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MalcPow · 08-03-2005, 06:54 PM

On to that squad...

The team as it stands...

I'll run down the key guys.

DMC David Fox
Probably our most important player. It's obvious when he's not on the pitch. He's a midfield lynchpin, and clearly the keystone of our organization on the field as people seem to forget where they are if he's on the bench. We crumble without him, and no matter how tired he is we seem to be better with him on the field than off it. At 21 he's still getting better, and he's one of the windfalls of the Darren Middleton bounty coming over on a transfer from ManU.

AMLRC Stephen Cooke
Probably our best player. A midseason pickup from Aston Villa, the 22yr old is simply technically and otherwise superior than 99% of the guys at this level. Most of his skills fall in the 10-15 range, and his versatility is just incredible. His ability to basically play anywhere in the midfield (and be dominant) was crucial to our success when dealing with injuries. We are still solid without him, but he is the spark that took us from good to great last season. I play what is essentially a 442 with diamond midfield, and although he seems best suited to the AMC role from his profile, he always seemed more effective shredding people down the wings.

DC Franklin Simek
He's slow. And he has low stamina. (8 pace, and 7 stam respectively) But at this level his 15 jumping and 15 heading, and solid all around skills, make him the critical anchor at the back. I've found that despite the stamina he rarely needs to be subbed, most likely because my midfield is where the real work is taking place and Franklin's just winning headers all day and sipping martini's at the half line. Not to mention at 20, he's got his best years ahead of him, and has the skills to play the role he plays for us through at least League 2 (*Fingers Crossed*).

And now a couple interesting / other / whatever guys...

SC Erik Lund
A discovery early by one of my two (damn good) scouts in Scandinavia. Lund is only 16 at the moment but has good skills, and also has the extraordinarily fortuitous tag of "Promising Striker" in his player description. It's been my experience that "Promising" anythings turn into great players, and he already has a good base in the requisite striking skills. Definitely didn't do great things this year, but his action was limited and I'm aware of the difficulties of trying to develop him in such Spartan surroundings (My "training facilities" consist of a few John Basedow videos, a rusted out bench press, and a mini-goal in the small corner of my backyard I've taught the dog not to crap in). But we'll see what happens. He turns 17 at the end of this month, and hopefully he won't require some kind of absurd contract, his value is far higher than what I've seen from him warrants at the moment.

GK Luke Steele
Another ManU pickup, or dump off, depending on your perspective. Good skills for a keeper, 20 yrs old, has been solid but unspectacular, which is all I'm really looking for from him, hopefully. Another guy whose value has started to rocket for no apparent reason, but whom I've got no real interest in selling simply because nobody I would buy with that money would come down and play for me. Hopefully we can maneuver through any issues.

SC Jakob Hadda
The second Swede Striker from my Scandinavian scouting venture. Basically a clone of Lund in a lot of ways, except five years older and without any real indications of great potential. But... he does actually score goals, unlike Mr. Lund, so it's a freaking wash really. He's also a guy that's something of a tweener as we move up a level. I might have two blonde-haired blue-eyed non-goal scoring wonders on my hands. Time will tell.

I'll break down what I'm looking to do in the offseason in the next post. And maybe give a game universe overview or something...

08-03-2005, 06:54 PM	#4
MalcPow College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: San Diego	On to that squad... The team as it stands... I'll run down the key guys. DMC David Fox Probably our most important player. It's obvious when he's not on the pitch. He's a midfield lynchpin, and clearly the keystone of our organization on the field as people seem to forget where they are if he's on the bench. We crumble without him, and no matter how tired he is we seem to be better with him on the field than off it. At 21 he's still getting better, and he's one of the windfalls of the Darren Middleton bounty coming over on a transfer from ManU. AMLRC Stephen Cooke Probably our best player. A midseason pickup from Aston Villa, the 22yr old is simply technically and otherwise superior than 99% of the guys at this level. Most of his skills fall in the 10-15 range, and his versatility is just incredible. His ability to basically play anywhere in the midfield (and be dominant) was crucial to our success when dealing with injuries. We are still solid without him, but he is the spark that took us from good to great last season. I play what is essentially a 442 with diamond midfield, and although he seems best suited to the AMC role from his profile, he always seemed more effective shredding people down the wings. DC Franklin Simek He's slow. And he has low stamina. (8 pace, and 7 stam respectively) But at this level his 15 jumping and 15 heading, and solid all around skills, make him the critical anchor at the back. I've found that despite the stamina he rarely needs to be subbed, most likely because my midfield is where the real work is taking place and Franklin's just winning headers all day and sipping martini's at the half line. Not to mention at 20, he's got his best years ahead of him, and has the skills to play the role he plays for us through at least League 2 (Fingers Crossed). And now a couple interesting / other / whatever guys... SC Erik Lund A discovery early by one of my two (damn good) scouts in Scandinavia. Lund is only 16 at the moment but has good skills, and also has the extraordinarily fortuitous tag of "Promising Striker" in his player description. It's been my experience that "Promising" anythings turn into great players, and he already has a good base in the requisite striking skills. Definitely didn't do great things this year, but his action was limited and I'm aware of the difficulties of trying to develop him in such Spartan surroundings (My "training facilities" consist of a few John Basedow videos, a rusted out bench press, and a mini-goal in the small corner of my backyard I've taught the dog not to crap in). But we'll see what happens. He turns 17 at the end of this month, and hopefully he won't require some kind of absurd contract, his value is far higher than what I've seen from him warrants at the moment. GK Luke Steele Another ManU pickup, or dump off, depending on your perspective. Good skills for a keeper, 20 yrs old, has been solid but unspectacular, which is all I'm really looking for from him, hopefully. Another guy whose value has started to rocket for no apparent reason, but whom I've got no real interest in selling simply because nobody I would buy with that money would come down and play for me. Hopefully we can maneuver through any issues. SC Jakob Hadda The second Swede Striker from my Scandinavian scouting venture. Basically a clone of Lund in a lot of ways, except five years older and without any real indications of great potential. But... he does actually score goals, unlike Mr. Lund, so it's a freaking wash really. He's also a guy that's something of a tweener as we move up a level. I might have two blonde-haired blue-eyed non-goal scoring wonders on my hands. Time will tell. I'll break down what I'm looking to do in the offseason in the next post. And maybe give a game universe overview or something...