X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

[Various Artist]

Well done Sean for getting Heineken Season 56 set up so very rapidly, by the way. Love how after all that time the HL spent in lockstep with the OTF, we finally managed to break out of that pattern a while back only to re-sync this time around with the OTF now exactly a season ahead. It made for a hell of a last week for me, having unexpectedly got into an outside shot at both titles. Nice to have a quiet spell now – though I see Atlantis are lined up to travel to Sits' Old Spots on the first day back come the end of the month!

With the Human League, Xpert Zone and J4GL all currently in their offseasons too it's an uncannily peaceful few days for me: no competitive football in five different leagues, until Sandringham Park kick off again in THL D1 next Wednesday at home to Empire State Humans. I've just splashed out on an actual transfer there, for the first time in ages: a 17/4 FK midfielder, who I'm trying to come up with a good new name for. Her signing and some mass training meant Park actually went about 400k into the red last night until the sponsor money came through. Had a 17/4 F from the academy overnight though, happily, so we may be able to start repairing that situation slightly.

[Various Artist]

Has the Bat-signal gone up for Jon yet to return to Steaua Bridge, Etienne?

[Etienne]

I sent a message to him a few days ago, but no response yet. He may not have seen it of course.

[Various Artist]

I hope he does find it, would be great to have him back.


I'll stop spamming posts in a minute once I've caught up, honest.

Thanks of course to Janik, for the continued mighty efforts in Xpert Ladies reportage. Just been chuckling at you having finally 'got' Viking South Utsira's stadium name after however long it's been – I think it's at least 3 years real time since we moved from our groundshare with VNU at Dogger Bank to our current home at Ragnar Rock. That aside, meanwhile, thanks for flagging up Foxy's return to the XL with Hazeldean Inchmistress, which I'd missed too until now, so they've just been found and fanned in Div 6:43.

[ad hoc]

Ad hoc, well this team was designed to scrape promotions before peaking when we reached the top divisions, so that's as it should be. Hopefully we've lots of players high in their skill band now so we benefit next season.

Projects. Blimey. I'm very much of the old school "we're just looking forward to the next match, Brian"

You may be flattered to know by the way that Carrotman (who has now gone back to being one person) has been observing you and has started modelling his Xpert11 management on your example. Expect to see Wednesday de la zouch challenging in the top flight in about 10 seasons

[Various Artist]

Oh, that's a shame it's no longer the pair of them operating as a gestalt, AH, but glad the remaining one is taking such a scientific approach.


I too cannot claimed to have "designed" anything much about Atlantis' climb up the Heineken ladder. My aim was always just to be as good as we could be every game and improve DVs in general as much as possible for the next season, rinse and repeat and see how things come out in the wash. It seems to have broadly worked.

[Etienne]

Well, we're not ones for the complete rebuild with a squad full of teenagers, losing every game for 7 seasons before 5 years of winning every game. The only two teams we've done partial rebuilds with are Sarkanyok (We sold 4 players and bought 6, and had one relegation a couple of seasons after) and the Cardiff Dragons one - which was kind of forced upon us by having gone very short term to win a title.

[Sits]

I continue in the quest for the self-renewing conveyor with mixed results and many changes of tack.

[Various Artist]

Well, that sounds like my 'strategy' to a tee.

Am surprising myself by dipping into the market this weekend, mind, inspired by the transfer talk on the Scribble in the J4GL as much as anything. Every now and then, relying on academies loses its appeal – I have to say it's fun to be playing the market again for a change. Have a couple of bids in with Mars Rovers there, having missed out on a couple already, and Sandringham have possibly broken their record to bring in our new freekicking teenage midfielder.

[Janik]

Ladies League Cup, Season 57, Round 4 report. Just two sides left bearing the OTF standard.

CD Pinhalnovense        1 - 2   Gastele
Perdao (O.G.) '92               Diarra 77'
                                J.Dickson 88'

Gastele                 2 - 2   CD Pinhalnovense
Diarra 15'                      Ribas 55', 58'
Perdao 82'

Gastele win 4-3 on aggregate


WFC Rakhat Almaty       1 - 1   Viking South Utsira
Svishcheva 89'                  E.Klovning 85'

Viking South Utsira     3 - 1   WFC Rakhat Almaty
L.Hovland 48'                   Ekborg 14'
B.Austrheim 55', 68'

Viking win 4-2 on aggregate

A decent looking draw had paired Gastele with Division 4 outfit CD Pinhalnovense.
Seeding has gone by this stage of the competition, so it was pure luck that gave Gastele the advantage of having the second leg at home rather than their position two tiers higher up the pyramid. Jdsx’s side set about having an advantage to take into that game, initially with relish as Gunilla Melkersson had the ball in the net in only the second minute. However this was disallowed, and it wasn’t until the second-half that the visitors refound their poise.
When they did though it proved devastating, a concerted spell of attacking late in the game producing two headed goals from Odette Diarra on 77 minutes and Jessica Dickson on 88. There was little time remaining but still enough for one more Gastele player to find the target. Sadly for Fernanda Perdao it was the wrong one, the midfielder putting through her own goal in stoppage time. A 2-1 away win will still do very nicely, though.
The lead was back to two goals 15 minutes into the return when Diarra got her second of the tie. The news wasn’t so good for Gastele’s other opening leg scorer as Dickson’s older sister, Rosie, picked up a nasty 16-day injury just before half-time. Given this is Rosie Dickson’s last ever season before retirement, that time out if very painful for her and her boss (she remains one of Gastele’s best players, even with the end fast approaching).
Dickson’s knock appeared to throw the hosts as they went from 1-0 up and cruising (Pinhalnovense not even managing a shot in the first half), to level on aggregate as the visitors struck twice in three minutes just before the hour mark. Suddenly the tie was on a knife-edge and Gastele on a tightrope as one more conceded would have meant requiring two in response as away goals would then cleave Pinhalnovense’s way. So there was much relief when Fernanda Perdao fired in directly from a free-kick on 82 minutes to put the hosts back in front. This time, as it turned out, decisively so.
Gastele’s reward is a trip to the Xpert Arena for a Round 5 clash with Nytt lag of Division 4c.

Viking South Utsira also benefitted from a kindly draw that paired them against a side playing two steps lower as The Blood Eagles faced Division 5 side WFC Rakhat Almaty.
The first leg was in the traditional Kazakh capital, which could hardly provide more of a contrast with the windswept North Sea Islands the Utsirans call home. They settled well in the unfamiliar surroundings though, and would have gone ahead in the 32nd minute but for referee Robert Nixon’s whistle which denied Bergljot Kvalvik.
Velvet Android’s side kept plugging away after that and finally got their deserved reward in the 85th minute. It came from an Niece-Aunt combination, Tyra Klovning crossing for Emilie, a Klovning of one generation above, to head home. Irritatingly Viking switched off after this goal and conceded a leveller on 89 minutes. The away goal may come in handy, though.
Or maybe not, as it was cancelled out as a breaker in VSU’s favour as early as the 14th minute of the return game. That strike was enough to keep Almaty ahead on the night and on aggregate as far as half-time. They were doing so by their fingernails though as The Blood Eagles were dominating possession and creating chances from it.
These openings had to tell eventually, the breakthrough coming just three minutes after the break when Lina Hovland fired home a direct free-kick. That eased the Ragnar Rock nerves a little, as did Birgit Austrheim putting the Norwegians in front with 55 on the clock with a long-range belter. It wasn’t until Austrheim struck again midway through the second half, turning home a corner, that the hosts could relax close to properly.
It finished 3-1 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate to VSU, who advance to a Round 5 clash with Dial L for Ladies, who are currently in Division 4i.


Round 5 draw - one-off ties from this stage

Gastele                  vs   Nytt lag (4c)
Viking South Utsira      vs   Dial L for Ladies (4i)

[Sits]

Well, that sounds like my 'strategy' to a tee.

Am surprising myself by dipping into the market this weekend, mind, inspired by the transfer talk on the Scribble in the J4GL as much as anything. Every now and then, relying on academies loses its appeal – I have to say it's fun to be playing the market again for a change. Have a couple of bids in with Mars Rovers there, having missed out on a couple already, and Sandringham have possibly broken their record to bring in our new freekicking teenage midfielder.

Raising big cash then spending it is great fun, even if the long term benefits are debatable. The game's meant to be fun and could explode tomorrow.

[Hot Orange]

Hideous Towns' CR was underwhelming, and included a surprise retirement announcement from 34-year-old influential midfielder Jack Lucker. There was a DJ from striker Viggo Krommenhoek and the academy has just offered up a half-decent midfielder, so perhaps things are looking up. It's all gone a bit stale at Hideous, though, and I feel a change of tactics and a rebrand may be imminent.

In the Heineken, South Hams made it eight consecutive divisional titles to move up to HLC6. It was tougher this time around, though, and we only hit the top with a couple of games remaining. We have a decent young squad developing there - although the CR saw a couple of disappointing and surprising non-jumps.

Holkham Forest are back in the top flight in THL and could do with some squad tinkering, but I haven't got round to that yet. We spent big last close season on a young midfielder and experienced striker and that paid off, eventually.

And I'm bored with the Malouins in MLX. 25 seasons without any success will do that.

[Sits]

It's all gone a bit stale at Hideous, though, and I feel a change of tactics and a rebrand may be imminent.

Diss and Franchised?

[Hot Orange]

Diss and Franchised?

I didn't like it the first time, so unlikely.

[Sits]

Can’t argue with that.

[Various Artist]

Hideous Towns' CR was underwhelming, and included a surprise retirement announcement from 34-year-old influential midfielder Jack Lucker. There was a DJ from striker Viggo Krommenhoek and the academy has just offered up a half-decent midfielder, so perhaps things are looking up. It's all gone a bit stale at Hideous, though, and I feel a change of tactics and a rebrand may be imminent.

Crikey, it feels like Jack Lucker has only just arrived, is he really at the retirement end of his career already?

I suppose I've just had the same thing at Mortis. Kenny Carfield was pretty much the first usurper to our original midfield lineup with whom I started the club. For the longest time it felt to me like he didn't really 'belong' there, such that he'd more or less become a fully-developed star before I got used to him. He's just retired after a complete career with us.

A Hideous rebrand would really throw me, not having been around for the Diss & Franchised era so not known them as anything else.

[nmrfox]

Whoft Fluffopolis are on the hunt for a new youth academy manager. After defender Lamphrey Surfeit (36) and midfielder Randy Challenger (35) announced their intentions to retire at the end of the next season, the 4-star rated, 250k econs a week academy managed to throw up a 19/4 vanilla forward who was quickly and unceremoniously despatched to the black hole of the game where such players belong.

[Kevin S]

Sad times. I doubt the owner even realises that they hosted an OTF League winning side all these years either.

[Sits]

Which team was that Kev? The Ouse were/are at Blue Fen Road weren’t/aren’t they?

[Kevin S]

Yeah, Blue Fen was an imaginary football ground by the Lazy Otter.

[Sits]

Meanwhile, the big 4-5-1 to 3-5-2 transitions are in progress at no fewer than three of the Pigsty teams now: the Swine and Spots as mentioned upthread, and Oxford Sandy & Blacks in the J4GL. Great fun, selling and buying.

[Kevin S]

Since I'm here, I might as well babysit Steaua again?

[Sits]

Get the fuck in!

[Antepli Ejderha]

Yes. Great news

[delicatemoth]

Where was the Lazy Otter, in Norfolk?

By the way I've rejoined the Heineken League after Sean's post tempted me. My team is Hautcharage Ubu in division 10, and in previous incarnations they have twice won the second tier and once finished 3rd in the top flight. Sadly Luxembourgish isn't an option for youth nationality, so they have to be Belgian. Anyone wants a friendly, hit us up!