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Tetrakarn posted:Recieved coupon from JJ, A++ would steal excess coupons again. Woo!
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Apr 20, 2014 19:34
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Trundel posted:Yo Zeroisanumber, I sent you a friend request so as soon as you accept it I can throw you the coupon. Oddly enough, I haven't received an invite. 
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Apr 20, 2014 19:46
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Though I'd like a coupon if someone has one left over, I can't find the game on steam. Is it possible that it's simply not available in Germany for some weird convoluted reason? The only thing I can find is the Demo, and trying to get to that, steam tells mequote:An error was encountered while processing your request: Damnit.
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Apr 21, 2014 13:35
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Lynneth posted:Though I'd like a coupon if someone has one left over, I can't find the game on steam. Is it possible that it's simply not available in Germany for some weird convoluted reason? The only thing I can find is the Demo, and trying to get to that, steam tells me You're just hosed, just like I am. The game isn't available in Germany due to licensing issues, as EA has a stranglehold on the German football licenses. You'd have to go out and buy a key from a third party website, get a VPN and gently caress about with that or get somebody else from the thread to buy it for you in exchange for something else. EDIT: I bought a key from a third party website (it's legal, don't nail me for  here), and it activated just fine. Check out "planetkey.de" for where I found the right store for me.
TheMcD fucked around with this message at 13:46 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 13:40
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Chapter the Fifth: Soar you mighty Dragons. December 4, 2019-January 1, 2020 December is going to be a pretty rough stretch of games, Chelsea and Arsenal are almost sure losses while Reading and Stoke are both solid teams having good seasons. Add in another trip to Old Trafford for the League Cup and there could be a lot of red on our dance card by the time the new year rolls in.  We're going to have to play defensively even in our own stadium, Chelsea is one of the megabastardiest clubs out there. vs. Chelsea, December 7, 2019 Premier League  Our only advantage against third place Chelsea is that we're at home. They're one of the biggest megabastards in the world, owned by Russian megabillionaire Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Hurst, Lewis, Todd, Durand, Matko, Mair, Djurovic, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable. Subs: Love, Mejasic, Vaillant, Troelsen, Bailey, Petts, Harrison. Ten minutes into the game and we're not being overwhelmed. Chelsea creates the first good chance shortly thereafter, but despite some wonderful dribbling to get into a dangerous position, the German winger Florian Meyer can't put his shot on target. So it's still scoreless when Daniel Matko fires a low corner to the near post, where a late arriving Stuart Mair controls the ball on his knee and volleys it past Chelsea's keeper. We've got a lead, on Mair's first ever goal for the club! Chelsea almost hit back immediately, when a long throw-in rattles around the crowded penalty area for several seconds before it can be cleared. Another chance is stymied when Todd is able to interpose himself between the ball and goal before the attacking Chelsea player can control the ball and get a shot off. They finally equalize after ten minutes of furious pressure when a Suarez shot bounces off Sinclair Lewis at the near post and takes an unlucky hop into the net. It's officially an own goal for Lewis, but he was really a victim of fate. The first half is seen out without further scoring, and I'm ecstatic that we're hanging with Chelsea. But I did have to shuffle the squad before the half, when Daniel Matko went down injured. Mateo Mujkic also picked up a minor injury, but he stays in as I don't have someone who can adequately replace him. I shifted Djurovic to right wide midfielder, and Justin Bailey is now playing in a Premier League matchup against Chelsea. He's come a long way since playing non-conference football. Bailey proves he's still got it when we retake the lead just minutes after the restart. Shirra finds him on an indirect free kick, and Bailey smoothly moves the ball on to an unmarked Bastable. This time Chelsea can't muster an intense response, and we continue to have the better of them until the 68th minute, when we patiently and expertly break down the Chelsea defense and Bastable shows great work rate by leaping to his feet after being tackled just outside the penalty area to get on the end of a Shirra feed and put the ball in the net for a three-one lead. I'm not convinced that we'll prevent Chelsea from scoring twice in the final 25 or so minutes of play, but at minimum the goal seals a draw against one of the best teams in football. Chelsea peg back immediately in bizarre fashion, and once again Stewart Lewis is the victim. He challenges for a just outside the keeper box, and prevents the Chelsea winger from getting possession in a very dangerous spot. Unfortunately for him the ball bounces off him, and spins into the near post, out of the reach of the keeper. He redeems himself however, when Chelsea's best chance to score all day arrives. Suarez nods a header from 5 yards out that's just kept out by the post, and the rebound falls to him with a wide open net and no Wrexham player in front of him. It's only a last second inch-perfect tackle by Lewis that prevents Chelsea from knotting the game up, and when the final whistle blows the stands erupt in celebration. Man of the Match: Rocky Bastable   Wrexham 3-2 Chelsea   The butchers bill for our win against Chelsea is dear. For now Mejasic will have to play left midfielder while Djurovic plays right. Petts and Harrison will have to play on the wings if we are in the 4-5-1.   He says he's fine, but I change my mind after our conversation and send him on vacation as we have only one game in the next two weeks. We desperately need him to stay fit and awesome, he's been everything I could have imagined thus far and has more than repaid his four million pound transfer fee. He'll miss the Stoke match but be back in time for us to go get knocked around by Manchester United again.  I can't believe Arsenal got bought out. And not by an overseas mogul either, the new president and his cronies are all English. Probably some London City flash with a boatload of bonus cash, they must have figured it was either buy Arsenal or re-create the mountain of cocaine scene from Scarface.  By all rights we'll be advancing in the FA Cup. Rotherham is in League One while Luton has moved up to League Two. We ought to handle either of them without breaking a sweat.  This moves up the game a couple days, putting it closer to our sally to Stoke than our rendezvous with Reading.  Flamengo wins the Brasileiro once again, that makes them champions in three out of the last four seasons. More importantly for us we now have a working knowledge of Brazilian players.  Shirra makes a team of the week that's stuffed with players from Everton, Swansea, Man City, and Man United. And a Chelsea player, because we beat them despite relatively good performances on their part. At Stoke City, December 14, 2019 Premier League  Stoke City are performing above all expectations this year, finding themselves in fourth place nearly halfway through the season. They're not that good, but then on most days we aren't the type of team to be beating Chelsea either. We're also hurt by the injuries on our wing, I've had to pull Dinko Mejasic up to the left midfielder position from left back, and Djurovic is playing right midfielder today. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Hurst, Lewis, Todd, Durand (c), Djurovic, Mair, Bailey, Mejasic, Shirra, Harrison. Subs: Love, Vaillant, Johansen, Troelsen, Petts, Youssouf, De Blasio. Our counterattack is in full bloom, but a brilliant, sprawling save against Harrison keeps us off the board, and Stoke scores a goal off of a corner kick just afterwards. Near the hour mark William Harrison takes a crack that he has difficulty running off, and I bring in the youngster Cosimo De Blasio for his first blooding. As the clock winds down we can't find a goal, and are defeated despite playing quite well. The credit is all to the Stoke defense, where three of the four backs had ratings above a seven and the man of the match should have gone to their keeper. After the game I tell the team that their performance had many positives, they deserve being lauded for their effort despite the result.   Stoke 1-0 Wrexham  Welcome back, Rock. Hope you're feeling rested, because I don't plan to give you much time off for the rest of the season.  Wigan's got seven points through 16 games. The final straw was a loss to Crystal Palace, who were previously winless. There's almost no way they don't get relegated. At Manchester United, December 17, 2019 Capital One Cup, Quarterfinal  The silver lining is that we're unlikely to be crushed as badly as we were when last we ventured into Old Trafford. I kind of wish we were playing FM 2015, as Man U is going to get seriously nerfed after they finish seventh in real life this year. The game clearly forgot to program in that Sir Alex Ferguson is a literal wizard. Starting Formation: 5-4-1 Defense Starting 11: Higgs, Hurst, Lewis, Todd, Johansen, Durand, Djurovic, Mair, Petts, Mejasic, Bastable. Subs: Love, Youssouf, Vaillant, Troelsen, Shirra, Harley, Harrison.   I'd rather not dwell on this performance. We fall behind before all the fans have even taken their seats on a free kick goal, and it's all downhill from there. It's 3-0 in the 83rd minute before Dejan Djurovic can score a consolation goal. The only silver lining is that we were much better than the first time we played United, but that still leaves us a long way from actually playing well against them. The loss knocks us out of the Capital One Cup, which is a real pity as other than Man U I felt that we could defeat any other team still left in the draw and earn a Europa League berth by winning it. Man U 3-1 Wrexham  Mair picked up five yellow cards in all competitions before we hit the midway point of the season, meaning he'll be suspended one game. Other than the occasional unwise challenge he's become exactly what I dreamed of when I found him playing for that no name Scottish squad back in Volume I, Chapter XI.  The headhunting offers I'm getting are pretty weak, as a three time straight Manager of the Year recipient I'm rather surprised that I'm not in the running for a plum job from a big club fallen on hard times. You hear, Liverpool?  We'll treat them the way Manchester United treated us.  Another game where we have to focus on defensive preparation. It'll be nice when we're the megabastards who can just boss any team we face. Although that isn't quite so true in the Premier League, as you only have to look at Sunderland in real life this year to see that anyone in the league can beat anyone else. They might be in a desperate fight to avoid relegation, but they took four points from Manchester City this year and just destroyed Chelsea's title aspirations by winning on Chelsea's home turf.  At least we'll have Mujkic back, despite an unspectacular start to his Premier League career he's still our best option on the left side. vs. Reading, December 21, 2019 Premier League  Reading is currently an above average Premier League squad, but as is so often a case a few false steps could easily imperil their chance of staying up in future seasons. There's only seven or eight teams guaranteed to remain in the Premier League from year to year, and Reading isn't one of them. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Hurst, Todd, Lewis, Mejasic, Djurovic, Troelsen, Petts, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable. Subs: Love, Durand, Vaillant, Simpson, Bailey, Youssouf, Harrison. Any worries I had about a slump setting in after the Stoke and Man United games are dispelled after Djurovic makes himself space before scoring four minutes in, and then launching a cross that Bastable leaps high in the air to head in at the ten minute mark. Dejan caps the game of his life with a second assist that is the mirror image of the first, except this time it's Shirra on the end of the cross. It's three-nil just 32 minutes into the game, and we cruise to victory. The most telling stat for the game is shots on target, Reading manage just one compared to our eleven. Man of the Match: Dejan Djurovic   Wrexham 3-0 Reading  Thompson can play wide on both sides of the field, him being healthy again, adding desperately needed depth at those positions. But Djurovic has been so awesome on the right wing these past few games that I plan on giving him more playing time there despite it not being his natural position. This also allows me to get more playing time for Petts and Bailey, who would otherwise spend most of their time as backups behind Djurovic.  Walley is never going to play for us at this rate. Expect me to sell him for a six figure sum next summer or this January.  We're playing Arsenal in just over a week. I'm hoping that the takeover turmoil allows us to snatch a result despite the game being played in North London.  I did not expect to see us having multiple team of the week players less than five months after our first Premier League game. We're well ahead of schedule.  Meanwhile, the Southampton saga continues. If I were a Southampton supporter I'd be right infuriated about the distraction the takeover was causing the team. It hasn't really hurt the team, they were predicted to finish mid-table and that's exactly where they are right now, but it can't possibly be helping. At Cardiff City, December 26, 2019 Premier League  It's the battle for the Cwp part two! What makes this more fun is that Cardiff City literally stole our colors. The club's nickname is the Bluebirds, but their insane Malaysian owner switched them up completely because he likes the color red and thought it would sell more jerseys in Asia. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Hurst, Lewis, Todd, Durand, Djurovic, Mair, Bailey, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable. Subs: Love, Mejasic, Johansen, Simpson, Petts, Thompson, Harrison. Cardiff have a huge advantage in possession early, but we keep them from doing anything with it. Mair hits the post from a corner, but we recycle possession and Djurovic gets on the end of a Meteor cross to put us ahead. Djurovic is in great form, he's now cored three goals and notched two assists these past three games. Bastable has a chance to double our joy, but can't score this time. A hush falls over the stadium when Stewart Lewis goes down in a heap in the 60th minute and clutches his arm, following a scrum over the ball on during one of our corners. It frankly should have been called a penalty. Mujkic shortly thereafter finds himself in acres of space, but fires the ball directly into the Cardiff keeper, leaving me with my head in my hands. We're playing with fire by not converting our chances with just a one goal lead. I pull the ineffective Bastable for Harrison, hoping fresh legs will give us the insurance goal. It doesn't pay off, but we turn out to not need it. We take a 1-0 victory in a game where Cardiff had plenty of time with the ball and didn't do anything with it. Just as importantly, Mateo Mujkic has his first excellent game of the season, he's been decidedly mediocre with just two assists and no goals in sixteen league games. Man of the Match: Mateo Mujkic   Cardiff 0-1 Wrexham  This injury could really hurt us. Johansen has shown nothing this season, and Vaillant doesn't have the class to play much at this level of competition. That leaves Todd as the only other centerback that I can trust, and Lewis has been a good deal more consistent than Todd. I might have to do some shopping when the winter transfer window opens in five days.  “Fortunate to win” my well formed glutes. Someone seems to be mistaking possession for success.The real surprise in the Cardiff game was that we only scored one goal, not that they couldn't beat us.  Someone in Wales is losing their job, but it sure ain't me! I'm surprised that the Everton coach is on the hot seat, at present they're in 6th place on the table, which is pretty normal for them. At Arsenal, December 28, 2019 Premier League  We're going to get pasted in this game regardless of who I send out, so I'm using it so rest players for our New Years Day game at Everton. In baseball there's a concept called the “house money” lineup. Generally a weekend series between teams will span three or four games from Thursday or Friday to Sunday. The Sunday game is usually a 1pm start, and is termed a “get away” day as the teams will be boarding chartered aircraft to get to their next opponent right after the game. An away team that's won the first two or three games of the series will often start a whole bunch of their reserve/bench players to reduce the wear and tear on their starters, essentially giving them an off day. So it should come as no surprise that our lineup for this match is comprised largely of youth players and backups. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Youssouf, Vaillant, Johansen, Durand, Thompson, Simpson (c), Petts, Mejasic, Argenti, Harrison. Subs: Love, Hurst, O'Hanlon, Troelseon, Dixon, Rouissi, De Blasio. I'm quite pleased with our performance in the first half. Mejasic has the first clearcut chance, Arsenal has a goal disallowed, and we're all tied up at halftime. The drenching rain doesn't hurt, it's turned the pitch into a bog and is keeping Arsenal from taking advantage of the large gap in technical skills between the teams. Each side has just five shots, and we have had more on target and better chances. Normalcy reasserts itself after the half. Arsenal is awarded a penalty right after the second half begins, and that's it for our chances of a win. They add another goal from open play with 20 minutes remaining, and wear us down on their way to a comfortable victory. The players are dejected despite a performance they shouldn't be too depressed about, it's a good thing that most of them will either be on the bench or not in the match day squad in four days time against Everton.   Arsenal 4-1 Wrexham  MLS is clearly getting big-time, Italian soccer websites are now covering them. Or FM just hasn't fixed the “who covers what” list in the media section of the database. Anyways, Montreal is a damned dynasty now, I think this is their fourth championship in five years.  The people of jolly old England can't get enough of us getting our heads handed to us by Manchester United.  Lazio Lazio Vaffanculo! Go goosestep your way to another lovely mid-table finish, you fascist fucksticks. At Everton, January 1, 2019 Premier League  This is our third and likely final game against Everton this season, barring a FA Cup matchup. We've each won once, them in Premier League play and us in the League Cup. I'd very much like a win here, but taking out a team that are currently in sixth is not an easy task. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Hurst, Vaillant, Todd, Mejasic, Djurovic, Mair, Bailey, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable. Subs: Love, Durand, Johansen, Troelsen, Petts, Thompson, Harrison. It's all Everton in the first half, and have already had one goal called off before their dominance culminating in a goal a half hour into the match. We hit back immediately from a free kick when Todd is played onside by the Everton keeper and finds himself with the ball and only open space between him and the net. We squander an opportunity in the 44th minute when Shirra misses the target from an admittedly tight angle. That means Everton retakes the lead when a defensive breakdown allows Everton to score again before five minutes have passed in the second half. Everton looks to have pulled ahead with a third goal shortly thereafter, but it too is waved off, leaving us just one behind. I swap Bailey out for Petts with just fifteen minutes left in the game, and am rewarded by the sub delivering a perfect ball to Shirra when we equalize less than two minutes after he was brought on. Neither side can get a winning goal, and the strange draw drought of 2019 is left behind on the first day of 2020, as we draw for the first time in 39 matches.   Everton 2-2 Wrexham  We're in amazing shape. We're midtable in the Premier League, and have an easy third round game in the FA Cup coming up in a few days week. We've had some injury problems, Lewis being out for a month could really hurt us, but we've largely overcome them. We're just over halfway through the season, and it would take a massive collapse for us to fall back into a relegation fight. More importantly, we're a young team that's still improving, and thus we should be even better in the second half of the season. I think we should finish in the top ten, and we might even make a challenge for a Europa League spot, assuming the Cup positions are won by teams qualifying for the Champion's League. I'm dreaming of European Football next season.   BOARD VOTE(Commandingly) I've requested this meeting because we're in massively better shape than even I could have anticipated this season. I have a single request, and that is for additional funds to bring in reinforcements and solidify our squad. I believe that with some additional players, specifically a wide midfielder or winger, a fullback, and a centerback, we could challenge for a Europa League birth next season. We currently have £565,000 in the transfer budget and are £5,000/wk under the wage budget cap. We have a balance of £10,300,000, which should double by the end of the season, and if we finish at our current league position we would receive £12,400,000 more in prize money. VOTE 1: Wage/Transfer Money A) (Reservedly) While you're certainly right about being in excellent shape, and while we are as close to a Champion's League berth as we are to the relegation zone, we feel it's prudent for the club to first build a strong financial position before spending significantly more on transfers and salaries. At the same time, we certainly don't want to see the team slide down the table due to injuries, so a modest sum will be made available. (Transfer/Wage Budget increased by £2,000,000) B) (Agreeably) We certainly agree with you that the season has been a smashing success, if you feel that this would help us improve on what's already a great year we can absolutely free up some more cash. (Transfer/Wage Budget increased by £7,000,000) C) (Covetously) It's time to push the boat out! It's time for clubs like Dinamo Rapid Serbsk to know the face of terror, and that face is Wrexham! (Transfer/Wage Budget increased by £13,000,000) VOTING CLOSES AT 9PM ON APRIL 24, OR AFTER THERE HAS BEEN 11 VOTES I really want to get playing again 
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Apr 24, 2014 |
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Apr 24, 2014 21:03
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C. ALL THE MONEY
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Apr 24, 2014 21:12
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Sod it, we're either soaring to the skies or crashing spectacularly. C.
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Apr 24, 2014 21:17
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It's back!  For that, I'm voting for all the money. C!
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Apr 24, 2014 21:31
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Beating Chelsea gets you access to the welsh equivalent of the Scrooge McDuck money vault c! Also I'm offering a forums upgrade to the best supporters song for Wrexham.
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Apr 24, 2014 21:33
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C. Lead us to glory you beautiful bastard
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Apr 24, 2014 21:34
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Ride or Die. C.
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Apr 24, 2014 21:44
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B. Some of the money.
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Apr 24, 2014 21:44
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C. Invest for glory!
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Apr 24, 2014 21:44
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Who's the best American player in your game? In my current game (2027) they have a worse squad overall (They don't even have a GK that's as good as Rimando) but they do have the most valuable player in the world in this guy. Also C, because, well, spending money is fun.
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Apr 24, 2014 21:48
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It's back! C!
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Apr 24, 2014 21:50
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Wow, that is one amazing player. 20 first touch, 18 dribbling, and 16 pace makes him a holy terror on the wing, and once he beats his man to the byline 17 crossing is going to lead to a lot of assists. The USA in this save is pretty poor. This guy, a midfielder who can play most positions without embarrassing himself, is their best player. He's got a sky high potential ability, but he's already 26 so he won't get close to reaching his full potential. I've noticed that the US very seldom develops any players with high potential abilities, so once the current team ages they're screwed. The US national team in this game, for example, would probably yo-yo between the Championship and the Premier League, whereas the actual USMNT could probably get midtable these days. It's kind of frustrating, especially given the strides America has made as a footballing nation in the last 20 years. ETA: The C's have it, now I need to figure out where to spend all this money!
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Apr 24, 2014 21:59
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Too late to vote  Anyways I also have one of those 75% off steam coupons for the game, if anyone still wants one.
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Apr 24, 2014 22:15
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I'm waiting for next year's edition to finally see some good Liverpool stats.
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Apr 24, 2014 22:20
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tarbrush posted:I'm waiting for next year's edition to finally see some good Liverpool stats. I know! I picked the right year to start following Liverpool closely. They were always the Prem team I liked most when I first started getting into soccer due to common ownership between them and the Boston Red Sox, as well as shared hatred for Margaret Thatcher, but I was hoping that they could scrape into 4th and that Suarez wouldn't bring a chainsaw onto the field and decapitate someone.
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Apr 24, 2014 22:39
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habeasdorkus posted:Suarez wouldn't bring a chainsaw onto the field and decapitate someone. There's still time. Chelsea at Anfield is likely to be pretty crazy.
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Apr 24, 2014 23:23
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tarbrush posted:There's still time. Chelsea at Anfield is likely to be pretty crazy. That's true, and he was in full on jackass mode during the Man City game. He's lucky he didn't pick up a second yellow card for a couple of those dives.
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Apr 25, 2014 00:12
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Chapter the Sixth: Dream an impossible dream. January 1, 2020-February 1, 2020 We face Manchester United, again, but beyond that we don't have any games that are very difficult. We've been handed an easy draw in the FA Cup, so we should have six games over the course of the month. But first...   Midseason reinforcements are called for. Our defense is where we're weakest, especially with Lewis on the shelf for a few more weeks.  The Board has, in their wisdom, decided to not putz around and have unleashed a £13m money bazooka to fill the needs of the club. We can certainly afford it, we've got a bank balance of over £10m pounds right now and are expected to finish with over £30m in the bank.   Simpson's contract is up at the end of the year as well. I doubt that I'll re-sign any of these players, senior or youth.  Bastable was robbed. He's been nothing but extraordinary since joining us, and with 13 goals in just 19 games has been worth every single penny of his record £4 million fee.  Meanwhile Mujkic adds a second “Young Player of the Year” trophy to his collection.  Shirra finds himself on the clip show highlight reels for this goal, which was a quite nifty piece of work from a narrow angle. He's really come on this year to be a key player for our squad, and between him, Djurovic, and Mair I've found myself playing the squad in the 4-4-1-1 formation much more than the 4-5-1.  Mancunian coaches have it easy. I could win all of my games too with a £140m wage budget and the best players in the world. Instead I come in third for “only” winning four out of six Premier League matches this past month with a wage budget less than 1/10th theirs.  I really hope he gets some great coaching attributes so it's worth hiring him once he retires.  As one of his final acts, Sky Shadowing begins the hunt for a foreign feeder club. He won't see it's completion.  An Israeli wonderkid I've been keeping my eye on for the past year just got an offer from Portuguese giants Porto. I put in a matching offer, but if Barcelona and PSG get involved we're not going to be able to get him. I've held off on making an offer for him before now as my scouts say he's not interested in joining us, but I have to at least make the effort if he's going to be sold.  Bah, he'd never have picked us over Barca anyways. And those grapes are probably sour.  Check that description out. “Wonderkid.” Boumsong is a centerback, and as a loaner he'll only cost us 17.5k a week in salary. Given the holes we need to fill if we're to try and crack European play, I'm fine with using a loan player for one of them. vs. Rotherham, January 4, 2020 FA Cup, Third Round  Rotherham are still in League One, currently sitting in 16th position. We should handle them with ease, our backups at this point are basically as good as your average Championship team. I don't want to be complacent, we will be using some starters, but our next match is yet again versus Manchester United and I want the first team fit for that. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Higgs, Youssouf, Johansen, Todd, Durand, Troelsen, Petts, Bailey, Thompson, Argenti, Harrison (c). Subs: De Blasio, Mujkic, Shirra, Dixon, O'Hanlon, Mejasic, Love. Rotherham stuns the crowd in the 6th minute with a free kick bender into the back of our net. It's the only goal for the first half, despite our dominance in every area of the game. I'm starting to become seriously concerned when we're unable to make anything happen by the hour mark, and put in Mujkic. Two minutes later we level the score. It's the only one we'll get, and it's not enough. Rotherham scores again in the 77th minute, and we are brutally upset by a team two divisions below us. It was a pathetic performance, and I made a huge mistake by trusting in our secondary players to get us through.   Wrexham 1-2 Rotherham  Now I know how the managers of the big clubs felt when we did this to them. I am so angry at the team for dropping that game.  Rogers was never going to play a senior game for us. I've offered up other youngsters with no long term future at the club to teams as well.  The job interview offers are getting better.  Our first reinforcement arrives. Vid Kovacevic Goalkeeper  Vid was riding the pine at Liverpool, and he was deeply unhappy about it. The transfer fee was low, only £925k to Liverpool up front with another £100k over the next year, but I forgot to change the club wage cap before negotiations started and was limited to offering a much smaller contract than Kovacevic would accept. His agent nearly broke off negotiations, but a deal was agreed to where he'd sign for us thanks to some very sweet escalator clauses, the promise to let him go for a pittance if we're relegated, a general £12m minimum fee release clause, and a very large agent fee. He's expensive, but he has the potential to be a world class keeper and is only 24.  He's already somewhat better than Higgs, though Higgs remains superior in the air and organizing the defense for the time being.   And in comes our second reinforcement, though he won't be eligible to play against Manchester United in five days time. I'm very likely to try and extend Boumsong's loan at the end of the season, he looks like he'll be pretty great.  The election is at hand! Who will win?  As the voting is ongoing, I have a real coup to report. We stole a player from FC Barcelona, one of the biggest and richest teams in the world. Tonci Cirjak Right Back  Players at Spanish clubs all have release fees. For the top stars they tend to be so massive that no one would ever think of triggering them, PSG did some dick swinging this past year by talking about triggering Lionel Messi's £210 million fee but never came close to actually doing it. But for younger players they represent a way to nab excellent talent that a team would never sell to you. In this case, if Barcelona really wanted to keep Cirjak they would have made a better offer than we could ever have put forward, but that would require promising him playing time that he just doesn't merit yet for one of the five best clubs in the world. So we land him, and at a very reasonable price. Cirjak is our last purchase of the window, there's a Danish right winger I'm interested in that can be had for about £3m but with the additions of Boumsong, Kovacevic, and Cirjak our wage budget is now up to £330,000/wk and our transfer budget is down to £350,000.  Congratulations AJ_Impy! Thanks to widespread support, appearing on 66% of all ballots and receiving more than twice as many first place votes as anyone else, he is your new President. Runners up were CVE with 28 points and A Tartan Tory with 23. Work will begin immediately on the promised “huge, fuckoff statue of a dragon” he promised us during the campaign.  We also have a new managing director position in the organization, which was given to CVE as runner up of the election.  Leeds and Millwall keep making offers for Stuart Simpson, but they're five figure sums and I'm not letting my captain go for that little.  That's amusing considering how young our team is, and that players such as Todd, Shirra, and Mair who I signed as youngsters are now first team regulars.   : I mean, a dragon monument? That's going to be AWESOME. Curse our low reputation. I'm miffed that I haven't been asked by the board to pick the feeder team myself. Usually after about five years with a team the board will ask you if you want to suggest a team. vs. Manchester United, January 11, 2020 Premier League  These guys again. At least we're not playing at Old Trafford this time. And this time we've got two new faces on the pitch, though that probably won't be a huge improvement until they get a chance to blend with the team. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Johansen, Todd, Durand, Djurovic, Mair, Petts, Mujkic, Shirra, Bastable. Subs: Higgs, Mejasic, Vaillant, Simpson, Bailey, Thompson, Harrison. We're not nearly as overmatched as we were at Old Trafford, but United are still superior. After the opening minutes see Durand warned and one of United's centerbacks carded, the game settles into a tough fight until United break through in the fifteenth minute on a golazo from 20 yards out. They add a second four minutes later. With only three shots, they've still put us in a deep hole. It doesn't help that we're squandering our own chances, Mair misses what should have been a goal in the first half, and right as the second half begins Bastable misses an open net from just feet away. Making the day even worse, Mair has to come off in the 62nd minute with an injury. It's yet another loss to Manchester United. Oh how I hate them.   Wrexham 0-2 Man United  We lose Mair for the next two matches, the injury is not as bad as it might have been.  Another wonderkid I was keeping my eye on is drawing attention. This time he's actually willing to come to us, so I feel confident about getting his signature. At Crystal Palace, January 14, 2020 Premier League  We go from playing a team that has lost just twice all season to playing one that has just three victories. With the addition of Boumsong to the lineup we now have changed fully half of our back line, though when Stewart Lewis returns from injury he'll be playing as much as Todd and Boumsong. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong, Todd, Mejasic, Djurovic, Simpson (c), Petts, Mujkic, Shirra, Bastable. Subs: Higgs, Hurst, Vaillant, Troelsen, Bailey, Thompson, Harrison. The highlight of the game belongs to Rocky Bastable, who puts us ahead in the 18th minute on an audacious chip over the keeper from range. Crystal Palace is able to equalize, but the visiting fans are treated to another impressive goal, this one from Scott Shirra that floats past the keeper's outstretched hands and bangs around the corner of the goal before rattling into the net. Yet again Crystal Palace equalizes, this time just before the break. We get a huge opportunity in the 55th minute when a Palace centerback picks up his second yellow, and I order the team to take advantage of our numerical superiority. Just moments after I do so we put extreme pressure on Palace, and take the lead when Cirjak scores his first goal for the team. It's still not enough to put Crystal Palace down, and they equalize yet again on an amazing goal that we had no chance of stopping. As time winds down we continue to press for yet another go-ahead goal, creating plenty of chances that go begging by bare margins. Yet in the end it's Meteor Mujkic who finds a fourth goal, his first of the season, and puts us ahead for good in the 85th minute. Man of the Match: Scott Shirra   Crystal Palace 3-4 Wrexham  Higgs had just 6 months remaining on his contract, and with Kovacevic's arrival he wasn't going to be getting into games. The fans are upset about it, those gormless ingrates.  The Southampton takeover falls apart for the second time. This time it's just three days before they come to Wrexham to play us. vs. Southampton, January 18, 2020 Premier League  Hopefully the takeover drama will give us an edge in this game, Southampton currently lie in 7th place. We need to finish at least that high if we want any chance of making the Europa League. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong, Todd, Mejasic, Djurovic, Troelsen, Petts, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable. Subs: Love, Hurst, Vaillant, Simpson, Bailey, Thompson, Harrison. The Meteor is back! After an even opening to the game where he repeatedly caused panic in the Southampton defense, Mujkic puts us on the board at the 25 minute mark. We withstand a barrage from the Saints, but they punch themselves out and we take advantage to put ourselves up by two on a Dejan Djurovic goal. A two goal lead is important, as it means we're still ahead after Southampton is able to pull one back, and we see the game out successfully. The win moves us into eighth place, only five points back of a Champion's League spot. Dare we dream? Probably not, we've still got a -9 goal differential thanks to the hidings we've been given by the megabastards and the fact that most of our wins are by one goal. But eighth place in mid-January is nothing to sneeze at. We're ahead of giants like Tottenham and Liverpool on the table at the moment, which is simply remarkable. Man of the Match: Richard Petts   Wrexham 2-1 Southampton  Ok, now I'm starting to get job offers from clubs with some real name recognition. The Dutch Eredivise is a second tier European League, but Ajax are a regular fixture in the Champion's League and were masters of all Europe in 1995. I'm getting all these job interviews because of how poorly I'm paid at just £1.3k/wk. The Premier League average for a head coach is £50,000/wk, and the second lowest paid manager earns £13,000/wk. We're going to have to have a discussion about my compensation soon, before I get disgruntled.  A healthy Lewis means we now have a solid defense that should match most of our Premier League peers in quality.  I knew this day would come. Shirra's been amazing this season, the 19 year old has 7 goals and 8 assists in just 22 games.  I'm glad he's willing to wait until the end of the season, we don't have much space in our wage budget at the moment to offer him the salary he's likely to command. He does have an option year on his contract, but I'm pretty sure triggering that would just piss him off, and I don't want him leaving us for Manchester United at the age of 21 because I was too niggardly to give him a well deserved raise.  You'll never be as good at Reading as you could have been with me, punk!  Youssouf is turning out to have been a bad signing. He's 32, so he's not getting any better. He's signed for two more seasons. And he's earning £14.5k/wk. I signed him because we desperately needed right back cover, and I'm paying for my panic.  And my chance to nab this Dane is gone, his release fee was previously just £2.5m, it's now been bumped up to £28m. vs. Swansea, January 28, 2020 Premier League  Cwp fever strikes Wrexham! Currently the Cwp standings are all knotted up, with each team having won one game and lost another. Swansea holds first thanks to goal differential from when they thrashed us early in the season. It's time to make them pay for that. Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong, Lewis, Mejasic, Djurovic, Mair, Petts, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable. Subs: Love, Hurst, Todd, Simpson, Bailey, Thompson, Harrison. Our counter-attack lures the Swans in several times in the opening stages of the game, and we get chances due to their overextension, but Shirra misses badly on the best of them. We are in fine fettle for the whole first half, but it doesn't pay off until Shirra draws a penalty in the 43rd minute. He doesn't miss that one at all. Then, only 94 seconds later, Mujkic springs Bastable for another goal and we've gone from having nothing to show for our good play to coasting into the locker room with a solid lead. At least, that's what you'd expect. Instead, Swansea comes back less than a minute after Bastable's goal to get back within striking distance courtesy of a frustrating lapse on left back Dinko Mejasic's part. I grunt in exasperation when Swansea appears to score an equalizer, but then see the sideline judge waving it off due to a foul from the Swansea player. Swansea repeatedly makes me moan in worry, especially during a frenetic last minute barrage that sees them earn three corners in stoppage time, but we hold up. All the scoring in the game occurred in a brief span between 42 minutes and 30 seconds, and 44 minutes and 58 seconds. With the win we're now leading the Cwp standings with six points. Cardiff play Swansea on March 21st, while we host Cardiff on April 25th. If we win that Cardiff match, the Cwp is ours, and we will empirically be the best team in Wales. Man of the Match: Meteor Mujkic   Wrexham 2-1 Swansea  Well that's unfortunate. He'll miss three games thanks to that virus.  That's very unfortunate. I guess the game noticed that we didn't have anyone currently injured, so it took steps to ensure that I'm now missing two of the three players I brought in to bolster our playoff run. It's back to a pairing of Lewis and Todd for the foreseeable future.  We've moved up the table to 9th place, and are only two places off of a likely Europa League qualification spot. We're just five points off of fourth, which carries Champion's League qualification. I don't think there's any way we manage to achieve that, but it's a sign of just how good we've been this season that we can even dream of such an outcome. 
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Apr 25, 2014 04:05
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Aw yeah, my favorite Let's Play is back. Amazing how well we're doing in only our first season in the Premier League.
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Apr 25, 2014 04:44
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Just out of interest, is there any condition on which you'd put forward leaving Wrexham or do you have a goal in mind before considering offers?
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Apr 25, 2014 05:06
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DerLeo posted:Just out of interest, is there any condition on which you'd put forward leaving Wrexham or do you have a goal in mind before considering offers? If the board seriously lowballed me on my contract request and a giant club came along, I'd at least take the interview. 
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Apr 25, 2014 05:28
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Surely the club needs to offer him like a 10 year deal. Say 10 years at an AAV of £2.5 million quid. Backload it fair bit, and include a £2 million pound signing bonus and a £5 million pound club release clause if we are relegated. Qualification bonuses of £1 million for Europa league, £5 mil for the Champions League and £20 million if he wins the premier league or Champions league which also triggers a 10% Escalator clause. Like, he's our equilevent of Alex, let's get it done.
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Apr 25, 2014 05:55
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As chairman, rest assured we intend you to be thoroughly gruntled. We will do whatever is necessary to restore you to the upper echelons of gruntlement as soon as the fat stacks of cash from this season roll in. The higher you finish, the fatter the stack, the more emphatic the gruntlification can be.
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Apr 25, 2014 10:00
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AJ_Impy posted:As chairman, rest assured we intend you to be thoroughly gruntled. We will do whatever is necessary to restore you to the upper echelons of gruntlement as soon as the fat stacks of cash from this season roll in. The higher you finish, the fatter the stack, the more emphatic the gruntlification can be. Yes, yes.. promise him the world *looks through stacks of financial history* Well guess it can be done after all. Having to balance the books to fulfill the blue-eyed promises of the president can be really tiring. And that drat statue is costing us a fortune... *throws stacks of bills at the president* 
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Apr 25, 2014 10:05
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CVE posted:Yes, yes.. promise him the world *looks through stacks of financial history* Well guess it can be done after all. Having to balance the books to fulfill the blue-eyed promises of the president can be really tiring. A promise is a promise, and the manager himself is by all accounts delighted with the statue. No skimping on the costs! I want opposing fans to look up at that dragon and know they're in for a thorough roasting! You forget just how obscenely rich the upper echelons of this division are, and I want us to start carving out our place here long term! We can promise the Earth because we're getting it!
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Apr 25, 2014 10:41
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Don't worry, I will open the doors to my Scrooge McDuck-esque money pit that all Scottish people have before we let you go.
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Apr 25, 2014 11:03
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Do you deserve a raise after botching the FA Cup? 
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Apr 25, 2014 11:08
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1300/week is a pittance. A 3 time Manager of the Year winner who has dragged a club to the Premier League is definitely deserving of a much more lucrative contract. 10x should be the very absolute minimum starting point. It'll be sad to see the Wrexham ride end, but if the new Chairman is determined to
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Apr 25, 2014 11:34
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Yeah, let's start throwing money at our illustrious manager. Maybe build him his OWN dragon statue for his garden!
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Apr 25, 2014 11:56
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:Surely the club needs to offer him like a 10 year deal. Say 10 years at an AAV of £2.5 million quid. Actually, I'd prefer a shorter term contract. 2-3 years in length. That AAV is about what I'd be looking for, though. It'd leave me well below what the top managers earn (tops is about 100k/wk), but ahead of the lower midtable scrum. AJ_Impy posted:The higher you finish, the fatter the stack, the more emphatic the gruntlification can be. Fair enough. I'm happy to wait until the summer in that case. rizzen posted:
My contract demands will probably be somewhere in the 50-60k/wk range. 13k/wk is what the next lowest earning manager is getting, and he's about to get relegated with Wigan. Torrannor posted:Do you deserve a raise after botching the FA Cup? What's that Liverpool? You want me to take over one of the most storied clubs in all of football, and bring you your 19th league championship and add to your already impressive English record number of European honors? And a chance to manage the team I support in real life? And you'll pay me 100,000/wk? habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 13:50 on Apr 25, 2014 |
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Apr 25, 2014 13:16
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Scott Brown might've made all the choices to get us into the Premier League, but we're forgetting the real heroes, the ones who periodically rubber-stamped those choices. I move that the board, in light of its spectacular performance, be granted a substantial bonus package. Trebles all round!
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Apr 25, 2014 14:11
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Niric posted:Scott Brown might've made all the choices to get us into the Premier League, but we're forgetting the real heroes, the ones who periodically rubber-stamped those choices. I move that the board, in light of its spectacular performance, be granted a substantial bonus package. Trebles all round! I vote that we create a giant pit of all our money in pound coins in which we can place the dragon statue.
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Apr 25, 2014 14:28
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Torrannor posted:Do you deserve a raise after botching the FA Cup? Counterpoint: If we lose Scott Brown, all of Wrexham will string us up by our toenails from the nearest convenient lamppost.
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Apr 25, 2014 14:48
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Niric posted:Scott Brown might've made all the choices to get us into the Premier League, but we're forgetting the real heroes, the ones who periodically rubber-stamped those choices. I move that the board, in light of its spectacular performance, be granted a substantial bonus package. Trebles all round! I was president during most of our miracle, I say I deserve a substantially bonuisier package.
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Apr 25, 2014 15:28
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Sky Shadowing posted:I was president during most of our miracle, I say I deserve a substantially bonuisier package. I think where we build the dragon we should have a monument park to the greats of Wrexham history. As the most successful president in team history, Sky Shadowing definitely deserves a bust and a plaque.
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Apr 25, 2014 16:34
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habeasdorkus posted:I think where we build the dragon we should have a monument park to the greats of Wrexham history. As the most successful president in team history, Sky Shadowing definitely deserves a bust and a plaque. And also an inscription with the best estimates at how much he embezzled.
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Apr 25, 2014 16:44
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