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habeasdorkus posted:Fenway and Wrigley Field are the two old jewels of baseball. They're the only two stadiums still in use today that were built before the 1960s, and while there are some true gems in the set of stadiums that have been built over the last 25 years* they just don't have the weight of history. Also, the first round of replacement stadiums were built in the 1960s and they were almost all anodyne multi-sport stadiums that no one other than nostalgic supporters were sorry to see go. Camden and the Jake are both amazing fields from their era, even if designed with retro motifs in mind. Safeco is as nice as you'll get from a retractable stadium-but I feel as though any retractable roof diminishes a ballpark enough to knock it off the list, just from the design compromises made during construction. Still considerably better than Miller-amongst others- though. PNC is an amazing park and if anyone finds themselves in Pittsburgh over the summer, make the effort to go. Miami has an absolute monument to garishness (the park as a whole-though Wrexham is in desperate need of the Futbol equivalent of the dinger machine). I'm biased, but a huge fan of Target Field in Minneapolis, with only PNC challenging it out of the modern era of American parks. Wrigley and Fenway are both awful old buildings with a complete lack of amenities, passable bathrooms or personal space that survive on the tradition of them being historic amazing ballparks. The Sport Architecture equivalent of The Eagles or what Dave Matthews Band will be in a few decades. e: Welp, this is a worthless start to a new page. For actual content: Habeas, do you have any idea what it is in the game metrics that puts Stringel on notice for the prize while complete ignoring Thiago?
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Oct 17, 2014 06:27
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I think they choose it by World Reputation, which is largely an arbitrary number. Its why when you first start you will always see guys like Messi or Ronaldo winning, because even if they're having a garbage season they're still more reputable that, say, a guy who is having a crazy bonkers nuts season.
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Oct 17, 2014 06:33
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Sky Shadowing posted:I think they choose it by World Reputation, which is largely an arbitrary number. Its why when you first start you will always see guys like Messi or Ronaldo winning, because even if they're having a garbage season they're still more reputable that, say, a guy who is having a crazy bonkers nuts season. Do you have a player World Reputation league table in the same way as you have for leagues and clubs?
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Oct 17, 2014 15:13
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You can sort players by reputation, yeah. Stringel is almost certainly boosted by having won the Young Player award and having been on the Mexican team that won the World Cup in 2022. Shirra and Mujkic have both finally gone from "Continental" to "Worldwide" reputation, hopefully that means that they'll start getting some attention, but Thiago is stuck on Continental at the moment. There's only 157 players in the game with a Worldwide reputation (assuming my scouts aren't somehow unaware of some), and they're pretty much entirely the players who have been on the Ballon d'Or shortlist. eta: Target Field is very nice, I have a friend who got married there. I just wish I had been able to see more than one game there before I moved after spending the previous several years paying the taxes to build it. Curse you non-Hennepin/Ramsey county state legislators! But I will hear no calumny about Fenway- they've done a lot of work to keep the old girl in decent shape, and the seats atop the Green Monster are among the best in baseball. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Oct 17, 2014 |
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Oct 17, 2014 17:06
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So it's October 2013 in my Eastleigh save an my projected balance is -963000 Pounds. How concerned should I be about this?
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Oct 17, 2014 20:12
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Dreamsicle posted:So it's October 2013 in my Eastleigh save an my projected balance is -963000 Pounds. How concerned should I be about this? Depends on what division you're in. I don't know what Eastleigh is off the top of my head, but if they're league one or higher I wouldn't worry at all. Lower than that and you might want to figure out how you're losing so much money.
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Oct 17, 2014 20:32
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I'm in the conference south. I think most of my loses are on salaries but I'm under the payroll budhet by 3000 a week. My starting team value was 1.1 million IIRC.I'm not sure how that affects my finances though.
Dreamsicle fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Oct 17, 2014 |
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Oct 17, 2014 20:55
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Dreamsicle posted:So it's October 2013 in my Eastleigh save an my projected balance is -963000 Pounds. How concerned should I be about this? dug out my old lower league mini-guide Lower leagues can be quite hard but a few tips I've found handy playing at Skrill Premier level... --Scouting: get the best scouts you can beg borrow or steal. you're going to have to find cheap young players if you want to advance up the league. Also when it comes to hiring coaches grabbing a foreigner is a good move because it gives you scouting knowledge of countries your regular scouting networks can't reach yet and probably won't reach until you make championship level. --Money: You won't have any. So 95% of your players are going to be free transfers. Also you'll have a hard time negotiating contracts as you won't be able to hang on to your squad very much due to increased wage demands. I usually find I need to replace about 3-4 first team players a season because of this and a similar number of squad players. Also your club will be perpetually broke and in the red until you claw your way out of the lower leagues. If you can arrange a bunch of home friendlies with premiership teams at the start of the season as the ticket revenues from these can stave off bankruptcy for a couple more months. --Players: Physical stats dominate the lower leagues a striker with pace and nothing else will score 15-20 goals a season a defender with strength will stop half the goals you concede and so on. --Squad: You have something of a dilemma here your squad will be small due to money constraints so you want players that are versatile and able to play 2-3 games a week. My typical squad size for a top of the league Skrill Premier club is about 18-20 players. So after getting my first-team sorted and getting a spare goalie that only leaves you with 6-8 players to cover injuries and loss of form plan accordingly make sure your players are fit and can play in multiple positions. --Transfers: You won't have a lot of money so you can forget about paying cash for players. You've basically got two options Free transfers of players who are out of contract and playing the loan market. Free transfers are where your scouts really come into play as you need people who can separate the wheat from the chaff. Also with regards to the loan market you need to be aggressive about chasing good young players from Premiership/Championship/League 1 clubs One thing you should do is turn off the unrealistic transfers option when looking for loanees as clubs/players are more willing to join on loan than via transfers. Also if your board lets you try and get a parent club who'll loan you players cheaper and provide a bit of extra income from the friendlies. Premiership youth rejects are a god send.. they don't have much of a reputation and don't demand extortionate wages and are usually good enough up to about league 1 level. --Tactics: Keep it simple stupid. Your players are generally going to have terrible stats so don't try and play like Barcelona play simple and direct football. I generally stick to one of the basic formations and try to avoid getting too complex with my team instructions to make it easier for my team. Usually 4-5-1 4-4-2 or 4-1-2-1-2 are the formations I go with depending on available personnel With instructions to pass directly and pump the ball into the box.
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Oct 18, 2014 10:24
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Ferrosol posted:--Money: You won't have any. So 95% of your players are going to be free transfers. Also you'll have a hard time negotiating contracts as you won't be able to hang on to your squad very much due to increased wage demands. I usually find I need to replace about 3-4 first team players a season because of this and a similar number of squad players. Also your club will be perpetually broke and in the red until you claw your way out of the lower leagues. If you can arrange a bunch of home friendlies with premiership teams at the start of the season as the ticket revenues from these can stave off bankruptcy for a couple more months. Oh good, I thought being poor and in debt was a total outlier. How big can debts go before the team is forced into administration?
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Oct 18, 2014 21:35
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Dreamsicle posted:Oh good, I thought being poor and in debt was a total outlier. How big can debts go before the team is forced into administration? Depends on the type of chairman you have I believe. A sugar daddy has much deeper pockets than say a fans trust. Worst they'll do is tank your transfer budget. But yeah my lower league club didn't start turning a profit till I made it into the Championship. I think the worst was trying to get promoted out of league 1 (speaking of which gently caress playoffs I lost the final two seasons running) where my wage budget just kept getting smaller and smaller and by the time we got into the championship we were five million in debt so it can get fairly high without too many problems.
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Oct 18, 2014 22:02
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Sorry about the lack of updates. I've been using Borderlands 2 to practice my Aussie slang. I'm considering introducing Boganella as a character.
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Oct 21, 2014 16:26
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Chapter the Sixth: Presenting Vivace, a fragrance by Thiago. December 6, 2025-January 6. 2026 The FA has given us the gift of time with our families around the holidays. Not only are we not playing on Boxing day, but thanks to the Chelsea match on December 30th being rescheduled we only have four matches before the end of the year. It'll be a good chance to rest up before the going gets tough again in January. From January 14th to February 3rd we play Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, and Man United.  In order to take the pressure off of Thiago (or Stringel, when Thiago isn't playing) for scoring the majority of our goals, I'm having the team practice a 4-4-2 Diamond midfield. Stringel moves up next to Thiago as a Complete Forward, retaining some of his supporting role but increasing his goal scoring opportunities. This allows me to play Scott Shirra as an attacking midfielder, which will make him more involved in our attacks than he has been as a central midfielder. Mujkic and our right winger du jour will play slightly further back so as not to completely unbalance our midfield. The biggest key will be whether David Maloney or Enrique can prove themselves as the defensive midfielder, who will not only have to be a water-carrier as the wingers vacate the midfield but also be responsible for starting attacks after winning the ball back. This formation offers one major advantage over the old 3-4-3 in that our starting 11 is suited for playing both this and the 4-2-3-1. That allows me to switch seamlessly between formations without needing to play someone out of position or make a substitution during matches. As this is a higher tempo style than our possession oriented formation, I'm labeling it the 4-4-2 Vivace.  Hartlepool are in League One. If we play our best 11 we might set a new Wrexham scoring record.  This again? Non means non, you Froggy creeps.  It should be Thiago, but do you even know his name?  vs Rangers, December 9, 2025 Champions League, Group A  There will be no machinations this go round, Real Madrid have essentially locked up second place and only a loss to Roma at the Santiago Bernabeu could knock them down to the Europa League. So when I play youth it's not in an attempt to throw the match but instead a chance for them to show me what they've got and why the prospect-heads should be excited. Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kocsis, Reed, Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Enrique, Bailey (c), Mercado, Allan, Damgaard, Thiago. Subs: Minami, Patel, Quiboulaz, Maloney, Zouaghi, Shirra, Pickee. Thiago is killing it recently on free kicks, and finds net on a 30 yard golazo, pretty as you'll ever see. He follows up by doing it again from 25 yards. The greatest striker in the world is clearly back on track after a couple of goalless matches. When he gets his hat trick on a corner sent in by Bailey, only 35 minutes have elapsed. We don't have all the luck, however. Fate spurns us when Loseille makes a good tackle at the top of the penalty box on a Rangers fast break, but the spin flat-foots Minami and curls past him for an unlucky own goal. But towards the end of the match I'm able to give sixteen year old Kamel Zouaghi his first senior team appearance, replacing a decent but yellow carded Enrique. Claus Damgaard scores his fourth Champions League goal in the 80th minute. Joel Patel and Mitchell Pickee each get brief cameos, coming in at 87 minutes to see out the win. Down in Spain Real Madrid are nil-nil with Roma, a draw is enough to advance, and entering stoppage time. The referee, Felix Brych, has screwed us over before with bad calls, and continues having poo poo for brains by giving Roma a penalty in the 91st minute. They convert, and their win means that they move on to the knockout round despite taking only one point from their matches against Rangers. Man of the Match: Thiago   Wrexham 4-1 Rangers    Roma's last minute stroke of luck makes for the only real surprise advancement out of the group stage. Wrexham ties with Dortmund and Atletico as the only undefeated teams, though I'd say our performance is more impressive considering who we beat. vs Huddersfield, December 13, 2025 Premier League  Huddersfield, far from being the relegation bait expected by the preseason prognosticators, are sitting in 6th place and don't even have a negative goal differential. I aim at fixing that. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Quiboulaz, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Parr, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Stringel, Thiago. Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Hammatt, Bailey, Allan, Damgaard, Mercado. Stringel scores in the 3rd minute. It's his first goal in four games and a good sign that the new formation might pay off. Loseille scores his first league goal two minutes later, and we're dangerous throughout the next forty minutes even if we don't add to our lead. I switch to the 4-2-3-1 for the second half, with the lead we can focus on maintaining possession and they won't be able to bunker against us if they still want points. Thiago proves this by scoring at the hour mark to make it 3-0. He gets his brace on another free kick, he must have scored four or five times from free kicks in the last month. Sixth place Huddersfield don't manage a shot until the 83rd minute. Man of the Match: Isaac Stringel   Wrexham 4-0 Huddersfield  Hey, it's our first ever matchup with the Catalan giants. After having played their archrival Real Madrid nine times (with a record of 4 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws) we're finally going to get a crack at them.  More bad news on the injury front. Johnny Q has been really important for us this season, his speed is a part of what makes our high defensive line possible. Tounkara is just as fast, but he's not nearly as polished and this is a decided downgrade. It also means that Laux will get fewer chances to play as a defensive midfielder as we're down to three first team centerbacks.  I'm soooooo ooooooold. At Burnley, December 20, 2025 Premier League  I like the idea of starting in the Diamond and moving to the 4-2-3-1 when we get the lead. Let's try it again. Loseille has picked up five yellows before the start of the new year, so he'll be sitting out this match. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace Starting 11: Minami, Cirjak, Tounkara, Laux, Reed, Maloney, Taborda, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Stringel, Thiago. Subs: Kocsis, Enrique, Hammatt, Bailey, Damgaard, Mercado, Parr. The Diamond midfield does what it's supposed to, opening up the game and allowing us to beat Burnley on the break. Thiago scores our first goal in the 22nd minute with the only other touch in the opposition half prior to his run being a through ball from Shirra. It's Thiago's 100th goal in a Wrexham kit, less than 30 months since he joined the club. He adds a second when he's played onside by the Burnley fullback in the 54th minute. I decide not to break out the 4-2-3-1 yet, despite playing at a high tempo and not focusing on possession we've still had 60% of the ball. The only thing that concerns me is young David Maloney looking very nervous on the pitch. When Stringel draws a penalty at the near post edge of the box Shirra is a mensch and lets Thiago get his hat trick. He's rewarded for that act of generosity by getting a chance of his own to score in stoppage time, and is as accurate with that shot as he is from the penalty spot. The win puts us at the top of the table for two days, as Manchester United are the Monday match and have fallen behind us on goal differential. Man of the Match: Thiago.   Burnley 0-4 Wrexham The Brown Manse Christmas Morning (The COACH is sitting at the dining room table with the traditional Brown family Christmas breakfast of bagels, smoked salmon, cream cheese, and whitefish as WILL BROWN comes down the stairs.)  : Hey, son... : There's not even any presents under the tree. Do you even want me here? Maybe I should just go back to Moms.(The COACH pulls out a festively wrapped manilla envelop and slides it across to WILL)  : No... is this real?: Merry Christmas, son. I love you.: I love you too, dad!(The two EMBRACE MANFULLY)   Clubs in the United States have their Youth Intake on December 27. I have the Wrexham scouts combing all 597 of them for potential stars who need to be rescued from the awful developmental system. vs West Ham United, December 27, 2025 Premier League  Our last match of the year comes at home against the club in 19th place. Did I mention that our strength of schedule is front-loaded? Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Hammatt, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Parr, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Stringel, Thiago. Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Tounkara, Enrique, Allan, Taborda, Damgaard. Thiago gets a yellow card, and it'll cause him to miss the next match. We're getting downfield, but giving up the ball too easily and West Ham has looked potent on their ripostes. Our unimpressive performance causes me to give the lads a gentle harangue at the half. It works magic and leads to Loseille finding Thiago at the near post for our first goal. It's Thiago's 30th of the season. I switch to the 4-2-3-1 to maintain possession, something we hadn't done a good job of earlier in the match. It does what it's supposed to, but doesn't stop West Ham from mounting a furious assault in the final minutes. Minami has to make two important saves, but we don't give up the equalizer before the match is called to an end. Man of the Match: James Loseille   Wrexham 1-0 West Ham  While we were topping the Hammers Watford was holding United to a draw. We're a point behind on the table, but they still have a game in hand.  After three and a half seasons with us this clause finally kicks in.  Just in time for him to get injured again.  Our Chelsea match is rescheduled once again thanks to the Capital One Cup, they're in the semifinals after beating Manchester United.  Sky Shadowing has a shot at Europe still! I'd be very happy if anyone other than Chelsea wins the League Cup, it's always good when one of the non-power teams take home a trophy.   Guess which player below won both major individual awards and which wasn't even shortlisted. Player A Club Appearances: 42 Club Goals: 27 Club Assists: 17 Club Player of the Match Awards: 6 International Appearances: 9 International Goals: 2 International Assists: 5 International PoM Awards: 1 Player B Club Appearances: 51 Club Goals: 57 Club Assists: 8 Club Player of the Match Awards: 14 International Appearances: 7 International Goals: 5 International Assists: 1 International PoM Awards: 1 Yeah. Thiago scored 62 goals. That's good for 8th all time, displacing Cristiano Ronaldo's unreal 2012. He did it against the highest level of competition. And he's not even in the picture when it comes to the best players in the world.  He doesn't even get into the World Starting XI, the guy he put out of a job on the Italian team gets the striker role despite scoring HALF as many goals.  Oh, nice consolation prize. No, I will not shut up about Thiago getting screwed.  No, I don't care that you've given me my umpteenth manager of the month award as well.  No, I don't care that Rouissi is doing well on loan... Okay, maybe I do care about that.  I bet Mujkic only wins this award because there's no one on Manchester United from Australia.  Ikeda could be pretty good in a year or two.  Where's that speculation about my imminent sacking now, huh?  It's the end of the year, so we're able to make deals on future free transfers. I can't resist free, high ceiling young players. vs Hartlepool, January 3, 2026 FA Cup, Third Round  Remember Chesterfield! Though I could be accused of not taking Hartlepool seriously enough... I am starting my son in our midfield. I don't want to hurt all the progress we've made in the last week on our relationship. He's not even slamming every door he goes through if he thinks I'm in the house now! Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control Starting 11: Kocsis, Cirjak, Tounkara, Hammatt, Loseille, Maloney, Brown, Mercado, Allan, Mujkic (c), Stringel. Subs: Minami, Spyropoulos, Laux, Zouaghi, Taborda, Bouzid, Bale. The heavens opened just before the match started and rain is coming down in torrents. My son hits the crossbar with his first shot! Good effort, son! Mercado gives us all the offense we should need in the 18th minute; I will be deeply disappointed if Hartlepool manage to score against us. Stringel puts the result beyond doubt 20 minutes later. The second half is a cavalcade of debuts. Ali Bouzid gets to make his with 35 minutes left in the second half. Kristian Bale joins him fifteen minutes later after Tounkara scores from a corner to make it 3-0. Our final debut comes with five minutes remaining, as Cirjak makes way for Antonis Spyropoulos. The weather was nasty, but I'm sure the three debutants will remember it as having been a perfect day. Man of the Match: Mateo Mujkic   Wrexham 3-0 Hartlepool  Stoke may be a Premier League team at the moment, but that won't last past this season. They haven't won a single league match yet, and are sitting on four points.  So, who deserves to take the helm of this 162 year old institution?  The 4-4-2 Vivace seems to be working as intended, and Thiago is on pace to massacre the Premier League goals scored record. The next month and a half will be tough, though. We'll play all four megabastards, as well as potential stumbling blocks Everton, Tottenham, and Liverpool before March. If we win every match we've got a pretty good shot at the title. Even if we draw a couple we should still have a hope and a prayer.    Election Day!It's election day here at Wrexham, and there's x candidates up for the job. Below are their plans for our new stadium and the Racecourse Grounds: TheMcD TheMcD posted:Right, I've got just the idea. We've been hitting a bit of a slump with Dreamsicle at the helm, and I believe it was due to a lack of America. I mean, come on, channeling Jericho? A Canadian? Bah, no wonder that didn't work out. So what we need is a double dosage of America. Me as the president, and a stadium modeled after a baseball stadium. Still with the same pitch in the middle, but built like a baseball stadium otherwise. Gives the team some more unique flavor, and might throw opponents off. Now, I'm not sure what stadium exactly we would model ourselves on, but I think Fenway would do just fine. Got that iconic status. Serperoth Serperoth posted:I would like to make a humble proposal when it comes to the Racecourse Ground. It stays with us, with no name change. To honour our progress, we erect a statue near the entrance, not of any one player, but rather a few footballers, dressed in period attire, to show Wrexham's history, from the 19th century, until its rise through football in the 21st, a modern piece of art, a testament to how the beautiful game transcends mere years. Brony Hunter Brony Hunter posted:Using my local knowledge here *flexes* C. Everett Koop C. Everett Koop posted:
Preid Preid posted:I hereby toss my hat into the ring for the shiny title of president, Voting will be open until 12pm EST on October 24. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Oct 21, 2014 |
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Oct 21, 2014 16:51
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I hope Borderlands also taught you to translate The Rock's catchphrases into Australian.
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Oct 21, 2014 16:57
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Brony Hunter has my tacit support as the most successful former chairman of Wrexham. His local knowledge is just what the club needs in this time of transition.
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Oct 21, 2014 17:05
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The McD and America have my vote.
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Oct 21, 2014 17:06
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Brony Hunter for his awesome local knowledge. And free pie.
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Oct 21, 2014 17:42
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I vote for everything Brony Hunter said, except I want the new stadium to be named Castell Coch, which Brony Hunter tells me is Wrexham-ese for Red Keep.
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Oct 21, 2014 17:53
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If people wish, I'm willing to rename our new stadium Castell Coch (Red Castle) if I get voted. It's the closest we can get to "Red Keep" without using really weird old Welsh no one ever uses anymore. Plus it has alliteration, how fun is that? (Welsh note: Technically, if used in a sentence, most of the time Castell Coch would become "Castell Goch" due to the way the language works. This won't apply when said in English, nor will it affect any signage unless the sign also contains a full sentence  )e; somehow beaten
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Oct 21, 2014 17:53
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Brony Hunter posted:If people wish, I'm willing to rename our new stadium Castell Coch (Red Castle) if I get voted. It's the closest we can get to "Red Keep" without using really weird old Welsh no one ever uses anymore. Plus it has alliteration, how fun is that? 
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Oct 21, 2014 17:55
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Interlude: Deadspin.com Presents: What you need to know about the World Cup January 6, 2026 (The following is a PODCAST excerpt from the voluminous FOXKER EMPIRE, which expanded astoundingly upon RUPERT MURDOCH's death and the revelation that he had secretly been married to NICK DENTON and had made him the sole beneficiary of his will. Students of history will remember that DENTON seized control of the English ROYAL FAMILY after blackmailing KING CHARLES THE UNWORTHY with the ROYAL DICK PICS during the Anarchy of 2021 that followed QUEEN ELIZABETH II's passing.)  : Welcome to the Deadspin Explainer: World Cup 2026, as always presented by Foxker Media and at the behest of his Majesty the Lord Protector of England and the Commonwealth, Nick Denton. This week, Team USA! We have a special guest with us, Coach Scott Brown!: Happy to be here... All hail the Lord Protector and save us from our nudes.: Amen. : First up, over the past month you've said you're pretty happy with the group that you've gotten. Can you give us a quick lightning round about that?: When you look at the group, you don't see anyone that you'd expect us to lose to. That's not to say things will be easy, every single one of our opponents has some real professionals and could be a challenge, but with home field advantage I think we have as good a chance as we could have asked for to not only get out of the group but to win it.: What about Japan? You coach Kôjirô Minami at Wrexham, will that give either of you an advantage over the other this summer? : Kôji is a great player, but soccer is a game with eleven men on the field at the same time. He certainly does give Japan a chance to advance out of the group, but they're going to need to score to get through.: Are you saying that Shimane needs to provide that offense?Masataka Shimane  : Shimane, yes, but we'll also have to be on our guard for Shintarô Fujii. I know he's out right now with tendonitis and he's not expected to be fully recovered until April, but that still leaves him two months to get fully fit for the World Cup. If he's on his game he'll be one of the biggest threats we'll face in the group. : We've also been drawn with the Ghanaians, again. This will be the fourth time in the last five World Cups Ghana and the US have played. What are your thoughts on that?: I think that it would be five of five times we've been matched up had they qualified in 2018. It seems like every four years we have to play them, and there's a whole generation of fans in each nation that have grown up watching us play. It's a good thing, even if a bit of an odd rivalry.: You have to think they can make some noise this time around with Diallo and Osei.  : If their performances in Roma's midfield is any indication they could make Ghana a surprise victor, the two of them knowing each other so well from playing together on the same club could be what they need to advance.: Finally, turning to Bulgaria, they're the weak link here right?: I don't think so at all. They've got something of a golden generation going on right now, and you can't just account that to Spasov, Nedkov, and Fotev.   : But those three do give them a very good spine to work from, which is something of the case for both Ghana and Bulgaria. We've been emphasizing wing play on the national team, so it should be interesting to see how our styles compare.: If you had to rate the one area where the national team was better equipped than our opponents, what would it be?: Oh, it's absolutely our depth. We may not have a world class player on our roster, but no injury to any player would cripple our team. That might not be the case for any of the other teams in our group. We've also got home field advantage, which counts for a lot. The crowds will be huge for us, and we're relying on them to help carry the team.: Moving on to the team next summer, everyone wants to know who's going to start in goal, Toninho or Echedey Rubio de la Fuente?  : It's an open question, still. Both have really impressed me, Echedey in the Confederations Cup last summer and Toninho in how he's fought to get his starting spot back. That's something that might not be decided until training camp, but either way we're going to have a solid presence in goal.: You've also been, I wouldn't say accused, but questioned about the number of young players you've brought onto the team over the previous three years.: Yeah, and that's something that confuses me. Have they seen me leave Mario Carroll off the roster when he's been rested and healthy? : Or Brian Burman for that matter? Those are two of our three starting forwards. : And on defense, I thought I'd been clear in my vote of confidence in the current generation of players. I don't think anyone could confuse James Needham, Bruno, Darren Latham for teenagers. They're exactly the type of seasoned defenders we're going to need if we're to make some noise during the tournament.   : That's certainly true, but what about leaving Bobby Padilla off the team for a full year? : Bobby is a unique case, and he knows exactly why he was left off the team after his performances at the Copa America. I'm more concerned about is his failure to perform even after that at Porto. He's going to need to step things up if he wants to be a major part of this team. Everyone has to earn their position, and I don't care if he just got a big money transfer to Lazio, he simply hasn't shown me he can perform up to his ability.: But you have to admit that you've been working in a lot of teenagers and younger players.: Absolutely, and I make no apologies for that. Isaac Parsons may only be 21 years old, but he's earned his spot by playing well every time I've called on him. : The same goes for Hunter Fisher. : And the same goes for Érik Jiménez, the only reason he hasn't gotten into the squad more often is because of some bad fitness luck. Major League Soccer may never have developed into a top flight league, but his performance at the club level warrants my confidence that he can perform for us at left fullback. : So you're not saying that every young player has locked down a starting job.: I'm not even saying they're going to get invited to the pre-tournament training camp! Guys like Xavier Hughes and Chris Ramirez will have to prove they deserve their spot on just like any other. I think they might deserve it, but we're still more than 150 days from making our preliminary decisions.  : What about the players from the team that finished second in the U20 World Cup?: That will largely come down to whether I think they can add something during actual games. That being said, I'm very excited for the future and I could imagine some of them making the team. I'm disappointed that Rodrigo probably won't due to a lack of training time from that stress fracture which turned into a broken foot- something we would never have allowed to happen had he been given a work permit to come play for me at Wrexham. : But beyond that, it would take something special from our top young players to prove to me that they deserve to be on the World Cup squad. I intend on winning matches, not having a field trip for teenagers. That being said, I can understand why American fans are excited, some of the teenagers could legitimately be described as phenoms, and I think in four years you could see Keith Coleman, Paul Barrett, Jesús Melendez, Andrew Paredes, and David Hunt all making strong bids to be on the 2032 squad.     : That's a lot of attacking firepower, but the lack of young defenders has to concern you a little.: Ramirez and Parsons will both be just entering their primes, but you have a point. We haven't even gotten through this World Cup yet, though, and four years is a long time.: Is that imbalance of talent a reason you've been so willing to cap foreign nationals?: They're not foreign nationals. They're American citizens. They became American citizens when they took the oath of citizenship. We are a nation founded by immigrants, and our culture, both football and popular, were born of the melting pot. I think it's wrongheaded and downright offensive that in this day and age we still have these nativist sensibilities.: So that's why Sinan Ulusal has gotten capped so often since becoming a citizen? : Well, that and he's a damned fine player. But I also think it's important that we seek out talent that isn't solely American in provenance. Which is something that the previous regimes didn't do so well. Remember the Martin Henning affair?Martin Henning  : How on earth does one of the best defenders America has produced in the past decade, and perhaps ever, end up capped for the Puerto Rican team? It's as if England had ignored a great player simply because he'd been born on the Isle of Man.: That was a dark day for the USMNT. We're reaching the end of our time, so let's end on a speculative note. Brent Woods unexpectedly announced his retirement from international soccer after the Confederations Cup this past summer. : There's been a lot of rumors since then about your efforts to bring him out of retirement, can you confirm that you've been in touch with him, and how he's feeling?: Well, actually, I have some news to break on that topic. I got a text just as we were going to record this. Election DayVoting is still ongoing, see the end of the last update for details!
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Oct 21, 2014 18:44
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Hunter Fisher? That's the most outdoorsy, 80s actiony kind of name I've ever seen.
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Oct 21, 2014 19:13
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Brony Hunter has my vote, although I do think he should consider Serperoth's suggestion for the statues. Perhaps have them lining the approach to the new stadium, with the God-King's statue as the centerpiece of the plaza directly before the entrance? EDIT: Also, an alternate name for the stadium, assuming Google translate hasn't failed me: Efail Dreigiau, the Dragons' Forge. Because as awesome as the Red Keep reference is, it's inevitable that everyone will end up pronouncing it as Castle Cock. And because I couldn't find any decent synonyms for either "(some shade of) red" or "furnace/crucible" that weren't obviously just English words with a few letters changed to make them Welsh. The Sandman fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Oct 21, 2014 |
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Oct 21, 2014 19:19
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The Sandman posted:Brony Hunter has my vote, although I do think he should consider Serperoth's suggestion for the statues. Perhaps have them lining the approach to the new stadium, with the God-King's statue as the centerpiece of the plaza directly before the entrance? I think, whoever wins, should erect loads and loads of statues. Statues everywhere! Fill Wrexham with statues!
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Oct 21, 2014 19:23
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Chicken Doodle posted:Brony Hunter for his awesome local knowledge. And free pie. I can't fight this logic.
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Oct 21, 2014 20:00
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Brony Hunter posted:I think, whoever wins, should erect loads and loads of statues. Statues everywhere! Fill Wrexham with statues! Preach it. What I began with the huge Dragon of Wrexham should continue unabated.
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Oct 21, 2014 20:10
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When are we getting rid of Glassman Parr?
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Oct 21, 2014 22:11
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AJ_Impy posted:Preach it. What I began with the huge Dragon of Wrexham should continue unabated. Much though it pains my devout Red Sox fan heart, I'm also going to have to cast my lot with Brony Hunter. But maybe can we at least paint the walls Fenway green? And have some bizarre angles to the fences?  View from my seat at a game I managed to catch at Fenway last summer. Sox even won, remarkably!
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Oct 21, 2014 22:28
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Oct 21, 2014 22:47
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The Sandman posted:Brony Hunter has my vote, although I do think he should consider Serperoth's suggestion for the statues. This, precisely.
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Oct 21, 2014 23:30
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Yeah, if I win, Serperoth's statue idea is very good and should be implemented as well because it's too good to waste. I only hope that his name is honoured for it in some capacity 
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Oct 21, 2014 23:34
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I also vote for Brony Hunter. Serperoth's idea is indeed too good to waste as well.
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Oct 21, 2014 23:45
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Gotta go with Brony Hunter.
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Oct 21, 2014 23:51
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So I was going to write some in-character piece but I'm too lazy. Because Wrexham's recent poor form was when it was run by some Canadian, obviously a local person needs to be in charge. So I'm voting for Brony Hunter. Since my character retired, I don't think I get to join the Former Wrexham President Cabal. EDIT: Habeas, what has Foxker done to ESPN by the way? Dreamsicle fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Oct 22, 2014 |
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Oct 21, 2014 23:59
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Dreamsicle posted:Since my character retired, I don't think I get to join the Former Wrexham President Cabal. Sorry to hear that, nice working with you. Looks like they bought it. I've taken the liberty of installing the top secret cabal communications suite on your obligatory private yacht. You are now cleared for full covert operation against the target or targets of your choice. Welcome to the fun side.
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Oct 22, 2014 00:42
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ESPN/ABC are still around, but they've turned into MTV and very seldom have actual sports content anymore. Everyone blames that on giving Skip Bayless the reins after the attempted coup'd'etat of Bill Simmons in 2016.
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Oct 23, 2014 14:47
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AJ_Impy posted:Sorry to hear that, nice working with you. Um, I don't think yachts work in Winnipeg. Can I have a stretch limo shaped like a moose? Also Habeas, what happened to the Shadowing Sports Network?
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Oct 23, 2014 16:46
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Dreamsicle posted:Um, I don't think yachts work in Winnipeg. Can I have a stretch limo shaped like a moose? With the amount you
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Oct 23, 2014 16:49
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Congratulations to Brony Hunter! All hail our new president! There are also two new Managing Directors on the board, giving the club six in total. Poor TheMcD is the only regular Director left. If you want on the board, let me know and let me know which nation you'd like to hail from. If you were on the board recently you're probably still on the board, that goes for TheMcD, Torak Fade, Ghostwoods, ThePenIsMightier, and Rogue0071.
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Oct 24, 2014 17:38
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habeasdorkus posted:If you want on the board, let me know and let me know which nation you'd like to hail from. If you were on the board recently you're probably still on the board, that goes for TheMcD, Torak Fade, Ghostwoods, ThePenIsMightier, and Rogue0071. Feel free to skip me if you only want new people.
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Oct 24, 2014 17:41
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I would like the other spot - berryjon, Canada!
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Oct 24, 2014 17:49
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