[Hattrick] Houston Hippopotami, Season 4: IV.21

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Introduction
Well, last season isn't over yet- that thread will still be maintained up thru our friendly tomorrow and then the awards ceremony. That always ends up being the best post of the year so you should definitely not stop checking out that thread. However, so I don't get horribly behind like last year, I'm starting early.

I'm going to try something new for this season that I really didn't do in the third season: it's called "posting on time". It's a novel concept and will probably fall by the wayside twice that I can foresee (finals week and when I'm on the road for Christmas) but other than that- I'd like to keep people more on top of things because it tends to encourage more views and posts and makes this more fun to read (and write, for that matter).

Once again, thanks to anyone and everyone who reads- if not for the readers, I probably wouldn't keep this up and the game wouldn't be as fun. If I just wanted stats, I'd only keep my spreadsheet and put in my lineup, but as you FOFC hattrickers know, the community makes playing the game that much more fun.


Previous Threads In this Dynasty
Hippopotami Introduction: Hippopotami Hattrick Prequel (Old Board Conversion)
Hippopotami - Season 18, part II
[Hattrick] Houston Hippopotami, Season 2: V.62
[Hattrick] Houston Hippopotami, Season 3: IV.21

So, without further adieu, I present to you Houston Hippopotami Season IV.

SI

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Supporters
I figure it's best to thank my supporters and supportees first. I'd love to reciprocate to everyone, but with only 5 supporter spots, that's just not possible. After DK stopped being so active, I slipped his sponsorship to Coffee Warlord, giving me 5 reciprocal supporters. I feel quite bad about not giving it to one of the other four teams who support me, especially Eilim since he's been a supporter the longest, however, I owe a debt to Coffee as he and ardent were my mentors.

I have played rivalry week games against the Morrisvillians, Bees, and Cyclones which means, for the next two seasons, vex or Coffee, you're up (qualification games excepting). I've had regular season friendlies with the Morrisvillians, Bees (twice), Sidekicks, Cyclones, Marauders, and Avengers. So that means this season, it's time to get games with the goldurnears, Bull Dogs, and Gasmasters once the Cup is over.

We also bestow honorary supporter status on the four teams we can't reciprocate: goldurnears, Bull Dogs, Manhattan Marauders and Gasmasters. If I could support more than 5 teams, you guys would be it. Lastly, the following four teams deserve honorary mention for supporter status: North County Raiders (for coming up with our fan club name and being a run and shoot mentor), the Screamin' Seamen (for introducing myself and probably half of FOFC to hattrick), and one time Hippo supportees Havok and Havoc (non-FOFC) whose teams Maniacal Misfitz and Havoc supported me at one time or another. Anyone I missed- PM me and I'll add you in!


Supported/Supportee teams

Bees (70510) in USA
Owner: ausonny
Status: reciprocal
Supporter since: 2003-01-31 17:22:38
Supportee since: 2003-01-08 23:22:37
Series: V.41

Morrisville Morrisvillians (70926) in USA
Owner: NevStar
Status: reciprocal
Supporter since: 2003-02-02 22:57:25
Supportee since: 2003-02-03 04:56:37
Series: IV.46

NE Oklahoma Sidekicks (71068) in USA
Owner: vexroid
Status: reciprocal
Supporter since: 2003-02-13 22:45:08
Supportee since: 2003-02-13 08:24:27
Series: IV.10

Louisiana Cyclones (72080) in USA
Owner: Doug5984
Status: reciprocal
Supporter since: 2003-03-07 01:07:40
Supportee since: 2003-03-06 19:44:19
Series: IV.5

Galesburg Avengers (70481) in USA
Owner: CoffeeWarlord
Status: reciprocal
Supporter since: 2003-09-05 15:13:22
Supportee since: 2003-08-18 00:27:34
Series: IV.56

Bull Dogs (8421) in USA
Owner: Eilim
Status: supportee
Supportee since: 2003-03-28 03:55:19
Series: IV.63

Manhattan Marauders (71399) in USA
Owner: NAIWF
Status: supportee
Supportee since: 2003-04-22 00:00:14
Series: V.152

goldurnears (72020) in USA
Owner: robbgmaier
Status: supportee
Supportee since: 2003-04-30 22:30:26
Series: IV.10

Gasmasters (71955) in USA
Owner: Flatulon
Status: supportee
Supportee since: 2003-08-20 08:03:10
Series: IV.14

Screamin' Seamen (70638) in USA
Owner: dataking
Status: honorable mention
Series: IV.49

North County Raiders (70913) in USA
Owner: Ardententhusias
Status: honorable mention
Series: III.8

Maniacal Misfitz (72203) in USA
Owner: Havok12
Status: honorable mention
Series: V.253

Havoc (71573) in USA
Owner: Havoc99
Status: honorable mention
Series: IV.41

SI

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Introduction
Last year, I copied a bunch of stuff from the previous year. This year, I think it's time for some new content.

Staff
Since Timber has such a knack for staying in good form *knock profusely on wood* I keep a 9-1 assistant/keeper coach ratio. I decided to carry a larger staff than at the beginning of last season. I added a sports psychologist, an economist (who will be gone pretty soon when the money is), and 3 physiotherpaists so I could raise my training percentage to 99%. I've had a lot of success with this: solid coach, 99%, and 5 physios gives me very few injuries yet allows for top notch training. I'll be firing some doctors pretty soon as I have no one injured. Heck, I didn't realize these guys were still on the payroll. Oops.

Staff
Goaltending Coaches: 1
Assistant Coaches: 9
Sport Psychologists: 1
Spokepersons: 10
Economists: 0
Physiotherapists: 2
Doctors: 5


Training and Formations
The UberTrainee(TM) program enters its second full season. We'll be continuing playmaking for at least two more years, if not indefinitely. As mentioned above, the training percentage has been kicked up to 99% with 9 assistant coaches. With recent sales and the promotion of Hippo youth squad product Thomas Little to the A Team, we now have one spot opened up on the B Team for a new 17yo trainee and that will be filled ASAP with a large chunk of the $1.5M in cash we have right now. Coach Braden is still at solid coaching ability even tho his leadership has dropped two levels to wretched so he is secure in his job for at least another year. We have been looking to bring in a new veteran who can coach after next season.

As for formations, we ran a 4-5-1 for one game last year and felt much too dirty about that to consider it ever again. The other 30 games last year, we ran a 3-5-2 so our formation experience is pretty much locked into one. It's still odd, tho- even with playing a 3-5-2 for at least 30 of the last 31 games, it's still only at solid sometimes instead of excellent.

Training Specifics
Training Level: 99%
Training Type: Playmaking
Coach: Ricky Braden
Team Spirit: composed
Confidence: strong

Formation experience
4-3-3: poor
4-5-1: wretched
3-5-2: solid
5-3-2: poor
3-4-3: poor
5-4-1: wretched


Youth Squad
Finally, we are starting to see a return on our investment. Five players in the history of the franchise have sold for over $100K and current UberTrainee(TM) Thomas Little was pulled from the team early this season. Our highest return was two seasons ago when Rolando Gontan, a 19yo solid playmaker was pulled, trained one week, bumped to excellent, and sold for $350K. This past season, our best pick was 18yo solid defender, solid passer John Hanna who sold for $279K. Early this past season, our youth squad hit excellent, the maximum level. The benefits of the excellent youth squad have become very apparent as, even though we only had one "big money" guy this year in Hanna, only 4 of 15 picks were sent straight to the Hippos Memorial Piggly Wiggly(TM) which will be getting a makeover and expanded into something else now that we have 25 workers.

Youth Squad
Youth Squad: excellent
Investment in the Youth squad: 20,000 US$ / week

Youth Pulls: 43
Youth Pull Grocers: 25
Youth Pulls Sold: 16
Youth Pulls Still With Club: 1
Total Sold for: 1294000
Total Invested: 835000
Profit/Loss: +459000


Sponsors/Supporters
Even with only a 7-6-1 record last year, fans continued to pile on the Hippo bandwagon. We gained an average of 17 fans per week season and broke through the 1500 fan mark late in the season. Due to our 10 spokespersons, both the sponsors and supporters were either delirious, high on life, or dancing in the streets for 2/3rds of the season. Our PR department rocks.

Sponsor Info
Sponsors: satisfied
Supporter Club: 1550 members
Supporters: calm


The Hippodrome
The Hippodrome 32K was completed before the start of last season. However, due to inclement weather combined with our up and down performance, we only sold out twice with two more crowds about 28K. We won't be expanding until the end of this season at the earliest. It's home sweet ‘drome and I'm not sure what else to say except that the fans are crazy and loud.

The Hippodrome Executive Washroom and Attached Suite is of some renown. This palatial part of the stadium is the reward from the owner to those who support and play for his team. As I said a couple of seasons ago, it has full service dining and full service girls- take that as you will. Marble and circuits, gold and fiber optics- this is simply one of the most opulent venues on the face of the planet. At the end of the year, the team awards banquet is held in the Suite so players and a few special guests are allowed in. The rest of the year, supporters and the owner (and his guests) are the only ones allowed in. More than a couple of players have been persuaded to join the team after a tour.


Arena Info
Arena: The Hippodrome
Belongs to: Houston Hippopotami
Country: USA
Region : Houston
Last improvement: 7/24/2003
Total capacity: 32000
Terraces: 20000
Basic seating: 8000
Seats under roof: 3200
Seats in VIP boxes: 800


Finances
In an ideal 2 week cycle, I should pull in roughly $350K at the start of the season, growing towards $400K at the end. Our profit margin has increased a lot and that's before the new adjustments will make it even higher. I bumped the temporary up to $5K to include an international friendly every other week along with the youth pull every week and possible sale costs. Right now, I'm projecting roughly a $150K profit every two weeks due to increased sponsor and crowd cash offsetting a more minor increase in wages and staff from last year. The big number really is that sponsorship cash as it's gone up over $30K per week from last year and it's still rising over $1K per week. Tho, it will take a week or two to get back to that level at the start of the season. Our wages increased from $35K to $42K but probably won't rise much higher during the season as our team is more or less set. I guess this will be even higher when the new ticket sales are factored in.

Revenue
Crowd: 10000 (170000)
Sponsors: 90000
Financial: 0
Temporary: 0
Two Week Revenue: 360000

Expenses
Arena: 20800
Wages: 42000
Interest: 0
Temporary: 5000
Staff: 42000
Youth squad: 20000
Two Week Expenses: 223600

Total
Two Week Gross: +136400


Team Profile
Our value shot up through the $3M and $4M barriers last season in value and the average value for player almost doubled. We have gotten a little older and more experienced as our average age is up to 24. However, the core of our team is pretty much 25 and under. We still have a ton of international flavor with a pair of Swedes and a pair of Argentinians as well as one person from Oceania, Uruguay, Romania, Belgie, Magyarorszag, Nederland, England, Germany, and Italy. Most of our trainees are from elsewhere so those salaries are going to hurt in a couple of years.

Team Stats
Total Wages: 42308
Total Value: 4418000
Avg Value: 210381
Avg Age: 24
Avg Form: passable
Avg Experience: poor
No of players: 21
Nationalities: 12

SI

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Federations
Same three feds as before- FOFC, HAM, and KU

Federations
Front Office Football Community- Damn, how did I get on here
HAM Users International- The official HAM fed
Kraftworks Union (K.U.)- A great place with lots of visible members and some good strategy; The GM/Mod:Player ratio is probably the highest of any fed and even some FOFC'ers post there routinely



Team Colors
Since Hippos don't really have a color, I went with some stylish dark jerseys of black, dark purple, and dark green. Stylish, of course, being relative when it's coming from a guy who has gone outside wearing 4 different shades of blue. This season, the PR department has decided to change up the kits a little. The Match Kits will still be black shirts, purple shorts, and dark green socks. However, we have utilized the new kit options for our reserve kits. They used to be purple shirt, black shorts, and dark green socks. Now, we've added dark green stripes to the shirt so they are purple with broad green stripes. We also added a third kit, which is our normal match kit but with the broad green stripes on the shirt. Here's some art:



Match Kit
Shirt: Black
Shorts: Purple
Socks: Dark Green

Reserve Kit
Shirt Type: Green Broad Stripes
Shirt: Purple
Shorts: Black
Socks: Dark Green

Third Kit
Shirt Type: Green Broad Stripes
Shirt: Black
Shorts: Purple
Socks: Dark Green


Fan Club
Back in the first season, I had a thread on the hattrick board and ardent came up with the name for the fan club. The Hungry Hungry Hippos are in his debt. He's an honorary supportee but I don't have any free spots to actually support him, unfortunately. Regardless, his legacy with the Hippos lives on.


Logo
It's not easy finding a good cartoon picture of hippos. They aren't really high on the list of cartoon animals like cats or dogs. However, I found a book on amazon.com called "Hippos Go Berserk" by Sandra Boynton. A couple of hours with Paint Shop Pro later, and I had a new logo. Here's a link to the book Hippos Go Berserk And our ultra-intimidating team logo:

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CURRENT ROSTER
I used to carry a full squad of 11 plus a second 11, a clown, and a coach. But my squad is a bit in flux. I don't have my Div IV winning team yet and probably won't for two seasons. I've got too many defenders and too few of a couple of other positions, but that will change throughout the year as I fill positions. I'm in no rush to fill these positions as it's not urgent and I'm not going to get first this season and probably not next so I'm building for the future.

A few notes:

For ratings
italics are for inadequate and passable
bold are for solid and excellent
bold italics are for higher levels

Numbers
1-3: The franchise starting goalie is #1 while other goalies get 2 and 3
4-9: Any other single digit plays defense at either wingback or middle defender
10-19: If your favorite Hippos number starts with a 1, then he's a middie or winger
20-23: Strikers all start with 2's
24-25: The clown and coach are clad in 24 and 25 (Radu is an exception, tho)

NOTE: Due to the image limit in a post, there won't be USA flags of Sverige (SVE) flags

GOALIES

NOTES: Way back after our first season, we sold our best middie (ratings wise) Julius Acker for a then FOFC-high of over $600K (beating Tom Sanders's old record). We wanted a good goalie and we got tremendously lucky with Brit Tim "Timber" Kimber. He's started 28 straight league matches for us and keeps amazing form. In his 28 weeks with the team, his form has been below passable for only one week. Combine that with the fact that he's one week of training below excellent and has never been hurt and the Hippos have an awesome keeper who puts up 3.5 or 4.0 stars every week. He gets paid $4200 per week and earns every penny. We may need an upgrade in a two seasons or more when we move up to Div III but he will make a suitable backup and eventually, he could be a future coach with that passable leadership.

Ignacio was added last year when I felt we should upgrade our backup keeper in the event that Timber ever got hurt (*knock profusely on wood*). He's close to solid, but he hasn't been able to keep good form at all. The one week he had passable form, he put up 3 stars but that's one out of 7 weeks and his form has been as low as poor. Hopefully a new season will bring him good form.


#1 Tim Kimber (3952839)
24 years, solid form, healthy
I speak English!
A pleasant guy who is fiery and upright.
Has inadequate experience and passable leadership abilities.
Nationality: England
Assessed value: 523 000 US$
Wage: 4 200 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami

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


#2 Ignacio Sánchez (15921909)
25 years, inadequate form, healthy
I speak Español!
A popular guy who is calm and dishonest.
Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities.
Nationality: Uruguay
Assessed value: 229 000 US$
Wage: 2 688 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami

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



DEFENDERS

A TEAM: Lorenzo is probably our only Div IV caliber wingback. He can be a shutdown corner in Div IV and probably a weak side wingback in Div III. I still haven't tried playing him offensive, even with that playmaking, but he's too good defensively to waste that way. I bought Clement Schrader last offseason in an attempt to bolster my central defender ranks. However, he was in awful form all last season and rarely cracked the starting lineup, instead being relegated to the B Team. Towards the end of the season, he started pulling out of his slump and I'm expecting big things this season as he can put 3 stars up in decent form and possibly 3.5 if he reaches forms he's never seen before. Arcadio has had a similar go of it- we bought him towards the end of last season but he started out in a horrible slump so he's just now starting to crack the starting lineup.


#6 Arcadio Sánchez (10603890)
28 years, inadequate form, healthy
I speak Español!
A sympathetic guy who is calm and honest.
Has inadequate experience and weak leadership abilities.
Speciality: Unpredictable
Nationality: Argentina
Assessed value: 118 000 US$
Wage: 1 896 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 4
Career Hattricks: 0

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


#7 Lorenzo Cristiano (14627075)
27 years, passable form, healthy
I speak Italiano!
A nasty fellow who is tranquil and dishonest.
Has weak experience and poor leadership abilities.
Nationality: Italia
Assessed value: 291 000 US$
Wage: 3 108 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 2
Career Hattricks: 0

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


#9 Clement Schrader (6986347)
30 years, excellent form, healthy
I speak Deutsch!
A controversial person who is balanced and honest.
Has wretched experience and weak leadership abilities.
Nationality: Deutschland
Assessed value: 119 000 US$
Wage: 1 800 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 10
Career Hattricks: 2

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



B TEAM: I probably have 1 defender too many after the addition of Attila, but that will likely be taken care of next season. He was brought in this offseason as a possible successor to Coach Braden with his solid experience and solid leadership. Also, he's a very serviceable wingback and may play in our league games if we have some form dogs. Both Jose Maria Miguel and Elmer Bush were starters at points last season. Bush kept great form, being in excellent and solid a lot of last season. I bought him in awful form way back in season 18, however, unlike most of my players, he went straight up and has kept great form after those first couple of weeks. Miguel was acting team captain for quite a while but age has started to catch up with him. He's got pass/pass exp/leadership and if he ever bumps to solid experience, he's got a shot to be the Hippos next coach instead of Attila. He was originally brought in 2 seasons ago to be a team captain and set pieces ace for the FOFC Cup.


#4 Attila Horváth (3561631)
31 years, passable form, healthy
I speak Hungarian!
A pleasant guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has solid experience and solid leadership abilities.
Nationality: Magyarország
Assessed value: 107 000 US$
Wage: 1 956 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 9
Career Hattricks: 0

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


#5 José María Miquel (10565041)
29 years, solid form, healthy
I speak Español!
A controversial person who is fiery and honest.
Has passable experience and passable leadership abilities.
Nationality: Argentina
Assessed value: 23 000 US$
Wage: 828 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 2
Career Hattricks: 0

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


USA #8 Elmer Bush (7098202)
25 years, passable form, healthy
I speak US English!
A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 88 000 US$
Wage: 1 090 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 2
Career Hattricks: 0

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




WINGERS

NOTES: Mick Starks is one of four remaining original Hippos. Back when I started, he was our star, putting up 3.5 stars at the wing position. He hasn't improved much but he still puts up a good 3.5 stars a game, 4.0 on good form weeks. Like many of our starters, he suffered a bit of a form slump last season, but played through it (mainly because we had no one to take his place). He's a crazy guy on and off of field. Koos Teepen was a transfer list find last season. We bought him for just a smidge over $75K and he puts up 3.5 stars a week at offensive wingback. He just recently bumped to solid playmaking to go along with his stamina and winger abilities. Over the offseason, his set pieces skill became the highest on our team, becoming only the third ever Hippo with a formidable rating. Lastly, is the first of the UberTrainees(TM), Pierre Wellens. He just turned 18 and he's already a solid/solid pm/winger. I'm planning on using him as a toward middle winger but right now, the most important thing is to get that playmaking skill up buy playing him middie every friendly and cup game.


#10 Koos Teepen (8057500)
30 years, passable form, healthy
A pleasant guy who is fiery and honest.
Has weak experience and inadequate leadership abilities.
Nationality: Nederland
Assessed value: 147 000 US$
Wage: 2 256 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 11
Career Hattricks: 0

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


USA #13 Mick Starks (7555487)
27 years, excellent form, bruised, but playing
I speak US English!
A nasty fellow who is balanced and honest.
Has weak experience and passable leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 344 000 US$
Wage: 2 790 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 6
Career Hattricks: 0

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


#19 Pierre Wellens (14932304)
18 years, solid form, healthy
I speak Flemish & Francais!
A controversial person who is tranquil and upright.
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities.
Nationality: België
Assessed value: 221 000 US$
Wage: 1 764 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 0
Career Hattricks: 0

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



MIDFIELDERS

NOTES: The pride and joy of our team. Scratch that- they're the strength of our team. It's a bit weakened since we sold 4.0 star Herschel Meek following last season and his nice passable defending that allowed us to cover up one side. Out with Meek and in with Little: one of Coach Braden's controversial decisions last season was to sell Meek in favor of elevating Little to the first team and getting a new trainee on the field. Little is the product of our youth squad and former UberTrainee(TM). His stats are just plain sick and his value went from $250K to nearly $400K in 3 weeks towards the end of last season. He is a cornerstone that this team will build off of for years to come, but was it too early to promote him? He puts up 3.5 stars at offensive middie and thus we are running a true run-and-shoot for the first time this year (both wings and both middies offensive) as opposed to the H-Gun (overload one side offensively and go after the weak wingback) in years past. Remember, Wellens plays one middie in friendlies and he plays alongside fellow UberTrainee(TM) Robert Tryggvesson. We bought him as a 17yo solid pm late in season 19 along with the now sold Daniel Storm. To get Wellens playing time, I decided to sell off whichever popped to formidable first and Storm went for $850K. Tryggvesson has, at most, 2 weeks until he bumps to formidable. However, he'll remain on the B Team for at least another season. How sick is that? A possibly brilliant playmaker on my B Team at the end of this season?!? The reason why is...

I can't believe I've gone that long winded of a paragraph without talking about 2 of the best players on my team: Stephen Connors and Carlos Alberto Benito. Both are original Hippos and each is one of only four players who have played 40 or more official (i.e. not friendly) games as a Hippo. Benito leads that list with 44, tied with Starks, while Connors is right behind Edwin Phelan's 43 with 42 of his own. They have essentially been our starting midfielders from the beginning and both are very good. Connors was the first Hippo to ever get a formidable rating when he his formidable pm last season and puts up a solid 4.0 stars a game. He should be outstanding by the middle of this season but about that time, Coach Braden has said he will look into selling Connors and moving Tryggvesson up to make room for a new UberTrainee(TM). Benito was the first Hippo to ever get 4.5 stars in a game late last season and will be the fourth of fifth ever formidable Hippo (depending on Tryggvesson). He is an offensive force and being only 23, it will be hard for Coach Braden to bump him out of the lineup.


USA #12 Stephen Connors (7555486)
26 years, passable form, healthy
I speak US English!
A controversial person who is calm and upright.
Has wretched experience and passable leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 329 000 US$
Wage: 2 800 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 12
Career Hattricks: 0

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


USA #15 Carlos Alberto Benito (7555476)
24 years, solid form, healthy
I speak Español!
A popular guy who is calm and honest.
Has poor experience and wretched leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 551 000 US$
Wage: 3 630 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 16
Career Hattricks: 0

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


USA #18 Thomas Little (15126966)
19 years, passable form, healthy
I speak US English!
A controversial person who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 378 000 US$
Wage: 2 430 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 1
Career Hattricks: 0

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


SVE #17 Robert Tryggvesson (12375514)
19 years, inadequate form, healthy
I speak Svenska!
A nasty fellow who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.
Speciality: Quick
Nationality: Sverige
Assessed value: 205 000 US$
Wage: 2 052 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 0
Career Hattricks: 0

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



STRIKERS

NOTES: Longtime Hippo great Derrick Solomon hung up his cleats at the end of last season and will have his jersey retired in a game this season. However, the run and shoot will live on with his longtime parter across the field, Edwin Phelan among others. Towards the end of last season, Houston was putting up outstandings across the board on the attack (partially due to the offensive midfield and wings). Edwin Phelan is a fan favorite and the Hippos all time leading scorer with 51 goals. However, his days as a Hippo may be numbered as he has shown little improvement in his 3+ seasons with the team. Across the field from him is Gualtiero Spagnuolo, ladies man. He only speaks Italian despite being born in the US (or at least, that's his story), tho he has been heard to utter something a teammate once heard as "chicks dig the event goal". He was brought in early last season as age was starting to take its toll on Solomon and will probably be on this team for quite a few seasons as he gets 3.5 stars most days which is decent enough for a second scorer in Div III. Lastly, is super sub Juan Miguel Tizon who always turns it up during Cup and FOFC Cup season. He was purchase nearly 2 seasons ago but rarely cracks the starting lineup as his form has been weak or worse more than half of that time. Still, A Team's loss is B Team's gain as he has 26 goals in friendly and cup play.


USA #23 Gualtiero Spagnuolo (11213343)
24 years, passable form, healthy
I speak Italiano!
A pleasant guy who is calm and infamous.
Has poor experience and weak leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 240 000 US$
Wage: 1 990 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 22
Career Hattricks: 2

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


USA #22 Edwin Phelan (7555484)
23 years, solid form, healthy
I speak US English!
A sympathetic guy who is calm and upright.
Has poor experience and weak leadership abilities.
Speciality: Technical
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 188 000 US$
Wage: 1 530 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 55
Career Hattricks: 4

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


SVE #21 Juan Miguel Tizón (7363704)
21 years, weak form, healthy
I speak Español!
A controversial person who is temperamental and infamous.
Has disastrous experience and disastrous leadership abilities.
Speciality: Head
Nationality: Sverige
Assessed value: 57 000 US$
Wage: 1 104 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Career Goals: 15
Career Hattricks: 2

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



STAFF

NOTES: Finally we have Silviu "Clippy" Radu (think 3rd string QB and the clipboard). He's served as pseudo clown for the team the past couple of seasons as well as 3rd string keeper (hence the #3). However, due to the purchase of Attila, we are unsure if he is even the clown now but we will keep him on staff for a little while. He has only played in one game for the team but gave up 0 goals after former B Team keeper Sidney Buckley was injured.

Coach Braden has been with the Hippos essentially since day 1. He started work a couple of weeks after current Owner SterlingIce took over the team and has been with them ever since. While Braden has come under fire of late, both for his onfield and GM decisions, Owner Ice has promised to stand by him as long as he keeps winning and so long as the fans have not turned on him. However, the fans are starting to question his moves and players are whispering that he's burnt out and his lack of leadership is starting to show. This drama will certainly be the Hippos main off field distraction this season.

#3 Silviu Radu (7766792)
23 years, weak form, healthy
I speak Romanian!
A sympathetic guy who is fiery and upright.
Has disastrous experience and solid leadership abilities.
Nationality: România
Assessed value: 51 000 US$
Wage: 1 080 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami

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


USA #25 Ricky Braden (7583297)
36 years, poor form, healthy
I speak US English!
A solid coach who is fond of attacking
A controversial person who is calm and upright.
Has brilliant experience and wretched leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 0 US$
Wage: 500 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami

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




MY BEST TEAM RATINGS
I was curious so I went over to my best team to see what my ratings looked like. For those who don't know about it, mybestteam.org is a great site to help you decide on a lineup early on and see where your strengths and weaknesses lie. FYI, I set all of my forms to excellent so that's not a factor.

4-4-2
Overall:41.16%
Left Defence:40.49%
Central Defence:43.46%
Right Defence:42.69%
Midfield:52.93%
Left Attack:38.7%
Central Attack:34.62%
Right Attack:35.35%

4-5-1
Overall:39.56%
Left Defence:42.45%
Central Defence:43.46%
Right Defence:40.55%
Midfield:71.33%
Left Attack:38.78%
Central Attack:20.8%
Right Attack:21.74%

5-4-1
Overall:42.28%
Left Defence:53.47%
Central Defence:50.6%
Right Defence:53.5%
Midfield:52.93%
Left Attack:37.65%
Central Attack:20.09%
Right Attack:21.74%

3-4-3
Overall:38.85%
Left Defence:42.47%
Central Defence:34.11%
Right Defence:28.45%
Midfield:52.93%
Left Attack:34.73%
Central Attack:46.43%
Right Attack:37.65%

4-3-3
Overall:40.03%
Left Defence:40.67%
Central Defence:43.38%
Right Defence:42.38%
Midfield:30.01%
Left Attack:35.35%
Central Attack:45.74%
Right Attack:37.48%

3-5-2
Overall:39.61%
Left Defence:42.47%
Central Defence:34.1%
Right Defence:28.27%
Midfield:71.33%
Left Attack:36.49%
Central Attack:35.33%
Right Attack:38.7%

3-5-2 Run-And-Shoot
Overall:42.99% (43.01 with Wellens over Starks)
Left Defence:42.2%
Central Defence:33.93%
Right Defence:28.04%
Midfield:69.53%
Left Attack:47.21%
Central Attack:44.18%
Right Attack:48.05%

Notes: So, I'm essentially running the best formation for my team- with Starks over Wellens I trade a little midfield for some offense but I'll take that trade. Our team's strength is clearly the midfield and Coach Braden does a good job of playing towards that strength.

SI

[sterlingice]

Series Preview

Intro
Well, it's not quite as bad as last year with Brooklyn and always being in the top 10 series (including a #1 ranking the first week) until zfan went inactive, but we also don't have a walkover team and a really weak one either. Iowa and The Champion won their qualification games, as was expected, and we have two new teams from Div V that can best be described as "fresh meat". This is a top 20 series for Div IV, top 10 if a couple of teams put it together like I expect them to. Below are team reviews in expected order of finish.

The Oompa-Loompas The New Giant.
Sure, they're not Brooklyn United, they're just close. BU put up mid 100s most of the time (i.e. around 105, not 150) while The Oompas only put up low to mid 90s. Glad we got a new whipping boy for the series They haven't made an acquisition since putting down $3M in June on Lucas Olofsson, his star 4.5 star striker. It looks like he trains winger with 4x 19yo wingers including USA U-20 team member Ronny McKinley. Every member of his starting 11 is capable of 4+ stars on any given night! His "standouts" along with Olofsson are 5 star wingback Burl Box and 5 star middie Niklas Palsson. Oh and did I mention, that aside from his 26yo 2nd forward Jens Klinten and 25yo Palsson, he doesn't have a starter older than 24! This guy knows how to build a team! Unless Kaishaku really improves or Chock plays up to potential and either get a lot of luck, the Oompas will be back in Div III at season's end. This team may be even stronger than BU in the sense that there isn't an old player on it!

Kaishaku F.C. The Schizophrenic.
I'm not sure, but I think they train playmaking. They tend to put up a really nice midfield rating and have 3 good young middies: 22yo 5 star Eero Eskelinen, 20yo 4 star Evan Hijano, and 22yo 4 star Gigel Neagoe. However, I can't discern any trainees except for a 17yo that he just paid $1.5M for. Speaking of schizophrenic, his NSIs last season ranged from a 90 when he MotS'd Chock to a 70 when he played at the 'drome last season (not counting a week 1 PIC against BU). The one thing that is consistent is his star rating which has been betweeen 37.0 and 38.5 the second half of last season including between 19.5 and 20.5 of that on the midfield. He's tough, but we'll pass him up before too long because we actually have a coherent training strategy. Still this season, he's good enough for second.

Chock Full of Wholesome Goodness The Underachiever.
I just can't figure out how they lose some of the games they do. They tend to lose games they shouldn't including coughing away both games to Kaishaku last season including the home game where they out-NSI'd Kaishaku 94 to 84. Every game (except the walkover), his NSI was 77 or higher including 4 that were 87 or higher. He appears to train wings but I may be mistaken. His A Team is led by Ramon King and Phillip Delacruz (recently purchased), 5 and 4.5 star veteran wingers, both over 30. This is quite an old team with a lot of starters who are 27 and older and the new generation who is 20 and under is quite underdeveloped. Like Kaishaku, I should be able to pass him up in 2 seasons or less. For this seasons, however, if Chock can get it together, this team takes second in a cakewalk. But with the inconsistent play, I say they find some way to choke to Kaishaku again and get edged into third.

Houston Hippopotami Your Beloved Hippos.
We don't have the talent to compete with the big boys just yet but we should in 2 seasons. Right now, we're led by 4.5 star middie Carlos Alberto Benito and 4.0 star middie Stephen Connors. These two will likely be sold once they reach outstanding playmaking and that cash used to both replenish the youth squad and upgrade at other key positions. We have a mix of young and old on the team right now but the key players are young with guys who are "hole fillers" being the veterans. You can see our slow, methodical acent up the ratings chart as we started last season in the mid 60s and now get in the low to mid 70s. We'll take our lumps this season, but we're on the way up.

Iowa Enforcers The Rival.
Iowa is the team that most resembles the Hippos. Quite a few good guys on the pitch but not good enough yet to make it to the next level. They're led by keeper David Freeman, defender Matt Weeks, and middies Matt Frederick and Billy Marion, all 3.5 to 4 star guys. I think he trains defense as most of his younger guys are defenders. However, he plays a 3-5-2 so I could be wrong, and all of his players are under 24 except for one veteran winger and his coach, so I could be reading his training program wrong. Last season, his highest NSIs came at the beginning of the season and the end with numbers in the low to mid 70s but he had a lull in the middle of the season with 7 of 8 games in the high 60s. He'll be our primary competition for 4th, but I think we can beat him out at his place in week 13. However, unless something goes horribly wrong with his team, he'll be back in Div IV after winning his qualification game.

The Champion Team Upset.
The Champion isn't great on paper- putting up high 50s to low 60s every week except two (68's against Iowa and at Houston late last season). However, they somehow tied Chock and Iowa last season and they're back for another round of upsets. They get star ratings in the low 30s and I really have no idea what they are training as they are a mix of veterans and youngsters at all positions, tho I think it might be middie. They are lead by 20yo 4-star Finnish middie Herkko Ulpovaara and have 3.5 star players at forward (Gustav Tryggvesson), middie (Jessie Friedman), and keeper (Erik Speer). The Champion isn't bad but he'll be challenged for that #6 spot by Hellspawns FC and may lose out to them.

Hellspawns FC A Fool and His Money.
I wasn't sure which of the new teams to put in 7th, but Hellspawns seems to be trending up more. They had a 67, 62, anbd 69 in weeks 10, 11, and 12 of last season but that last one was clearly a MotS and their NSI the last two weeks was 55 and 58. They also put up slightly more stars than Golden Beers and between 10/25 and 11/16, they've shelled out roughly $3.3M in cash for new players after selling 19yo 5.5 star keeper Donny Wilson for $5M. However, even after all of that, he only has 1 player worth more than $200K and that's 19yo starting goalie Martin Stokes. I think we all know what he trains. Along with Stokes, he has 3.5 star players Keith Ashton (wingback), Zoltan Virag (middie), and Bjorn Ericsson (striker). I think this is one of those cases where he just got too much money at once instead of learning the market gradually so he spent too much for the players he got. He even changed his name coming into this season from Digitalnova to Hellspawns FC and that money could probably have been better spent elsewhere. If he had spent his cash a bit more wisely, he'd be challenging Iowa and myself for 4th but as it is, he'll have to settle for challenging The Champion to avoid auto relegation while fending off Golden Beers.

Golden Beers Fresh Meat.
This is a young team still in flux as they have lots of minor purchases and sales over the last few weeks. It looks like they don't field too bad of a team with a lot of their players between 2.5 and 3.5 stars. In fact they resemble the Hippos at the beginning of last season and if they have a good training regimen, they might be able to afford relegation. Unfortunately, they don't have the huge cash reserves Hellspawn had or the experience of The Champion. However, they have a very young team and appear to have a pretty good training regimen in place with a lot of 17-19yo middies. The A Team is led by 30yo winger Ed Aaron and 20yo Wes Field, both 3.5 star players. If they can continue to improve and keep the training in place, they might just survive this season in Div IV and they have the most upside of any of the teams in the bottom 4. However, for now, they have the least talent of any team and will struggle to avoid auto-relegation.


Schedule Preview
Here's a look at the upcoming season with predictions. Blue's a win, teal's a draw, and red's a loss.

Week 1 @ Chock Full of Wholesome Goodness: They're vulnerable as they play many starters in the offseason. Still, it's at their place so a 3-2 loss.
Week 2 vs Iowa Enforcers: We should beat them pretty good at our field unless they MotS. 5-2 Hippos. Don't forget: Derrick Solomon's jersey retirement at halftime!
Week 3 @ The Champion: Hopefully we can avoid the upset bug on the road. No PIC should mean a Houston 3-1 win
Week 4 @ The Oompa-Loompas: Pain, thy name is game 4. The only way we even have a chance is if he's saving up for Chock in week 5 but with Cup games and games against The Champion and Hellspawn FC the previous couple of weeks, I'm not holding my breath. If we're still in the Cup, I may hold some starters back. A 5-0 loss and it could be worse.
Week 5 vs Golden Beers: Home cooking and an inferior opponent makes for a 6-0 win. Tho, if we are still in the Cup, this might be a mixed starters and a much closer game. Either way, should be a win.
Week 6 @ Kaishaku F.C.: You know, this schedule is shaping up nicely for a deep cup run. We're probably going to get beat at their place and if I'm still in the cup, a bludgeoning as starters will be held back. Kaishaku 3-1.
Week 7 vs Hellspawns FC: Time to start worrying about the series more. It's at home and we take care of business 6-2.
Week 8 @ Hellspawns FC: It may be close since it's on the road, but we should still win this one. 4-3 Hippos.
Week 9 vs Kaishaku F.C.: We can play this one close but Kaishaku will probably be coming off a PIC against Golden Beers at home and that will propel them to a 2-1 win.
Week 10 @ Golden Beers: Speaking of the Beers, we should be able to take them at their place, Hippos 4-2.
Week 11 vs The Oompa-Loompas: Them, again? This time at home. I'm going to be tempted to PIC the next two games, leading up to the final two games of the season. A PIC, we lose bad, but no PIC we still lose 3-0.
Week 12 vs The Champion: A tempting PIC depending on how The Champion has done the previous couple of games. A 4-1 Hippos win or worse if I normal.
Week 13 @ Iowa Enforcers: Hippos go on the road and pull a shocker! A 2-2 draw against Iowa gives the Hippos 4th place as we should be a bit better than them at this point.
Week 14 @ Chock Full of Wholesome Goodness: So this is an optimistic upset, but who knows, maybe we can slow them down and they'll be weak after MotS'ing Kaishaku two weeks ago. If we can pull off the 1-1 predicted tie, it will be a great springboard going into next season!

Final Record: 7-5-2 with 23 points. Probably a bit optimistic, but one can hope. I'm not sure we'll be able to tie Iowa on the road and I'm not sure all of those gimmie games are gimmie games, particularly if we make a decent Cup run and have to try and balance team spirit.


Closing
The top team is not as tough as last season with Brooklyn still around. However, the league has gotten a bit deeper while not being so top heavy. For some reason, Kaishaku and Chock have come back down to earth and we're on the rise. However, Hellspawn, The Champion, and Golden Beers are better than 6-8 last season. Our prospects are significantly different than last season when 4th place was a faint dream while auto-relegation was a real possibility. This season, 3rd is possible while I see a really slim chance we get lower than 5th and that's only if we get decimated by injury.

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by vexroid
Placeholders are the devil.

Yeah, but they're a necessary evil and they get filled in soon enough.

SI

[Alf]

[placeholder for hippo fan]

[Katon]

Originally posted by sterlingice
Yeah, but they're a necessary evil and they get filled in soon enough.

SI

You mean the way your placeholders last year did?

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Katon
You mean the way your placeholders last year did?

I knew that comment was going to come back and bite me in the ass

SI

[Doug5984]

"Louisiana Cyclones (72080) in USA
Owner: Doug5984
Status: reciprocal
Supporter since: 2003-03-07 01:07:40
Supportee since: 2003-03-06 19:44:19
Series: V.237"

pssst I am in IV.5 now, have been for an entire season

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Doug5984
"Louisiana Cyclones (72080) in USA
Owner: Doug5984
Status: reciprocal
Supporter since: 2003-03-07 01:07:40
Supportee since: 2003-03-06 19:44:19
Series: V.237"

pssst I am in IV.5 now, have been for an entire season

Um.. that was a test, yeah, to make sure you were paying attention!

Sorry about that- I did the cut and paste from last season and thought I had made all the updates but apparently missed one. It will be changed and the person responsible for this debacle will be sacked (or beaten with rulers by nuns- whichever I see fit).

Well, like I said, it was good I started early. I should get back to updating this Thursday once this huge project and another assignment are out of my hair.

SI

[sterlingice]

Got some new content above- the team stats and supporter stuff is up. We have some new kits (sort of) and you find out everything you could possibly want to know about but could really care less about concerning the Hippos.

SI

[sterlingice]

Attila The... Coach?
The Hippos opened up their wallets and shelled out over $600K for passable defending, passable passing Attila Horvath from Magyarország. He took up the number 4 and is expected to be team captain and starting wingback/offensive central defender for the B Team.

Was this a gross miscalculation by the Hippos GM office? Speculation has been running wild that Attila Horvath will be the heir apparent to Coach Braden if he fails to have a stellar campaign. There are high expectations in Hippoville and whispers that anything short of a 3rd place finish will oust Braden. He's been very successful but towards the end of last season, there were reports of a couple of disgruntled players going to the media and questioning his leadership. There is a perception with the fans that he'll bench more popular players before they are done in an attempt to get the youth squad ready: in other words, he's a builder but doesn't know what to do when he actually has the talent. The fans point to the benching of popular striker Derrick Solomon and the sale this offseason of popular middie Herschel Meek. However, while this sale has renewed all of the speculation, if Coach Braden can have a very successful season, he might be able to save his job.

Attila Horváth (3561631)
31 years, passable form, healthy
A pleasant guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has solid experience and solid leadership abilities.
Nationality: Magyarország
Assessed value: 107 000 US$
Wage: 1 956 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami

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

Career Goals: 9
Career Hattricks: 0
League goals this season: 0
Cup goals this season: 0


Youth Pull, Week 21.00
Ronald Johnson sold for a disappointing $29K last week. I know he was 18 and about to be 19, but he was still a passable playmaker with passable stamina and that could start for a lot of Div V and VI teams as well as be a trainee. Technically this is the next week so we will list it as such- week 0 of season 21. Week 0 is the Cup game only week and then when fixtures start up next week, that will be week 1. Semantics aside, this is lottery Sunday! We had to wait an extra day to pick and the Hippos... did not win the lottery. We did pull a 17yo but he's only a passable defender and low passable at that. Still, it's opening week so he should fetch a decent amount of coin.

Youth Pull Status
Youth Pulls: 44
Youth Pull Grocers: 25 (+0)
Youth Pulls Sold: 17 (+1)
Youth Pulls Still With Club: 2 (+0)
Total Sold for: 1323000 (+29000)

Youth Pull
Kenneth Foreman (20503778)
17 years, passable form, healthy
A controversial person who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 14 000 US$
Wage: 560 US$/week
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Warnings: 0

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


Conditions

Youth Squad: excellent (max)
Investment in the Youth squad: 20 000 US$ / week (NC)

Sponsors: content (reset)
Supporter Club: 1553 members (+22)
Supporters: content (reset)

Team Spirit: calm (reset)
Confidence: calm (reset)

Notes: I'm not sure if these are perfectly accurate and it's unlikely they are as I didn't check until after the Cup game and just estimated.

Closing
So a new player and the new season is about to start. Cup match coming Wednesday!

SI

[sterlingice]

Pre-Game Analysis
It's time for a new season of Hippos soccer. We'll be heading out to sunny... Mississippi. To take on the... Samurais? Ok, well, anyways, we have a virtual walkover against a bot to start out the Cup for us. Hopefully we can get 2 bots before having to actually play anyone and then we might be able to make a decent Cup run. Last year, we went a disappointing 3 games after our run of 5 the season before. I'm not going to sacrifice training, however, so the goal this season is 6 games but if I had to bet, I'd say we go 4 deep- depends on our Div V draws.

Prediction
I'm going to be trying out attacking on the wings since I'm using the starters and it would be nice to know how well it works for us. Maybe I should have tried out conter-attack and seen what my rating is since there's absolutely no chance of me losing this game. This will be the first real game with Little in at middie as opposed to Meek from last season and we'll be PIC'ing. Plus, we have a couple of form dogs who Coach Braden is trying to whip into shape. All that aside, if they score a goal, I'll be suprised. We've won our opening cup games by 9 goals each of the last 2 seasons and this should be no different: 9-0 Hippos.


Gameday Live
Date: 11/13/2003 at 01:00
MatchID: 12926798
Arena: Mississippi Field
Crowd: 5416

5416 spectators had come to Mississippi Field this cloudy day. Mississippi had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Saunders - Vest, Kemp, Hite, Fugate - James, Ybarra, Otero, Mark - Simms, Holley.

Hippopotami started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Kimber - Cristiano, Schrader, Sánchez - Teepen, Benito, Connors, Little, Starks - Phelan, Spagnuolo.

Hippopotami saw most attack opportunites on the wings and were directing their passes that way. Mississippi's Rob Holley scored 1 - 0 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. 26 minutes into the game Hippopotami´s Gualtiero Spagnuolo found a gap in the home sides central defense scoring with a long shot, making it 1 - 1. After 29 minutes Hippopotami put themselves up by 1 - 2 as Thomas Little finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post. In the to 31st minute a very unfortunate collision in the home teams penalty area led to Mississippi´s Kevin Kemp being carried off the pitch and replaced by Carlos Applegate. In the 36:th minute the visitors put themselves ahead 1 - 3 as Edwin Phelan finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 42nd minute Hippopotami goal, making it 1 - 4. Edwin Phelan was noted down as the scorer. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Hippopotami´s Gualtiero Spagnuolo got himself booked. 1 - 4 was the half-time score. Hippopotami held the ball, with a clear 82 percent possession rate.

Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 47:th minute Hippopotami goal, making it 1 - 5. Edwin Phelan was noted down as the scorer. By then Edwin Phelan was a three time scorer - a hat trick! By now Hippopotami were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. The referee showed Hippopotamis Koos Teepen the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 65:th minute Hippopotami goal, making it 1 - 6. Edwin Phelan was noted down as the scorer. Mississippis Robert Vest got himself booked after a foul. 66 minutes into the game Vernon Mark had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came Dwain Davis. Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 71st minute Hippopotami goal, making it 1 - 7. Gualtiero Spagnuolo was noted down as the scorer. The visitors Edwin Phelan took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 73rd minute. 1 - 8 for Hippopotami. Hippopotami held the ball, with a clear 92 percent possession rate.

Mississippi´s best player was Robert Vest. Dwain Davis on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Hippopotami player was without a doubt Carlos Alberto Benito. Arcadio Sánchez on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 8.


Statistics

Stadium
Terraces: 0/20000
Basic seats: 0/8000
Seats under roof: 0/3200
VIP seats: 0/800
Total: 0/32000

Notes: Even with the increased gate revenues, we only took home $10K from his place. A lackluster crowd of 5400 and change. Then again, I'll sacrifice as many weeks of Cup gate revenue as humanly possible if it means, I get to play a computer opponent.


Team Ratings

Mississippi Samurais
Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: weak (4)
Left Side Defence: poor (3)
Right Side Attack: poor (3)
Central Attack: wretched (2)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 24/26

Houston Hippopotami
Midfield: inadequate (5)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: excellent (8)
Right Side Attack: outstanding (10)
Central Attack: outstanding (10)
Left Side Attack: outstanding (10)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 61/66

Notes: Only an inad. But I suppose it was on the road with a PIC so that knocks off at least 2 levels from a normal midfield.. But that out-out-out offense! WHEE! I'm going to love putting that up this year with both wings and both middies playing offensive.


Player Ratings
GK Tim Kimber ****
DW Lorenzo Cristiano ***
DM Clement Schrader ***
DW Arcadio Sanchez **~
WI Koos Teepen (o) ***~
MI Thomas Little (o) ***~
MI Stephen Connors (x) ***~
MI Carlos Alberto Benito (o) ****~
WI Mick Starks (o) ***~
FO Edwin Phelan ***
FO Gualtiero Spagnuolo ***

Total Stars: 37.0
Total player experience: poor
Team Attitude: Play It Cool
Tactics: Attack on Wings

Notes: There's your (hopeful) Hippos lineup for this year. And with the new lineup- a new record 37 stars. As you can see (and as stated above)- both wings and middies are offensive which kindof takes away some of the flexibiliy we had last year (we used to play Meek defensive above the side where we took away the central defender). But that makes this a full out run-and-shoot instead of the old H-Gun. Sanchez is still having form troubles but he still put up 2.5 and for the first time since getting here is showing signs of getting out of his long form slump. Gaultiero is in a mini-slump, but he's expected to pop out of that soon. Goals for this season: 82 NSI and 40 stars. I'm pretty sure we can get those.


The Postgame Show
A little nervousness again as 25 minutes in, we were down 1-0. Still, it was a computer opponent who I knew the ratings of, so I was quite a bit more worried about injuries and cards rather than if we would win the game. Gualtiero broke the ice (he seems to be pretty good at that) and then Little followed so it was 2-1 at the 30 minute mark. Phelan knocked in 2 of his 5 goals before the half and we were ahead 4-1 with 82% possession at the half. In the second half, we had 92% possession with Phelan scoring 3 more times and Gualtiero adding a 2nd. We're going to round 2.


Three Stars
Phelan's monster day gets him the first gold of the new season

Bronze: Thomas Little
Gets the other goal and contributes to those high attack ratings from the midfield
Silver: Gualtiero Spagnuolo
"Only" 2 today
Gold: Edwin Phelan
Rumors of his benching prompted a 5(!) goal game


Press Release
11/14/2003 at 22:13 Hippos Squeak By Samurai In Cup Opener
It looked bleak for the Hippos... for about 25 minutes as the Mississippi Samurais scored the first goal of the game. However, the Houston scored 8 unanswered goals including 5 by Edwin Phelan as the Hippos destroyed their Div VI computer opponent to open Season 21 USA Cup play. Next week, Houston will travel to the New Mexico Dome to play the New Mexico Panthers, another computer controlled Div VI team. This one promises to be closer as the Hippos won't be playing starters.


A Little Hippos Cup History
In the next couple of weeks, I'll have previous games from this year's cup in here, but I figured this would be a good week to refresh everyone on the Hippos previous Cup experiences.

Season 18: The first year for the Hippos, we were not in the Cup because the team was created in the fourth week of the season. The previous owner was not in the cup. The best a previous owner had down was lose in the second round of the cup in season 16.

Season 19: We won our first ever cup game 9-0 over the computer controlled Indiana Spartans and then PIC'd the next week and won 9-0 again. The third and fourth weeks, in league, we played some B Teamers because our scheduled afforded it and this, in turn, allowed us to play starters in the Cup. We won our first ever home cup game against a higher ranked Div V team in Dark Lotus (6-0) and then beat Div IV BostonCity Ajax FC by the score of 6-1! The next week, we had to play our B Team again against Div II foe The Minutemen (not to be confused with the other Div II team The Minute Men). We hung tough but lost 2-0, ending a great run. The cash we got from the 3 home games really helped towards building the team that first full year.

Season 20: This one started innocently enough with PIC wins of 10-1 and 7-1. However, in week 3, a Div V team by the name of Ravenwood City played some starters and beat our PIC'ing B Team 5-2, ending a disappointing cup run. If I hadn't PIC'd, I'd likely have gone another game or two, but we only put up a wretched midfield in that last game.


In Closing
The Cup started off slowly but the boys got it in gear and we're off and running. Hopefully this run will look a lot more like the one from 2 seasons ago rather than last season's. Fixture against Chock coming up!

SI

[DukeRulesMAB]

Sanchez got **~...what a slacker.

You've got a great team; we'll be seeing you in DIII sooner rather than later, I bet.

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by DukeRulesMAB
Sanchez got **~...what a slacker.

You've got a great team; we'll be seeing you in DIII sooner rather than later, I bet.

Best case is still 2 seasons off but more likely 3. I need time to basically get the young blood onto the midfield so I can start working on the next generation. At the same time, I'll need to build up enough cash improve pretty much everywhere else on the field. The only non-midfield players I really have that are Div III worthy (and only as second players with much better ones playing opposite them) are Cristiano and Spagnuolo. Even Kimber will have to be upgraded before that.

SI

[sterlingice]

21.00 Training
More set pieces training- we're getting pretty good at this. Our starting 11 now have a median value of solid and a mean value of just above passable! Koos Teepen bumped to formidable set pieces. He has some gaudy stats for a 30yo: solid stamina, pm, and wing with formidable set pieces. Not bad for a starting winger- tho as soon as our cup run is over- it's time to bring in some 17yo pass pm/pass wing trainees. Maybe 18yos- just a couple of bodies to make a little cash on the side with.

Future Training
Back to full on playmaking training. Ideally, Connors will be oustanding by the end of the season and Benito should be very close. Tryggvesson should be a 19yo outstanding while Little will be getting close and Wellens should end the season as an 18yo form pm/solid winger.

Form
Starters: (+0) (-2)
Entire Team: (+4) (-4)

Starters Form
Solid (or above): Schrader(exc) Starks(exc) Kimber Phelan Benito
Passable: Teepen Connors Cristiano Spagnuolo Little
Inadequate: ASanchez
Weak (or below): -none-

Arcadio Sanchez has gone from wretched to inadequate in only a couple of weeks so he has been elevated to the A Team finally, supplanting Elmer Bush. Our form survived the offseason pretty well since we did set pieces and not stamina.

Value
Starters: (+3) (-6)
Entire Team: (+4) (-14)

Value Highlights
Above $100K: 11(+0)/15(-1)
Above $200K: 7(+0)/10(+0)
Above $300K: [5]4(+0)/5(+0)[/b]
Team Leader: Carlos Alberto Benito ($551K)
Non-Outfield Leader: Tim Kimber ($523K)
Milestones: -none-

Our values didn't do so well this week with 4 up and 14 down on the entire squad. Like last week: the entire A Team is over $100K! Too bad we paid for that in wages week. We're up to 41-something.

Team Stats
Total Wages: 41768 (-$1200)
Total Value: 4241000 (-116000)
Avg Value: 201952 (+4247)
Avg Age: 24 (NC)
Avg Form: passable (NC)
Avg Experience: poor (NC)
No of players: 21 (-1)
Nationalities: 12 (+1)

Notes: The wages updated gave us a good $8K bump despite our total and average value going down from selling Meek (with Attila coming in). Also, we gained a year with the age update. Fortunately, the core of my players is still quite young and some of the older guys have replacements on tap already. The midfield will be quite young by the end of next season (ie all 20 or under), Timber will be 25 and Spagnuolo, 25. However, the defense will have to be completely revamped- hopefully I'll have the cash to do that.


21.01 Youth Pull
I'm going on a daytrading rant. I understand that we're going to get screwed in the USA market: Sverige should have higher market prices and justifiably so. For instance, it's easier to get into higher levels of the USA (or at least into Div III) than into those of larger countries. Conversely, it's easier to get into Div I of Lithuania than to get into Div I of the USA. I get that this can be balanced out somewhat by the fact that people in Sweeden and Argentina get more for their players than us. I'm not advocating a global market- it would be more convenient to find people, but I think my prices would ultimately go up because I can spend a little time on the transfer market, bookmark 20 guys, and just go with the cheapest one and I'll check every country.

However, what is annoying me right now is what happened with my two most recent youth pulls, Ronald Johnson and Kenneth Foreman. I only got $29K for Johnson, which I figured was well below market price. He gets picked up by a team in Polska (guh? the Polish are daytrading better than us?!?) and sold for $47K. I suppose I don't mind this as much- just that "how did this happen in Polksa, althought they are quite large (nearly 11K).

The one that is particularly galling is the case with Foreman: I'm being deprived of my mother club money! He was my 17yo passable and I figured that while he didn't sell for much, I'd get some pretty good mother club cash by whoever trained him so it was no big deal. Sure he's low passable, but train him for 2 years: he's brilliant and I make some good cash. Instead, he gets bought up by a team from (where else) Sverige, who puts him on the market for his costs and is going to get the money I should have been entitled to! Not only that, but he's done this with 2 other 17yos (another passable defender and a passable gk) so I'm not the only team he is screwing.

If you really want to stop daytrading while not implementing a global market: just create a three week moratorium on trading for any player who was just purchased off the transfer market. That way, daytraders either have to take up spots on their team and play these players in friendlies or lose a ton of market value as their form crashes. Plus, that will keep this kind of daytrading of early season 17yos from happening because by the time the daytraders can resell them, unless they have been trained- they will have lost more money than it was worth to daytrade them. Not only that, but there is no downside: the only one this hurts is daytraders. Very few teams buy up a player only to sell him a week later. I've done it all of once and that was because the player didn't boost my ratings as I thought he would.
It's simple, it's efficient, it doesn't ruin the smaller markets. Then again, this solution would never be implemented because it's clear that dev doesn't want to combat daytrading- they just want to keep it around as a backdoor to balance the economies of larger countries and dismiss anyone who hates it as "jealous of those Swedes".

Ok, that rant concluded, I think I've pulled the world's crappiest passable winger youth pull in the history of mankind in 19yo John Ulrich. He is disastrous or wretched at every other skill except for his poor set pieces. His value is $4K: I didn't even know it could be that low if you had a passable. He looks like a happy, agreeable fellow so maybe someone will have pity and train him.

Youth Pull Status
Youth Pulls: 44
Youth Pull Grocers: 25 (+0)
Youth Pulls Sold: 17 (+1)
Youth Pulls Still With Club: 2 (+0)
Total Sold for: 1348000 (+25000)

Youth Pull
John Ulrich (20849089)
19 years, passable form, healthy
A pleasant guy who is temperamental and dishonest.
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities.
Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 4 000 US$
Wage: 520 US$/week

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


21.01 Conditions

Youth Squad: excellent (max)
Investment in the Youth squad: 20 000 US$ / week (NC)

Sponsors: delirious (up from content)
Supporter Club: 1556 members (+3)
Supporters: satisfield (up from content)

Team Spirit: calm (NC)
Confidence: strong (up from calm)


21.00 Week In Review

On the Field
Edwin Phelan started on fire this season. He scored 5 goals in our 8-1 Cup win over the Mississippi Samurais. Next week, we face another bot team which we should dispatch with little difficulty. However, in series play, we open with the Chock. It's on the road, so we are definitely underdogs, but I'm not chalking this up as a loss quite yet.

Off the Field
We bought possible future coach Attila Horváth for a bit over $600K. We still have $900K in the coffers, shopping for a trainee and maybe a few other spare parts.

SI

[sterlingice]

The roster section above has been filled in, replete with mybestteam ratings and little flags. Read up on your favorite Hippos and see what's up for the past, present, and future.

Coming up: some UberTrainee(TM) news and opening day on the road. Hopefully I can have all that and the rest of the preview information up by tomorrow night.

SI

[sterlingice]

Pre-Game Analysis
Chock is as vulnerable as they ever will be. Sure they dropped crazy cash in the offseason on a veteran winger. Sure they've beaten us senseless in previous meetings (3-2 and 7-1). Sure it's at their house. But I have a good feeling about this one. They've got low form and we've gone over to our new, improved run-and-shoot. I don't think we can get an excellent midfield on the road, but even a solid should get us at least 45% possession and give us some chances.

Prediction
Like I said, his form is down: he's been playing subs the offseason so we might be able to take them. Still, I think at their house, they win the battle of possession over us and get more chances to squeak out a 3-2 win. It'll be a moral victory to build on for when they come to our house the last day of the season.


Gameday Live
Date: 11/17/2003 at 01:00
MatchID: 11027242
Arena: Creamy Nougat Center
Crowd: 29561


Due to an all-day shower, 29561 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Creamy Nougat Center. Wholesome started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Castaño Párraga - Franks, Gallagher, Weathers - King, Dahlström, Mathis, Stein, Delacruz - Jansson, Willis.

Hippopotami started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Kimber - Cristiano, Schrader, Sánchez - Starks, Benito, Connors, Little, Teepen - Phelan, Spagnuolo.

Wholesome saw most attack opportunites on the wings and were directing their passes that way. Tom Dahlström gave his Wholesome the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post. The home side failed to add to their score as Ramón King shot a penalty wide in the 35:th minute. In the game's 36:th minute Wholesome´s Lyndon Franks limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. The visitors didn´t give in and after 38 minutes Edwin Phelan got through the home sides central line of defense, rolling in the levelling goal to make it 1 - 1 Wholesomes Bud Willis gave, after 40 minutes, the home team a 2 - 1 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Halftime score was 2 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Wholesome, with an impressive 51 percent possession of the ball.

A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Wholesome lead up with 3 - 1. Salvatore Stein finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. After 56 minutes Hippopotami´s Mick Starks contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. Anders Jansson increased Wholesomes lead to 4 - 1 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right. After this Wholesome lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. Fredrick Weathers was the first to reach the corner kick, but his header was saved by the keeper. However, Wholesome´s Salvatore Stein managed to get hold of the rebound and scored the 5-1 goal. The referee showed Hippopotamis Thomas Little the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 77 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Wholesome. However, Tim Kimber made a spectacular save. Gualtiero Spagnuolo of Hippopotami received a yellow card in the 77:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Wholesome, with an impressive 53 percent possession of the ball.

Wholesome´s best player was Ramón King. Scottie Gallagher on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Hippopotami player was Carlos Alberto Benito. Arcadio Sánchez on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 1.


Statistics

Stadium
Terraces: 0/20000
Basic seats: 0/8000
Seats under roof: 0/3200
VIP seats: 0/800
Total: 0/32000

Notes: Rain and an early season game chased away a lot of fans. They only got 29K out of 60K at the Creamy Nougat Center.


Team Ratings

Chock Full of Wholesome Goodness
Midfield: solid (7)
Right Side Defence: outstanding (10)
Central Defence: excellent (8)
Left Side Defence: formidable (9)
Right Side Attack: brilliant (11)
Central Attack: excellent (8)
Left Side Attack: outstanding (10)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 70/77

Houston Hippopotami
Midfield: solid (7)
Right Side Defence: solid (7)
Central Defence: excellent (8)
Left Side Defence: excellent (8)
Right Side Attack: outstanding (10)
Central Attack: outstanding (10)
Left Side Attack: formidable (9)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 67/73

Notes: A lot closer than the final score would indicate. I guess we might miss Herchel Meek more than Coach Braden expected. If he had been playing, we might have gotten an excellent and won the possession battle. Still, a pretty solid effort across the board.


Player Ratings
GK Tim Kimber ****
DW Lorenzo Cristiano ***
DM Clement Schrader ***
DW Arcadio Sanchez ***
WI Mick Starks (o) ***~
MI Carlos Alberto Benito (o) ****~
MI Stephen Connors (x) ***~
MI Thomas Little (o) ***~
WI Koos Teepen (o) ***
FO Gualtiero Spagnuolo ***
FO Edwin Phelan ***

Total Stars: 37.5
Total player experience: poor
Team Attitude: Normal

Notes: The 37.5 stars beats our cup game last week for a new franchise high. Also, everyone checked in with *** or higher! Can't fault these scores too much- I guess Spagnuolo and Cristiano were ~ less than normal but I can live with this, certainly.


The Postgame Show
The guys showed up at a rainly Creamy Nougat Center, expecting to win. However, before the game was even 10 minutes old, Tom Dahlstrom scored to give them an early 1-0 lead as they were attacking on the wings. They missed a PK midway through the first half and nothing else happened until Edwin Phelan scored at te 38th minute to give the Hippos a brief tie. However, Bud Willis scored for them in the 40th minute and Chock went into the half, leading 2-1 with only 51% possession.

The guys rallied at half time, expecting some chances in the second half but there was nothing! Our events in the second half were an injury to Mick Starks (only bruised) and cards to Little and Spagnuolo (his second already this season after 1 in the cup game). They had 4(!!!) more chances with Timber blocking one but Salvatore Stein scoring a pair and Anders Jansson scoring as well. They lowered their tempo after the 4th goal.

How in the heck did we get a single scoring chance the entire game?!? Our midfields were both solid and he only had a 51% and 53% possession advantage each half. Our NSIs were not so lopsided either, with him holding a 4 point advantage. So someone want to explain to me how we got waxed 5-1?? A day that started out ever so promising down the tubes...


Three Stars
Not an easy day to hand these out

Bronze: Mick Starks
Tough old bastard got an injury but played through it and helped get an outstanding offense on his side
Silver: Carlos Alberto Benito
Led the midfield with 4.5 stars
Gold: Edwin Phelan
Tied the game ever so briefly


Press Release
11/20/2003 at 07:19 Hippos Shellacked In Season Opener
Houston's second season in Div IV started dubiously with a 5-1 dismantling at the hands of Chock Full of Wholesome Goodness. Edwin Phelan's goal briefly tied the game in the 38th minute, however, Chock was just too much as they held the lead for over 70 minutes. With Coach Braden already on the hot seat, the team will need to do something to help save his job.

Next week is the home opener at the 'drome against Iowa. Derrick Solomon will have his #20 jersey retired at halftime.


Around the League
Opening day around the series

Hellspawns FC - Golden Beers 3 - 4
The two auto-promted teams from Div V played a seesaw game with Hellspawn taking a 3-1 lead in the first half before Golden Beers rallied to win. Hellspawns only put up a weak midfield and will be hard pressed to stay afloat in this series with that kind of rating. He even played some * and ** players. The Beers were a bit more balanced with a passable midfield and all other ratings between passable and excellent.

Iowa Enforcers - The Champion 6 - 0
The Champion put up suprisingly little fight in their season opener with Iowa. The Enforcers put up an excellent midfield to The Champion's passable and out-NSI'd them 72-57. I can only assume The Champion PIC'd this game.

The Oompa-Loompas - Kaishaku F.C. 4 - 0
The Oompas asserted their dominance over possible first place contender Kaishaku with a 4-0 shutout. They won the battles of stars (47.5 to 38.5), NSI (98 to 73), and midfield (oustanding to formidable). This may be Brooklyn all over again with the Oompas. From the useless trivia department, this was the only game not played with clouds or rain and more than 64K came out to The Oompa-Loompa Arena.


League Standings

 
N  Team                  Goals  Dif Pts NSI
1. Iowa Enforcers       06 - 00  +6  03  72

2. Chock Full of Whole  05 - 01  +4  03  77 
3. The Oompa-Loompas    04 - 00  +4  03  98 
4. Golden Beers         04 - 03  +1  03  61 

5. Hellspawns FC        03 - 04  -1  00  55
4. Houston Hippopotami  01 - 05  -4  00  73 

7. Kaishaku F.C.        00 - 04  -4  00  73
8. The Champion         00 - 06  -6  00  57

NOTE: Goal differential added
Iowa takes an early shot at first place while Chock is in 2nd. Only one of those has a chance of holding up. Kaishaku, Chock, Iowa, and I all scored in the 70s when I figured Chock and Kaishaku (possible PIC) should get in the 80s. Also, The Champion put up a very disappointing 57. The new teams put up a 55 and 61. So, it looks like the pecking order is Oompa-Loompas followed by Kaishaku with an edge over Chock then Houston with an ever so slight edge over Iowa and then The Champion, who might have PIC'd on the road at Iowa with an edge over the two new guys. So, looks like 4th place unless something goes horribly, horribly wrong (or wonderfully right).


Hatstats
We traded Brooklyn United, the best team in Div IV last year for The Oompa-Loompas, who field the 7th most expensive team in Div IV and only got the third highest rating among Div IV teams last week with a 98. The series, on the whole, however seems weaker as we got rid of the dead wood and still were only 17th among Div IV series (tho we still had an average above 70 so Div IV is getting harder). FYI, if the season ended today, we would be playing next season in V.156. Needless to say, it's good the season doesn't end today.

The Oompas look a lot like Brooklyn in the sense that they had all 11 of their players on the "most stars" list for our series with every single one getting 4.0 or higher. Ouch. Benito was 8th with 4.5 stars and Timber was 18th with his 4.0 stars. All of the Oompas players were above him. Still, by stars rating, we have the 2nd best goalie in the series and 3rd, 9th, and 10th best middies which gives us the 3rd best midfield behind Oompas and Kaishaku.

Speaking of Brooklyn, poor them. They promote back into Div III (granted into the hardest series in Div III) and get a win along with a 102 NSI. Former Hippo rival CC's Dragons promoted into IV.31, one of the weakest Div IV series (#54) but lost 2-1. Upon further review- that's a bit more difficult series, it's just that there was a walkover game. Lastly, and because I have nowhere else to put it, I'll point out that I'm the 35th most misunderstood team in Div IV with 4 yellows already this season. And, as usual, a lot of FOFC Teams are on that list.


In Closing
I had such a good feeling about this game, but then the engine goes and drops this massacre in our laps. We looked pretty good on offense and on the midfield but it just wasn't enough, I guess. While we have a nice crappy computer team for our cup match next week, there is no rest for the weary as Iowa comes to the 'drome next week for the season opener.

It's the home opener and a big game that we need a win in, so the 'drome had better be rocking! Plus, in a special halftime ceremony, Derrick Solomon's #20 jersey is getting retired so don't miss it!

SI

[Alf]

Flags are nice !

Attila & Mikel have exchanged their country flag

[sterlingice]

Newest UberTrainee(TM)
Well, we filled that void left when we sold Daniel Storm last season. For just a smidge under a million bucks, we brought in Jorgen Thyerberg, a middie from Sverige. He's a passable playmaker and a solid passer with a really high value of $123K. He's either got very high solid passing or he's going to bump to solid playmaking in a week or two. He gets the #16 and will hopefully have that number for a long time. Actually, if he bumps to solid/solid as I'm expecting him to, I'll be putting him up on the market for something like $2M in an attempt to turn a quick profit and get a similar talent to train and then improve another position.

#16 Jörgen Thyerberg (20849994)
17 years, passable form, healthy
I speak Svenska!
A nasty fellow who is temperamental and honest.
Has disastrous experience and poor leadership abilities.
Speciality: Quick
Nationality: Sverige
Assessed value: 123 000 US$
Wage: 1 272 US$/week including 20% Bonus
Owner: Houston Hippopotami
Warnings: 1

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


Waive Goodbye
Don't forget! The Derrick Solomon jersey retirement is this weekend at halftime of the home opener against Iowa! The Hippos 2nd leading scorer in history will have his #20 retired. Don't miss this special event!


Updates
The preseason stuff is completely updated as the last part is complete (the season preview). Check it out to get familiar with the old and new teams in IV.21 and also, there's predictions for every game. I've been working on the awards banquet from last season and that should be posted before the weekend is over.

Ok, so technically, I'm not quite caught up, but it's close enough.

SI

[sterlingice]

Bad news, folks. The Hippos dynasty report will be on hiatus for about a month- particularly the next 3 weeks so that I don't completely destroy my GPA (a programming project, a 10 page paper, and 2 exams in the next two weeks and then 4 finals the next week).

However, this is just a temporary thing because of how nasty this semester has been. Once the school year is done, I'll have a couple of days and then I'll be out of town for another week at Christmas. But then I'll be back with some time over Christmas break and we'll get all caught up. I'll probably kick it all off with the awards ceremony for last season.

As you guys know, dynasty reports are pretty time consuming (I spend at least 5 hours per week on the Hippos) so something had to go to keep my sleep, sanity, GPA (well, up is a relative term), and continue to actually run my team. And to think, I actually caught up this season... *sigh* But like I said, this is just temporary so the Hippos will see you all on the other side.


Official Press Announcement

12/1/2003 Hippos On Hiatus
The Hippos bi-weekly press announcement will be on vacation for the next month. With finals fast approaching, there will be less time to devote to the Hippos press functions and other "non-essential" operations.

This will, in no way, affect the day to day operations of the team, just our publications such as the press announcement and the dynasty report at FOFC.

But never fear, Hippo faithful. We'll be back once the new year begins with all new dynasty reports.

SI

[KevinNU7]

NO!