Screamin' Seamen FC - 3rd Season

[DataKing]

Originally posted by sterlingice
Well, with your defensive coach, you need a damn fine striker while Henrikksson is down. Do you have a set pieces guy and team leader who can step in if you sub for him?

*smokes cigar... then hacks out a lung* damn, i forgot i was allergic to smoke

SI

Henriksson is my best team leader and set pieces ace. The only other guy I have who qualifies as a set pieces ace (solid or better) is Jesper Gravesen, who hasn't done well lately either. My three strikers are all in pretty poor shape (with Gump being the best of the three at the moment, but he sucks on corner and free kicks).

I'm looking for another set pieces guy in my hunt for a striker, but SPs are secondary right now. I just need offense, period.

Alf: It all depends on whether or not you want to sacrifice some training (I assume you train D) in order to improve your chances in the cup. Whatever you decide to do, I'm looking forward to the match. I can also recommend a good place for "after-hours entertainment" if your players are into that sort of thing. I'm sure a few (OK, most) of my players can show your guys around.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – Week 5 Friendly Match

Louisiana Cyclones vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: May 7th, 2003
Venue: The Cyclone Center (New Orleans, LA)
Attendance: 1,038 (14,050)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

We’re in the Big Easy this week for the last friendly match prior to the beginning of FOFC Cup III. Our gracious hosts are Doug5984 and his Louisiana Cyclones, and the match should be a tough, defensive one. Both clubs run a 5-4-1 formation, so scoring opportunities should be few and far between.

The Cyclones’ b-team looks to be a pretty decent one across the board, but the question mark for them will be up front. With the sale earlier today of striker Elliott Aguilera, we’re not sure who will be the main forward for the Cyclones in today’s match. It will be up to our defenders though, to contain whoever it is that is trying to score goals for the opposition.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

The two Seamen to watch today are central defender Cameron McDonald and wingback Mattias Leier. Both of them showed marked improvement in practice over the past week, and we are eager to see if this translates into better performances on the pitch. Of particular interest is Mattias Leier, who also appears to be recovering from a minor form slump. We’re expecting to see good things from the young Estonian today.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

1038 spectators arrived at The Cyclone Center, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Louisiana tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Glenn - Stubblefield, Henry, Batts, Blalock, Gravbrøt - Blissenbach, Spalding, Gabrielsen, Neely - Mastroianni.

Screamin' had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Gravesen.

FIRST HALF

Ralph Batts of Louisiana received a yellow card in the 3rd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Screamin'´s Zarpas Lerma could have put the guests one up in the 10:th minute, chasing a through ball but Erin Glenn was fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose.

Christian Kvam of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 16:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Halftime score was 0 - 0. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

Screamin'´s Zarpas Lerma could have put the guests one up in the 63rd minute, chasing a through ball but Erin Glenn was fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose.

Screamin' took the lead after 64 minutes with 0 - 1. Jesper Gravesen placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left.

Christian Kvam seemed to be floating in the air at will as he elegantly headed in 0-2. The previous Screamin' corner kick was executed by Jesper Gravesen.

Some fine manouvering on the left lead to an 74:th minute Screamin' goal, making it 0 - 3. Zarpas Lerma was noted down as the scorer.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 65 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Louisiana player was without a doubt Cody Stubblefield. Lawrence Neely was a disappointment, however.

Most important Screamin' player was Keith Stubbs. However, Lucian Tere made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Louisiana Cyclones 0

Goals
Gravesen – 1 (GWG)
Kvam – 1 (assisted by Gravesen)
Lerma – 1

Cards

Kvam – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **

Kvam: **~
McDonald: **
Lerma: **
Stubbs: **~
Leier: **~

Mauffret: **~
Tere: *~
Smith: **
Peralta: **

Gravesen: **

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 46

Louisiana Cyclones
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)
-NSI: 37

Comments

We certainly cannot argue with this sort of performance. While neither Cameron McDonald, nor Mattias Leier performed as well as we were hoping for, they still both had productive (if quiet) matches. Keith Stubbs continues to perform admirably on the back line, and both Jesper Gravesen and Zarpas Lerma appear to be coming around. Just in time for FOFC Cup III to boot.

The B-Team has actually been performing well as of late, and have outscored their opponents 9-1 since our early exit from the U.S. Open Cup. This certainly bodes well, and will hopefully equate to a nice, deep run into the FOFC Cup.

We would like to thank Doug5984 and his Louisiana Cyclones for their gracious hospitality.

Up Next: After training results and the weekly financial update, we return home to The Docks for league play. There we will be fighting for a much-needed victory (and three precious points) against Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned!

[Doug5984]

DataKing thanks for the friendly, i wish my team would have been able to put up more of an attack but I can't be disappointed with a 37 NSI, and a formidable D from my B-team. Had I not sold my other stiker I might have been able to ateast score 1 goal, but man that $100,000 and be clearly out of debt feels great, good luck to your team in the upcoming FOFC Cup.

[DataKing]

Originally posted by Doug5984
DataKing thanks for the friendly, i wish my team would have been able to put up more of an attack but I can't be disappointed with a 37 NSI, and a formidable D from my B-team. Had I not sold my other stiker I might have been able to ateast score 1 goal, but man that $100,000 and be clearly out of debt feels great, good luck to your team in the upcoming FOFC Cup.

I was actually keeping half an eye on that bidding this afternoon, just out of curiosity. I was as surprised as you were to see the bidding go that high. You certainly can't argue with that sort of scratch.

I see that Mastroianni put up **, but is only valued at $13,000. Low passable scoring?

[Doug5984]

Originally posted by DataKing

I see that Mastroianni put up **, but is only valued at $13,000. Low passable scoring?

Mastoianni was my youth pull this past weekend (3rd consecuative to make the team, starting keeper, and a high inadequate 17 year old defender the 2 previous weeks) these are his ratings, it appears that he is probably an average inadequate and the 2 stars were a result of good form (although i could be completely wrong since I have little expereince with forwards:

Pasquale Mastroianni (11472889)
19 years, passable form, healthy

A controversial person who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities.

Nationality: USA
Assessed value: 13 000 US$
Wage: 560 US$/week
Owner: Louisiana Cyclones
Warnings: 0

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

I though about firing him, but since he was a youth pull of mine, and I could use the cash from Aguilera (didn't think it was going to be that much though) I decided to keep him around to just be the B-Team forward and now knowing that he can put up 2 stars I am comfortable knowing he could come in and play if he had to.

[DataKing]

I would think that he would have a pretty decent inad. scoring rating if he is able to put up two stars with passable form, but like you I have little experience with forwards. Now if you want to talk defenders and wingbacks, that's a different matter.

It's nice when you're able to get kids off the youth squad that can contribute. Two of my starters (Tyler Willard and "Gump" Tobias) as well as two of my defensive trainees (Cameron McDonald and Keith Stubbs) are products of the youth squad.

Best of luck to the Cyclones in FOFC Cup III.

[Doug5984]

edit: I moved this question over the hattrick forum so that maybe it will get more views, and help someone else out with a similar question.

[DataKing]

Week 5 Training Results

After a rather lengthy dry spell, our training program has really started producing results over the last couple of weeks. For the second week in a row, two of our players improved their defensive ratings.

Chuck Scales

Jersey #2

24 years old, solid (7) form, healthy

A sympathetic guy who is calm and honest.
Has poor (3) experience and poor (3) leadership abilities.

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $217,000
Wage: $1,490 per week

Stamina: Weak (4)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Weak (4)
Scoring: Inadequate (5)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Formidable (9)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)

If you follow this dynasty report, then you know that Chuck has been with us since the beginning, and has been our starting sweeper since day one. Apparently he was rather tired of hearing about Cameron McDonald and Keith Stubbs competing for his job, and he is the first Seaman to achieve a formidable rating in anything.

Christian Kvam

Jersey #24

19 years old, inadequate (5) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: Norwegian
Assessed Value: $63,000
Wage: $924 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Weak (4)
Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Weak (4)

Hot on the heels of Mattias Leier’s improvement to solid defense, Christian Kvam has made the jump as well. Leier and Kvam are our two best wingback trainees, and there certainly appears to be a good deal of competition between the two.

We actually had a third player improve in defense this week, but that player was striker Forrest “Gump” Tobias. His improvement to weak (4) defending doesn’t make a lick of difference, naturally.


Form Changes

4 players improved in form this week (including one starter, midfielder Charlie Bautista).
13 players saw their form remain the same.
5 players dropped a level in form this week (including one starter, midfielder Niklas Ivarsson).

The team’s form pretty much held level this week, and most of the shifts that did occur were contained to the reserves.

In The Zone

Wingback Arlen Lucas continues to play some of the best soccer of his young career, and earns top-form honors this week. This is his second consecutive week in excellent (8) form.

Form Dogs

Team captain Johannes Henriksson, along with defensive trainees Cameron McDonald and Zarpas Lerma are in weak (4) form this week. Johannes continues to be the primary area of concern, as the Swedish striker just can’t seem to remove his head from his rectum. His play has been in sharp decline since the beginning of the season, and all we can do is hope that he finds his stride again soon.

Value

Average Player Value: $126,727 (+$3,318)
Total Player Value (22 players): $2,788,000

Assessed Value Milestones

None

Up Next: This week’s youth squad product and the weekly financial update. Stay tuned!

[GoldenEagle]

*cough* Update *cough*

[DataKing]

It's on the way.

[DataKing]

Week 5 Youth Pull

I find this guy humorous for some reason. He’s been listed as a Set Pieces player, just to see if I can get a noob to bite.

Rigoberto Jimenez

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities.

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $1,000
Wage: $500 per week

Stamina: Wretched (2)
Playmaking: Wretched (2)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Poor (3)
Set Pieces: Solid (7)

He’s listed for $5,000, but I do not recommend that anyone here buy him. This is more of an experiment than anything else. And he would be fun to follow if someone did pick him up and play him.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $498,073

Revenue

Crowd (friendly match vs. Louisiana Cyclones) - $2,690
Sponsors - $65,850
Temporary (mother club money from resale of Hyman Morey) - $50,000
Temporary (16 new supporters) - $480

Total Revenue: $119,020

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $29,948
Temporary (youth squad promotion of someone who sucked) - $2,000
Staff & Specialists - $40,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $111,948

Net Income/Loss: +$7,072

New Balance: $505,145

The mother club money we received from the sale of Hyman Morey was quite nice, as it allowed us to pretty much break even this week, despite not having a home game. We’re still looking for a quality striker to spend our half-million on, and hope to land one within a week or so.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (down one level)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: Delirious (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,390 (up 16 from last week)

It’s nice to see that our fickle fans were understanding for once, and are still delirious despite our league loss this week. I guess they’re finally figuring out just how difficult it is to win on the road in this league.

Up Next: We try for a much-needed victory in league play as we host Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #6

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Date: May 11th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 21,602 (30,000)
Weather: Rain

Today marks the first day in what will be the easiest four-week stretch of the season for SSFC. We play host to Neon Genesis Evangelion, a club that is struggling at the moment. NGE finished in fourth place last season, but has not been able to compete with the new additions to the series, and are currently staring at automatic relegation if they do not improve their standing.

The weather could very well play a big factor today. It is downright nasty in Chicago today, with periodic rain and ferocious win gusts as high as forty miles-per-hour. If you’ve followed this dynasty report, then you know the Screamin’ Seamen aren’t a very good wet-weather team, despite what the team name might suggest. We’re just hoping that the Neon Genesis Evangelion players have as much trouble as we do finding our footing on a wet, wind-blasted pitch.

Our clubs have met twice in the past, and we have owned NGE thus far, taking all six possible points.

Previous Meetings
12/22/2002 – Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, Screamin’ Seamen 3
3/9/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 1

The match back in December of last year was a memorable one. In a back-and-forth match, the unlikely hero for SSFC was central defender Chuck Scales. His strike in the 76th minute gave the Seamen a hard-fought 3-2 victory on the road. Let’s hope that Chuck has another admirable performance in him today, as we desperately need three points.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

We’re going with our standard lineup today, with only one minor change. Due to the severe slump that team captain Johannes Henriksson is in, Ben McMahon will be taking the corner and free kicks. He isn’t as skilled as Johannes when it comes to this sort of thing, but is the best alternative we have.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

21602 spectators had found their way to The Docks, despite the heavy rain.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.

EVA started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Åkesson - Calloway, Waldrop, Vick - Ayres, Andersson, Ødegård, Taylor, Villiard - Lachance, Alfaro.

FIRST HALF

After 3 minutes EVA put themselves up by 0 - 1 as Douglas Alfaro finished off a strike from the left with a real cannon placed at the far post.

Stanley Lachance was, after 14 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors lead with a well placed diving header but home side keeper Cornelius Jernigan saved.

The referee showed Screamin's Chuck Scales the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.

After 30 minutes Screamin'´s Chuck Scales contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 54 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Johannes Henriksson pulled a real crowd pleaser as he, in the 60:th minute, wove through the guests whole central defense line and put the 1 - 1 equaliser away.

Screamin' broke through to the left in the 68:th minute, Charlie Bautista firing at an acute angle giving the home side a 2 - 1 lead.

71 minutes into the game EVA´s Stanley Lachance found a gap in the home sides central defense scoring with a long shot, making it 2 - 2.

Screamin''s Johannes Henriksson scored 3 - 2 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.

A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Screamin' lead up with 4 - 2. Forrest Tobias finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle.

The referee showed EVAs Ed Vick the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The player down was Arlen Lucas. The Screamin' bench looked worried a while but in the end he managed to get up.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 60 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Johannes Henriksson was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating EVA player was without a doubt Geir Ødegård. However, Théo Villiard made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2

Goals
Henriksson – 2 (3,4,GWG)
Bautista – 1 (1)
Tobias – 1 (3)

Cards
Scales – yellow (1)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Willard: ***~
Scales: ***~
Lucas: ****

Rubio: **~
Ivarsson: ***
Tomlin: ***
Bautista: **~
McMahon: **~

Tobias: **~
Henriksson: *~

Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Solid (7)
-Right Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 73

Neon Genesis Evangelion
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Formidable (9)
-Central Attack: Excellent (8)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
-NSI: 62

Comments

I have to say that I am pleased with the results from this one. We were a little concerned being down by a goal at the end of the first half, but credit is due to “Corny” Jernigan for keeping things from getting out of hand early. As the second half started, team captain Johannes Henriksson was able to dig deep, despite his slump, and managed two of the team’s four goals, including the one that proved to be the game winner.

Forrest “Gump” Tobias and midfielder Charlie Bautista added goals of their own, and we tallied more than two goals for the first time this season. Things were a little rough on the pitch as well, with both Chuck Scales and Arlen Lucas getting dinged up in the match. Neither were serious injuries, but we’ve made arrangements for a doctor to come in and treat both of them, just to be on the safe side.

Series Scores and Standings

-Ramblers had no trouble with the woeful Syracuse Supers, dominating them 4-nil.
-Big Reds held onto their first place position, defeating SoccerWussies, 2-nil.
-Croats in Miami took care of business at home, defeating Sweden Heights, 3-nil.

No.	Team					Played	        Goals		Pts.	NSI

1.	Big Reds				6		14-2		16	69

2.	Croats in Miami			        6		16-5		13	75

3.	SoccerWussies			        6		11-8		12	56

4.	Ramblers				6		13-11		9	62

5.	Sweden Heights			        6		12-13		9	59

6.	Screamin’ Seamen*			6		9-10		8	73

7.	Neon Genesis Evangelion		        6		14-18		3	62

8.	Syracuse Supers			        6		1-23		0	45

Week 7 Matchups

Syracuse Supers vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Sweden Heights vs. Ramblers
SoccerWussies vs. Croats in Miami
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Big Reds

We get our two matches against the only safely PICable team in the series, Syracuse Supers, over the next two weeks. While that is happening, Ramblers and Sweden Heights will be beating each other up, and hopefully either splitting the series or playing to a couple of draws. Either way, we should be in either 4th or a close 5th place by the end of week eight. And more importantly, we should be the ones with the team spirit advantage down the stretch. The Syracuse Supers will be chasing us through the fixture order this time around, which should play to our advantage.

Up Next: It’s the most wonderful time of the year…FOFC Cup Time! We kick off group play in FOFC Cup III action this Wednesday as we play host to Alf Trickers. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 1

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Alf Trickers

Date: May 14th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 3,347 (30,000)
Weather: Overcast

This is what we’ve been waiting for, the start of the FOFC Cup III. We’ve been placed in Group F for group play, along with the following teams:

-Alf Trickers (Team Owner: Alf)
-Fantastic Flying Froggies (Team Owner: fantastic flying froggie)
-Manhattan Marauders (Team Owner: NAIWF)
-Shadow Dragons (Team Owner: Astott)
-North Plainfield Plague (Team Owner: cthomer5000)

We are the #1 seed in the group (#6 overall), and have drawn the Alf Trickers (#2 seed, #23 overall) for the first round of group play. Judging by past performances, we should have the advantage in talent level today. Whether or not we are victorious will come down to execution, as we all know that nothing is guaranteed in the world of professional soccer.

One match from the first round has already been decided, as the Fantastic Flying Froggies and Manhattan Marauders fought to a 1-1 draw earlier today. If we are victorious today and earn a full three points, that should play to our advantage as group play progresses. An early two point lead over the 3rd and 4th seeds would be nice indeed.

Today’s match should be a slow-paced defensive one, as both teams prefer defensive formations. We will run our box-standard 5-4-1 formation, of course.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Team Captain: #14 Jesper Gravesen
Set Pieces: #14 Jesper Gravesen

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ll be using our standard b-team lineup against the Trickers today, with Jesper Gravesen retaining his role as team captain. Jesper’s play has improved, if only slightly, over the past couple of weeks, so today we will see if he can lead the team to victory against our French visitors.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

At The Docks, 3347 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Peralta, Tere, Smith, Mauffret - Gravesen.

Trickers tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Wikhult - Sahlstål, Tati, Duquesne - Vassen, Martinsson, Johansson, Hoffmann, Boulanger - Redon, Manjón.

FIRST HALF

Screamin' were very close to putting themselves one up in the 13th minute as Olav Mauffret got through, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide.

Mattias Leier received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 13th minute and almost caused an opponent to score.

After a fine move down the middle Jesper Gravesen nearly gave the home side one up in the 28:th minute. The finishing shot went just wide, though.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

The 68:th minute saw the home team take a 1 - 0 lead after a leak in the visitors right side defense. Scorer for Screamin' was Jerry Smith.

Some brilliant football from the visitors right wing resulted in a 74:th minute levelling of scores as Trickerss Olivier Redon equalised to 1 - 1.

Screamin's Zarpas Lerma gave, after 75 minutes, the home team a 2 - 1 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

In the game's 77:th minute Screamin'´s Jesper Gravesen limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 68 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. Jesper Gravesen on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Trickers´s best player was Luís Manjón. However, Henke Johansson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Alf Trickers 1

Goals
Smith – 1
Lerma – 1 (GWG)

Cards
None

Player Ratings

Read: **

Kvam: **~
Stubbs: ***
Lerma: **
McDonald: **
Leier: **~

Peralta: **
Tere: **
Smith: **
Mauffret: **

Gravesen: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Formidable (9)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 46

Alf Trickers
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Poor (3)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 35

Comments

The Trickers surprised us a little bit by coming out in a 3-5-2 formation, which may explain some of the difficulty we had in the first half of the match. Things seemed to get on track in the second half when midfielder Jerry Smith knocked one home, but Olivier Redon was able to tally the equalizer a scant six minutes later. Not to be outdone, central defender Zarpas Lerma (in weak form no less) swung around to the right and gave us a 2-1 lead only a minute later. That is how things would end, and we earned a hard-fought three points against a competitive Trickers team.

It was a good match all-around, and could just as easily have gone the other way. I was pleased to see the referee leave the cards in his pocket and let the lads play, and Jesper Gravesen’s injury is a slight one. We expect him to be back to 100% shortly.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings

-NAIWF’s Manhattan Marauders traveled to France and managed a 1-1 draw against the Fantastic Flying Froggies.
-cthomer5000’s North Plainfield Plague earned three points on the road, defeating Astott’s Shadow Dragons, 1-nil.

No.	Team					Seed	GF	GA	Diff	Pts.	NSI

1.	Screamin’ Seamen			        1	2	1	+1	3	46

2.	North Plainfield Plague		        6	1	0	+1	3	30

3.	Fantastic Flying Froggies		3	1	1	0	1	37

4.	Manhattan Marauders		        4	1	1	0	1	42

5.	Alf Trickers				2	1	2	-1	0	35

6.	Shadow Dragons			        5	0	1	-1	0	38

We couldn’t be more pleased with the way things turned out in the first week of group play. We’ve earned an early two point lead on the #3 and #4 seeds, and a three point lead on the #2 seed. The only downside, I suppose, is that it took one of our three home matches to get that lead, but I’ll take it nonetheless.

Group F Round 2 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Shadow Dragons
North Plainfield Plague vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies
Alf Trickers vs. Manhattan Marauders

Astott’s Shadow Dragons are next up for the Screamin’ Seamen. With it being another home match and all, we should do well, but nothing is guaranteed with the 5-4-1 formation. We shall see.

Up Next: Rumor has it that the club is about to announce a major signing off the transfer market. Stay tuned!

[Alf]

Alf Trickers players are still excited about their road trip to the USA as none of them has ever been there.

I knew that presenting myself with a 3-5-2 formation would be the best solution to counter Dataking's 5-4-1 training formation. As I decided to stick with playmaking training, I chose to also stick to my League 3-5-2 formation (excellent experience).

The passable defense rating was also unexpected as the scrubs were playing there. Unfortunately, Dataking's weak attack was sufficient to overcome my passable defense...

The good news is that I managed to cash $8727 in while spending $6K in travel expenses netting me $2727 cash !!! Something not expected. From what I've seen in Screamin Seamen history the 3,347 spectators is a club record for a friendly. Nice to see US citizen appreciate French Football. Maybe the fact that we are sitting atop our Div IV helped them come see us !

Other good news is that no one got hurt on both sides.

Good luck for the rest of the FOFC Cup (I now need you to also beat our fellow FOFC teamer) and for your league duties. Looking forward to reading more Screamin' Seamen dynasty reports.

[DataKing]

Screamin’ Seamen Announce Addition Of Half-Million-Dollar-Man Guido Metman

(AP – Chicago, IL): Data King, owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, held a press conference Thursday morning to announce the signing of Dutch striker Guido Metman. Metman comes to SSFC from the Xkicks, a 3rd Division side based in his native Rotterdam. Exact financial terms were not disclosed, but front office personnel did indicate that the total price was somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000. This is, by far, the most expensive transfer the club has ever made. Metman’s salary also makes him the second most highly-paid player on the club’s roster, after starting goalkeeper Cornelius Jernigan.

“We’re extremely happy to have Guido as a part of the club,” stated King at today’s press conference. “He is a pure ball-striker the likes of which this club has never seen, and his unpredictable nature makes him extremely difficult to defend against. Guido also brings with him a great deal of experience from his European play, and certainly has a thing or two he can teach our younger players.”

“Experience” may be the single best word for describing Metman, who has experience beyond his twenty-five years. The Dutchman has tallied seventy-seven goals in his career, including hattricks on six separate occasions. Combine that with the 66 career goals of Johannes Henriksson, and the Screamin’ Seamen now have an incredible amount of goal-scoring experience up front.

Club ownership has been criticized in the past for being too conservative with their finances, and this criticism has only increased over the course of what has been, up to this point at least, a very disappointing season. The Seamen have only tallied nine goals thus far this season (second fewest in the league) and sit in a very uncomfortable sixth place in the standings. King fervently denies that the addition of Metman is little more than a knee-jerk reaction to a disappointing season.

“We’ve had an eye on improving our offense for some time now,” stated King, “and have been planning on making just such a move since before this season began. Frankly, the criticism we’ve received thus far baffles me. This is a town that cheers for John Shoop and the Bears. How in the hell can they criticize us for a lack of offense?”

Knee-jerk or not, the addition of Metman is certain to make the Screamin’ Seamen a much more dangerous club from here on out.

Ivan Phillip Freely, Associated Press.


Guido Metman

Jersey # 12

25 years old, solid (7) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and honest.
Has inadequate (5) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Unpredictable

Nationality: Dutch
Assessed Value: $371,000
Wage: $3,348 per week
Warnings: 0

Stamina: Passable (6)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Excellent (8)
Goaltending: Wretched (2)
Passing: Disastrous (1)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Disastrous (1)

We finally settled on Guido as our new striker, who should be a steady three-star performer for us. He couldn’t pass his way out of a paper bag, and is utterly useless when it comes to set pieces, but other than that there is absolutely nothing to not love about the guy. He has a good personality (but still caused a small team spirit loss when he joined the team ), and can play a number of other positions in a pinch. I especially like the unpredictable specialty, which is nice to have in a forward.

Other News

Former Seamen Luis Javier Prada was recently sold by Oulun Karpat (Finland Division 5) to RoxOrS (Denmark Division 5) for $108,000, earning us a nice little bonus of $3,240. A drop in the bucket, really, but those drops can add up over time.

Up Next: The weekly training and financial updates over the next few days. After that, Guido Metman should be making his American debut against the Syracuse Supers on Sunday. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Alf, you're absolutely right about Wednesday's match being a new record attendance for a friendly. Previous the best attendance we had was 2,395 against Bbors way back in December.

Maybe the lies we told everyone about Thierry Henri playing for the Trickers had something to do with the attendance.

[DataKing]

Week 6 Training Results

Another one of our defensive trainees improved this week, Spaniard Zarpas Lerma.

Zarpas Lerma

Jersey #21

19 years old, poor (3) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is balanced and upright.
Has disastrous (1) experience and passable (6) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: Spanish
Assessed Value: $49,000
Wage: $888 per week

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Inadequate (5)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Disastrous (1)
Defending: Solid (7)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

The young Spaniard is another of our defender/wingback trainees, and is the last one to reach at least a solid rating in defense. While he does appear to have some potential, his form has been suffering all season long. Mattias Leier and Christian Kvam are better alternatives for us on the back line, so Zarpas will likely find himself on the transfer market when our current training program comes to a conclusion (probably at the end of next season).


Form Changes

6 players increased in form this week (including 2 starters).
10 players saw their form remain the same.
7 players dropped in form this week (including 4 starters).

Apparently the transition for our new striker, Guido Metman, has been a difficult one, because he has dropped two levels in form (to inadequate) since arriving in the states. We aren’t too concerned about this, however, as it is most likely just a temporary setback while he gets used to a new system. We also have two weeks of easy matches for Guido to get accustomed to things. We will be keeping a close eye on him.

In The Zone

Wingback Arlen Lucas continues to play out of his head on the back line, and is the one Seaman in excellent (8) form this week.

Form Dogs

Any hopes of team captain Johannes Henriksson coming out of his slump were quickly dashed in practice this week. The struggling Swede has dropped to poor (3) form this week (the worst it has been since he joined SSFC). The addition of Guido Metman means that Johannes will likely be relegated to FOFC Cup duties until he gets his act together.

Joining Johannes as this week’s form dogs are defensive trainees Cameron McDonald and Zarpas Lerma, both also in poor (3) form.

Value

Average Player Value: $138,304 (+$11,577)
Total Player Value (23 players): $3,181,000 (+$393,000)

These numbers are skewed, naturally, due to the recent addition of Guido Metman.

Assessed Value Milestones

$300,000+
-Arlen Lucas ($301,000)

Up Next: This week’s youth squad product and financial update. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 6 Youth Pull

I feel rather sorry for this week’s youth squad product. John’s parents must have had a sick sense of humor.

John Doe

19 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A nasty fellow who is calm and honest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and disastrous (1) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Powerful

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $35,000
Wage: $680 per week

Stamina: Passable (6)
Playmaking: Inadequate (5)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Inadequate (5)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Weak (4)
Set Pieces: Inadequate (5)

We don’t expect to get much from the market for John, but he has been listed at $1,000 nonetheless. It’s too bad he’s not a candidate for team clown. I’d like to keep him around, just so the other players will have someone to make jokes about.

Week 6 Financial Update

Previous Balance: $505,145

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion) - $117,296
Crowd (FOFC Cup III match vs. Alf Trickers) - $8,727
Sponsors - $66,750
Temporary (22 new supporter) - $660
Temporary (resale bonus for Luis Javier Prada) - $3,240

Total Revenue: $196,673

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $29,948
Temporary (youth squad promotion of Rigoberto Jimenez) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Rigoberto Jimenez) - $1,000
Temporary (purchase of Guido Metman) - $510,000
Staff & Specialists - $40,500
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $622,948

Net Income/Loss: -$426,275

New Balance: $78,870

Obviously, the majority of our available cash was spent on the purchase of Guido Metman. We will find out on Sunday whether or not he was worth it.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Calm (no change)
Team Confidence: Strong (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (up one level)
Supporter Club: 1,412 (up 22 from last week)

Up Next: We have what should be an easy win against the last-place Syracuse Supers. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #7

Syracuse Supers vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: May 18th, 2003
Venue: Syracuse Supers Arena (Syracuse, NY)
Attendance: 7,000 (7,000)
Weather: Sunny

We’re in sunny Syracuse, New York this week for the first of two back-to-back matches against the last place Syracuse Supers. The Supers are the one truly non-competitive team in the series, and have only managed to tally one goal all season. These two matches should be a nice opportunity for our guys to get some momentum for the run through the second half of the season.

The Supers always run an asymmetrical 3-5-2 formation, without a wingback on the left side of their defense. It’s extremely predictable as well, so fans can expect to see us attack hard on the right side in today’s match. We’re actually going with an official “play it cool” attitude today, which is something I am hesitant to do on the road. The obvious weakness in their formation, combined with our sixth-place standing, have led me to this decision. It is a calculated risk, but the spirit of the team needs all of the help it can get if we’re to improve our standing in the second half of the season and avoid potential relegation.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Today’s match will mark Guido Metman’s debut as a Screamin’ Seaman. He will replace the slumping Johannes Henriksson in the lineup, and will wear the captain’s armband as well. Johannes is struggling so much right now that he isn’t even dressing for the match today, as Jesper Gravesen will act as a substitute forward in case of injury to either Guido or “Gump.”

As was mentioned earlier, we will be pressing hard down the right side today, with both Valentin Rubio and Niklas Ivarsson jumping up on the play, should the opportunity present itself. We’re even giving Arlen Lucas more freedom than he is used to, and he may jump up onto the attack as well given the right situation.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

The 7000 spectators at Syracuse Supers Arena were in for an afternoon of sunshine.

Syracuse had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Trahan - Muñoz, Walls, Lockwood - Dominguez, Brown, Varner, Stokes, Heller - Askensten, Mcnamara.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Rubio, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Metman, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

A lunatic dribble by Alfredo Muñoz, in front of the own keeper, set up Screamin'´s Guido Metman for an embarrasingly easy strike. 0 - 1...

In the 15:th minute Screamin's Pete Tomlin received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Screamin' had, after 17 minutes of the game, worked the left side industriously, creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but somehow didn´t achieve closure.

Unsportsmanlike behaviour by Pete Tomlin rendered him his second booking of the match, and Screamin' had to finish the game with a reduced squad.

In the 22nd minute Matt Mcnamara went down in a suspected penalty situation after a challenge from the visitors right guard, but the referee, having a good line of sight, signalled to keep on playing.

In the 25:th minute Screamin's Valentín Rubio received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.

Due to a severely mistimed tackle,Jordi Dominguez spent some on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game.

The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Syracuse, with an impressive 59 percent possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF

In the 49:th minute Screamin' put themselves up 0 - 2 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. Scorer was Charlie Bautista.

Syracuse had a brilliant opportunity to reply as Chad Stokes received a high ball from the right, striking the ball still in the air. Only Cornelius Jernigan´s reflexes saved him.

The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Syracuse, with an impressive 59 percent possession of the ball.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Syracuse player was without a doubt Don Brown. Alfredo Muñoz was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Tyler Willard. Guido Metman on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Syracuse Supers 0

Goals
Metman – 1 (1,GWG)
Bautista – 1 (2)

Cards
Tomlin – 2 yellow (suspended)
Rubio – yellow (2)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Lucas: ***~
Scales: ***~
Willard: ****

Rubio: **~
Ivarsson: ***~
Tomlin: ??? (ejected)
Bautista: ***
McMahon: **~

Metman: **~
Tobias: **~

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 63

Syracuse Supers
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Weak (4)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 50

Comments

This match didn’t exactly go as planned, as you can well imagine. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin managed to get himself into the referee’s dog house early on, and had been thrown off the pitch halfway through the first half. This left our midfield dangerously weak, but already with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Guido Metman’s debut goal. With Charlie Bautista adding some insurance early in the second half, we were well on our way. Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan earned his clean sheet, stopping a great scoring opportunity by the Supers later in the match. It wasn’t exactly the 4-nil blowout we were sort of expecting, but we’ll take it nonetheless.

Guido Metman, despite his early goal, was less than spectacular in his debut. But as I have mentioned earlier, he seems to be having a little trouble adjusting to his new surroundings and teammates. Fortunately, we has at least another week or two to get his bearings before we get back into the nasty part of our schedule. Everyone else left on the pitch performed admirable, especially wingback Tyler Willard, who earned his first ever Team Match MVP award.

Series Scores and Standings

-Sweden Heights and Ramblers fought to a 1-1 draw.
-Croats in Miami dominated SoccerWussies, to the tune of 5-1.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion pulled a shocker, downing the Big Reds, 2-1.

No.	Team						Played		Goals		Pts.	

1.	Croats in Miami				        7		21-6		16

2.	Big Reds					7		15-4		16

3.	SoccerWussies				        7		12-13		12

4.	Screamin’ Seamen*				7		11-10		11

5.	Ramblers					7		14-12		10

6.	Sweden Heights				        7		13-14		10

7.	Neon Genesis Evangelion			        7		16-19		6

8.	Syracuse Supers				        7		1-25		0

Our victory over the Supers, combined with a fortunate 1-1 draw between Ramblers and Sweden Heights, catapulted us from sixth to fourth place, and out of the relegation zone. Croats in Miami reclaimed the top spot by virtue of Big Reds unexpected loss. The entire table was shaken up, as spots 1,2,4,5, and 6 all changed hands this week.

Week 8 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Syracuse Supers
Ramblers vs. Sweden Heights
Big Reds vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Croats in Miami vs. SoccerWussies

Next week could very well see us in third place, as we draw the woeful Supers again, while SoccerWussies face the daunting task of traveling to Miami to take on the Croats.

Up Next: Round two of FOFC Cup III group play, as we play host to Astott’s Shadow Dragons. Stay tuned!

[Havok]

sweet... you should be in 3rd place after next week. You still have a shot at winning the divison this year. Its gonna be tough but you can pull it out.

Looking at your schedule its quite possible you'll win all 4 of your next games. Then you have 3 VERY tough and VERY important games to end the season. Lucky for you 2 of them are at home.

First place is still possible bro =)

[vex]

I still can't believe last season's end

[DataKing]

Havok: Anything is possible, and it looks like Croats and Big Reds are the teams to beat. I am pretty confident that we can take care of business against the others, and we actually managed draws against those two teams. And only six points separate the top six teams. This one will likely come down to the wire.

vexroid: It was a heartbreaker, that's for sure, but "that which does not kill me makes me stronger" and all that.

[The Afoci]

Data, I think if your strikers every get their form up, you will do just fine. You just seem to have the worst luck with your strikers form of anyone in the history of hattrick!

[DataKing]

Prior to this season, Henriksson's form has been pretty steady, and (with the exception of a week here or there) he has been in passable or solid form since September. Prior to that, he had about a one month slump, which makes me hope that he will pull out of his current slump soon.

Only time will tell.

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 2

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Shadow Dragons

Date: May 21st, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 1,245 (30,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy

We’re at home for the 2nd round of FOFC Cup group play this week, and we play host to Astott’s Shadow Dragons today. The Dragons lost a 1-nil heartbreaker at home last week to the North Plainfield Plague, and should be coming to the Windy City hungry for a victory. We’ll be doing our best to make sure they’re sent to bed without any dinner.

The Shadow Dragons appear fond of the box-standard 4-4-2 formation, and have a couple of dangerous players to contend with. Defender Derrick Jordan is an experienced sweeper who is pretty good at keeping the area in front of the keeper clean of opponents, and young winger Devon Berry can send some fine balls into the opponent’s penalty area. We’ll be sure to mark Devon closely whenever he touches the ball.

All in all, though, we should have a talent advantage today, as well as the benefits of playing on our home pitch. We’re expecting a low-scoring (what else?) match, but a victory and three points nonetheless.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Left Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

We’ve only made one change to our starting lineup this week, and it is a very obvious one. Team captain Johannes Henriksson will be starting for us at forward today. We’re hoping that a couple of weeks as the lone striker for our b-team will act as a change of pace, and help to pull the Swede out of the horrible slump that he is in.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

1245 spectators arrived at The Docks, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Read - Kvam , Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Leier - Mauffret , Tere, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

Dragons had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Snider - Christy, Jordan, Adam, Bernal - Berry, Barnes, Wilcox, Kinney - Wolford, Beltran.

FIRST HALF

Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a 15:th minute goal by Olav Mauffret for Screamin', putting them ahead 1 - 0.

Halftime score was 1 - 0. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 74 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

A couple of quick and successful challenges, followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area after 80 minutes might have resulted in another goal for Screamin'. However, Eric Snider made a spectacular save.

The home side´s Johannes Henriksson came close to extending the lead in the 80:th minute. His shot came in off the right hand side but Eric Snider managed saving with a fingernail.

Lamar Beltran of Dragons received a yellow card in the 81st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 87 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. Zarpas Lerma was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Dragons player was without a doubt Derrick Jordan. Lamar Beltran on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 1, Shadow Dragons 0

Goals
Mauffret – 1

Cards
None

Player Ratings

GK - Read: **

RWB - Kvam: **~
CD – Stubbs: ***
CD – McDonald: **
CD – Lerma: *~
LWB – Leier: ***

RW – Mauffret: **
MF – Smith: **
MF – Tere: **
LW – Peralta: **

FWD – Henriksson: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 49

Shadow Dragons
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 37

Comments

An unexpected goal from winger Olav Mauffret early in the match gave us a narrow lead going into halftime. In the second half, our midfield advantage really came into play, and the Shadow Dragons had little opportunity to even things up. Credit has to be given to Dragons’ keeper Eric Snider, who made two fantastic saves in the 80th minute to keep the match close. Unfortunately for him, he would get no goal support from the rest of his team, and the match would end 1-nil.

Johannes Henriksson’s shot in the 80th minute is a good sign, and hopefully is a sign of him coming out of his slump. Of course, we’ve said similar things in past weeks, yet his performance has continued to slip. We’ll be keeping a very close eye on Johannes’ performance in practice in the coming weeks.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings

-The North Plainfield Plague certainly appear to be the Cinderella story of Group F. The last seed in the group, they’ve earned all six possible points thus far, defeating the Fantastic Flying Froggies, 3-1.
-The Alf Trickers rebounded from their defeat at our hands last week, handing the Manhattan Marauders a 3-1 defeat.

No.	Team					Seed	GF	GA	Diff. 	Pts.	NSI

1.	North Plainfield Plague		        6	4	1	+3	6	30

2.	Screamin’ Seamen*			1	3	1	+2	6	49

3.	Alf Trickers				2	4	3	+1	3	39

4.	Fantastic Flying Froggies		3	2	4	-2	1	31

5.	Manhattan Marauders		        4	2	4	-2	1	38

6.	Shadow Dragons			        5	0	2	-2	0	37

The North Plainfield Plague grab the top spot this week, by virtue of goal differential. While there is still much soccer to be played, it appears as though our round 4 matchup against the Plague could very well determine who grabs the #1 spot in Group F.

Group F Round 3 Matchups

Fantastic Flying Froggies vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Manhattan Marauders vs. North Plainfield Plague
Alf Trickers vs. Shadow Dragons

Next up for us in group play are the Fantastic Flying Froggies. The players (and myself) are looking forward to this one, as we’ll be travelling to the Sunny South of France. I like to give my players at least one international trip every season, and no one is objecting to the idea of the French Riviera. Many of the guys are hoping there is a topless beach in the neighborhood of Montpelier.

Up Next: We’ve got weekly training and financial updates coming soon. After that, we’ve got our rubber match against the Syracuse Supers in league play. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 7 Training Results

It was a damn good week for our defensive training program, as both of our starting wingbacks, Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, improved to formidable (9) defending. Both are in excellent (8) form as well, and should give the Syracuse Supers’ offense fits on Sunday.

Arlen Lucas

Jersey #5

21 years old, excellent (8) form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and honest.
Has wretched (2) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Head

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $317,000
Wage: $1,580 per week
Warnings: 2

Stamina: Solid (7)
Playmaking: Poor (3)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Wretched (2)
Defending: Formidable (9)
Set Pieces: Poor (3)


Tyler Willard

Jersey #22

20 years old, excellent (8) form, healthy.

A sympathetic guy who is balanced and dishonest.
Has disastrous (1) experience and weak (4) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Unpredictable

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $262,000
Wage: $1,320 per week
Warnings: 1

Stamina: Inadequate (5)
Playmaking: Wretched (2)
Winger: Passable (6)
Scoring: Wretched (2)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Poor (3)
Defending: Formidable (9)
Set Pieces: Inadequate (5)

Also of note this week, midfielder Charlie Bautista improved to poor (3) experience.


Form Changes

8 players improved their form this week (only 2 of them are starters, however).
11 players saw their form remain the same this week.
4 players decreased in form by a level this week (including 3 starters)

It appears that we were correct in assuming that our new striker, Guido Metman, was simply having a little trouble adjusting. He recovered some of his lost form this week, improving to passable (6), and gained $30,000 in assessed value as well. We’re looking forward to seeing what he does on the pitch Sunday.

Six of our b-team members improved in form this week as well, which does not bode well for our FOFC Cup opponents.

In The Zone

Both of our wingbacks, on top of their recent defensive improvements, are in top form and should be a nightmare to try to play against. Arlen Lucas and Tyler Willard, as mentioned previously, are now both in excellent (8) form.

Form Dogs

Team captain Johannes Henriksson remains in poor (3) form this week, as does defensive trainee Cameron McDonald.

Value

Average Player Value: $143,391 (+$5,087)
Total Player Value (23 players): $3,298,000

No assessed value milestones this week.

Up Next: Our youth squad product and financial update for this week. Stay tuned!

[daedalus]

Originally posted by DataKing
Defending: Formidable (9)

Nice! And both young enough to keep improving, even. Maybe mid- to high-formidable by season's end? Now if they can just stop taking turns getting booked.

Are you still considering plans to give them some wing training early next season?

[DataKing]

Given their age and how long it takes to train defenders, both should be mid-formidable by the end of the season. And I do intend to train winger for all of my wingbacks (starters and trainees) during the cup next season. I'm hoping I can get both of these guys to solid winger while that is going on. I think Lucas is close to solid winger, but Willard may take a bit longer.

[sterlingice]

Eep... a pair of 21 and 20 yo form defenders. Wow.

SI

[daedalus]

Even going from low- to mid-passable to high-passable should help give a minor boost to the offense. It may be just perception but I seem to notice a bit of an improvement difference at what seems to be the half-way point between levels.

And, given their age, if you continue your winger training during each cups for the next season or two, I wouldn't think a mid- to high-solid would be out of the question. Especially if you get the solid coach you're planning on.

[PilotMan]

Happy 30th Bithday DK. Last decade until your old! Muahahahahah!

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by PilotMan
Happy 30th Bithday DK. Last decade until your old! Muahahahahah!

On that note, boy you're old *runs*

SI

[fantastic flying froggies]

Still not planning on playing just 9 players in our FOFC cup game today DK ?

Please ?

[fantastic flying froggies]

Oh and happy birthday to you !

My present will be to let you win the game...

[vex]

Happy Birthday, DK.

[DataKing]

Thanks alot everyone. It is appreciated.

This old man has been under the weather lately, but is feeling better now. I should have this thing updated today.

[DataKing]

Week 7 Youth Pull

Daniel Brown

Player ID#: 12191165

17 years old, passable (6) form, healthy.

A pleasant guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has disastrous (1) experience and inadequate (5) leadership abilities.

Specialty: Unpredictable

Nationality: American
Assessed Value: $41,000
Wage: $680 per week

Stamina: Poor (3)
Playmaking: Weak (4)
Winger: Wretched (2)
Scoring: Poor (3)
Goaltending: Disastrous (1)
Passing: Passable (6)
Defending: Inadequate (5)
Set Pieces: Wretched (2)

Listed as: Central Defender
Asking Price: $1,000
Deadline: 5/31/2003 at 19:56 HT-time


Daniel is an intriguing trainee possibility, with the upcoming rules change to allow defenders to utilize their passing abilities more often. We considered placing him into our training program, but our other trainees are much further along, and we cannot abandon any of them now in order to make room for Daniel. We’re certain that other clubs that train defenders will be taking a look at Daniel, given his knack for passing the ball and the low asking price.


Week 7 Financial Update

Previous Balance: $78,870

Revenue

Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Shadow Dragons) - $3,267
Sponsors - $67,650
Temporary (sale of youth promotee John Doe) - $2,760
Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660
Temporary (mother club money from resale of John Doe) - $600

Total Revenue: $74,937

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $33,296
Temporary (youth squad promotion of John Doe) - $2,000
Temporary (transfer listing of John Doe) - $1,000
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $117,796

Net Income/Loss: -$42,859

New Balance: $36,011

We’re a bit too close to the zero line for our liking, but our home league match on Sunday should help to rectify that situation. Also, our rate of gain with our sponsor payments seems to have leveled off at $900 per week. We will be adding a new spokesperson to the payroll soon.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Content (up one level)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (up one level)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,434 (up 22 from last week)


Up Next: The second of our back-to-back matches against the struggling Syracuse Supers. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #8

Screamin’ Seamen vs. Syracuse Supers

Date: May 25th, 2003
Venue: The Docks (Chicago, IL)
Attendance: 15,703 (30,000)
Weather: Rain

Today we’ve got our rubber-match against the Syracuse Supers, who we defeated on the road 2-nil last week. Despite the ejection of midfielder Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin, we still managed a dominant performance against the lowly Supers, and do not foresee having any trouble with them again this week. Considering that we are home this time around, we expect nothing less than a blow-out.

Previous Meetings

5/19/2003 – Syracuse Supers 0, Screamin’ Seamen 2

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard

Right Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

Forward: #12 Guido Metman
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #17 Mattias Leier
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Our lineup is pretty much identical to last week’s, with one notable exception. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin managed to get himself ejected from last week’s match, and is therefore suspended from playing today as well. Our big Romanian midfielder Lucian Tere will start today in his place. Otherwise, it’s business-as-usual for the Seamen today.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

15703 spectators had found their way to The Docks, despite the heavy rain.

Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Rubio, Ivarsson, Tere, Bautista, Mcmahon - Metman, Tobias.

Syracuse had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Trahan - Muñoz, Walls, Lockwood - Dominguez, Brown, Varner, Stokes, Heller - Askensten, Mcnamara.

FIRST HALF

Screamin's Forrest Tobias gave, after 6 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

Valentín Rubio increased Screamin's lead to 2 - 0 by putting a header away on a hooked ball from the right.

Valentín Rubio was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Forrest Tobias managed to kick one of them into 3 - 0 in the 23rd minute. By now Screamin' were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead.

Jordi Dominguez could´ve grabbed a goal in the 25:th minute when he got a pass putting him free of the home side´s defence, but he was unable to take advantage of the situation.

Guido Metman should probably have put his team up another goal in the 25:th minute, but some great goaltending by Francis Trahan kept the visitors in the game.

Syracuse will have to do without Harold Lockwood for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Hugh Moya.

The teams went for a half-time break at 3 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

Anders Askensten had a hard time on the water infested pitch - his trademark technique was nowhere in sight this day.

Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Chuck Scales squirmed himself through the central defense line in the 59:th minute, asserting the lead to 4 - 0.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 55 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

Most important Screamin' player was Tyler Willard. Lucian Tere on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Most important Syracuse player was Don Brown. Hugh Moya on the other hand, had a terrible day.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 4, Syracuse Supers 0

Goals

Tobias – 2 (4,5,GWG)
Rubio – 1 (1)
Scales – 1 (1)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Lucas: ****
Scales: ***~
Willard: ****

Rubio: **~
Ivarsson: ***~
Tere: **
Bautista: ***
McMahon: **~

Metman: **~
Tobias: **~

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 71

Syracuse Supers
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Poor (3)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
-NSI: 46

Comments

Today proved to be a nice, easy win, and will most likely be the last one of those we experience this season. Lucian filled in well enough for “The Old Goat” in the middle, and Valentin Rubio had himself a fine day on the wing, scoring his first goal as a Seaman and assisting one of Forrest “Gump” Tobias’ two goals. Central defender Chuck Scales added his first goal of the season (the 5th of his career), and keeper Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan recorded his tenth career clean sheet.

Series Scores and Standings

-For the second week in a row, Neon Genesis Evangelion defeated Big Reds, 2-1.
-Croats in Miami remained on top this week, downing SoccerWussies, 3-1.
-Ramblers managed to slip past Sweden Heights, 2-1

No.	Team						Played	        Goals		Pts.

1.	Croats in Miami				        8		24-7		19

2.	Big Reds					8		16-6		16

3.	Screamin’ Seamen*				8		15-10		14

4.	Ramblers					8		16-13		13

5.	SoccerWussies				        8		13-16		12

6.	Sweden Heights				        8		14-16		10

7.	Neon Genesis Evangelion			        8		18-20		9

8.	Syracuse Supers				        8		1-29		0

By virtue of the Big Reds’ second consecutive loss, Croats in Miami are now in sole possession of first place. We moved up from 4th to 3rd place this week, but things are exceptionally tight. Only four points separate 2nd place from 5th.

Week 9 Matchups

Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Screamin’ Seamen
SoccerWussies vs. Big Reds
Sweden Heights vs. Croats in Miami
Syracuse Supers vs. Ramblers

Neon Genesis Evangelion have really stepped up their play as of late (funny how the threat of automatic relegation can do that), and we will be taking next week’s match against them very seriously. NGE has won three of their last four (their one loss being against us back in week six). We will need to win if we’re going to maintain third place, as we expect the Croats, Big Reds, and Ramblers all to win their respective matches.

Up Next: FOFC Cup III group play continues, as we travel to the Sunny South of France to take on the Fantastic Flying Froggies. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – FOFC Cup III – Group Play – Round 3

Fantastic Flying Froggies vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: May 28th, 2003
Venue: Fantastic Flying Froggies Arena (Montpellier, France)
Attendance: 1,643 (16,000)
Weather: Overcast

We’re in the Not-So-Sunny South of France today, for our FOFC Cup match against the Fantastic Flying Froggies. I like to give my players at least one international trip each season, and fortunately that turned out to be part of our schedule for the Cup. The players are eager for the match, and also for the match to be over. I’ve promised them the day off so they can enjoy what the Mediterranean coast has to offer. I foresee a topless beach or two in their future.

We expect to see a 4-5-1 formation from the Froggies, so we should be looking at another tough, defensive battle. And frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way (so there, Coffee Warlord). We should have the edge in talent, but like everything else, it all comes down to execution. We’ll see how our lads perform today, and hopefully they won’t be too distracted by their surroundings.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Darryl Read

Right Wingback: #17 Mattias Leier
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #18 Cameron McDonald
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Left Winger: #25 Paul Peralta

Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
-Defender: #22 Tyler Willard
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #3 Ben McMahon

The one noticeable change to the lineup this week is the presence of The Old Goat, Pete Tomlin. Due to his suspension from last week, he was unavailable for the match on Sunday against the Syracuse Supers. We don’t want the old man to get rusty, nor do we want Lucian Tere to be pulling double-duty this week, so Pete will be suiting up for us today. Hopefully he can keep his nose clean, and keep the rest of the midfield under control as well.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

At Fantastic Flying Froggies Arena, 1643 punters turned up, and despite threatening clouds at the horizon, no rain came.

Fantastic tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. The following players had been chosen: Tuil - Guéron, Guillotin, Momot, Douglade - Randoux, Pailler, Faillon, Racher, Fringant - Aussedat.

Screamin' started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. They fielded: Read - Leier, Lerma, Stubbs, Mcdonald, Kvam - Mauffret , Tomlin, Smith, Peralta - Henriksson.

FIRST HALF

Screamin' had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 1st minute when Johannes Henriksson came up alone against Aristide Tuil who managed a block.

Cameron Mcdonald of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 12th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Cameron Mcdonald came close to putting the visiting team one up in the 14:th minute, following a solo raid down the middle, but Aristide Tuil managed to tip the ball to a corner.

0 - 0 was the half-time score. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 72 percent, dominated the battle.

SECOND HALF

Screamin''s Johannes Henriksson scored 0 - 1 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.

Screamin'´s Johannes Henriksson made it through the home teams defence in the 58:th minute, and had only to place the ball in an unguarded goal when the home side´s defender sprang up from the left, clearing the ball on the line.

The away team´s Mattias Leier took advantage of a mistake to the home side´s right in the 73rd minute increasing Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 2.

Fantastic made a substitution in the 84:th minute. Pascal Fringant limped off the field and was replaced by Georges Couve.

Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 84 percent possession rate.

POST-GAME

The most dominating Fantastic player was without a doubt Anatole Momot. Yannick Pailler was a disappointment, however.

The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Keith Stubbs. However, Johannes Henriksson made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Fantastic Flying Froggies 0

Goals

Henriksson – 1
Leier – 1

Cards

McDonald – yellow

Player Ratings

Read: **~

Leier: ***
Lerma: **
McDonald: **
Stubbs: ***
Kvam: ***

Mauffret: **
Smith: **
Tomlin: **~
Peralta: **

Henriksson: *~

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Weak (4)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 52

Fantastic Flying Froggies
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Passable (6)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Poor (3)
-Central Attack: Poor (3)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
-NSI: 37

Comments

Froggies’ keeper Tuil was on top of his game in the first half, and held us scoreless despite two good opportunities. Unfortunately for him, he did not appear to get much help from the rest of the club, and finally surrendered goals to Johannes Henriksson and Mattias Leier in the second half. With Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin in the lineup due to his suspension, we dominated play in the middle of the pitch, and did not allow any good scoring opportunities.

Henriksson’s goal may be a good sign, but I am not putting too much stock into it. He has been scoring semi-regularly, despite his slump, but it doesn’t seem to be making much difference in his general level of play. The Swedish striker continues to struggle, and we will make no further evaluations of him until we have analyzed his play on the practice field as well.

All in all, though, a good win on the road (and over the ocean) for our second team.

FOFC Cup Group F Scores and Standings

-The Manhattan Marauders earned their first victory in group play, with a 2-nil defeat of theNorth Plainfield Plague.
-The Alf Trickers were dominant at home, downing the Shadow Dragons, 3-nil.

No.	Team					Seed	GF	GA	Diff	Pts.	NSI

1.	Screamin’ Seamen			        1	5	1	+4	9	52

2.	Alf Trickers				2	7	3	+4	6	34

3.	North Plainfield Plague		        6	4	3	+1	6	33

4.	Manhattan Marauders			4	4	4	0	4	48

5.	Fantastic Flying Froggies		3	2	6	-4	1	37

6.	Shadow Dragons			        5	0	5	-5	0	42

The Manhattan Marauders did us a favor this week by taking care of business against the North Plainfield Plague. This places us in the driver’s seat for Group F with only two weeks remaining. Thank you NAIWF!

Group F Round 4 Matchups

North Plainfield Plague vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Manhattan Marauders vs. Shadow Dragons
Alf Trickers vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies.

Up Next: Weekly training and financial updates. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Week 8 Training Results

We weren’t expecting any of our players to take the “next step” defensively this week, and so were not surprised with the training results. What did surprise us a little bit is that Father Time finally seems to be catching up with Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin. Not to worry though, it is only Pete’s winger ability which dropped from poor (3) to wretched (2). It’s not like we ever play Pete on the wing anyway.

Form Changes

7 players improved in form this week, including three starters;
-Midfielder Charlie Bautista: solid (7)
-Winger Valentin Rubio: passable (6)
-Midfielder Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin: passable (6)

9 players saw their form remain the same this week.

6 players decreased a level in form this week, including four starters;
-Midfielder Niklas Ivarsson: passable (6)
-Wingback Arlen Lucas: solid (7)
-Winger Ben McMahon: inadequate (5)
-Forward Forrest “Gump” Tobias: passable (6)

We pretty much broke even this week, and only one of our current starters (Ben McMahon) is at form lower than a passable level.

In The Zone

Wingback Tyler Willard is our only player “in the zone” this week. Young Tyler has been playing some of the best soccer of his life as of late, as evidenced by his two consecutive Team Match MVP awards.

Form Dogs

Swedish striker Johannes Henriksson remains in his horrible slump, and is this week’s only form dog with poor (3) form.

Value

Average Player Value: $152,909 (+$9,518)
Total Player Value (22 players): $3,364,000 (+$66,000)

*Note: These values do not include Jesper Gravesen, who is currently listed on the transfer market and has been bid upon.

No assessed value milestones again this week.

Up Next: The weekly youth pull land financial update. After that, we travel to Pennsylvania for our league match against the resurgent Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned!

[daedalus]

I saw somebody in conference (strangely stable lately, huh?) mention just letting the player sit for a week as a possibility in a real desperate down form situation.

[DataKing]

Originally posted by daedalus
I saw somebody in conference (strangely stable lately, huh?) mention just letting the player sit for a week as a possibility in a real desperate down form situation.

I've tried that before, with Max Dodge (remember him?) and it did not seem to help at all. But it certainly might be worth another try. Henriksson's form seems to be stuck at poor, but at least the rate at which he is losing assessed value is decreasing (only $1,000 this past week). I'll keep it in mind as a possibility. Thanks.

[daedalus]

No problemo. Need to step into the Wayback Machine for Max Dodge!

[DataKing]

I get to be Mister Peabody! Dibs on Mister Peabody!

[sterlingice]

Homer:I'm the first non-Brazilian person to travel backwards through time.
Mr. Peabody: Correction, Homer: you're the second.
Sherman: That's right, Mr. Peabody!
Mr. Peabody: Quiet, you.

(from [2F03] "Treehouse of Horror V")

SI

[DataKing]

Week 8 Youth Pull

Otis Grant has been shipped off to Houston, where he will hopefully find work at the Houston Hippopotami McDonalds. ‘Nuff said.

Weekly Financial Update

Previous Balance: $36,011

Revenue

Crowd (league match vs. Syracuse Supers) - $85,928
Crowd (FOFC Cup match vs. Fantastic Flying Froggies) - $4,285
Sponsors - $68,550
Temporary (22 new supporters) - $660
Temporary (sale of youth squad promotee Daniel Brown) - $7,360
Temporary (sale of Jesper Gravesen) - $19,800

Total Revenue: $186,583

Expenses

Arena Upkeep - $19,500
Player Wages - $33,296
Temporary (promotion of Daniel Brown from youth squad) - $2,000
Temporary (travel expenses for FOFC Cup match) - $6,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Daniel Brown) - $1,000
Temporary (transfer listing for Jesper Gravesen) - $1,000
Temporary (fired specialist: doctor) - $1,500
Staff & Specialists - $42,000
Youth Squad Support - $20,000

Total Expenses: $126,296

Net Income/Loss: +$60,287

New Balance: $96,298

We had a disappointing turnout at this week’s home league match, partially because of the heavy rain and partially because of the Supers’ cellar-dweller status. The transfer money from Daniel Brown and Jesper Gravesen helped us this week, but only a little bit.

Team Information

Team Spirit: Satisfied (up one level)
Team Confidence: Wonderful (no change)

Sponsor Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Attitude: High on Life (no change)
Supporter Club: 1,456 (up 22 from last week)

Up Next: We’re on the road this week, travelling to Pennsylvania to take on Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Season 3 – League Match #9

Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: June 1st, 2003
Venue: Shinji’s Stadium (Pennsylvania)
Attendance: 37,253 (67,000)
Weather: Rain

We’re on the road again today, this time in rainy Pennsylvania to take on Neon Genesis Evangelion. We’ve had good successes against NGE in the past, but today looks like it may be a bit of a challenge. We’ve never been a good wet-weather team, and the pitch is pretty well water-logged today. Also, NGE has really surged forward lately, knocking off Big Reds in two consecutive 2-1 victories. Add in the fact that we are on the road, and you have the makings for what could be a difficult day.

Previous Meetings

12/23/2002 – Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, Screamin’ Seamen 3
3/10/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 1
5/12/2003 – Screamin’ Seamen 4, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2

Our previous matches against NGE have all been relatively high-scoring affairs, and despite our defense, we’ve never managed to hold them scoreless. Hopefully today will be a first for us in that respect.

Formation: 3-5-2

Starters

Keeper: #1 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan

Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard

Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #8 Niklas Ivarsson
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #9 Valentin Rubio

Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Forward: #12 Guido Metman

Team Captain: #12 Guido Metman
Set Pieces: #3 Ben McMahon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Darryl Read
-Defender: #24 Christian Kvam
-Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
-Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
-Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret

Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin returns from his one-game suspension today, and will start in the midfield for us once again. Other than that, it is pretty much business as usual as far as our lineup goes, with the obvious exception of Johannes Henriksson riding the bench.

Match Report

PRE-GAME

Due to an all-day shower, 37253 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Shinji's Stadium.

EVA tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Åkesson - Waldrop, Calloway, Vick - Ayres, Andersson, Ødegård, Fortune, Taylor - Lachance, Ricketts.

Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Jernigan - Lucas, Scales, Willard - Mcmahon, Ivarsson, Bautista, Tomlin, Rubio - Metman, Tobias.

FIRST HALF

Ed Vick behaved like an inexperienced youth player in the 9:th minute as he gave the ball away to an opponent. Lucky for him though, there was no goal.

EVAs Geir Ødegård gave, after 19 minutes, the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.

A speedy charge from the left side of the field put EVA lead up with 2 - 0. Geir Ødegård finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle.

After 36 minutes Tyler Willard made a complete fool of himself and dropped the ball to Eloy Ricketts who shuffled it into goal. 3-0 for EVA.

The structure of the game started to change as EVA decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone.

Screamin' fought on and, in the 39:th minute Forrest Tobias was able to reply with 3 - 1 after some excellent moves on the right side finished off by an incredibly clever chip.

Screamin'´s Chuck Scales refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon in the 40:th minute.

Cornelius Jernigan was caught napping a bit later as Geir Ødegård lifted a ball over him after a free kick, but the ball hit the bar, rebounding into the keepers arms.

3 - 1 was the half-time score. EVA held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.

SECOND HALF

A great save by goaltender Cornelius Jernigan in the 46:th minute kept the visitors in the game as Michael Waldrop struck from the left with a real cannonball.

EVA had to manage with a reduced squad from the 73rd minute on, as Eloy Ricketts got sent off for a foul in a free situation.

Screamin' had a fair chance to reply after 80 minutes, due to some fine moves down the left, but in the end no one was there to put their head to the ball as it was lifted into the box.

Jörgen Andersson of EVA received a yellow card in the 84:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 51 percent, dominated the battle.

POST-GAME

The most dominating EVA player was without a doubt Geir Ødegård. Junior Taylor was a disappointment, however.

Most important Screamin' player was Tyler Willard. However, Ben Mcmahon made a disastrous appearance.

Final Score: Neon Genesis Evangelion 3, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals

Tobias – 1 (6)

Cards

None

Player Ratings

Jernigan: ***

Lucas: ****
Scales: ***~
Willard: ****

McMahon: **~
Ivarsson: ***
Tomlin: **~
Bautista: ***
Rubio: **~

Tobias: **~
Metman: **~

Team Match MVP: #22 Tyler Willard

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Passable (6)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: World Class (13)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
-NSI: 73

Neon Genesis Evangelion
-Midfield: Excellent (8)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Right Attack: Outstanding (10)
-Central Attack: Formidable (9)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
-NSI: 74

Comments

I hate it when I’m right. I suspected this might be a rough day for us, and was unfortunately correct. Our defense had a horrible first half, allowing three goals in the first 36 minutes of the match. “Gump” Tobias managed to get one back for us before halftime, but things were still looking rather grim. Despite a good opportunity later in the second half and NGE finishing the game with only ten men on the pitch, we weren’t able to close things up at all.

Our road woes continue this season, as we’ve now accumulated only four points in five road matches. At home, on the other hand, we remain a force to be reckoned with, earning ten of a possible twelve points thus far. The Screamin’ Seamen have yet to be defeated at home in their entire history (excluding Cup and friendly matches).

Series Scores and Standings

-League-leading Croats in Miami fought to a 4-4 draw with Sweden Heights
-Big Reds also drew in their match, 1-1 against the SoccerWussies
-Ramblers had the pleasure of demolishing the Syracuse Supers this week, 4-nil.

No.	Team					Played	        Goals		Pts.	NSI

1.	Croats in Miami			        9		28-11		20	68

2.	Big Reds				9		17-7		17	65

3.	Ramblers				9		20-13		16	66

4.	Screamin’ Seamen*			9		16-13		14	73

5.	SoccerWussies			        9		14-17		13	64

6.	Neon Genesis Evangelion		        9		21-21		12	74

7.	Sweden Heights			        9		18-20		11	62

8.	Syracuse Supers			        9		1-33		0	49

The good news for this week is that, despite the loss, we did not lose much ground on the league leaders. We did drop to fourth in the standings, but with things being so incredibly tight right now, standings are almost useless. The Croats maintain a three point lead on the Big Reds, but after that it’s a giant cluster-f*ck. Only six points separate the 2nd place team (Big Reds) from the 7th place team (Sweden Heights). The series is still very much anybody’s ball game.

Week 10 Matchups

Screamin’ Seamen vs. SoccerWussies
Syracuse Supers vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Big Reds vs. Sweden Heights
Ramblers vs. Croats in Miami

With the competition level as tight as it is right now, every week there are three good matches to be played. The only easy win is whoever gets to play against the Syracuse Supers that week. We get the opportunity to avenge our 2-1 loss to SoccerWussies earlier this season, and we get to do it at The Docks, where we are a force to be reckoned with.

Up Next: Round 4 of FOFC Cup Group Play on Wednesday, when we travel to North Jersey to take on the North Plainfield Plague. Stay tuned!

[NAIWF]

Tough break yesterday. I was watching your game as my team put up a stinker and was disappointed to see you lose. All I can say is that when you finally do get to D3, you'll know what it's like to build up a winner. I mean, the competition can't get much tighter than your series now, right?

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by DataKing Otis Grant has been shipped off to Houston, where he will hopefully find work at the Houston Hippopotami McDonalds. ‘Nuff said.

We had too many to staff a Mickey D's so we upgraded to the Hippos Memorial Piggly Wiggly(TM). Needless to say, there's more than enough room for him.

SI

[DataKing]

News and Notes from Screamin’ Seamen-Land

(Author’s Note: This is the first installment in what I hope will be a weekly or bi-weekly installment in this dynasty report. Here I will present some small “human-interest” type stories and such, which will hopefully provide more of an element of realism to the exploits of this completely fictional team.)

Making A Name For Himself

If you’ve been following the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club this season, then you already know all about the horrible slump striker Johannes Henriksson finds himself in. You also probably know about Guido Metman, the “half-million dollar man” that was brought in to boost the club’s ailing offense, but has only managed one goal in his first three games with the club.

But there is one bright spot to the SSFC offense that has been overshadowed this season, and his name is Forrest Tobias. “Gump,” as he is affectionately called by his teammates, has very quietly provided steady offense for the struggling Seamen. His six league goals thus far this season means that he is tied for third in the series scoring race, behind Tomas Leijonstal (8 goals, Sweden Heights) and George Herrmann (7 goals, Croats in Miami). The 21-year-old has accounted for nearly half of the club’s 16 goals this season.

So the next time you’re at The Docks to catch a match, pull your eyes off of the defense for a moment and take a good look at young number 15, Forrest “Gump” Tobias. This young man certainly appears to be making a name for himself.


Playing Through The Pain

No player has exhibited more toughness on the pitch this season than Chuck Scales. The 24-year-old center-back is one of the club’s most valuable members, and is the quarterback of the team’s formidable defense. On no less than four separate occasions this season (three in the last six weeks), Scales has been hurt during a match. But every time, he has refused to come off of the pitch, despite the protestation of the team’s physiotherapists.

“They don’t pay me to sit on the bench,” was Scales’ comment after his most recent disagreement with club physios, which occurred during the club’s 3-1 loss to Neon Genesis Evangelion this past weekend. “They pay me to play.”

The likable young man with the bright blond hair and the perpetual five o’clock shadow recently spoke with reporters regarding his injuries.

“It all started with the game against the Samurai, way back at the start of the U.S. Open Cup,” stated Scales. “That idiot Vega came in with a tackle that was way late, and I ended up rolling my ankle something fierce. Truth be told, it’s never fully healed. Every time I think the ankle is all right, I get dinged in a match or on the pitch, and it flares up on me again. But I don’t plan on letting something like this slow me down. So long as I can walk, I’m going to play.”

While fans must certainly admire Scales’ dedication, they have to be concerned about the possibility of long-term damage to the star defenseman. Some of those concerns have been alleviated, however, as Dr. Kay Vorkian, the head physiotherapist for the Seamen, recently confirmed that Scales will have surgery on his ankle as soon as the season is over.


Fabulous!

Data King, the owner and general manager of the Screamin’ Seamen Football Club, recently announced that SSFC has received the official support of another team. Fabulous!, under the owner- and leadership of BillyMadison, have become the 35th member of the Official SSFC Support Association. The club is currently placed in Series V.44, and recently earned their first victory, a 5-1 clubbing of The Polish Moose. Congratulations Billy, and thank you for your support.