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Dancer posted:Ye gods, my avatar is ugly. If I ever get a boon, I'm asking you to make me pretty. Make me look like Obama... I can at least do that in the LP itself. Changing your ingame photo isn't really doable. Eric the Mauve posted:The one thing I quickly learned in FM18 at least is to never promise anyone anything, because the way promises are evaluated is bugged all to hell in almost every case. Huh, glad you mentioned the AI realizing that you've got to sell a player before I went and did it. I've been using the other promises, simply because they're reasonable. If I want kids to stick with my program instead of getting their heads turned by Serie A clubs I should be promising that we'll get promoted. Dance Officer posted:The habeasdorkus mid season curse strikes again, it seems. Starting and finishing are my strengths! Don't ask me about the middle part. Almanac posted:Is this level of player whining normal for Football Simulator? Feels like a quarter of each update is some dude complaining about play time or transfer. Still fun to read but... drat. I'm the type of manager who always has time to talk to their players. You don't have to speak to them, and it'll usually give them a mild negative buff to happiness. If you do speak to them they'll either drop the issue and cause no more problems, or potentially go to a reporter to whine. And Pazzi has a right to complain, he's stuck behind Enrici on the depth chart despite being a major prospect, and he's had bonafide good clubs seeking to bring him aboard. He just doesn't have a right to be such a whiny brat about it when I say no- he's probably got an average or worse professionalism score.
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Aug 20, 2018 13:41
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habeasdorkus posted:I can at least do that in the LP itself. Changing your ingame photo isn't really doable. Alternatively Tyrion I guess. If I ever show up, you just do what you think is funny  .
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Aug 20, 2018 13:58
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Dance Officer posted:The habeasdorkus mid season curse strikes again, it seems. The annual January-ish swoon because that's when the AI abruptly adjusts to your tactics has been a Football Manager thing forever, hasn't it? habeasdorkus posted:Huh, glad you mentioned the AI realizing that you've got to sell a player before I went and did it. I've been using the other promises, simply because they're reasonable. If I want kids to stick with my program instead of getting their heads turned by Serie A clubs I should be promising that we'll get promoted. I mean it makes sense, the player will tell his agent you promised to sell him, the agent will gleefully share that information on the Megabastard Hotline, then the megabastards will do what megabastards do. Just don't make the mistake of promising a player (or the board) you'll challenge for the league title and then gently caress up and actually win the league. That's considered a broken promise and it makes you an rear end in a top hat. (Seriously.)
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Aug 20, 2018 15:11
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Eric the Mauve posted:The annual January-ish swoon because that's when the AI abruptly adjusts to your tactics has been a Football Manager thing forever, hasn't it?
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Aug 20, 2018 15:39
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IIRC it's because the game adjusts your reputation, rather than "cracking" your tactics. So teams will start to play more defensively if you've been unexpectedly tearing up the league, or something similar to deal with your team being a more credible threat than expected. It's still bullshit.
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Aug 20, 2018 15:56
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Yeah in my game I've hit 5 Star Rep and teams seem much more wise defensively against me. I'm not scoring so many goals. That said neither are THEY. Once I finally can break through they open up a bit and more goals follow but geez its frustrating for every attack I'm on to be offsides. E: about the in game portraits in their infinite wisdom SI decided, rather than the perfectly fine assembly of images that FM14 used for regens, all game portraits would be randomly generated by 3d face gen software that makes Oblivion's faces look good. As a result of this all regens are revealed as the shapeshifting evil lizard people they always have been, here to overthrow world society by earning our trust on the football pitch. There is no hope left for humanity and weep before their terrifying visage-of-the-day because tomorrow they might be African or something. Sky Shadowing fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Aug 20, 2018 |
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Aug 20, 2018 17:45
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If you have want to see more ugly-rear end generated faces, check out OOTP. Man that game has some ugly-rear end face generation.
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Aug 20, 2018 20:57
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loving love Fiona Apple posted:If you have want to see more ugly-rear end generated faces, check out OOTP. It's breathtaking lifelikeness compared to FM18.
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Aug 20, 2018 22:12
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If you want me to believe there's something uglier out there than the toupeed slugs that populate FM18 I need to see proof.
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Aug 20, 2018 23:53
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So my half brother, living in Halifax and everything, is a FC Halifax Town fan. He’s pretty happy that they’ve got four wins from five, but they’re only second. To Wrexham. I blame habeus for this.
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Aug 21, 2018 00:37
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For the record about regens I wasn't joking when I said they shapeshift. You load your save one day and before you know it your African keeper has pulled a full Michael Jackson and gone pale as a ghost. It's a really bad feature.
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Aug 21, 2018 03:54
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Sky Shadowing posted:For the record about regens I wasn't joking when I said they shapeshift. You load your save one day and before you know it your African keeper has pulled a full Michael Jackson and gone pale as a ghost. e: I also tend to spontaneously lose all my hair a lot. Wizard Styles fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Aug 21, 2018 |
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Aug 21, 2018 06:34
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Wizard Styles posted:I especially like it when it happens to the player character. Pretty sure I've changed skin color more often than I've changed clubs. And what about your in-game character?
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Aug 21, 2018 06:41
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Jabor posted:And what about your in-game character?
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Aug 21, 2018 06:46
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I've seen the hairstyles change before, but never a complete change. Also, I'd like to think that Coach suffers from some dimensional travel damage where her eyes go wonky when she gets angry. It's a nice way to intimidate the players when they irritate you.
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Aug 21, 2018 13:53
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habeasdorkus posted:I've seen the hairstyles change before, but never a complete change. 
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Aug 22, 2018 07:53
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Btw, winner of the boon will be the person who is closest to the correct answer. I'm not going to refuse giving out a boon because Salvy Columns is an actual wonderkid.
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Aug 25, 2018 |
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Aug 25, 2018 22:01
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Chapter the Eighth: The Serie C Cup Gets No Respect. February 20, 2020-March 26, 2020 Well, we’re probably not catching Ascoli unless we rip off a string of victories and they stumble. That’s not out of the realm of possibility, but what I want is a nice clean run to the Serie C Cup final and to push our way back to second place on the League Table so we’ve got the best possible chance to win promotion.   Just in time to play some in our match against Viterbese.  Ok, doc, I won't send them out there for a whole match. Especially since this is screenshot #666. vs Viterbese Castrense Serie C/B February 23, 2020  Both Minelli and Stecca's injuries are lingering, meaning that Stecca starts on the bench while Minelli won't see the end of the match. Viterbese have a habit of letting us go up by a couple goals and then storming back for a draw. That fact is most certainly on my mind as I give a stern pep-talk. Formation: 4-4-2 Attack Starting 11: Cataldi; Vanzetta, Prestia, Punzi, Quaranta, Colonna, Conti (c), Enrici, Morotti; Belkheir, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Caldore, Kwame, Iotti, Vogliacco, Ranelli, Schiattarella, Matera, Pazzi, Tesoro, Manara, Stecca. We get off to our typical good start, with Colonna finding the in-form Morotti across the box in the 8th minute. Just as I'm switching us to a more controlling style after Prestia gets booked, Viterbese manage to slip an attacker through our back line and Cataldi is called on to make a save. The ensuing corner is harmless, and we proceed to take our traditional multiple goal lead on excellent vision from Morotti and sheer brilliance by Capitano Conti. I remind the kids of what's happened in the past when we've taken the early lead, while ushering off a bushed Morotti and a just-back from injury Minelli. Jari Vandeputte, who's name has become anathema to me due to the number of late goals he's scored against us, pulls the Gialloblu to within one at the sixty minute mark. Great goalkeeping by Viterbese keeps it 2-1 when their keeper somehow sprawls into the path of Conti's close range shot. I’m looking between my fingers as Viterbese break through on another one vs one, but Cataldi comes up huge for the second time today. Excitment mounts as Enrici tries to give us a two goal cushion with 10 minutes left, but his shot is tipped over the bar. We're able to hold on through four minutes of stoppage time, and have vanquished Viterbese. Player of the Match: Stefano Morotti San Marino 2-1 Viterbese   We've taken a draw or win into the final fifteen minutes with Viterbese on three prior occasions, and every time they've scored in the 84th minute or later to deny us victory or send us down to defeat. I'm savoring this one.  Huh, I didn't even see him get injured.  I immediately ordered him one of Joel Embiid's surplus masks, though. Those things look awesome.  Morotti won Player of the Match despite playing only half of the game. He deserved it, too. I'm rethinking my decision to not offer him a contract, he's been one of our best players all season.    Pazzi is still making progress on the training pitch, but he's got a bundle of mental weaknesses that make him a weird character. How is someone too competitive yet lacking self confidence?  Can't disagree with that, Conti's been excellent this past month.  And I tell him as much. vs Monza Serie C Cup Semifinal, First Leg February 26, 2020 Vanzetta is sitting out due to having earned too many yellows previously. Monza sending out mostly backups, with a few first team players in the mix, as appears standard for every team not coached by me in the Serie C Cup. Lecce got two away goals in their match against Avezzano, they've got to be favored to face us in the final at this point. Formation: 4-4-2 Attack Starting 11: Melgrati; Kwame, Vogliacco, Iotti, Vannucci; Colonna, Matera, Schiatarella (c), Morotti, Manara, Stecca. Substitutes: Cataldi, Quaranta, Punzi, Prestia, Caldore, Ranelli, Enrici, Tesoro, Pazzi, Conti, Belkheir, Minelli. Kwame gives his all for the team by blocking a powerful shot with his block and tackle, the carooming deflection sets off a counter attack that ends with Morotti unable to get his cross past the scampering centerbacks. Too bad, but at least the play is at the other end of the pitch for a couple minutes so Kwame can shake himself off. We continue to look dangerous when Stecca cheekily chips the defensive line and Manara runs onto the ball, just to see his shot saved by the Biancorossi keeper. Monza gets only one good look at the goal all match, but their winger snatches at it and sends it wide right. The chance came when Schiatarella gave up possession too easily, something he’s been doing all match as he appears bored with the whole situation. Our 50th minute breakthrough comes courtesy of Schiatarella playing Nico Manara into the area cool as you please, and the Cesena loanee bonking the chance home. Schiatarella looks over to the sideline at me and smirks, as I'd been screaming at him to show some passion all match. Kwame makes a giant mistake with a reckless, misplaced backpass in the 83rd minute and nearly gifts Monza a goal, but they somehow don't convert. We close out strong, with Quaranta finding substitute striker Belkheir in the third minute of stoppage time to give us a two-nil win, putting the Titani into commanding position in the Coppa Italia Serie C semifinal, and one step closer to silverware. Player of the Match: Luca Iotti San Marino 2-0 Monza   Kindly self-deport, Signore Orsi. And wake up Signora Bacigalupo on your way out.  How could this possibly be true? It's a knockout tournament! With six rounds and a two-legged semifinal!  Great job with the scheduling, Federcalcio. Thanks for the two weeks off with two weeks of multiple matches. No way you could have sorted that out so we're only playing once a week. No sir.  Twenty-five happy senior team members and no content or unhappy members. I am the best coach.  Dear Captain Foo, stab, Dancer, Beru04, and tarbrush. All I want for Purim is you to kick in €1,000,000 euros to make us solvent.  Morotti and Il Capitano were both great in February. They'll need to keep it up in March. at Ponsacco Serie C/B March 1, 2020  Pity poor Ponsacco. They're making a brave showing for a team with an average age under 20, and they're only one point off of Mestre and a chance to avoid relegation, but they have no chance against a team like us. Third place Reggiana and second place Pisa drew yesterday, with a win we can move back into third place. Formation: 3-5-2 Flat Control Starting 11: Cataldi; Prestia, Punzi, Vogliacco; Colonna, Enrici, Conti (c), Matera, Enrici, Morotti, Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Kwame, Vannucci, Vanzetta, Gennari, Iotti, Tesoro, De Meo, Pazzi, Belkheir, Celli, Manara. I demanded a win in the locker room, we're playing something close to our best 11 and we've been hot. Minelli makes an effort in the first minute that would have been a youtube sensation, but can't get his shot down. Ponsacco takes advantage of lazy defense to go up by one in the 17th minute, we have a chance to immediately respond but Matera can't get his header past the keeper. Minelli does something you need to see for yourself, running at 3/4ths speed, kicking one foot out to deaden Stecca's pass, and then within a stride using his other foot to volley in the equalizer. Minelli nearly makes it happen for Stecca a couple minutes later, and I have to stop pumping my fist and glare in astonishment as the Ponsacco keeper makes a flailing save. On the very first action after the half Il Capitano sneaks into the box and finishes with aplomb. It's not enough to see out the match, as Ponsacco storm back to equalize minutes later on Davide Cirigliano's second goal of the day. That's not the close of scoring, either, ten minutes later a Minelli cross towards an oncoming Stecca is deflected by Ponsacco's Subbicini into his own net for the first own goal I've seen in ages. I don't fault Subbicini too much, if he hadn't poked it in, Stecca was right there to do it. But Ponsacco won't die that easily. Giulio Cipriani scores a painful equalizer in the 86th minute on a bolt from the blue that I can't believe went in. He cartwheels in celebration of running riot over our hopes of victory. Except he celebrated too early, less than two minutes later a Ponsacco defensive lapse leaves Minelli one on one with the keeper, and Feddy Wap puts us back ahead. Right after the restart from that goal Minelli gets tripped on the breakaway, sends the keeper the wrong way on the penalty, picks up his own hat-trick, and settles the match. Player of the Match: Federico “Feddy Wap” Minelli Ponsacco 3-5 San Marino   I'm delighted in how we never said die and came back to win, much less so in how we gave up three goals to the second worst offense across all of Serie C. I can't gripe too much, with eight matches left we've already equaled our points total from last year.  Daaaaaang, Gubbio. What did you do last week?  Well, a 5-0 thumping of a playoff team is pretty impressive.  One day, when we're a megabastard, I'm signing Minelli no matter what the cost. I'll make the Neymar transfer fee look like loose change if I need to. It can't go worse than the ₤100,000,000 I dropped on Sinan Ünsal. Because Ünsal was awful. Pre-Hulk Justin Bailey was a better midfielder than that bust. If you don't get these references, and you like this LP, I have good news for you. There's a decade plus long run in the archives. The first couple years have some early installment weirdness, but enjoy Coach v1.0. If you don't like this LP, then what are you doing reading update number 35? If you're hate reading me, please comment because that's some dedication and I am honored to have aroused your ire.  Most teams would already have a ton of homegrown players, since they weren't added via mod to the game. It hasn't (and won't) matter that we don't have a lot of them at the club, mainly because of how many kids I roll with.  You could be so good, Pazzi, yet you're such a pain in my rear end.   A bunch of my stats aren't in grey anymore! Also, how is my adaptability still a one? I learned Italian from scratch, jerks!  You lummoxes. It'd cost a thousand euro to send me through the class. at Monza Serie C Cup Semifinal, Second Leg March 11, 2020  Even a 3-1 loss sees us through to the final. Monza have firepower to make a match of it, if they’d chosen to display it, having scored 40 goals in their league matches. Instead they're going with mostly backups again. Assuming we win, we face Avellino in the final, as they topped Lecce 1-0 in the second leg. Formation: 3-5-2 Wingback Counter Starting 11: Melgrati; Punzi, Vogliaccoo, Iotti; Vanzetta (c), Caldore; Tesoro, Schiatarella, Ranelli; Manara, Minelli. Substitutes: Cataldi, Kwame, Carissoni, Prestia, Quaranta, Matera, Morotti, Conti, Pazzi, Colonna, Belkheir, Stecca All 100 of the fans present are under the eaves as the game starts in pouring rain. Monza are playing a lot of men behind the ball, not something that will help them recover from a two-nil deficit. Melgrati stops a shot in the 29th minute, making me sigh in relief. I'd like to not drop a goal until the second half, please. By the 33rd minute the weather has cleared up, as Minelli puts in a mediocre cross. It must have a rune of insanity on it, though, since three Monzan defenders plus their keeper all go up for the ball... and the ensuing collision sees it drop for Nico Manara. Manara, who clearly made his wisdom save, can't help but find the goal. Monza now needs four goals to keep us from the final. Monza almost gets one back immediately when Punzi has the ball stolen from his shoetips, but Melgrati stretches to block the shot with his fingertips. Melgrati proceeds to put on a clinic, stopping a second sure goal before the half, and so we enter the half up four-nil on aggregate with two away goals. Monza need to score five in forty-five minutes, or go home. Needless to say, that's far too much to ask with Melgrati playing well. We're going to the final, and all credit to Manara for getting us there. Player of the Match: Nico Manara Monza 0 (0)-(4) 2 San Marino   Uh, we didn't need anything from the first leg to get us to the final.  Wait, this is a two legged affair? What a weird competition. I guess it'll help our squad keep their fitness up. vs Ternana Serie C/B March 14, 2020 Ternana have hit a rough patch, winning just once in their last five matches. The relegated Serie B side has dropped from fourth at the end of January to eighth now. Our next match isn't for another 11 days, against league leading Ascoli, so there's no reason not to go all out today. Formation: 3-5-2 Flat Control Starting 11: Cataldi; Punzi, Prestia, Vogliacco; Vanzetta, Pazzi, Conti (c), Enrici, Colonna; Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Kwame, Quaranta, Iotti, Tesoro, Buonagrazia, Matera, Schiatarella, De Meo, Ranelli, Belkheir, Manara. We look the better team through thirty minutes, so of course it's Ternana who score. Pazzi comes off with a thigh strain at the half. Stecca puts a header so close that I'm pumping my fist until I slam it into my chair in frustration. As I'm consulting with the Pianoman in the 82nd minute about what we can do to try and salvage something from the match, Minelli breaks away and beats the keeper to the near post side to equalize. I give the go ahead to keep attacking. I want the win. That leads to a couple chances for both sides as we open up the throttle, but in the end we walk out with a two-one win after Stecca scores in the third minute of stoppage time. We're coming for you, Ascoli. Player of the Match: Federico “Feddy Wap” Minelli San Marino 2-1 Ternana   You gotta give more credit to the team than that, Signora Bachlechner. They never quit.  Yeouch. At least he (probably) won't be complaining during that time.  You jinxed him, jackass.   : I now realize how wrong I was! Forgive me, Allenatrice!  Our youth crop is poor this year. The best of the sad lot maxing out at 3-4 stars in potential right now means that they're at best rotation options in Serie B if they reach their full potential. I'll be offering very few contracts.    Cosimi and Perissinotto are the only two youts who deserve the minimum wage of €150/wk, and then just barely.  Oh no you don't, Fiorentina and Torino. I'm going to nip this in the bud.   There we go. New contract, and a year extension upon promotion.  Colonna, on the other hand, is with us through 2024 if I want to trigger his extension, so there's no need to renegotiate our deal.  Salvy has been amazing this year, he's been our best non-Minelli player by leaps and bounds. I didn't expect so much so fast, but he's taking every opportunity that comes his way.  Keep it up, kid. Especially if no Serie B teams catch your eye.  Right after I’m done praising him, he finishes up learning how to use his speed to get past defenders. It’ll serve him well, he needs work on his dribbling but he's fast even for Serie A.  That can’t possibly be right, but I can’t find any record showing a longer winning streak. The furthest back I could find results for was 2005. Still, it must have happened sometime in the past 60 years.  Boo. Get stroppy with me, Marco. I want a war of words!  And he's even praising my players! What type of game are you playing? at Ascoli Picchio Serie C/B March 25, 2020  Ascoli are walking the league, or they were until falling to Padova a week ago. That's not a surprise given their talent, but we've got a chance to bring our target to bay and within three points. I want this win, we've fought our way back into the promotion playoffs and we can give ourselves every chance to not worry about the promotion playoffs with a victory. Formation: 3-5-2 Wingback Counter Starting 11: Cataldi; Punzi, Prestia, Vogliacco; Vanzetta, Morotti; Conti (c), Matera, Enrici; Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Carissoni, Quaranta, Kwame, Ghiotto, Iotti, Schiatarella, Ranelli, Tesoro, Colonna, Belkheir, Manara. Ascoli pass the ball into the net after an even first half. It’s deserved, as we’ve been poor. Stecca and Vanzetta in particular are looking uninterested and uninspired. We get Prestia into a dangerous position via a short corner, but he launches the ball into orbit. Minell and Stecca haven't come through for us, which is partly on them and partly a credit to Ascoli’s defense. Conti gives us a chance by charging down Ascoli's man in near the corner flag and interposing his body between the pass, which deflects right to an open Stecca, but Sammy thunks his effort well wide. We can’t even get a point from the match, and we’re beaten by Ascoli for the second time this season. Player of the Match: Gianmarco Fabbri Ascoli 1-0 San Marino   We never got anything going offensively, and our defense was merely adequate on a day when they needed to be sublime.  Humbug.  They were crap. If they don’t want to get yelled at they shouldn’t play like crap.  That’s a kick in the pants. Right after we had fought our way into a chance to win the league we get to face our target, and they push us around for the second time in a season. Those two losses to Ascoli are the difference between first place and third place. At least we can still win the Serie C Cup, for what its worth. 
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Oct 27, 2018 |
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Aug 29, 2018 15:57
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Housekeeping note, match stats and video will come when I get back to my computer with the game.
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Aug 29, 2018 15:58
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Habe, I think you've put the match preview screenshot from the second leg of the cup semi-final before the first-leg write-up there.
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Aug 29, 2018 18:52
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JohnCompany posted:Habe, I think you've put the match preview screenshot from the second leg of the cup semi-final before the first-leg write-up there. Can't prove it! Fake news! (Thanks for the heads up)
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Aug 29, 2018 18:59
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Wait so your other LP is finally in the archive? Can I finally delete the bookmark?
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Aug 29, 2018 19:34
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No, I meant the forum archives. Added a link to the update, though, so anyone who has archive access can find it. Here it is again. I really need to get around to emailing baldurk.
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Aug 30, 2018 14:46
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Will we ever know the fate of San Marino? 
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Oct 23, 2018 16:49
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Yes, I've just been a slacker.
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Oct 23, 2018 17:15
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It's because he's a baseball fan (and worse yet, a Red Sox fan) and the playoffs have been going on. 
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Oct 23, 2018 18:01
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BEAT LA!
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Oct 23, 2018 19:48
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Eric the Mauve posted:It's because he's a baseball fan (and worse yet, a Red Sox fan) and the playoffs have been going on. the red sox are very good
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Oct 23, 2018 19:51
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habeasdorkus posted:Yes, I've just been a slacker. Eric the Mauve posted:It's because he's a baseball fan (and worse yet, a Red Sox fan) and the playoffs have been going on. Ah right I understand, first game of the World Series today.
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Oct 23, 2018 19:58
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As a very sad Rockies fan I have to vaguely root for the Red Sox even though its gonna cause Bill Simmons to be even more insufferable then he already is.
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Oct 23, 2018 19:59
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 BEAT LA!
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Oct 23, 2018 23:23
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LionYeti posted:As a very sad Rockies fan I have to vaguely root for the Red Sox even though its gonna cause Bill Simmons to be even more insufferable then he already is. It's your own fault for paying attention to Bill Simmons FYI
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Oct 23, 2018 23:52
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Chapter the Tenth: Hardware. March 26, 2020-May 10, 2020 We're not going to win the league, but I'll be damned if we don't win the Serie C Cup and get a bye into the quarterfinals of the promotion playoffs.   Good for you, Di Mattia.vs Gubbio Serie C/B March 29, 2020  Gubbio, our local rivals, are trying to fight off the drop to Serie D. We're fighting for a good seed in the promotion playoffs. We've got to win matches like this if we don't want to face a multi-month gauntlet to make Serie B. Formation: 3-5-2 Flat Control Starting 11: Cataldi; Punzi, Prestia, Vogliacco; Colonna, Conti (c), Matera, Enrici, Morotti, Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Quaranta, Kwame, Ghiotto, Carissoni, Schiattarella, Ranelli, Tesoro, Vanzetta, Belkheir, Manara. The Titani are stagnant in the first half hour, unable to get anything going outside of one Minelli chance, and we give up a goal against the run of play when Gubbio's Conti (Massimo, no known relationship to our Alessandro), spins a ball across the six yard line to a waiting Gubbiotista as the visiting fans go wild. That wakes us from our slumber, though, and within two minutes Stecca has volleyed in an equalizer thanks to a canny play from Salvatore Colonna who puts in an excellent header to Sammy. Five minutes later, and Stecca this time passes up a shot so that Minelli can take the cleaner effort, and we've taken the lead. Finally, in first half stoppage time, Minelli adds another as he beats the keeper from three yards out thanks to another well placed header after a corner kick. This time Morotti is the man with the assist. We see out the second half without trouble, having thoroughly broken Gubbio's back with our counter-barrage. Player of the Match: Federico “Feddy Wap” Minelli   San Marino 3-1 Gubbio   You can bite me, Gubbio.   I know exactly how you feel, Signore Cosma.   We're going to be in a dogfight for second place, with our last game of the regular season coming against Pisa.   Someone escort Signore Stam from the country, please. Of course I want to sign Minelli! I would never, ever have sold him in the first place. He's a golden boy!  I don't know exactly how it happened, but Tony seems to get carded every game. Maybe he's been hanging out with Manolo Pestrin too much.  Morotti has been on fire the last couple months, and I'm considering if I should tender him a contract. Still, no need to rush into things.  Meanwhile, all of these kids are likely at the end of their very short professional careers.  I wish I knew how good these guys are... and whether they'd have any interest in joining us. I'll check them out briefly, though.  That is one determined kid. And Pergolettese aren't exactly a big club, so he might even be willing to join us. Someone get me his scouting report.  It's somewhat annoying that the Serie C Cup is a two-legged afair, but given how open the rest of our schedule is I'm not concerned about anyone being tired.  Everyone's happy! Craziness.  How did Gubbio get four players on the team of the month for March when we trounced them 3-1 a few days ago?   Please stay. Forever. I know you've already agreed to be here for another year, but I don't know what this team would do without you.  That's a lot of red ink. We better get promoted via the playoffs, or we could be in trouble.  At least I'll get some money to play with if I have to sell players.  It's nice to be appreciated...  By both the fans and the players. Also, I'm very happy to see that Conti has reached “Team Leader” status in the locker room. Having a strong right hand that's in lockstep with me is a major plus when dealing with whiners like Enrici.  If the best player on Mestre is toting a downright satanic 6.66 rating, I don't think there's too much to worry about. at Mestre Serie C/B April 11, 2020  Mestre are battling Ponsacco for bottom of the table. Bottom of the table is automatic relegation, so it's a very, very bad place to be. You'll usually find that teams at the bottom arer actually tougher to beat than a lower mid-table side come the end of the year, because they have something to play for. Lets hope Mestre stays asleep. Formation: 4-4-2 Attack Starting 11: Cataldi; Kwame, Punzi, Vogliacco, Quaranta; Colonna, Conti (c), Tesoro, Morotti; Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Caldore, Prestia, Ghiotto, Iotti, Carissoni, Schiattarella, Ranelli, Matera, Vanzetta, Belkheir, Manara. This was a walk in the park for the lads. Colonna finds a late arriving Captain Conti in the 4th moment, and it's never in question from that point onwards. Morotti scores after a downright Arsenal-esque bit of one touch movement in the 30th minute, and Stecca adds two more before the half. The man pulling the strings all day is Salvatore Colonna, who earns Player of the Match honors with two assists and numerous blazing runs that crack open the Mestre defense all day long. Player of the Match: Federico “Feddy Wap” Minelli   Mestre 0-4 San Marino   That's how you do it.   Aww yeah, locked into the promotion playoffs. Now just to finish strong and try to get a bye into the quarterfinals.  I feel like we should have had more than just half the team of the week.   at Avellino Serie C Cup Finals, Away Leg April 15, 2020  Avellino are in first place in Serie C Divisione C, and were in Serie B for the six years prior. They're also playing about half of their regulars, so we're not going to roll over them the way we rolled over all of the other teams in the cup. If we can get a goal, and especially if we can get a win, though, we're going to almost certainly win the Serie C Cup. Formation: 3-5-2 Wingback Counter Starting 11: Melgrati; Punzi, Vogliacco, Iotti; Vanzetta, Quaranta; Conti (c), Schiattarella, Pazzi; Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Cataldi, Prestia, Kwame, Ghiotto, Tesoro, Colonna, Morotti, Ranelli, Matera, Enrici, Belkheir, Manara. Sammy Stecca gets us off on a flyer in the seventh minute as we break forward on the counter. It's a booming kick forward that Minelli is just able to keep out of touch, and then a long cross to the back post where Stecca is waiting. Avellino miss their chance to respond immediately, putting a header over the bar from just five yards away, and they never get back into it. Our second goal is called back, correctly so from my perch, as Minelli started his run just a bit too early, but our defense remains stout and we peel out of the parking lot with a smash and grab win. Player of the Match: Simone Vanzetta   Avellino 0- 1 San Marino   We've got the away goal, now we just need to keep it tight back in Serravalle and we've got a new trophy.  Aww, shucks. I want him healthy for the postseason, so Quaranta gets an all expenses paid trip to the trainer's office.  GUARDS!  That's not good. Vogliacco is getting regular playing time and our coaches and training facilities aren't terrible, so there's no reason he should be declining in so many categories. Time to sit down for a chat.    Argh, kids these days.  Wait, this guy is on the Impact now? A couple months ago he was on Virton!  Faugh. I wish I had known, I could have saved the hit to the scouting budget. And why would he even want to go play in a retirement league anyways? vs Reggiana Serie C/B April 26, 2020  The Mike Piazza's have spent a lot of money without a lot to show for it. They're in fifth place, and will make the promotion playoffs, but I don't see them getting out of Serie C yet. They're dangerous, though, and we can't take them lightly. Formation: 3-5-2 Flat Control Starting 11: Cataldi; Punzi, Prestia, Vogliacco; Colonna, Conti (c), Matera, Tesoro, Morotti; Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Vanzetta, Carissoni, Kwame, Caldore, Schiattarella, Enrici, Ranelli, Ghiotto, Belkheir, Manara. It's a tight match between two even teams. Neither side shows any teeth in the first half, or until the 72nd minute for that matter. Both Stecca and Minelli are having off days, so it falls to Vogliacco to knock home a ricochet after a free kick. He gives me the staredown afterwards, and I can't do anything but applaud. He can grump at me all he wants, if he plays like this after I tell him to pick it up I'll scold him every week. The Sammarinese crowd gets a buffer in the 86th minute, once again from a dead ball situation. This time substitute Nico Manara puts it in after a Matera free kick loops towards him. Reggiana claw one back in stoppage time with their own set piece score, a corner, but we hold them off and walk out with all three points. Player of the Match: Alessandro Vogliacco   San Marino 2-1 Reggiana  Minelli and Stecca both respond well to my hectoring about their poor performances. Buon comportamento, bambini.  Ascoli dropped points! We're not out of the automatic promotion hunt yet!   :smiggh:  That long range shot conversion rate is mostly Enrici and Conti blasting balls into outer space from 30 yards. Even after I yell at them every game to not shoot from so far away. There's nothing to be done for it, and the only silver lining is that every other lower league team ALSO misses almost everything from further than 18 yards out. vs Avellino Serie C Finals, Home Leg April 29, 2020  If we can manage even a draw we win. If we win, we get a trophy. If we get a trophy, I'm a happy allenatrice. We're playing several second team members this time around because we just played three days prior and have another match in three days, but we're still good enough... especially with Feddy taking the captain's armband. Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Melgrati, Carissoni, Prestia, Ghiotto, Kwame, Vanzetta, Schiattarella, Enrici, Colonna, Manara, Minelli (c). Substitutes: Cataldi, Caldore, Iotti, Punzi, Vogliacco, Morotti, Matera, Conti, Ranelli, Tesoro, Stecca, Belkheir. Manara and Minelli almost combine to give us a second minute lead, and Minelli and Vanzetta almost combine to give us a sixth minute lead, but it's our visitors who strike first in the 19th minute, with their left winger Ciccone skinning Carissoni and leaving him for dead before beating Melgrati one on one for the first goal of the match. We're unable to equalize in the first half, Manara misses a sitter, but we do see their attacking midfielder Erik Gliha go off after mis-hitting a header and re-aggravating a prior head injury. We're kept in check throughout the hour mark, but our breakthrough finally comes with Colonna lofting a killer ball through to an onside Minelli. Feddy Wap deeks the keeper and beats him to the near post, giving us the equalizer we so desperately needed. Avellino surge forward to try and retake the lead, another away goal would give them the Cup, but substitute Matteo Ardemagni goes off in the 86th minute due to injury, and they're left with 10 men for the final ten minutes of play. We close it out, and we've won some hardware. Player of the Match: Federico “Feddy Wap” Minelli   San Marino (2) 1-1 (1) Avellino  I think in the three seasons I've been here we've roughly doubled the size of the trophy cabinet between winning Serie D and winning the Serie C cup. Not very impressive trophies, sure, but baubles nonetheless.   Whew, someone finally pressed us in the Serie C Cup and almost walked away with the title on our turf.   But “almost” doesn't count, and we got a trophy! Yaaaaaay!  We got money, too! Bigger yaaaaaaaay!  And Prestia is banned from appearing in the next Serie C Cup match we'd play... which would hopefully be never because we get promoted this season.  I hope everyone placed their bets last summer before the competition started.  The board are happier about the money and the extra gate receipts than they are about the trophy.  Records are nice, but I really don't understand why a game that has such a massive database of teams, locations, media outlets, coaches, and players has so little historical data loaded up from the start.   Someone rid me of these meddlesome coaches.  He's signed through 2022 and I hold a two year option. How does “no” sound?  Not happy about that? Someone get Conti over to my office.  You know what I want, capisce?  Buon lavoro ben fatto, mio Capitano.  Two more matches, and we're still neck and neck with Pisa for the second spot. We haven't been officially eliminated from the title, but we'd have to beat Vicenza and Pisa while Ascoli would need to drop points in both of their remaining matches.  I miss Carnicelli.  But at least I have Colonna! at Vicenza Serie C/B May 2, 2020  Vicenza are another club fighting for playoff seeding. We can beat them, but it's not going to be a walk in the park. Formation: 3-5-2 Wingback Counter Starting 11: Cataldi; Punzi, Prestia, Vogliacco; Vanzetta, Morotti; Conti (c), Matera, Enrici; Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Quaranta, Kwame, Ghiotto, Iotti, Carissoni, Schiattarella, Tesoro, Colonna, Ranelli, Belkheir, Manara. The first half is dull as dishwater, the closest anyone gets to a goal is when Vicenza puts a header over the bar in the 13th minute that Cataldi would have saved if it had been on target. Nothing happens until the 52nd minute, when a booming Cataldi punt finds an open Minelli. Three touches later, and Minelli is through on goal and the keeper isn't going to stop him from putting the ball into the back of the net. Four minutes later and we nab an insurance goal on yet another set piece. This time it's Antonio Matera finding teen Giuseppe Tesoro unmarked in the box for a simple headed finish. Vicenza try to kick things up a notch in response, but they have no success until the 84th minute, when Cataldi misses an interception to bring the home side bac into the game. It's too little too late, though, and the biggest moment left is a desperate stop on another Minelli attempt that would have put us up three-one. With one game left we've got a chance of catching Ascoli, and we hold our fate in our own hands when it comes to second place as our final match is against third placed Pisa. Player of the Match: Antonio Matera   Vicenza 1-2 San Marino   We're getting better at the whole “not falling apart in the final fifteen minutes of a game that we're winning” thing. Not perfect, we're still allowing goals, but better.  Yeesh, so Ponsacco still has a chance to stay up via the relegation playout.  He's free to leave at the end of his contract. It's less than two months until then.  What? Weird. All I said was that he was free to leave.  Ah crap, the heck with that Melgrati business, this is a huge problem! We need Enrici for the playoffs, but he's going to be out until next season!  We'll have to get promoted without him. vs Pisa Serie C/B May 9, 2020  If we win and Ascoli loses we're automatically promoted to Serie B. If we win or draw and Ascoli wins or draws, we finish in second place, and have a bye to the quarterfinal round of the promotion playoffs. If we lose, we finish in third, and Pisa gets that bye to the quarterfinal round. Lets win, huh? Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Cataldi; Vanzetta, Punzi, Vogliacco, Kwame; Colonna, Conti (c), Matera, Morotti; Stecca, Minelli. Substitutes: Melgrati, Quaranta, Caldore, Prestia, Carissoni, Schiattarella, Ranelli, Tesoro, Iotti, Ghiotto, Belkheir, Manara. Both sides go all out from the opening whistle as a warm spring rain falls on the pitch. First blood foes to the Titani when Stecca is given an inch of daylight from just outside the box and pounds the ball into the top corner, and the Sammarinese lead looks secure after the ball falls to Minelli when Stecca is tackled just minutes later. Pisa are up for the match, though, and strike back before the crowd has finished celebrating, as Ignazio Batista beats Mike Kwame to a ball across the six yard box. The teams continue to batter each other for the next hour, with both sides snatching at chances and being stoned by the opposing goalies. It all leads in the end to nothing, as San Marino holds on for the two-one victory. Player of the Match: Sammy Stecca   San Marino 2-1 Pisa    So close. We finish a single lousy point behind Ascoli for the Serie C/B title and the automatic promotion that comes with it. If we'd taken a single danged point from Ascoli in either of our matches we'd be looking forward to the bright lights and big city. Instead, we have to go through a playoff gauntlet.   Promoted against the odds? They were preseason favorites! Their wage budget is like a million pounds more than the next closest team!    Finishing second allows us to skip multiple rounds of the playoffs, but also means we're not going to play in a match for over a month. We should be well rested albeit a touch rusty by the time we find out who we're playing.  Have fun in the lower rungs of the playoffs. I'll be happy to play either of you when you get to us.  We've got almost a full month before we play our next match, the biggest challenge will be keeping everyone fit and ready to go. We're also going to have a very short off-season no matter what happens, since the final isn't going to be played until late June. Given the youth of our squad, we're going to probably have to spend all of July on break... which will give us no preparation for either a third go-round at Serie C or a first taste of Serie B. 
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Nov 4, 2018 |
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Nov 4, 2018 17:25
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Jeeeeeez, one point out. That's rough.
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Nov 4, 2018 18:17
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That's what happens when you don't beat your closest competition. We drew Ascoli 2-2 in November, and then lost 1-0 in March. If we'd won precisely one of those matches, we'd be in Serie B and I'd get a full summer to prepare the squad. Now I have to get us promoted and plan for what's next despite not knowing what type of budget I'm going to have. Also, re: the pre-season prediction competition...   None of y'all saw Colonna coming. Or Morotti coming, for that matter. Since I like giving out boons I'll give it to whoever ends up being closest. Right now that's McGavin, who nailed the goal differential at +26 and who picked Conti, who's at 7.05 average rating. That could change, though, we have anywhere from two to five more matches to play before the season is officially over, and Conti, Stecca, Enrici, and Matera are separated by no more than .05 in average rating. Also, drat, Nico Manera has been even better than I thought he was. It's a pity he probably won't be with us next season.
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Nov 4, 2018 18:29
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Is there no one to play some friendlies against in the time between now and the playoffs?
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Nov 4, 2018 18:58
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There is, and we'll play a friendly to keep everyone from losing all their match fitness between now and June 7th.
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Nov 4, 2018 19:09
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Oh god, my joke entry with a ridiculously high goal differential is in first place. Now I have to think of something if I win. 
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Nov 4, 2018 19:47
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McGavin posted:Oh god, my joke entry with a ridiculously high goal differential is in first place. Now I have to think of something if I win. I'm sure you'll think of something. (Arsenal delenda est.)
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Nov 4, 2018 19:52
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the LP is back!
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Nov 5, 2018 00:25
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