I think we all know that feeling
RedCafe FM10 Experiment
- Thread starter nimic
- Start date
I think we all know that feeling
Me too C-Z
come on Nimic pull your finger out
err not even on the first page anymore....errr *bump*
niMic said he might update today.. -fingers crossed-
Football Manager 2010 Experiment
Season 1 (09/10) - End of Season Update
I will only post the Premier League today. I'll post the Championship, the RedCafe Cup and various stats tomorrow. I won't post any full squads, but if the squads start looking full by next season I might do it then. I think I mentioned everyone. I'll try to keep doing it this way, saying something also about the teams that I didn't happen to mention because they were involved in some epic struggle.
Transfers
While Championship clubs had at least bought some players in the summer window, very few Premier League clubs had done so. This changed in the January transfer window. There were a total of 26 transfer worth over £10 million, and not a single transfer was out of the league, or even from Premier League club to Premier League club. The spending wasn't equal, though, and some clubs came out better than others. Athletic Shorts, who had just one win and one draw after 14 of 26 games, were obviously very interested in rescuing the season. They signed players such as Joseph Yobo for £16 million, and Aaron Lennon for £17 million, not to mention their £20 million capture of Felipe, a top class defender. Their biggest purchase, though, could probably qualify as "overspending", as they spent £29 million, the third highest fee of the window, on un-capped Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto.
Another club who spent heavily, and seemingly unecessarily, were 15-point league leaders Halcyon, as they spent £24 million and £22 million on respectively Dirk Marcellis and Evar Banega. Elsewhere, Forest Heath and Real Sheep both signed 3 players each that cost over £10m. Perhaps the most impressive of those were Di Natale to Sheep for £25 million and Veloso to Forest Heath for £19.25 million. The biggest purchase of the window was done by Leca United, as they splashed out a whole £36.5 million for striker Edinson Cavani. They were also clearly interested in young defenders, as they spent £13.5 million each on Andreas Beck and Ryan Shawcross. Elsewhere, FC Delhi tested fate by signing Gareth Bale for £18.25 million, while Paz United shrewdly signed Riquelme for just £5.5 million.
The Championship also saw some transfer action, though there were both fewer transfers overall, and understandably much fewer high fee transfers. GDH, who had been sitting 3 points clear at the top at the turn of the year, caught the attention of many when they spent a whole £26.5 million on Brazilian striker Diogo from Olympiakos. Unfortunately, they also caught the attention of many when they sold the impressive David Silva to Real Madrid for only £17 million. They were also the selling part in the only other instance of a RedCafe club selling a player this season, as they sold Mirko Vucinic, who had at that point scored 24 in 21, for a pathetic £6 million to Bayern Munchen.
Sitting last by a fairly good margin, one would have expected Jubilee to spend some of that money they had sitting in the bank. And spend they did. Sort of. First they signed Icelandic Aron Gunnarsson from Coventry for £2.4 million, and then they really splashed out the cash on Dmytro Korkishko for £3 million. Other big transfers included big striker Oscar Cardozo to Blackheath for £15.75 million, Gary Cahill for £13.25 million to The Wovers and Diego Renan for £22 million to Manchester Buccaneers.
League
At the turn of the year, both ends of the Premier League seemed to be as good as decided, except for who would be relegated in the playoff. Athletic and Sheep had been unimpressive in 14th and 13th, and Halcyon had been very impressive in 1st, with 13 wins and 1 draw. No one were, rightly, expecting anyone but them to win. Halcyon had their very first loss of the season in only the third game after New Year, and it didn't end there. After going 13-1-0 in the first 14 games of the season, they went 5-1-6 in the last 12. In 4 of those losses, they were in the lead at some point in the game, comfortably so in a few. But even so, with a 15 point lead and only 12 matches to go, it would take a miracle for anyone to catch up. Long Athletic, who were tied on points with 2nd and 3rd started off poorly with a loss, and though they could still have won it with a near perfect record from there, real life wasn't so rosy. They didn't do themselves any favours by at one point losing 4 matches in a row, which eventually saw them finish 5th. FC Delhi, who had been in 3rd, were quickly out of it when they picked up 3 points in the 5 first matches after New Year. Paz United, who had been 2nd, 15 points behind Halcyon, were a different story. Unlike Long Athletic and FC Delhi they didn't crumble under pressure. While their record had been good if not spectacular at 7-4-3 the first part of the season, their record was spectacular for the second part, 10-1-1. With one game left to play of the season, Halcyon were, despite their poor form, still top of the table, leading Paz United by 1 point. This is where the champion story crosses paths with the relegation story.
Like the league winner, the league losers had seemed already set in stone. Nor did Real Sheep give any indication that it wasn't, by losing their three next matches. After that, however, their next lost didn't come until the season was almost over, and that was after being in the lead over Licking until two late goals by Nuri Sahin. Similarly, Athletic started out the second part of the season by losing big to league leaders Halcyon. After a good spell of form, they then had two losses in the row, one to fellow relegation candidates Real Sheep. Before the last league game, the situation at the bottom looked liked this:
Athletic -9 24p
Foot FC - 21 24p (Playoff)
FC Searl - 23 24p (Playoff)
Dalkey -16 23p
Real Sheep -17 22p
In the last league game, Dalkey and Foot FC were to play eachother, meaning that a win to either would probably mean that the winner was safe. In the first match, Foot FC had beat Dalkey at Dalkey's Swan Park, so they were the favourites at their own ground. FC Searl were to play JEKS, who were by then already firmly entrenched in the middle of the table. In the first match, JEKS had won 6-1, scoring 4 of the goals after a 32nd minute red card to one of their players. Things were definitely not looking good for FC Searl, though a draw could be vital, and not impossible at home. The two last games were Real Sheep vs Halcyon, and Athletic Shorts vs Paz United. In other words, the outcomes of those matches might well decide both the relegation and the champion battles. Halcyon had beat Real Sheep 5-3 in the first game, and that had been at Real Sheep's home ground. With only 22 points, they had to beat the league leaders at their own turf to avoid direct relegation. In the other game, Paz United had beat Athletic 1-0 at home. With Athletic at home in the return, getting at least a point didn't seem impossible, if not for Paz' immense form.
In the first game, Dalkey crushed everyone's expectations by beating Foot FC 4-0 away, meaning they were safe unless FC Searl could beat JEKS. They almost did, but a 62nd minute equalizer by Huntelaar meant that JEKS were sitting at 25 points and a terrible goal difference. In the Athletic vs Paz match, the play was almost entirely even. Then newly signed Riquelme grabbed a goal for Paz in the 58th minute, and it looked like Paz were in with a shot at the title, while Athletic were looking like they were going down. And then the £29 million man Takayuki Morimoto stepped up with the 86th minute equalizer. In the last game, Halcyon started out ferociously. That is to say, after they realized that Tim Cahill had already made it 0-1. After that, Halcyon quickly took back control of the game with two quick goals by Tevez, making it 2-1. And then newly signed Di Natale made it 2-2. And then local boy Jeremy Cessar made it 2-3. And 2-4.
What did this mean? Foot FC and FC Searl were both relegated. Dalkey was safe, a point above playoff, while Real Sheep and Athletic Shorts were to play a final playoff game to decide who would be relegated as well. After being 15 points ahead after 14 games, Halcyon was 0 points ahead after 26, but despite scoring 10 more goals than Paz, they were 8 goals behind on goal difference. In other words, Paz United were the first winners of the RedCafe Premier League. The relegation playoff was a proper thriller, with Athletic Shorts probably just having the better of the game. Even so, they had to equalize three times, once in the 115th minute after Antonio Valencia had just made it 3-2 to Real Shorts in the 113th minute. It was finally decided on penalties, where Real Shorts triumphed, after Gerard Pique missed his penalty.
As for the teams who weren't mentioned so far, they mostly improved on their positions, though one team didn't Psmith's FC had been 5th, with almost nothing separating them from 2nd. They didn't sign a single person all season, though, and when everyone else did it took its toll. It didn't quite end in relegation, but from 5th to 9th, only taking 11 points in the last 12 matches, wasn't very impressive. Nor were their 0-7 and 0-8 losses to Leca and JEKS respectively, not surprisingly finishing with more goals conceded than anyone else and a worse goal difference than anyone but the two who went straight down, and that only just. Leca were 9th, and spending £71 million in January had its effect. They had their ups and downs, but finished the season by winning 4 of the last 5, including against Halcyon (though everyone seemed to beat them at that point).
The one team they lost to were Licking, who had been 6th. They spent £54 million in January, and it showed here too. They also had a good run of form, though they were one of the teams who actually lost to Halcyon during the second part of the season. In the end they finished in a very strong 3rd, as close to the top as 4th. The last Champions League spot was grabbed by Forest Heath, who spent a massive £82 million to go up from 10th, a point over eventually relegated FC Searl, to 4th with 40 points. Elsewhere, Longsight Athletic continued their fine tradition of barely scoring nor conceding any goals. Though they couldn't quite keep up the form that had them at 13-12 after 14 matches, 30-33 after 26 matches was still very... impressive.
League Table
Team of the Year (Well, Season)
Season Records
Season 1 (09/10) - End of Season Update
I will only post the Premier League today. I'll post the Championship, the RedCafe Cup and various stats tomorrow. I won't post any full squads, but if the squads start looking full by next season I might do it then. I think I mentioned everyone. I'll try to keep doing it this way, saying something also about the teams that I didn't happen to mention because they were involved in some epic struggle.
Transfers
While Championship clubs had at least bought some players in the summer window, very few Premier League clubs had done so. This changed in the January transfer window. There were a total of 26 transfer worth over £10 million, and not a single transfer was out of the league, or even from Premier League club to Premier League club. The spending wasn't equal, though, and some clubs came out better than others. Athletic Shorts, who had just one win and one draw after 14 of 26 games, were obviously very interested in rescuing the season. They signed players such as Joseph Yobo for £16 million, and Aaron Lennon for £17 million, not to mention their £20 million capture of Felipe, a top class defender. Their biggest purchase, though, could probably qualify as "overspending", as they spent £29 million, the third highest fee of the window, on un-capped Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto.
Another club who spent heavily, and seemingly unecessarily, were 15-point league leaders Halcyon, as they spent £24 million and £22 million on respectively Dirk Marcellis and Evar Banega. Elsewhere, Forest Heath and Real Sheep both signed 3 players each that cost over £10m. Perhaps the most impressive of those were Di Natale to Sheep for £25 million and Veloso to Forest Heath for £19.25 million. The biggest purchase of the window was done by Leca United, as they splashed out a whole £36.5 million for striker Edinson Cavani. They were also clearly interested in young defenders, as they spent £13.5 million each on Andreas Beck and Ryan Shawcross. Elsewhere, FC Delhi tested fate by signing Gareth Bale for £18.25 million, while Paz United shrewdly signed Riquelme for just £5.5 million.
The Championship also saw some transfer action, though there were both fewer transfers overall, and understandably much fewer high fee transfers. GDH, who had been sitting 3 points clear at the top at the turn of the year, caught the attention of many when they spent a whole £26.5 million on Brazilian striker Diogo from Olympiakos. Unfortunately, they also caught the attention of many when they sold the impressive David Silva to Real Madrid for only £17 million. They were also the selling part in the only other instance of a RedCafe club selling a player this season, as they sold Mirko Vucinic, who had at that point scored 24 in 21, for a pathetic £6 million to Bayern Munchen.
Sitting last by a fairly good margin, one would have expected Jubilee to spend some of that money they had sitting in the bank. And spend they did. Sort of. First they signed Icelandic Aron Gunnarsson from Coventry for £2.4 million, and then they really splashed out the cash on Dmytro Korkishko for £3 million. Other big transfers included big striker Oscar Cardozo to Blackheath for £15.75 million, Gary Cahill for £13.25 million to The Wovers and Diego Renan for £22 million to Manchester Buccaneers.
League
At the turn of the year, both ends of the Premier League seemed to be as good as decided, except for who would be relegated in the playoff. Athletic and Sheep had been unimpressive in 14th and 13th, and Halcyon had been very impressive in 1st, with 13 wins and 1 draw. No one were, rightly, expecting anyone but them to win. Halcyon had their very first loss of the season in only the third game after New Year, and it didn't end there. After going 13-1-0 in the first 14 games of the season, they went 5-1-6 in the last 12. In 4 of those losses, they were in the lead at some point in the game, comfortably so in a few. But even so, with a 15 point lead and only 12 matches to go, it would take a miracle for anyone to catch up. Long Athletic, who were tied on points with 2nd and 3rd started off poorly with a loss, and though they could still have won it with a near perfect record from there, real life wasn't so rosy. They didn't do themselves any favours by at one point losing 4 matches in a row, which eventually saw them finish 5th. FC Delhi, who had been in 3rd, were quickly out of it when they picked up 3 points in the 5 first matches after New Year. Paz United, who had been 2nd, 15 points behind Halcyon, were a different story. Unlike Long Athletic and FC Delhi they didn't crumble under pressure. While their record had been good if not spectacular at 7-4-3 the first part of the season, their record was spectacular for the second part, 10-1-1. With one game left to play of the season, Halcyon were, despite their poor form, still top of the table, leading Paz United by 1 point. This is where the champion story crosses paths with the relegation story.
Like the league winner, the league losers had seemed already set in stone. Nor did Real Sheep give any indication that it wasn't, by losing their three next matches. After that, however, their next lost didn't come until the season was almost over, and that was after being in the lead over Licking until two late goals by Nuri Sahin. Similarly, Athletic started out the second part of the season by losing big to league leaders Halcyon. After a good spell of form, they then had two losses in the row, one to fellow relegation candidates Real Sheep. Before the last league game, the situation at the bottom looked liked this:
Athletic -9 24p
Foot FC - 21 24p (Playoff)
FC Searl - 23 24p (Playoff)
Dalkey -16 23p
Real Sheep -17 22p
In the last league game, Dalkey and Foot FC were to play eachother, meaning that a win to either would probably mean that the winner was safe. In the first match, Foot FC had beat Dalkey at Dalkey's Swan Park, so they were the favourites at their own ground. FC Searl were to play JEKS, who were by then already firmly entrenched in the middle of the table. In the first match, JEKS had won 6-1, scoring 4 of the goals after a 32nd minute red card to one of their players. Things were definitely not looking good for FC Searl, though a draw could be vital, and not impossible at home. The two last games were Real Sheep vs Halcyon, and Athletic Shorts vs Paz United. In other words, the outcomes of those matches might well decide both the relegation and the champion battles. Halcyon had beat Real Sheep 5-3 in the first game, and that had been at Real Sheep's home ground. With only 22 points, they had to beat the league leaders at their own turf to avoid direct relegation. In the other game, Paz United had beat Athletic 1-0 at home. With Athletic at home in the return, getting at least a point didn't seem impossible, if not for Paz' immense form.
In the first game, Dalkey crushed everyone's expectations by beating Foot FC 4-0 away, meaning they were safe unless FC Searl could beat JEKS. They almost did, but a 62nd minute equalizer by Huntelaar meant that JEKS were sitting at 25 points and a terrible goal difference. In the Athletic vs Paz match, the play was almost entirely even. Then newly signed Riquelme grabbed a goal for Paz in the 58th minute, and it looked like Paz were in with a shot at the title, while Athletic were looking like they were going down. And then the £29 million man Takayuki Morimoto stepped up with the 86th minute equalizer. In the last game, Halcyon started out ferociously. That is to say, after they realized that Tim Cahill had already made it 0-1. After that, Halcyon quickly took back control of the game with two quick goals by Tevez, making it 2-1. And then newly signed Di Natale made it 2-2. And then local boy Jeremy Cessar made it 2-3. And 2-4.
What did this mean? Foot FC and FC Searl were both relegated. Dalkey was safe, a point above playoff, while Real Sheep and Athletic Shorts were to play a final playoff game to decide who would be relegated as well. After being 15 points ahead after 14 games, Halcyon was 0 points ahead after 26, but despite scoring 10 more goals than Paz, they were 8 goals behind on goal difference. In other words, Paz United were the first winners of the RedCafe Premier League. The relegation playoff was a proper thriller, with Athletic Shorts probably just having the better of the game. Even so, they had to equalize three times, once in the 115th minute after Antonio Valencia had just made it 3-2 to Real Shorts in the 113th minute. It was finally decided on penalties, where Real Shorts triumphed, after Gerard Pique missed his penalty.
As for the teams who weren't mentioned so far, they mostly improved on their positions, though one team didn't Psmith's FC had been 5th, with almost nothing separating them from 2nd. They didn't sign a single person all season, though, and when everyone else did it took its toll. It didn't quite end in relegation, but from 5th to 9th, only taking 11 points in the last 12 matches, wasn't very impressive. Nor were their 0-7 and 0-8 losses to Leca and JEKS respectively, not surprisingly finishing with more goals conceded than anyone else and a worse goal difference than anyone but the two who went straight down, and that only just. Leca were 9th, and spending £71 million in January had its effect. They had their ups and downs, but finished the season by winning 4 of the last 5, including against Halcyon (though everyone seemed to beat them at that point).
The one team they lost to were Licking, who had been 6th. They spent £54 million in January, and it showed here too. They also had a good run of form, though they were one of the teams who actually lost to Halcyon during the second part of the season. In the end they finished in a very strong 3rd, as close to the top as 4th. The last Champions League spot was grabbed by Forest Heath, who spent a massive £82 million to go up from 10th, a point over eventually relegated FC Searl, to 4th with 40 points. Elsewhere, Longsight Athletic continued their fine tradition of barely scoring nor conceding any goals. Though they couldn't quite keep up the form that had them at 13-12 after 14 matches, 30-33 after 26 matches was still very... impressive.
League Table
Team of the Year (Well, Season)
Season Records
Why the heck is Cavecunt so good in this game? 
Why the heck is Cavecunt so good in this game?
He's overrated, but a lot of it is because the defending is so atrociously poor, because most teams haven't invested in defenders yet. That'll come. I hope.
feck my life.
You're 5th!
what a season!!!
That's neither here nor there! I've got -3 goal diff in 5th place, even the team that finished last scored more than I did!
great update though, it's really interesting.
great update though, it's really interesting.Romagnoli for £10m, hell yeah bitches
3rd, that'll do
Is that CL football??
Is that CL football??
Veloso, Pastore and Pazzini!
4-0 win to avoid relegation. That's how it's done boys and the piblic are loving it. My stadiumholds 32,000 and I had an average attendance of 32,000 over the season.
Hopefully make a few decent signings during the summer, ship off Elano to some team in Dubai.
Dzagoev
Hopefully make a few decent signings during the summer, ship off Elano to some team in Dubai.
Dzagoev
I never liked Silva anyway...
It is indeed. 4th is as well.
Where's the Championship news? It's a 2's competition anyway, the PL's for wankers.
I see Waverley have been splashing the big dollars again, and once again getting dudded for the cash.
I see Waverley have been splashing the big dollars again, and once again getting dudded for the cash.
Hey WTF. I had Cech in my side?
How the knut is he in this Licking side now? Surely we didn't flog him off?
How the knut is he in this Licking side now? Surely we didn't flog him off?
Everyone knows the working class man is in the championship and supports championship teams, thats why we keep our ticket prices low because we are teams of the people. Snooty premier league bastards....
You never had Cech. You had Mikel and Xabi Alonso.
Oh, so the other player raffle thing was abandoned then?
What was my actual side niMic, if you don't mind me asking?
What was my actual side niMic, if you don't mind me asking?
it'll be those 2 players and a load of regens
It's changed now, though. None of us have truly top class squads yet, but that's just because the managers first had to fill up entire squads. In a few years, we'll start seeing some really great squads. I'll post everyone's squad (or alternatively first XI with formation) so that you get to see it, once there's no sign of terrible regens. Shouldn't be long.
Is Paul Sturrock still my manager? I'd rather have a packet of Fruitella's in charge than him.
He is indeed, I'm afraid.
You'll get to see his handiwork later tonight.
You'll get to see his handiwork later tonight.
roy hodgson shall dominate the championship, you just watch
Football Manager 2010 Experiment
Season 1 (09/10) - End of Season Update
League
While the Championship didn't have any relegation, and thus no relegation battle, finishing in the last few spots was hardly a sign of a prosperous club. There was also the matter of the money received for finishing, which was a pittance at the very last few spots. At the end of the first part of the season, The Championship was a close affair from top to nearly bottom. There was usually not more than a few points between spots, except the 10 point gap from Banana Co in 16th to Jubilee in 17th. Jubilee had a spare game, but had far from impressed enough for anyone to expect anything but a last place for them at the end of the season. Though they spent more than some during the January window, what they purchased was of questionable quality. In addition to this, manager Paul Sturrock hardly had the confidence of the chairman, though he refrained from sacking him. That might have been a mistake, as they went on to win one game, after which a 9 game losing run followed. After 32 matches, they only had 12 points. The fact that 7 teams had conceded more than them, and many not much less, didn't matter much when faced with the fact that they had scored a couple more than half as many as the next least. The spot above them was occupied by The Gate, who had hardly impressed themselves, with 24 points, and more goals conceded than anyone else.
Above that, only 10 points seperated Crack in 15th with 35 points with Chili's in 8th with 45. Some teams had hardly changed positions, such as Torpedo Ubergrad who had risen from 15th to 14th. Perhaps not surprising considering they bought one player all season, and even Zola could only do so much with that squad. Similarly, Blackheath had dropped one spot, though they were set to finish even lower just a couple games before the end, saved by a last game win. Ridgebacks in 12th was the first team to do much worse than their position at the first part of the season. They had been sitting in 7th, just a few points from a playoff spot. They certainly weren't helped by 3 losses and one draw in their last 4 games.
Banana Co in the spot over them, 11th, had gone the opposite way. They had been sitting firmly in 16th place, second to last. They didn't spent heavily, exactly, but they did bring in several quite decent players, which propelled them up the table, laying the foundation for a possibly better next season. Lecton in 10th dropped a couple of places since the first half of the season, but were really firmly mid-table for the entire season. They only bought 3 players for a total of £16 million, though it was more than some. It wasn't more than WL102, who were boringly stable for the second part of the season, finishing a single spot above their half-season position. A team who had done a solid leap upwards was Gotham, who had gone from 11th to 7th. Not a massive leap, but impressive considering they spent a total of £4.2 million on two Swedes.
Above them were Victum, who had also had a fair upturn, from 9th to 6th, not far from the playoff. Marco van Basten had spent little, but prudently, and the future could be bright. Emirati FC had spent quite a lot in the summer window, and followed up with a few decent South Americans in the January window. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to secure a playoff spot, as 3 wins was followed up with a draw in the last game against The Wovers, where 3 points would have meant playoff. GDH were undoubtedly pleased at the result, though, as it meant they finished 4th, despite losing 5-1 in the last game to Manchester Buccaneers. Thought they had been top of the table at the half point of the season, they were far to prone to concede many goals in single matches to keep their spot. They would face none other than The Walrus Wovers in the Playoff final, the very team that ensured their place in the playoff.
The Wovers finished in 3rd, the same position they were in when the first part of the season was over. Though they were 3rd, they weren't ever really threatening the top 2, and indeed they were never higher than 3rd, and rarely lower than it since New Year. In 2nd place, and gaining promotion, were Waverley, the team that had been sitting just outside of playoff at the first part of the season. They had shopped handsomely during the summer window, and though they signed quite a few players in the January window as well, most of those signings were inexpensive. Manager Michael Laudrup had spent the money well, and they found themselves in 2nd, as far up to 1st as it was down to 3rd.
And finally, in the 1st spot, as the first winner of the RedCafe Championship, Manchester Buccaneers. They had spent quite a lot in the first transfer window, and followed that up in the second. Signing players such as Xabi Prieto and Diego Renan paid off, and they spent almost the entire second part of the season in the top spot. During the 32 game long season, they scored 4 or more an incredible 15 times, the pick of the crop being an 8-1 thrashing of WL102 that saw one of the WL102 defenders having a match rating of 1.1. Unsurprisingly, they scored more goals than any other team by a fair margin, helped along by Higuains 45 goals. He was bested by Fernando Torres though, who scored a modest 52 goals in 28 appearances for Gotham.
RedCafe Cup
The Semi Finals of the RedCafe cup were Victum vs Ridgebacks, and WL102 vs Paz United. Paz United was the only Premier League team still in it. The first leg of WL102 vs Paz United boded well for Paz, as they managed to get a late goal to draw 2-2, a valuable result in a competition with away goals. They should have won more, but the start of the second leg suggested that they wouldn't need to. Paz took an early lead, but couldn't capitalize on the pressure they had, hitting the woodwork at one occasion. WL102 never gave up though, and captain Sneijder scored the equalizer in the 76th minute. This meant that Paz were still on to go through. Before £17.5 million signing Vedad Ibisevic popped up with the 87th minute winner for WL102, putting them in the final.
In the second Semi Final Victum came back from 1-2 to win 5-2 at home, in a game where they probably should have scored even more. Ridgebacks had it all to do at home, but Victum won 2-1, meaning they would face fellow Championship team WL102 in the final. That was a thriller of the, where both teams hit the woodwork and had plenty of chances. In the end it was decided by WL102 scoring 3 penalties. That's not to say it ended on penalties, it just means they got 3 penalties during the game, though the penalty taker needed the help of the keeper to score one of them, as it bounced off the post and the keeper before ending up in the back of the net. That's also not to say that the referee was unfair, as he received a match rating of 10 for the match himself.
RedCafe Cup
Promotion Playoff
GDH and The Wovers faced eachother to see who would be allowed up to the good company of the RedCafe Premier League. It was a tight affair. The Wovers had the majority of the possession, though GDH had more shots that actually went on target. One of the ones that didn't go on target for The Wovers hit the woodwork. Both teams had a lot of corners, and particularly The Wovers will be upset they didn't capitalize more on their 8. Their 7 offsides also demonstrates their willingness to attack, yet failure to get it quite right. The teams ran almost exactly the same distance during the game, and The Wovers only had a tiny advantage in the average match rating. In the end, a 65th minute goal by Giuliano gave GDH the 2-1 victory, and the Premier League spot.
League Table
Season Records
Player Stats
Yellow and Red Cards
Penalties
Season 1 (09/10) - End of Season Update
League
While the Championship didn't have any relegation, and thus no relegation battle, finishing in the last few spots was hardly a sign of a prosperous club. There was also the matter of the money received for finishing, which was a pittance at the very last few spots. At the end of the first part of the season, The Championship was a close affair from top to nearly bottom. There was usually not more than a few points between spots, except the 10 point gap from Banana Co in 16th to Jubilee in 17th. Jubilee had a spare game, but had far from impressed enough for anyone to expect anything but a last place for them at the end of the season. Though they spent more than some during the January window, what they purchased was of questionable quality. In addition to this, manager Paul Sturrock hardly had the confidence of the chairman, though he refrained from sacking him. That might have been a mistake, as they went on to win one game, after which a 9 game losing run followed. After 32 matches, they only had 12 points. The fact that 7 teams had conceded more than them, and many not much less, didn't matter much when faced with the fact that they had scored a couple more than half as many as the next least. The spot above them was occupied by The Gate, who had hardly impressed themselves, with 24 points, and more goals conceded than anyone else.
Above that, only 10 points seperated Crack in 15th with 35 points with Chili's in 8th with 45. Some teams had hardly changed positions, such as Torpedo Ubergrad who had risen from 15th to 14th. Perhaps not surprising considering they bought one player all season, and even Zola could only do so much with that squad. Similarly, Blackheath had dropped one spot, though they were set to finish even lower just a couple games before the end, saved by a last game win. Ridgebacks in 12th was the first team to do much worse than their position at the first part of the season. They had been sitting in 7th, just a few points from a playoff spot. They certainly weren't helped by 3 losses and one draw in their last 4 games.
Banana Co in the spot over them, 11th, had gone the opposite way. They had been sitting firmly in 16th place, second to last. They didn't spent heavily, exactly, but they did bring in several quite decent players, which propelled them up the table, laying the foundation for a possibly better next season. Lecton in 10th dropped a couple of places since the first half of the season, but were really firmly mid-table for the entire season. They only bought 3 players for a total of £16 million, though it was more than some. It wasn't more than WL102, who were boringly stable for the second part of the season, finishing a single spot above their half-season position. A team who had done a solid leap upwards was Gotham, who had gone from 11th to 7th. Not a massive leap, but impressive considering they spent a total of £4.2 million on two Swedes.
Above them were Victum, who had also had a fair upturn, from 9th to 6th, not far from the playoff. Marco van Basten had spent little, but prudently, and the future could be bright. Emirati FC had spent quite a lot in the summer window, and followed up with a few decent South Americans in the January window. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to secure a playoff spot, as 3 wins was followed up with a draw in the last game against The Wovers, where 3 points would have meant playoff. GDH were undoubtedly pleased at the result, though, as it meant they finished 4th, despite losing 5-1 in the last game to Manchester Buccaneers. Thought they had been top of the table at the half point of the season, they were far to prone to concede many goals in single matches to keep their spot. They would face none other than The Walrus Wovers in the Playoff final, the very team that ensured their place in the playoff.
The Wovers finished in 3rd, the same position they were in when the first part of the season was over. Though they were 3rd, they weren't ever really threatening the top 2, and indeed they were never higher than 3rd, and rarely lower than it since New Year. In 2nd place, and gaining promotion, were Waverley, the team that had been sitting just outside of playoff at the first part of the season. They had shopped handsomely during the summer window, and though they signed quite a few players in the January window as well, most of those signings were inexpensive. Manager Michael Laudrup had spent the money well, and they found themselves in 2nd, as far up to 1st as it was down to 3rd.
And finally, in the 1st spot, as the first winner of the RedCafe Championship, Manchester Buccaneers. They had spent quite a lot in the first transfer window, and followed that up in the second. Signing players such as Xabi Prieto and Diego Renan paid off, and they spent almost the entire second part of the season in the top spot. During the 32 game long season, they scored 4 or more an incredible 15 times, the pick of the crop being an 8-1 thrashing of WL102 that saw one of the WL102 defenders having a match rating of 1.1. Unsurprisingly, they scored more goals than any other team by a fair margin, helped along by Higuains 45 goals. He was bested by Fernando Torres though, who scored a modest 52 goals in 28 appearances for Gotham.
RedCafe Cup
The Semi Finals of the RedCafe cup were Victum vs Ridgebacks, and WL102 vs Paz United. Paz United was the only Premier League team still in it. The first leg of WL102 vs Paz United boded well for Paz, as they managed to get a late goal to draw 2-2, a valuable result in a competition with away goals. They should have won more, but the start of the second leg suggested that they wouldn't need to. Paz took an early lead, but couldn't capitalize on the pressure they had, hitting the woodwork at one occasion. WL102 never gave up though, and captain Sneijder scored the equalizer in the 76th minute. This meant that Paz were still on to go through. Before £17.5 million signing Vedad Ibisevic popped up with the 87th minute winner for WL102, putting them in the final.
In the second Semi Final Victum came back from 1-2 to win 5-2 at home, in a game where they probably should have scored even more. Ridgebacks had it all to do at home, but Victum won 2-1, meaning they would face fellow Championship team WL102 in the final. That was a thriller of the, where both teams hit the woodwork and had plenty of chances. In the end it was decided by WL102 scoring 3 penalties. That's not to say it ended on penalties, it just means they got 3 penalties during the game, though the penalty taker needed the help of the keeper to score one of them, as it bounced off the post and the keeper before ending up in the back of the net. That's also not to say that the referee was unfair, as he received a match rating of 10 for the match himself.
RedCafe Cup
Promotion Playoff
GDH and The Wovers faced eachother to see who would be allowed up to the good company of the RedCafe Premier League. It was a tight affair. The Wovers had the majority of the possession, though GDH had more shots that actually went on target. One of the ones that didn't go on target for The Wovers hit the woodwork. Both teams had a lot of corners, and particularly The Wovers will be upset they didn't capitalize more on their 8. Their 7 offsides also demonstrates their willingness to attack, yet failure to get it quite right. The teams ran almost exactly the same distance during the game, and The Wovers only had a tiny advantage in the average match rating. In the end, a 65th minute goal by Giuliano gave GDH the 2-1 victory, and the Premier League spot.
League Table
Season Records
Player Stats
Yellow and Red Cards
Penalties
Ah shit, so close and yet so far
Bloody hell. I'd like to know who I won my only game against 
Throwing away a 15 point lead, that's almost Keegan-esque.
Still, nothing quite like a bit of glorious failure. I blame my manager's lack of real underworld connections
Still, nothing quite like a bit of glorious failure. I blame my manager's lack of real underworld connections
am i to presume i lost in the damn playoff final?
feckshitassbitchcunt. fecking shite rubbish. i hate playoffs.
feckshitassbitchcunt. fecking shite rubbish. i hate playoffs.
Maybe Klaus Toppmoller doesn't suck as bad as originally thought. Not a bad finishing position, considering my place at the halfway mark. Wonder how often Van Persie was injured. Would have hoped for a good season from him, but no luck it seems.
Sorry, I forgot to add the RedCafe Cup and the Promotion Playoff. I've added the Cup now, I'll add the Playoff as well.
feck you athletic shorts !!!
We all love sheep fc !!
We all love sheep fc !!
He was actually only injured for a total of a couple of months. He didn't exactly have a bad season either, scoring 24 with 9 assists in 27 games. He's also the team captain.
Unsurprisingly, a pretty average second half of the season. But still, woo, promotion! Considering I've already sold my two best players however, it's going to take a lot of spending to keep that Premier League spot.