X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

[SouthdownRebel]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Ah, yes. Those aren't bad at all Sean.

Very piecemeal effort from AA-S, not surprisingly given the season we had. Couple of potential double jumpers though.



Spot the sacrificial lambs.

[Hot Orange]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Corsaires Malouins DV:

Walangitan 30/12 15
Paquin 19/5 7

de Matos 30/12 13
Halliwell 26/12 16
Buza 23/10 15
Hemon 21/8 16
Amouroux 17/4 17

Pilfalk 32/12 8
Gineste 29/13 13
Bottelin 26/11 13
Ullmann 24/10 15
Borssen 22/9 16
Chenu 20/8 18
Gardié 18/6 15

Mindao 23/10 17
Marlot 20/8 17

The odd disappointment - Gardié in particular - but not bad overall considering we were rubbish. Walangitan and Mindao added a point in the MLX Vase final, which was pleasing.

[Wouter D]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Iko Ka Kansai pre-CR-DV-report:


I seem terminally unable to get proper DV into my forwards, which is going to cripple my squad value if Nobuaki doesn't jump. Yasushi and Todai were destined for the scrap heap anyway. The rest varies from acceptable to pretty good, with the exception of Yoshikiyo, whose DV is downright awesome. If he doesn't double jump, I'll be very disappointed indeed.

[Etienne]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

For Zmaj, 3 x 17, 7 x 16, 2 x 15, 1 x 12 , 1 x 11, and 1 apiece for the two retirees.

The Ultimate League official season finished today. I just missed out on the promotion playoff to get a shot at the top division, but do have some pretty good DVs, even if it is easier to get them higher in the official leagues. 4 x 18, 6 x 17, 1 x 15, 1 x 14, 2 x 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 9.

[SouthdownRebel]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Wouter D wrote: Iko Ka Kansai pre-CR-DV-report:


I seem terminally unable to get proper DV into my forwards, which is going to cripple my squad value if Nobuaki doesn't jump. Yasushi and Todai were destined for the scrap heap anyway. The rest varies from acceptable to pretty good, with the exception of Yoshikiyo, whose DV is downright awesome. If he doesn't double jump, I'll be very disappointed indeed.

Wow, 19 is pretty spectacular [strike]Sits[/strike] Brian - it'll be interesting to see what % increase on his skills he gets, regardless of double or single jump.

[Sits]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

If only the 19 were mine.

[Sits]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Kakanui KuneKune. Mind the gap:

[Janik]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

A long time ago (OK, just two weeks back) in a Galaxy far, far away (inside a Swedish computer) the X11 Ladies League Matchday 2 happened. What stories will the sages tell?

Division 3d

Viking South Utsira	2 - 0	FC MadKuts Cologne
Fudida 30'
E.Klovning 70'

Division 4h

Drakaina		1 - 1	Coxy Ladies Wulpen
Petit 87'			Carey 71'

Division 4j

The Black Widows 	2 - 0 	Witches of Chiswick
Harrington 13', 88'

San Francisco Wet Cats	2 - 0	Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC
Bild 55', 75'

Division 5:17

LNWR Locomotive		0 - 3	Miyagis Girls
Slater 20'
Catianu 47', 84'

Division 5:22

Rotnäset BK 		0 - 2	Solent Sirens
de Beauvoir 22'
Cruchaga 76'

Division 5:29

Dublin City Womens FC	0 - 3	Yellow Black Brasov
Pristavita 4'
Dincã 25'
Ceobanu 29'

Division 6:40

Magic Ladies 		0 - 5	Invisible Ladies
Stoneley 34'
Crouch 38', 49'
Nádasdy 69', 75'

Division 6:55

Menywod Maeshafn	1 - 1	ZFK Nase Taksi
Gripstrand 23'			Enquist 16'

Division 6:62

Csiki Girls		7 - 0	FC Pink Lions
Clevan 1', 42', 68', 91'
McInns 20', 38'
Demian 46'

The second round of fixtures saw Viking South Utsira hosting familiar foes in FC MadKuts Cologne.
Having been held to a dull stalemate in the opening week at Ragnar Rock, The Blood Eagles were looking to provide more entertainment to the Utsiran masses (or Thoralf and Kirsten as they are known to their friends). They managed it with two goals, one in each half. The opener came on the half-hour, Manuças Fudida heading home from a corner and the clincher arrived with twenty left to play when Emilie Klovning shot home, also after a flag kick.
Victory left Velvet Android’s side second in the early Division 3d table, two points adrift of early leaders Mighty Aphrodite.

We didn’t have to wait long for the first OTF derby of the season, as week two brought
Drakaina and Coxy Ladies Wulpen into collision at Delphi. Unfortunately I missed watching the game, so this can only be a brief overview of proceedings.
The only thing of note to happen in a chanceless first half was a nasty injury for The Dragons Grace Winter, who was carried from the field in the 32nd minute after sustaining a 15-day knock. Her replacement was Sandrine Petit, of whom more later...
There was far more action after the break as both teams came out of their shells, testing young ‘keepers Anastasia Shkolnikova and Sarah Asselman. Both stood up to the challenge well, until Shkolnikova was beaten by a Zara Carey long ranger in the 71st minute to put Janik’s side ahead. As time ticked down it looked like Asselman would keep a clean sheet, but just as The Waders fans were gearing up to celebrate, up popped Petit to turn home a 87th minute equaliser... in the first competitive game she has played against her hometown club, where she learned the game as a youth and the first four days of her senior career. How could she?!?
There was no further goals, leaving the early Division 4h table with Etienne’s Dragons in fifth and Wulpen struggling in seventh.

Witches of Chiswick travelled in hope to The Black Widows following a good opening day win. Unfortunately for The Bewitched, the challenge they would face at The Nest would prove rather daunting.
The hosts came scuttling out of the blocks, making an number of first half attempts to land a killing sting. In fact they only managed a single glancing blow, going ahead in the 13th minute as Emily Ingram and her defence parried away a number of other thrusts.
What Wiblflibl’s side needed was a counter-attack that would force the Spiders on to the defensive, but they just couldn’t find it as the hosts continued to press the attack. A second successful strike was always likely to prove fatal, and this finally landed with 88 minutes gone to put The Bewitched out of their misery.
It was a somewhat similar story for newly promoted Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC in their trip to San Francisco Wet Cats.
The Sea Spirits managed an even first half, but found the effort required to do that draining and were chasing shadows at times after the break. The Wet Cats had numerous chances, taking two of them on 55 and 75 minutes to inflict a second defeat of the campaign on SeanoftheShed’s girls.
If left the Division 4j table with a disconcerting look about it as Chiswick sat sixth and Kanjeng propped things up.

The first match at Mollington Street following promotion brought tough opposition for LNWR Locomotive as they faced Miyagis Girls.
Miyagis would have been tough enough with all The Steamers ducks in a row, but as it turned out they took them on without the input of manager Viktor Doskovic; the 3-0 final scoreline from 0-11 in chances was all rather inevitable.
It was a result that saw Locomotive drop to seventh in the nascent Division 5:17 standings.

An opening home defeat for Solent Sirens meant that their second match, at Rotnäset BK carried a certain extra weight to it.
Fortunately The Sirens players seemed well up for the extra burden, playing a very solid first half with just under 60% possession, two chances and an opening goal midway through by Simone de Beauvoir. The second half continued in a similar fashion, and though hosts Rotnäset managed a shot, it was little surprise when Angela Cruchaga doubled the advantage on 76 minutes, her goal making up for a disallowed effort from Tove Ewertsson earlier in the half.
A victory to leave manager Andrew7610 purring, and one that put his side fourth in the young Division 5:22 table.

Momentum can be a hard thing to turn around in the X11 universe as Mortal Joe and his Dublin City Womens FC are finding.
The latest side to put one over on them was Yellow Black Brasov who didn’t hang around, going ahead within four minutes and being three to the good inside half-an-hour. And that was all she wrote, basically, with the remaining time played out at three-quarter pace.
It left The Dubs occupying an unfortunately familiar spot to their longer-term players; bottom of the pile. Though this time it’s the foot of Division 5:29.

Invisible Ladies are a growing force in the X11 Ladies world, as Magic Ladies would discover to their cost when the two sides met.
The See-Throughs were rampant in the first half, as Magic couldn’t conjure anything up to slow Pebblethefish’s side down, let alone stop them. Chances followed as See Throughs players kept popping up in also sort of unexpected places amongst the Magic rearguard, culminating in three goals spread either side of the interval. All three were the work of just two players, Rachel Crouch teeing up Dee Stoneley for the first after 34 minutes, and Stoneley repaying the favour twice over by picking out Crouch’s head after 38 and then finding her from a corner four minutes after the restart.
The game was done-and-dusted by now. However there was still lots of time, with the visitors raising themselves for one more intense spell around the 70 minute mark resulting in two strikes for Beáta Nádasdy.
Two wins from two, seven scored, none conceded was good enough for... second in the first Division 6:40 table worth a damn.

After the frustration of dominating an opening day goalless draw, Menywod Maeshafn were looking to make a dent in the win column against ZFK Nase Taksi.
However it was quickly clear this wouldn’t be easy going for IsThatcherDeadYet’s side, as Nase Taksi went toe-to-toe and indeed took an early lead. This didn’t last long, just seven minutes in fact, before Sylvia Gripstrand headed Maeshafn level.
That would prove as good as it got for the Welsh, and also as bad if we discount the 9-day injury suffered by veteran defender Marta Arnerlind on 55 minutes. Maeshafn didn’t create any chances after half-time, but solid defending meant their visitors also didn’t profit from the two opportunities they fashioned.
The draw actually meant Maeshafn were on an 11-game unbeaten run in league play. Unfortunately too many of them have been stalemates, with just three wins coming in those games, which was the cause of the relegation that leaves the Welsh outfit in Division 6:55 and sitting sixth after two matches this term.

Zombie-dispatch was the order of the day for Csiki Girls as FC Pink Lions shambled into view.
This provided a good opportunity for young forward Ellie Clevan, who had already shown her zombie killing prowess in the cup (including one remarkable 3 goal, 3 assist performance) but been an unused sub for the Csiki’s opening league win. Clevan opened the scoring within seconds from a worked free-kick routine then let her only somewhat older strike partner Saoirse McInns take over by adding the next two before Clevan netted her second and the Csiki’s fourth just prior to the interval.
Gheorghita Demian headed a fifth seconds after the restart, and then it was back to the Clevan show as she completed her hattrick midway through the period and finally blasted her fourth of the day and her side’s seventh from range in stoppage time.
Two wins from two, twelve scored and none conceded naturally meant that Csiki Girls were the earlier leaders of the Division 6:62 pack.

[Janik]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

X11 Ladies League Matchday 3. Which happened less than a week ago. Lightening fast publication turnaround.

Division 3d

The Liver FC 		1 - 3	Viking South Utsira
Kuaté 90'			H.Hovland 18'
Fudida 39'
Fevereiro 63'

Division 4h

Coxy Ladies Wulpen	0 - 2	FC Nee-Nee
Stevens 62'
Irwin 93'

Drakaina		3 - 2	Watergate Bay Surfers
Mourne 39', 68'			Batakovic 28', 87'
Falkenäng 43'

Division 4j

Dinner Ladies 		2 - 0	Witches of Chiswick
Zikzerie 22'
Rundqvist 79'

Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC	0 - 3	The Black Widows
Ryding 27'
Kresovic (O.G.) 76'
Myeong 81'

Division 5:17

Öcean ladies 		3 - 4	LNWR Locomotive
Wetterberg 6'			Perätalo 14'
Strandlund 50'			Zakarian 24'
Kristensson 75'			Vergueiro 86', 89'

Division 5:22

Solent Sirens		1 - 0	Big and Beautiful
Schmitt 25'

Division 5:29

Dublin City Womens FC	1 - 3	GDR
Batty 42'			Grafström (pen) 51'
Thinagaran 64', 85'

Division 6:40

Invisible Ladies	1 - 0	Spandex FC
Paul 46'

Division 6:55

Jocvijeve Zecice 	3 - 5	Menywod Maeshafn
Cainzos 8', 12'			Corleone 23'
Kelpekis 75'			Westerberg 25'
Cesljar 65', 86'
Gripstrand 84'

Division 6:62

F.C U Mobitelco 	0 - 1	Csiki Girls
Clevan 63'

Are we seeing the beginnings of a promotion push by Viking South Utsira? Their performance at The Liver FC certainly raises the possibility.
The Blood Eagles had an excellent first half, comfortably ahead on possession, fashioning three chances to their hosts zero and, crucially, scoring twice through Heidi Hovland on 18 minutes and Manuças Fudida on 39. It meant Velvet Android’s charges could afford to ease up slightly after the interval, only adding one more when Magda Fevereiro burst clear in the 63rd minute.
The final margin was pegged back to two by a last minute consolation for the hosts, to the immense chagrin of Viking ‘keeper Julie Alme, who is someone the Blood Eagles defence really don’t want to get on the wrong side of.
The Division 3d table showed VSU in second after this game, three points clear of third and two adrift of leaders Mighty Aphrodite, who still boast a 100% record. And the top two meet tomorrow, which will go a long way towards answering that opening question...

A promotion push is a long way from the minds of Coxy Ladies Wulpen as their sides struggle to adapt to Division 4 Football continued against FC Nee-Nee.
The Waders could consider themselves unlucky to have lost this game as they match their visitors chance-for-chance. However the key difference was that Nee-Nee put an opportunity away on 62 minutes and then, with Janik’s side chasing the game, added a killer second deep into stoppage time.
A side handling the step up in class somewhat better are Drakaina. Their third match was a goal-filled meeting with Watergate Bay Surfers at Delphi.
Watergate struck first, going ahead after 29 minutes only for Etienne’s side to fight back so well before the break that they took their half-time oranges ahead following strikes from Fionulla Mourne on 39 minutes and Adele Falkenäng on 43. When Mourne got her second of the day just past the hour, turning home after an intricate set-piece move, the lead appeared decisive. However an 87th minute strike from the visitors made The Dragons fans sweat a little on Laura Nooder’s final whistle.
The three points lifted Drakaina up to a handy third place in Division 4h. Coxy Ladies, meanwhile, slipped to the foot of the table.

Week three saw Witches of Chiswick on the road at Dinner Ladies.
The Bewitched found themselves on the back foot throughout the first half, struggling to keep hold of the ball and not creating a single chance. Dinner Ladies, meanwhile, made two openings and finished one of these. The second half was only marginally better for Wilbflibl’s side, on the basis that they did have a shot and their hosts only managed one as well. However Chiswick’s missed and the hosts didn’t to leave a final score of 2-0.
The news was little better at Merapi-Kraton-South Sea as Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC were undone by The Black Widows.
The visitors took a first half lead, but SeanoftheShed’s girls were still in the contest... up until Dejana Kresovic put through her own net on 76 minutes. A deflated Sea Spirits soon conceded again to make the final score 0-3, leaving a home crowd used only to success rather nonplussed.
The Division 4j table has a not very pleasing aspect at the moment, with Chiswick seventh and The Sea Spirits eighth.

Some games are obvious to all as must-sees. Others, such as LNWR Locomotive’s trip to Öcean ladies, come mostly out of the blue.
Ahead of the game there was nothing to suggest this match would be out of the ordinary. But once the opening whistle blew, the Camp Elfsborg crowd were treated to a wild end-to-end encounter. The tone was set when struck after just 6 minutes, only for The Steamers to level up after 14 through Karlo Perätalo and then move ahead ten minutes later when Gayane Zakarian smashed home. Viktor Boskovic’s side deserved their 2-1 interval advantage after creating four of the six first half opportunities, but that merely encouraged Öcean to up the ante after the break as they drew level again on 50 minutes and then went ahead themselves on 75.
Would two come-from-behind-to-lead scenarios be enough for the one match? Not on your nelly, not with Adozinda Vergueiro about. Vergueiro had laid on both of Locomotive’s first half goals, and now, with time running out, she determined to take full personal responsibility, first thumping home from range on 86 minutes to draw the sides level for a third time and then, as if that wasn’t enough, heading in an 89th minute corner for an utterly dramatic late LNWR winner.
It was a goal that got The Steamers off the mark for the season, and lifted them to sixth place in Division 5:17. Their fans may be hoping all future matches are as entertaining as this. But the coaching staff? Not so much.

Solent Sirens faced an interesting challenge when they took on a Big and Beautiful side that held a 100% record win record and a perfect defensive one.
After a scrappy opening (three yellow cards in the first ten minutes) it was The Sirens who struck first, midfielder Clarisse Schmitt heading home a corner for her first goal in Solent colours following her recent transfer to the club. This was both with and against the run of play, as Andrew7610’s side opted to play on the counter despite being the home side, creating 3 of the games 5 chances despite only having two-fifths of the possession across the piece.
All the time in a defensive set and with a single goal lead was making the Mayfield Park crowd tense, and their nervousness appeared justified in the 89th minute when Lucy Berkley was beaten, only for referee Tony Nolan to intervene and make himself temporarily popular with at least one set of fans (it won’t last!).
Solent stayed fourth in Division 5:22 despite winning, but are now only a point behind the top two and level with third.

Which brings us to the ongoing travails of Dublin City Womens FC.
Things had looked so promising against GDR as The Dubs created three first half chances to their visitors solitary effort, a ratio they converted into an interval lead thanks to Coral Batty’s 42nd minute strike. Batty was one of the veterans brought in during the closed season to add experience and leadership to the talented youngsters at Phoenix Park, and this was her first goal since she joined.
However confidence amongst this group is very fragile. All it takes is a bit of a blow, such as GDR equalising from the spot, and heads drop. Just how much they did must be very worrying for boss Mortal Joe, as suddenly GDR were utterly dominate, raining shots in at will. The two other second-half goals they scored were unfortunately not much of a surprise.
Dublin remain pointless this campaign, and bottom of Division 5:29. They sit three points from safety currently.

Invisible Ladies put their perfect winning and defensive records on the line against 80s-revivalist outfit Spandex FC.
The visitors were hard to get a handle on, as they out-shot The See Throughs in both halves. However Invisible’s ‘keeper Nadine Hanley was in sparkling form, with defender Josie McCann in front of her also shining as all seven away attempts were thwarted to maintain that seasonal clean sheet.
The See-Throughs were a little profligate themselves as they created five chances but only converted one, Chelsea Paul heading home seconds after the restart. However the stalwart rearguard action meant this one strike was enough to make it three wins from three, with eight scored and none conceded. Which, in turn, has Pebblethefish’s side top of Division 6:40.

What happens when a team that doesn’t score or concede many comes up against a team that has goals flying in at both ends? That was the question ahead of Menywod Maeshafn’s trip to Jocvijeve Zecice. Maeshafn’s first two games had brought just two goals, one at either end, whereas their Croat hosts had netted seven and shipped three over the first 180 minutes of their league campaign.
The worry ahead of the game for Maeshafn manager IsThatcherDeadYet must have been how his side would respond if they went behind. So it’s likely his worst fears were realised when Zecice scored not once but twice in the opening 12 minutes, and then had the ball in the Maeshafn goal again after 19. If that third strike had stood the course of the game would surely have been very different, because its disallowal seemed to inspired the Welsh as two goals in two minutes from Monalisa Corleone and Ada Westerberg had the visitors level before half-an-hour had been played.
The game was turned on its head by this, with Maeshafn taking the game to their hosts for the majority of the remaining time. Patricia Cesljar headed them in front on 65 minutes and though Zecice drew level on 75 this was an attempt to stem the tide, a move that is always unsuccessful. It did take until late in the game for the decisive strikes to materialise, arriving on 84 and 86 minutes via a header from Sylvia Gripstrand and a second of the day for Cesljar.
Will this match be the bursting of a dam for Maeshafn after struggles in front of goal contributed to their relegation last term? Here’s hoping. For now they are up to fourth in Division 6:55.

Free-scoring Csiki Girls found themselves up against their polar opposite as they travelled to F.C U Mobitelco, a team seemingly playing for nil-nil draws.
The Csiki’s dominated possession, but found chances hard to come by. Ad Hoc’s side had just one in the first half, which went unconverted. They also fashioned a solitary opening after the break. Fortunately this fell to exactly the right player, new young superstar Ellie Clevan racing clear in the 63rd minute to sweep home. That was Clevan’s fifth already in the league in just two appearances, and her ninth from five games in league-and-cup this season! She also has four assists to her name to have amassed a staggering 13 points already. She appears to be a real find...
Mobitelco’s lack of ambition resulted in them not managing a single shot all match, so Clevan’s strike was enough to maintain The Csiki’s 100% records and keep them top of Division 6:62.

[SouthdownRebel]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Sits wrote: If only the 19 were mine.

It's been a long week. I'll go with Brian instead.

[Wouter D]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

SouthdownRebel wrote:

If only the 19 were mine.

It's been a long week. I'll go with Brian instead.

Must be a month. To the best of my knowledge, AP is Brian. I used to be known under the nickname Smallcaps, but my real name is Wouter.

And yes, the %increase is of course what really matters. The thing is, I'm sure that Yoshikiyo's actual current skill is one out of 5.4, 5.3, and 4.8. The first two of those options will guarantee him a double jump at DV19, but the third won't. So that's a 2/3 probability. All these stats are courtesy of Richardfenn's Firefox plugin for X11 VIPs.

[SouthdownRebel]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Apologies Wouter, I've no idea why I thought that was Sits' post. Credit where it's due of course. Brian was my standard "from embarrassment, nonsense" response.

It's interesting - I don't use the Firefox plugin, mostly because I don't use Firefox, but I know there are some who swear by it. However, I quite like the "will (s)he, won't (s)he" anticipation of not knowing when I run through a change report.

On which note, I've just had a look at the AA-S change report, and they did get the two double jumps I was hoping for. So now I have to face the quandary of what to do. There's a temptation to splash the cash and rebuild with a view to an immediate return to MLX, but the original plan was to take my time and find the right mix of younger players that will develop into something stronger in the long run.

I think I'm going to stick with that - which will also (I hope) mean I don't end up back at square one in three seasons time, penniless and scraping the bottom of the barrel. Which is how I got into this mess in the first place.

[Wouter D]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

No worries.

Yoshikiyo had his double jump, and a skill increase of 30%. If he is to double jump again this season, I need to get him to DV 20.

[Sits]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Sits wrote: Kakanui KuneKune. Mind the gap:

Well. Possibly the best CR I've ever had.

McIlroy +1

Pepper +1 (yes, he's 35!)
Slabutu -
Waller +1
Rosell +1
Malmström +2

Winberg-1
Laker -
Eloniemi +1
Zapata +1
Eldebrink +1
Prato +2

Te Ara +2
MacBeth -1 (getting sacked ASAP)
Murtagh +2

7 x Jump
4 x DJ
1 x drop (MacBeth was surplus)
And no one is retiring. Wow.

[Hot Orange]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Malouins CR:

Walangitan 30/12 15 > 31/12
Paquin 19/5 7 > 20/5

de Matos 30/12 13 > 31/12
Halliwell 26/12 16 > 27/13 +
Buza 23/10 15 > 24/11 +
Hemon 21/8 16 > 22/9 +
Amouroux 17/4 17 > 18/5 +

Pilfalk 32/12 8 > 33/12
Gineste 29/13 13 > 30/13
Bottelin 26/11 13 > 27/12 +
Ullmann 24/10 15 > 25/11 +
Borssen 22/9 16 > 23/10 +
Chenu 20/8 18 > 21/9 +
Gardié 18/6 15 > 19/6

Mindao 23/10 17 > 24/11 +
Marlot 20/8 17 > 21/9 +

Rubbish. No double jumps at all. I thought Amouroux stood a chance, but I had Chenu down as a nailed-on DJ after not jumping at the last CR. I mentioned that Gardié 's DV was disappointing but, even so, you'd have thought 15 would be enough to get an 18-year-old to jump. Jeez. Bottelin is the only unexpected jumper out of the lot.

[Sean of the Shed]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Sean of the Shed wrote: Pre-change report DVs for Pulau Pinang:



All pretty good apart from Ezequiel Gago. Sadly he was hampered by a long term injury early i the season and never quite got back on track.

Can't complain all in all. All the under 30s jumped apart from the stop gap striker Quico Murcia, with Elliot Hoffman getting a double. No retirements either, which is an even bigger bonus.
If anyone wants a 34/12 midfielder then Jurgen Hartwig is available for transfer.

[Etienne]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

With new skills
GK Jalen Buxton 26/12 +
D Lennart Nordlund 34/14
D Gil Damásio 31/12
D Nadir Ullipaue 26/12 +
D Dalibor Lesjak 19/3 (will be sacked as soon as I can)
D Zihoe Musad 19/5 +

MF Alfred Walmsley 34/13
MF Rob MacChlery 31/13 +
MF Sergej Pintaric 27/13 +
MF Amir Rog 24/12+
MF Stanislav Javornik 23/11+
MF Balendin Astarloza 22/9+
MF Damjan Merc 20/7 ++

F Franci Obrez 27/14 +
F Kristoffer Wang-Nøstvold 22/9 +

Solid enough. I've been planning on selling Merc off soon anyway, as he is a FK but not as good as Rog, so worth more on the market than he is to the team. The double means he's definitely off. Money to be spent on the gap between Ullipaue and Musad. No retirements, which is an especial relief for Nordlund.

[SouthdownRebel]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

SouthdownRebel wrote: I'm sure you all remember as clearly as I do the following brief exchange from back when the thread was titled Durkan's Departure:

Tobermory's next opponent in the Xpert Zone is Taras Mihai. Their squad comprises:

1 x 16/2 FW with RvP
1 x 29/14 GK
1 x 20/7 MF with FK

And then...

10 x 20/7 with RvP in every other position.

I suspect OCD.

Kevchenko wrote: Tighten the wings.

(For those who aren't familiar with our alternate naming system for special qualities, RvP = heading ability)

Well, I've just realised that Tobermory's opponents for the mid-season double header are the Team Formerly Known as Taras Mihai. They're now SKT T1, but under the same manager and with much the same squad - one 35/14 GK and the rest of the players all 29 with heading, except for one player who is a free kick specialist (also 29).

They currently sit two points ahead of us in 2nd and I've just made it my mission for the season to ensure they don't get promoted and have to face their entire squad turning 30 at the next CR outside of the top flight. The only thing in their favour is they aren't one of CPI's mega boosted cheats, but it's close enough.

However, this team is also a great indicator of how little attention most managers pay to their opponents. I bought the tactics reports for his last four matches and find that he never varies his approach. But, while three out of four opponents correctly defended against 3-5-2, none man-marked the midfielder he always uses as playmaker. None used tighten the wings and, quite staggeringly, two chose to tighten the centre!!

I went back a fifth game and found that our own BillBones did use tighten the wings, so well done there Bill. A shame the Artisans went down to an injury time goal.

So, fully confident I can set my team up perfectly to counter his tactic (singular) I have one quandary. He uses cautious at all times, home and away. Given the strength of the squad, do I play it safe, or do I do what Gaza Strip Club did and play attacking? They were unlucky to draw 1-1 given they had 7 chances to 1 against.

We have Hugh Cango (S2, H2) as ref, so I also have to decide whether to go all-in and use Bruise...tempting, but perhaps better to rely on a larger win bonus instead.

Edit: In fact, he's not even setting subs, so I can only assume he's relying on a default tactic. Doesn't deserve to get promotion, which is where they are currently heading. Maybe I should go with bruise and a big win bonus!

He changed his tactics. We lost 5-0. I'm going to bed.

[Etienne]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Ouch.

[Antepli Ejderha]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Oops. Did you cripple any of his players?

[Antepli Ejderha]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Been evaluating some players for the Giraffes and came across something I'd not seen before, I was searching for 12 rated players and after the evaluation he's actually a 10. I only noticed this after making my move.

[Sits]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

What, you've bid? Assume you've now slashed it to the bare minimum bid the game will allow?

I think I've seen this once before. I didn't bid.

[Etienne]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Not uncommon with veterans, who are being flogged off prior to retirement.

[SouthdownRebel]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Antepli Ejderha wrote: Oops. Did you cripple any of his players?

Not even so much as a scratch. 'Twas a total humiliation.

[Sits]

X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

Kakanui KuneKune's much anticipated post-CR academy product is here!

19/4 Cheat.