Coming soon...
The Water Carrier Draft
I've been fleshing out my own draft idea a bit more, and will attempt to run it at some point after Marty's if people are interested. It will be a combination draft with a few bamboozle elements (to be announced at a later stage), but the theme will be as follows:
Each manager (a total of 16 seems like the obvious way to go here) will be given a partially composed team to begin with: I will throw 16 historical teams into the mix, partly fitted out with mainstays and water carriers in their customary positions. The managers will be given a team each, allocated randomly, and then tasked with drafting in the remainder of the roster to compose an XI plus one substitute.
The historical teams will be chosen from within a certain period, so that the discrepancy between eras won't be too dramatic, i.e. manager X and Y will not be allocated Chapman's Arsenal and Pep's Barca respectively. More like Sacchi's Milan and Maureen's Chelsea – that sort of spread, if you like, a thirty year period or something like that.
The key to these allocated teams is that what's in place is the bare bones, the bread and butter, no easy sells and no proper stars. The latter is for the manager to identify and draft.
The drafting itself will be done within a certain framework of criteria as well, to further limit the amount of obvious names present in the line-ups. The main focus of the draft will be on tactical choices and the ability to compose functional teams using, in part, players you are simply stuck with.
As an example, let's use this:
Barca's LC winners from 2006, that is. Now, this is obviously just for illustration purposes. In reality, you'll probably get a default CB rather than two fullbacks, but this could in theory vary slightly from team to team. Precisely what team you're allocated may also influence to an extent what particular criteria will be in place for you (i.e. the criteria will not necessarily be identical for all managers).
Well, that's the essence of it. The really interesting parts - the bamboozlin' and so forth - will be dealt with later. For now I'm just announcing the basic idea and the intention of running it.
Teams:
The teams used for providing the managers with their default players (water carriers) will be top-of-the-line outfits, CL winners, winners of the old European Cup, or teams on that level. My present thinking is that only club sides will be used for this purpose, but that could change.
Certain restrictions will be in place pertaining to how freely the managers can draft players from their allocated historical side. For example, a manager allocated default players from Manchester United's 2008 CL winning vintage will not be allowed to draft Cristiano Ronaldo (but may be allowed to draft Wayne Rooney). This only as an example/illustration. Bear in mind that limitations and criteria may vary from manager to manager - that is a part of the overall concept.
Added information:
I intend to introduce some new elements to the match threads as part of this draft. Details will follow but suffice it to say, for now, that one such element might be a more active form of interference - on the part of the draft master or his henchmen - in the discussions. This is very much an experiment, however, and to what extent and in what exact form it will be implemented (if implemented at all) remains to be seen.
[Provisional]
Rules:
However, the following should be noted: If the manager at fault fails to appear in the draft thread shortly after his error has been pointed out, the manager who is next in line is encouraged to post his pick (rather than wait for the manager at fault to show up).
* The draft manager will review the situation at the end of the round in question, and rule whether the manager at fault may submit his pick of choice or not.
The Water Carrier Draft
I've been fleshing out my own draft idea a bit more, and will attempt to run it at some point after Marty's if people are interested. It will be a combination draft with a few bamboozle elements (to be announced at a later stage), but the theme will be as follows:
Each manager (a total of 16 seems like the obvious way to go here) will be given a partially composed team to begin with: I will throw 16 historical teams into the mix, partly fitted out with mainstays and water carriers in their customary positions. The managers will be given a team each, allocated randomly, and then tasked with drafting in the remainder of the roster to compose an XI plus one substitute.
The historical teams will be chosen from within a certain period, so that the discrepancy between eras won't be too dramatic, i.e. manager X and Y will not be allocated Chapman's Arsenal and Pep's Barca respectively. More like Sacchi's Milan and Maureen's Chelsea – that sort of spread, if you like, a thirty year period or something like that.
The key to these allocated teams is that what's in place is the bare bones, the bread and butter, no easy sells and no proper stars. The latter is for the manager to identify and draft.
The drafting itself will be done within a certain framework of criteria as well, to further limit the amount of obvious names present in the line-ups. The main focus of the draft will be on tactical choices and the ability to compose functional teams using, in part, players you are simply stuck with.
As an example, let's use this:
Barca's LC winners from 2006, that is. Now, this is obviously just for illustration purposes. In reality, you'll probably get a default CB rather than two fullbacks, but this could in theory vary slightly from team to team. Precisely what team you're allocated may also influence to an extent what particular criteria will be in place for you (i.e. the criteria will not necessarily be identical for all managers).
Well, that's the essence of it. The really interesting parts - the bamboozlin' and so forth - will be dealt with later. For now I'm just announcing the basic idea and the intention of running it.
Teams:
The teams used for providing the managers with their default players (water carriers) will be top-of-the-line outfits, CL winners, winners of the old European Cup, or teams on that level. My present thinking is that only club sides will be used for this purpose, but that could change.
Certain restrictions will be in place pertaining to how freely the managers can draft players from their allocated historical side. For example, a manager allocated default players from Manchester United's 2008 CL winning vintage will not be allowed to draft Cristiano Ronaldo (but may be allowed to draft Wayne Rooney). This only as an example/illustration. Bear in mind that limitations and criteria may vary from manager to manager - that is a part of the overall concept.
Added information:
I intend to introduce some new elements to the match threads as part of this draft. Details will follow but suffice it to say, for now, that one such element might be a more active form of interference - on the part of the draft master or his henchmen - in the discussions. This is very much an experiment, however, and to what extent and in what exact form it will be implemented (if implemented at all) remains to be seen.
[Provisional]
Rules:
- This draft will consist of a snake part and a criterion part. For the latter part, managers will submit picks to the draft master or a designated assistant (to be announced) per PM.
- Managers will have 24 hours to submit their picks.
- Criterion part: Managers who fail to submit within the specified time limit stand in danger of being allocated a sheep (generally, a non-descript player who meets the relevant criterion or criteria).
- Snake part: If a manager fails to submit a pick within the specified time limit, the manager who is next in line is free to post his pick as soon as said time limit has expired. In the event of this happening, the manager at fault stands in danger of being allocated a sheep (see above) and may NOT post his pick at his earliest convenience. *
- No changing of legitimate picks. If the player you pick is eligible, your pick is final.
- Picking an ineligible player will result in a sheep (see above).
However, the following should be noted: If the manager at fault fails to appear in the draft thread shortly after his error has been pointed out, the manager who is next in line is encouraged to post his pick (rather than wait for the manager at fault to show up).
* The draft manager will review the situation at the end of the round in question, and rule whether the manager at fault may submit his pick of choice or not.
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