Rescuing the Beautiful Game(FTG, Interactive)

[larrymcg421]

Slide Tackle for sure. It will be nice having two midfielders with that skill.

[Brian Swartz]

8.25 Stuttgarter Kickers(0-1-4, 7th) vs. SV Waldhof Mannheim(3-0-2, 3rd)

Zeitz, Hirsch, and Fetscher were all automatically ruled out of this one due to fatigue from our Cup match against Offenbach four days prior. Our last two league matches before the winter break are both against clubs that were relegated from the Third League last year, and are currently in line to get promoted back up.

G Komolong
D Ortag/Abruscia/Scepanik/Jager/Doringer/Weibenfels
M Preiss/Maslanka
F Jedin/Mengele

Unsurprisingly, Waldhof Mannheim is deploying an aggressive 4-3-3, so we'll play defensively to match. They have an excellent DM that they aren't even playing here, and another CM out with a suspension.

They slowly took it down the left wing in the first half, going for a crossing play. Doringer was able to intercept the pass, and it was the only time anyone came close to scoring. Then, for the first time, Weibenfels did something useful. They tried to dribble right at him to start the second half and he took the ball away. Lost it back immediately, but that left them no time to score. Preiss was busy running all over the place in midfield, and in frustration for us keeping them at bay they tried a long lofted pass out of their defense -- Jager intercepted it, his second significant play of the half.

Stuttgarter Kickers 0, SV Waldhof Mannheim 0

Our second draw in a row, and other than that one cross, nothing even dangerous happened. We actually took the only shot of the game, an impossible one by Jedin. 62% possession against, and we lost tackles 5-3, but the defense held fairly easily.

Levels - Preiss(4) is the only one.

*** Jager
** Preiss
* Maslanka

** Balance: 533(+105)
** Glory: 13(+4)

Offenbach beat Wattenscheid 1-0, so we still slip to last place.

Weibenfels(D), Maslanka(M), and Preiss(M) all hit their amateur classes after this match. This leaves only one player left who hasn't(Wachter).










Is it just me, or is Preiss particularly dumb-looking? Just seems to be staring thoughtfully and intently at nothing whatsoever. Anyway, DavidCorperial is up for the skill choices on Maslanka & Preiss; thehitcat gets a turn here with Weibenfels as well. One league match and at least one Cup match remain on this side of the winter break, but we're almost there.

[thehitcat]

We'll do Layoff Pass for Weibenfels and yes Preiss has little piggy eyes

[DavidCorperial]

Agree on Preiss, but don't forget the stupid buzzed line right next to the Mohawk, the ultra short hair on the side is fine, but that, just no.


Shortest training for both of them, Preiss to get something and Maslanka because it's a solid choice.

[Brian Swartz]

The transfer window closed, though for us it's almost time for it to open again in terms of matches. That will not be the case in higher leagues -- if we, you know, ever actually reach them. The only transfer was one I didn't even know was possible; Alemannia Aachen bought a 27-year-old LD from a Third-League side for 8k and change. I'm guessing that must have been from the global list. He's not fantastic by any stretch, but it still counts as bad news for us, making the competition in the Amateur League tougher.

9.1 Stuttgarter Kickers(0-2-4, 8th) vs. FSV Frankfurt(4-1-1, 2nd)

Frankfurt is one of the two clearly elite clubs this year, tied for the lead with a +8 in goal differential. All three of their forwards have the Nutmeg skill, and two of them are in the high-30s for accuracy. CF Kader has 21 Control as well, which makes him a particularly big threat. They're playing a 5-2-3, with a wide midfielder as a crossing possibility.

G Komolong
D Ortag/Abruscia/Scepanik/Schwarz/Doringer/Weibenfels
M Tunjic/Fetscher
F Jedin/Wachter

Jedin actually managed to hold off two tackle attempts on our first turn, though he lost on the third. Still, that let us keep the ball away from our goal for a bit longer. They missed a couple of slide tackles at midfield later in the half, and could only manage one weak long-range shot that was easily deflected away by Scepanik. Couldn't ask for a better first 45 minutes; we even held a good lead in possession if you can believe that nonsense.


They went to Kader to start the second, and he dribbled it right at Schwarz, then fired a shot which Komolong barely saved. And I do mean barely ... a 26 roll when the shot was a 25. There's a bullet dodged. They tried a long lofted pass, which the teams are doing more often now. I'm not sure why, it's such a low-percentage play ... if they really think that's their best chance to score against us it's a big compliment to our defensive improvement. In any case. Weibenfels intercepted this one. Abruscia stopped a nutmeg attempt on the wing and that was it -- they never attempted to set up a cross.

Stuttgarter Kickers 0, FSV Frankfurt 0

We just shut out the top-scoring team(10 goals in 6 previous matches) in the league! A couple of impressive draws close out the first half of the year, just like we finished the end of last season.

2-0 in shots, 7-3 in tackles, but we won possession with 55%. That one save early in the second half was clearly the pivotal moment.

Levels -- Weibenfels(5), Fetscher(5), Jedin(5)

*** Fetscher
** Ortag
* Komolong

Fetscher was involved in a lot of midfield play, but I don't know what's going on with Ortag here. He made one pass. Few players were less important to the outcome of this match.

** Balance: 638(+105)
** Glory: 21(+8) -- Double the 'strong opponent' bonus here, as Frankfurt is considered a full 1-star club.

Wachter came within a single point of hitting his specialization target(69/70, +16 this match). That lets me move on, but it's actually quite annoying because those don't 'overflow' -- he'll only be able to gain 1 point no matter what he does in the next match he plays.

9.11 Kickers Offenbach vs. Stuttgarter Kickers
Prestige Cup Qualifying Round, Second Leg

A few of our players are close to their first skill. Some are real close. As in Ortag will learn Long Pass tomorrow. I thought about buying a skill or two early with Glory due to the importance of this match, but decided against it. Passing for our fullbacks, head play for Jager were basically the options there. I don't think any of those are going to move the needle much in terms of our chance of winning this.




We're playing nearly the same 5-3-2 as the first match. Fetscher's a bit fatigued still despite a 10-day rest since the Frankfurt draw. Might sit him in the second half. The reason for showing this is it's a defensive formation I've never seen before -- and it's stupid. That green zero-class defender in their back line actually helps us, because it keeps their other players from deflecting shots going through that square(since someone is already there, can't have two players in the same spot). Their keeper Endres has improved a bit, but so did Pfeiffer. He'll move over to that side to set up, and overall I think we have a decent chance at getting a win here.

They start out with Jurgens challenging Schwarz -- he fails, but it messes up our line. I just pass the ball out and retreat him, not wanting to give them a weakness to attack. They get a shot a bit later with Vetter from just outside the box, but Doringer intercepts with a good effort. Nothing much happens the rest of the half, and everyone looks good to continue - Fetscher didn't end up doing much.




The chance I've been waiting for, at the second-half kickoff. It's been a long time since I've seen a favorable goal-scoring opportunity ... and it will probably be a long time until we see one again. Pfeiffer rolls a 20, neither of the defenders get anywhere close to that, and at the 52-minute mark we lead 1-0! Another shot intercepted by Doringer ends any thought they had of equalizing.




We've done it again! For the second year in a row we find a way to sneak through the first round of the Prestige Cup.

There were a few levels gained; Schwarz(13), Komolong(12), Doringer(12), Abruscia(12), Hirsch(12), Ortag(11), Jager(11), Zeitz(11), Fetscher(8), Jedin(6).

Only Pfeiffer, the guy who won it for us, didn't level up.

*** Fetscher
** Schwarz
* Pfeiffer

Doringer deserved to be on this list.

** Balance: 668(+30)
** Glory: 35(+14) -- 1 for goal differential, 3 for Prestige Cup win, 10 for Strong Opponent bonus. We got almost as much glory for this victory as we did all of last season combined.




And, at least for the moment, we gain our first half a star for the club! This doesn't help us in any way that I know of - we'd actually be better off staying in the weeds. But it's still a nice achievement.

[thehitcat]

Nice last three games for the lads. 2 draws in the league including holding the hottest scoring team nil-nil and then a win in the cup which gets us more delicious XP for the boys and probably another half a star of a coach in Glory.

[Brian Swartz]

10.9 Stuttgarter Kickers vs. SV Wehen Wiesbaden
Prestige Cup Round of 32, First Leg

G Komolong
D Ortag/Abruscia/Scepanik/Schwarz/Jager/Doringer
M Hirsch/Zeitz
F Jedin/Wachter

They've got players in the 50s for their primary attributes at all positions, including keeper. Our only chance is to somehow stop them from scoring and get a draw, advance on penalties if we get two of them. And it's not much of a chance, but that's what we're playing for. Once again it's merely getting here that is the victory. I'm throwing Wachter out there for a half to get his SL so he can start skill-training during winter break, and a full defensive 6-2-2 formation because the more bodies back there to get in their way, the better. Last year's foray against a Second League foe was lost 7-0 on aggregate. Honestly the only realistic goal here is to reduce how many goals we give up.

Midway through the first half they manage to set up a cross ... they get to the header and I figured it was a score, but it was pushed wide of the net and we get a goal kick out of it. First time I've ever seen that. A long shot through our line at the end was blocked by Doringer, and we'd survived the first half scoreless. That's more than I expected.

I put Mengele on for Wachter at intermission.




They go for the cross again. They connect again. They miss wide AGAIN - this time to the top side of the goal. Unreal. The ball is really bouncing our way in this one - or else that forward sucks, same one who hit the first missed opportunity. I doubt that though -- he's a CF with Head Play(level 1, but still). A third attempt shortly afterwards misfired on the pass. We get it up towards midfield ... and they foul Zeitz from behind. He'll be out almost 2 months. Assclowns! It's a really good thing break is coming up, or I'd be even more ticked. Blank comes on as the sub. Jager intercepts a last-second pass as they try to set up another cross, and that's it. I'm really surprised they didn't try to shoot through us more, or dribble through with multiple 50+ control forwards.




Any non-loss against a team of this caliber is huge. It would be much more so if we can somehow do it again and get to a shootout ...

Levels -- Scepanik(9), Jedin(7), Wachter(4)

*** Hirsch

Forgot to note the other two.

Wachter is now an amateur forward(F) as expected. SL upgrades also for some others. Komolong now has Talent, so he can improve his skill as high as level 3. He'll start upgrading as soon as he finishes the first level of Reaction. Scepanik is now a Universal Defender(DF), and Jager a central defender(CD). That'll make our defense much more flexible and resilient, and it's our first DF to date. Scepanik jumps to level 11, Jager to 13.

** Balance: 923(+255)
** Glory: 47(+12) -- All of it from the biggest opponent bonus we've gotten yet.

[Brian Swartz]

larrymcg421, it's time to get our last unskilled player something to train on. After that, I assume we get drummed out of the Prestige Cup and move on to winter break, unless we somewhow manage to get stupid-lucky again.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by thehitcat

Nice last three games for the lads. 2 draws in the league including holding the hottest scoring team nil-nil and then a win in the cup which gets us more delicious XP for the boys and probably another half a star of a coach in Glory.

Indeed. The future of the Stuttgarter franchise looks decidedly brighter than it did after the first few matches of this season.

[larrymcg421]

Nutmeg. And we should make him a FW.

[Brian Swartz]

10.30 SV Wehen Wiesbaden vs. Stuttgarter Kickers
Prestige Cup Round of 32, Second Leg




With Zeitz out and them playing a similar formation(different defensive arrangement, but who cares), this is what I am going with. It's an extreme 7-2-1, with the goal of doing everything possible to keep their wing forward from doing anything. That's why Weibenfels is starting instead of someone better in place of Zeitz. Blank starts as our wing midfielder opposite theirs. Both of these are moves just to get in their way and make things as difficult as possible. I'll put some subs in if they score, but any chance of preventing that and getting into a shootout is worth it IMO.

Also worth noting: I've now got Jager directly across from their CF -- he's learned Head Play now, and SW Doringer has Layoff Pass, so two new skills came in. Our two CDs are next to each other so that if their Nutmeg forward, the one on our left-middle, tries to go through the line the other one will attempt a tackle. He's the one forward who has low control on their team so it has a good chance of succeeding.

They start by going up the wing with LF Gereke, who just gets by Abruscia then shoots, but Doringer blocks it. So far so good. They try to go with the Nutmeg maneuver a while later in the half, but Schwarz surprisingly stops them(level 2 skills usually succeed), then their CF fouls him. That's it for the first half, and I stick with the same lineup.

They try a long lofted pass intercepted by Schwarz, then miss a slide tackle on Blank which means it takes longer for them to get possession. I can feel it -- we're close to holding them out again. A desperation long shot from the wing is stopped by Ortag, and they get a bit closer for a final attempt, a power shot where they were clearly going for would have likely been a fatal corner. Komolong makes the save and keeps it in play, and time is called.




Here's our first penalty shootout, which is one of the legitimate gripes about the game. The developer's argument is that real-life shootouts tend to be quite random in the results, which isn't wrong -- but they aren't totally random. This is. You have three options to choose from in where to defend, and the shooter has the same three. Unless they chose they same as you do, it's a score -- doesn't matter what the attributes are. The randomness doesn't even bother me as much as the sheer pointlessness does, although making it like pretty much everything else is, an attribute comparison with an innately high chance of scoring would make more sense. I'm a big proponent of the Meier Maxim that a game is a series of interesting decisions. Well there's nothing interesting(or even boring and marginally useful) about this decision. There's absolutely no way to make a better or worse call here.

I've won a couple and lost a couple in my personal play. Chances are we'll roughly split how many these go our way and how many don't. It would be monstrous for Stuttgarter to get yet another pair of Prestige Cup matches. I select the top option every time as is my pattern -- but again it's irrelevant and arbitrary. As it happens, we get insanely fortunate here, even moreso than the first match. They shoot to that side four times in a row. We score three of four, and nobody bothers with the final shooter as it's over by then.




Unreal. We have absolutely no business moving on and don't deserve this in the slightest. But I'm still gonna take it. Naturally all of our shots here are from the shootout. I've never had an opponent take 7 in one match, penalties or otherwhise, and not score.

Naturally most of the squad levels up: Schwarz(14), Doringer(13), Ortag(13), Abruscia(13), Hirsch(13), Jedin(8), Weibenfels(7), Blank(7)

*** Ortag
** Schwarz
* Hirsch

Ortag gives us a matching pair of Fullbacks(LD for him). That vaults him to level 15.

** Balance: 953(+30)
** Glory: 85(+38!!) -- We get 5 for a 3-goal difference, which we absolutely don't deserve because shootouts shouldn't count for that but they do. 3 for it being Prestige Cup, and a massive 30 for beating a much stronger opponent.

Winter Break will have to wait a bit.

[thehitcat]

Amazing result! Well done on the shootout even if it is arbitrary, I mean that's what shootouts are unless you're England.

[Brian Swartz]

11.17 Stuttgarter Kickers vs. SC Fortuna Koln
Prestige Cup, Round of 16, First Leg

G Komolong
D Ortag/Abruscia/Scepanik/Schwarz/Jager/Doringer/Weibenfels
M Hirsch
F Jedin/Pfeiffer

Fortuna Koln is a Third-League club. They field a very similar formation but more aggressive; 4-3-3, and they aren't quite as good as our last opponent. I'm going with a similar formation, except putting Pfeiffer in to start. He has a small possibility of scoring so I want to take that chance, and ensure he keeps his value up.

Pfeiffer can't get his shot through against their defense, and they start a counterattack in the rain. Midway through the half, they nearly score on a straight-on shot that only rolled 15. Barely got through our defenders and almost Komolong, who rolls a 17 and pushes it out for a corner. We have nobody who can contest them for possession, and they pass it right in front despite our best efforts, where a Cannon Shot beats us for the score. There was literally nothing we could do about that -- it's the kind of thing that should have ended our run in the last round. We try to equalize but their keeper easily saves the attempt ... and then kicks it out of bounds. A couple of pointless throw-ins later the half is over.

No reason not to put in some subs at this point. Fetscher, Muller D, and Tiel come on for Pfeiffer, Weibenfels, and Hirsch. Hirsch is tired, and the others just to spread playing time around. Their winger marches into the gap on the flank where Weibenfels was, blasting an angled shot past both Doringer and Komolong easily. Whatevs.

I actually forgot to bring in Muller for Hirsch even after planning to. I only notice this because they foul Jedin from behind -- a minor injury for him which will only last a day. We end up with Tiel taking a free-kick which has no chance of doing anything, but is out for a corner. Our first of those, and we haven't a single player with better than 15 control on the pitch. It's a hilariously bad joke of an attempt that literally has no chance to succeed, and then it's over.

SC Fortuna Koln 2, Stuttgarter Kickers 0

The dream is now over. We have one more match in which to accept our medicine from these guys. Tackles and shots weren't actually much different, but quality sure was and they had 71% possession.

Levels for Scepanik(12) and Jedin(9)

*** Hirsch
** Fetscher - not bad for a youngster playing only a half
* Doringer

Doringer has reached SL 3, and grabs Talent as instructed. He becomes the first player to begin training his Level 2 skill.

** Balance: 1208(+255)

12.25 SC Fortuna Koln vs. Stuttgarter Kickers
Prestige Cup, Round of 16, Second Leg

Over a month between matches, and they have us play on Christmas Day. That's just ridiculous.

G Komolong
D Ortag/Absruscia/Scepanik/Schwarz/Jager/Doringer
M Hirsch/Zeitz
F Jedin/Tiel

Zeitz is healthy again and Scepanik has learned Layoff Pass. Aside from that, Tiel is out there just to get some playing time as he hasn't had much this year; a couple matches in the first half of the league and then a few minutes at the end of the last one. No point in playing Pfeiffer IMO, since while we might get one goal that'd be the most we'd get, and it wouldn't be enough with a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.

The weather's better today -- and so's the defense. Doringer blocks their first attempt from the far wing, then Schwarz intercepts a long lofted-pass attempt, retaining possession against a tackle try by one of their forwards. Ortag uses his newfound mobility to sprint up the near flank, and after one more shot is stopped by our sweeper the first half ends with no score. Doringer blocks two more shots to keep things tight, but one of them was necessary because of a bad pass he made that resulted in a turnover. They foul Hirsch at the end but we can make nothing of it.

SC Fortuna Koln 0, Stuttgarter Kickers 0

As good a result as we really could have asked for. Still lose 2-0 on aggregate, but we were outshot 5-1 and out-tackled 4-1 without conceding.

Levels - Schwarz(15), Doringer(14), Jager(14), Abruscia(14), Hirsch(14), Zeitz(12), Tiel(5)

*** Doringer
** Scepanik
* Hirsch

** Balance: 1238(+30)
** Glory: 93(+8)

We get the same message from the club President as last year; you fought as best you could blah blah blah. I think 'incredible run to reach the Round of 16' would have been more appropriate. He's a hard man to impress.

And with that, Winter Break has finally arrived.

[Brian Swartz]

2019/20 Winter Break

Competition Report

Stuttgarter

Valuation - 337k(+310k)
Star Ranking - 0.5(+0.5)
Classes - 76(+31)
Levels - 12(+5)
Skills - 13(+13)

We may not have gotten much done in the league so far this year, but in every other respect it's been a completely brilliant first half of the season.

Club Resources

Balance: 1,238 euros
Glory: 93
Fans: 15(--)
Stadium Capacity: 100(--)

Amateur League

Star Ranking - 0.71(+0.28)
Classes - 65(+1)
Levels - 13(+1)
Skills - 10(+3)

In general we appear to have completely caught up to the pack. Which begs the question ... now what??




It looks like the three who came down are going right back up, but Havelse has a chance to throw a wrench in the works. Despite the poor start to the year, Stuttgarter is still an above-average club defensively -- but we just can't score. Ultimatley we're going to be stirring the ashes until we find a way to get the ball in the net once in a while.

Third League

Star Ranking - 1.29(+0.16)
Classes - 86(--)
Levels - 22(+3)
Skills - 16(+5)

Still improving, but parity isn't as much of a thing here as it is in the Amateur ranks. The gap between the best and worst teams is considerable. The teams promoted last year haven't totally gone according to plan. Saarbrucken is 4th, but 4 points out of a promotion spot so they're not far away from consecutive promotions but it doesn't look like it'll happen. They are tied for the lead in fewest goals allowed, but are scoring less than one per match themselves so it's definitely a case of needing more offense. Oh, and most of their goals have been scored by a young CF named Jedin. So that could be an interesting matchup in the future. Rot-Weiss Essen also looks to stay up, but right now they are just 9th, three points above the relegation zone and far from safe. Only -1 in goal differential though so they've gotten a bit unlucky. They're among the best at this level in terms of skills, but are lagging behind in the levels & attributes of their players. I wouldn't be surprised to see them move up to mid-table by year's end, but they're in a dangerous position at the moment. And Schweinfurt .. well, we'll be seeing them again next year. 4 goals scored, 22 allowed, by far the worst on both counts and they've managed just 3 points in 11 matches -- everyone else has at least 11 points. The worst in the Third League by far and they'll be sent back down to try again.




What a difference a year makes. Germany isn't as good as they've looked so far, as some of the clubs have just scraped through. We've got three in the knockout rounds of each cup. Along with Leipzig and Bayern Munchen, the European Cup also features Borussia Dortmund who got a narrow win over AC Milan 5-4 in the Second Qualifying Round, then won in the next round on away goals, and in group play narrowly got through in a competitive group. We look poised to surpass third-ranked Italy by the time the year is over, and to date we've been the top-performing country in the world.

[Brian Swartz]

Roster Details

I'm changing this up a bit, putting some more information in screenshots to hopefully make things easier. Let me know if there's anything that isn't clear.



















Neageli is our youth, assigned to thehitcat for now. You can always switch players around between yourselves if you prefer. The RNG has been kind to us in giving us one prospect in each area so far. It will not always be so kind.


Player Assignments

DavidCorperial(Wingers)

LD Ortag
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

RD Abruscia
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

M Blank
Interest: Low
SL: LM
Playing Time: Regular Backup

F Tiel
Interest: Low
SL: FW
Playing Time: Regular Backup

M Tunjic
Interest: Low
SL: MF
Playing Time: Regular Backup

M Preiss
Interest: Low
SL: AM
Playing Time: Regular Backup

M Maslanka
Interest: Low
SL: AM
Playing Time: Regular Backup


larrymcg421(Central Forwards & Midfielders)

MF Hirsch
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

FW Pfeiffer
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Showcase

CF Mengele
Interest: Average
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

F Wachter
Interest: Low
SL: FW
Playing Time: Regular Backup?

M Fetscher
Interest: Average
SL: MF
Playing Time: Prospect

M Muller D.
Interest: Low
SL: MF
Playing Time: Regular Backup

M Zeitz
Interest: Low
SL: DM
Playing Time: Starter

F Jedin
Interest: Average
SL: FW
Playing Time: Starter


thehitcat(Central Defenders & Keepers)

GK Komolong
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

SW Doringer
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

DF Scepanik
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

CD Schwarz
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

CD Jager
Interest: High
SL: ??
Playing Time: Starter

D Weibenfels
Interest: Low
SL: ??
Playing Time: Regular Backup

? Neageli
Interest: Low
SL: ??
Playing Time: Prospect

[Brian Swartz]

Specialization Briefing

A number of players have achieved their specialization targets and now need to set new ones for their next upgrade. Unless of course you plan on selling them, in which case it's moot. By coach, here are the ones that need instructions:

DavidCorperial - Ortag, Abruscia
larrymcg421 - Hirsch, Pfeiffer, Mengele
thehitcat - All of them

The players that don't have all of their classes yet, I just need that info. I think that's just Weibenfels and Neageli. Most of them have their classes and I need to know where to go from there. Their trees look like this:




No utility section available if they are universalists. These players can pick Talent(upgrade first skill further), XP Boost or Attribute Focus from the Dedication section, Fans or Sponsor bonus from the Fan Favorite section. Specialists can also choose to crosstrain to a new position.




Komolong and Doringer already have their first talent upgrade, so they are looking at this. They can take any of the Dedication or Fan Favorite upgrades, or they can choose to move forward in the Talent tree by increasing the limit on their skills(second skill for universalists, max out the first one for specialists) or by training skills faster, the 30% training bonus on the right. Doringer could also go with the cross-training option if preferred.

[Brian Swartz]

Upgrades




We haven't done a darn thing here. While they still aren't cheap, it is possible to get the money to throw into these now if we want to sell enough players for it. By the way, if anyone is contemplating a fire sale, the only rule on that is the game won't allow us to sell players if we only have 11 on the roster -- we have to be able to field a full squad. I doubt we'd really want to go to that extreme, but just in case that's where the limit is.




We have enough glory for two upgrades here, should we choose to go that route. 93 right now, it would be 30 for the first one and probably 45 for the second one.

Contract Extensions

16 of 22 players are eligible right now. We're virtually forced to sell players in order to keep the rest of the ones we currently have. How many to sell, how many extensions to make, all of that is very much up in the air.

We do have a tentative sell order on Pfeiffer, but larrymcg421 can confirm or remove that at his discretion. We begin at 1238 euros here.

1-month Deals

These players all have 29 days left on their contracts as of now, which is why that's listed in red on the roster screens. We either extend them, or I'll be forced to sell them when their contracts are up. We must choose one way or the other -- if not we lose them for nothing and as manager I will insist on at least getting something for their services.

** CD Schwarz - 516, 1188, 2013
** CD Jager - 480, 1104, 1872
** MF Hirsch - same as Jager
** DF Scepanik - 410, 942, 1598
** M Zeitz - same as Scepanik
** FW Pfeiffer - same as Scepanik
** M Blank - 230, 528, 896
** M Maslanka - 123, 284, 480

Note: Zeitz's value is bugged. He was mentioned as a priority re-signee anyway, but the match before he got injured, his value inexplicably dropped to zero. Unfortunately that doesn't mean we can extend him for free, we just can't sell him for anything. A weird bug that I haven't seen before. I have no idea whether it will eventually work itself out or not, he's upgraded levels since and that didn't shake anything loose.

7-month Deals

These are the ones we can punt on if we choose. They'll hang around till the end of the year unless we sell them.

** RD Abruscia - 480, 1104, 1872
** F Jedin - 302, 695, 1176
** D Weibenfels - 230, 428, 896
** M Muller D - 159, 366, 621
** F Tiel - same as Muller D
** M Tunjic - 123, 284, 480
** M Preiss - same as Tunjic
** F Wachter - same as Tunjic




Here's the available players in the current transfer window.

Coaches, it's now time for you to do your thing. Who should we buy, sell, extend? Do we need any upgrades? Attend to your individual player responsibilities, and hold forth on whether we want to stay at Rotation or switch up our team playing time approach. Any changes to our general formation can also be discussed. I'll be here if any questions arise.

[DavidCorperial]

I would do a pair of coaching upgrades to either defense or bench or one each, talent for both and selling as many players at the window as we can afford to.

[larrymcg421]

I'd say definitely sell Pfeiffer. Jedin has almost caught up to him anyways.

Hirsch - When is his birthday? If there's a chance we can sell him after he learns his skill, but before he turns 34, then we can wait. If not, we should just sell him now.

Mengele - Definitely the skill branch. Let's level that Slide Tackle up to lvl 2 and make a ton of money off of him.

Jedin - Just want to reiterate that he should be a FW when you get the choice.

Jedin and Zeitz should be renewed for 3 years. I would sell Jager unless THC objects. We should upgrade the Youth Academy at least once.

[Brian Swartz]

Hirsch's birthday is in the shots, but it's 9.19. We can wait for his skill and then sell him a year and a half from now, when he'll be like 33 and 10 months or something at the end of the season. That would mean a 2-year deal for 1,104. If approved, we would still need a new specialization instruction for him.

Pfeiffer is sold for 25k+. Naturally it's Wattenscheid again who picks him up.







He's not just the leading goalscorer in club history -- he's the only goalscorer in club history.

[Brian Swartz]

That leaves us with 26.7k in the bank and 21 remaining players. Barring other instructions, Mengele takes his place in the starting lineup. We're rich!! For the moment.

** Jedin extended: 3 years, 1176
** Zeitz extended: 3 years, 1598

Balance after those expenditures is a hair under 24k.

** Probably Hirsch extension for 1104.
** Proposed sale of Jager for 34.3k more.
** Proposed youth academy upgrade(21k)
** Proposed coaching upgrades(2 defense or 1 defense/1 bench)

None of the those four are approved yet. Up to the lot of you who else, if anyone, we can afford to sell. Also looking for thehitcat to hold forth on his player instructions, thoughts on playing time/formation, etc. No rush of course, just updating with where we are.

[larrymcg421]

Oh duh, it was right there. My bad.

So yeah I would renew him for the 2 years and train him up on the Dedication tree.

[thehitcat]

Funny I was thinking of extending Jager for the full 3 years and selling my two 33 year olds Scepanik and Schwarz for just north of 20K combined. I'd also like to extend Weibenfels for 3 years as well with the plan to push him to DF when he gets there. Naegeli will move to D and the DF as well also I'd like to swap his training to Control from Defense until he hits double digits in control then back to D.

I'd like all of my guys to do the Talent Tree first. Once they have extended to the first Talent (2 or 3) I'd like them to do the 30% bonus to learning their next talent. That should absolutely cover us through the second half of the season.

I'd like to upgrade the Youth Academy as well. Spend our money there to help us get better pulls. As for coaching upgrades I don't like to spread it around. Once I choose where I'm putting my points I prefer to finish that category before starting the next. That said I'm OK with being outvoted if both DC and larry would prefer to split the glory.

I like the rotation plan and have no problem with you picking our lineup on a game by game basis.

Finally if we have some money left over and DavidCorperial and/or larrymcg421 is interested there are to my mind two interesting candidates for them on the transfer list. Ibrahimaj could be an excellent AM/LM/RM/FW type with excellent Accuracy and Passing. And all three of us could fight over Schluter who could be a good LD/RD/DF/CD/DM/CM type with good initial Defense and Passing.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Oh duh, it was right there. My bad.

No problem, there's a lot of info to sort through. Here's where we are now as the decisions are starting to take some good shape:

** Schwarz and Scepanik are thehitcat's players, so it's your choice to make. We'll sell those two.
** Jager's deal would be 1872, cheap enough that we don't need majority approval. Weibenfels is less, 896.
** One Youth Academy upgrade will get purchased, we've got enough votes for that now.
** We'll buy Schluter, again cheap enough that we don't need to put that up to a further vote.

That'll put us at about 17k cash left. Remaining items:

** M Maslanka and M Blank need to be either sold or extended. All suggestions are good but it's up to DavidCorperial whether he thinks they are worth keeping around.
** That may play into whether we want to buy Ibrahimaj -- he'd be in the area of DavidCorperial/larrymcg421 so the two of you should hold forth on that.
** Input needed from larrymcg421 as the deciding vote on what we do with our glory.
** One vote for continuing Rotation is in. We'll continue that along with the somewhat flexible and varied tactical approach unless there is contrary opinion.
** Group decision on what to do with Schluter, since according to the suggested positions by the hitcat he could fit into any of the three coaches' spots.

[Brian Swartz]

At the moment, Schwarz is #2 in tackles behind Doringer(you get a tackle for intercepting a shot as well as an actual tackle, apparently).







Scepanik got off to a good start in our first year, but was soon eclipsed by the other defenders. Still a solid piece of our back line of course.

Schwarz went to Offenbach, Scepanik to Wattenscheid. We'll have arrived when some of the better amateur clubs want our players, but so far we're merely selling them to other bad teams.




Here's the transfer list with one new name on it, replacing Schluter who is now with us.

The next youth academy upgrade will cost 40.5k; we have 18.7k left at the moment with the confirmed transactions enacted. Our next youth pull will be level 1-5 instead of automatically being a level 1; 1-10 is the range for the next upgrade.

[DavidCorperial]

I would renew Blank and Maslanka because they both have low interest and are only 27.

[Brian Swartz]

Both done for 1376 total. We have 17.3k now in the bank.

[thehitcat]

I'd like to buy Schulte as a Defender and immediately put him on CTL. He's another body and with Rotation we should be able to get him a talent and sell him for a profit in 5 seasons.

[thehitcat]

I was looking at the guys that we can extend and all of them are decisions we can hold off on until the next window. My thinking is to extend them now with the thought of selling them in the next window or two as they will never be cheaper to extend than they are right now and all but one of them are working on talents. Obviously I have too much time on my hands and I'm more than happy to keep my damn opinions to myself if you guys prefer.

larrymcg421 you have Wachter and D. Muller who are both 31 and both working on first talents. Muller will hit his talent before the next window so if you don't want him we can just hang on and sell him for 10K in the summer. But for 366 we might get him a second talent level and be able to sell him as a 33 yr old for 3 times that amount. Wachter is more cut and dried you have to extend him to see his Talent value blossom but you could just do it for 1 year if you think he won't see the field much.

DavidCorperial you have 3 guys and Abruscia who I'll get to in a second. Tiel Tunjic and Preiss are all in the same boat as D. Muller above in that they won't hit their first Talent until after their current contract expires. For Preiss and Tiel who are 32 now I'd extend them for 1 year and look to sell them as soon as they got their talent's which for Preiss should be before the end of the Summer Window and Tiel will be next winter. Tunjic is only 28 and with the other two gone in the next two windows should get at least a little more playing time. I'd probably reup him for the full 3 and see if I could get multiple levels of talent completed before having another decision to make down the road. Finally Abruscia, I'd extend him for at least 2 (and if it was me all 3 years) with the thought of selling him in one of the windows in Season 5.

OK sorry I'll go back to my hole.

[larrymcg421]

I agree with THC on maxing out the defense coach before going elsewhere. I also agree with his thoughts on Wachter and Muller.

[Brian Swartz]

Schulte purchased. Two defense coach upgrades bought, we're at 1.5 stars with a 70% xp boost there. For now we're not going to buy Ibrahimaj as neither coach has indicated an interest in him. 1-year extension for Wachter signed.

larrymcg421, I'm not sure which thought you are agreeing with on Muller ... selling him in the next window or doing a 2-year extension to sell at age 33?

** Unless someone else expresses an opinion, Schluter will start off as a defender(due to thehitcat's suggested position list) and hopefully we'll have an idea what to do with him by next transfer window. He's sort of in limbo right now.

I'll start proceeding with the second half of the year tomorrow.

[thehitcat]

I'd like to buy Degner as a Defender and put him right on Control. I'd stop buying guys but the new one is always worth it for at least a resale.

[Brian Swartz]

Up to you how many you buy at that price. Done … and here's your new list. This time the replacement is a bit different.

[thehitcat]

And we need a goalie but not at that price Thanks Brian.

[thehitcat]

Since Schluter is starting as a Defender I'd like to put him on Control until he hits double digits my normal plan. With his passing I assume he'll eventually move outside for Ortag or Abruscia but we need to get him to D first.

[larrymcg421]

Hang on to Muller and sell him in the next window.

[Brian Swartz]

Here's the obligatory team photo. In the end result we grew one to 22 players. If you take the AI teams as 'normal' - a dangerous thing to do - that's pretty much the standard amount. We can take solace in the fact that none of the newcomers have the stupid haircut that Preiss, Jager, and Ortag are sporting.

** Out: Pfeiffer, Schwarz, Scepanik
** In: Neageli(youth), Degner, Schulte, Schluter. I'm going to get those last two mixed up for sure.

There are many questions about this defense now with so many young and untrained players back there. We still have some stalwarts; Jager is solid, Doringer and Komolong, the fullbacks; but it definitely may take a step back for now. Stuttgarter got younger, invested in their coaching and the youth facilities. Instead of going down to the local pub for youth sign-ups, they apparently now have broadened their search to the entire city.

3 of the over-30 crowd were jettisoned, and we still have seven left. A number of players will be seen more in the second half of the year as they were left on the bench for extra matches during Prestige Cup play and are owed some extra PT. Weibenfels, Tiel, guys like that.

[Brian Swartz]

** Note: It would appear that roster strength has something to do with the star rating. We lost our half-star and are back down to zero, while doing nothing but transferring out players. Either that or it's bugged(just as likely).

2.2 Stuttgarter Kickers(0-3-4, 7th) vs. SC Wattenscheid 09(2-0-5, 6th)

They come out in a 6-2-2 arrangement, featuring former Stuttgarter regulars Landeka, Scepanik, and Pfeiffer as their new top forward.

G Komolong
D Ortag/Doringer/Weibenfels/Neageli/Degner
M Preiss/Tujic
M Jedin/Tiel/Mengele

Jedin is good enough to take low-percentage shots now against this quality of foe. It was blocked away, but he's definitely the future scoring option here. Dias, the Wattenscheid forward who scored on us in the season opener, got through our defense with back-to-back Rainbow Feints ... but he couldn't get away with that against Komolong now that he's got Reaction. He's not a good shooter and his try was blocked out for a corner. Weibenfels controlled the pass into the box - it totally messed up our defensive structure, but they would not get another chance in the half. Another weak shot attempt for us and that was it.

Pfeiffer attacked our defense at the second half kickoff. Weibenfels was there again to make the tackle, but it messed up our structure and he got a close-range cannon shot later. Thankfully Komolong was up to the task on a weak attempt, but that could have gone either way.




First time using Mengele's slide tackle here. We had Tiel hold the ball on the last turn; they pressed twice and then tackled it away with their final action. 86 minutes into a scoreless match, it's the last chance to make something happen although I don't see us scoring regardless. He rolled a 2 vs. a 7 anyway, so that was that.

Stuttgarter Kickers 0, SG Wattenscheid 09 0

Obviously we'd prefer a win but realistically this isn't bad. Stats were nearly identical each way, but they definitely had the best scoring chance.

Levels -- Komolong(14) was the only one

*** Tunjic
** Komolong
* Ortag. He ... uh, fought for control on a corner(lost though) and made a completely routine pass.

Jedin is now a universal forward(FW). He jumps up to level 11 and 32 accuracy.

** Balance: 16k(+105). Our match-day income is now absurdly irrelevant compared to what we are getting from selling players these days.
** Glory: 22(+4). Which we wouldn't have gotten without losing that half-star of club reputation. Thanks!

2.9 Energie Cottbus(7-1-0, 1st) vs. Stuttgarter Kickers(0-4-4, 7th)

We move past Offenbach, who lost, on goal differential. This one will of course be tougher against the dominating leaders of the Amateur League. They beat us 2-0 the first time out, and deploy a 4-3-3 here.

G Komolong
D Ortag/Abruscia/Jager/Doringer/Weibenfels/Schluter
M Maslanka/Muller D
F Jedin/Tiel

Six defenders might not be enough to stop them, but it's the only way I see us having any real chance to. This is one of those where I'll put on another midfielder for balance and experience's sake if we fall behind early, but I don't want to give up before the match has even started. I thought about playing Zeitz, but frankly their midfielders are good enough passers that he'd be irrelevant.

They start off by attacking the middle of the line. Jager makes the play but once again we are out of position now. Ortag's long pass skill works for us on the counter, as we are able to get the ball up to Jedin in position for a decent shot. That's something we couldn't do previously. Their keeper makes the save. I reposition our defense as best I can; they get a shot from just outside the box, and Komolong knocks it out for a corner. One of their forwards, Stolle is too good for us to move him out of position, and their corner-taker is too good a passer to keep the ball from getting to him. A bad effort this time by Komolong and they score on a cannon shot. We made them work for it is the best we can say. Fortunate in the last match, not this time.

Preiss on for Doringer at the half since we're losing this match anyway. After Jedin's third failed shot of the day they try to run it out wide, first on the near flank and then on the far one. Abruscia and then Ortag are good enough to take the ball back in both cases, and there's only 10 minutes left when they shoot through the line and Komolong gets some more business, keeping the rebound in play this time. Jager intercepts their last-second lofted pass after we run it up the wing, and that's it.

Energie Cottbus 1, Stuttgarter Kickers 0

A quality showing under the circumstances. One goal on the road is better than two at home.

Levels -- Tiel(6)

*** Ortag
** Abruscia
* Muller D - his usual quiet but reasonably useful game, a couple passes, pressed a bit.

** Balance: 16k(+30)

... and we're back up to a half-star of reputation because who knows why. Best guess; we're right at the threshold between nothing and the half-star, and we keep flipping back over it at the slightest provocation. I've seen that happen before.

[Brian Swartz]

2.16 Stuttgarter Kickers(0-4-5, 7th) vs. TSV Havelse(5-0-4, 4th)

We lost 1-0 on the road in the first match. This could be double-edged because I think both clubs have a chance to score here.

G Komolong
D Ortag/Doringer/Weibenfels/Schulte/Degner
M Blank/Tunjic/Preiss
F Jedin/Wachter

The optimism didn't last long. One of their forwards blasted a shot that just got past both Doringer and Komolong[/b], quite a fine one relative to his ability, and we trailed halfway through the first half. Jedin had a couple of tries that didn't get through their defense. We got a third chance at it when they foolishly fouled Tunjic at midfield just before the half; Fetscher came in for him.




Out of that we were able to get Jedin the best look yet, nearly a 50-50 proposition. Their keeper narrowly made the save(17 on a 16 attempt), so we still were behind 1-0 with one shot for them that barely went in, one for us that barely didn't.

They went to Deppe again to start the second half but he couldn't get anything going. They were a man down now due to the red card, so that could help us. We worked it up the left side with Blank, then up for a shot on the next turn but it didn't make it through. Weibenfels intercepted their next pass, and Preiss tried to hold it in midfield for one final attacking move. They took it away from though and we couldn't get off a shot.




This is a tough one -- I think we deserved better in this.

Levels - Weibenfels(8) and Tunjic(5)

*** Tunjic
** Preiss
* Fetscher

Apparently it was our midfield that got everyone's attention.

** Balance: 16.1k(+105)

2.23 Alemannia Aachen(4-0-6, 5th) vs. Stuttgarter Kickers(0-4-6, 7th)

Once again we try to avenge a narrow 1-0 loss earlier in the year.

G Komolong
D Ortag/Weibenfels/Neageli/Schulte/Schluter
M Zeitz/Maslanka/Muller D.
F Jedin/Mengele

Ortag gets the call again to deal with their RF, but aside from that we've got a lot of guys out there on defense who don't know what they are doing. I'm hoping Zeitz can help plug the middle here ...

... or they could just score on a cross before we so much as touch the ball. Yep. Jedin had a decent chance to equalize, but their SW Pluntke, the bane of our existence in previous matches, rose to the occasion and made the play. Schulte blocked a shot later, and Muller D held up against a failed slide tackle. They shifted their defense to cut us off, so Mengele got a rare shot attempt which was stopped by their defensive line.

The RNG bloody hates us. For the second match in a row, Jedin rolls a 16 on a shot in which he needs a 17 to score. Seriously, we can't even get one of those? Another shot picked off by Schulte, but it gets him out of position and they move in behind him - Komolong blocks it out for a corner. They clear us out of the box but he makes a clean save on one of their unimpressive forwards. We miss a long-range attempt that had no chance, and it's over.

Alemannia Aachen 1, Stuttgarter Kickers 0

'Random Amateur Foe 1, Stuttgarter 0' might as well be. At worst, we deserved one draw from this pair of matches. I'm feeling crap about these results but our back line has too many makeshift parts and we need to get our scoring going in order to make up for it.

Levels - Neageli(2)

*** Muller D
** Schulte
* Komolong

** Balance: 16.2k(+30)




The transfer window closes. Six out of seven Amateur moves, aside from #2 here, involved our club.

[Brian Swartz]

3.1 Stuttgarter Kickers(0-4-7, 7th) vs. Kickers Offenbach(1-1-9, 8th)

Here's what we need to break our losing streak. They come out in a defensive 6-2-2, with all of their best players on the right(our left) of the formation. That includes Schwarz, their best defender.

G Komolong
D Abruscia/Jager/Weibenfels/Doringer/Schulte
M Blank/Tunjic
F Jedin/Tiel/Wachter

Jedin gets to their weak side right away, takes a shot with probably a 60% chance ... and misfires, their keeper gets an easy save. *Sigh* No problem, cause they try to take up the near flank, Abruscia points out why that's a bad idea, they foul him, so we get another chance. Doesn't even get by the defender. *Slams head on desk*. They only get one long-range shot, easily stopped by Doringer, so there's that.

Fetscher in for the over-worked Tunjic at intermission. They get themselves a corner right away, and of course we lose both easily-matched battles in the box. A close-range cannon shot is at least not executed properly, but it's just out for another corner. I swear, if we lose at home to the worst team in the league ... this time we win both and Jager makes the interception. We've got a lot of work to do to get another shot on goal now though. Abruscia steps up again, coming up to midfield to make a 50-50 tackle on the guy who was holding it there, maintaining possession, then setting up Jedin who finally converts one! Easily in this case, but boy did he take his freaking time. With just six minutes left we take the lead, and another Komolong save later it's over.




First goal ever by not-Pfeiffer!

Levels - Doringer(15), Schulte(6), Wachter(5)

*** Komolong
** Abruscia
* Doringer

Jedin gets his first-ever tally and not even a mention. ROFL.

** Balance: 16.4k(+215)
** Glory: 33(+11)

[thehitcat]

Woot!! I know all 15 of our fans serenaded the Offenbach gaffer with "You're gonna be sacked in the Morning" for the entire last 6 minutes

[thehitcat]

Quick note, I'll be fully out of pocket until sometime later on Sunday.

[Brian Swartz]

LOL! That would be quite the scene.

Have fun with whatever you're doing.

[Brian Swartz]

3.8 SV Waldhof Mannheim(7-2-3, 3rd) vs. Stuttgarter Kickers(1-4-7, 7th)

Wattenscheid won their last match so we seem to be stuck in 7th despite the victory, while these guys are two points up on Havelse for that final promotion spot with two matches left. We're spoilers here potentially.

G Komolong
D Jager/Weibenfels/Neageli/Schluter/Degner
M Tunjic/Preiss/Zeitz
F Jedin/Mengele

Weibenfels is just a man possessed lately. He won a close tackle and got fouled right off the bat, neutralizing their opening kickoff. Then it was time for a slightly more advanced tactic:




That's a CD, not a sweeper, in front of the keeper. Our only chance of getting a decent shot, which their keeper will probably stop anyway but that's beside the point, is to pull him out of position with Mengele here. The hope is that he'll stay out of position and we can get the ball up to Jedin, the upper forward, later. A stupid lofted pass then goes way too long, and it's off Komolong for a corner -- which among other things screws up that whole idea since when the ball goes out of play everyone's positions reset. These guys aren't being nice ... they foul Zeitz shortly afterwards, and a long-shot chance doesn't materialize when Mengele misses a slide tackle in the box at the end of the half.

But hey, we're not behind! Maslanka and Fetscher come in for Preiss and Zeitz, who have really seen a lot of action trying to hold things together. A shot from wide of our line is saved by Komolong, and I'm generally feeling good about our chances. They try again with the same results ... and then foul Fetscher, giving us a free-kick at midfield late in the contest. We had a chance to work it to Jedin, but they intercept the pass. He never touched the ball once in this game .

SV Waldhof Mannheim 0, Stuttgarter Kickers 0

One of the more interesting, well-played draws I've seen, our second against these guys. All their fouling got them nowhere.

Levels - Degner(9), Preiss(5), Naegeli(3)

*** Zeitz(not bad for only a half)
** Jager
* Tunjic

** Balance: 16.4k(+30)
** Glory: 41(+8)

3.15 FSV Frankfurt(9-3-1, 2nd) vs. Stuttgarter Kickers(1-5-7, 7th)

We can still finish anywhere from 6th to 8th this year. Frankfurt though is locked into the #2 spot. And we have our half a star back, for whatever that's worth(less glory from good results, basically).

G Komolong
D Ortag/Abruscia/Jager/Weibenfels/Schluter
M Tunjic/Preiss/Zeitz
F Jedin/Tiel

Under pressure right away, we watched an early shot sail through the line and an unimpressive save by Komolong in which he just barely got there. Then a weird and decidedly uncomfortable sequence in which Lindner, one of their forwards, kept retaking possession in our box at the end of their turn. This happened twice before Komolong had to deflect another shot. Really racking up the stats today but he hasn't surrended any corners yet. Then Abruscia had to survive a slide tackling attempt before finally running forward with it to set up a lame long-range shot through their line at the end of the half. Mark it down ... we're not scoring against these guys. It's only happened four times all year.

Doringer in for Abruscia at the half. Midway through, they decided fouling Zeitz was a good idea, and we actually got a shot for Jedin. Which their keeper Pirson saved easily. There were no threats to my surprise, and we preserve another draw.

FSV Frankfurt 0, Stuttgarter Kickers 0

If I ever figure out why we do so much better at the end of each half-season than the end, I'll let you know. We played the #2 and #3 teams in the Amateur League dead-even this year.

Levels - Ortag(16), Weibenfels(9), Schluter(8)

*** Zeitz
** Komolong
* Jager

** Balance: 16.4k(+30)
** Glory: 45(+4)

[Brian Swartz]

Found out that I could look at the final stuff just before choosing a sponsor. Don't know why I didn't notice that before. So we'll do that here. 1 goal scored, 3 allowed in the second half of the year. I'm surprised by that and it's the best we've done to date. Led the league in draws for the second straight season, and tied for third in goals conceded! Still looks like we're really going to have something here once(if?) we start scoring with more regularity. Also, here's to finishing not-last!!

As expected, the same three who came down go back up. Havelse's bid to change that comes up just short, courtesy of a defense that was far too leaky.




Schweinfurt just didn't have what it takes, obviously. Saarbrucken had a terrible second half, but still stays up on the strength of a good start. Opposite for RWE, who found their groove and seems a strong candidate to stay in the Third League.




Germany did indeed finish pretty well, though they are only 2nd this year behind the mighty Spaniards who clearly are setting the bar right now. We did indeed surpass Italy for #3 in the world, and have our sights set on merry England next. Leipzig made the European Cup semifinals, a heck of a showing, where they lost to Real Madrid, badly. It was an all-Spain final with Real Madrid and Sevilla, showing their nation's strength. In the EFA, FC Koln got the furthest for Germany, reaching the quarterfinals; Spain didn't win that one but Barcelona dumped Koln 3-1. So we were best in the not-Spain category, though most of our clubs were knocked out pretty quickly when the going got tough in the knockout rounds. Looks to me like we're better than we showed last year, but not as good as it looked from this season.




I'll take that - it's much less insulting than what they said about us last year. We're apparently actually viewed as a half-decent Amateur League club now. That's definitely progress.




Komolong's strong finish tied him for the Amateur lead in saves. Also, the more porous, younger defensive line helped him to that point by giving him plenty of opportunities. Doringer was #1 in tackles in the Prestige Cup at the time we were knocked out.




This is frankly a crap selection. The choice is between the first and third options, but I go with Sporty. I'm not convinced we'll score enough to make King's Menu more valuable. In the end it probably doesn't matter all that much, given the small amount of the bonuses and the unlikelihood of us getting most of them.

[Brian Swartz]

2020 Offseason

Competition Report

Stuttgarter

** Valuation - 343k(+6k)
** Star Rating - 0.5(--)
** Classes - 78(+2)
** Levels - 11(-1)
** Skills - 10(-3)

Overall roster strength took a small step backwards with the sales we made at mid-season. In general, we stagnated in the short-term in order to invest in the future.

Amateur League

** Star Rating - 0.86(+0.15)
** Classes - 77(+12)
** Levels - 16(+6)
** Skills - 14(+4)

Now we're back to being a little behind the curve, partly due to the teams that were imported from Third League for this season.

Third League

** Star Rating - 1.25(-0.04)
** Classes - 88(+2)
** Levels - 22(--)
** Skills - 18(+2)

The best teams at this level are still getting considerably better, but the bottom half aren't moving as much. The gap is growing, and I'd be surprised if at least two of those who just promoted again don't get sent right back down.




SC Paderborn and 1860 Munchen look like sure-fire promoters. The interesting part is whether Halvese can mount a challenge to Schweinfurt, after narrowly missing last year. The order has changed a bit at the bottom, but it's the same cast of characters once more.




Combine the past two years and Germany has just edged England by half a point. There were some interesting encounters between the top teams in each nation last year as well. That could be a budding rivalry. We shouldn't get too comfortable at #3 either -- Italy appears to be in decline but they're close enough that it would only take one good year for them to surpass us again.




This is worth looking at every few years, and since it's the beginning of a new decade I decided to put it up.




The Trophy Room, or lack of trophies room I should say. There's room on those pedestals for nine of them; five for the domestic leagues if we finish in the Top 3 of any of them, and four for the Cups. I'll try to remember to update this when we win something ... eventually. For now, perhaps the stark reminder of our complete lack of accomplishments to date can serve as motivational material.

[Brian Swartz]

Roster Details




















** Pitzen hasn't been assigned to a coach yet. I'd like DavidCorperial and larrymcg421 to decide what to do with our latest youth, who comes in as our best yet at level 3. He would seem to be some kind of midfielder most likely but it's up to the two of you where he goes.

** I've transferred Schluter to DavidCorperial for now, due to the suggestion that he has a fullback future.


Player Assignments

DavidCorperial(Wingers)

LD Ortag
Interest: High
SL: Talent
Playing Time: Starter

RD Abruscia
Interest: High
SL: Talent
Playing Time: Starter

M Blank
Interest: Low
SL: LM
Playing Time: Regular Backup

F Tiel
Interest: Low
SL: FW
Playing Time: Regular Backup

M Tunjic
Interest: Average
SL: MF
Playing Time: Regular Backup

M Preiss
Interest: Average
SL: AM
Playing Time: Regular Backup

M Maslanka
Interest: Low
SL: AM
Playing Time: Regular Backup

? Schluter
Interest: Low
SL: D, ??
Playing Time: Regular Backup


larrymcg421(Central Forwards & Midfielders)

MF Hirsch
Interest: Average
SL: Dedication?
Playing Time: Starter

CF Mengele
Interest: Average
SL: Talent
Playing Time: Starter

F Wachter
Interest: Low
SL: FW
Playing Time: Regular Backup?

M Fetscher
Interest: Average
SL: MF
Playing Time: Prospect

M Muller D.
Interest: Low
SL: MF
Playing Time: Regular Backup

M Zeitz
Interest: Average
SL: DM
Playing Time: Starter

F Jedin
Interest: High
SL: FW
Playing Time: Starter


thehitcat(Central Defenders & Keepers)

GK Komolong
Interest: High
SL: More Talent
Playing Time: Starter

SW Doringer
Interest: High
SL: More Talent
Playing Time: Starter

CD Jager
Interest: High
SL: Talent
Playing Time: Starter

D Weibenfels
Interest: Average
SL: DF, Talent
Playing Time: Starter

? Neageli
Interest: Low
SL: DF, Talent
Playing Time: Prospect

? Schulte
Interest: Low
SL: D
Playing Time: Regular Backup

? Degner
Interest: Low
SL: D
Playing Time: Regular Backup

[Brian Swartz]

Specialization Briefing

We had only one SL gain in the second half of last year, so there isn't much here. I do have one unresolved question though. MF Hirsch was selected for Dedication next. I don't know if that means the Attribute Focus or XP Boost branch -- I'll need a call on that from larrymcg421.

[Brian Swartz]

Transactions

Club Resources

** Balance -- 16.4k
** Glory -- 56
** Fans -- 15
** Stadium Size -- 100

Upgrades







Unless we sell more players we won't have enough for either stadium or youth this off-season. We're just 4 Glory short of our next coach upgrade. Current instructions are to keep going on the Defense coach until they are maxed out. We can do that as soon as we get any more Glory in, or save it for now.

8-month contracts

These are the players newly-eligible for extensions, which we can do now or put off until Winter Break.

** Komolong - 480, 1104, 1872
** Doringer - 516, 1188, 2013
** Naegeli - 87, 201, 341
** Schluter - 266, 612, 1037
** Schulte - 195, 449, 761
** Degner - 302, 695, 1176

2-month contracts

This is the 'extend now or sell' list.

** Abruscia - 480, 1104, 1872
** Tunjic - 159, 366, 621
** Muller D - same as Tunjic
** Preiss - same
** Tiel - 195, 449, 761

Not as many as last time for sure. We have a sell order on Muller D already. The manager notes that he was at Average interest until the final match of last season, then dropped to low. If we get him a match or two at the start of this year, we can boost him back up and get a few more thousand euros from him. Up to larrymcg421 whether we think it's worth that or not.

Transfers




Should we wish to splurge for it, the global list is 37.5k.

General Playing Time

We continue to stick on Rotation, but can switch to Mixed or Best XI at any time if the coaches prefer.

Two years are in the books. How many more will we spend in the Amateur League? Coaches, make your instructions known.

[larrymcg421]

Hirsch - Go up the XP boost branch.

Muller - I'll trust your instincts on the financial part. If you think it's worth the extra $$, then give him a few games.

Pitzen - I think his decent control makes him a good Winger candidate, so DavidCorperial can have him if he wants.