Transfer Muppet Fantasy

Fixtures quarterfinals:

VivaJ vs MJJ
NoPace vs PaceMe
Aldo
vs rpitroda
Cutch vs Crappy
Edgar vs Annah
kps88 vs Balu
Pippa vs Gandalf
Pol/Theon vs Fergus

Teams out with the players now available for the next auction round:

rpitroda - 12 players D. Beckham 40M, J. Terry 34m, G. Neville 32m, R. Keane (Abidal (25m)+ 35m) R. V. Nistelrooy 25m, S. Hyppia 14m, Pedro>>> Ljungberg, Reina 10m, G. V. Bronckhorst 10m, Y. Toure 29m, C. Tevez 10m, (S. Aguero 10m -> 10m, Deco 15mill = 11m.

VivaJanuzaj - 11 players Van der Sar 15M, Piszczek 10M, Seedorf 35M, Enrique 38M, Giggs 65M, Jaap Stam 40M, Rui Costa(30M from Aldo), E.Petit 10M, F. de Boer 14M, Alaba 20m, Vieri 10m = 13M

Cutch - 11 players Buffon 15m, Thuram 50m, Nesta 60m, Chiellini 30m, Joaquin 10m Ivan De La Pena 10m, Guardiola 39m, Mendieta 34m, Kily Gonzalez 10m, Juan Roman Riquelme 27m, Raul 15m = 300m (0m left)

kps 88 - 11 players Cech 10M Carlos 42m R. Carvalho 34M Gerrard 42 Davids 45 Villa 12m Torres 10m Sousa 14m, Zabaleta 20 mill(from Annah), Valeron 10m, Pepe 10 = 51m

Edgar - 12 players Drogba 35m, Lahm 45m, Zambrotta 30m, Dida 10m(Valdes>Annah), Gattuso 35m, Pirlo 55m, Sergio Ramos 16m(Sold to Annah for 10mill), Andersson 12m, Malouda 10m, Heinze 10m, Kaka 22m (+4m) , Marchisio 10M, Inzaghi 10m = 6m

NoPace - 12 players Bale (25m), Evra (28m), X Alonso (28m), Suarez 20m, Essien 24m, Sol Campbell 25m, Lampard 20, S Aguero 10m, Totti 15M, Pique 10M, Maicon 34, Handanovic 10 = 51m


Teams through to the next round:

Annahmoss - 11 players Xavi 66M, Busquets 54M, Iniesta 89M (from paceme), Neymar 12m(from GG) D.Silva 18m, Valdes(Dida>Edgar) 10m, Dante 10M , Boateng 10m, Lewandowski 10M, Zabaleta 10M(Sold for 20mill to Kps88), Ramos(10 mill from EAP, 4 mill goes Aldo forEAP's dept to Aldo) Capdevila 10M= 11M

paceme - 12 players Iniesta (70=>89M), Robben 30M, Messi (115m), Gammara (20m), Jeremies (14m), Ljungberg 20m >>>Pedro, Scholl 22m, Samuel 22m, Lopez 10m, ivanovic 14m, Schweinsteiger 40m, Pessotto 10m, =2m

MJJ - 11 players Nedved (60m), Sagna (10m) Ronaldo(102m) DDG(10m) Shearer(25m), Varane 10m, Felipe Luis 10m, Emerson 12m, Rooney 34m,Marquez 14m, Fabregas 12m = 1m

Crappy - 11 players Ronaldinho (70m), Scholes(55m), P.Montero(27m), D.Alves(32m), Peruzzi (10m), Ribery(40m), Sorin(12m), Van Persie(10m), De Rossi(22m), Helguera(11m) Naybet 10M = 1m

Aldo - 11 players Rio Ferdinand 48m, Hazard 10m, Puyol 24m, Courtois 10m, Henry 55m, Makelele 32m, Rui Costa (34M-->30M to VivaJ), Vieira 53m, [Eto'o + (6m + 4m) = (Kaka 33m sales to Edgar), Kroos 10m, Sergi 12M, Ferrer 12M = 11m

Balu - 11 players Verón (31m), Neuer (15m), Abidal (Keane (65m) - 35m), Sagnol (28m), Crespo (17m), Simeone (22m), Cannavaro (45m), Cocu (18m), Overmars (15m) C. López 10M Materazzi 14M = 55m

Not played yet:

Pol/Theon - 11 players Lucio (26m), Marcelo (21m) Cafú (52m) Rivaldo (69m), Lloris (10m) Modric (18m) Gallas (12m) Vidal (25m), Shevchenko (31) Muller (20m) Maschherano (10m) = 6m

Fergus - 11 players Ronaldo 95m, Zanetti 50m, Angel di Maria 15m, Kompany 20m, (Raul sold 30M--> 15m) Del Piero 25M, Toldo 12M, Alba 13M, Martinez 23m Gundogan 10M, Goetze 10M, Cordoba 10M = 2M

Pippa - 11 players Pires 32M + Figo 71M + Adriano 10M + Cole 34M + Baraja 10M + Silva 49M + Salgado 10M + Ayala 29M + César 10M + Albelda 10M + Eto'o 24M (sold for 16M) + Helguera 12m(sold for 11m) + Albertini 15M = 11m left

Gandalf - 13 players Casillas 19m, Vidic 43m, Adriano 19m, Cambiasso 29M, Ballack 39M, Zidane 71m, Cavani 10m, Zlatan 15m, (Neymar-10->12m), Baines 10m, Valencia 10m, Hummels 12m, Rafinha 10m, Carrick 10m = 5M left.
 
I just realised how much more money I have in comparison to everyone else :lol:.
 
Yeah, that other thing was fun, well for me it was. Feel a bit sorry for you guys (not too much though ;) ).

On a sidenote, how cool was it that Pep kinda played a WM formation. That really looked like a 3223 more often than not in the first 60minutes, right?
 
Yeah, that other thing was fun, well for me it was. Feel a bit sorry for you guys (not too much though ;) ).

On a sidenote, how cool was it that Pep kinda played a WM formation. That really looked like a 3223 more often than not in the first 60minutes, right?

It did, actually! I wasn't able to fully appreciate it at the time, as you can imagine - but it did register somewhere in my nervous, stupidly hopeful mind.

Well, if he goes on to win the bloody thing, sporting a WM - I'll drink a whole cask of Weissbier in his honour. Which I might do anyway - 'cause that Weissbier is actually very drinkable.
 
It did, actually! I wasn't able to fully appreciate it at the time, as you can imagine - but it did register somewhere in my nervous, stupidly hopeful mind.

Well, if he goes on to win the bloody thing, sporting a WM - I'll drink a whole cask of Weissbier in his honour. Which I might do anyway - 'cause that Weissbier is actually very drinkable.

I doubt we see it again, now that we have our treble winning CM duo back, but it was crazy. I was in the stadium and was quite confused. For a moment I questioned if it really was non-alcoholic beer, because it all made zero sense at first. But it was beautiful to watch, even though it wasn't really effective. I've never really thought about the roles of the halfbacks in the WM formation, but it makes a lot of sense if they act like a CM/fullback hybrid. The major flaw was that it isolated our best players, Ribery and Robben, on the wings without a fullback to overlap.
 
I doubt we see it again, now that we have our treble winning CM duo back, but it was crazy. I was in the stadium and was quite confused. For a moment I questioned if it really was non-alcoholic beer, because it all made zero sense at first. But it was beautiful to watch, even though it wasn't really effective. I've never really thought about the roles of the halfbacks in the WM formation, but it makes a lot of sense if they act like a CM/fullback hybrid. The major flaw was that it isolated our best players, Ribery and Robben, on the wings without a fullback to overlap.

I've thought about this quite a bit. And I fully believe the WM can be employed in the modern world. But - the key would be precisely the halfs...er halves - and not so much the centre half as the wing halves. What you do, essentially, is that you replace the modern fullback(s) or for that matter wingback(s) with a more complete sort of footballer - something like a defensive midfielder with offensive qualities (and pace). You need two of that ilk as your wing halves. The trouble is finding that sort of player - but in a certain P. Lahm you would have one, actually. He can play that role. As for the old fullbacks, i.e. modern centrebacks, that's no problem at all - they're already there for the taking.

Your centre half would be an allround CM - but one with a bit of bite to him, defensive capabilities and whatnot.

Then stick two mostly attacking midfielders in front of your CM - and beyond him a combination of modern tucked-in wingers flanking a striker (ideally a versatile one - dare I say that Rooney would do well in that role?) and Bob's your old-school uncle.

If pressing is your game - this could actually work. You'd need those two AMs to be disciplined and well versed in the pressing game - but that's feasible. To Pep it's a walk in the park, actually.
 
That's pretty much exactly what we did on Wednesday :lol:. Alaba is exactly the player you describe for the wing half role, he played in CM throughout his youth and still does for his nationalteam. Van Gaal turned him into a fullback. Schweinsteiger would probably add more bite to the centre half role than Kroos did, but other than him you're describing exactly our team. Ribery and Robben as the tucked-in wingers flanking Mandzukic. Götze and Müller as the mostly attacking midfielders infront of the CM and our pressing worked well enough to deny United many counterattacks.

I think the biggest problem is that the midfield becomes too crowded and against a well parked bus you need to use the wings a lot more, but that's really difficult without modern fullbacks overlapping. Götze drifted wide towards both sides, but when he did he dragged a midfielder with him, so we couldn't really use it to overload that area. Against a more attacking team, it could be brilliant though, if you manage to keep possession for large parts of the game.
 
I just realised how much more money I have in comparison to everyone else :lol:.

I said it all along, the pool depth was such you could put together a solid side to navigate the first game and save a tonne of cash to step up to a completely different level. Question now really is whether you try use it to outbid everyone on 1-2 big names or just get the one, wait for everyone to use up their cash then pick 4-5 stunning leftovers for 10M a pop :eek:
 
I said it all along, the pool depth was such you could put together a solid side to navigate the first game and save a tonne of cash to step up to a completely different level. Question now really is whether you try use it to outbid everyone on 1-2 big names or just get the one, wait for everyone to use up their cash then pick 4-5 stunning leftovers for 10M a pop :eek:
The plan is to use the money to push some of the managers into overpaying for who they want inbetween ;).
 
I said it all along, the pool depth was such you could put together a solid side to navigate the first game and save a tonne of cash to step up to a completely different level. Question now really is whether you try use it to outbid everyone on 1-2 big names or just get the one, wait for everyone to use up their cash then pick 4-5 stunning leftovers for 10M a pop :eek:
Two of the sides with 50m left went out as well. If kps had Ronaldo instead of Torres or Cafu instead of Zabaleta, I don't think he would have gone out.
It's basically a gamble of hoping to draw a weakish team.
 
That's pretty much exactly what we did on Wednesday :lol:. Alaba is exactly the player you describe for the wing half role, he played in CM throughout his youth and still does for his nationalteam. Van Gaal turned him into a fullback. Schweinsteiger would probably add more bite to the centre half role than Kroos did, but other than him you're describing exactly our team. Ribery and Robben as the tucked-in wingers flanking Mandzukic. Götze and Müller as the mostly attacking midfielders infront of the CM and our pressing worked well enough to deny United many counterattacks.

I think the biggest problem is that the midfield becomes too crowded and against a well parked bus you need to use the wings a lot more, but that's really difficult without modern fullbacks overlapping. Götze drifted wide towards both sides, but when he did he dragged a midfielder with him, so we couldn't really use it to overload that area. Against a more attacking team, it could be brilliant though, if you manage to keep possession for large parts of the game.

You do indeed have the right players, was what I had in mind when toying with Koeman in the last draft, making some mix of Dream Team Barca and Bayern. Problem was I had Cutch competing for the DT ones and you going for that Bundesliga theme so ended up neither here nor there :(

abGIPpFam3.png

+ a CB instead of either Laudrup/Poison/Romario (subject to oppo) when needing the extra CB

The only one of that lot I actually managed to get was Koeman, and we know how that went... Oh and Schweinsteiger but he wasn't as essential in the grand scheme of things. Everywhere else I was hunting for alternatives that didn't fit your themes (Bergkamp-Henry instead of Laudrup-Stoichkov, only to get Henry blocked twice!!!! :mad:). It all really started going tits up with the whole Cyclops-Lahm-Poison-Lucho debacle :angel: in the first turn. Taht was when it ebcame evident I had two teams that would get on my way :(

Eric wasn't just a sheep, it meant being a step behind throughout!
 
Last edited:
Two of the sides with 50m left went out as well. If kps had Ronaldo instead of Torres or Cafu instead of Zabaleta, I don't think he would have gone out.
It's basically a gamble of hoping to draw a weakish team.

Balu didn't need a weakish team. He lacked the big name vote winner, true, but a side like his you would expect to beat more than half the teams in a first round as there's always about 1/3 of the teams that have compeltely ballsed up somewhere.

Good odds.
 
Two of the sides with 50m left went out as well. If kps had Ronaldo instead of Torres or Cafu instead of Zabaleta, I don't think he would have gone out.
It's basically a gamble of hoping to draw a weakish team.
I wouldn't call kps' or my team weakish. Could have seen both of us go through against several other teams that spent significantly more. In my case, it wasn't really a gamble anyway. I expected that I had to pay more for the players I wanted, I missed out on a few targets in the beginning when I hadn't decided where to go with my team yet, which lead to cheaper attacking players in the end. The only decision to save money was Cocu instead of Schweinsteiger. I'm not sure if Schweini really is as big a vote winner as he deserves to be in my opinion, so I opted for the cheap solution.
 
Balu didn't need a weakish team. He lacked the big name vote winner, true, but a side like his you would expect to beat more than half the teams in a first round as there's always about 1/3 of the teams that have compeltely ballsed up somewhere.

Good odds.

No both of them drew strong teams and could have gone out as a result. My point was simple- kps drew with Balu with that set of players. Improve on a weak link with 50m to get a standout player and he goes through, no question.

Same for Balu.. replace one of the wingers with Nedved or Ribery and he would have had it much easier.
 
That's pretty much exactly what we did on Wednesday :lol:. Alaba is exactly the player you describe for the wing half role, he played in CM throughout his youth and still does for his nationalteam. Van Gaal turned him into a fullback. Schweinsteiger would probably add more bite to the centre half role than Kroos did, but other than him you're describing exactly our team. Ribery and Robben as the tucked-in wingers flanking Mandzukic. Götze and Müller as the mostly attacking midfielders infront of the CM and our pressing worked well enough to deny United many counterattacks.

I think the biggest problem is that the midfield becomes too crowded and against a well parked bus you need to use the wings a lot more, but that's really difficult without modern fullbacks overlapping. Götze drifted wide towards both sides, but when he did he dragged a midfielder with him, so we couldn't really use it to overload that area. Against a more attacking team, it could be brilliant though, if you manage to keep possession for large parts of the game.

Hehe - see? It ain't that far off! Alaba...yes...perhaps. I don't quite trust him as a world class wing half...whatever that is. Lahm would be one, though. Easily a world class wing half (whatever that is in 2014 - Duncan Edwards was one in 1957, we know that much).

Now, replace Mandzukic (whom I like, by the way - nothing against the man) with...Lewandowski? Sounds plausible. And you'd be even closer.

And, yes - you're right. Against a fully parked bus this formation - under Pep's guidance - would struggle. But then Pep does struggle against a fully parked bus. If you leave ME in charge of that team, however...I'd burn that bus down. I would need something Pep doesn't have at Bayern per now, though - something truly diabolical. A devil of a player who can just transcend the system and dismantle the bus on his own. I don't know who that would be, though. Messi? Possibly. He was a bit boring for all his brilliance under Pep, though - he would need a manager that would let his inner devil flow freely. Er, that is, when facing a parked bus.
 
I wouldn't call kps' or my team weakish. Could have seen both of us go through against several other teams that spent significantly more. In my case, it wasn't really a gamble anyway. I expected that I had to pay more for the players I wanted, I missed out on a few targets in the beginning when I hadn't decided where to go with my team yet, which lead to cheaper attacking players in the end. The only decision to save money was Cocu instead of Schweinsteiger. I'm not sure if Schweini really is as big a vote winner as he deserves to be in my opinion, so I opted for the cheap solution.

See what I wrote above. In someone sense you were both lucky and unlucky to draw each other.
 
The first lot of my player profiles for Fergus' team.

Francesco Toldo:
One of the finest goalkeepers of his generation, Toldo won 28 caps for Italy in an era of intense competition from greats such as Pagliuca, Peruzzi and Buffon. He cemented his status as one of the very finest in the world by replacing an injured Buffon in Euro 2000 and marshalling Italy's defence all the way to the final, performing heroics in the semi-final against the Netherlands as Italy won a penalty shoot out. I'm not ruling out the possibility of him scoring the winner here either :D

Javier Zanetti: A legendary footballer. One of the Holy Trinity in an incredible era of right backs, along with Thuram and Cafu, and the most versatile and well-rounded of the lot. Zanetti could play on either flank or in central midfield to a world class level. A born leader, he is the all-time record appearance holder for both Inter and Argentina. A superb athlete, wonderful both on and off the ball, and tactically brilliant.

Jordi Alba: Blessed with searing pace and an incredible engine, Alba has added a new dimension to the left wings of both Barca and Spain with an attacking prowess that puts most wingers to shame. His speed allows him to overload his flank offensively whilst having the recovery pace to get back to defend too.

Vincent Kompany: Even on a Manchester United forum, he is recognised as one of the world's very best defenders. Gifted with speed, strength, bravery and defensive nous, Kompany marshalled a miserly City defence to the league title in 2012. His leadership and ability allowed him to forge a miserly defensive unit, even playing alongside decidedly average partners such as Lescott and Richards.

Ivan Cordoba: One of the fastest centre backs around at his peak, he was also uncannily great in the air for a smaller man. A dogged man marker with great athleticism, he'll be a great foil for Kompany and will enjoy being re-united with his club captain Zanetti.

Javi Martinez: Still only 25 years old, Martinez has already established himself as one of the most dominant defensive midfielders in the game. a capable centre back as well as a great midfielder, he has superlative tactical awareness and positioning, as well as being strong in the tackle and classy on the ball. Proved his mettle on the highest stage by playing a pivotal role in dismantling Barca's tiki-taka game in the CL semi-final last year.

Ilkay Gundogan: Another young midfielder who has already proven himself as a high-level performer on the big stage, Gundogan was key to Dortmund's 2012 league win and their run to the CL final last year. A talented playmaker, he has demonstrated a superb range of passing, fine dribbling ability, and an understated toughness. A superlative talent who will complement Martinez perfectly.

Angel Di Maria: Perennially underrated, Di Maria is perhaps finally earning the reputation that his performances and ability deserve. Proved his mettle as a winger by leaving Utd's defenders with twisted blood last season. I'll be using him in the central midfield role that he has excelled in for both Real and Argentina, keeping the highly-touted Isco out of the Madrid team in the process. Hard-working with boundless stamina, he is an astute passer and a brilliant ball-carrier. He'll link the midfield and the attack seamlessly here, and is a proven goal threat and a prolific provider of assists.

Mario Gotze: Arguably the brightest star in a spectacular generation of German youngsters, Gotze will be in his element here. Nominally playing as an inside-right but with freedom to roam, he'll be linking up with familiar figures in Martinez and Gundogan, and will form a devastatingly fluid partnership with Del Piero behind Ronaldo. Versatile, tactically astute, skillful and a great passer with an eye for goal. In short - one of the most well-rounded attacking players around.
 
Alessandro Del Piero: A genius. One of the defining players of his generation, and a worthy heir to Roberto Baggio as Juventus' and Italy's talismanic No. 10. Blessed with an other-worldly level of technique and imagination, he was one of the most creative players in the game for over a decade. He is also one of the most prolific set-piece specialists the game has ever seen, scoring no less than 62 penalties and 49 free kicks in his illustrious career.

Ronaldo: Nothing much remains to be said about this legend of the game. One of the greatest goalscorers and finest footballers of all-time. Only Leo Messi stands with him as the very best forward in this draft.
 
Why would you want to back out?
I don't have a problem in continuing per say but I'd rather not stand in the way of someone who's a lot more up for it than me and more motivated. I offered rpitroda to take my place as well but he didn't respond. I honestly believed he deserved to go forward in our game. I now you seemed quite excited to get another shot at it so I really have no issues at all if you want to take it.
 
Thanks Cutch! Already feeling utterly out of my depth, but I've PMed my 'tactics' to Pol. I'm good to kick off whenever. We could take it old school and do a midnight kick off, WC 1994 style!

:wenger:

The element of surprise clearly isn't worth shit in these drafts, is it? ;)
 
I don't have a problem in continuing per say but I'd rather not stand in the way of someone who's a lot more up for it than me and more motivated. I offered rpitroda to take my place as well but he didn't respond. I honestly believed he deserved to go forward in our game. I now you seemed quite excited to get another shot at it so I really have no issues at all if you want to take it.
Nah man thanks go ahead you earned your spot in the final. Appreciate it but I'm not as eagred as it might look, I just feel it's a shame building what I see as a brilliant side not fought for in the first round :lol:
Anyway go ahead mate
 
:wenger:

The element of surprise clearly isn't worth shit in these drafts, is it? ;)

I just wasn't arsed in the slightest...I'd already said I was swiping your graphic, and my tactics section isn't Rinus Michels level shit either! Even leaving integrity aside, I can't imagine Pol/Theon having to revise too much on the strength of my write up.
 
I just wasn't arsed in the slightest...I'd already said I was swiping your graphic, and my tactics section isn't Rinus Michels level shit either! Even leaving integrity aside, I can't imagine Pol/Theon having to revise too much on the strength of my write up.

Was kidding mate, thus the winkie.

I actually think there won't be much need for discussing formations and their merits as they too would be best served playing the exact same setup. It's actually uncanny how similar it all is bar a couple of caveats around CM.
 
Javier Zanetti: A legendary footballer. One of the Holy Trinity in an incredible era of right backs, along with Thuram and Cafu, and the most versatile and well-rounded of the lot. Zanetti could play on either flank or in central midfield to a world class level. A born leader, he is the all-time record appearance holder for both Inter and Argentina. A superb athlete, wonderful both on and off the ball, and tactically brilliant.

We have a history in drafts, but I'm loving him even more these days if that is even possible. I mentioned when looking at some of the sides knocking about I would dust off a CM, didn't I? Well, I got hold of CM Italia 1996 and been playing that for a couple of weeks now. Took a while to adjust to Zidane actually being pretty average, and I only discovered di Livio's stats were dogshit after losing most games for two months on the trot. Trying modern formations didn't help either, 4-2-3-1 gets shafted against the most basic 4-4-2 :lol:

Once I wrapped my head around going back to a time when Verón was deemed a striker, Hierro an attacking midfielder and Petit a left back, I restarted with a Milan game and been walking the league. Zanetti is just ripping teams apart down his flank, he just completely dominates it home and away, whichever the opponent.

And Maldini... Jesus fecking Christ... I decided to replay the CL Final because Weah had failed to score the goal that would make him top scorer (completely forgot there were no fancy awards and Best XIs then), which led to the bore of replaying Newcastle :lol: twenty times for the useless bag of shite to deliver, all the while watching Maldini score in 14 of them, including a hat-trick, and twice successfully retaking a sudden death peno in another only to see Baggio sky it. Again.

------Baggio---Weah--Savicevic
----------Davids----Albertini
R.Carlos----------------------Zanetti
------Maldini--Sammer--Desailly
--------------Pagliuca

And the fees... :drool: Sammer 3.8M, Carlos 2.3M set by a tribunal and Zanetti+Pagliuca for 2K (after fake managing Inter out of him, Pagliuca, and all of Moratti's money :angel:). Remember those days? :drool:
 
Was kidding mate, thus the winkie.

I actually think there won't be much need for discussing formations and their merits as they too would be best served playing the exact same setup. It's actually uncanny how similar it all is bar a couple of caveats around CM.

I know man, I wasn't annoyed in any way! When I was looking at the teams I was struck by the ridiculous symmetry too - the full back set up is just weird.
 
Oh, I got Gandalf's team? :confused:

Never realized that and match for today! Will have to trawl back for gandalf's strategy and drum something up.

Aw feck man I thought you were definitely taking Gandalf's team after last night's posts - I've only just realised that you hadn't responded.