件名: II.1

Is there a like button on PPM?

Next season won't be easy. Ok, I have an good opportunity to move up but there are several competitive teams. I'm worried when i play against many of you. Remember that i lost against coconut typhoon and this loss probably cost me the promotion round.

Bad losses happen. I personally tied all of the top 4 teams in the second half of the season but lost to the Zucciny Warriors (once during the season and once during an exhibition) using my regulars. I guess that there is just a significant random factor on PPM.

Awful way to start the season. I suppose that I did play on very low with two suspensions and an injury to starters. Despite all of that, my team looks promising this year. All I need is an elite CM, which I should pick up around the halfway point.

I was bored and have today off, so I came up with the following statistics and speculations (keep in mind that the Cosmos might be able to compete for the top of the league if they choose to play their best players rather than what seems to be an automated lineup):

Best Overall Rating:
1) STL Saints
2) Smart People
3) Firestorm (after integrating injured and suspended players)
4) MK Ultras (after finishing camp)
5) Samurai (after getting back suspended players)

Best Offensive Pairs (based on ratings and scouting):
1) STL Saints (York and Rowan)
2) Firestorm (Mojsky and Jonak)
3) Smart People (Blocker and Weeks)
4) Samurai (Potter and Magee)
5) MK Ultras (Acevedo and Benedict)

Best Starting Goalies (based on ratings, scouting, and balanced ratios used):
1) Stopka (STL Saints)
2) Espinosa (Smart People)
3) Wilson (MK Ultras)
4) Holatko (Firestorm)
5) Martin (Coconut Typhoon)

Best Combined Training Facilities (considers eventual combined size of training and regeneration):
1) STL Saints
2) Samurai
3) Smart People
4) Firestorm
5) Cosmos

Best HR (considers eventual size):
1) Firestorm
2) STL Saints
3) Smart People
4) Samurai
5) The Death Munchers

Best Stadium (considers eventual size and eventual number of multipurpose stands):
1) Sterling Cheetahs
2) MK Ultras
3) Coconut Typhoon
4) STL Saints
5) Covington Rowdies

Expected Rankings (assuming that the Cosmos continue to play with the same team; considers overall rating, strong sub-ratings, and quality of combined training facilities):
1) STL Saints
2) Smart People
3) Firestorm
4) Samurai
5) MK Ultras
6) Sterling Cheetahs
7) Coconut Typhoon
8) Covington Rowdies
9) The Death Munchers
10) Cosmos
11) Water Pumps
12) Silly Nannies
13) Jogos
14) Zucciny Warriors
15) FC Bozewak
16) Boca AC
17) Kecs
18) Zemljoradnik
19) Slavoj Simonka
20) Buckeyes t
21) Safado FC t
22) Wyckoff Torpedoes t

Daymn. I wish I had never read this post. That's lots of pressure now if I don't come in the top 2. I was hoping for a top 5 again and actually save energy this season to try and win the League Cup. Now things change. Already dropped 2 points with a 0-0 tie playing on Very Low. Again, I wish I had never read this post. LOL

Great work. Appreciate the analysis.

Ouch. I'll have to upgrade training facilities to compete.

This was well done and I hope the Typhoon finish anywhere near your projection. But my teams biggest problems right now are my left defensemen who's longevity just became 3/6 so his growth has stagnated some, and my offense has a major problem in the scoring department. Unless I get buy a decent striker I would say put Death Munchers where I am, push Cosmos to 9th, Pumps to 10th and put Typhoon at 11th. But, who knows I might find that much needed striker on the market.

Speaking of that, all but two of my starters' CL dropped this season. Still, I like my chances for a top 8 finish.

Also, that's a very nice analysis, Caps. It's good to see the places I need to improve in (almost everywhere).

I actually have all of the notable offensive players in the league from last year scouted. Motlik and Rehak could stand to improve their technique a bit, less so if they don't play in the center. You've also reached a sufficient threshold for shooting and probably don't need to maintain that ratio. Since they may not have much longer at 4/6, you're running out of time to perfect the ratios; look to a I.1 team for a reference.

As for buying a striker, they tend to be especially expensive. Younger offensive players with a few bad qualities or bad CL and relatively high OR for their age have cost me about $5 million on average. I still haven't been able to pick up a quality striker of the future. A decent striker like Jonak cost me around $10 million (he is at a rating 18) - I might have been lucky with that price, though he is getting old. A striker that can be arouind the top 5-10 in a league of this level might cost at least $20 million. With that said, once I picked up Mojsky for about $25 million in my first season, I started winning nearly twice as many games and selling out all of them.

I purposely trained all three of my forwards into center forwards. I'm not sure how I plan on training them from now on, I might sell all three off and attempt to find younger replacements. The plan was to sell one or two off and then pick up striker, but that requires money and I just spent around 90 mil on stadium and facilities alone.

Now a loan could be taken out and I could search for the universal side striker that I need, but I think I should wait till mid season to buy any players. Player prices always seem to be a little inflated at the beginning and end of the seasons. I'm just going to hope the Typhoon can survive a slow start to the season. I know energy in hockey late in the season plays a pivotal role. I just hope it will do the same in soccer, but as we all know the random factor can be very... sporadic.

Finding that perfect striker to fit my teams needs is the challenge I face this season. As you've said strikers don't come cheap, and I'm searching for a striker that's universal and a side forward. Money shouldn't be a problem yet at the same time I will also be trying to maximize the potential use of my funds. My Training and HR need improvements and I could use a few stadium tweaks.

The seasons just beginning and I'm already mapping out my expenditures.

It seems I got the strikers and wingers mixed up; and the ratios do actually seem to be within range upon further review.

I basically need to do the opposite this season and put everything into building up my stadium.

Saving energy seems to play an important role in soccer as well. In fact, the Samurai seem to make an annual habit out of saving a lot of energy and end up making an impressive run up the standings during the second half.

Right now I have three mediocre strikers, and no side forwards at all. I have a very linear offense that's just not producing. I see the Typhoon severely needing a good striker and a universal side forward who can fit in multiple setups I wish I could use. But this will not happen till mid season. Going to play the waiting game. lol

Stadium build up has become a start of season thing for me. Easier to plan it for the start rather than set it up near the end. I can better predict my funds and allocate them easily.

Yeah, I noticed Samurai's move last season. I guess I used to much energy early in the season. I can only hope I find the right point to begin the counter. If I wait to long it will not help in the slightest.

That was my problem. I finished the season with a lot of energy left over that could have been used to improved my final positioning. Oh well, it was a good learning experience.