Expectations this season

[* ORM *]

It'll be interesting to go back to this thread at the end of the season (well for me anyway).

Last season (my first) I finished 4th and made plenty of mistakes along the way. It's going to be a tough division this year with the team finishing 2nd fighting for the title with the team that got relegated. Realistically I'm aiming for 3rd but wouldn't be surprised to see me finish 3rd, 4th or 5th.

First game is away to 3rd placed team from last season. This will be a MOTS and should give me an indication of my chances. My team also needs strengthening but needs a couple of decent pops to finance it which I'm not expecting for 5-6 weeks.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Top 3 for me, as usual... That said, I really ought to be aiming for that no. 1 slot. The plan is to get enough money to buy an outstanding keeper in the next 3 weeks; by then I'll be full steam ahead in terms of training scoring again.

Realistically, it should be a two-horse race between me & Hersham... but we'll see.

Matt

 

[blues_r_best]

After no-one getting promoted, and the selling of players and buying of new players have put me in a much stronger position to challenge for the championship.

But with four team of about the same standard, it could be difficult.

 

[MrB]

Having survived in V.215 by the skin of my teeth I’ll just be looking for another qualifier but would like to have achieved it before the final game of the season. One of the teams that promoted isn’t great but the other looks useful so I’ll have to be on my guard.

Looking for a cup run as well, the benefits of 5-4-1 pressing is that you can PIC without impeding your chances of the 0-0. Should allow me to MOTS against the first tough opponent I come across. Round 4 would be nice.

Not too much should be happening to the team itself this season. May try to pick up an outstanding scorer later in the season if I end up selling a trainee, also have an excellent striker and a couple of excellent IM’s I’ll probably sell once their passing pops to passable (we’re employing a 2 weeks defending/1 week passable training routine this season).

Oh and of course, 4 solid YP’s like last season would be nice! They netted me almost £2m between them which allowed me to get the players I needed to stay up and take the ground to 50,000.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

Another season of getting into it. Ideally remaining in at least the Top 3 but sorting my finances out to get back into the black and to develop my squad, coaches etc to push for the title the following season.

 

[Barmy Army]

Hmmm...not too sure about expectations.

My Cup game yesterday showed (hatstats wise) that I could possibly challenge for 4th, although 5th is a more realistic aim.

I'll PIC against the better teams in the league as I'm looking to consolidate this year rather than challenge for the title. This should then allow me to MOTS it against my competitors who are scrapping it out for a qualifier.

Some new trainees would be good, but will probably have to wait until Round 4 for them as then I should have some money to invest with.

 

[Birri]

I was expecting to walk the div but after last nights 2-1 defeat in the cup it may not be as I expected !

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

I think I can possibly finish top 4, but may try and play for 5th and a play-off and the extra training and income that that brings.
So I may well PIC a few early season games and try and get a cup run, but that will be easier said than done seeing my next opponent!

 

[Bob Cratchitt]

Relegation, anything else will be a bonus.

 

[sufcintheprem]

Hoping to win a league game. Got to start somewhere. Tempted to blow my prudence away with a couple of better players. Apart from that, hopefully I won't get pasted too bad.

No idea what my Hatstats are, how to find them or how to find anyone else's but I drew with one team in my league who seem about the same and lost narrowly to another so there's two teams I'm hoping of big things against.

What's PIC? The way people use it, it sounds like throwing a game in hope someone will later reciprocate the favour!

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ May 25 2005,11:48)]What's PIC?  The way people use it, it sounds like throwing a game in hope someone will later reciprocate the favour!

Nope - you have three game instructions:

Match of the Season (MotS)
Normal (PiN)
Play it Cool (PiC)

The use of these instructions affects the way in which your team performs for the match, and then also affects Team Spirit - which in turn will affect the way in which your team performs the following week or two.

If you PiC, then your team "plays it cool". In other words, they don't bust a gut to win the match. As a result, after the game, they feel relaxed, and really up for the next match. Consequently, Team Spirit rises.

If you MotS, on the other hand, your team is playing its "Match of the Season". So they go out there, strain every sinew, and at the final whistle feel shattered. So, they don't feel up for the next game, and Team Spirit falls.

Play it Normal has no effect on team spirit - and your team plays as it would normally play.

How do you use these? Well, bear in mind that if you have really good team spirit, (Content or above), you sometimes play better than you would otherwise do so. Equally, if you have poor team spirit (Furious or below), you might lose games you otherwise would have won. So boosting Team Spirit is a good thing!

Two more variables:

1. Team Spirit will usually "tend" towards Composed - i.e. it will drop if you have good TS, and rise if you have poor TS... but it drops about twice as quickly as it rises, I think.

2. TS always "resets" at the end of the season. So even if your team spirit is "walking on clouds" or "like the cold war", it will automatically reset to composed.

So what does this all mean?

*You should PiC whenever possible in order to improve TS. "Possible" means either a) when you think you ought to win the game easily; b) when you think you're going to be hammered anyway; or c) when you don't care about the result (perhaps a cup game?).

*You should MotS very sparingly. My ideal theoretical MotS limit is twice a season: once when I'm playing my closest league rivals at home (since MotS is particularly effective at home); and once on the last day of the season (because your TS will reset, don't forget).

*Otherwise, PiN.

Hope that helps.

Matt

 

[Shrimpersarmy]

more of the same really. Nobody got promoted from my division, so its the same division i have finished 3rd and 4th in for the last 2 seasons.

Can't see any room for improvement as the finances are poor, so probably finish 4th again. The least i can hope for is to get a few decent youth pulls through and sell them to help me get back into the black, so i can look at improving the squad for the season after.

 

[sufcintheprem]

Thanks again Matt.

I'm really starting to doubt you actually have a job though with the post/day ratio combined with lines/post!!

 

[southend_utd_fan]

7th will do for me.  

 

 

[Grayson]

Quote[/b] (The Flying Scotsman @ May 25 2005,10:24)]Another season of getting into it. Ideally remaining in at least the Top 3 but sorting my finances out to get back into the black and to develop my squad, coaches etc to push for the title the following season.

Ditto, still learning the ropes

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ May 25 2005,12:48)]Thanks again Matt.

I'm really starting to doubt you actually have a job though with the post/day ratio combined with lines/post!!

Sh*t, that's all from me then for this week.

Alas, I do have a job; but am rather distracted at the moment by the playoff final - concentration on my work is rather difficult.  As for the length of the posts, well (luckily) I'm a touch typist so it doesn't usually take me that long to write them...

 

[sufcintheprem]

Perhaps it's just me (and perhaps you won't believe this) but it tends to take me longer thinking about my post than typing it. Touch typing would be useful though...

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

MtS doesn't think, he justs types.

That is why he spouts such rubbish

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Hong Kong Blue @ May 26 2005,10:36)]MtS doesn't think, he justs types.

That is why he spouts such rubbish

Hmm, many a true word spoken in jest...

Still, takes one to know one...

 

[MrB]

No, Weir thinks about it then spouts it anyway.