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Eintracht Frankfurt is, as of February 2nd (current date of the game), 6th in the Bundesliga with 36 points. One point off a Champion's League spot. Bayern is running away with the league, again, they have 49 points, second place Wolfsburg has 38. They finished 8th last year, and 13th the year before.
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Jan 11, 2014 01:43
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habeasdorkus posted:Eintracht Frankfurt is, as of February 2nd (current date of the game), 6th in the Bundesliga with 36 points. One point off a Champion's League spot. Bayern is running away with the league, again, they have 49 points, second place Wolfsburg has 38. Well, at least they're doing something right somewhere. Bayern running away with the league is astonishingly realistic, too.
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Jan 11, 2014 01:53
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TheMcD posted:Well, at least they're doing something right somewhere. Bayern running away with the league is astonishingly realistic, too. To be fair they play quite well in the Euro League so no idea why they have such a bad time in the league atm. Maybe lacking depth of players (I mean not every club can be Munich where potentially the second suite would win the championship as well) which is quite often the bane of teams after one good season. Maybe they'll get in the swing of things in the second leg of the season.
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Jan 11, 2014 02:14
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Chapter the Fifth: Hair of the dog. November 24, 2015-December 31, 2015 I'd like to go home, pour myself a bourbon, down it, pour another one, and down it. But first I have to face the assembled media. So I pour myself a bourbon and down it before heading into the press room. Press Conference 8:15pm, November 24, 2015 The Racecourse Grounds   : Did your feud with Ed Philips contribute to the bad outcome? : (Categorically) No. Absolutely not. We are a professional team and Ed's comments are just water off a duck's back. : The game seemed like it was heading for an unlucky result, but the last minutes were abominable. We heard raised voices from the locker room, but can you tell us your reaction to the game?: (Bitterly) I can deal with losing a game where we outperformed our opponent and were merely victims of fate. What I can't accept is the way we played for the last ten minutes. And rest assured, the lads shall know the consequences for that collapse.  : Hihi, Simon Wilson with the Tackleford Soccer Informer. Michael Coul-.: (Stridently) Wait, hold up. Who let this rear end in a top hat in here?(Unintelligible Murmuring) : (Surprised) What? He actually has media credentials...? OK, fine. Ask your question.: Michael Coulson didn't have the best game in front of the goal today. Why do you think that was?: (Philosophically) Everyone has down days. C'est la vie. Yes, Briggs.  : Tony Gore had quite a game for Tackleford, didn't he.: (Grumpily) I'm sure Ed's happy with that, but it's the least Gore could do considering how much he's making... (Sighing) Yes, you. Tackleford muppet.: Even you have to admit that Gore's free kick was a beaut.: (Unimpressed) It was a free kick that went into the back of the net. Obviously it was pretty good. David.: Your team has been allowing a lot of goals at the end of halves, your thoughts on why that is?: (Frustrated) We just haven't been committed to finishing out the half. It's indicative of mental weakness, and we need to stamp it out if we're going to become a better team. Connor, you have a question?  : Ashti Kadhim gave up a penalty that was the harbinger of the team falling apart. How is he coping with that mistake?: (Assertively) He's already looking forward to getting onto the pitch again and making amends.: Beyond Kadhim's error, Matthew Ashton has put in a string of poor performances since joining the team and fans are openly wondering if he'll ever be a useful player for the team. Your response? : (Firmly) Ashton may not have had the best start to his career here, but he's young and I have full faith that he'll prove himself. The fans should have that same faith. Last question.: What about Luke Reid? He's your second highest salaried player and you signed him to a three year deal. When is he going to start performing up to expectations?: (Olivia Pope-ishly) I dragged him to my office and told him that he needs to shape up or he's getting shipped out right after the game. It's handled. That's all. Someone fetch my bourbon. At least he didn't try to blame his teammates for his poor play this time.  The fans are rightfully pissed at our performance. The best way to deal with it is to get right back on the horse and win some games, though.  One thing to deal with is the fact that we're still giving up too many goals on corner kicks. I'm shuffling our tactics again, but if it fails to work I'm going to have to do some real research into stopping the opponent from racking up goals that way. On the plus side, our own corner technique has become much more effective since the tweaks.  The team is locked in until the January window.  Hopkins officially agrees to his transfer. I'll be a seller this window, I'd like to lower our salary costs and the number of players on our first team. If we add players they're most likely to be loans rather than transfers. At Lincoln, November 28, 2015 League Two  Lincoln is one of the worst teams in League Two. This should make for a good chaser after the bitter pill of the Tackleford game. It's a good chance to pick up points on the road for us, but I'm not so crazy that I'm going to use anything other than the 4-5-1. Strategy: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Martin, Poole, Ashton, Kadhim, Simpson, Clarke, Baker, Toms, Coulson. Subs: Taylor, Thomas, Reid, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Azille-Moore, Price. Our defense screws us at the very start of the game, allowing Lincoln an easy goal within the first five minutes. It's like they didn't know the game had begun. Coulson brings us level in the 19th minute with a perfectly timed run onto a Baker cross, and then puts us up 2-1 when the Lincoln keeper goes to pick up the ball and somehow lets it roll right past him. Lincoln equalizes on an indirect free kick from former Tackleford player Tommy Casey, and we go into the half level. I feel assured of a good result when a Lincoln player earns their second yellow card. Lincoln blunts our offensive, though, and they're able to score with ten men. We go down to defeat against one of the worst teams in the league where we had a man advantage, and once again are wasteful in front of the net despite getting into good positions. Teaches me to feel confident. Man of the Match: Michael Coulson  Lincoln 3-2 Wrexham   England should advance to the knockout stage of the Euro Championships no problem. Wales will be lucky to not finish last in their group.  Iraqi soccer blogs are calling for Kadhim to be dropped from the national team considering his mediocre play of late for us.  In the space of a week we've gone from being favorites to beat Tackleford to being underdogs against Gateshead. Even playing away we should be firm favorites over a Skrill Premier side. Then again, we just lost to a ten man Lincoln, a team that would be decent but not great in the Skrill Premier. At Gateshead, December 5, 2015 FA Cup, Second Round  Gateshead is in the upper-middle of the pack in our old league, and are playing our old Tackleford winger Billy Holsgrove. I am fully confident of beating them, and am breaking out the rejiggered 4-2-3-1. Why the frown? Oh ye of little faith. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Todd, Don-Duncan, Simpson, Clarke, Azille-Moore, Holt, Cooper, Coulson. Subs: Taylor, Underwood, Martin, McGuinness, Price, Toms, Baker Gateshead put themselves in a pickle when one of their defenders gets sent off in the second minute. We proceed to stride across the field like confident colossi, culminating in Coulson's cracking shot late in the first half. The second half proceeds much the same way, and Coulson salts the game away in the 79th minute with his second goal. He's on fire right now, and we're advancing to the Third Round for the second year in a row, a real accomplishment for a team of our stature. Man of the Match: Michael Coulson  Gateshead 0-2 Wrexham  One of these days we're going to make a deep enough run in a cup to get some serious prize money. With my luck that won't happen until we're so big a club that the prize money is an inconsequential drop in our budget.  What was I saying about bad luck? Forget I ever said it. This won't get us nearly as much money as the Manchester United match last year, but a packed Etihad will bring us £500,000-1,000,000 pounds. Our chances of advancing are miniscule, Manchester City is one of the top clubs in the world, but at least we'll get paid.   Higgs and Harrison get the all clear from the sawbones to resume training and play.  The Thomas Cannon Memorial Youth Training Barn is inaugurated, and takes our Youth Facilities rating up from Poor to Below Average. The youth side is much pleased that they're now training in town rather than on a supporter's dairy farm a half-hour away. At Torquay, December 12, 2015 League Two  The Gulls turned it around last year and avoided relegation. Now they're in good position for a shot at promotion to League One. We're a bottom of the table side. I give the order to bunker down, and hope for some luck. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Martin, Poole, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, McGuinness, Clarke, Coulson, Cooper, Harrison. Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Reid, Price, O'Hanlon, Toms, Baker. We go back and forth with Torquay throughout the first half, but they strike first on a corner in the 15th minute. Harrison returns to play without missing the step, scoring on an incisive run at the half-hour mark, and we go into the break level. The match continues to play evenly throughout the second half, an accomplishment in itself given Torquay's greater quality and home field advantage. When Torquay gives up a penalty, converted by Price, in the 81st minute, I'm thinking three points and order the team to play even more defensively. It doesn't work. Torquay's talent shines through in the waning minutes to score the tying goal. As much as it hurts to lose late, taking a point is still a good result.  Torquay 2-2 Wrexham  I drop Reid from his Key Player designation to Rotation squad status. He hasn't been terrible in his last couple games, but he's now getting less playing time than Martin and Poole. I think he knows he's nearing the end of my patience, he accepts his demotion with only a modicum of grumbling.  Forest Green is welcome to Holtham for the rest of the season. He doesn't have a spot on our roster and they're paying his full salary. vs. Barnet, December 19, 2015 League Two  Barnet are so bad that they make us look like worldbeaters. If we beat them we essentially pick up six points on them when it comes to fighting off relegation. Winning these games is what we need to achieve a successful season. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Reid, Poole, Ashton, Kadhim, Simpson, Clarke, Coulson, Cooper, Harrison Subs: Higgs, Don-Duncan, Tod, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Watts, Price We're down one-nil almost as soon as the echos of the opening whistle fade, but the match isn't close to over. Our players spend the rest of the match bossing Barnet, and by the end of the first half we're on top two-one off of a Matthew Poole goal from a corner and William Harrison's second goal since his return from injury. We don't add to our margin in the second portion of the game, but we certainly don't give Barnet the opportunity to catch up, and it's a nice, dominant win for the home side. Man of the Match: Stuart Simpson  Wrexham 2-1 Barnet   The Norwich loans are due to end January 9th. I can renew them if I wish, but neither Azille-Moore or Underwood have been very impressive and if we're going to get mediocre performances I'd rather it come from our own players so we can at least reap the rewards of their development. I put off the decision until the transfer window, when I can properly gauge potential replacements.  Our emergency goalkeeper's done for his career. This is amongst the very worst injuries a player can get, not only is the recovery time extremely long but the player's physical stats take a nosedive while they're out due to the injury.  It's December 26th and our field status is still OK. I'm surprised at how well it's holding up. Only Niric, Insertnamehere31, TheFlyingLlama, Amhazair, Shazback, and JT Jag are still in contention for the prize, and it's not looking good for all but the last three considering the field still has a long way to degrade before reaching Terrible. vs. Cheltenham, December 26, 2015 League Two  Boxing Day's match is against a midtable Cheltenham side. This game could go either way, but I'd obviously prefer to finish the year strong in both this game and again two days from now against Plymouth. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Martin, Poole, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Clarke, Coulson, Cooper, Harrison. Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Reid, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Watts, Price. William Harrison goes down in the third minute, and it's up to Coulson to make our offense hum for the rest of the match. He fails at this utterly, squandering two opportunities on an open net from inside the six yard box, leading to a miserable 5.4 rating for the game. Cheltenham does no better with their chances, though, and the game finishes as a limp, dull draw. It's a poor Christmas gift for our fans, but still preferable to a loss.  Wrexham 0-0 Cheltenham  And once again we'll be relying on Coulson as our striker. He's proven more than adequate, though. I'm only worried if he goes down before Harrison and Bah both return to health.  Still in OK condition. You're out, Niric. vs. Plymouth, December 28, 2015 League Two  Plymouth was our inaugural opponent in League Two back in August. They were the first to bloody our nose and topped us two-nil. It's time for a little bit of revenge. But not too much. Plymouth is third in the league at the time of the game, and I don't want to end yet another update on a down note. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Todd, Ashton, Simpson, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Azille-Moore, Cooper, Coulson. Subs: Higgs, Wright, Poole, Kadhim, Clarke, Toms, Price. From the start of the match we outplay Plymouth, forcing their keeper to make one spectacular save after another while denying them clear chances to put one in our net. Yet as the game goes by it becomes apparent that on this date Plymouth goalie Marcel Schmidt is a literal brick wall. He makes five saves on the day, winning all five one on one opportunities we have by getting himself in perfect position to frustrate our efforts. Three of those saves come against Coulson, who appears to be in a slump now with a meager 5.8 ratings. I don't fault Coulson, though, Schmidt is the only reason we didn't win this match, and win it by a score of 5-0.  Wrexham 0-0 Plymouth  I'm listening.  I might be willing to sell if they pony up significant money. Don-Duncan is OK as a left back, but he's the opposite of irreplaceable.  We're only a few weeks off from being healthy again. Having Bailey back will be a real help, I underestimated his quality when I let him walk at the end of last season.  It's a half-empty, half-full month of results. We only earned five points from five games in the League, and that loss to Lincoln is a big missed opportunity. But we also held our own against the 3rd and 7th placed teams. We're also into the FA Cup third round and guaranteed of a big payday when we play Manchester City on January 2nd. All in all we've stabilized ourselves as a League Two team and I'm optimistic for the new year. 
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Jan 11, 2014 |
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Jan 11, 2014 05:54
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It looks like we really are a quality striker or goalscorer of some variety away from being up in the midtable. I know I would have lost my patience with my strikers long before now.
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Jan 11, 2014 06:24
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Things here aren't actually as bad as they look, especially if we get a handle on these last-minute mistakes (my teams always did this too). We haven't lost all that many games relatively, and it's the draws that are killing us. A lot of this is probably team morale - how is our morale right now? A few good wins or at least more luck with team talks could make a big difference.
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Jan 11, 2014 06:34
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habeasdorkus posted:
Could you put the match stats after the review of the game? Sometimes when you see something like 5 to 0 ccc's it's pretty obvious how the match ended. But that's just my little nitpick otherwise a great job man.
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Jan 11, 2014 12:58
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Sure, the main reason the stats are posted first are so that I don't just have a lump of text between the match statistics screenshots. I can figure out a workaround though. ETA: Also, the chances don't always tell the whole story. The Plymouth match, for example, seems like it should have had a couple goals on each side. Instead it ended up nil-nil. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Jan 11, 2014 |
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Jan 11, 2014 18:18
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You've used the match build-up screen (the one with the odds and prediction) a few times, maybe that'd be a good opening image?
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Jan 11, 2014 20:40
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Interlude: Deadweight Loss. January 1, 2016 Whereas past transfer windows have been focused primarily on adding players to the club in order to strengthen it, this one will be markedly different. I'm seeking to pare down the roster, ridding ourselves of those players that have proven disappointments or merely been superseded by greater talents. Barring the discovery of a hidden gem any additions we make will be loan players who come at no cost to us. We have 26 first team players at the start of the window, and I'd like to see us around 22 by the time it closes.  Our field is still in OK shape. I'm guessing the pitch deterioration rate is medium, better than that of Tackleford, which is why I was so very wrong about when it'd become completely degraded.  We have a number of players with six months remaining on their contracts, as well as a few staff who need contract extensions. I'm going to try and move Wright, Baker, and Watts this transfer window, while I'll look into new offers for Simpson, Bailey, and Thomas. O'Hanlon and Ashton will also be looked at in regards to whether they'll stick around.  Income in each category is up year on year in every category but gate receipts. That's due to the huge £1.3m payday we earned from playing Man U last season in the FA Cup, absent that our day of match ticket sales are up solidly compared to the previous year.  Our margins are being eaten into by just about everything being more expensive this year as compared to last. We're on pace to spend nearly a million more pounds in salary over the course of the year, and everything from youth setup to non-soccer costs are up significantly from last year.  We're £100k in the red at the moment, something that will be rectified by our next match on January 2nd. I think what happened with the wage budget the game offered last season was the game thinking that our turnover was going to be bumped up by a £1.3m lump sum from getting half of Man U's gate receipts from a FA Cup match every year. In that respect it's a very good thing we drew an away match against another gigantic club, or we might have ended up in debt at the end of the year. It also means that your accountants are incompetent when they told you at the end of last season how much the wage budget would bear. Because of this I'm angling to cut back on salary expenditures this transfer window.  Confidence in my leadership is decent, buoyed by another good FA Cup run.  Coulson is an immediate hit with the fans. Reid, not so much.  Stuart Simpson has been on a tear recently, and the fans are pleased about it.  The squad is in generally good spirits, and more importantly we now have many players who have raised their season ratings from the 6.1-6.4 range to the 6.5-7.0 range. Whereas Stuart Simpson lead the team in average rating with a 6.76 the last time I posted this in October, we now have six players with averages above that, lead by Bailey at a respectable 7.03.  We've got a young team, but otherwise are not all that far from average.  Our decisions, work rate, and teamwork are all pretty poor, and we're not great shakes in any other category.  Al-Beloushi and Higgs make up one of the best keeper tandems in the league. By the ratings this is our strongest area.  Our defense is blazing fast but weak in the air. This would be part of the reason why we've given up more goals than usual on corner kicks, our defenders aren't so good at getting up and heading the ball away.  Our midfield is very creative, but lacks stamina, teamwork, and technique.  Like our defense, our attack has the pace to beat anyone, which is perfect for our game strategy. We're held back by our league worst score in Finishing, which is a major reason why we don't convert nearly as many chances as we should.  We handle the 4-4-2 well, but we seem to struggle against teams that play five in the midfield with a lone striker. I can't immediately tell if that's due to opponent quality or a vulnerability our strategy has to five man midfields.  This encompasses the whole of our league season so far. It's apparent that the 4-2-3-1 should not be used against league opponents as it gives up 2.6 goals a game. The 4-5-1 gives up 1.4, which isn't great but is damned sight better and we're only -6 on goal differential while using it across 1765 minutes. Just 461 minutes of the 4-2-3-1 has lead to a -10 goal differential.  In our last five cup matches we've been up against better teams while playing the 4-5-1, hence the worse goal numbers.  We're not going to be able to scout outside of the UK and Ireland for a while, hence why we're not all that knowledgeable about anywhere beyond it. I don't think my scouts even know Uruguay exists. Once we're in the Championship then we can start looking at scouting Europe, worldwide scouting will have to wait until we're in the Premier League.  Check out that tactical preparedness! We are able to cut back on match training now, and focus on specific things for each match. That's usually defensive movement, but can also be defending set pieces, attacking set pieces, attacking movement, and teamwork.   Most of our players are doing well in training, the only one who's not at least holding steady is Bah. He's declined in ability after being out injured for months.  Our kids are also doing well, again the only poor performances come from injured or recently injured players. To get an idea how much players will improve year over year, here's four of our more improved players. Stuart Martin Then:  Now:  Martin has improved by a point in most catagories, even those not related to his role as a centerback. He's especially improved his strength, which makes him better able to fight for the ball. At the age of 25 his improvement will probably slow until he hits his peak in a couple years and then he'll start declining after he turns 30. Stuart Simpson Then:  Now:  Stuart Simpson has improved his stamina and strength, both important for a defensive midfielder. His marking has also improved by two points, and needs to continue to improve for him to excel at the task of winning the ball in the midfield. He's still a ways away from peaking at only 22 years old, so he should maintain this rate of improvement for another year or two. Daniel Thomas Then:  Now:  While Martin and Simpson have both featured heavily in our first team, Thomas hasn't. Despite this he's improved a good deal. Young players don't need to have a ton of time on the pitch to see big gains, if you give them 500 minutes or so over the course of the season they'll still get a lot out of it. William Harrison Then:  Now:  Harrison has seen a lot of improvement in the past nine months. His physical skills have blossomed, and he's probably the speediest striker in the league. His improvement despite missing 6 weeks with injury is impressive.  Our fixture list is thankfully uncrowded, meaning that we should be able to keep our players rested and ready for each match until the end of the season. This will allow us to play our first team players each game rather than sitting them in order to recover from the prior game. That'll also have the advantage of making our players even more comfortable together on the field. First up, though, is another trip to Manchester.
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Jan 12, 2014 21:22
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habeasdorkus posted:
*Plays Tackleford two days after Accrington* Uncrowded... except for the biggest one!
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Jan 13, 2014 05:22
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beru04 posted:*Plays Tackleford two days after Accrington* (Paranoid) Like I said! The schedulers set us up to lose! 
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Jan 13, 2014 06:58
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(Sinister) As we have in a few months what is likely to be our last game against Tackleford for quite some time, the Board demands you prepare the squad to achieve a suitable measure of retribution and satisfaction. More than just merely your job depends on it.
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Jan 13, 2014 17:43
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(Drunk) Tell ya what, if you need me to I'll cut the brake lines on Tackleford's bus. I love this team and I just don't give a gently caress nnymore.
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Jan 13, 2014 18:35
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As a die-hard Bad Machinery fan I'm still kind of rooting for Tackleford. 
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Jan 13, 2014 19:13
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Rincewind posted:As a die-hard Bad Machinery fan I'm still kind of rooting for Tackleford. 
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Jan 13, 2014 23:11
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I don't want poor Linton Baxter's dreams to be crushed!
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Jan 13, 2014 23:19
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Rincewind posted:As a die-hard Bad Machinery fan I'm still kind of rooting for Tackleford. You do understand that what you just did in this thread is like walking into one of those pubs around Anfield with an Everton tee, do you 
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Jan 14, 2014 01:02
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I vote we set up a fart-bomb on Rincewind's doorstep, board members. All in favour?
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Jan 14, 2014 02:10
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Rincewind posted:I don't want poor Linton Baxter's dreams to be crushed! He's got lifetime season tickets! He'll be fine!
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Jan 14, 2014 15:36
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Chapter the Sixth: New year's resolutions. January 1, 2016-February 2, 2016  The trading floor is now open.  Welcome back, Bailey. You've been missed.    Alternate universe Lionel Messi wins the Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year awards while AU Gareth Bale is rated best in Wales.  Watts is getting £1,500/wk after the promotion and yearly raises. He's not getting playing time and thus it's time for him to move on. That's also true for Baker, who's earning £1,200/wk and getting very little playing time in the current squad.  Wright, Reid, and Toms are also listed for transfer, Reid and Toms just haven't worked out while Wright is third on the right back depth chart. We'll see what the Director of Football can get for them.  Hopkins is off to Gateshead.  When coaches struggle on their courses they can keep working to pass it, but it will cost more money. Failing to pass the class might be a sign that they're butting up against their maximum ability, or just a sign that they've got low determination/motivation/discipline.  City's fans think us easy meat.  City's coach is a melodramatic rear end in a top hat.  No point in getting into a war of words considering we're about 99% likely to lose this match.  Best of luck to you, Raymond. Thank you for your service.  Our DoF is doing a heck of a job selling these guys.  Really good. I did not expect to get that much for Baker. That's £3,500 a week less salary that we have to pay. If we can get rid of either Reid or Toms we'll be down to £31-32k/wk. At Manchester City, January 2, 2016 FA Cup, Third Round I'd like to better our performance against Manchester United last year, which we lost 5-2. So, anything better than a three goal defeat will be counted as an improvement. It doesn't help that their manager is trying to play mind games for who knows what reason. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Clarke, Price, Cooper, Coulson. Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Poole, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Toms, Baker It doesn't take long for the difference in quality to shine through. Manchester City is 4th in the Premier League, and it shows. We're at 30% possession for the first half, and while our defense doesn't give up a big chance we're carved open multiple times creating decent opportunities for City's deadly players. They score in the 9th minute on a corner when their Dutch defensive midfielder finds himself unmarked on the edge of the area and puts it in. We're not punchless ourselves, though, and we equalize in the 24th minute on a sterling breakaway by Coulson. We hold City harmless for the rest of the half, and after 45 minutes we're tied with one of the best teams in Europe. It remains that way through the end of the first hour, but Manchester City's quality cannot be denied as their aging Spanish striker with gorgeous hair puts a rebound in when Al-Beloushi can't corral a shot from a narrow angle. We're unable to muster a second answer, and when time runs out our FA Cup run comes to an end. Despite playing a team where multiple players earned four times our weekly wages there was no player on the field as good as Michael Coulson. Man of the Match: Michael Coulson   Manchester City 2-1 Wrexham  drat right we did. A little bit more luck and we might have been playing a return leg at the Racecourse Grounds.  I did no such thing! I don't like this Spencer cat, he completely twisted my words. And Tissera is a lumpen piece of poo poo, I have no clue why he wants to start a feud with me.    Three down, two to go.  £35,000 a week now in salary. Between this trimming and the Manchester City gate we're in good shape financially.  I'm not seeing where we can easily add improvements, especially while trying to keep costs down. I'm having the scouts go through the loaner options and players with low salary demands, but I wouldn't expect much. At AFC Wimbledon, January 5, 2015 League Two AFC Wimbledon is likely to get promoted this season, they're currently in second place. The goal here is a draw, but a loss wouldn't be a shock or a real setback. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Todd, Poole, Ashton, Simpson, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Azille-Moore, Toms, Coulson. Subs: Higgs, Don-Duncan, Martin, Clarke, Bailey, Cooper, Price. We take the lead on yet another Michael Coulson goal, where he finishes by rounding the keeper and cheekily sliding the shot into the back of the net. Al-Beloushi keeps us ahead by making a brilliant save around the half-hour mark, but we go into the locker room level when a poorly cleared corner falls to Wimbledon's striker twelve yards out. We have some decent looks at the net after the break, but it's a brutal error by teen phenom Chris Todd that allows the winning strike for Wimbledon, and we go home without any points.   AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Wrexham  My scouts find someone who would be an excellent signing, Japanese national Yohei Maeno. His work permit has expired, however, and a new one is unlikely to be granted. He proceeds to show up in every single set of recommendations my talent hunters send back, even though there's no way for us to sign him to the team. vs. Scunthorpe, January 9, 2016 League Two The game is held on a miserable day where sleet falls constantly onto the pitch and the weather hovers just around freezing. Scunthorpe have had no luck this year, and are at risk for being kicked out of the Football League, so we should demand a victory. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Price, Cooper, Coulson. Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Todd, McGuinness, Clarke, O'Hanlon, Toms. Scunthorpe plays a violent game, racking up fifteen fouls over the course of the match. It works in keeping us off our game, and combined with the weather the match sees only four chances total. Luke Reid continues making amends for his shockingly poor start with the team, and pounces on a rebound after a corner to put us ahead. It's the only goal of the day, with our victory being assured by strong performances from our back line. Man of the Match: Luke Reid   Wrexham 1-0 Scunthorpe   I've found two loanees who make sense for our squad, right back Ben Evans and striker Justin Dawson. We're the only team in on Evans, but Dawson could go any number of places. I've let Underwood and Azille-Moore return to Norwich, neither had been all that good and if we're going to be developing young players they might as well be our own.  Ibrahima Bah is healthy again, which will allow Coulson to move back to his preferred position on the right wing.   We get Evans, but Dawson is snapped up on a transfer. Evans has been at AFC Wimbledon during the first half of the season, and had earned a 7.1 rating over 15 games with 4 man of the match awards.  Luke Reid is in the team of the week. He's been playing much better, so I remove him from the unwanted list. If we get a good offer for him I'll still consider letting him go, but if he's actually going to start playing how I expected him to then he's going to be a big help down the stretch.  Letting him know I'm pleased is the first step towards maintaining his new form.   Likewise, it's important to keep your door open to the players, when it comes to giving them positive feedback...  Negative feedback...  Or just telling them that you have their back.   Stuart Simpson's contract has an option year, which I trigger. He's now signed through the end of next year on the same terms as his previous contract.  Justin Bailey is willing to take a pay cut, as are the other players who I'd like to keep with the team. Contract negotiations go well with each of them.  My staff thinks that Stuart Martin is unhappy because he's being asked to do too much training.  I give him a kick in the pants for motivation.    Contract extensions are finalized with three players. In each case they took a pay cut to stay with the team. I also have my first acolyte, Daniel Thomas will be spreading my gospel throughout the clubhouse and stoning heretics who think my ways aren't the wisest. vs. Southend, January 16, 2016 League Two Southend has been on a bit of a tear since firing their old coach. They still languish in the depths of League Two, despite losing just one of their past seven games. Taking all three points here will place more ground between us and a relegation rival, anything less is a missed opportunity to begin our climb to the mid-table. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Toms, Price, Coulson. Subs: Higgs, Evans, Poole, McGuinness, Clarke, Cooper, Bah. That chat with Martin pays dividends, as he's brilliant throughout the entire match. He and Reid are rocks in the center of our defense, and they are finally starting to look as I imagined when I signed Reid this summer. Coulson puts us ahead in the 11th minute on a beauty of a tight angled shot, and Southend can't match us despite eight first half corners. Things only get worse for Southend after the half when Price finds Coulson in the box for Coulson's second goal of the game. We ice the match with a goal from Martin off the corner, and the only concern is Price coming off in the 90th minute due to injury. Man of the Match: Stuart Martin   Wrexham 3-0 Southend  William Harrison is back, again. It'll take a couple weeks for him to get back into the full swing of things, he's lost a lot of match fitness.  Election season is coming again. What wild promises will you be making to win over the voters this year? vs. Northampton, January 23, 2016 League Two Northampton may be in the promotion playoffs right now, but we're on our home turf and have just won two games in a row. I feel pretty good about getting a result out of this game despite the quality of our opposition. That's especially true as I can now bring Harrison on late to give us a jolt of energy, tired centerbacks won't be able to handle his 16 acceleration and 18 pace when he comes on in the final half-hour. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Evans, Martin, Poole, Ashton, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Coulson, Price, Bah. Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, McGuinness, Clarke, Cooper, Harrison. Tony Price suffers another injury in this match, this time in the 16th minute. Adding insult to injury, our offense struggles despite creating several easy chances while our defense invites the Northampton players to make themselves at home in our area. It's only thanks to stunning play from Al-Beloushi that we don't concede in the first half, and despite his best game for the team he's unable to win us a point all by himself, conceding a goal in the 59th minute. We have four clear cut chances, and we walk away with zero points because we don't convert a single one of them. Man of the Match: Nasser Al-Beloushi   Wrexham 0-1 Northampton  Bah hasn't found the net since September. With Harrison's improvement over the year Bah needs to start scoring more if he wants to keep his job as the starter.  I doubt we'll be doing much in this final week of the transfer window. I forgot to get a screenshot of it, but we sold Toms for £10,000 a couple weeks ago, so our weekly salary is now down around £32,000. I'm pretty happy with the team, we're at 21 players, and our youth team is good enough to cover any short term absences. At Gillingham, January 26, 2016 League Two We're away against a mediocre League Two team and I think we can get a result here. The weather is going to be miserable. Our players will be lashed with freezing rain and sleet for the entire match, and the pitch should be a right slippery mess. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Evans, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Clarke, Coulson, Price, Bah. Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Cooper, Harrison. We draw first blood off of a corner in the 23rd minute. It's the only good news of the day. Our lead evaporates immediately as Gillingham scores twice in the following ten minutes., and our defense, which had played quite well earlier in the month, is miserable. We slump to defeat, and are lucky that we lost by only one goal. Our offense is downright miserable, creating just two half chances all game.   Gillingham 2-1 Wrexham  In the last three games Price has picked two injuries that knocked him out of the game but didn't force him to miss practice or game time. Then he goes and hurts himself exercising. His new years resolutions must have included "get hexed." I let him take the time off to heal fully as that way he misses just two games rather than risking another game should he aggravate the injury. Cooper will be happy for the additional playing time. vs. Exeter, January 30, 2016 League Two  It's January 30th and our pitch is still in OK shape. Only Amhazair, Shazback, and JT Jag are still in the running for the contest, and I'm starting to think JT Jag might end up winning by default. Exeter kicked our rear end when we played at their house in the fall, so it's time to get out there and earn some vengeance. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Evans, Reid, Poole, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Coulson, Cooper, Harrison. Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Martin, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Clarke, Bah. As per usual we let the opponent control possession. We're able to get several chances early on off of corners, but can't put one away until Exeter's centerback is called for a penalty. Simpson converts, and we take the one-nil lead into the second half. Exeter has their best chance to equalize when a pinballing corner falls to the oddly named Ross Ross in the 78th minute. Ross Squared is in the six yard box, with Al-Beloushi out of position, but can do nothing with the shot except hit it directly at our keeper. We maintain the 1-0 lead until the dying moments of the game, when an Exeter player is called for a handball on another of our corners. Clarke ably manages the shot, and gives us the final goal of the game. Man of the Match: Matthew Poole   Wrexham 2-0 Exeter  The first penalty was a bit soft, but they still would have lost because of the late game handball.  Always good when we remind a team how losing feels.  Walsh is not having a good year. First he loses several months from an injury with the Welsh youth team, now he loses the rest of the year from another injury while with Kidderminster. These injuries amount to a lost year for him, and makes it very unlikely that he'll ever play regularly with our first team.   It's not all that impressive a goal, at least from what the game shows me, but it's still a nice award.  I suggest a negative campaign impugning your opponent's ancestry as containing dirty Englishmen.  During the final day of the transfer period I'm asked about selling Martin. I respond equivocally, it's late in the day to be selling him but I wouldn't mind doing so if the price were extravagant enough.  Crystal Palace never makes an offer for him, so the window ends uneventfully.  We're beating the teams we're supposed to beat and playing well against tougher clubs. We're as far from the middle of the table as we are from the relegation zone. Best of all, we played a great game against Manchester City, making them sweat for an hour in their own house. Wrexham's now a lean, mean, football machine, and I think we're going to surprise some people before the end of the season. With 16 games left in the season my goal is to get as close to the top 10 as possible. We're 8 points back right now, so it's not impossible, and a mid-table finish would be much better than what was expected of us before the season. 
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Jan 14, 2014 17:54
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Scunthorpe. Christ, what an unfortunately named town.
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Jan 14, 2014 18:58
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Zeroisanumber posted:Scunthorpe. Christ, what an unfortunately named town.
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Jan 14, 2014 19:03
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Ten points behind 7th, 14 games to go... We can still be promoted I say!  Zeroisanumber posted:Scunthorpe. Christ, what an unfortunately named town. If I recall correctly from last week, the joke goes "Scunthorpe are one of the three English football teams with a swear word in their name, along with Arsenal and Tackleford loving City." 
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Jan 14, 2014 20:44
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On a non-town name note, your guys are finally starting to play like an actual League 2 team. Did our guys finally just gel properly? Or was it the tactics switch that did it? Also, if reelected, I promise that the Goon Squad will be hard at drink every night until we come up with a cheer for Wrexham that's even 1/10th as amazing as this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17mJgQkZX9U
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Jan 15, 2014 03:30
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Zeroisanumber posted:On a non-town name note, your guys are finally starting to play like an actual League 2 team. Did our guys finally just gel properly? Or was it the tactics switch that did it? If the Goon Squad listens to some Wu-Tang Clan they might.
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Jan 15, 2014 07:31
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Zeroisanumber posted:On a non-town name note, your guys are finally starting to play like an actual League 2 team. Did our guys finally just gel properly? Or was it the tactics switch that did it? Goddamn that is a lovely chant.
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Jan 15, 2014 12:14
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Zeroisanumber posted:On a non-town name note, your guys are finally starting to play like an actual League 2 team. Did our guys finally just gel properly? Or was it the tactics switch that did it? That is truly terrible. If we wanna go the easy route we can just use one of Wrexham's existing chants: http://fanchants.co.uk/football-songs/wrexham-chants/wrexham-lager/
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Jan 15, 2014 12:41
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Zeroisanumber posted:On a non-town name note, your guys are finally starting to play like an actual League 2 team. Did our guys finally just gel properly? Or was it the tactics switch that did it? That is horrible, with the Youtube comments under the video even repeating the tired "if-our-athletes-grew-up-playing-soccer-the-USA-would-dominate-world-soccer" bullshit.
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Jan 15, 2014 12:49
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That chant is awesome, all y'all are just haters.
Zeroisanumber fucked around with this message at 14:58 on Jan 15, 2014 |
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Jan 15, 2014 13:47
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Example of good football chant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6ia9drgL7s Example of...something football chant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qNDon9_82U
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Jan 15, 2014 13:54
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Or not, but here is "Score the Wrexham Way" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYYiGJgQVaM And "Wrexham is the Name" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB31MbL1kok Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 14:18 on Jan 15, 2014 |
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Jan 15, 2014 14:13
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:
Wrexham is the Name is pretty awesome. It's definitely the best of the bunch I've dug up.
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Jan 15, 2014 15:43
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mfcrocker posted:Goddamn that is a lovely chant. Just beccause it isn't a tradition Soccer chant doesn't mean it sucks. It's how we Yanks roll. I'm not saying "Score the Wrexham Way" or "Wrexham is the Name" sucks, (or is any better). And "We're not Brazil We're Northern Ireland" Is pretty awesome but....that isn't a chant...that's a fight song...Also: Dias posted:Example of...something football chant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qNDon9_82U Like that is any better.
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Jan 15, 2014 15:56
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Chants, you say? Time to ship the good people of South America to turn the Grounds into a deathtrap then: http://youtu.be/8aa85Xoyt4w http://youtu.be/0l3yYAMKLoA http://youtu.be/Qx7naOzlQvU
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Jan 15, 2014 15:57
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Personally I have a soft spot for this chant for West Ham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxb3nWUT1r0
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Jan 15, 2014 17:48
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Geokinesis posted:Personally I have a soft spot for this chant for West Ham: Hah, I remember that guy. Won Blackburn the league in '95.
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Jan 15, 2014 18:50
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Well, as a Villa fan, these are the chants I've enjoyed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwY8SrxiP4Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYCZHRIgYkQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZnYloe5rhw
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Jan 15, 2014 18:55
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My favourite is probably the Everton chant for Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. He's big! He's game! We can't pronounce his name! Russian laaaad, russian laaadddd. Can't find a video of it though.
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Jan 15, 2014 23:49
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That is awesome and should replace "U-S-A U-S-A" as the standard american chant.
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Jan 16, 2014 00:27
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