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An American in Scotland...

A young man's journey as a football manager
Started on 5 June 2013 by Barrak
Latest Reply on 10 June 2013 by Barrak
  • POSTS49
  • VIEWS16169
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John "Basher" Barrak reached for the driver, then put it back. 3 wood.

There were four of them on the course. Wynda's Grampa (he shot his age last week!!!), John, Wynda's dad Arthur, and the owner of the East Stirlingshire FC, also named John.

If John would have thought it through, he should have realized that in a small town, it was completely likely that his boss, and Wynda's family would have known each other. Indeed...Grampa Arthur (Senior) and John had known each other for a very long time.

It was natural for the two John's and the two Arthur's to play as pairs. After exceedingly painstaking negotiations, it was determined that the Arthurs would get two strokes a side.

The coach had played the course perhaps a dozen times, and was reasonably comfortable with his knowledge and course management, but the locals had the knowledge of a lifetime.

The problem with the courses in this area, John thought, is that they are so NARROW! They were also much rougher and less manicured than the courses John was used to playing in the States. They placed a premium on shotmaking, and not just "gripping and ripping!" This will be fun!
"Nice left hand." It was a well-deserved compliment to the Coach, as he and his team reset back to a defensive position. John was the "1" guard, or point guard, on their little church basketball team.

They were small, but fit, and demonstrated some skill. It was natural for the American to be playing basketball in the church league. He grew up playing basketball, and to be truthful, enjoyed basketball more than football.

Here, in the 12th game of the season, John was 27 for 60 from three-point land. 45%! Not bad. He grinned. When he got the ball, it was usually a basket, or a rebound for the other team.

Initially, he wanted to play the role as playmaker, but his teammates were poor shots, by their own admission, and were constantly exhorting him to "air it out." John was averaging 13 points a game...not bad for games that were exactly half the length of an NBA game.

(Editors note: These were EXACTLY my personal statistics, for the last year I played organized basketball..as a 38 year old :) )
Please keep it going. This is a nice change of pace from the normal story just listing results.

And a football comment. The conventional wisdom in football is not to rotate the keeper on a match to match basis. A defense will perform better if they get to know the tendencies of their keeper and they will not do that with the constant switching.
(If it’s actually coded that way in the game I am not sure).
I normally have my #1 keeper start all league games and give the backup the chance in minor cup-tournaments.

PS Also enjoy the baseball story. Bubba just got to the big league
1
love the story
as for the game. Better not change a winning tactic they say, but if you wanne change do it in pre season. They are a couple of good tactics here on this site and on others you can try out.
None of them are unbeatable but some are close to it. Myself i use a tactic i found on an other site but that looks roughly the same as the barca tiki taka on this site. (see the fmscout family page for my reply on this matter).
Another important thing is too upgrade your youth and training facilities as soon as possible.
This way you can save money on transfers.
Also having a good backroom staff and scouts is very important
i do not think that at your level appointing a director of football is important but if you reach the highest level sometimes it can be handy.
coaches and scouts are pretty important to safe money on transfers.
1
2013-06-07 07:25#109588 Caelis : love the story
as for the game. Better not change a winning tactic they say, but if you wanne change do it in pre season. They are a couple of good tactics here on this site and on others you can try out.
None of them are unbeatable but some are close to it. Myself i use a tactic i found on an other site but that looks roughly the same as the barca tiki taka on this site. (see the fmscout family page for my reply on this matter).
Another important thing is too upgrade your youth and training facilities as soon as possible.
This way you can save money on transfers.
Also having a good backroom staff and scouts is very important
i do not think that at your level appointing a director of football is important but if you reach the highest level sometimes it can be handy.
coaches and scouts are pretty important to safe money on transfers.

Thanks for the advice. I'm still trying to work out a standard process for my posts, including a format that I am comfortable with. Fundamentally, this is a story ... using the engine of Football Manager as the vehicle. There will be highs, and lows, as there would be for any story.

As Scottish Division 3, is there ever an opportunity to convince the bosses to upgrade the facilities?? I have considered firing my AssMan (love the name!), and hiring an assistant strictly for young player development. Does young include 22 year olds, or only those under 18?
Next question. I am paying 160 pounds a week for my Director of Football. I just cannot see the value he brings to the team. Is this all in the background, or is there a real benefit? Next question..does this count against my wage bill? Thanks in advance.
OK... fitness question. What is more important, match fitness, or general fitness? What is the relationship between the two? Is 90 general 60 match better than 80 general 70 match? What is the weighting between the two? Does general fitness determine how fast match fitness returns, as I suspect? What is the critical factor for match fitness, and at what match fitness level should I NOT place a player on the substitute list?

Thanks in advance. Great game..but lots of moving parts here.
23 June 2014

The Coach look over his squad. Most of the players had been with him for his, what, third year? Yes.

"Men, this is the year we get it done. THIS is the year that The Shire will make the climb to the Promised Land. You are THIS CLOSE --and here the Coach held his fingers an inch apart-- To Division 2 pussy!" :-X
Editors Note: OK, OK, sorry for the profanity! This is taken from a direct quote from a former US baseball minor league manager. VERY famous quote, and served him well as a motivating tool.

Season 2012-2013 results:

4th place, 56 points, +11 goal differential.

Personnel (starters and selected others, only)
Goalkeepers -
Grant Hay, 2.0 / 4.0
Neil Duffy, 1.5 / 4.0

Defenders -
Scott Maxwell D(L) - 3.0 / 3.0 .... 36 matches, 2 goals, 6.98
Andrew Skinner D (RC) - 1.0 / 4.5 ... new acquisition
Ross Philp D (RL) - 3.5 / 4.0 ... new acquisition
Rhys Devlin D (R) M (C) - 4.0 / 4.5 .... 39 matches, 1 goal, 6.92
Nathan Sheperd D (L) - 1.5 / 3.5 .... 12 matches, 1 goal, 6.56
Steven Jackson D (RC) MC - 3.5 / 4.0 .... 44 matches 4 goals, 7.02
Peter Bradley D (LC) 2.0 / 4.0 ....43 matches, 5 goals, 6.92

As you can see, the addition of Philp will help a lot. I have been using Jackson as one of my DC's, but I am very thin on defensemen.

Midfielders next.
Midfielders:

David Greenhill M (RC) 2.5 / 2.5 .... 38 matches, 7 goals, 7.06
Jamie Doris M (C) 4.5 / 4.5 .... 22 matches, 4 goals, 7.13 ...fairly new signing. GREAT pickup.
Jack Steele M (C) 4.5 / 4.5 .... 42 matches, 3 goals, 7.09 ...two terrific midfielders
Andy Stirling M/AM (C) 4.0 / 4.0 .... 13 matches, 1 goal, 6.79
Gordon Dick M/AM (C) 3.5 / 4.0 .... 28 matches, 5 goals, 7.02
Bob Campbell M/AM (L) 3.5 / 3.5 .... 40 matches, 10 goals, 7.07

I am fairly happy with my midfielders...they don't dominate, but here in Division 3, they are a pretty respectable lot. I think.

If you want to give me some advice on my squad, or things to look at, or if you want additional information, let me know, please.
Strikers:

Shaun Fraser 3.5 / 3.5 .... 38 matches, 24 goals, 7.34 LOOK AT ALL THE FREAKING GOALS!!!!
Kevin Turner 4.0 / 4.0 .... 18 matches, 13 goals, 7.25
Max Wright 3.5 / 3.5 .... 7 matches, 4 goals, 7.08
Ryan Smillie 3.0 / 4.0 .... 20 matches, 5 goals, 6.92

I just now looked at the goals..it is apparent to me that I need to play Kevin Turner more. Pretty substantial goals, for the number of matches. His goals per match (is that a stat?) is higher than Fraser's.

OK..another question. I have been working these four as a rotation. Keeps them fresh, and to be honest, I am letting the AssMan select the squad for the games, and I handle who I want for the substitutes. I am just now looking carefully at match fitness..and I am just not sure how crucial this metric is. Thoughts?
Head Coach John J. Barrak:

Games played: 84
Games won: 26
Draws: 17
Losses: 41

Please note that this last year was 16-10-10, for 58 points. Doing the math, this meant that my first year was ... wait for it ... 10-7-31, for 37 points.

Goals scored - 146
Goals against - 182

For this last year, it was GF - 76, GA - 65.

This meant that for the first season, it was: GF - 70, GA - 117. My strikers have actually been good all along. Goals scored are decent, but the defense is not.

It will be nice when my winning percentage is above 30%, but my winning/drawn percentage combined is above 50%. More than half the time I don't lose!!! Woot! Is that a stat?
23 June 2014

"Lads, I've gone and done it." Coach Barrak hung his head, and looked down at his feet. The players looked at him, concerned. Whatever was the matter???

"I had a talk with Tony Ford, and told Mr. Ford that it is my expectation that we will contend for the top of the table this year."

A little trill of excitement went through the players! Top of the table? Really? He told the OWNER this!!! Crikey! (editor's note: do they still say crikey?)

John smiled, and looked fondly at his players..."He'll have my guts for guitar strings if we don't follow through, so don't let me down, lads! Also, I have requested an upgrade to our training facilities. We've turned a nice profit these last two years, and I would like to see a bit of carpet on the floors for a change. It's like a prison in there!"
OK...friendlies.

How many is too few, how many is too many, and how many is juuuuust right?

Also..the first two years, I concentrated on fitness for my training. This is in Classic. I don't know enough to evaluate the team, or players individually, to determine a more appropriate training regimen.

How do I know when, and how, to change the training? It all seems rather transparent, and haphazard to me, to be honest. If I train exclusively on teamwork and cohesion, will this indirectly affect all areas of play, and would this be superior to specifically training attacking/defending individually?

What I don't know about the "under the hood" mechanics of the game is enormous.
26 June 2014

"No, no, no! You've got it all backward! COLD air aloft is what you need!" The Coach grabbed a sheet of paper, and drew the classic chimney-damper effect of the atmosphere. Convergence at surface, and divergence aloft allow for the air to rise. As air rises, it cools, and condenses into cloud --and precipitation--, if there is sufficient moisture."

Barrak paused, to gather his thoughts..."If the air aloft, say, more than 2 thousand metres above the surface, is cold, then the air rising up into it is comparatively warmer. If the ascending parcel of air REMAINS warmer than the surrounding air, it is seen to be positively bouyant, and will continue to ascend."

The players around the table were a little slow to take this all in, but they were trying!

"This is what atmospheric stability is all about..comparing the ascending air parcel to the projected temperatures of the air aloft. If the air aloft is warmer than the rising air, the cooler, denser air will settle back down. This is why you just do not see thunderstorms in January. The air at surface is just too cold."

The players nodded. Yes...thunderstorms in January were quite rare!

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