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Chapter the Second: The “no f$&#ing way” game. August 15, 2024, October 1, 2024 We've got eight matches coming up. Six in the Premier League, one in the League Cup, and one in the Champions League. We also have the September international break to go through, wherein the USMNT will go up against Qatar and Turkey. Turkey is ranked 28th in the world. Qatar 66th. We should be winning both.  Everyone is fit and rested for the start of the season. Good job, me.   Cup of Nations qualifying knocked both of these matches off our schedule.   At this late date I could only find scrubs to play. Qatar is fortunate to be ranked 66th in the world while Singapore is ranked 102nd. This is not the type of international friendly I want to play.  You're stuck behind Stringel and Shirra on the depth chart, a place where you'd get more playing time would be good for you. I'll see what I can work out before the window closes.  The firesale continues! Villalba is City's best centerback, and has defeated many a Wrexham attack.  Yeah, I guess we do need a bigger stadium. Maybe it can be on the same site as the Racecourse Grounds, so we can keep the history. At Manchester United, August 18, 2024 Premier League  Home field advantage is huge in soccer. It's a big deal in other sports as well, see this examination of American pro sports, but from 2009/2010 through 2013/2014 a team could expect to win 46.8% of their home games against only 27.8% of their away matches. That's a 59% increase in winning percentage. The game models home field advantage accordingly. That's all a roundabout way of saying that a draw against United would be a great start to the season. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Counter Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Hammatt, Taffarel, Ünsal, Bailey, Collett, Shirra, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, Quiboulaz, Mair, Taborda, Stringel, Aarts. We've been bad at playing a counter-attacking style over the last couple years, despite having one of the fastest teams in the league. I can't tell if there's a reason for it, such as not having midfielders who are good enough defensively or because we so seldom use it, or if it only seems that way because the only time we play on the counter is during away games at megabastards. Suffice to say, we go behind before everyone has settled into their seats when Bailey gets caught ball watching the aftermath of a failed Hammatt clearance. The goal is from former Golden Boot John Baxter, who United bought for a song from a flailing Liverpool a couple years ago. United push us around for most of the rest of the game, but our defense really doesn't play that badly. We give up only two half chances despite being pinned on our side of the pitch most of the match. That defense is the reason we're able to equalize in the 80th minute from a set piece, as Shirra's placed shot glides inside the far post. We're able to take a point from our first match, and I'm content with that.   Man United 1-1 Wrexham   Sure I'll give you a run in the first team. I know it's only going to be about six weeks before you hurt yourself and I'll be able to rotate in other players.  The only team interested in Allan is Arsenal, but they'd have him on the bench almost as much as we would and be using him in less than half their matches. I'm surprised that no one else has expressed interest, the guy is only on our bench because we've got two world class attack midfielders ahead of him on the roster.  I mean, Isaac here would be a solid acquisition for just about any team in the world, and he's not as good as Shirra! Also, we need a nickname for Stringel:  The kid is becoming everything I could have hoped for, though he still lacks in mental stoutness.  City spent £28m on Villalba, and he was ever-present in their starting 11. I am sitting back and watching them fall apart with great enjoyment.  Even when I'm offering to pay Allan's salary the only team interested in him is Arsenal. I have no clue why midtable teams aren't knocking down my door for him- he'd be one of the best players on any non-megabastard.  Can't hurt. Stringel is already ambitious, so it's not like Mujkic is going to change his personality for the worse.  You kids have fun now, hear? Don't do anything I wouldn't have done at your age. Well, at Meteor's age at least. I did some dumb things as a 21 year old. vs Blackburn Rovers, August 24, 2024 Premier League  This will not go well for Blackburn if history is any guide:  One win and one draw in eleven games is pretty rough, and that win came all the way back in 2019. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Hammatt, Taffarel, Ünsal, Shirra, Parr, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Loseille, O'Hanlon, Mair, Allan, Taborda, Aarts. It doesn't get any better for the Rovers. Parr shows me why he should be starting by getting us on the board in the third minute, and Thiago adds a brace with goals on each side of halftime. Blackburn get a consolation goal on the counter, but we win by three after Stringel hits paydirt with 15 minutes remaining. There is some momentary concern about Parr, who I subbed off after he was dinged, but the physios say he'll be fit for next weeks match. Man of the Match: Thiago.   Wrexham 4-1 Blackburn  That's a huge relief. He'd scored three times in pre-season, but seeing him officially break out of his slump is a big boost to the whole club. Aarts is good, and Stringel might be better, but Thiago is a menace when he's on his game.  This will be my quietest window as a coach perhaps ever. We didn't sell anyone, though we have loaned out thirteen players. Our only incoming player was an 18 year old we inked two years ago and who went straight onto our youth squad. And the only cash transaction was the purchase of Tounkara, who won't come to the club until next summer. Compare with last summer, where we sold 7 players for £155m and brought in six new first team players for £64m. This should be all to the good when it comes to our squad cohesion, and given how young the team is we should still see improvements from most of the players.  Give him a cap!  Boo!   This happened in the course of 12 hours. If I were Newcastle United's manager I'd be pretty upset if it screwed with any pending transfers.  Is it just me, or do we always seem to get put in Group B, and do we get grouped with PSG pretty often?  Basel and Kyiv are clubs that might surprise people in a weak group, but if you had to pick the winner of the Champions League being Wrexham or PSG, or the field, you'd probably pick the gruesome twosome. At Burnley, August 31, 2024 Premier League  In real life Burnley have just made it to the Premier League for the second time after a cameo in 2009/2010. They've already picked up a draw against Manchester United, but have only scored one goal in five games. AU-Future Burnley isn't quite so hapless, but they're also in their first season playing Premier League ball since 2010 and will have to fight for their lives to stay up. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Quiboulaz, Taffarel, Ünsal, Shirra, Parr, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Loseille, O'Hanlon, Mair, Allan, Taborda, Aarts. Our games don't lack for early goals. Reed arrives just too late on a tackle that is inches over the penalty line, and Burnley take the lead. They don't get to savor it for very long, five minutes later Parr turns his marker all the way around en route to scoring the equalizer. Stringel gives us the winner just after half an hour has been played, and Burnley never managed a shot on target other than the penalty. Man of the Match: Shahed Parr   Burnley 1-2 Wrexham  A newly promoted Championship club? I might be able to run our youth squad out and win this. That could happen depending on how fit the senior team is come late September.  I let Paul Williams pick the team this time around, because I'm lazy.  He's scoring more than one out of two. You're crazy to leave him off the club, even if he's second fiddle to Thiago. Don't you know we were offered over £40m for him this summer?  He left out Bailey, too. I'm torn. On one hand I want my players to achieve fame on the international level to juice their value and their jersey sales, on the other hand they can't get hurt if they don't get picked for the national team.  A spate of injuries during the international window is a real concern when 35 of our 51 players under contract are called to play for their country.  They squeaked past Inter 1-0; it's the second time in a row that Internazionale has lost the Super Cup.  I expect better than third place, String.  But I'm glad to see that Parr is rewarding my faith in giving him more playing time.  I expect better than third place, self.  This puts City at over £100m in sales, and would be the fourth regular that they've sold in the window. The only purchase they've made is £2.4m for an 18 year old defensive midfielder from Blackpool, and they still have several players transfer listed by request.  Well, I spoke too soon. Man City made two deadline deals for good young talent, along with Grimes they added a very good young fullback from Reading named Jacob Rose. Their net spend is still £70m in the black, though, and their star players still aren't happy.  Only £404m? That's pocket change for the EPL! Having both City and ourselves largely sit out the window significantly reduced the amount spent.  Play Damgaard more often, Sky Shadowing. I need him to develop so I can sell him for tens of millions of pounds and finance the club.  Goddamnit, can't you all just get along? This would never happen at Wrexham. It won't happen when I replace 30-something veterans like Brown and Erlic with the youngsters we've been developing.   Good on yer, O'Hanlon. I'm glad that you're back to idolizing me after last seasons snit.   Good on yer, Dickey. I know you've been getting less and less playing time in the first team, but the club appreciates all that you've done since joining us six years ago.  We topped Qatar 1-0 on a Brian Burman goal, and beat Turkey 3-2 in a wild match that saw us go down two-nil in the first 10 minutes. The team showed real heart in that second match and Daniel Bennett scored twice in his third ever cap. I'll have to consider him when I'm looking for a striker to fill out the roster in the future.  Bouzid is on my shortlist of super cool teen prospects, and I'm not going to let Monaco snatch him away from me.  Yes! Let the firesale continue throughout the whole first half of the season! Ouattara isn't the only player still trying to force an exit, City's star left winger Oliver Leinard also wants out. It looks like they'll be able to hang onto striker Russell Maloney and left midfielder Inan Budak though.  I appreciate the understanding. I do my best not to play tired players, but when over half the squad could use a rest I don't have a whole lot of choice.  Take that, Monaco and PSG. Bouzid will join our youth squad in January, Paul Williams rates him as a 3 star prospect, so it's most likely that we end up selling him for operating cash in four years or so. vs Everton, September 14, 2024 Premier League  Everton have qualified for Europe in four out of the last six years, but recently they seem to be alternating good and bad seasons. Last year they finished 6th on the table, so this year we should give them some help in dropping to the bottom half. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Hammatt, Quiboulaz, Taffarel, Ünsal, Bailey, Parr, Allan, Mujkic, Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Loseille, O'Hanlon, Mair, Shirra, Taborda, Aarts. It never gets better for Everton than pulling back to a one goal deficit when the second half starts. They scored two own goals, and that alone was enough to consign them to defeat. Even without the own goals we'd have won handily, with Mateo Mujkic putting on his scoring boots and bagging a brace. The second was especially impressive, catching poor right back Dean Honeyball napping in front of the Everton net and taking the ball right off his feet. That was the second ignominious error for Honeyball on the day, as he'd previously redirected a wide shot from Steve Reed into the back of his own net. Man of the Match: Meteor Mujkic   Wrexham 4-1 Everton  You're so predictable, Parr. But you're awesome when you're healthy.  The people who run US Soccer are content with my performance, which is good. I'd be frustrated if I was going to get canned because we weren't playing World Cup qualifiers and because they didn't take into account our success at the Olympics.  Uh-huh. Good luck getting your players to believe that. vs Basel, September 17, 2024 Champions League, Group B  Basel are an adequate club that will have to settle for finishing third in this group. We certainly aren't going to let them take any points on our home turf with the way that we've been chugging along. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Fitzgerald, Cirjak (c), Laux, O'Hanlon, Loseille, Mair, Shirra, Collett, Allan, Taborda, Thiago. Subs: Kovacevic, Reed, Hammatt, Bailey, Petts, Mujkic, Aarts. Tonci Cirjak is singled out for some opprobrium in the film room the next day after he makes an excellent recovery run on a Basel breakaway and then proceeds to tackle the player instead of the ball. It gives Basel their second shot of the day, and their only goal. The score was already 4-0, though, so spirits are lighthearted and the players cheer watching replays of Taborda's two goals and Thiago's free kick strike from 30 meters out. Man of the Match: Rodrigo Taborda   Wrexham 4-1 Basel  It's Taborda's fourth season with us, and he's been worth every penny of the £7m we paid for him despite never becoming as good as Mujkic. At Liverpool, September 21, 2024 Premier League  Liverpool are looking much better this year than they had under old management. They're on nine points through four games and have only lost to Manchester United. If this is indicative of how good they're going to be going forward we might have another addition to the fight for Champions League qualification. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Quiboulaz, Taffarel, Bailey, Ünsal, Taborda, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Aarts. Subs: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, Hammatt, Mair, Shirra, Collett, Thiago. They're not ready to challenge for a title, though. We hold them to 63% possession and more importantly we keep a clean sheet for the first time all season. They're able to hang on to a scoreless tie until late in the match, when we finally break through with a Laux goal in the frantic aftermath of a corner kick. Thiago salts away the win when his free kick caroms off the Liverpool wall right to him, and he quickly dribbles around the stunned defenders to score from his own rebound. Man of the Match: Cristian Taffarel   Liverpool 0-2 Wrexham  James Loseille hasn't turned 20 yet, and after watching both of them last season I've decided I like Taffarel a bit more right now, so this is a good chance for the teenager to get some playing time.  We haven't played against a team he coached since 2017. That's a long memory you've got there, media. At Chesterfield, September 25, 2024 Capital One Cup, Third Round  The only word I can use to describe this match is cakewalk. Chesterfield will probably get relegated this season from the Championship. The only reason I'm not using kids is because I forgot to bring them up to the first team so that they wouldn't play on the same day. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, O'Hanlon, Hammatt, Loseille, Bailey, Petts, Collett, Allan, Mujkic (c), Stringel. Subs: Kovacevic, Quiboulaz, Laux, Mair, Shirra, Taborda, Aarts. Pride. Pride seems like it should be a virtue. Why not be proud of our accomplishments? We feel pride when we see or do something impressive, when we comprehend the wonders that humanity has wrought with its own hands. How could this feeling be a sin? But pride goeth before the fall. Our proud Dragons are in complete control of the match, Chesterfield spends less than two minutes during the entire match in our third of the field. We outshoot them 20:1. And while we haven't scored as the game gets late I'm unconcerned. Then Collett mis-aims a header, and Chesterfield get their one shot on the day with 10 minutes left. It's a goal, and our Cup defense is over after one match.   Chesterfield 1-0 Wrexham  Chesterfield just got promoted out of League One to the Championship. We're probably the biggest scalp they've ever collected.  Perform or pay up.  And get your head straight, Aarts. I kept you because I thought you were breaking out. vs Arsenal, September 28, 2024 Premier League I forgot to grab the preview, suffice to say we're favorites at home Well, at least we got our pratfall out of the way in a less important competition. Arsenal could tie us atop the table if we lose, which is possible but not likely. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Quiboulaz, Loseille, Ünsal, Shirra, Collett, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, Hammatt, Mair, Petts, Allan, Aarts. OK, this isn't funny anymore. We're once more the thoroughly better team in every single way. Arsenal are in our third of the field for just 2 minutes all match. But that's enough for them to score a fluke goal that Kovacevic had no business letting into the net. Once more we are thoroughly in control of the match, racking up chances and plinging shots off the woodwork. But that's not enough to score an equalizer, much less a winner. For the second time in two games we've lost 1-0. It drops us into second place on the table, and leaves me vibrating with frustrated ambition.   Wrexham 0-1 Arsenal  I could have sold you for 46,500,000 pounds. And this is how you're repaying my loyalty?  My only joy this week is coming from the continued teardown of Manchester City. They're selling players outside of the transfer window, these deals won't go through until January 1, 2025.  All of our loaners are getting regular playing time, though none of them are setting the world on fire and Rouissi has been downright bad.  Ugh, not even the young players at our club are in the mix for the player of the month award. Cosimo De Blasio is picking up steam, though, which is good to see. USMNT  Wins are wins. I just wish that I hadn't had to reschedule games, late cancellations means we're stuck playing weak teams like Singapore because they were the only ones available. Playing weak teams means we're not being challenged and not getting better. Wrexham  In our last two games we've outshot our opponents 30 to 3 and had twice as much possession. We lost both matches. These are classic “no-loving-way” games. There's not much I can do about them except tell the team to buckle down and not take anything for granted. Chesterfield especially will treasure that victory for ages, it was the first time we've lost since playing Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semis last April.    Prediction ContestIt's that time of season again, and I can't think of a good one off the top of my head. So I'm throwing open the floor to suggestions. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 13:40 on Sep 23, 2014 |
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Sep 23, 2014 13:35
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I predict that you'll choose a contest based on what you'll predict as this season's prediction contest...
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Sep 23, 2014 14:32
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"Pick Three Teams You Think Will Get Relegated" could be good, but it'd need a tie breaker.
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Sep 23, 2014 14:40
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Predict next time you'll lose an absolute gimme match when it counts.
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Sep 23, 2014 14:46
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What about the three relegated teams for various leagues in Europe?
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Sep 23, 2014 15:29
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habeasdorkus posted:We need a nickname for Stringel: Lacking mentally, really great at dribbling, not too perjorative... How about The Madman? As for a competition, why not try guessing specific places of four or five less-certain teams in the Premiership. That would be easy to score, and allow plenty of variability. For example, say, final placing of West Ham, Stoke, Leeds, Southampton, and Liverpool.
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Sep 23, 2014 16:49
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Rapner posted:Predict next time you'll lose an absolute gimme match when it counts. Ugh, that whole game I was thinking "this is in the bag, we'll only win by 1-2 goals but there's no way we're losing this given how we're playing." Arsenal at least took the lead after 30 minutes so I knew we were threatened. The only silver lining of the loss is that it means we're only playing 6 games a month instead of 8. Frozen_flame posted:What about the three relegated teams for various leagues in Europe? I think that might be too difficult. I consider myself at least modestly knowledgeable about the big four leagues and slightly knowledgeable about the next tier down and I couldn't name the relegation bait off the top of my head. We could do a top 10 FIFA ranking prediction contest, and guess which countries are in which spot at the start of June 2025. The rankings are right screwy, check out where Wales and Scotland are! 
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Sep 23, 2014 17:01
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Chapter the Third: The irrepressible Thiago. October 1, 2024-October 31, 2024 The good news is that I don't expect we're going to lose in the same frustrating manner that we did against Chesterfield and Arsenal. The bad news is that we're straight off to Paris to face PSG, which would be a tough ask even if we were in excellent form. Hopefully we can find the net and keep them from scoring too much.   Next June will see the US National team matched against two parts of the UK I think we can beat, and who both have ludicrously inflated FIFA rankings right now. Scotland is ranked 13th right now for no good reason, while Wales is ranked 5th despite not even making the semifinals at Euro 2024. They should both be top 20 nations come next June, at which point they'll serve to make us look better and allow me to brag to US Soccer how far I've taken the national team.    I also finally got around to filling out the USMNT staff. Mark Gregor is AU-Tim Howard, who didn't retire until after the 2018-2019 season. He's an excellent goalkeeping coach, and if this were a few years ago I'd consider hiring him at Wrexham. Ste Brazier is AU-Landon Donovan, the best outfield player ever produced by the United States, who didn't retire in 2014 like our Lando and went on to kick rear end for Ajax before hanging up his cleats. Last is Tom Scott, or AU-Geoff Cameron. It makes me want to find AU-Clint Dempsey and really get the nostalgia going.  Aww, AU-DaMarcus Beasley won't join the reunion.   I'm going to irritate some coaches when we play our next two friendlies.   Project “Get Bailey a cap” continues. At Paris Saint-Germain, October 2, 2024 Champions League, Group B  PSG are one of the few teams in the world that are favorites to beat us when we come visiting. Hopefully our luck will even out and we'll take a win and a commanding advantage in our group. I don't want to think what our morale will look like if we lose a third game in a row, especially if we do everything but win as we have in the last two matches. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Counter Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Hammatt, Loseille, Ünsal, Bailey, Collett, Shirra, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, Quiboulaz, Petts, Taborda, Stringel, Aarts. Collett can't give us the early lead, his header from the far corner is saved by the PSG keeper. Have I mentioned that they've only given up four goals all season? Our own defense is doing a good job limiting the home team to long range efforts, but they score from a set piece and we're forced to attack in an effort to get the equalizer. That aggressiveness leads to their second goal, a dandy chip of Kovacevic where our usually well positioned keeper came too far off his line. We aren't out of the match yet, five minutes later Thiago burns the defenders to the ground and beats the keeper to a Mujkic through ball. The pressure keeps mounting on the home team as we are invigorated on the attack that we seldom seem when playing defensively. Our hard work finally pays off just after an hour had passed, when Mujkic again finds Thiago in front of the net. He uses his chest to redirect it towards the net, and it squirms out of the keepers hands for an own goal and brings us level. But Thiago isn't done. Just after Kovacevic makes a key save he once again runs rampant through the Parisian defense and hammers home Stringel's pass to give us our first lead of the day. He'd have a hat trick if not for the own goal being awarded to the keeper. So it's no surprise when he officially earns it with a fine bit of athletic prowess in the 72nd minute, when he redirects a deflected Collett shot from a narrow angle to make it four-two. PSG makes us work for the three points. They score off a corner themselves in the closing minutes after several chances, but it's not enough. We've completed a magnificent comeback and in one match doubled the number of goals they've allowed all season. Man of the Match: Thiago   PSG 3-4 Wrexham  They all ship out swaddled in bubble wrap. The international window is almost entirely qualifiers for the World Cup, so I can't withdraw them from their teams or ask that they play only 45 minutes.  Oh-ho. Who is this? A 15 year old American at a Dutch club with four star potential? I'm very interested in making you mine, Mr. Moctezuma.  They rejected an offer of a million pounds, I'll have to wait a while to get my hands on the kid. At Tottenham Hotspur, October 5, 2024 Premier League  Tottenham have won three and lost three, putting them midtable after six matches. We need to win this match to keep pace with United and Arsenal, and a win here would finish restoring the hit our morale took after those two unbelievable losses at the end of September. We've got a bundle of tired players, so I've rotated in a number of players to keep everyone fresh. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Quiboulaz, Hammatt, Loseille, Mair, Petts, Taborda, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Reed, O'Hanlon, Bailey, Allan, Collett, Aarts. Thiago doesn't stop rampaging through defenses just because we're playing in London instead of Paris. He's on the board in under 8 minutes, volleying in a pass from Taborda from point blank range. We keep up the pressure on Spurs, and they're unable to make anything happen on the counter attack, so when Thiago scores his second of the match we're out to a comfortable 2-0 lead with under 25 minutes to play. Tottenham had been racking up yellow cards all day, and it finally results in one of their fullbacks going off late. It's only heroic defense from the home team that keeps the scoreline from being embarrassing, which is exactly the type of performance I like to see. Man of the Match: Thiago   Tottenham 0-2 Wrexham  Is there anyone they can't buy?  Maybe there is! Maybe they're topped out at £199m a year in wages! I hope someone comes along and spirits Lienard away, though.  Ouattara is older than I like, at 28, but he's just what we need to firm up our midfield . Man City want £50m for him. I'm going to see if I can get them down to £17m.  I lodged a £12.5m bid. They said no.  I'm going to keep making derisory bids to drive a wedge between Ouattara and the Man City front office. It's fun to tamper with other teams players.  I'm not giving the players a chance to talk and screw up the impact of my stirring words. The kids eat up my brand of inspiration.  We were not nearly as good as we needed to be, and Lang's late winner was lucky. At least Singapore should be easy.  Another match where we didn't play well enough, but Singapore never had a chance even if the final score doesn't match our supremacy on the field.   I couldn't help it! We had over a dozen players who were supposed to limit their playing time to 45 minutes, some of them had to play more.  USA! USA! USA!  You again? Well, I'll do my level best to get you fired again. No team should have to suffer though having the worst coach in this universe. vs Leeds United, October 19, 2024 Premier League  Leeds hired former scourge of Southampton Noel Tosh, and it hasn't proven a total disaster yet. They're still not doing well, but they've yet to jump headfirst at a chance for relegation. They're actually only one place behind Chelsea on the table. That's not as impressive as it sounds, Chelsea are in 13th place. Still, that's better than most of the performances this guy inspires. A lot of our players are worn down from the international games, so it's time to get some of our squad players like Allan and O'Hanlon some playing time. Taffarel and Parr are both back in the starting 11 after their absence from injury. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, Quiboulaz, O'Hanlon, Taffarel, Mair, Petts, Parr, Allan, Mujkic (c), Aarts. Subs: Kovacevic, Reed, Hammatt, Bailey, Ünsal, Collett, Thiago. We look like we're playing against kids early, but Parr gets hurt late in the first half in his first game back from the trainer's room. All our cracking Leeds about the head and neck hasn't given us a lead. It's coming, though, and a Collett effort pays off just after intermission. It would be nice to add a second, a two goal advantage would have kept my heart rate from spiking when Leeds sends a shot off the crossbar with 20 minutes to play. We maintain the clean sheet, but a 1-0 win against the lower-middle class of the league is not what I want to see no matter how much squad rotation I've done. But a win is a win, however it happens. The three points means that we go two up on Man United, who drew with Sheffield; and three on Arsenal, who got bombed at home by relegation bait Newcastle. Man of the Match: Alex O'Hanlon   Wrexham 1-0 Leeds  Mr. Glass is out another month. He's played 33 games for us since coming over three summers ago. No wonder United were willing to let us have him.  /tips cap. vs Dynamo Kyiv, October 23, 2024 Champions League, Group B  I'm not looking forward to our visit to Ukraine's capital in November, but for now Kyiv can be the ones schlepping across the continent to play in a foreign stadium under very different conditions than they're used to. I've arranged for the Welsh hospitality board to give each Dynamo player a sheep when they arrive in town, hopefully they'll wear themselves out on those ewes the night before gameday. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Fitzgerald, Reed, Laux, Quiboulaz, Loseille, Ünsal, Shirra, Collett, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Hammatt, Mair, Petts, Allan, Aarts. Kyiv hasn't even gotten a shot in after the first half, but if we don't score we don't win. We fall behind after Kyiv gets lucky on a set piece. It's their first shot all day. I decide to throw caution to the wind, bringing on Aarts and going to the 3-4-3, we need to batter the wall down and score twice in the final 20 minutes. The change in formation makes all the difference, as the additional attackers finally overwhelm the Ukrainian opposition. Thiago scores the equalizer when he, Aarts, and Stringel are all lurking in the box and the two centerbacks can't cover them all. He adds the winner four minutes later. The victory was a close run thing, though, and I take out my frustration on the team in the post game chat. Meanwhile we've got 9 points from three matches, while PSG sit on two points after losing to us and drawing in Switzerland and Ukraine. Man of the Match: Thiago   Wrexham 2-1 Kyiv At West Bromwich Albion, October 26, 2024 Premier League  We don't have a match for a week after this, and we can thank our loss to Chesterfield for that. So it's a chance for us to play our full strength squad, and take it to West Brom. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Laux, Quiboulaz, Taffarel, Ünsal, Shirra, Collett, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Loseille, O'Hanlon, Mair, Petts, Taborda, Aarts. The lads don't make me wait long, with String launching a shot into the roof of the net after a great pass from Shirra in the fifth minute. Over the next forty minutes we force two West Brom players out of the match with injuries, but can't score again. That means the score is tied when Quiboulaz unnecessarily runs down a ball that Kovacevic was about to pick up, they collide and Quiboulaz accidentally puts it across the goalline. We're scuffling, so I switch us to the 3-4-3. It paid off last game, and it pays off again, with Shirra playing as a deep lying forward and picking up the goal. Three minutes later Thiago scores again, his 12th goal in 12 games this season, and West Brom are dumbstruck by our change in style. We play so well after going to the 3-4-3 that I can't even complain after the game about our lackluster performance over the first 70 minutes. Man of the Match: Isaac Stringel   West Brom 1-3 Wrexham USMNT  I became a bit happier with our performance against Hungary when I realized they were actually a decent team, and we did what we were supposed to against Singapore. Hopefully the Chile match doesn't get rescheduled and we get to play Wales and Scotland in June. All three of those matches are winnable, and it would be nice to kick the FIFA rankings right in the yarbles. Wrexham  This is the way! I had a good feeling after the PSG game, and we're firmly back in form as we head into the winter months. We've got a lead in the league, though it doesn't look like Arsenal or United are going away anytime soon. As importantly we've already clinched second place in our Champions League Group. I look forward to trying to screw over PSG again, if we beat them at the Racecourse Ground they'll max out at eight points even if they beat Basel. If Basel can beat Kyiv and we throw our match against them, that would give Basel 10 points and second place in the group. I want to see PSG explode the way Man City just did, and then raid their stacked roster for talent.  
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Sep 23, 2014 |
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Sep 23, 2014 18:24
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Whew, I am now officially completely caught up, the ingame date is October 31, 2024.
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Sep 23, 2014 18:27
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Oh man if PSG crashes out it will be glorious. 
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Sep 23, 2014 18:42
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Is there a way to check your club as compared to other clubs from a worldwide perspective?
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Sep 23, 2014 18:55
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Well, maybe next year we won't flame out of a competition in utterly humiliating fashion. Still waiting on that real triple or quadruple, you know.
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Sep 23, 2014 19:14
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It looks like you are scary enough now that many teams just park the bus and hope to score off set pieces. Starting the 343 more often might be in order. Do you regret spending 9 figures on one player when you could be picking City's corpse instead?
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Sep 23, 2014 20:45
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So I looked at the google doc and apparently Wrexham has 7 players with CA's over 170. Now I knew we were good but not that good. I thought Unsal and maybe Shirra were the only ones with that high of a CA. Who exactly are these players and can you do a spotlight on these players and maybe 2-3 really big contributors with not as high CA's in the midseason interlude?
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Sep 23, 2014 20:57
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habeasdorkus posted:This is the way! I had a good feeling after the PSG game, and we're firmly back in form as we head into the winter months. We've got a lead in the league, though it doesn't look like Arsenal or United are going away anytime soon. As importantly we've already clinched second place in our Champions League Group. I look forward to trying to screw over PSG again, if we beat them at the Racecourse Ground they'll max out at eight points even if they beat Basel. If Basel can beat Kyiv and we throw our match against them, that would give Basel 10 points and second place in the group. I want to see PSG explode the way Man City just did, and then raid their stacked roster for talent. Marvelous marvelous. More thrown matches! We've gone full WWE!
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Sep 23, 2014 21:22
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Xtanstic posted:Marvelous marvelous. More thrown matches! We've gone full WWE! I know it's definitely unsporting and that doing this for bookies etc. is illegal but is this actually allowed? I know it happened in at least one WC group and I think the WC changed some rules in response. Did other major competitions reciprocate?
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Sep 23, 2014 21:36
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Rapner posted:It looks like you are scary enough now that many teams just park the bus and hope to score off set pieces. Starting the 343 more often might be in order. A little bit. And yeah, we're being forced to break down just about every opponent now. If we can't get an early goal they'll just turtle and try to timewaste. I saw one opponent start trying to run out the clock with 40 minutes left.
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Sep 23, 2014 21:37
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Btw, competition wise we could just go for the points total a goals for and goals against for Tackleford. That or the final position of Tackleford and the two teams headed by our former chairmen.
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Sep 23, 2014 21:54
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We need to think outside the box: A: How many games will Shahed Parr miss due to injury? B: How much can Habeas bench press? C: How many pieces of normal-sized pizza can Habeas eat at one time? D: B and C at the same time.
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Sep 23, 2014 23:04
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Hmm. Competition ideas. How about estimating the number of players that would need to be sabotaged in order to relegate Arsenal?
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Sep 23, 2014 23:04
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The date that Patrick Pattison is fired after City completely crash and burn. With Moctezuma, is he more likely to sign for you as you're the manager of the USMNT and more likely to cap him?
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Sep 23, 2014 23:59
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Julio Cruz posted:The date that Patrick Pattison is fired after City completely crash and burn. I second this one. Also see if we can drop the possession play since we may need to be more offensively oriented based on what your saying. Possession can come when we lead or against very very strong teams.
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Sep 24, 2014 00:12
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Moctezuma would be overjoyed to join Wrexham, but Heerenveen don't want to sell him. He came up in Auxerre's academy, where I somehow missed him last spring. Heerenveen want to get a few years out of him before offloading him for significantly more than the 160,000 pounds they spent. He'll end up with us one way or another, he's already excited that I've been naming him to the U20 team, but it might take a year or two. That's fine, he's only 15 and wouldn't be able to crack our squad for a while anyways.
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Sep 24, 2014 |
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Sep 24, 2014 00:14
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How about predictions of the league positions of all the clubs we've directly touched so far, either a club president runs or Scott Brown managed.
LionYeti fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Sep 24, 2014 |
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Sep 24, 2014 00:27
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We could do something with the USNT instead, like what their global rank will be at the end of the year.
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Sep 24, 2014 00:45
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This seems more fitting as a tie-breaker than the main question: How much money will be spent in the entire premiership in the next transfer window?
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Sep 24, 2014 00:57
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Dancer posted:This seems more fitting as a tie-breaker than the main question: How much money will be spent in the entire premiership in the next transfer window? I really like that as a tiebreaker.
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Sep 24, 2014 02:39
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the JJ posted:I know it's definitely unsporting and that doing this for bookies etc. is illegal but is this actually allowed? I know it happened in at least one WC group and I think the WC changed some rules in response. Did other major competitions reciprocate? It happens a lot, but that's also because it's the biggest sport in the world and EVERY country plays it. Obviously the most famous one is the Disgrace of Gijón, the World Cup match between Austria and West Germany where, because the other two teams in the group had played earlier, they knew there was a result that benefited both equally, and conveniently they just happened to get it.
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Sep 24, 2014 03:22
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I named a chapter after the Disgrace of Gijón! I'm pretty sure that in real life there'd be an investigation into everyone i knew and everyone they knew to see if we put money on throwing the match, especially the upcoming one against Basel where I play the WM.
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Sep 24, 2014 04:24
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habeasdorkus posted:I named a chapter after the Disgrace of Gijón! Not the 2-3-5? Wrexham invented that! Still pretty good some pretty good jobbing but AJ_Impy won't be pleased since apparently that's an Arsenal invention. Also I realized the Dynamo Kyiv game came a day before the 10th anniversary Brown's hiring by Wrexham Dreamsicle fucked around with this message at 04:40 on Sep 24, 2014 |
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Sep 24, 2014 04:33
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Yeah, I got the "Part of the Furniture" achievement then. Once we win the triple I'll probably play a full season using archaic formations. Re-inverting the pyramid! It's going to be all about the 1-6-3.
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Sep 24, 2014 04:40
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Sky Shadowing posted:the Disgrace of Gijón I'd never heard of that before, so I had a read on wikipedia. I really like this part: El Comercio, the local newspaper, printed the match report in the paper's crime section
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Sep 24, 2014 05:13
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Regular Dude posted:I'd never heard of that before, so I had a read on wikipedia. "while in Algeria it is known as the Anschluss." Gotta love that. But is that sanctionable or illegal?
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Sep 24, 2014 05:32
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Dreamsicle posted:Not the 2-3-5? Wrexham invented that! Still pretty good some pretty good jobbing but AJ_Impy won't be pleased since apparently that's an Arsenal invention. Why wouldn't I be pleased? Just because it is imperative that Arsenal be destroyed doesn't mean that their players, coaches, formations or fans are inherently bad or need to be shunned. If we signed their lynchpin or successfully turned the heads of their prospects, I'd be fine with that. Beating them with their own formations? Sounds good to me. Speaking of, Habeas, can you try to destabilise them by making doe eyes at all their good players?
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Sep 24, 2014 07:29
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AJ_Impy posted:Speaking of, Habeas, can you try to destabilise them by making doe eyes at all their good players? Hah, possibly!
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Sep 24, 2014 15:16
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the JJ posted:"while in Algeria it is known as the Anschluss." illegal only if they did it for money(betting) I think they would be punished if there was 100% proof like a recording of the coaches agreeing to getting the right score.. but yeah pretty hard to prove something like that
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Sep 24, 2014 15:28
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habeasdorkus posted:Once we win the triple I'll probably play a full season using archaic formations. Re-inverting the pyramid! It's going to be all about the 1-6-3. Try going 38-0-0 first.  But seriously has anyone done that in an FM game? I know it hasn't happened IRL.
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Sep 24, 2014 15:50
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So much Arsenal hate. Why can't we all get along? :'(
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Sep 24, 2014 16:30
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KKKLIP ART posted:Is there a way to check your club as compared to other clubs from a worldwide perspective? Forgot to respond to this:  We're hella reputable now. Dreamsicle posted:So I looked at the google doc and apparently Wrexham has 7 players with CA's over 170. Now I knew we were good but not that good. I thought Unsal and maybe Shirra were the only ones with that high of a CA. Who exactly are these players and can you do a spotlight on these players and maybe 2-3 really big contributors with not as high CA's in the midseason interlude? Reed, Mujkic, Kovacevic, Unsal, Shirra and Laux are all rated as four stars. Not sure who the last guy is, I try not to look at CA numbers both because they're not always accurate and because it gives me too much information.
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Sep 24, 2014 16:52
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Chapter the Fourth: Wherein Basel looks our gift horse in the mouth. October 31, 2024-December 4, 2024 We only have six matches in November! That's nothing! I need to crash us out of the League Cup more often.  Put it with all the others.  It's good to see Maloney succeeding in the EPL, he's a defensive minded midfielder who could eventually crack our lineup.  Thiago is if anything even better than Bastable. We lucked out bigtime when we found him at Cesena.  How the hell have we spent £36m in the last two months?  Well, that's... bad. I'm going to have to think about selling some players. At our current burn rate we're looking at being £60m in the red by the end of April. Most of that will be recouped by Champions League money and finishing high on the EPL table, but we're at about the point where we can't spend more based solely on non-transfer income. The only area where our revenue continues to grow is merchandising, we're getting £2m a month from jersey sales now. vs Newcastle United, November 2, 2024 Premier League  Once again at risk of going down, the Geordies have been unable to maintain a run of success over the past decade, yo-yoing between the Championship and Premier League. That being said, they were the only team to beat us in the league last year, and they did it twice. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Quiboulaz, Taffarel, Ünsal, Shirra, Taborda, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, Hammatt, Mair, Petts, Collett, Aarts. Taborda gets hurt in a collision within minutes of kickoff, and can't run it off. Collett comes on in his stead. I'm running out of ways to describe our mastery of the opposition, and ways to express my frustration that it's not leading to more goals as we go into the lockers tied at nil-nil. The second half is more of the same, and Newcastle are already timewasting with 30 minutes remaining. It pays off for them. We simply cannot find the net, and Newcastle remains perversely unbeatable. Man of the Match: Steve Reed   Wrexham 0-0 Newcastle  I've used the same starting 11 more frequently this year than in years past, and the strain on our regulars is just starting to show. Hammatt is quicker now than he was six months ago, his pace is up to 15 though his acceleration lags at 13, so I'll look to giving Laux a day or two off in the coming month.  This will bring Collett's transfer price up to £16.5m, well worth it considering his 31 goals and 20 assists in 83 appearances.  I brought him on as fresh legs in the final 20 minutes of the last match, and he showed nothing. I'm going to be very tempted to deal him in January if he doesn't improve pronto.  He's not going to get better if he doesn't regain his confidence.  So it's time for a pep talk.  Hey, Tosh is already on the sack list shortlist. So is Patrick Nijang, despite Arsenal being at the top of the table.  Oh man, AJ_Impy. That's some disloyalty right there from your manager.  A more polite way of saying “don't let the door hit your rear end on the way out.”  I guess he realized he wasn't in such a strong negotiating position.  Our loanees aren't setting the world on fire, but at least most of them are getting regular playing time.  Stop looking and just cap him already. At Dynamo Kyiv, November 5, 2024 Champions League, Group B  It's 42 Fahrenheit/4 degrees Celsius and raining. What lovely weather, it makes me actively pine for the UK. Basel travel to PSG; if they somehow manage a result of any sort PSG are almost certainly boned. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, O'Hanlon, Hammatt, Loseille, Mair, Bailey, Collett, Allan, Mujkic (c), Aarts. Subs: Fitzgerald, Taffarel, Quiboulaz, Enrique, Petts, Ayari, Thiago. The ref is not accepting any roughhousing, giving Mair and Hammatt yellow cards after some bonecrunching tackles and making us press less than I'd prefer. We still get an early goal, Bram Aarts finally breaks his dry spell in the 11th minute by robbing the keeper who had just placed the ball for a kick. It's a confident move, cocky even, and makes me think he might be back. Collett makes it 2-0 minutes later and Allan adds a third goal before thirty minutes have passed. We're on autopilot for the rest of the match. I'm able to give teenagers Ayman Ayari and Enrique their senior team debuts in the second half, but an injury to Collett does have me worrying about having all three of our right wingers on the shelf at once. Luckily it turns out to be nothing. Aarts scores once more to cap a dominating 4-0 victory, but unfortunately a stoppage time goal gave victory to PSG over Basel. Man of the Match: Bram Aarts.   Kyiv 0-4 Wrexham  Now we can turn our attention to Operation “Les Screwjob.”  We all know you're running again. Don't be coy. At West Ham United, November 9, 2024 Premier League  West Ham started fast, but have hit the skids. Our use of several squad players in Kyiv means that we should be rested and ready for them. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Quiboulaz, Taffarel, Shirra, Ünsal, Taborda, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, Hammatt, Mair, Petts, Collett, Aarts. Things are surprisingly even through the first half, and I have to balefully express my disappointment to try and fire the team up at halftime. Then Quiboulaz gets sent off after 57 minutes for his second yellow card, and we're suddenly looking at a potential loss instead of merely a turgid nothingburger of a tie. We hang on for that draw, our second in a row, but our sudden lack of goals in our last two league games is worrying. Man of the Match: Mattias Laux   West Ham 0-0 Wrexham  You need to play smarter. We can't be dropping points if we want a threepeat.  The gamey thing to do would be to just ignore him as the trigger for his discontent would never fire and he wouldn't get mad that I'm not playing him. I find that far too unrealistic for the sort of manager I imagine myself as. Pull up a seat, Fitzy.  Dadgummit. Well, I guess he'll be up for sale next summer. He's not going to supplant Kovacevic.  I forgot, it's time for the biennial “Waste of Time Cup.” I can't be arsed to steal Mujkic back, we're deep enough to handle his five week absence. Go crater East Timor, Meteor.  I can ask for our second feeder club, hopefully it's in China or a major South American league.  $$$! Or €€€, as the case may be. Bastable is also off  Melbourne, Australia (Australian National Team Manager ANDREA ALOISI is addressing the players after the game)  : Que bella! That was very pleasing to the eyes! It was like watching the strapping players of Livorno in the promised land of Serie B where I once played! : Oi, Aioli. Rock and I got a request to make.: For you, my Captain, anything. But please, call me Coach.(BASTABLE and MUJKIC exchange a significant look) : There's only one Coach, and you ain't him.(A pregnant pause)  : Anyways, lets switch our matches over to Hunter Stadium in Newcastle, yeh? It's a short drive from me hometown.: What? But-: Thanks, mate. Knew you'd come through. Enjoy smashing the hoi polloi, Dreamsicle. vs Watford, November 23, 2024 Premier League  Watford have the 3rd best offense in the Premier League this season, scoring 20 goals. They've also allowed 20 goals. We've scored 19 ourselves, but our defense is the league's best. We haven't allowed more than one goal to any opponent in league play, and have conceded 6 total through 11 games. I'm feeling good about a shootout. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Hammatt, Loseille, Shirra, Ünsal. Collett, Stringel, Taborda, Aarts (c). Subs: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, O'Hanlon, Mair, Allan, Parr, Thiago. I take a different tack in the pregame chat, telling the squad to relax and just play their natural game, that the result will come and I have faith in them. At the very least it works in breaking our two game goal drought, with Scott Shirra scoring from the spot in the 17th minute after Steve Reed is hacked down in the box. We then make Watford pay for a rare foray into our territory, with Stringel finding Aarts on the break and the Belgian beating two defenders and the keeper to give us a two goal lead just before the half. The second go-round is more of the same. Taborda makes it three for Wales from a free kick, and Aarts adds a second goal in his campaign to convince me not to sell him. Watford's defense is their undoing while their vaunted offense can't manage a shot on target. Man of the Match: Isaac Stringel   Wrexham 4-0 Watford  Gosford, Australia (BASTABLE and MUJKIC are lounging on a patio at BASTABLE'S LUXURY CONDO in his hometown of GOSFORD) : Gimmie another tinnie out of that esky.: You were so right that we should wag practice. This is way better. Especially if they're going to make us play a full match every two days.(A WOMAN'S VOICE comes from the condo, and MUJKICs head swivels about to look inside)  : Rocky Bastable! How many times have I told you to close the screen door when you're on the patio!: No fuckin' way. You really do still live with your mum! And she's a right chickie babe!  Take a week, Laux. Go someplace sunny.  Newcastle, Australia (A TALL GERMAN MAN walks into the Australian locker room after the match) : By crickey!: Oi, Laux, what the hell are you doing here!? : Coach told me I had to take a week off. Coach told me I should go someplace sunny. It is very sunny in Australia, yes?: How long you on holiday?: One week only.: Then we better get out of here and get some Darwin stubbies right quick!: But you have tape review! My old coach, he always told me as a young man at Latina in the great 1st Divisione Girone C that two things made for great teams. Tape study and the 5-5-0 formation!: Oh piss off, ya drongo. At Basel, November 27, 2024 Champions League, Group B  Everyone remember to practice your German on the flight over, if only we were playing in Geneva we could just get Loseille to translate everything for us. Laux could do the job, but he's downunder and drunk. I'm trying like hell to throw this match, I've called up every healthy kid we have in the U18s. A win for Basel here and against Kyiv in a week combined with a Wrexham win over PSG in Wales will see the Swiss through to the knockout round. Oh, and I'm breaking out the WM:  Time to rock it like it's 1929. If we're winning in the second half I'm subbing our keepers Fitzgerald and Kocsis on for whoever is playing best. Starting Formation: WM Starting 11: Murphy, O'Hanlon, Williams-Cooke, Enrique, Bailey (c), Mair, Coleman, Brown, Parr, Dawkins, Petts. Subs: Kocsis, Fitzgerald, Taffarel, Cirjak, Quiboulaz, Taborda, Allan. Well that didn't take long. Basel scores twice in the first three minutes, and I don't think they can believe their eyes. I'm not sure any of their players even know what the WM is. Richard Petts doesn't seem to realize we're supposed to be taking a dive here, though, and scores a brilliant 25 yard shot to bring us back to one down. Luckily the WM's defensive deficiencies are on full display, and Basel quickly restore their lead. In the second half our 18 year old American superprospect, Keith Coleman, makes the mistake of scoring to make it 3-2, and I'm seriously considering bringing on our backup keepers to make sure we don't score again. I'm scoreboard watching, and grunt unhappily when PSG takes the lead against Kyiv after 66 minutes. That tears it, Fitzgerald and Kocsis get to try their hands at being forwards. Basel secures their victory with another late goal, and then add two more just for fun. It's clear that the world isn't ready for the return of the WM. Philistines.   Basel 6-2 Wrexham  Gosford, Australia (LAUX, MUJKIC, and BASTABLE sit in recliners on the patio of BASTABLE'S MUM's LUXURY CONDO, surrounded by empty beer cans) : Hey, didn't Coach have the US play Singapore?: Yes, just a month ago.: And didn't they only win two-nil?: Yes, that was the score.(BASTABLE and MUJKIC exchange a sly look) : AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!: OI! OI! OI!: Oh Scheiße, not again. You just got done chanting that for half an hour five minutes ago!vs Southampton, November 30, 2024 Premier League  Hello, Sky Shadowing... you just triggered my trap card! Premier League rules don't allow loaned players to play against the team that owns them, so your attack loses both Daamgard and De Blasio. Muahahaha. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Quiboulaz, Hammatt, Taffarel, Shirra, Ünsal, Collett, Stringel, Taborda, Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Reed, O'Hanlon, Mair, Allan, Petts, Aarts. We should be up 5-0 at halftime. Instead we have to wait until the 44th minute to go ahead. Then we're given a penalty not long after the second half begins. Shirra puts it away, as he always does. Thiago makes it 3-0 with 20 minutes remaining, and the score now matches the display on the pitch. I can't complain about the performance, but I do wish Arsenal would cough up a seventh goal so that we can claim the fewest allowed in the league. Man of the Match: Matty Collett   Wrexham 3-0 Southampton  450 minutes! Our defense is much better this season, and even beyond the overall improvement we haven't been allowing late goals- only one of the six we've conceded has come after an hour has elapsed.  Newcastle, Australia (BASTABLE and MUJKIC walk slowly and gingerly out of HUNTER STADIUM. Both men look exhausted. : I don't think I've ever been this sore after a game. Five games in ten days? What gallah designed this tournament?!: Thank Christ our next match isn't until next week. What do you want to do until then?(They PONDER) : You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?(in unison) : WALKABOUT! Isaac is once again a frontrunner for the Golden Boy award, and he's turned up his performances recently.  Oh c'mon, we all know you're going to win reelection.  The Brewers are in League One, but I'm not going to take a win for granted after l'affaire du Chesterfield.  We still don't have a frontrunner for the most prestigious award in world football. But Collett and Ünsal are both on the ballot, and so they and Bastable get my tvotes. I'm such a homer.  Hey, kick this rear end in a top hat out of my press conferences in the future.    City have unfortunately placated their stars, and are currently sitting in fourth place, well ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. The continental ban seems not to have caused mass devastation as I hoped.  I'm about to call QPR to complain that Reis hasn't been playing, but then I see a message dated September 14th that he tore a calf muscle and would be out for 3-4 months. I sheepishly put down the phone. vs Paris Saint-Germain, December 3, 2024 Champions League, Group B  If we win or hold PSG to a draw and Basel can win in Ukraine, PSG is headed to the Europa League. That would likely blow an eight figure hole in their operating budget. I love the smell of screwed over megabastard in the morning. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kovacevic, Reed, Laux, Quiboulaz, Taffarel, Shirra, Ünsal, Parr, Stringel, Taborda, Thiago. Subs: Fitzgerald, Cirjak, Hammatt, Mair, Petts, Collett, Aarts. Stringel misses a chance in the opening minutes and we don't get the jump on PSG. After half an hour we've missed by millimeters to every side. PSG's defensive midfielder gets sent off just then, though, and while we still haven't scored by halftime things are looking up. With a man advantage I'm not willing to risk our offense failing to break them down. 3-4-3 it is. PSG gives us a goal two minutes after the restart on a woefully played set piece, and Thiago makes it 2-0 late. But despite beating PSG (and running Kovacevic's goalless streak out to 540 minutes) we can't knock them down to the Europa league as Basel spurns our attempts to give them a knockout round spot by failing to score a single goal against Dynamo Kyiv. Man of the Match: Steve Reed   Wrexham 2-0 PSG    Ugh. Virtually no upsets. Steau Bucharest knocked out Porto, and Anderlecht topped Valencia, but otherwise there's no surprises. And yet again PSG survives my efforts to backstab them. I am not a happy skulldugger.  We didn't give up a single goal in games where I didn't play two keepers as forwards and played a 100 year old formation. That's awesome, and these past 10 weeks has featured our best defensive work since I took the helm. We were frustratingly held to draws in two of our matches, though, which means I likely have to tinker with our primary tactic as teams are now sitting 9 or 10 players behind the ball and just letting us bash our heads against a wall of flesh for 90 minutes while hoping they get lucky on a counter or set piece. It's looking like a four way race as we approach the midpoint of the season, with Man City refusing to die and Arsenal looking better than they have in years. City is looking into bringing in old Wrexham favorite Dmitri Nieddu, and they've given out big new contracts to some of their best players, so it appears their money woes are a thing of the past. I have complete faith in winning the season, though, this is the best Wrexham team ever and only bad luck has kept us from being undefeated this season. We have wildly outplayed every single one of our opponents with the sole exception of our opening game against Manchester United.   Prediction ContestThis year's prediction contest will be to guess the top 10 in the May 2025 FIFA rankings. The only major international tournament taking place before then is the Africa Cup of Nations, but every country except the United States is playing a bundle World Cup qualification matches against their confederation mates. Those qualification matches count for more than your average friendly in the rankings. The current top 50 are below.   The tiebreaker, if needed, will be the amount (in millions) that Premier League clubs spend in the January transfer window. For reference, last year saw £145m in purchases while two years ago the sum was £100m. Also, as a reminder, Niric has yet to claim his prize from last season. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Sep 24, 2014 |
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Sep 24, 2014 19:07
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