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Undefeated in 7 games...that draw against Bury was totally lovely, but you did turn around and out scored them 5 to 1! (you sure did Bury them!  ) And even without Harrison it looks like you are in good shape for the long run.But let's focus on promotion. I mean it be awesome if you won the league, but let's get the gently caress out of League Two(we're in League Two right?) and go kick Tackleford's rear end! Of course this is depending on they aren't nose diving right now and get regulated...
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Feb 2, 2014 09:48
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KDavisJr posted:Of course this is depending on they aren't nose diving right now and get regulated... Yeah, 'cause their sugar daddy's financial input being regulated is the only way they'll ever get relegated again. 
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Feb 2, 2014 14:51
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KDavisJr posted:But let's focus on promotion. I mean it be awesome if you won the league, but let's get the gently caress out of League Two(we're in League Two right?) and go kick Tackleford's rear end! They had a pretty serious swoon that saw them bottom out in 20th place after 16 games, but they've recovered somewhat to get back to the mid-table. They're still only six points from the relegation zone, but also seven points from a playoff spot, so either could happen. I think we'll see them next season in League One. Also, if we get to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final I'm going to liveblog it.
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Feb 2, 2014 15:29
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habeasdorkus posted:They had a pretty serious swoon that saw them bottom out in 20th place after 16 games, but they've recovered somewhat to get back to the mid-table. They're still only six points from the relegation zone, but also seven points from a playoff spot, so either could happen. I think we'll see them next season in League One. Awesome! Do we get Wembley ticket revenue from the JPT?
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Feb 2, 2014 16:02
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habeasdorkus posted:Also, I tried to look up Franck Ribery, but the game told me there was no one that was quite as big a Obviously an individual of such laudable tastes belongs on this tea-- Cancel that, too far even for me. In all seriousness, I told you Justin Bailey was worth it! (Is he a AU version of some pro player that is just incredibly luckily named?)
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Feb 2, 2014 16:19
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I'm actually kind of curious - has the game been smart enough to figure out that Tackleford is likely to be a Wrexham rival based on your history with them, or was that something you edited in? I've definitely been amused to see them popping up repeatedly in the blurbs about who Wrexford might get in the next round of tournaments. Either way, I'm really enjoying this. Keep up the good work, and the hobo-stabbings.
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Feb 2, 2014 17:25
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N00ba the Hutt posted:I'm actually kind of curious - has the game been smart enough to figure out that Tackleford is likely to be a Wrexham rival based on your history with them, or was that something you edited in? I've definitely been amused to see them popping up repeatedly in the blurbs about who Wrexford might get in the next round of tournaments. The game realized that I'd gone from Tackleford to Wrexham, and at every opportunity I've chosen the least friendly responses about Tackleford and their manager, so the game views them as a team and people that I dislike and thus plays it up. We're more likely to have press conferences before and after their games, and their manager is happy to talk poo poo right back at me. So while Wrexham itself doesn't have a rivalry with Tackleford, yet, I do. Ed Philips and I are each on the other person's "worst opinion" list. Jenner posted:
He's the AU version of some lower league player that joined Wrexham shortly after the game started. No clue which one, but his stats distribution are highly favorable. He's only a two and a half star player, and hasn't really improved at all since we've been in League Two, but he's got the stats that matter for a creative midfielder. Good passing, good crossing, very good mental stats, and a 15 Corners that makes him a real threat from set pieces. He's had 39 assists since I joined Wrexham and is already at 10 for this year. He's a perfect example of a player who plays well beyond their scouted ability thanks to how their stats are arranged. 
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Feb 2, 2014 17:52
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I actually started trying to play this after this LP (also after reading that pro vercelli thing), and man it's goddamn hard. Especially since I barely knew anything about Soccer (it's going better now though). Mostly because it reminds me of a Paradox game in a strange way. Just wondering, is there a reason you picked fake players?
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Feb 2, 2014 18:15
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Cityinthesea posted:I actually started trying to play this after this LP (also after reading that pro vercelli thing), and man it's goddamn hard. Especially since I barely knew anything about Soccer If we had real players I'd have to download a gigantic image pack to get photos of the players rather than just a blank silhouette. Instead we get the weird facegen headshots. Real players are also less likely to act like a brat by getting involved with the media or skipping practices in anger, etc. And yeah, it takes some time to get used to. It is similar to a Paradox game in many ways, it's like if Crusader Kings 2 was a sports simulation. I'm glad you read the Pro Vercelli story, I think it's pretty fantastic and was hoping people would pick it up. The guy is a much better writer than I am. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Feb 2, 2014 |
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Feb 2, 2014 18:20
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This LP got me to go back to trying to figure out 2013 and I finally did, I was doing well, the team was exceeding expectations, we were on the up. And then I ran into the crash dump bug and there is no way to advance any further. So I'll just live vicariously through this very good LP!
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Feb 2, 2014 20:40
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habeasdorkus posted:
Greatest description of FM thus far, and I don't doubt that SI will add intrigue in FM2025 with the opportunity to encourage your captain to seduce rival team star player's wife.
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Feb 2, 2014 21:22
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Transmetropolitan posted:Greatest description of FM thus far, and I don't doubt that SI will add intrigue in FM2025 with the opportunity to encourage your captain to seduce rival team star player's wife. But then it turn into Blitz: The League.
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Feb 2, 2014 21:48
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Transmetropolitan posted:Greatest description of FM thus far, and I don't doubt that SI will add intrigue in FM2025 with the opportunity to encourage your captain to seduce rival team star player's wife. Any problem in CK2 can be solved by stabbing. The application in a football manager should be obvious.
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Feb 2, 2014 22:28
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Chapter the Seventh: Post-Christmas cheer. December 26, 2016-January 8, 2017 Hey, who's up for some more brutal scheduling? We start off the second half of the season with back to back games against a shockingly good Oxford United squad on Boxing Day, and then to York on the 27th, and cap the year with a match against Torquay on New Years Eve. Then we get one day to recover from our hangovers and play Tranmere. Four games in eight days? Sounds like fun!  Bailey is a guy who's getting an incredible amount out of fairly limited natural ability. I'm poleaxed that he's been so great in League Two, but at this rate he might still be good in League One. At Oxford United, December 26, 2016 League Two  Oxford was touted to finish near the bottom of the table this season, but instead a win could see them to the very top of it. We beat them for our first match of the season, though it was a good deal closer than I would have hoped. At the time I thought it was a problem with our team. Now I realize that everyone underestimated Oxford. Because of the back to back games I'm going to have to play a rotated team, which means that you'll be seeing youth players in this and the next game. Formation: 4-5-1 Counter. Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas (c), Todd, Poole, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Netala, Franks, Spilsbury. Subs: Higgs, Peters, Reid, Jenkins, Sinclair, Price, Read. Oxford takes it to us from the very start. They use impressive flowing movement to create their first goal, and keep us from creating many chances of our own. Our attackers let the team down, failing to make anything of those chances, and Oxford capitalizes on a mistake by Ashti Kadhim to score again. We go down to our first defeat in a month, and are still on the outside looking in at promotion.   Oxford 2-0 Wrexham  I would give a lot for Mujkic to have gotten his friggin' flu shot. The flu shot is free with pretty much any insurance plan in the United States, so I have to imagine it's covered by the NHS. Get yours, save an infant or someone with a compromised immune system from possibly contracting what would be a life threatening illness. At York City, December 27, 2016 League Two  No time to dwell on the Oxford result, but we're going to be playing a nearly entirely rotated team given the nature of the schedule. It's another match on the home turf of a promotion contender, but York has impressed me less than Oxford, so I hope we can at least manage a result. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Lewis, Ashton, Jenkins, Simpson (c), Sinclair, Coulson, Price, Read. Subs: Al-Beloushi, Peters, Curran, McCarthy, Cobb, Franks, Morgan. The referee awards us a soft penalty just fifteen minutes into the match. It's all we get, but it's all we need. Tench, Lewis, and Simpson provide excellent defensive work that allows us to hold onto the one-nil lead for the remaining hour. It's frustrating for York, but they have to understand that they can't blame the ref for their own inability to crack our defense.  Man of the Match: Gary “the Tenchman” Tench   York 0-1 Wrexham  We have a LOT of contracts coming up at the end of the season. Coulson, Bailey, Poole, Price, Simpson, Tench, Smissen, Higgs are all probably going to be brought back, the rest are much more up in the air. I might try to sell Price and Ashton this window, Price has been solid but has to fight for playing time with Coulson, Netala, Mujkic, and Franks, as well as our up and coming youth players such as Read. Ashton has just been bad, and doesn't even seem to have much more potential to improve. Price is desired by Portsmouth and Rotherham, both League One sides, so I'll see what they'll offer me for him.  Screw off, you're not getting him for free.  I just went through contract negotiations with ten players and four staff. Cobb's not getting a new offer.  And the contracts start getting signed. We sign nine players and four staff to extensions, which increases our wages by about £2,300 a week. That's affordable. The agent fees come out to just shy of £40,000, a good fourth of our transfer budget.  Bailey comes back at the same wages, which is hilarious considering how good he's been. I get several players to accept a team option on their contracts, which leads to slightly higher wages for them while allowing me to cut bait if they turn out not to be able to handle League One. I also refuse to offer any yearly or promotion based wage increases, which will save us a lot of money when we get promoted.  I'm an idiot. I forgot to exclude foreign clubs when offering Ashton to other teams, meaning that two Scottish teams have offered him pre-contracts. That would be the worst, as we'd be stuck with him for the rest of the year and still get nothing for him before he left. I offer him on a free transfer to both teams, hopefully we'll at least be rid of his wages. vs. Torquay, December 31, 2016 League Two  Because we're playing again in just two days I'm forced to field a weaker lineup than I'd like. But Torquay is a bottom of the table team, so we shouldn't need our very best to win. We do need to win, though, given that there's still so many teams ahead of us. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Higgs, Thomas (c), Todd, Lewis, Ashton, Kadhim, Jenkins, Bailey, Franks, Netala, Spilsbury Subs: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Poole, Simpson, Price, Coulson, Read. The run of play is in our favor from the start, but it takes until late in the first half for us to make something of our advantage. Chris Todd sends a perfect ball up to Spilsbury, who cashes in on the opportunity. We have the game well in hand in the 60th minute, so I take off Bailey for Price, and Price quickly makes his mark on the game by scoring off of a corner just six minutes later. Most impressive is our defense, which allowed just one shot on goal the entire game, and only one shot that was not from long range. Man of the Match: Chris Todd   Wrexham 2-0 Torquay  Happy new year everyone!  Aww, Davies didn't even make the top three.  I don't lose a game all month and I still can't win the Coach of the Month award. Yeesh.  He better pay his own way.  I've been here long enough and handled the players well enough that I'm starting to get onto their “favored personnel” lists, which makes them easier to motivate, easier to sign, and more likely to trust me.  Whew, we're going to be able to offload Ashton's contract. I still feel like an idiot, we could have gotten five figures for him most likely. vs. Tranmere, January 2, 2017 League Two  Our first team is nearly all present, but the subs are mostly youth players. Bailey's pretty tuckered at the moment, so it's likely we'll see the debut of Tony Holt. If we can jump out to a big lead in the first half that will make it easier for me to sub in youth players to get some experience. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Read. Subs: Higgs, Peters, Curran, McCarthy, Holt, Price, Morgan. Once again we control the game from whistle to whistle, and once again we find it difficult to put the ball in the net. Our defense is even more stout than the Torquay match, giving up just three shots all game. But it takes until I bring on the youth players to replace ineffective starters to get a goal. Anthony Morgan scores his first goal for the team from a well played set-piece in the 78th minute. We have no trouble seeing out the match, and it gives me a chance to get Anthony Curran on the field for a a cameo in the waning minutes of the game. Tony Holt also makes his debut, he and Curran are presently undefeated in their first team careers. Man of the Match: Anthony Morgan.   Wrexham 1-0 Tranmere   It would have been an incredibly soft penalty if it had been given and I'd be screaming like a loon about it. Tranmere's coach is right to not harp about it.  What? I was agreeing with you, you nonce! Stop looking for scapegoats for the reason your crap team is buried down at the bottom of the table after being predicted to be in title contention.  And I get the last word after his temper tantrum. Time to turn our focus to the FA Cup.  This will be our largest crowd yet, we'll actually be selling standing room only seats as we have just 10,000 seated capacity.  We've already beaten one Championship team this year. Who says we won't beat another?  Go out there and show your old boss what he's missing, Cobb.  Thanks for the locker room bulletin board material. It'll make beating you all the sweeter.  Essentially one in every ten people who live in the county are at this game. I talked a fair amount of trash in the pregame press conference, I want to pile pressure onto Derby and frankly I think we're going to win. vs. Derby, January 7, 2017 FA Cup, Third Round  We've been practicing our defensive positioning in the run-up to this game, but I want to start by coming out and trying to seize the lead. If we can grab a goal or two early it'll help us make life hell for Derby. If it doesn't go well I'll be quick to back off, but Derby's looking vulnerable and I want to give them a surprise. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Spilsbury. Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Lewis, Kadhim, Jenkins, Price, Read. The first half goes better than I could have hoped. We don't score, but we play straight up with Derby and if anything look superior. Even better, Derby scores for us via an own goal, giving us the lead. I expect Derby to react to this by attempting to crush us, and switch over to defense. Derby is happy to take a ton of possession in the second half, but can't do anything with it. Meanwhile, we devastate them via corner kicks. We score on three of our four corners in the second half, and the crowd roars in delight at each one. This is our second Championship pelt of the season, to go with our stropping of Wigan in August. Man of the Match: Justin Bailey   Wrexham 4-0 Derby  Prize money is slowly increasing. These amounts are nothing to Premier League teams, but for us it's very welcome.  Oh please let us draw Scunthorpe. We'd be able to make it to the fifth round of the FA Cup if we do!  The downside of playing with fake players is that the record books are wiped clean. The upshot is that Justin Bailey is now the most prolific midfield maestro in the history of the FA Cup. So that's nice.   Told you it was our biggest crowd. It's not the haul we took from games against the Manchester megabastards, but it's still a very solid haul.  Dang. There were plenty of beatable teams we could have gotten, but instead we're up against France on the Tyne. They've got a big stadium and the Geordies support the hell out of their team, so at least we'll get a giant payday.  We've moved ourselves into an automatic promotion spot, though we're still six points off the league leaders, and we beat the piss out of Derby. We're flying high right now, and we're due a huge payday from our next FA Cup match. I'm also still at 0% confidence from set pieces, despite scoring something like a half dozen of them over the last four games. It's clearly bugged, and I'll be removing it ASAP. 
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Feb 2, 2014 23:22
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quote:Bitter rivals Tackleford City FC are among the teams Wrexham could potentially meet in the Fourth Round if they triumph. That plus the absolute thrashing we gave Derby after the pre-match and the odds called it tight plus beating our previous attendance record by half again makes that the sweetest match since the last time we kicked the poo poo out of Tackleford. Carn the dragons!
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Feb 2, 2014 23:56
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Up yours, Derby!
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Feb 2, 2014 23:57
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There was a point where you were tanking like crazy, and I think some of us thought a promotion was unlikely. Now we're 6 points out from the leaders.  I never lost faith in you!
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Feb 3, 2014 04:05
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habeasdorkus posted:Altidore is not that bad. He was in a horrible position in Sunderland under lil' Mussolini and has lost all confidence. He's still got some real quality, and I think he could turn out to be an OK prem league striker in the end based upon his national team form over the last year and his performance at AZ Alkmaar. I dare you to post this in TRP 
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Feb 3, 2014 04:16
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I always had faith that my and your leadership would turn this around. 
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Feb 3, 2014 04:21
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DOOP posted:I dare you to post this in TRP Link me and I'll say that. I'm not going to Toxx myself, if I read brutally negative things first I might back away, but it's what I believe. Sky Shadowing posted:I always had faith that my and your leadership would turn this around. Thanks, prez. Even if you did dispatch an underling to threaten me. KDavisJr posted:There was a point where you were tanking like crazy, and I think some of us thought a promotion was unlikely. I keep telling you that my teams tend to start slowly. Sooner or later you'll realize I'm not foolin' BTW, really enjoyed the American Football game tonight. My money was on either a narrow Seattle win or a blowout Seattle win, somewhat disappointed it was the latter. But the commercials were quite good. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Feb 3, 2014 |
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Feb 3, 2014 04:30
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This is a great thread, Wrexham ascendant.
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Feb 3, 2014 06:07
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Is it likely that we will play with Tackleford if we get promoted this year? What is their current position in their league? Cannot wait to get back at our arch-rivals!  Tackleford
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Feb 3, 2014 08:45
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i) gently caress YEAH GO WREXHAM! It's all coming together nicely, though it'd be nice if our wonderkid actually showed signs of actually being wonderful at some point. ii) Jozy is a god. God of Fluffing Chances and Not-Scoring but given he's clearly a sweet chap and was part of the team that bossed the Mags around on their own turf like the peasants they are this weekend, he gets a lifetime pass from me.
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Feb 3, 2014 23:30
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habeasdorkus posted:Link me and I'll say that. I'm not going to Toxx myself, if I read brutally negative things first I might back away, but it's what I believe. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3565341 Warning: TRP loathes Jozy Altidore VVV: 
Nissin Cup Nudist fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Feb 4, 2014 |
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Feb 4, 2014 04:11
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It just seems like the weirdest hateboner to have. He's not an rear end in a top hat, so why all the hate?
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Feb 4, 2014 04:26
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He got a lot of hype when the transfer came through, and is currently undershooting even the generally pessimistic estimates of his tally. It's more hate of his more... obsessed fans, than anyone. People who sign onto Sunderland forums claiming to be 'Jozy fans, not fans of the club', that sort of thing. Yes, that has happened.
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Feb 4, 2014 05:17
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Arquebus posted:He got a lot of hype when the transfer came through, and is currently undershooting even the generally pessimistic estimates of his tally. It's more hate of his more... obsessed fans, than anyone. People who sign onto Sunderland forums claiming to be 'Jozy fans, not fans of the club', that sort of thing. Yes, that has happened. I don't think that is an exclusively Yankee thing, but is definitely funny. Big contrast of footballing cultures and all that. More or less related to that topic, there was some talk of trying to put MLS teams to play the Libertadores. I think the shock for a team like, I don't know, LA Galaxy playing at stadia like Bombonera or Centenario would be hilarious.
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Feb 4, 2014 18:45
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Transmetropolitan posted:More or less related to that topic, there was some talk of trying to put MLS teams to play the Libertadores. I think the shock for a team like, I don't know, LA Galaxy playing at stadia like Bombonera or Centenario would be hilarious. I remember that, actually. It would be hilarious in every single possible way. MLS actually has a couple of teams that could challenge for the Copa, but first away game would have American fans calling us barbarians and thugs as soon as a slide tackle happened. Plus, a shot at bending Beckham's legs would have been appreciated, pity it never happened. 
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Feb 4, 2014 18:52
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Holy poo poo, some of them are rating Wondolowski above Jozy!? What the gently caress is wrong with them? That's some sort of irrational cesspool of gormlessness.
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Feb 4, 2014 20:59
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habeasdorkus posted:Holy poo poo, some of them are rating Wondolowski above Jozy!? What the gently caress is wrong with them? That's some sort of irrational cesspool of gormlessness. I've found that it helps to imagine that everyone in SAS is Karl Pilkington. A horde of Karl Pilkingtons arguing with each other about sports. Forever.
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Feb 4, 2014 21:05
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Zeroisanumber posted:I've found that it helps to imagine that everyone in SAS is Karl Pilkington. A horde of Karl Pilkingtons arguing with each other about sports. Forever.
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Feb 4, 2014 21:16
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JT Jag posted:There is a bit of a FYAD-ish edge to The Ray Parlour in particular. Whether that's a good thing or not is up to you. I was about to get insulted and then I realised that it was true  Some of us just want to talk sports with our internet friends though.
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Feb 4, 2014 21:41
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Chapter the Eighth: The trip to the Tyne. January 8, 2017-February 1, 2017 Another six games before the transfer window closes. I'd expect to start seeing some tired players by the time this season ends in April.  This is why I used fake players. I don't think there's any prostitute scandals in the game, but you can imagine why this doesn't happen when using the real player names. Time to break out the switch.  Nash is unimportant, he's getting let go as a free transfer at the end of the season anyways. So he makes for a good example to all the other players that I won't put up with poo poo that will get them into the tabloids.  Walsh is well and truly made of glass:  It's going to mean he never amounts to much, his development gets set back each time he's injured, and he's missed multiple months for several years running. vs. Shrewsbury, January 10, 2017 League Two  We continue to play promotion opponents. Our fans are coming out in force these days, nearly 5,600 for a League Two game is 1,600 above our average. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, Reid, Smissen, Kadhim, Simpson (c), Bailey, Price, Netala, Read. Subs: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Lewis, Jenkins, Sinclair, Franks, Spilsbury. The game is a back and forth furor, with both sides earning scoring opportunities through nifty passing and strong work on offensive set pieces. Our best chance at a goal comes in the first half where the ball bounces around in the six yard box for nearly 10 seconds before finally being cleared, while Shrewsbury shortly thereafter can't convert a one on one breakaway thanks to Higgs. Our defense plays well, but our inability to score leaves us unable to add points in triplicate to our promotion card. Man of the Match: Daniel Thomas.   Wrexham 0-0 Shrewsbury  Not a bad chunk of change. And we're going to have a whole lot of eyeballs on us, we could really shake the heavens if we play well. At Bradford City, January 14, 2017 League Two  Another game against a promotion contender. Our schedule has not been easy recently, but getting these games out of the way means that we'll have an easier final stretch of the season. This is an away fixture as well, so we're going back to the 4-5-1 Counter. One thing that's really helped us recently is our defense, since losing to Oxford we haven't given up a single goal over five matches. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Spilsbury. Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Lewis, Kadhim, Jenkins, Netala, Read. We have the better of the game for the first 30 minutes, but can't score during that period. Bradford then starts playing as I expected, and only an excellent Higgs save keeps us from falling behind by one. Late in the first half Mujkic scores off of an indirect free kick, and we take the lead into the locker room. Our defense remains impregnable for the second half, and are once again to thank for the victory. Man of the Match: Sam Smissen.   Bradford 0-1 Wrexham  Those doubters should have looked at the ages of the players on the team. If you predict a team to be mid-table based upon talent at the start of the season, and the team has a lot of developing players, you should probably expect that at least some of them will improve as the season continues.  De-Fense! De-Fence! D-|=|=|=|!  Bah, we get no money from this. I tried to sign Hay to a new contract so we'd at least be able to sell him for something, but he had zero interest in staying with us.  No, I wasn't in the weight room sabotaging the machines before Hay used them. Why do you ask?  Our defensive players get their due for their excellent performance.  We're absolutely going to focus on defense, I have no interest in getting blown out.  That's really polite of him. I'm similarly friendly in my own press conference as a result.  That's a good crowd, but not a sellout. The match should bring us over a million pounds of income, given that we're currently sitting at just over £150,000 it'll be a major shot in the arm. Deep Cup runs have really made a huge difference for us. At Newcastle United, January 21, 2017 FA Cup, Fourth Round  That BBC journalist is kind of crazy. We've been on a streak, but even so at 4-1 odds we're considered to have just a 20% chance of winning. 20% chance is better than I expected, so we should at least be able to give Newcastle a fight, and one in five chances do occur not infrequently. Still, Newcastle is just two points off of a Champion's League berth at the moment in the Premier League. Even a draw would be a magnificent achievement. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Defense Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Spilsbury. Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, Kadhim, Price, Netala, Read. We really should have scored in the 16th minute when Spilsbury has the Newcastle keeper off his line, but he instead shoots straight to him. Newcastle scores themselves on a set piece just moments later, and while we make a game effort to equalize we're unable to do so. It's an expected result, but the team played their hearts out and on a slightly different day we'd be forcing them to come to the Racecourse Grounds for a rematch.   Newcastle 1-0 Wrexham  With just a bit of luck we could have stunned the world, but we performed well and made Newcastle fight hard for their victory. There is no shame in this defeat. Put it this way, we made it as far in the FA Cup as Chelsea and Manchester United. Both of them lost by multiple goals.  That's a bit of a step down from the FA Cup payment. Of course we just made £800,000 from the Newcastle match, so perhaps I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective. We're already very close to topping last year's total income, and it's not even the end of January.  Harrison's back!  Exeter have been on fire recently, and just beat the league leader. So naturally they're our next opponent.  It's been a quiet transfer period for us. There haven't been any takers for the players I wanted to move other than my mistake in letting Ashton get away for nothing, so unless that happens we're going to look pretty much the same all season. vs. Exeter, January 24, 2017 League Two  Exeter has moved themselves into the chase for promotion, so we're catching them at just the wrong time. We've also been exceptionally good recently, so I'm hoping our hot streaks cancel each other out and we can win on our greater talent. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Higgs. Thomas, Reid, Lewis, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Franks, Mujkic, Read. Subs: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Todd, Jenkins, Price, Netala, Harrison. Stuart Simpson crumples to the ground in the second minute with what looks like a serious leg injury. That could be a major setback to us if it's as bad as it looks, but we still have a game to play. Exeter takes the lead after 20 minutes, but we answer back quickly and I like our chances to take the lead in the second half. Exeter's defense holds us to a draw, however, and we take a measly point from a match that saw our captain collapse. It makes for a bittersweet return for Harrison, who's a late game substitute and unfortunately can't power us to victory. Man of the Match: Justin Bailey   Wrexham 1-1 Exeter  That is terrible news. Simpson has been vital to us as a leader, and now we'll have to manage without him for almost the entire rest of the season. Harrison's back, but he won't be fully healthy for several games.  The transfer window is still open, so I try to grab a Norwich player who's been listed for loan. I'm hoping he doesn't reject the loan.  Oh come on. January 31st is the first leg of our Johnstone's Paint Trophy regional final, and we're going to be missing five first team players and three potential backups. Nice to see that Mujkic is getting time for Australia's senior team, though. At Gillingham, January 28, 2017 League Two  Gillingham has been in first place for months at this point. They've hit a rough patch, however, and a loss here would see them fall out of that position. Since we're going to be missing a full quarter of our first team I'm using everyone who's going to be away for this match. I'm going with a counter tactic, just because they're slumping doesn't mean they're not dangerous. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Al-Beloushi (c), Tench, Todd, Poole, Smissen, Kadhim, Jenkins, Price, Coulson, Mujkic, Read. Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Lewis, Cobb, Bailey, Netala, Harrison. So, I forgot to change to the counter-attacking tactic before the match and didn't realize I hadn't done so until half-time. No worries, everything worked out wonderfully. We actually have more possession in the first half and force Gillingham to scramble for the entire period. It leads to an own goal in the 24th minute, and Michael Coulson looks to finally be waking up from his slump when he picks the centerback's pocket and rifles a shot into the net from 25 meters away. I switch us back to counter for the second half, and with 30 minutes remaining bring in Harrison so that he can continue getting his sea legs back. He does even better, scoring our third goal less than 10 minutes after being brought on via a classic Harrison breakaway. It's a good performance in our first match without Simpson. Man of the Match: Michael Coulson.   Gillingham 0-3 Wrexham  He went and got himself hurt just after I put in the loan offer. Meanwhile they're demanding a wage contribution for the other DM that they've put up for loan. Norwich sucks as a parent club. This summer I'm going to recommend that we find a different one. At the moment, though, I have 11 hours and 15 minutes to find a replacement for Simpson before the transfer window closes.  poo poo, down to 9 hours, 30 minutes.  Oh come the gently caress on. It's 5pm. Seven hours left. vs. Chesterfield, January 31, 2017 Johnstone's Paint Trophy, North Final Home Tie  This is going to suck. We're missing so many players.  Everyone on the first team is in uniform, and that's with this competition only allowing five spots on the bench. If we can manage a draw I'll be happy, but that will mean we have to win against Chesterfield on the away leg. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Lewis, Smissen, Jenkins, Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Netala, Spilsbury. Subs: Thomas, Poole, Price, Franks, Read. We outplay Chesterfield all game long, but can't score until Stewart Lewis heads one in on a corner kick. Our lead is short lived as Chesterfield responds immediately, but we're able to salvage a draw from a match where we were seriously undermanned. Now all we're going to need is two away goals in a draw at Chesterfield or an outright win, neither are impossible tasks. Man of the Match: Stewart Lewis   Wrexham 1-1 Chesterfield  He's already good enough to start in the Premier League, I have no clue why he wasn't capped even sooner.  I was unable to find a defensive midfielder in our price range that would be worth signing, and every loan option was either injured or refused to join us. That's going to mean a reliance on Kadhim, I really need him to step up while Simpson is out.  We've played exquisite football for over a month at this point. Even with a much depleted squad we outplayed a League One team, and our only loss in the last ten games was against Newcastle where we punched way above our weight. With a game in hand over the two teams ahead of us a win will put us atop the table and we're in decent position to make the Johnstone's Paint Trophy finals. Add to all that a bank balance of nearly a million pounds and we're in a great position for the future. As compared to, say, Tackleford, who are only five points clear of relegation and are having player mutinies on the regular. 
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Feb 6, 2014 18:33
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Next update won't be for a week or so, I'm traveling and won't have my computer with FM.
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Feb 6, 2014 18:34
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By the 'eck, lad, you look like you might actually win it or die trying! Keep it up on the home stretch!
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Feb 6, 2014 18:57
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We should've signed him to a five-year contract. I blame all of you doubters and my crippling alcoholism for this!
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Feb 6, 2014 19:55
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Within reach of the Johnstone's Trophy AND the League 2 championship, and it looks like we might get promoted? I'd be optimistic if years of following soccer didn't teach me that I should always expect the worst. Still, hell of a good run so far.
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Feb 6, 2014 20:30
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I do hope that Tackleford's slump is only a temporary one. It just won't be the same if we're not kicking the poo poo out of them when we hit the Premier League.
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Feb 6, 2014 20:38
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Great run of games, a shame about our cup loss.habeasdorkus posted:We've played exquisite football for over a month at this point. Even with a much depleted squad we outplayed a League One team, and our only loss in the last ten games was against Newcastle where we punched way above our weight. With a game in hand over the two teams ahead of us a win will put us atop the table and we're in decent position to make the Johnstone's Paint Trophy finals. Add to all that a bank balance of nearly a million pounds and we're in a great position for the future. As compared to, say, Tackleford, who are only five points clear of relegation and are having player mutinies on the regular. Please tell me more about the problems at Tackleford.
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Feb 6, 2014 20:46
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rizzen posted:I do hope that Tackleford's slump is only a temporary one. It just won't be the same if we're not kicking the poo poo out of them when we hit the Premier League. Yeah, me too. I think they got really screwed by Financial Fair Play, they overpaid for ok to good league one quality players and then couldn't keep buying as needed to improve. I'd be surprised if they got relegated, but it's certain we'll be playing them next year when we get promoted. Dias posted:Within reach of the Johnstone's Trophy AND the League 2 championship, and it looks like we might get promoted? I'd be optimistic if years of following soccer didn't teach me that I should always expect the worst. Still, hell of a good run so far. Yeah, we're ahead of what I was expecting for this season, but it's got me dreaming of back to back promotions. I might be getting ahead of myself, though, and the Simpson injury will hurt us.
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Feb 6, 2014 20:48
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