IV.19 Season 21 Dynasty

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Hobbes-

Do you have anyone that can match Buster? Also.. I need a good nickname for this guy.. any ideas?

How could you possibly need a nickname for him- his name is Buster Wolfe. He's already got a cool name that just rolls off of an announcer's tongue: "Busterrrrrrrrrrrrr Wolfffffffffffffe!"

SI

[Hobbes-]

Avoiding demotion:

Fockers: 9 pts
Fockers - Greg : I need a win here..
Gargs - Fockers: I'll prolly lose, PIC it
AAC - Fockers: I might need to MOTS this, need the win
Fockers - SPC: We'll see..

The problem is that I will lose goal differential if a tie in points.. I need 2 wins AT LEAST.. so I NEED to win Greg and AAC.. and hope for something against either Garg or SPC..

Hulis: 9 pts
SPC - Hulis : I don't see Hulis winning here, but it'd be big for him
Hulis - Evil: Must win situation for Hulis
Mountain - Hulis: just PIC for some TS
Hulis - AAC: I'd think he's aiming for a win here too

He needs two wins too.. and I bet he's looking right at Evil and AAC.

Evil: 9 pts
Evil - Mountain : he'll lose..
Hulis - Evil: I hope he loses here.. both of them need the win to stay
Evil - Greg: Greg has less pts.. go Greg!
Gargs - Evil: Evil loses..

Hulis needs to beat Evil.. and if Greg beats Evil too.. then Hulis and I should be okay.. Evil has goal differential on both of us.. so having him behind us would be better..I doubt he'll beat Garg or Mountain.. so we are in decent shape.. I just hope Hulis and I can beat AAC.. OR greg can beat Evil. That's what it looks like is gonna be the season decider

Greg: 6 pts
Fockers - Greg: He's PIC'd last 2 matches.. and gunnin for me
Greg - SPC: I don't see him winning this..
Evil - Greg: Go Greg!
Greg - Mountain: Mountain will win..

Greg is pretty much outta the division.. the crappy part is that I think he's gunning after me. Grrrr.. So it would be REALLY cool if Greg MOTS's Evil and wins.. because that would make things much simpler for Hulis and I.


So what does everyone else think? It's KEY that I beat Greg tomorrow.. and that Hulis beats Evil next week. Then we're doing fairly well.

[Hobbes-]

Hey Garg.. PIC me? That would REALLY help

[BlueMage]

I wouldn't worry too much hobbes. I am actually starting to the like the idea of demotion, and as i'm still fishing out some playres, I might be able to hoarde a bit of cash in V. Plus I think I want to change my training, and that's the best opportunity. I'm not laying down, but I'm not going to MOTS anybody or anything like that, and I really think that Evillive will pump some cash in his team to beat me next week.

Does anybody know any really really good keeper trainers? I have a 17 excellent almost formidable and I think he's got a shot at the US U20 team. If I decide to change training, I'd like to see him go to a team that will do their best to get him there.

GL this week, I'll be on tomorrow during the matches.

[Raven Hawk]

Hobbes-

Unfortunately, I don't think that I can PIC you. If I win this week, I am still 1 point behind Eers and will need the win to keep pace.

If I lose this week, I would be at risk of losing 2nd place to AAC. Because, lord knows, I will have a tough game after you Hobbes-, I get SPC.

Regardless of which, I will probably MOTS Evil at the end of the year.

[BlueMage]

You know I will do my best to beat evillive next week. and with the win tonight you should be set right? You're goal ratio is better now too thx to MSC.

Lytic, I think I've just been getting lukcy over the last couple of weeks. I really thought it was going to come down to me having to beat Evil and trying to match his ratio. I wouldn't worry about it tho, b/c you've got 4th pretty well locked up with a win over gg. Good game, not nearly as boring as I thought it would be

[Hobbes-]

If you beat evil next week, then I'll prolly MOTS AAC to try for a win just to make sure I'll be safe.. then I can PIC SPC.. and destroy whoever I play in the qualifier..

But yes things will be lookin great with a Huligans victory of Evil.. and things would look stellar with a GG win over Evil as well..

[lytic]

I hate Hattrick. I quit!

[Raven Hawk]

I'm sure that there would be quite a few South Koreans that would be upset that their U-20 coach has quit.

I'll just break the news to them gently . . .

[lytic]

okay all my players are up for sale... have fun.

[lytic]

Seriously... this really bothers me.

Teams Type Crowd All Def Mid Att LR Goals
EVillIVE HOME 34602 x-x-x 40.0 14.0 18.5 7.5 77 0
Mountaineer Soccer Club AWAY x-x-x 43.5 18.0 18.5 7.0 91 6

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SouthPark Cows HOME 39018 x-x-x 43.0 20.5 15.5 7.0 87 2
The Mad Huligans AWAY x-x-x 40.5 15.5 20.5 4.5 72 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fockers HOME 19104 x-x-x 41.5 14.0 20.5 7.0 91 2
greg's guys AWAY x-x-x 38.5 12.5 14.5 11.5 73 0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gargoyles HOME 42648 x-x-x 42.5 15.5 15.0 12.0 89 2
Arsenal A.C. AWAY x-x-x 39.5 13.5 17.5 8.5 81 0

It's still all about fucking midfield and that is total bullshit. I've played the game of soccer for 20 whole years now. I've won many games with no midfield advantage.

I've had the best fucking defense day in and day out, yet I have more goals against than most. I have awesome counter attacks, which should equal what a midfield is I.E. Brilliant Counter attack should be more effective than an Outstanding midfield. Midfied is just that MIDFIELD... Last I checked their isn't any stupid goal posts at midfield.

This game has become less and less fun by the week. The thought that CA would fix some of the midfield issues peaked my interest again. I put tons of money I could have spent on midfielders towards defenders with passing to train. For NOTHING.

[Hobbes-]

Hey I was beat even though I crushed a team in Midfield.. and had a higher rating etc.. and I was beat when I had better ratings etc.. I know we all have.. I think the game has become a little more random.. lytic.. you're in the clear with staying in the division.. and it was tied 2-2 for about an hour.. so it's not like the game wasn't close :/ eh.. hope I helped some

[Raven Hawk]

Hey . . . I don't know what to say. I hope that you find something that works for you, because I'd hate to lose such a worthy adversary.

[lytic]

I need to play soccer tonight and kill some people, then I'll buy all my players back.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by lytic

It's still all about fucking midfield and that is total bullshit. I've played the game of soccer for 20 whole years now. I've won many games with no midfield advantage.

I've had the best fucking defense day in and day out, yet I have more goals against than most. I have awesome counter attacks, which should equal what a midfield is I.E. Brilliant Counter attack should be more effective than an Outstanding midfield. Midfied is just that MIDFIELD... Last I checked their isn't any stupid goal posts at midfield.

This game has become less and less fun by the week. The thought that CA would fix some of the midfield issues peaked my interest again. I put tons of money I could have spent on midfielders towards defenders with passing to train. For NOTHING.

When I played in high school, it almost always seemed to be a function of who had a better defense. The midfield was handy and we had an awesome stopper on our team (we played with a stopper and sweeper with 2 wingbacks)- his stamina and playmaking helped control the midfield more than anything the middies did. However, it really came down to whether those of us on the back line did our job (I was either wingback or sweeper depending on which side of the bed coach woke up on). If we could break up the opposing teams attack by anticipating passes, keeping guys covered, and good isolation, then we could really feed the middies and strikers and that's what got the offense going more than anything. Midfield was more of an afterthought- where you put the guys who can run but weren't really skilled enough to defend (tactics and a booming leg) or attack (raw dribbling and shooting skills). And, while possession was important, you don't need a lot of possession to make a nice clearing pass to a middie, have him send a nice lob up over the defense or crossing pass, and then have a striker put a move or two on the defense or pass and have another striker put it in.

SI

[Raven Hawk]

To be honest, I completely agree. I am not a huge soccer fan, but the matches that I have watched seem to feature a 4-4-2. Rarely do I see a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-3. I would try to run a 4-4-2 if I could, but I can't because I'm a striker trainer. The way training works in the game limits you to what formations you can play. The only teams that truly have carte blanche with the formations they can play are keeper trainers. Ah well, what are you going to do?

[lytic]

Thanks for the piece SI, it was truly my thoughts, just explained better under a cooler mindset.

Oh and I had a good night of soccer, probably my best outing since my Achilles Repair.

[Desnudo]

I do agree that Hattrick does emphasis the midfield a little too much, but you might find these articles interesting. Midfield shouldn't be everything, but without some semblence of ball control, it is very difficult to win:

http://www.teekosey.f2s.com/HT-Issue...es/000013.html

http://www.sini.co.uk/gaelic/documen...elic%20Aug.pdf

[lytic]

wow, you got a lot of spare time

I never really thought of midfield as unimportant, but how can 2 guys score on 5 much better defenders and a world class keeper?

A magnificent Counter Attack *should* be better than a solid midfield IMHO.

I consistanly have the best defense, even when I play 3-5-2. Yet, I have been score upon more than most. That just doesn't happen in real life. Good defenses keep games close.

[Hobbes-]

Hmmm lets see:

Week 11: Games: Fock d. GG, Mount d. Evil, Garg d. AAC., Hulis d. SPC
1. Mountaineer Soccer 29
2. Gargoyles 28
3. Arsenal A.C. 17
4. SouthPark Cows 14
5. The Mad Huligans 12
6. Fockers 12
7. EVillIVE 9
8. greg's guys 6

Week 12: Games: Hulis d. Evil, Garg d. Fock, Mount d. AAC, SPC d. GG
1. Mountaineer Soccer 32
2. Gargoyles 31
3. Arsenal A.C. 17
4. SouthPark Cows 17
5. The Mad Huligans 15
6. Fockers 12
7. EVillIVE 9
8. greg's guys 6

Week 13: Games: Fock d. AAC, Garg d. SPC, GG d. Evil, Mount d. Hulis
1. Mountaineer Soccer 35
2. Gargoyles 34
3. Arsenal A.C. 17
4. SouthPark Cows 17
5. The Mad Huligans 15
6. Fockers 15
7. EVillIVE 9
8. greg's guys 9

Week 14: Games: Mount d. GG, Fock d. SPC, Garg d. Evil, AAC d. Hulis
1. Mountaineer Soccer 38
2. Gargoyles 37
3. Arsenal A.C. 20
4. Fockers 18
5. SouthPark Cows 17
6. The Mad Huligans 15
7. EVillIVE 9
8. greg's guys 9


And that's how you get 5th lytic.. since you asked.. Win GG game.. and lose both against the Gargs and Me. LOL maybe this year both of us will try to throw it..

Then again I'm sure things won't work out this way. Anyone wanna venture some predictions?

[BlueMage]

Huligans get screwed by HT by loosing to Evillive and auto demote

[Hobbes-]

dude that's a big match for you.. MOTS it.. then you can PIC twice and MOTS a qualifier..

Edit: It's also a big match for me and I'm not even playing

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by lytic

wow, you got a lot of spare time

I never really thought of midfield as unimportant, but how can 2 guys score on 5 much better defenders and a world class keeper?

A magnificent Counter Attack *should* be better than a solid midfield IMHO.

I consistanly have the best defense, even when I play 3-5-2. Yet, I have been score upon more than most. That just doesn't happen in real life. Good defenses keep games close.

Took five minutes, typed in "importance of midfield" into Yahoo. It's funny, but the number one search result was that Hattrick article.

Two guys scoring on 4 or 5 world class defenders and goalkeeper happens constantly in high level soccer. Since most teams play a variation of 4-4-2, that's usually standard issue. One guy happens often enough. Thierry Henry (Arsenal and France), for example, can dominate entire backlines made up of some of the best defenders in the world.

As for counterattacking as a strategy, you have to realize that in real life it's often an act of desperation against an acknowledged better team. And you leave yourself vulnerable to getting wrecked on a counter-counterattack when you run that option since it puts your defense forward.

Press formation was designed to keep the score low, counterattacking should leave you more vulnerable on defense than a normal stance.

Like I said in my original post, I do think the importance of midfield is overemphasized, but I don't think the gap is as large as you make it out to be. If it was more like real life, then the only real difference would be that most teams would be forced to run a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-2 to compete.

[BlueMage]

I need some help for Evillive. Last week, bradley went for 3 stars, mostly because I used the pressing tactic and he's powerful. I inserted him into the lineup for mayes who was suspended. Mayes usually gets 2.5-3 stars, and bradley has been up and down for me, sometimes as low as 1 star. They have almost identical skills, solid defenders, but mayes has passable passing which jacks up his value to 123k. Bradley is at about 50k. The other two defenders are set for me. So, I am thinking about going with a 4-4-2 pressing. My 3rd middies isn't all that good, and both of my wings are studs. I just got rid of a scorer this week. He'd scored all of 1 goal for me, and I paid way too much for him, so I will have a slightly less talented scorer for teh match. My scoring has been so bad anyway that I usually only score event goals.

Gottman has been tanking in form, and he had a pretty rotten game last week. Should I stay with the 3-5-2 to bolster the midfield since he has been so terrible lately, and if so which defender to I go with. I know we just talked about midfield being all, but I wanted to know what you all think.

[BlueMage]

nm, mayes is in some crappy form.. didn't notice at first, so i'll 3-5-2 it up with bradley. On the flip side, anyone know what a 17 inad scoring inad passing scorer is worth? I put him up for 25k and he didn't go. I am also thinking about keeping him if I change training next season. Thoughts?

[lytic]

maybe 6k?

[Hobbes-]

you guys are slackers.. i swear i've checked back here like 10 times.. and no new posts!

[BlueMage]

sould i press Evillive, i've got quite a few powerful players, and i think i scored one of my goals against spc b/c of it... or do i just go normal and hope i have enough opportunities that i can put 1-2 away.

PS I will be working on Preds this afternoon prolly.

[Raven Hawk]

My apologies to all. I have had one of the 'busy' weeks. I'll throw out some advice tomorrow afternoon or Saturday morning.

[lytic]

He has a good defense... I'd say norm.

[Raven Hawk]

Beat Evillive = Attack his left side defense with your right side attack. He hasn't changed his strategy for weeks.

Don't press and don't PIC. You've got the better team. This is a MUST WIN situation for you. I'd MOTS and then PIC out the season to get some TS for a qualifier. If it looks like you need to, then you can Normal AAC.

[BlueMage]

Welp, looks like operation of GG and Evil is on solid grounding, no?

[Hobbes-]

as long as Garg beats Evil on the last game.. we're good.. and I'd expect him to MOTS.. and if GG beats Evil next week then it's over..

good job today Hulis.. that was clutch

[lytic]

I didn't get scored on!

[lytic]

I'll go back to my posting... for this is my last weekend in the states and I don't know if I'll have puter access right away in Iceland.


greg's guys - SouthPark Cows 0 - 3

View game: HT Live
Date: 2/2/2004 at 01.00
MatchID: 11027042
Arena: The Hood
Crowd: 19433

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Hood saw a crowd turnout of 19433. greg's started off with a 3-4-3 lineup. They fielded: van Gerven - Saldana, Flamblom, Babenko - Morales, Nederér, Monreal Ibero, Dijkstra - Seitz, Callaway, Dennis.

SouthPark started off with a 5-3-2 lineup. They fielded: Tirado - Davis, An, Fredriksson, Cronbom, Tewari - Millard, Danhof, Guy - Dey, Orkola.

SouthPark were relying on their magnificent ability to counter-attack. Kenneth Millard knocked one home in the 7:th minute on the counterattack, making the score 0 - 1. Tory Guy of SouthPark received a yellow card in the 22nd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Aijaz Tewari finished off the counterattack from the left rather easily, scoring 0 - 2 for SouthPark. The home side attempted to get through in the middle and had a good chance of pulling one back as Tony Nederér tried lifting the ball over goalie Fred Tirado. Typically, the ball went just over the bar. Rikard K. Flamblom of greg's received a yellow card in the 33rd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 2. greg's, bringing the final ball possession rate to 72 percent, dominated the battle.

Per Fredriksson behaved like an inexperienced youth player in the 50:th minute as he gave the ball away to an opponent. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. Preston Davis knocked one home in the 56:th minute on the counterattack, making the score 0 - 3. SouthPark nearly produced a goal as Kenneth Millard set up Tory Guy for a strike from a seemingly impossible angle. The receiver wasn´t as clear-headed though, and put the shot wide. greg's held the ball, with a clear 77 percent possession rate.

The most dominating greg's player was without a doubt Tony Nederér. However, Nicolas Saldana made a disastrous appearance. SouthPark´s best player was Fred Tirado. Jonas Cronbom on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 3.

HIGHLIGHTS
0 - 1 Kenneth Millard (7)
0 - 2 Aijaz Tewari (27)
0 - 3 Preston Davis (56)

RATING

greg's guys
Player rating and Team formation

Tactic: Normal

Midfield: passable
Right Side Defence: passable
Central Defence: solid
Left Side Defence: solid
Right Side Attack: world class
Central Attack: titanic
Left Side Attack: excellent

SouthPark Cows
Player rating and Team formation
Team Attitude: Play it Cool
Tactic: Counter-attacks
Tactic skill: magnificent

Midfield: poor
Right Side Defence: utopian
Central Defence: utopian
Left Side Defence: titanic
Right Side Attack: inadequate
Central Attack: outstanding
Left Side Attack: brilliant


STATS

Best game ever - Entire team

1. SouthPark Cows - EVillIVE 1/12/2004 100%
4. The Mad Huligans - SouthPark Cows 8/4/2003 91%
6. SouthPark Cows - The Mad Huligans 1/26/2004 88%
7. SouthPark Cows - Gargoyles 9/22/2003 87%
8. Aviators - SouthPark Cows 10/13/2003 86%
9. SouthPark Cows - The Mad Huligans 10/20/2003 86%
10. The Mad Huligans - SouthPark Cows 12/8/2003 84%
11. greg's guys - SouthPark Cows 2/2/2004 84%

Best game ever - Defence

1. greg's guys - SouthPark Cows 2/2/2004 100%
2. SouthPark Cows - Mountaineer Soccer Club 12/15/2003 93%
3. Arsenal A.C. - SouthPark Cows 1/5/2004 87%
4. Mountaineer Soccer Club - SouthPark Cows 1/19/2004 85%
5. SouthPark Cows - greg's guys 12/1/2003 81%


THOUGHTS

Whatever...

[lytic]

No one is even close to us...

Rank Series Goals Crowd Capacity Stars Stars Ratings Rating
1 IV.19 211 264,534 0 321.5 40.2 670 83.8
2 IV.45 171 368,506 0 312.5 39.1 633 79.1
3 IV.25 178 284,712 0 312.0 39.0 630 78.8
4 IV.57 193 336,672 0 315.0 39.4 626 78.3
5 IV.61 156 356,238 0 312.0 39.0 624 78.0

[Raven Hawk]

We are a category unto ourselves . . .

[lytic]

and despite some of the biggest defensive ratings in IV, we also have one of the higher goal outputs. Sadly...

[Raven Hawk]

All your goals are belong to us!

It's because Greg's guys average 4 goals against per game. Everybody else averages less than 3 against per game:

Greg's Guys-4.00
Evillive-2.83
Huligans-2.67
Fockers-2.25
Arsenal-2.00
Cows-1.75
Gargs-1.5
Mounties-0.58

Those 48 goals against for Greg's Guys really ruins the curve.

[Raven Hawk]

Dola

I just noticed that 7 teams from our division made the top 100 last week . . .

THAT'S JUST INSANE!

I really think that we should have the goal of bitchin' the Div III replacement for Mounties down to 5 next season. That would be funny.

[finkenst]

mots every game against the demotee...

[lytic]

depends on how cocky the div V guys are.

[Raven Hawk]

True. It's more about righting the karma in the world, rather than beating the piss out of somebody just for the hell of it.

[Hobbes-]

How to beat AAC...

I'm thinking I only need to worry about AIM if anything. He usually has his best attack in the middle and his best defense in the middle.. So I'll pull my midfielder from the WB slot and put my stud defender on that CD side. I also stacked one side and made the other WB offensive on that side. I won't AOW .. but I could I suppose.

Any other ideas? I had a stud striker but I sold him this week before he played any league matches for me.

Thoughts?

[Hobbes-]

lol that would be soooo funny.. I think we can get the guy demoted that comes down. That'd be hilarious.. lets see if we like any of the V guys. maybe we can spare one of them.. and demote the other and the III guy.

I'm not sure how effective I'll be at the beginning of next season. I'm gonna be changing some things and get some offense Look out!

BTW what do you think a magnificent and 2 formidable middies would pull for midfield? formidable or outstanding or so with high TS and home.. ?

[BlueMage]

I'm already changing things up, so I'll be crappy for the next 2 weeks, and an indefinite amount of time at the beginning of next season. Making interest with economist makes it hard to pull the trigger on players that are almost what i want. Sorry I can't take a shot at AAC for you Hobbes, or for myself, but my two middies are gone, and you don't have to worry about donny foster in this series anymore.

I am also looking to sell Caron when he hits oustanding. That seems to be the best sell point.

Does anyone know a great keeper trainer that would like to try to get my guy on the U20 squad? If so, i'd be willing to sell my 17, will be outstanding before next season for a slightly inflated price, and just keep Caron and switch my training. Otherwise, I may try to go all the way with him. Has anyone heard anything about how good the 17 keeper batch is for the US?

[Raven Hawk]

As far as keepers go, I'm pretty sure that Yuma Bulldogs has one of the 17 y/o youth squad candidates and that YoSoySean from this board has another. Those would be the two that you would be competing with. If you really want to know, talk to TargetPractice6 who is the U-20 coach this year. I'm sure that he'll have a good idea.

[Raven Hawk]

Sooo . . . Bluey . . . what do ya plan on spending that 6.5M on?

[Hobbes-]

psst.. I'm gonna have more money than that to spend

[Raven Hawk]

Well, I would, too if I sold off 3 of my trainees. But that's not happening . . .


. . . yet.