizer, losing by two isn't going to hurt much more than losing by one. We're the fresher, more well-conditioned squad ... maybe they'll make a mistake. Or maybe we will, but we have to take that chance.

FT -- We lose 1-0 after never really getting anything going at the end. Shots were even at 11, we had 51% possession ... they were probably a bit better but it all came down to that stupid penalty in the first half. A bad call, but we never should have given them the chance to make it, they had almost no chance to score and were completely bracketed by our two best defenders. Tough loss, and not a good omen to start off my career.

Late in the match, DR Ben Onisius Benoni Patay went down during a tackle and was diagnosed afterwards with a dead leg(6-8 days). The hits just keep on coming. We now have more players injured than we do healthy. At least this one won't be long-term.

06-26-2014, 02:32 PM	#9
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Actual game date as of now is December 6, 2016, so I'm almost three and a half years 'behind'. I'm planning on posting in fairly rapid-fire fashion for a while so that I can close the gap to current events. October 13 vs. Persibas, we're favored 5-4. I was frankly unsure of how the rules worked on this, but we are apparently allowed to scrounge up emergency players from local amateur clubs to fill out our squad in the event of ridiculous extremes like this. Even with a 'full eleven', I still ordered a very defensive approach with so many of our regulars out. Starting in a week or two, we expect to see the first players back, but until then ... the six competent outfield players we have are in defense and midfield, none of them natural attackers, so our only real hope is a 0-0 draw. We're picked to lose despite the official line, due to the absence of our attacking players(specifically Yogi and Ewangin). This is a complete 'duh' moment for me. It was such a depressing thing, after all the work to put in a plan to give us a chance to succeed, and then get out there on the pitch and realize that none of it had much chance to work today. It's like trying to play on one leg, frankly. Just a horrible feeling, but we had to do what we could and make the best of it, no other choice really. And then there were the fans, who didn't come out here to see us turn turtle and stall at every opportunity -- but that was what we needed to do to have any chance of a result. 14' -- Shockingly, after the first couple of minutes we did very well to disrupt their attempts at a short passing, possession style game, surrendering nothing. A straight-on shot from just outside the area by one of our 'guys off the street' was well-placed, and it took a great effort by their keeper Sangra to push it wide. The fact that it was the first shot of any kind taken in this match shows that so far, our strategy is working. 25' -- One of their players had the ball at the corner of the six-yard box, but he was well bracketed by Fitriandi and Sutiono, both of whom were playing well today. He went down, and they called a penalty!! We complain, but to no avail. Ariyanto stepped up for the try and converted it, his first-ever goal for Peribas. 0-1. In the whole of the pre-season, a dozen friendlies I think it was, we were never once whistled for a penalty ... and we get one here. I had no choice. I went to a less conservative counter-attacking strategy and ordered our defensive line higher up the pitch ... we had to try to create more chances now that we were behind. 41' -- We get a freekick, straight on just outside the area, with Persibas screaming it was a dive. Oh, the irony! Yarangga pushes it wide right and high though, so it comes to nothing. HT -- Still down 0-1, even though we've outshot them 7-1. Most of ours have been speculative long-range efforts, but for my money they didn't earn the one they've gotten. We deserve at least a draw here, but we need a break to get it now. 48' -- A floating shot has a chance to sneak in for us, but it's off the crossbar. 51' -- A nigh-unbelievable sequence down in our end. They get a freekick, intercept our clearance and center again. A point-blank volley is blocked by Ferminus, then a straight-on floater from just outside the area hits the crossbar, and Batu(whose volley was blocked initially) volleys it in easily from right in front!! And .... it's disallowed on an offside call anyway. We're not dead yet. That was more pressure in 20 seconds than they've put on us the rest of the match combined. They controlled the action more and more from there on, not getting in a bunch of shots but dictating play and breaking up our counterattacks before they rightly were able to begin most times. 71' -- Sangra illadvisedly snags a ball and goes over the line to give us the first of a pair of corners, we get a weak long-range header on the second which is easily saved, and it's time to go for broke a little. I tell the guys to press harder for the equalizer, losing by two isn't going to hurt much more than losing by one. We're the fresher, more well-conditioned squad ... maybe they'll make a mistake. Or maybe we will, but we have to take that chance. FT -- We lose 1-0 after never really getting anything going at the end. Shots were even at 11, we had 51% possession ... they were probably a bit better but it all came down to that stupid penalty in the first half. A bad call, but we never should have given them the chance to make it, they had almost no chance to score and were completely bracketed by our two best defenders. Tough loss, and not a good omen to start off my career. Late in the match, DR Ben Onisius Benoni Patay** went down during a tackle and was diagnosed afterwards with a dead leg(6-8 days). The hits just keep on coming. We now have more players injured than we do healthy. At least this one won't be long-term.