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Calling it that for November 24th, the day we play Moneyford City at home, that the pitch will be garbage condition.
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Jan 4, 2014 23:47
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rizzen posted:Calling it that for November 24th, the day we play Moneyford City at home, that the pitch will be garbage condition. That or the Tackleford fans riot and tear up the pitch after all of the Wrexham players rub their balls on Tackleford shirts they swapped for, after we win 
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Jan 5, 2014 00:21
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I'm going to go with January 19th. No good reason why, just a feeling.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:24
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29th November For the pitch bet.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:31
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November 30th, St. Andrews' day.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:32
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January 1 for the field being terrible. Start the new year off right. I've been playing this game as Stalybridge in the Skrill North league, solely based on the fact that they were the only professional team in the league. I'm just beginning my third year after losing in the promotion finals to F.C. Halifax. My team is perpetually in debt and no matter how good I do my attendance never goes above ~700. I even went so far as to spend actual money (only $2) to get virtual money to help out my team, but the game isn't letting me add it for some reason. And my field has been terrible for 3 straight years, and the board won't pay for anything because I don't have any money. Anybody have any tips for boosting attendance? Do I just have to win promotion and more people will come?
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Jan 5, 2014 00:36
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Insertnamehere31 posted:Do I just have to win promotion and more people will come? That's basically it. Money is always going to be a major issue in LLM though. The last time I managed a BSS team (I guess it would be the skrill south now), I wasn't out of debt until my third year in the Premier League.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:39
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The pitch will be in terrible condition by April 10th. It will probably change from bad to terrible condition well before that date, but that's the condition it'll be on that day.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:46
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JT Jag posted:The pitch will be in terrible condition by April 10th. Hah! Yeah, I'll be checking on each of the dates people put in for once it's down to very poor, as well as before and after each match day.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:56
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quote:Anybody have any tips for boosting attendance? Do I just have to win promotion and more people will come? That's a large part of it, as is the population of the area you're in. A town like Wrexham will never draw 50,000 people a game. But it also varies wildly by team. Luton Town averages 6,580 attendees per game at the same time Worcester is pulling in only 950 per game in the same division. You can see how many season ticket holders a team has when you're first deciding where to manager by clicking "view team" at the start page. In the Skrill South right now Cambridge City is drawing 375 people a game while Macclesfield has 1400. As for real money to get virtual money, if you're going to do that I'd suggest just purchasing the ingame editor. It's 3 dollars more, and you can change many more things in the game- from names, to team bank accounts, to attributes and hidden attributes, to relations, etc. Heck, you can edit the attendance levels. Unless you're playing FM Classic, in which case I'm not sure if it works there as I haven't ever played the Classic version of the game. Lastly, I do suggest playing friendlies against larger sides before the season, they can help your bank account quite a bit. Skimping on youth coaching and keeping your youth squad tiny is also helpful when you're cash strapped. And, lastly, try to get as far as possible in the FA Cup. One away match against a Premier League or even Championship side will do your balance sheet a world of good.
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Jan 5, 2014 01:11
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The pitch will be Pittodrie by December 28th: 2 games in quick succession and an almost guaranteed water-logged Xmas. Plus we'll be on a cracking cup run at that point which'll clog up the fixture list!
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Jan 5, 2014 02:34
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I'm letting the optimist inside get the better of the logical part of me. My bet is on the thirteenth of February. Wales' climate is wet, but it's not as often freeing as some other parts of the country.
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Jan 5, 2014 02:45
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Second of December will be my guess.
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Jan 5, 2014 07:02
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Chapter the Second: Mammalian dive reflex. August 1, 2015- September 1, 2015 We pick up right at the start of the season, an away trip to play Plymouth Argyle.  It took me a moment to realize what the weather symbol was. I hadn't seen it before now.  Now that we're in League Two, we can finally pick seven bench players per game. This is so much better than the non-League divisions, having five players makes it very difficult to cover all your bases in case of injuries. You end up picking subs based on how many positions they can handle, not how good they are. At Plymouth, August 1, 2015 League Two  We play decently in the first half, but are let down again by our finishing. After several minutes of battering at Plymouth's door they come back at us and score the first goal of the match when Stuart Martin fails to mark his man. Plymouth continues to take the game to us after the break, and finally score again in the 65th minute when Martin watches a cross go right by him and to the waiting striker. I send Daniel Thomas in to try to give us an offensive spark and to try and salvage a result, but minutes after he enters the game Harrison, who had come on previously due to an injury to Bah, goes down and has to be taken out. We're out of substitutions, and down to 10 men. It's time to park the bus and wait out the rest of the match. Top Ratings: Stuart Simpson, 6.8 Daniel Clarke, 6.8 Plymouth 2-0 Wrexham  Senior signs with Blackburn Rovers, and our short lived goalkeeper glut is ended.  Huh. I'd have expected a boost considering that we won promotion. We actually made 90,000 pounds more from season tickets compared to last season, I guess we hiked the prices.  Finally. They're paying half his salary, so we're essentially giving them £40,000 to take him off our hands.  Y'all crazy. Sheffield is likely to play a squad with several youth players in it, but they're still well up the football pyramid from us, just one step shy of the Premiership. Their players all grade out to at least 4.5 stars when compared with ours, our best player is only 4 stars.   Our third choice centerback agrees to sign with us, but as he's out with a long term injury (torn calf muscle, out for 2 to 5 more weeks) your ingame dopplegangers nix the deal. vs. Sheffield Wednesday, August 4, 2015 Capital One Cup, Round One  It doesn't take long for us to go behind, but it's not because we made a mistake. A Sheffield Wednesday player drove the ball into the top left corner from a million miles away, and there was nothing we could do about it. We actually have the better of the game from thereon and finally pull level in the 69th minute when Bah finds some space to take a header. The upset is not to be, though, as Sheffield Wednesday scores again in the 83rd minute. Still, playing a Championship side this well is a good sign for our team, and I tell the players that they should recognize what they accomplished. Top Ratings: Ibrahima Bah, 7.1 Stuart Simpson, 7.0 Wrexham 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday  When you're newly promoted and expected to be the 3rd worst of the 92 team draw you probably shouldn't get your heart set on advancing very far.  Holtham is now our 3rd right back option and our 5th centerback option. If he were to stay here he'd never get playing time. So I'll see what I can do for him.  And now we don't have a replacement for Tierney, at least until Evans is healthy enough to pass muster with the board. Still, four centerbacks is enough to get by.  Bon voyage. vs. AFC Wimbledon League Two  We're at home, we're favored, and I want a win. Out comes the 4-2-3-1. It works very well in the first half, we pile on several chances and with our fullbacks playing carefully Wimbledon can only muster one lonely shot on target. Things go further our way when their left back goes in hard on Aiden Cooper in the 44th minute and draws a red card, putting us up a man. I tell the boys that the game is there for the taking, and urge them on. We still can't break through despite several closes misses, and in the 60th minute I put on Raymond Wright to help push our offensive advantage. We're not the ones to score, though, as Wimbledon puts one in off of a poorly cleared corner. I'm fulminating on the sideline, and am only mildly appeased when Harrison equalizes late in the game. We had no business only getting a draw from this match, and it's simply unacceptable to drop these points when we might need every one to stay up this year. Top Ratings: Stuart Simpson, 7.3 William Harrison 7.3 Matthew Poole 7.3 Wrexham 1-1 AFC Wimbledon  Still shopping for a centerback, and again the contract offer leaks. Argh. At Scunthorpe, August 15, 2015 League Two  This game was pretty exciting. Scunthorpe played a lot of long passes and were wasteful with their possession, so despite our defensive posture we ended up having the ball half the time. Scunthorpe took the lead in the first half, and Ibrahima Bah continued his poor start by missing an easy shot. We equalized on a goal that should have been called offsides, as Harrison was a good step beyond the last defender when the ball was passed to him on the edge of the six yard box in the 72nd minute. We managed to hold out after that, and the scoreline reflects the statistics, it was a dead even game away against a side picked to finish in the top 10. These are the types of results we need to get if we're to avoid relegation. Man of the Match: Femi Don-Duncan Top Ratings: Femi Don-Duncan, 7.3 Stuart Simpson: 7.1 Scunthorpe 1-1 Wrexham    That's it, I'm upping my offer to him. No more getting bigfooted.  Bumping up the salary by 400/wk got him to sign immediately. Luke Reid Centerback  I hope this makes it clear that you shouldn't trust me when I say I'm done bringing in players. In the press conference introducing him a reporter pointed out that this is our 23rd signing of the window. Reid is definitely our best centerback, and despite being 30 years old is still exceptionally fast. I signed him to a three year contract because his speed can drop many points before it becomes an issue, and because he's now the second best player on the team after Al-Beloushi. He, Martin, and Poole will be our primary centerbacks, with phenom Chris Todd as the fourth man.  This was my first interaction with him after he signed with us. Tutoring is very useful, when it works very well it gives a boost to the student's technical and mental stats, and even when it doesn't pan out the student will usually at least get some increases in mental stats from it. It's also the only way for players to learn certain preferred moves (e.g. “likes to arrive late in the area,” where the player has a knack for flying into the penalty area at just the right time, making him much harder to mark and increasing his chance at a good goal scoring opportunity), and those tend to be the most effective preferred moves. Of course, the tutor can also impart bad preferred moves, such as “argues with the refs,” so you should check on those before assigning tutors.  Aww, Todd's as giddy as a schoolboy. Which I guess he still is, since he's 16. vs. Southend, August 22, 2015 League Two  Ibrahima Bah gets off to a hot start, scoring before the second minute has elapsed. In the seventh minute Southend centerback William McGavin, who you might recall I tried to sign for us earlier this chapter, gets a yellow card. His second. We're a man up with over 80 minutes to play. That doesn't help us in the 10th minute, when Al-Beloushi and Underwood combine to give the ball to Southend with no one nearby, and Southend gets a shorthanded goal thanks to their idiocy. We control the match, which is no surprise since we're playing 11 vs. 10, but despite some pretty passing can't get any good opportunities. In the 34th minute the Southend right winger makes an absolutely amazing run that leaves his marker skinned and left for dead, launches a perfect cross to his waiting teammate, and we've now given up two goals despite a man advantage. Southend adds another, and I think this is the most grating loss I've ever had. The game ticker stated that the “Wrexham fans have had enough, and are heading for the exits. Who could blame them.” Al-Beloushi, the guy I said was going to win us games on his own, has a 5.7 rating and cost us at the very least a draw with his repeated mistakes. Reid, the guy who I said was our second best player after Al-Beloushi, finished his debut being subbed off after earning a 6.1 rating. We were a goddamned man up with a goal already scored at 8 minutes in, and we lost 3-1 despite having 61% possession.  I scream at the players for a good half an hour after the game; I don't care if it's not helping their morale. They need to fear me more than they fear defeat. If support and love won't get results, my rage will. Top Ratings: Aidan Cooper, 7.5 Ibrahima Bah, 7.0 Wrexham 1-3 Southend  Our first team has 26 players, and I prefer to have a couple less than that. I put the players we're least likely to use, McGuinness and Hopkins, up for transfer or loan. There's only a week left in the transfer window so I'm unsure if there will be any interest before it closes, but it's worth a shot. I feel bad about Hopkins, he provided a spark every time he came on last season but he's absolutely buried on the depth chart, he's our 4th option at striker and somewhere around 7th at midfield. McGuinness has been made surplus to requirements by the arrival of Kadhim, the institution of the 4-2-3-1, and the fact that Simpson is going to be playing in every game where his starting condition is above 90%.   All these sponsorships are eventually going to add up to something. A small something, covering the cost of our youth setup or a backup player, but something. At Northampton, August 29, 2015 League Two  We do a good job through the first 25 minutes playing disciplined football. It pays off when Bah bisects the defense on a long ball and finds Cooper with a perfect ball into the box to put us up 1-0. Northampton answer immediately to bring the match to one-all. We have the better of the remaining time before break, but can't make anything of it. The second half is much similar, we give Northampton nothing to take advantage of, and at the end of the game we've gained another point away from the Racecourse Grounds. Top Ratings: Stuart Martin, 7.4 Aidan Cooper, 7.3 Daniel Thomas 7.0 Northampton 1-1 Wrexham  We really should have two wins, two draws, and a loss right now. That would put us in the top half of the table. We don't, because we've drawn and lost games where we had a man advantage. It's going to take some time for the new players to gel with the team, so things should get better over time. Until then, though, I'm hoping we can keep our head above water. 
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Jan 5, 2014 18:08
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Considering my fantasy football strategy of "stashing injured players at the beginning of the season until they're cleared to play somewhere in the last fifth of the season and become key players in my playoff bid" brought me the championship this year, I am quite disappointed for my doppelgänger cancelling a deal for just two to five lousy weeks. Poor form. Also, good to see Soval officehorpe making an appearance.
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Jan 5, 2014 18:23
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TheMcD posted:Also, good to see Soval officehorpe making an appearance. One of the three English football teams with a swear word in their name, along with Arsenal and loving Chelsea.
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Jan 6, 2014 01:18
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sebzilla posted:One of the three English football teams with a swear word in their name, along with Arsenal and loving Chelsea. I believe the joke in fact goes Scunthorpe, Arsenal and Manchester loving United 
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Jan 6, 2014 01:43
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ForeverBWFC posted:I believe the joke in fact goes Scunthorpe, Arsenal and Manchester loving United Not since Moyes took over.
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Jan 6, 2014 22:05
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AJ_Impy posted:Not since Moyes took over. Still is in this part of the world
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Jan 7, 2014 01:01
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habeasdorkus posted:Is your name Tony Pulis, by any chance? I should actually play more defensively, but as an American I'm disappointed if we don't score at least two goals a game. I don't get that many clean sheets, but the games are exciting! (Passionately, with a pint in hand) See, my dear colleague at Wrexham, I will actually let your offensive pretensions slide since you are a Yankee and all. League Two isn't about fancy dribbling, offensive play, "tiki-taka" and assorted fancy Mediterranean rubbish - it is about playing a football suited for part time miners and factory workers who can put their shoes up the opposition's arse just in the right way so they don't end up with a red card before the five minute mark. In a climate this disgraceful, don't worry about "proper passing" or "triangulation" until you are in the business end of the Championship, and even then you will end telling the lads to boot the drat thing all over when it rains two weeks straight because you can't make the ball move five goddamned inches since the pitch turned into a blasted swamp. Welcome to League Two. (also, don't worry about early season troubles, put the training into teamwork for a while and try to set up a more defensive strategy while the players learn to work together)
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Jan 7, 2014 03:00
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Who cares for tiki taka. I bet they couldn't do it on a wet, cold Tuesday night in Wrexham!
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Jan 7, 2014 05:36
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Transmetropolitan posted:
We're fully into the teamwork and team cohesion phase of training, and have been doing the latter since early July. We probably won't switch over to "balanced" training until January or so. But you're right for the most part, this season has seen us play much more on the counter. It's not going to be the prettiest style of football, but it works a lot better than either trying a lot of direct passing into empty space on the wings or trying to play a high line against teams that are a lot faster and good at taking possession away from us. But I do appreciate your paene to English football. And I agree there's something noble about getting good and stuck in while the rain beats down on you and the pitch is more akin to a medieval battlefield than a professional sport's playing surface.
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Jan 7, 2014 15:27
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(Assertively) I don't care if you score a hundred goals or one as long as you win. Still it's early in the season and the expectations aren't very high. I expect that things will get better soon. (still kinda sucks that Tackleford's like at the top of the league  ).
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Jan 7, 2014 19:58
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Well, I've found forklifts of money tends to have a greater impact down in the lower leagues. So far, I'm not willing to bet that we'll get back to back promotions. I think a single season to consolidate here in League 2 while we prep the club to be launched up to the Championship is a solid 3 year plan. Another year to prep for the Premier League, and it's look out Europe. It would certainly be interesting if we managed to keep pace with Tackleford and rise up through the pyramid with them, but I'll still settle for being in their shadow, as long as once we're both at the top, we systematically crush them. This is all assuming we don't get buttfucked this year.
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Jan 7, 2014 20:39
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Chapter the Third: Autumnal chills. September 1, 2015-October 18, 2015 Now that the season has begun, things should move a bit more quickly, at least for me. Most of my time during the season is taken up by managing the games while during the transfer windows and youth intake period I spend most of the game working on finding upgrades for the team.   I play most matches in either the old 2D visualization mode with the speed set to maximum, so they look like a rather furious paced game of pong, or in commentary mode where I only see the broadcaster's statements and then the highlight replays. The former takes 15-25 minutes to get through, the latter 10-15, For really important matches I slow things down, but if I did that for every game we'd still be only halfway through the first season.  Confidence in me is still strong, we're actually at 53% in the “Competitions” category, which means the only way they'll be unhappy with me is if we don't get to the second round of the FA Cup and are in 23rd or 24th place. I feel very much like Calvin:  True, Calvin. So very true. By the way, Calvin would be somewhere between 22 and 32 years old today. How's that for making you feel old? At Blackpool, September 1, 2015 Johnstone's Paint Trophy, Round One  The Johnstone's Paint trophy is contested between the teams of Leagues One and Two. We're drawn away against League One side Blackpool, so I'm not expecting much success. We're only expected to be “competitive” in this competition, so anything other than a bad loss will be enough for the board and fans confidence wise. I opt to play several backups, Martin and Reid are exhausted from their recent game while I want to give Kadhim, O'Hanlon, and Harrison a chance to show what they can do. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Poole, Todd, Ashton, Kadhim, Simpson, O'Hanlon, Baker, Azille-Moore, Harrison. Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Reid, Cooper, Bah  Before the match I went through our tactics and reset the player tactics. The only position where I've set player specific instructions is at Striker, as our four first team strikers have a similar duty but different strengths. For positions like fullback and wing I've standardized the orders. I think one problem we've been having is that a player's individual instructions have been overriding their positional instructions, leading us to play more disjointedly, and resulting in poorly meshed team play. I notice within the first 10 minutes that our team is doing a much better job of holding their form against the Blackpool attack, our fullbacks are not marauding forward when they should be defending and our wingers are playing out wide and trying to get the ball up for Harrison to make a run at the goal. O'Hanlon is called for a soft penalty in the 17th minute and Blackpool converts. At the half we've created two half chances to their three, and the penalty is the difference. We pile pressure on after the restart, but can't equalize. O'Hanlon picks up a yellow card in the 56th minute, and I've decided I've seen enough from him. I tell Cooper to get warmed up. In the 69th minute I bring on Bah for Harrison, who has had a couple decent runs but has been unable to break free and give us a goal. Our best chance of the night comes when Underwood collects a loose ball and Blackpool's fullback is just able to get back in time to block his shot. Bah gets another look that's stopped only by the well positioned keeper. The difference is the bullroar penalty, and we're out of another competition despite playing well against a higher division side.   Blackpool 1-0 Wrexham  I also update the squad status of the players, which I hadn't done once since taking over. A player's squad status details their importance to the team. Key Players are considered the most important, and when offering a key player contract to someone you are able to give them a higher wage. They expect a lot of playing time, while a Backup doesn't. Whenever you lower someone's squad status you have a risk of irritating them, as they see it as a reduction in their role on the team even if you've already been sitting your key player and playing his backup in his spot. I just did that to a whole bunch of players (Darren Baker was still listed as a First Team Player, despite not having played regularly for us since last January), so we'll see if there's any fireworks.   Fireworks!   Toms has had an average rating of 6.52 in 8 starts and 3 sub appearances this season. He's never had higher than a 6.7. I don't really give a poo poo if he's upset.  Higgs, on the other hand, was just demoted from “Key Player” to “Backup” despite just having been signed this summer and is professional enough to know his place on the team despite getting very little playing time.  Market's closed.  Well, that's not correct. We added 25 players during the window (12 youth players, 2 on loan from Norwich).  And Tackleford was definitely the largest spender, dropping four million pounds on players during the transfer window.  Someone call the Financial Fair Play guys. Tackleford's team size is enormous, they have 24 people on their first team and 31(!!!) on their reserve side, along with another 20 in their youth squad. Their reserve side would be the ninth highest payroll in the league. Ugh. I hate them.  With the transfer window closed, Hopkins and McGuinness will be sticking around.  Five of our players are on some form of international squad. We get updates from the matches they play, including reports of their form. I wish Al-Beloushi was playing that well for us, he got an 8.9 rating despite giving up four goals. vs. Gillingham, September 4, 2015 League Two  Gillingham is sitting 5th in the league right now, so I don't think we'll be able to impose our will upon them. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Underwood, Reid, Martin, Ashton, Simpson, Clarke, Bailey, Azille-Moore, Cooper, Bah Subs: Taylor, Thomas, Poole, McGuinness, Toms, Watts, Hopkins We start off the game very strong, and Bah scores early to give us the lead in the 7th minute. It's the only score after 45 minutes, and we've actually had more shots than Gillingham. Their manager, clearly displeased with what he saw, uses all three of his substitutions at the half, leaving them vulnerable to injuries. The early moments of the second half give both side's supporters heart palpitations when each team's striker nearly gets to a through ball before the keeper does. Gillingham is clearly motivated now, and finally scores in the 76th minute after playing most of the half in our third of the field. We keep them from scoring again, though, and stay out of the relegation zone. Man of the Match: Ibrahima Bah  Gillingham 1-1 Wrexham  Underwood was the man primarily responsible for Gillingham's goal. He's been in nine games, and only exceeded a 6.7 rating in one of them.  Let's see if that helps any.  I was just thinking the same thing.  I'm getting good at these things. The longer you manage a team and the more success you have, the better your players tend to respond to you. By the time we reach the Premier League, some of the players are going to want me to be their firstborn's godfather.  This is a risk of having internationals, along with the time spent away from the team they also seem to turn into glass when they're on international duty.  Wales made it to the Euros! Second time ever, and the first time was in 1976 when they only officially made it to the late rounds of the qualifiers.  Some preferred moves can be learned. Like this one. Bah isn't a perfect candidate, but his high free kick stat (16) makes it worth trying. It'll probably result in a lot of balls being blasted over the net, but should also grab us a goal once in a while. At Exeter, September 12, 2015 League Two  Exeter's 18th in the league. We might be away, but I want a damned win. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Wright, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Simpson, Cooper, Azille-Moore, Price, Watts, Bah Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Poole, Kadhim, Clarke, Baker, Harrison The match does not get off on an auspicious foot, we fall behind after just two minutes, and Exeter doubles their lead ten minutes later. Obviously the 4-2-3-1 needs to be shelved for now, and I was unwise to play so aggressively from the start. Despite switching to the 4-5-1 the game gets completely out of hand before 20 minutes is up, and we're still winless. What a debacle. Even our late consolation goal is one-upped by Exeter scoring in stoppage time.  Exeter 5-1  I expected Reid might take a couple matches to settle into the squad. I did not expect someone so bad that they're nearly unplayable. And now he's trying to blame his teammates for his own performance in a game where he earned a 5.7 rating? I might have made a mistake with this guy. vs. Shrewsbury, September 16, 2015 League Two  We're still looking for our first win, and Shrewsbury is predicted to finish 15th for the season. That's the only reason I can think of for why I'm running out the 4-2-3-1 again. Short memories can be helpful in sports if they keep you from dwelling on past mistakes. They can also be harmful if it leads to making the same mistake. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Simpson, Clarke, Azille-Moore, Cooper, Toms, Bah. Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Poole, Kadhim, Bailey, Watts, Harrison. We start off with a lot of possession, but just as I'm starting to worry about how many shots Shrewsbury is getting off they score. They double their advantage in the 30th minute and now we're stuck playing from a serious disadvantage. I end up switching to the 4-5-1 and ordering us onto the attack, but our finishing continues to be wretched, and the game is sealed when Stuart Martin puts the ball into our own net while trying to clear a corner. I really need to stop using the 4-2-3-1.  Wrexham 0-3 Shrewsbury vs. York, September 19, 2015 League Two  Three days later and we're up against a mid-table York team. I've learned my lesson, we're going to be playing defensively. Many of our players are tired after the last match, which means I'm running out a squad with several backups. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Todd, Poole, Ashton, Kadhim, McGuinness, Bailey, Price, Watts, Harrison. Subs: Higgs, Don-Duncan, Reid, Clarke, O'Hanlon, Baker, Bah The game starts inauspiciously, York takes possession as we expect them to but we go behind in the 31st minute despite not having given up any good chances. I'm left hoping that we can scratch a draw, we've fallen into 23rd and I want to spend as little time in the relegation zone as possible. Matthew Poole lifts my spirits in the 38th minute with a goal off of a corner, and in the 57th minute Price puts us ahead. We score more than once for the first time all season, and in doing so we win our first match in League Two. Man of the Match: Matthew Poole  Wrexham 2-1 York  Shortly after the York game Michael Coulson's agent approaches me. Apparently he's been unable to find a job for Coulson, and I snap him up as his price had dropped from £5/wk in the offseason to £1.2k/wk when we sign him. Michael Coulson Right Winger  It's good to have him back, he was one of the very best players on Tackleford last year and he should be a boost to our offense. Our biggest problem has been our terrible finishing, we're creating chances but not putting them away, and while Coulson's Finishing/Composure is only 12/10, that still makes him better than Bah and Harrison. Moreover, he's got the potential to be with us for a long time. At Mansfield, September 26, 2015 League Two  We might get some more points here, Mansfield is only 18th in the league on the day of the game and it'd be nice to build some actual momentum. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Reid, Martin, Ashton, Simpson, Clarke, Bailey, Azille-Moore, Cooper, Bah Subs: Higgs, Don-Duncan, Poole, Kadhim, Price, Toms, Harrison We start fast, Ibrahima Bah gets us the lead in the fourth minute, and I'm pleased that we should at least be able to earn a draw. Mansfield spends the rest of the match battering away ineffectually. Our defense denies them good scoring opportunities and the ones they do get are wasted. They fire off 23 shots over the course of the game, but more than half of them are from long range and they only manager to get four on target. We actually have more chances than they do, despite having just 36% possession. We've now doubled our win total, and we climb up to 18th place in the league. Man of the Match: Ibrahima Bah  Mansfield 0-1 Wrexham  We're seeing repeated offers to loan out our youth players, but as we've actually got a decent youth coaching staff I deny all requests. They'll improve more by staying here than they would by going on loan at some place with even worse facilities and no coaching to speak of.  The fans really don't like Reid. It's understandable. I don't like him either.  Which is why I don't feel sympathy for him when I find out he's got food poisoning. Perhaps he'll crap out all the awfulness that he's been putting on the field thus far.  It's now October, and our pitch condition is still good. I'm surprised, it's dropped only one category since the start of the season. vs. Rochdale, October 3, 2015 League Two  This is a relegation six pointer, and also the first time we've played a team lower on the table than ourselves. Winning here will do us a world of good in avoiding getting kicked back down to the Skrill North. Given how bad Rochdale is, I risk pulling out the 4-2-3-1 again. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Wright, Poole, Martin, Don-Duncan, Simpson, Clark, Toms, Price, Azille-Moore, Bah. Subs: Underwood, Curran, McGuinness, Bailey, Watts, Coulson. The 4-2-3-1 works as intended. We have more possession and we don't give up any good chances all game. That doesn't mean we don't give up a goal, though, as Rochdale scores on an excellent counter-attacking move that culminates on a perfect pass across the box to a streaking Rochdale player. Rochdale sits back for most of the match, and to my fury we cannot get shots on target. The one real chance we have is squandered by Bah, who has only the keeper to beat and chooses to launch the ball straight at him. If we were losing all of our matches the way we lost to Exeter that would be one thing, but these narrow losses and draws where we have a real chance to earn more points are in many ways worse.  Wrexham 0-1 Rochdale  I'm not sure how to fix our offensive woes, though the 4-2-3-1 obviously needs tinkering.  We've got a lot of players on international duty, four of them are in our first team. It limits our choices as to who we field while they're away. Also, another of our youth players was hurt while in international action. Thanks for being careful with my stuff, Wales. At Yeovil, October 10, 2015 League Two  Yeovil has just dropped down from League One, and is one of the teams in contention for promotion this year. That's naturally bad news for us, and we're going to be bunkering to try and stay out of the relegation zone. Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Underwood, Poole, Martin, Ashton, Simpson, McGuinness, Bailey, Coulson, Cooper, Bah. Subs: Taylor, Don-Duncan, Reid, Clarke, O'Hanlon, Azille-Moore, Hopkins. Things go very well in the first half. We have more shots, and better chances. Most importantly we have the lead after Bailey knocks in a goal off of a corner. Yeovil is much more proactive in the second half, and it results in our offense fading away. They can't score from open play, however, so when they tie the match at one off of a corner of their own I'm looking forward to taking at least a point home with us. That is not fated to be. In the very last moments of regulation Yeovil scores off of another corner, and while our defense allowed just one half-chance we still lose. We've had an epidemic of games where bad luck and poor finishing have cost us points. We're now back in 22nd, just a point above 23rd.  Yeovil 2-1 Wrexham  I'm amused that Murray stinks even at the lower level. But it's a bleak humor, given how we've been doing ourselves. At Dag & Red, October 17, 2015 League Two  Dagenham and Redbridge are in last place. If we lose, we will switch places with them. Formation: 4-5-1 Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Reid, Martin, Ashton, Simpson, Clarke, Bailey, Azille-Moore, Cooper, Harrison. Subs: Higgs, Wright, Poole, Kadhim, O'Hanlon, Coulson, Bah. The first half sees us get into great positions, but make nothing of them. The worst of the misses comes in the 45th minute, when Harrison uses his speed to split the defenders, and then pings a shot off of the keeper. We also have three shots from the six yard box, two of them by Harrison on corners that he can't even get on target. The second half sees more of the same, and at the very least we're stifling Dag and Red, until the 71st minute when Underwood knocks the ball straight to an opponent right on the six yard line. We go down one, and it's enough to defeat us. We're now in last place.  Dag & Red 1-0 Wrexham  I don't know what to say other than that this is unacceptable. We've only got two wins all season, we've only scored two goals once this season, and our set-pieces, previously a strength of the team, have become completely ineffective, we've been outscored 4-2 from corners. It's mid-October and the days are growing shorter, but things already can't get much darker in Wrexham. 
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Jan 7, 2014 21:42
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Jesus. Is no longer playing on a poo poo pitch shredding our mojo or something?
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Jan 7, 2014 21:52
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Amazing. However surely your fans will be energised now as everyone here loves an underdog.
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Jan 7, 2014 21:55
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quote:Some preferred moves can be learned. Like this one. Bah isn't a perfect candidate, but his high free kick stat (16) makes it worth trying. It'll probably result in a lot of balls being blasted over the net, but should also grab us a goal once in a while. Ah, the Roberto Carlos free kick strategy. Seriously, dude scored one pretty free kick during his entire career and fooled people into thinking he was a good free kick taker, while he mostly pelted the ball full strength towards the general direction of the goal. (Passionately) I'm very disappointed in our team's performance so far. It seems like we have massive defensive problems, seeing that we concede way too many shots and barely break 50% pass completion on defense. Maybe we should play something more defensive? The 4-2-3-1 has been more hazardous than it has been productive, The 4-5-1 counter works a bit better, either because we control/mark the midfield better, our wingers play more like wingbacks, or our fullbacks stay a bit more rooted (not sure how you're playing them). Still, it's not ideal.
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Jan 7, 2014 22:47
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The reason for our poo poo form is clearly because we're not playing a 4-4-loving-2.
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Jan 7, 2014 23:13
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Yeah, I think the 4-5-1 might not jive with your squad's level of talent. You should look into returning to the 4-4-2 or maybe playing an anchor man. 4-3-3?
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Jan 7, 2014 23:15
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I think it's pretty clear that your abandonment of good British football, and the only tactic that implies, is leading this team to ruin. Switch back to god's formation, the 4-4-2 before it's too late!
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Jan 7, 2014 23:17
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(Passionately) This isn't good enough, and you know that full well. If we don't see an improvement in the near future then drastic measures may need to be taken.
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Jan 7, 2014 23:44
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Oooof, that's a brutal set of results. My initial reaction was to joke we need to go 4-4-2 like wot any real salt of the earth LLM will tell you so the lads can play proper, like. Now I'm wondering if there may actually be a grain of truth to all that guff - your fancy dan foreign ways ain't cutting it, son, this is a job for John Bull, not Carlos Kickaball, etc
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Jan 7, 2014 23:57
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That ain't no early season bad mojo, definitely. (assertively, puffs cigar) If you are really keen into playing a midfield dominant tactic with a lone striker, I suggest you go the conventional 4-5-1 with Rigid mentality. Simply put, Wrexham does not have the quality to play fluid, creative football without being exceptionally vulnerable. In case you want to go ahead with that, my suggestion is to have two wingmen, one in support and the other set to attack to create a staggered offensive line that will help your advanced forward with scoring opportunities. An advanced playmaker with offensive duty will advance into the hole when you are with the ball and try to either supply the line with through balls or become the second option in the attack. The 4-2-3-1 has shown that Wrexham *really* needs a defensive midfielder, and while you are setting that, put instructions to Be More Disciplined. Fullbacks should be supporting when playing at home and defending when Away, particularly when against the top of the table. Which also brings me to suggest two variations on this theme: 4-5-1 Home: Alongside be more disciplined, tell the lads to hassle opponents and to mark tightly. The Red Dragons at their lair should play a pressing game and tell the other team who is the boss of their pitch. Control should be a given, and if things are really going your way, the boys should go attacking to bag one or two goals. If the ref is a classic early-20th-century type, don't hesitate: get stuck in! 4-5-1 Away: Play it safe. While it hurts me in advising so, instruct to stand off more in order to keep your defence in proper position and forcing the other team to play through it. Don't be afraid to drop deeper or even play narrower (be careful with this though since your wingmen may have some trouble) to keep a solid defensive play. Naturally, set it to counter. If the opposition's attack is really good, switch to defensive during the match. Of course, there may be matches where you should use the away tactic at home when going against stronger teams. I do not know what passing or focus options you are using as well, so you may need to adjust accordingly. If all else fails, 4-4-2 is the answer.
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Jan 8, 2014 00:47
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Transmetropolitan posted:4-5-1 Away: Play it safe. While it hurts me in advising so, instruct to stand off more in order to keep your defence in proper position and forcing the other team to play through it. Don't be afraid to drop deeper or even play narrower (be careful with this though since your wingmen may have some trouble) to keep a solid defensive play. Naturally, set it to counter. If the opposition's attack is really good, switch to defensive during the match. This is essentially what our 4-5-1 counter tactic is. Simpson plays as anchor man in the defensive midfield, Kadhim spells him when he needs a rest. Fullbacks are told to not get too far forward and to play narrower. It leads to a lot of long shots by the opponents, but seldom more than a handful half or clear cut chances. And we've been getting chances of our own, we just haven't been making them count. Our defense is lower-mid table quality. Our offense is last in the league by a lot. eta: The Yeovil game is a good example of both the success of the 4-5-1 defense and the profligacy of our offense. 3 clear cut chances gone begging. Only allowing one half chance by the opposition. And we lost 2-1. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Jan 8, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 00:57
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Minilude: The 4-5-1 Counter October 18, 2015 In response to the comments about our tactics, I wanted to expand upon what we primarily use. Given the obvious problems of our other tactics this is what I plan to use for the remainder of the season.  This is the 4-5-1 Counter. As you can see, it's a counter-attacking strategy that should be well equipped for threats coming from the center of the pitch, especially with the "Drop Deeper" command, although the use of wingers means that opponents in the final third will be more capable of sitting out there and sending crosses into a crowded box. This is especially true with the "Stand Off" instruction, which orders players to close down their opponents less and maintain their defensive positioning. It's set for a more direct style of play, to get the ball up the pitch to the wingers who can send in crosses to the striker on the break.  Fullbacks are ordered to play it very safe, although they are still set as fullbacks rather than defense only limited fullbacks so they can come up the field when we have possession in the opponent's third.  Our centerbacks stay back, the Stopper does come out to challenge incoming opponents while the Covering centerback gives him a safety.  The defensive midfielder is an Anchor Man. His only job is to break up the opposition attack and get the ball back upfield.  The Advanced Playmaker is set to be the most forward central midfielder, he's the only player with a creative remit on the pitch.  His partner plays as a ball-winning midfielder, closing down opponents to prevent them from getting too comfortable in the midfield when preparing their attacks. When he wins the ball from them, he hoofs it upfield to the wingers.  The wingers jobs are to get the ball up the field and across to either their partner attacking the far post or our striker in the opponent's area.  Our strikers each have individualized instructions to play to their strengths. Bah, for example, is a Target Man and is additionally told to dribble more often. Harrison, on the other hand, is set as a poacher, due to his speed and lack of aerial skills. And that is the 4-5-1. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Jan 11, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 01:21
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I can still barely figure out how to pick players - this high level tactics chat is blowing my mind.
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Jan 8, 2014 03:54
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habeasdorkus posted:
Ugh, I'm trying to get over the fact that I remember playing the Sega Genesis! It's bad enough my mom thinks she saw a gray hair in my head... (cautiously) Also I don't think the 4-2-3-1 is working.
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Jan 8, 2014 07:30
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AJ_Impy posted:(Passionately) This isn't good enough, and you know that full well. If we don't see an improvement in the near future then drastic measures may need to be taken. "Considering the money that the board invested in the club and facilities, a drastic improvement may not be good enough. I've been thinking that Tackleford did the right thing when they sacked you midway through last season, considering Ed Phillips (the person I wanted to hire) turned your chicken poo poo into chicken salad. I do wonder if a young manager could overcome being terminated midway through the season twice, in less than a year's time with the club. Perhaps you could go back to America and coach that indoor American football, that might be more to your skill level..." Someone has to be the dick board member
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Jan 8, 2014 07:49
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Geokinesis posted:Amazing. I thought we were always the plucky underdog, and then I saw this:  We're massively underperforming given the amount of money we're spending. While it's interesting that Southend are also languishing down the bottom, with wages like that we should have some of the best players in the league. There's been a couple of desperately unlucky games to be sure, but our lack of goals is atrocious. What are the strikers like for heading/jumping stats? If bad then maybe rethink the use of wingers and just drop them back to midfield for a flat 5 across the park (or 4 and an anchor man) to control the centre, or get them to start cutting inside to assist the striker. Telling the inside forward to stay wider seems like an odd choice; surely you want him in the box more often than the winger? If the winger(s) have reasonable acceleration and dribbling it could also be worth setting them to cross from the byline rather than from deep. This can help set up some clear-cut tap-ins for strikers with low compsure (but reasonable off the ball) by firing across goal as well as meaning there's a little more time for midfielders to arrive in the box so the striker isn't stranded.
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Jan 8, 2014 14:29
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