Welcome

So thanks to (another) forum fight, this time something to do with a bed and some colours on a rectangle, we’ve lost damo as HRA. I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank him for all the work that he has put in since March of last year, without him most of the zones since that time would simply have not been possible. I’m sure that those of you who possess even an atom inside of your body that cares about our community are grateful for all the effort damo has given to keep this thing alive.

 

I’m not sure exactly what the future holds for the zone, but for today at least we have a release. So for now, enjoy the latest edition of the Aussie zone.

 

/dag

The A-League Team of the Season 50

The A-League Team of the Season

Written by scruttino

These places have been awarded through the points accumulated via the Rowden Medal. It is not a list of the most efficient players in their respective skills, but rather a reflection of standout games in which wing play has distorted the stats of defenders. Who depending on which wing is being used can amass huge stats in one game, gaining them a best on ground performance and disappear in the next. Basically they take a battering and if you have a defender averaging more than 60% in successful tackles for the entire season, this player is a domestic superstar.

The midfielders all come from teams that run short passing tactics and likewise have more of the ball run through them as the lynchpin of success and failure. Strikers interestingly don’t have any better shots to goals ratio with either a wing or short passing tactic. Just that wing play generates more shots given that defenders never challenge for the ball in the air, even with a 10 in heading, so over the full season it averages out to more goals.

Among the keepers Nick Hanlen made almost twice the total amount of saves than Elliot Cuddihy, but proportionally Cuddihy let in half the goals, in proportion to the number of saves he made, which probably says more about the defence he has in front of him than a vastly greater skill set.

Standard MZ Wing Formation

———————Murdock Rizzardo                                             Orvar Lange

————————————————Oscar Dahlqvist

————————————–Mateo Arraya

——————–Neale Christini                       Radowitt Frodyma

Carson Hollis                                                                                                 Matias Veiga

——————–Fedai Ozaslan                         Matthews Stevens

————————————–Elliot Cuddihy

The Bench

Keeper – Nick Hanlen
Defender – Ahmet Cargi Erandac
Midfielder – Ibrahim Onsal
Striker – Kazimierz Cisek
Utility – Lewis Benton

First XI
Keeper
Age 34 – Elliot Cuddihy – Arrested Developers– games played 22
Clean sheets – 17
Goals conceded – 7
Saves – 125 – 5.7 per game
Passing – 127 – 79 – 62%
First place in the Cuddly Sheet

Central Defender
Age 31 – Fedai Ozaslan – Otago United – games played 22
Shots – 3 – Shots on goal – 2 – 67%
Goals – 0
Passing – 195 – 104 – 53%
Tackles – 211 – 130 – 62%
Interceptions – 236 – 10.73 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 19
Joint Otago United Club Champion

Central Defender
Age 34 – Matthews Stevens – Cheltenham – games played 22
Shots – 0
Goals – 0
Passing – 199 – 114 – 57%
Tackles – 221 – 113 – 51%
Interceptions – 222 – 10.1 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 17
Cheltenham Club Champion

Left Back
Age 34 – Carson Hollis – Hasselhoff Babes – games played 22
Shots – 0 – Shots on goal – 0
Goals – 0
Passing – 249 – 179 – 72%
Tackles – 204 – 104 – 51%
Interceptions – 187 – 8.5 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 19
Hasseehoff Babes Club Champion

Right Back
Age 33 – Matias Veiga – Warringah Navigators – games played 22
Shots – 0 – Shots on goal – 0
Goals – 0
Passing – 242 – 131 – 54%
Tackles – 215 – 122 – 57%
Interceptions – 229 – 10.41 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 17
Warringah Navigators Club Champion

Defensive Midfield Left
Age 36 – Neale Christini – Glasston – games played 22
Shots – 21 – Shots on goal – 20 – 95%
Goals – 0
Passing – 354 – 255 – 74%
Tackles – 175 – 91 – 52%
Interceptions – 99 – 4.5 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 24
Glasston Club Champion

Defensive Midfielder Right
Age 28 – Radowitt Frodyma – Hasselhoff Babes – games played 22
Shots – 16 – Shots on goal – 13 – 81%
Goals – 0
Passing – 401 – 256 – 64%
Tackles – 183 – 102 – 56%
Interceptions – 117 – 5.32 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 15

Attacking Midfield Centre
Age 26 – Mateo Arraya – Otago United– games played 18
Shots – 4 – Shots on goal – 3 – 75%
Goals – 2 (shots to goals ratio 50%)
Passing – 302 – 235 – 78%
Tackles – 116 – 57 – 49%
Interceptions – 80 – 4.44 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 19
Joint Otago United Club Champion

Winger
Age 32 – Orvar Lange – Arrested Developers – games played 22
Shots – 2 – Shots on goal – 2 – 100%
Goals – 1 (shots to goals ratio 50%)
Passing – 593 – 452 – 76%
Tackles – 26 – 14 – 64%
Interceptions – 3 – 0.27 per game
Rowden Medal Runner Up – Points – 25

Supporting Striker
Age 33 – Oscar Dahlqvist – Hasselhoff Babes – games played 22
Shots – 211 – Shots on goal – 178 – 84%
Goals – 29 (shots to goals ratio 14%)
Passing – 190 – 124 – 65%
Tackles – 71 – 31 – 44%
Interceptions – 26 – 1.2 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 17

Main Striker
Age 34 – Murdock Rizzardo – Arrested Developers – games played 22
Shots – 416 – Shots on goal – 315 – 76%
Goals – 52 (shots to goals ratio 12.5%)
Passing – 90 – 64 – 71%
Tackles – 30 – 21 – 70%
Interceptions – 25 – 1.14 per game
Rowden Medal Winner – Points – 36
Cuddly Sheet Winner
Arrested Developers Club Champion

The Bench

Keeper
Age 35 – Nick Hanlen – Numenoreans FC – games played 22
Clean sheets – 6
Goals conceded – 30
Saves – 234 – 10.63 per game
Passing – 268 – 155 – 58%
Second in the Cuddly Sheet
Rowden Medal Points – 3

Defender
Age 36 – Ahmet Cagri Erandac – Hasselhoff Babes – games played 22
Shots – 1 – Shots on goal – 1 – 100%
Goals – 0
Passing – 156 – 85 – 54%
Tackles – 137 – 74 – 54%
Interceptions – 133 – 6.05 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 17

Midfielder
Age 31 – Ibrahim Onsal – Arrested Developers – games played 13
Shots – 9 – Shots on goal – 5 – 55%
Goals – 1
Passing – 220 – 162 – 74%
Tackles – 90 – 50 – 55%
Interceptions – 56 – 4.31 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 14
(Amazingly got benched halfway through the season, yet had enough points in the bank to make the bench, which is kind of ironic)

Striker
Age 33 – Kazimierz Cisek – Glasston – games played 22
Shots – 257 – Shots on goal – 201 – 78%
Goals – 32 (shots to goals ratio 12.45%)
Passing – 137 – 106 – 77%
Tackles – 38 – 13 – 34%
Interceptions – 14 – 0.14 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 14

Utility
Age 24 – Lewis Benton – Jokers – games played 21
Shots – None
Goals – None
Passing – 155 – 119 – 77%
Tackles – 165 – 86 – 52%
Interceptions – 204 – 9.7 per game
Rowden Medal Points – 15
Jokers Club Champion

The Playoffs and the New Season

The Playoffs

Written by scruttino

Group 1.1
Almighty Scallywags       div1.1             3 2 0 1    12  3      9     6

The Smoking Tree             div1.3             3 2 0 1    8     7      1     6

Brisbane Roar                     div1.2             3 1 1 1    3     9     -6     4

Warringah Navigators   A-League    3 0 1 2    2      6    -4     1

Warringah Na… – Almighty Sca…        03-07-2014 09:00 0-3
Brisbane Roar – The Smoking …          03-07-2014 09:00 3-2
Warringah Na… – Brisbane Roar        05-07-2014 12:00 0-0
Almighty Sca… – The Smoking …          05-07-2014 12:00 2-3
The Smoking … – Warringah Na…       07-07-2014 09:00 3-2
Brisbane Roar – Almighty Sca…           07-07-2014 09:00 0-7

Almighty Scallywags succeed in finally climbing into the A-League via the backdoor of the playoffs. Can the national team front man Boyde Minne keep them there, we’ll have to wait and see. Most surprisingly Warringah Navigators finish last, perhaps Nav has begun the rebuild early, The Smoking Tree aren’t far off, but it may be a few seasons yet before they return to the top flight. While Brisbane Roar have achieved their best ever finish to a season yet.

Group 1.2
Hawthorn FC              div1.1            3 2 1 0    11 5    6        7

Jokers                              A-League    3 2 0 1    13 4    9        6

Myrtou FC                    div1.3            3 1 1 1    9 11    -2      4

Kangaroos                    div1.2            3 0 0 3    3 16    -13   0

Jokers – Hawthorn FC                     03-07-2014 09:00 1-3
Kangaroos – Myrtou FC                 03-07-2014 09:00 2-5
Jokers – Kangaroos                           05-07-2014 12:00 6-0
Hawthorn FC – Myrtou FC          05-07-2014 12:00 3-3
Myrtou FC – Jokers                          07-07-2014 09:00 1-6
Kangaroos – Hawthorn FC          07-07-2014 09:00 1-5

The win by Hawthorn FC over the Jokers in a very even contest, then their subsequent draw with Myrtou FC became the defining moments of the group securing them promotion. As while dominating their following matches and achieving a better goal difference, the Joker could not make up the points difference. Kangaroos never had a hope it seems.

The New Season

Those who remain – Dribblers FC, Glasston, Numenoreans FC, Hasselhoff Babes, Cheltenham, Otago United, Arrested Developers

Those promoted – Blazing Star, City Water Motel, Bondi Icebergs, Almighty Scallywags, Hawthorn FC

The new season will be an unknown for the first time since Woodbury and now Arrested Developers have sold up and started to rebuild. Hasselhoff Babes may also join them but that is yet to be decided by Damo. Favouritism would have to fall upon the stand alone runner up of the last two seasons Dribblers FC, but the new teams will definitely stir up the pot. The wooden spoon is most likely going to be won by Toss or Damo if he sells up. But if you thought the mid table was tough in recent seasons, then for the new season it will become even tighter again. It will be a season in which all bets really are off.

The A-League Season 50 Review rounds 12-22

The A League Review

Written by scruttino

Team                                                    M    W   D   L    +      –       =        P
1    Arrested Developers          22   21   0   1    71   7      64     63
2    Dribblers FC                            22   13   5   4    58    29  29     44
3    Glasston                                     22   12   3   7    43    37  6        39
4    Númenóreans FC                 22   12   2   8    44    30  14      38
5    HASSELHOFF BABES        22   11   3   8    50   45   5        36
6    Cheltenham                              22   10  2   10  52   41  11      32
7    Otago United                          22   10   2   10  45   37   8        32
8    Warringah Navigators       22   10   0   12  45   43   2       30
9    Jokers                                           22   9      1   12  46   58   -12   28
10 SYDclub                                      22   7      3   12  26   49   -23   24
11 Calabria F.C                              22   5      3   14  42   49   -7     18
12 Berry Beverley FC                22    0      0   22  3    100 -97    0

Arrested Developers clear out and win by a mile, with only a simming at the hands of Glasston blighting their season. Dribblers FC seemed destined for 2nd before the season began and so it turned out.
Apart from Berry Beverley FC who managed to bring up the ton of goals conceded. By the end of the season you could have thrown a blanket over every team from Glasston down to Calabria FC, as games swung on a dime with even and unpredictable results across the board. The only difference was that SYDclub and Calabria FC got off to very bad starts before a player or two were brought, but the points gap was too great to make up.

To even their managers surprise the Jokers started well, but with quality young players being double training camped the season was spent planning for the future. After being hit with many retirements last season Warringah Navigators lowered their colours and join the Jokers in the relegation playoffs.

Otago United fought hard and saved their bacon for the second season running. Hasselhoff Babes were up, then down, before squeezing out of trouble late as well. Cheltenham were mid table all the way, while Numenoreans FC succumbed on the final day of the season to finish in 4th.

Round Commentary

Round 12

Dribblers FC – Jokers                                                         25-05-2014 09:15 4-1
Berry Beverley FC – Númenóreans FC                    25-05-2014 09:15 0-6
SYDclub – Cheltenham                                                      25-05-2014 09:15 1-1
Calabria F.C – Glasston                                                     25-05-2014 09:15 2-4
Arrested Developers – HASSELHOFF BABES    25-05-2014 09:15 4-2
Otago United – Warringah Navigators                   25-05-2014 09:15 0-1

tosspot
Was worried about the back to back matches against damp, stoked to have all 6 points.
damo11
Well at least that’s out of the way…
damo11
❤ from Damp.
scruttino
Only 6 games left before I have a competitive team again.
tosspot
lol, my bad. I’d say it was autocorrect but I was on my computer…
safieeamat
might be coming back to earth when we face The Dribblers.

Round 13

Dribblers FC – Númenóreans FC                    28-05-2014 18:15 1-1
Jokers – Cheltenham                                               28-05-2014 18:15 4-3
SYDclub – Berry Beverley FC                             28-05-2014 18:15 2-1
Calabria F.C – HASSELHOFF BABES            28-05-2014 18:15 8-0
Glasston – Warringah Navigators                  28-05-2014 18:15 2-0
Otago United – Arrested Developers          28-05-2014 18:15 1-3

eric_the_eel
hopeful for a simming but have written this round off… really need to start winning the close games to have any chance of staying up this season!
damo11
WTF
scruttino
You never had a chance Damo, just throw the tape in the bin.

Somehow my boys won, Ashby with hatrick
tosspot
lol wtf damo?

Happy to beat eric, he’s my bogey team.

Thanks safie.
damo11
I don’t think I’ve been more bewildered in my life about MZ
eric_the_eel
wow. 10th minute red card really stuffed you up!
tosspot
Did you change formation after the red? It might have left a crucial hole in your tactic somewhere… Like no winger or no CD.
damo11
Not until later in the game. I was missing him at right back basically – right where the wing play was.
safieeamat
happy to steal a point from the 2nd top team- The Dribblers.
you didn’t need my help tosspot, slowly but surely you were already pulling away from the group.
tosspot
May not have needed it, but I do appreciate it 😉

Round 14

Cheltenham – Dribblers FC                                 01-06-2014 15:15 1-2
Berry Beverley FC – Jokers                                  01-06-2014 15:15 0-8
Númenóreans FC – SYDclub                               01-06-2014 15:15 1-0
Warringah Navigators – Calabria F.C            01-06-2014 15:15 4-1
Arrested Developers – Glasston                       01-06-2014 15:15 4-0
HASSELHOFF BABES – Otago United         01-06-2014 15:15 2-2

scruttino
My attacking wider midfielder scored a hatrick, you don’t see that everyday
scruttino
Somehow he felt the front 3 just weren’t up to job early in the match,
damo11
Another red card
safieeamat
good result from a very close game.

Round 15

Cheltenham – Númenóreans FC                              04-06-2014 17:15 0-2
Dribblers FC – Berry Beverley FC                            04-06-2014 17:15 9-0
Jokers – SYDclub                                                                04-06-2014 17:15 0-1
Warringah Navigators – Hasselhoff Babes        04-06-2014 17:15 5-2
Calabria F.C – Arrested Developers                       04-06-2014 17:15 0-4
Glasston – Otago United                                               04-06-2014 17:15 3-1

damo11
My season is in tatters
scruttino
I went down in a close game, but an early goal by SYD was enough to grab a win for the visitoring team
safieeamat
another 3 points added. Playing The Jokers( next match ) is always unpredictable it could go both ways. It all comes down to who wants it the most on the day.

Round 16

Númenóreans FC – Jokers                                              08-06-2014 10:45 4-1
Berry Beverley FC – Cheltenham                                08-06-2014 10:45 0-9
SYDclub – Dribblers FC                                                     08-06-2014 10:45 0-4
HASSELHOFF BABES – Glasston                               08-06-2014 10:45 2-3
Arrested Developers – Warringah Navigators   08-06-2014 10:45 3-0
Otago United – Calabria F.C                                          08-06-2014 10:45 3-2

damo11
I’ve now got 1 point from the past 6 matches……

This is bullshit.
scruttino
I realise I put a couple of players in the wrong positions for that formation, but the result is fair enough. For instance placing my 10 tackler in the midfield and not at left back was a big oversight. But Kilmister did well for a 20 year old and the future of my defense looks good
safieeamat
Three goals came in the second half it took my team that long to realised your players were out of position. lol
6 games left be good if I can get 12 points because next two matches are against Glasston then AD which means more likely loses.

Round 17

Dribblers FC – HASSELHOFF BABES                 11-06-2014 13:15 1-1
Númenóreans FC – Glasston                                   11-06-2014 13:15 4-0
Jokers – Arrested Developers                                 11-06-2014 13:15 0-7
Berry Beverley FC – Warringah Navigators   11-06-2014 13:15 0-4
Cheltenham – Otago United                                    11-06-2014 13:15 3-2
SYDclub – Calabria F.C                                                11-06-2014 13:15 0-0

damo11
I forgot it was Wednesday. Oh well, another loss.
tosspot
OH YEAH!
scruttino
7 goals passed a 7 ball keeper seems quite fitting, I’m amazed no one has done it as yet before you

lucky you won’t be playing me from round 19 onwards when I get my midfield and first choice keeper back
damo11
2 simmings in a row. I suppose it’s to be expected now. Without trying to sound like OTT, this is becoming a bit of a joke
safieeamat
surprise result for me but yeah another three points. Next match will definitely be a sure loss for me against AD.

Round 18

Warringah Navigators – Jokers                            15-06-2014 12:00 5-0
Otago United – Berry Beverley FC                     15-06-2014 12:00 6-0
Calabria F.C – Cheltenham                                      15-06-2014 12:00 2-4
HASSELHOFF BABES – SYDclub                         15-06-2014 12:00 3-2
Glasston – Dribblers FC                                             15-06-2014 12:00 1-1
Arrested Developers – Númenóreans FC       15-06-2014 12:00 2-0

damo11
Holy shit! I won a game!
scruttino
My starters return from camp now. Not a moment to soon either
safieeamat
kept AD goalless til the 77th minute but 2-0 is not too bad I thought it may have been more.

Round 19

Berry Beverley FC – Calabria F.C                           18-06-2014 09:45 0-5
Cheltenham – HASSELHOFF BABES                  18-06-2014 09:45 1-3
SYDclub – Glasston                                                        18-06-2014 09:45 1-1
Dribblers FC – Arrested Developers                   18-06-2014 09:45 0-3
Númenóreans FC – Warringah Navigators     18-06-2014 09:45 4-0
Jokers – Otago United                                                 18-06-2014 09:45 3-0

scruttino
Big game today
tosspot
Woo. 14 point lead with 3 games remaining 😀

Stoked to have only let in 6 goals in 19 games.
scruttino
We’re back, Mr Kerr is happy once again
eric_the_eel
arg, took ages setting that tactic, and couldn’t even score a goal! Lost a close game and in a bit of trouble now
damo11
Congrats on officially wrapping up the title Toss!
safieeamat
Good win today and congrats to AD in winning the title with still 3 games left.

Round 20

Otago United – Númenóreans FC                        22-06-2014 17:45 3-0
Warringah Navigators – Dribblers FC                22-06-2014 17:45 1-5
Arrested Developers – SYDclub                             22-06-2014 17:45 6-0
Glasston – Cheltenham                                               22-06-2014 17:45 2-2
HASSELHOFF BABES – Berry Beverley FC     22-06-2014 17:45 3-0
Calabria F.C – Jokers                                                     22-06-2014 17:45 1-2

scruttino
Managed to scrap out a win with a key defensive player suspended. The boys can now focus on the next two games as they could go either way and will determine outright survival or not
eric_the_eel
important win for me too, getting pretty tight at the bottom but still hoping to get into 7th…
damo11
Next game with Scrut and I will be crucial.
safieeamat
yeah eric, you seems to be a bogey team for me. Two to go…

Round 21

Númenóreans FC – Calabria F.C                   25-06-2014 10:30 2-1
Jokers – HASSELHOFF BABES                      25-06-2014 10:30 0-2
Berry Beverley FC – Glasston                         25-06-2014 10:30 0-2
Cheltenham – Arrested Developers           25-06-2014 10:30 1-3
SYDclub – Warringah Navigators                 25-06-2014 10:30 4-0
Dribblers FC – Otago United                           25-06-2014 10:30 1-2

scruttino
Oh well, dominated in every facet but just couldn’t put the ball in the net
scruttino
Though I have to say the last round of match ups is a teaser
eric_the_eel
had to win, won!
scruttino
Well done Eric,

The bottom 3 are now set, but SYD could throw one last punch before the season is out

Damo is now safe, leaving Nav, Eric and myself to determine the rest
damo11
Pretty happy to be on the other end of the wrong result. Bad luck scrut. Good luck with the last round everyone!

Round 22

Calabria F.C – Dribblers FC                                       29-06-2014 18:00 3-3
HASSELHOFF BABES – Númenóreans FC      29-06-2014 18:00 3-1
Glasston – Jokers                                                             29-06-2014 18:00 4-1
Arrested Developers – Berry Beverley FC       29-06-2014 18:00 4-0
Warringah Navigators – Cheltenham                 29-06-2014 18:00 2-1
Otago United – SYDclub                                             29-06-2014 18:00 3-0

safieeamat
be good if The Jokers can beat Glasston today which means it’ll be our highest finish in the A-League whether we lose or win.
scruttino
I’ll try, the boys have enough skill to pull it off.
scruttino
It’s the playoffs again

Competitions

The Rowden Medal
Name                                           Team                                            Points
Murdock Rizzardo               Arrested Developers         36
Orvar Lange                            Arrested Developers          25
Neale Christini                      Glasston                                     24
Fedai Ozaslan                        Otago United                          19
Mateo Arraya                        Otago United                          19
Carson Hollis                         Hasselhoff Babes                  19
Oscar Dahlqvist                   Hasselhoff Babes                  17
Ahmet Cargi Erandac       Hasselhoff Babes                   17
Matias Veiga                          Warringah Navigators       17
Matthews Stevens             Cheltenham                              17

Murdock Rizzardo does the Rowden Medal/Bundy’s Boot double, with the last 2 season’s winner Orvar Lange coming in second with a late season revival in statistical efficiency. Neale Christini retires with a 3rd place, while Otago United duo Fedai Ozaslan and Mateo Arraya (who is my tip for next seasons MVP Award given he arrived mid-season) round out the top 5.

Bundy’s Boot

1. Murdock Rizzardo              AD          54
2. Kazimierz Cisek                   GLN        32
3. Oscar Dahlqvist                  HOF        29
4. Eusebiu Doroftei                DFC        28
5. Tomás da Cunha                 xXx          28
6. Albert Gledden                    Navs       24
7. Lowrey Crawford               Cala         23
8. Carman Awage                    DFC        21
9. Daniel Rutledge                  Chm        20
10. Brant Rann                          JKS          20

With Carman Awage sent to training camp, Murdock Rizzardo ran riot in the second half of the season, eventually winning by 22 goals from Kazimierz Cisek, Oscar Dahlqvist, Eusebiu Doroftei and Tomas Da Cunha.

A Cuddly Sheet

Goalkeepers                  (GA)     Clubs                                       Clean Sheets
Elliot Cuddihy             (7)          Arrested Developers      17
Nick Hanlen                  (30)       Numenoreans FC             6
Dale Barling                  (37)       Glasston                                 6
Rudolph Tupman      (43)       Warringah Navigators   5
Ike Dobson                   (49)       SYD Club                                5
Bleyd Renney              (37)       Otago United                      4
Randle Maciver          (41)       Cheltenham                         4
Berne Tebby                 (45)       Hasselhoff Babes             4
Stephens Givens        (49)       Calabria F.C                         4
Chukwufumnanya Youtai (51 – 18 – 3)/Rob Duncan (7 – 4 – 1) Jokers 4
Bjorn Coleman           (29)       Dribblers FC                        3

This has been one-way traffic for quite some time with Cuddihy conceding 23 goals less than his nearest opponent. That’s 2 of 3 possible keeping awards since I’ve been running this competition this competition.

The Waterland

Team                                                       Total Points
Arrested Developers                    106
Hasselhoff Babes                             81
Otago United                                     80
Glasston                                                74
Dribblers FC                                       73
Cheltenham                                        68
Warringah Navigators                 62
Jokers                                                     60
Numenoreans FC                            58
Calabria F.C                                        58
SYD Club                                              48
Berry Beverley FC                           19

This table looks a little different from the leagues final positions, but Toss still gaps the surprise 2nd and 3rd placed Hasselhoff Babes and Otago United.

Club MVP’s

Arrested Developers             Player Points 106
Murdock Rizzardo                   36
Orvar Lange                                 25
Ibrahim Onsal                            14
Phoenix Wharton                    7
Roger Miller                                 6
Carson Hess                                5
Jacob Whatman                        5
Godfredo Euloxu                      4
Benedykt Tusk                           3
Adam Aldea                                 1

Berry Beverley FC                    Player Points 19
Marcus Andreasson               8
Jurand Cebula                            6
Jessop Gannan                          3
Danny Eaton                               1
Steve Obree                                 1

Calabria F.C                                  Player Points 58
Dello De Castro                         14
Benny Jury                                    10
Lowrey Crawford                      6
Filip Waselewicz                        5
Munroe Dobbing                       5
Brannan Saisell                            5
Olin Mckay                                    4
Art Rafferty                                   3
Shay Givens                                  3
Gilles Van De Broeck               2
Jarrett Oshea                               1

Cheltenham                                  Player Points 68
Matthews Stevens                   17
Dan Coburn                                  13
Benny Mewburn                        12
Byrne James                                  8
Cliff Stebbing                                6
Daniel Rutledge                          4
Sabastian Norman                     4
Larry Schonke                               3
Bennett James                             1

Dribblers FC                                  Player Points 73
Eusebiu Doroftei                        14
Carman Awage                            13
Dustin Martin                              11
Clas Kronkilde                               7
Jeremy Alves                                  6
Sebastian Barling                         6
Eliot Gruer                                       5
Marco Tilk                                        4
Luiz Ramalho                                  4
Eddy Bundy                                     3
John Bennet                                    3

Glasston                                            Player Points 74
Neale Christini                              24
Kazimierz Cisek                            14
Keith Callaghan                            8
Dede Dos Santos                         6
Sylwester Naujasodis                5
Dale Gilding                                     5
Nuraip Adiyaman                         4
Ray Hines                                          4
Dale Barling                                     3
Roch Duda                                        2
Dale Gilding                                     1

Hasselhoff Babes                         Player Points 81
Carson Hollis                                  19
Oscar Dahlqvist                            17
Ahmet Cargi Erandac                17
Radowitt Frodyma                      15
Jemmett Hart                                  9
Berne Tebby                                     3
许森庭                                                  1

Jokers                                                  Player Points 60
Lewis Benton                                  15
Bent McMahon                             11
Oliver Ashby                                    8
Brant Rann                                        7
Ian Kilmister                                     6
Carman Pywell                                5
Dane Cowdell                                  4
Edgar Coleman                               2
Kalin Lungarov                               2

Numenoreans FC                        Player Points 58
Everett Erwin                                 12
Ian Kayrooz                                     10
Tomas Da Cunha                          8
Christopher Auger                      7
Durmuq Neval                               5
John Mcinnes                                 5
Randle Pinkerton                         4
Nick Hanlen                                     3
Nathan Pike                                     2
Peter Bower                                    2

Otago United                                 Player Points 80
Fedai Ozaslan                                19
Mateo Arraya                                19
Adelino Valladares                     11
Braedan Best                                 10
Amos Fazey                                     7
Arthur Haslem                               6
Ernest Christian                            4
Levent Vlaykov                              2
Bloyd Renney                                  1
Isidoro Barea                                   1

SYD Club                                          Player Points 48
Edwin Franssen                            12
Brad Castray                                   7
Antonia Sparrow                          6
Case Stageman                              5
Neale Lenard                                   5
Iggy Merz                                           4
Olliver Kennewell                         3
Berke Devine                                   3
Ricardo Cugat                                 2
Ike Dobson                                       1

Warringah Navigators              Player Points 62
Matias Veiga                                   17
Arkadiusz Wolczewski              8
Bemy Kanack                                   7
Abdulhak Oyanalp                      6
Albert Gledden                              6
Niles Mcgirr                                     5
Benny Giles                                      5
Sammy Panetta                             3
Navarro Inwood                            3
Rudolph Tupman                          1
Brockman Huff                               1

The Full Time Release

I won’t be here for the new season as I’ve been relegated, but I’ll still use the league messageboard to allow those who want discuss each round to do so. I should be back for season 53, but it may again be a development year for my best young seniors, so I may yoyo for a few seasons yet. But 3 seasons in a row on my first stint in the A-League has been pretty good, until next time best of luck to all.

Cheers, Matt

National Team Review

Written by dagriggstar

With a new election upon us, I thought I’d take the chance to look back at the hoffs tenure as national team coach. Since he did all his communication with the community via the forums, what better way to sum up his tenure than with his own forum posts. I have omitted a few short ones that didn’t really say anything much. If you can’t read the posts, click on the pictures they will become larger.

National Cup Knockout stage Review

Written by dagriggstar

 

The quarter-finals

The following games were blowouts

Evil Team 8 – 0 Jokers

Arrested Developers 4 – 0 Blazing Star

Hasselhoff Babes 6 – 0 White City Eagles

Almighty Scallywags 4 – 0 The Smoking Tree

Otago United 5 – 0 Red Devils United

Dribblers FC 3 – 0 Hawthorn FC

 

Warringah Navigators VS Calabria F.C.

An interesting battle between wings (Warringah) and short passing (Calabria) with Filip Waselewicz scoring two first half goals to put Calabria up 2-0 at halftime. Albert Gledden eventually scored in the 78th minute to pull it back to 2-1, but the Navigators couldn’t find another goal and went down despite taking more shots (18 to 10, however just 10 to 8 on target). Delio de Castro was probably man of the match, the 24 year old finished with 19 interceptions, 10 tackles and 12 completed passes.

Brooklyn Youth FC VS Cheltenham

This game was the game of the tournament, it had everything you could ask for. A controversial penalty (saved), a goal in the 84th minute to put Cheltenham up 5-3, then goals for Brooklyn in the 97th and 91st minutes to send the game into extra time. A controversial yellow “should have been red” card in the 129th minute, a game with 10 goals in 90 minutes and none in extra time ! And then there was the penalty shootout – Save, save, goal, goal, miss, goal, goal, goal (keeper scores !), saved but ball was over the line so goal, post miss, goal. Special mention to Aristide Ciupe for missing penalties in regulation time and during the penalty shoot-out.

 

Quarter-Finals

Blowouts

Hasselhoff Babes 3 – 0 Calabria F.C.

 

Arrested Developers VS Evil Team

With both teams setting near identical formations you’d think the winner would simply be the team with better players. However, against the run of play Evil Team was first to score, in the 52nd minute. Having now seen it was possible to score, the Developers lead by Murdock Rizzardo stormed back with goals in the 59th and 76th minutes to win the game. Evil Team may count themselves unlucky, with more shots on target (11 to 8), but Arrested Developers were much better everywhere else on the field.

Otago United VS Almighty Scallywags
This game was dominated by the goal-keepers, who combined to make 24 saves over the course of the game. It didn’t start out like that however, with Keefe Tongs and Boyd Minne scoring for their respective teams in the 16th and 39th minute. But then came a goal-drought, we seemed destined to go to penalties, until the 117th minute when Ernest Christian popped up to send Otago through to the next stage.

Cheltenham VS Dribblers FC
Randle Maciver made up for his performance in the previous round with a superb effort against Dribblers FC. In the end he made 21 saves across the entire game as he single-handedly kept his side in the game. Eusebiu Doroftei managed an incredible 23 shots on goal as he time and again found space to shoot, scoring a hat-trick and leading his side to a 3-1 victory.

 

Semi-Finals

Arrested Developers 4 – 0 Hasselhoff Babes

Otago United VS Dribblers FC

Another game another 14 shots on target from Doroftei, with Dribblers passing at 79% over the course of the game you’d expect them to come out on top. And so they didn’t, Otago keeper Bleyd Renney making 14 saves to keep an incredible clean sheet, meanwhile up the other end  Isidoro Barea snuck in a goal to send Otago through to the final.

 

Final

Arrested Developers VS Otago United

Unlike previous games this time Otago conceded twice early (Rizzardo goals in 3rd and 15th minutes) and had to attack the game as a result. Barea pulled one back after 38 minutes, but Jacobs Whatman for the Developers had an immediate reply. Otago fought hard, pulling it back to a one goal margin, but couldn’t find an equalizer as Arrested Developers won the cup.

2014 ManagerZone World Cup Knockouts!

2014 ManagerZone World Cup Knockouts!

Written by geoclphredux

In this special article there will be critical analysis of each Knockout match of the MZ World Cup this year, from the Round of 16 to the Grand Finale. Each match analysis will describe the goals and give an evaluation of how that result probably came to be with a few other statistics collected by yours truly, geoclphredux. Remember this information comes from the 3D simulation, enjoy.

//

Argentina vs Poland

Argentina
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: I. Franco (32 Year Old Striker worth 1,022,976GBP)
Came 1st from Group 3 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2005

Poland
Starting Formation Used: 3-4-3
Most Valuable Player: O. Zukowski (34 Year Old Striker worth 955,421GBP)
Came 1st from Group 8 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Runners-up in 2006

With two powerful opponents meeting up so early the rest of competitors must have let out a long breath of relief. Argentina’s qualified for every World Cup and only was left out of the Knockouts twice whereas Poland qualified for every World Cup except for last years, they must be looking for a good run to make up for that.

The first goal was delivered by the Argentine Winger B. Quilo. E. Figueroa, while closely marked, headed the ball nicely to beat the keeper, 1-0 Argentina.
Unsurprisingly this dominant tactic was used later, 9 minutes later to be exact, but this time the Argentine striker was completely unmarked and he had all the time in the World to beat the Keeper but he headed it in perfectly, 2-0 Argentina in 15 minutes.
The third goal in the match solidifies E. Figueroa’s Hat Trick, this time he didn’t need help from his Winger and he slammed it into the net just before half time, 3-0 Argentina.
Poland’s counterattacks have been rather disappointing; most leaded up to a pass back into an Argentine Midfielder but not this time, L. Kasperowicz used his pace and ran through half of the pitch in order to reply to Argentina’s third goal in only a few minutes, not only did he run past the defender C. Bieito he also ran past the Keeper to make the score 3-1.

In the second half a majority of the possession and shots went Poland’s way; K. Lesiecki was incredibly close in the 58th minute with a dipping header that beat the keeper but not the crossbar, Poland’s second goal was actually a gift from Argentina, a well-delivered Corner by T.Banan forced the Defenders to panic and B. Salvidor headed it into his own net, 3-2 to Argentina but with Poland catching up.
Argentina lessened the pressure with another headed goal by E. Figueroa delivered, this time, by B. Bidun. The Polish Keeper, D. Lewicki, got a hand to it but it was enough to stop powerful header, 4-2 Argentina.
In the 82nd Minute the Polish scored again past a confused Keeper, the confusion came from O. Zukowski’s shot that rebounded off the Crossbar in the path of K. Lesiecki who managed to beat the keeper, even if he did get a hand to it, 4-3.

What gifted Argentina this victory was the excellent use of the wings and E. Figueroa’s head. Obviously this automatically means that E. Figueroa is the MVP in MZ’s eyes but I believe the winger B. Quilo deserved it, he gifted two goals for E. Figueroa which turned out to be very important.

Romania vs Spain

Romania
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: M. Avram (34 Year Old worth 965,259GBP)
Came 1st from Group 4 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2007

Spain
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: O. Palomares (30 Year Old Defender worth 954,953GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 5 with 4 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Got to Quarter Finals in 2010 and 2012

Two European teams face off with similar tactics to Argentina, could be interesting to see who dominates the match.

Romania started the game with an incredible attack resulting in D. Ilica’s header smashing against the crossbar, but the first goal came from an excellent set piece from Spain. The Free Kick was taken in Spain’s own half by G. Palomares and he found S. Leyva who set up N. Roman’s attack with a through ball and he shot above the keeper as he fell too ground early, Spain leads 1-0.
It seemed that Romania were the more attacking side for the majority of the first half but the Spanish returns were quick, 5 players were rushing up against 4 Romanian Defenders in the 35th minute and a nice pass set up S. Leyva who had just beaten his marker and he took an ambitious shot from the edge of the box. The keeper got to it but the save was not strong enough, 2-0 Spain.

D. Ilica finally hit the back of net in the 76th minute (according to the 3D match’s time, in the match report it says he scored in 81st minute, weird), this goal was not set up by a winger as I was expecting and the goal was fired in by his boot, not his head. 2-1 to Spain and it may be too late for a return.

Not too many talking points in the second half, I was certainly surprised that Romania had 21 shots on target and only hit the back of the net once; with 19 saves I would say C. Amorebieta deserves the MVP.

Sweden vs Czech Republic

Sweden
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: B. Håkansson (35 Year Old Striker worth 1,110,233GBP)
Came 1st from Group 2 with 9 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2004, 2007 and 2013

Czech Republic
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: J. Pilný (32 Year Old worth 884,821GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 2 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Got to the Knockouts in 2006, 2011 and 2012

Now we have a little bit of controversy, these two teams qualified for the Knockout stages from the same group. Their last game was really against each other in the group; the result was 3-1 to Sweden, the reigning champions, not exactly a motivational boost for Czech Republic.

Czech Republic may be the underdogs in this particular match but they’ve experienced the World Cup plenty of times and held Sweden to a stalemate in the first half, defending well against many attacks.

In the second half Czech Republic made 3 changes to their squad at the same time, a risky move but they replaced 1 midfielder and 2 Strikers. The first goal came from a swift move from J. Vychodil, the striker that stayed on the pitch, who left the Swedish Defender D. Hegg in the middle of nowhere with a quick turn. The shot was taken almost when he passed the keeper in his run; no doubt that it was going in, 1-0 Czech Republic in the 80th minute.
The upset continues for the reigning champions, after a few shots at Czech Republic’s keeper, Czech Republic responded with, what seemed like, a well-practiced move and J. Vychodil scored with his head, finding the top corner very late in the game, 2-0 with no time for Sweden to get back into the game.

Looking at the tactics from the last time these two faced each other Sweden had a much more defensive line. I’m no tactical genius, but if it worked then I would not be surprised that it could have worked in this match, the formation change may have ruined the reigning champions chances. Not taking anything away from Czech Republic though, against the odds they got sweet revenge for their last result. J. Vychodil was my man of the match in this game too.

Portugal vs Netherlands

Portugal
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: M. Veiga (34 Year Old Striker worth 895,128GBP)
Came 1st from Group 5 with 9 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Runners-up in 2007

Netherlands
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: J. Saarloos (32 Year Old worth 965,259GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 1 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2012

The last time these two teams faced off in a real World Cup’s Round of 16 it was a nightmare, for the Ref. For neutral supporters around the world it could have easily been confused for a fight with breaks of football in between every now and then, 16 yellow cards and 4 reds were shown that day. Hopefully there’s less cards to talk about in the virtual world.

L. Kuipers from Netherlands took the lead a scored after a bizarre piece of short passing across the edge of Portugal’s box, this ruined Portugal’s marking system and Netherlands are 1-0 ahead very early on in the match. L. Kuipers also hit the crossbar with a strong header in the 6th minute after scoring.
A. Borba, of Portugal, rushed one on one against the keeper to try and equalise, the keeper was better off and knocked it out to an awaiting D. Sousa, unfortunately for Netherlands, D. Sousa is a Portugal striker and the goal was wide open! 1-1.
To turn the tables, a clever back-pass from A. Borba followed by an immediately lethal shot by M. Veiga beat the Netherlands goalkeeper again, now Portugal have the lead.

A late, typical, over-powered, wing tactic awarded Portugal with their third goal of the match, a well headed goal by A. Queirós. 3-1 to Portugal and now Netherland’s future doesn’t look so orange.
Netherlands did well to respond positively and scored in the 87th minute with the freshly brought on sub M. Graaff, too late to get that equaliser though, the match ended 3-2 to Portugal.

This one was a tight game; one glimpse at the statistics shows that, 15-16 shots, 54% to 46% possession but the falling point for the Netherlands was the defenders were too easily beat. D. Sousa rightfully earns MVP.

Brazil vs Denmark

Brazil
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: R. Abreu (33 Year Old Striker worth 955,343GBP)
Came 1st from Group 6 with 9 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2010

Denmark
Starting Formation Used: 5-2-3
Most Valuable Player: H. Falver (33 Year Old Striker worth 934,658GBP)
Came 1st from Group 1 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Third Place in 2008

Not entirely sure how this one will go. Denmark is not a walk over in the world of MZ but Brazil was playing an odd formation with 3 Defensive Midfielders, 7 at the back may cause an issue.

Brazil found an opening, lethal it was, and they scored 2 goals within a few minutes of each other. The second goal was a much classier finish by A. Lago because the first goal was a very typical header by R. Abreu. Suddenly Brazil’s dominating very early.
Just to put salt in the wounds before first time was over R. Abreu received the ball again from a nice cross, but instead of heading it, he controlled the ball then struck it with his foot, 3-0 and Denmark are in trouble.

It was A. Lago’s turn in the second half to head it past the keeper, with it now at 4-0 with 82 minutes gone Denmark simply would need a miracle.

21 shots from Brazil against 7 from Denmark, clearly the Victors deservedly won this. The possession was equal but Denmark struggled to get past Brazil’s wall of 7 Defenders and that was the main difference. I expected Brazil to be tough to score against but I was not expecting their strikers to be this effective, I would share MVP amongst the two strikers if possible!

Cyprus vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cyprus
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: C. Kolovos (30 Year Old Midfielder worth 854,452GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 7 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Runners-up in 2012

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Starting Formation Used: 5-2-3
Most Valuable Player: N. Antončić (31 Year Old Striker worth 878,216GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 8 with 4 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Reaching the Knockouts in 2009

I did not know what to expect from this match at all, quite simply, I don’t even know if these two teams have played against each other outside the Qualifiers or Friendlies. Certainly rare to see both squads still in the competition, Cyprus had a spurt of power in 2012 but before that they never qualified before and Bosnia and Herzegovina has only reached the Knockouts in 2009 they’ll want to beat that record I’m sure.

The mystery of who would be stronger in this match simply took a minute to discover. Cyprus scored in their first attack, in the first minute; with a header (in fact I swear the next 4 shots from Cyprus came from the winger’s delivery and a header) good to see they have got a grasp of the over powered wings tactic. S. Patsatzis’ head makes it 1-0 to Cyprus.
Unsurprisingly the second goal went in just like the first, N. Cholas’ delivery followed by S. Patsatzis’ head, the keeper from Bosnia and Herzegovina got a hand to it but it was not enough. It is 2-0 to Cyprus.

No, you don’t get anything for guessing how the third goal went in. Headers from Cyprus are simply lethal! N. Cholas, again, crossed it in and found an unmarked A. Doukatelis. Late in the game and it’s 3-0 to Cyprus.

Bosnia and Herzegovina had a lot of shots but most were dealt with by the Cyprus Keeper quite well, the difference was N. Cholas for Cyprus, he deserved man of the match (or MVP) his work on the wing alone made the difference. Somehow the ball would just end up at his feet too, usually from a Bosnia and Herzegovinian clearance.

England vs Indonesia

England
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: L. Barraclough (33 Year Old worth 921,587GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 6 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Third Place in 2004 and 2005

Indonesia
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: E. Makatita (31 Year Old Midfielder worth 810,605GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 3 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Reached the Round of 16 in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013

Indonesia has fallen at the same Knockout stage 4 times so England probably was not the match up they wanted, England have not had much luck in the qualifiers in the recent past but they have never been knocked out in the Round of 16 when they have managed to get the Knockouts.

The first half was fairly end to end work, until England decided to crush some Indonesian dreams just before half time. A. Holt ran a solid 10 yards before firing a shot outside of the box. England lead the first half 1-0.

On the 72nd minute N. Argent drilled a pass straight to A. Holt; from there A. Holt ran past the keeper, the goal was almost guaranteed as he could have just dribbled it in, 2-0 to England.
Later a similar goal was almost set up, V. Hepburn to N. Argent and N. Argent to deliver a killer pass straight down the middle, this time finding the substitute É. Zola, he fired it in from close range, and 3-0, Indonesia are in trouble.
Just after writing that N. Argent made a critical tackle and passed it across the ground for É. Zola again 4-0 and the game is surely over now.

England’s tactics here were a breath of fresh air, after seeing many matches where both teams would use wings to dominate the other; it was nice seeing a realistic tactic was being used. N. Argent was the heart of the entire match, opening up 3 goals for England, Indonesia definitely were not a walk over as they had many shots but the threat of their squad seemed to lessen as the match went on.

USA vs Belgium

USA
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: C. Gaston (31 Year Old Midfielder worth 935,400GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 4 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Fourth in 2004 and 2011

Belgium
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: J. Servranckx (31 Year Old Striker worth 916,819GBP)
Came 1st from Group 7 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Quarter Finalists in 2006, 2009 and 2012

Two regulars in the knockout stages face off here, could not predict a winner.

The fun starts straight away as J. Holbrook finds the back of the net with a well-controlled shot 1-0 to USA after only a few kicks of the ball.
The second goal was produced by Belgium’s forward D. Raniers, a fantastic header clinched the equaliser, 1-1.
D. Raniers also scored a less conventional goal later, after two shots against the keeper the ball slowly rolled past the line, but I’m sure Belgium won’t mind how it goes in as they now have the lead 2-1.
Keeping headers out of this game seems to be impossible, USA equalise thanks to W. Grayson’s head after a great cross. 2-2, it’s really back and forth at the moment.
W. Grayson was hungry for more! Now taking USA into the lead again! The goal was pretty much exactly played out like the last goal too, 3-2 to USA.
J. Holbrook dodges a challenge to put it past the right of the keeper USA finally have some breathing space away from Belgium; USA leads 4-2 going into the second half.

After a USA Corner was cleared D. Raniers receives the ball and runs half way through the pitch to send the ball past the keeper, 4-3 to Belgium.
D. Raniers equalises after dispossessing an American Defender and, with the most awkward shot of the tournament I have seen so far, outwits the keeper. 4-4!

Well, it goes to Extra Time, which I didn’t realise is Golden Goal, D. Raniers is blessed by a superb long pass and he barely beats the American keeper, who will be having nightmares about that, if he wasn’t virtual.

The Round of 16 ended with a tight match there. Man of the Match for me is undoubtedly D. Raniers even though USA had more shots D. Ranier’s always seemed like more of a threat. Oh and I was not kidding earlier, check out the 4th Belgium goal in this game, it was a bizarre shot.

//

Spain vs Argentina

Argentina
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 3 with 7 Points
Beat Poland 4-3

Spain
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 2nd from Group 5 with 4 Points
Beat Romania 2-1

Wow, if this was a real World Cup match I would not know who to put my money on. In this case Argentina had to get past a formidable opponent so I’m sure they are motivated to get through the rest of the tournament now.

B. Quilo did his job and ran down the wing to provide a free header for the Argentine star E. Figueroa. Besides that not too much happened in the first half, S. Leyva came close to scoring numerous times but unfortunately for him and Spain they are now 1-0 down going into the second half.

N. Roman picked up a loose ball literally inches away from the net after the Argentine keeper saved another shot; it is now 1-1.
To finish the match Argentina scored a ridiculously late goal in order to guarantee their country will be entering the Semi-finals, the goal was a nice one-on-one from B. Fortun which made the game end 2-1 for Argentina.

I believe what gave Argentina the push they needed to win was their substitutes, Spain was fairly equal with them on statistics but in the late stages of the game Argentina was playing with 3 new, fresh strikers. My man of the match goes to B. Fortun simply because of the late winning goal.

Czech Republic vs Portugal

Czech Republic
Starting Formation Used: 3-4-3
Came 2nd from Group 2 with 6 Points
Beat Sweden 2-0

Portugal
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 5 with 9 Points
Beat Netherlands 3-2

Czech Republic must not have expected to get past Sweden, let’s see if they can make it through another European team, Portugal. This match was definitely going to be different as both teams had formations that didn’t suggest an obvious wing tactic.

There was a stalemate in the first half; D. Sousa came close to scoring twice just before the first half ended. We went into the second half 0-0.

Czech Republic’s J. Vychodil took it upon himself to break the tie; P. Záveský left the ball for J. Vychodil to take and he fired a shot from outside the box, great goal, 1-0.
Not too long after that was scored Portugal found a chance for a crushing equaliser. A. Queirós was in the perfect position for an overpowered header; it seems maybe the wing tactic is now being used. 1-1.
Yep definitely, the second Portuguese goal and the third were both identical to the first one. The match could have nearly ended 4-1, if the keeper didn’t block another header at the 90th minute, if only he knew how to do that earlier.

I sense, whatever Portugal did in the 65th minute saved them, they made 3 substitutions back then but I believe the passing style and the formation may have been changed and that was the bigger difference. MVP goes to A. Queirós in my opinion; a substitute that equalised, took the lead and completed their hat-trick was apparently not enough for MVP in ManagerZone’s ranking system.

Cyprus vs Brazil

Cyprus
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 2nd from Group 7 with 6 Points
Beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0

Brazil
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 6 with 9 Points
Beat Denmark 4-0

If this match was real, Cyprus would be the underdogs for sure, but here I don’t know. With Cyprus’s performance in 2012 anything can happen.

Brazil scored. A long pass out to the winger and an immediate cross back meant that R. Abreu could score very easily with his head and the markers were scrambled. 1-0.
Brazil’s second goal was another example of just how dominant the wing tactic is. 2-0 after R. Abreu scored with his head again and Cyprus are in a lot of trouble.

In the second half, Cyprus did score after A. Valkanas received a pass while standing beyond his marker but staying onside, he won the one on one battle with the keeper, 2-1 and who knows, Cyprus might make it back into this game.
Just when it was looking like all hope was lost, with Cyprus still needing an equaliser with only 5 minutes left to score one, Brazil’s W. Costa ran some distance through the middle of the pitch to barely beat Cyprus’ goalkeeper, 3-1 and Cyprus have no time left to do anything about it.

Possession was the main factor here and Brazil had 58% of it. More possession enables more opportunity for shots, Cyprus had 6, and Brazil had 23. It was hard to call a specific MVP here so I’ll go with the easy way out; R. Abreu because he scored the most and could have probably completed his hat-trick if he wasn’t tactically subbed off.

Belgium vs England

Belgium
Starting Formation Used: 3-4-3
Came 1st from Group 7 with 6 Points
Beat USA 5-4 after Extra Time

England
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 2nd from Group 6 with 6 Points
Beat Indonesia 4-0

The last Quarter Final match, between England and Belgium!

Belgium took the lead after using their striker’s incredible pace, at first I thought D.Raniers was going to score after T. Thijs smashed a long shot against the crossbar, the rebound went to an unmarked D. Raniers who ran to the side and back-passed for L. Hoolemans to take the strike against an over worked keeper. 1-0 Belgium.

England needed to get back into this game as soon as possible and at the start of the second half A. Holt received the ball from a nice cross, brought it down, controlled it and put it past the keeper. He was so unmarked that he had plenty of time to control his shot. 1-1 and the match ended that way.

Oh right, of course, extra time, no goals in the first half of it but in the second half people’s stamina started to fade out. T. Thijs that threatened the goal mouth before finished the game in the additional minutes left of extra time preventing it from going to penalties, which of course due to previous real life history, England probably did not want anyway.

Belgium’s striking force made the difference. The English defenders did a great job of keeping them from having more scoring opportunities. T. Thijs gets man of the match for me and England exit the tournament in the same place they did last year, consistent.

//

Portugal vs Argentina

Portugal
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 5 with 9 Points
Beat Netherlands 3-2
Beat Czech Republic 3-1

Argentina
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 3 with 7 Points
Beat Poland 4-3
Beat Spain 2-1

Now the pressure’s on, 4 teams left and Portugal and Argentina face off. Both using similar tactics, so it would be interesting to see who will move on to the finals.

Both teams were at a fierce dead-lock in the first half.

First to score, in the second half, is Portugal’s D. Sousa. He took advantage of a keeper mishap and collected the ball after his first shot in order to shoot again at a much more open goal. 1-0.
B. Fortun got the equaliser for Argentina with a powerful shot that the Portuguese Keeper could not shot 1-1.
Later in the game D. Sousa shot high at the keeper, the keeper pushed the ball into the underside of the crossbar making it 2-1 to Portugal.
But there was more, M. Veiga proved why he was Portugal’s most valuable player with a shot that barely beat the keeper and slowly rolled past the line, 3-1 and it’s not looking good for Argentina.
E. Guerrero ran half the pitch to score again for Argentina but it may be too late to think about getting the equaliser, the match ended 3-2 to Portugal.

In the second half Portugal had a lot more dangerous shots, I think Argentina struggled against breaking Portugal’s formation down as one small difference in their tactic was Portugal had 3 Defence Midfielders, similar to Brazil’s formation earlier in this tournament, and Argentina were held back by the wall of 7 players. Funnily enough these two teams got this far in the competition scoring plenty of overpowered headers thanks to the wing tactic, here; no goals were headers or even assisted by a cross. D. Sousa deserved man of the match.

Belgium vs Brazil

Belgium
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 7 with 6 Points
Beat USA 5-4 after Extra Time
Beat England 2-1 after Extra Time

Brazil
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 6 with 9 Points
Beat Denmark 4-0
Beat Cyprus 3-1

After seeing that Belgium haven’t been able to win a game in the knockouts so far without it going to Extra Time I can’t help but pre-emptively doubt that they will beat Brazil. Brazil has been Champions before, United States and England has not.

Brazil took the lead very early on using their wing tactic; a sublime header by R. Abreu was too much for the Belgium keeper to handle. 1-0.
Brazil a few minutes later scored with another header but this one was not a typical one from the wing; it was an amazing long pass from J. Vítor Teles which R. Abreu subtly knocked towards goal 2-0 and it hasn’t even been 10 minutes.
D. Raniers scored via a very awkward shot, I had to watch the goal replay twice to realise that D. Raniers beat the Brazilian keeper with a back heel that wasn’t animated correctly, this probably gets the most bizarre goal award but Belgium will be happy that they’ve got plenty of time to find that equaliser. Brazil leads 2-1.

The first and second half just dawdled away after that, there were still threatening shots but no more goals, odd that the game was settled in the first half.

Brazil’s R. Abreu gets MVP from me and MZ, I would have given it too D. Raniers if he could equalise but even if he did I could see Brazil beating the Belgium team in Extra Time. Brazil had 18 shots and 17 of them on target, certainly the more active attackers in this match.

//

Brazil vs Portugal

Brazil
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 6 with 9 Points
Beat Denmark 4-0
Beat Cyprus 3-1
Beat Belgium 2-1

Portugal
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 5 with 9 Points
Beat Netherlands 3-2
Beat Czech Republic 3-1
Beat Argentina 3-2

Well it’s come to this, The Grand Finale, Brazil vs Portugal. Both nations should be proud of their progress but it’ll end here, what team will claim the trophy? After the pleasantries and Brazil sang their second verse of their national anthem to a chorus of impatient tapping feet from Portugal we began.

The first goal came from a brave run by the Brazilian striker J. Paulo Mota. He dribbled the ball past the keeper and tapped the ball in before it was stolen from the diving goalie. 1-0 in 37 minutes.
Portugal probably wishes they could redo their kick-off after the first goal. A. Lago blocked Portugal’s possession and the ball got to W. Costa, who fired a shot, a minute after going 1-0 down Portugal go 2-0 down, nightmare.

Brazil have been practicing their long shots, their third goal came from A. Lago! 3-0 and Portugal need to do something special.
H. Matos of Portugal managed to barely beat the Brazilian keeper a few minutes later, hopefully this will encourage a comeback. 3-1.
Brazil responded to the Portuguese goal in force, in the 66th minute 3 Strikers from Brazil ran down the middle of the field with absolutely no Portuguese defenders in the way. W. Costa led the 3 strikers and did the honours with a nice back heel strike, 4-1 and it appears to be all over for Portugal.
A. Queirós scored the last goal of the tournament for Portugal but making it 4-2 with 85 minutes gone makes it seem like a consolation.

Brazil is this year’s World Cup Champions! The percentages of shots were simply outstanding in comparison with Portugal, 26 – 9. I feel that Brazil’s striking force all deserve MVP as 3 strikers scored in that game but I’ll agree with MZ rating’s this time W. Costa deserved it.

Congratulations Brazil on winning the 2014 MZ World Cup! If you want to look over the World Cup yourself at home click here:
http://www.managerzone.com/?p=cup&sub=playoff&cid=12602&tid=108
The match to determine third place is in there too. Thank you all for skimming though this article… it’s a long one I know, I hope you enjoyed it.

~geoclphredux

The Training 2.0 generation

The Training 2.0 generation

Written by dagriggstar

I would think it is fair to say that the times we manage in could currently be called the “ITC” generation. Every notable player should have attended an ITC, where (in extreme cases) strikers transformed into defenders or vice versa. Some argue that too many balls were given in ITC’s, giving a false expectation of what is possible under training 2.0, others argue that it turned poorly trained decidedly average players into superstars, or both. Some may say it gave the right amount of balls, although few probably argue it gave too little. These are however, the players I do not wish to focus on, what is done is done and it is unlikely to change. (However it is impossible to talk about training 2.0 as an isolated change at this stage)

The players at the focus of this article are the “season 32 crop”, the first of a new breed of player, the “pure” training 2.0. These are the players that will be the earliest indicators of what is possible under training 2.0 (Without ITC, which may or may not be accurate), where the new limits and possibilities are…

For those unfamiliar with my team, I’ve gone down the “pure youth” rebuild. I take a snapshot at the end of the every season of what my team looks like (Unfortunately I used to use mzplayer, but all the old skillers from there got lost, so now I only use mzplus). The oldest skiller I have, was taken just before the implementation of training 2.0. Before continuing I’ll put up the following two skillers. The first contains players born in season 29 at age 18, season 28 at age 19 (So no ITC) and players born in season 32 in a randomised order. See if you can pick which ones belong to which group (The second has the “solution”)

Puzzle – http://mzplus.com.ar/p?id=ZdBA3Ti
Solution – http://mzplus.com.ar/p?id=ZFCOOFK

So yes, there are quite a few duds in there (especially season 29, my worst graduating crop to date). But the fact that my season 28 guys at age 19 under training 1.0 are comparable to my season 32 guys at age 18 suggests exactly what everyone already knows – training 2.0 is faster than training 1.0. So far, for my team personally it is about 25% faster (4 seasons under training 1.0 = 3 seasons under training 2.0).

The above section assumes that (so far) I haven’t been lucky/unlucky with “training abilities”, something where you only need to take a trip to the forum and find the “my player hasn’t gained in x days” topic to find evidence of. Training ability goes both ways, anywhere between 52% slower to 98% faster than training 1.0. In an interesting twist, training ability also has an effect on retirements, with slow trainers (theoretically) lasting longer in the game. So we get an interesting trade-off game, is it better to focus on the fast or slow guys ?

The case for the fast trainers is simple – for their entire careers they will have an equal or higher ball count than captain slow and Mr. Average. Fast trainers can also be “converted” (trained in a different position, for example a striker maxes at 6 shooting can be turned into a midfielder) much easier than any other player in the game, a key advantage that means arguably only a good speed max will be required for him to be a productive player in under-age competitions. A fast trainer also means that you realise the potential of your investment (training costs) sooner, whether that be on the transfer market or as a long-term player, which reduces financial risks to your club.

Captain slow only begins to shine in his twilight years, after his peers have retired. Would you rather a player who has 12 or 8 potential seasons playing at the top level ? The extra 4 seasons represent an increased reward, a higher potential ceiling, for your investment in a slow trainer. Slow trainers can also extend your “championship window”. Consider that most top teams will have a group of players all about the same age. Fast trainers retire sooner, so these players will need to be closer together in-terms of age, otherwise older guys will be retiring and the younger guys won’t be ready. For slow trainers, closeness of age is less of an issue (since players play longer), allowing you a bigger player pool for you to generate players from, which reduces “team building” risks. In an extreme example – a 32 year old player retires, his 22 year old replacement is still underdeveloped and obviously not ready to be playing at the top level. But a 38 year old player retires, his understudy is now 28 and likely has already seen first team action.

But perhaps you would prefer some numbers and graphs and mathematics in general. Just how will the fast and slow trainers compare to each other as investments ?

Notes
Fast trainer ball counts and salaries are based on real players inside managerzone. Other salaries are either based on my own teams player salaries or the fast trainer salaries. Ball count progression is based on the fast trainer ball counts and information released by the crew. I have assumed all players are sent to TC until the age of 23. As a result, the slow trainer only reaches 56 total skill balls, while a regular player probably expects 66. The moral of that last sentence is that if you want a slow trainer to be good he needs a lot of TC’s.
All costs are in euro’s

So, the first graph is a measure of how many balls each type of player will “provide” you with over the course of their career. It basically takes into account that if a player “provides” you with a ball earlier in their career, that ball is worth more than if it were provided to you than later. As a result the fast trainer comes out ahead for most of his career, however because of his earlier retirement age he doesn’t end up as being the “best” player by this measure. That goes to the slow trainer, those extra seasons of productivity at the tail end of his career counting for more than his net loss at the start.

This next graph shows the cumulative costs over the players careers. It basically shows what you would expect – the slower the trainer the less balls they have the less is spent on them. However, something that the graph doesn’t show, is that if you TC the slow trainer for a longer period (Until the age of 27) he is still the cheapest option.

The final graph shows you how much each cumulative ball costs you (ie cumulative cost / cumulative balls). This is more an illustration of how much more (comparitively) effective youth players are than seniors, due to their effective salary cap. It also shows that the higher the total cost of your TC’s, the more expensive each ball is, a cost you cannot get back.

Anyway, perhaps the last thing left to comment on is the transfer market. But wait, these “pure-breed” training 2.0 guys haven’t hit that yet ! Well that just means this is all speculation. Like, for example, will a “market for fast trainers” emerge from managers who focus on Uxx competitions ? Will we see a “market for slow trainers” emerge from managers focusing on senior team success ? Well I guess with a little more time we will find out…

INTERVIEW: ashiotismike NC Cyprus

Written by crisxxxx

Interview to Cyprus NC ashiotismike

Dear readers it’s a pleasure to meet you again in one of my specials, this time really a great hit, and something particular for the kind of guest and the secrets that he is going to tell us! Don’t lose this great opportunity, there is a lot to learn! Enjoy this long interview in double language to give the possibility to all Cypriot friends to read it.

1. Hi Mike or better Michalis, and thank you so much for your availability to be protagonist of our Italian TZ (first time for a stranger NC?). Your country was already ranked 2nd in World Cup 2012, this sounds like a record related to the number of players, so first of all congratulations for this huge result! You were the NC even in that moment, can you summarize the emotions in those weeks during the competition?
Hello Christian! Thank you for the honor of this interview 
Well the emotions of that World Cup were indescribable! Game after game we started to understand that our team could play good against any opponent. It was like we were in the real World Cup that Cyprus will probably never be… every winning game we celebrated like little children telephoning and messaging each other!(friends in Cypriot community). It was fantastic! You cannot imagine our disappointment losing like that against the Nederland’s in the big Final…. As I recall we received a red card or an injury of our best defender and we collapsed. I think it was an injury and we didn’t have depth in our squad… I almost cried… It was a lifetime opportunity and we lost it! Doing it again is something very difficult for our tiny community but we will try to bribe the SIM 

2. You are one of the most awarded and historical players of your community, you won everything, even a Champion Cup, how do you feel to try to do something great with the NT of a so small country with just 600 managers? Is it a great challenge? Much more to try to repeat after 2012?
Thank you for your good words Christian! Yes I managed to win almost everything including my latest National Cup a few days ago. The biggest challenge for me is to win the Triple Crown… that is my goal for now! To do it I have to first win the Top Teams Cup this year…
Yes it is a great challenge and we already took it! Tomorrow we play against Brazil at the last 8 phase of the World Cup! We will try our best to qualify… It is a very difficult game but we have some small hopes 
It feels great and I can’t describe it in words! It’s like playing in the real World Cup that takes place now. We saw how Costa Rica celebrated the win against Uruguay and Italy. We celebrated the same way! (then we saw that it was no possible for our friends to defeat Brazil).

3. Coming back to your successful career, many can tell that must be easy to win in the time in a small community, maybe in part it’s true, but as I told already, then you won even international competitions and many youth competitions, and most important made this miracle of 2nd place in WC, so it means you are a good manager and a good NC, with great tactical ideas, and probably this helps you a lot to have even these results with the national team, is there any secret you discovered in the time? About any special tactic or about the perfect blend of the players? ( I try to steal any of your secrets )
Partly it is true. But it is a small community that has 6-7 managers that worth like one hundred 
The difficult part is to keep having a very good team that can do good in international competitions when you come from a small community… there are no secrets, just patience and experience! You always have to understand very good how the SIM works and become a good friend with him! After that you have to analyze a lot of games watching the analyzer. A small secret is that a player in the field can play good in one position but with only one click to the right or left or up or down then he can play perfectly  Another small secret is that some players with fewer balls in main abilities can play better than other players with more balls because of their secondary abilities or even because of their hidden talents!

4. Sure in your community it must be a great job to find players able to make great things for the NT, do you make a lot of research? Are they mostly from top category or even from 1st – 2nd div?
It is easy to find your selection for the National Team of Cyprus because the number of players is very small. The difficult thing is to find the players who play good with fewer balls! This takes a lot of time and trials 

5. One important curiosity that maybe can help to understand many things… Which is the relationship between the top managers of your community? Friendship, helping each other to make the best for the country or lot of discussions like in the bigger countries? 
We are all friends!!! I almost know all active managers in person  With adamou , eleftherios, kaskander, wizard1980 we were studying together Civil Engineering in Salonica Greece! Kyradamou and vadamou are brothers of adamou and were also studying in Salonica (Architecture and Geology). Leges ( DJ) I know him many years from school time! Managarw is one of adamou best friends and I know him many years now (teacher)! Vallencia (former pilot)I met through the game and we met many times. Etc etc etc. As you can see most of us are good friends for many years. I hope I didn’t forget someone  So most of our discussions are made over the phone or in person 

6. I’m sure that the market is really small, so I suppose that most of the top managers are focusing on the ‘cantera’, is there any secret to obtain a good number of champions for what you know?
Yes it is very small and if you want to get a great player you have to pay at least double the price of the same player if he is a foreigner… so yes we all focus on our own young players. There is no secret as you know. Only randomness. The only thing you can really do is training camps every season and hope for good luck.

7. This is one of the last questions, so I want to let you express freely something that you consider really important to succeed in this managerial, and the main difference between being the team manager and then the NC?
Only one word: COMPETITION. But competition with friends you know in real life! This is our big secret and that’s why a small community like ours has so many good managers. There is really not a big difference between NC and team manager for me. On the contrary being a NC is easier because if I lose it isn’t something all of you don’t expect from Cyprus… but if we win…!  ( I want to underline what he says: ‘ I lose… but if we win’ this is a great approach in favor of the community)

8. Any suggestion do you want to give to Italian community that was so unsuccessful in the last competitions?
Choose your National Coach wisely. Choose the one that has success with his team internationally and in the Top Division of Italy. This is the best combination. Another suggestion for you is to find a way to hire me for your National Coach  It would be a great challenge and honor!

9. Eheheh, nice proposal! Thanking you a lot for the time I ask you something related to your team, the most important thing you do to be always competitive fighting with retirements? Thank you again and good luck for the future… 
It is always the problem fighting with retirements and have players ready to replace old ones…
My opinion is that you have to have always 2 great defenders, 2 great midfielders and one great striker. After that you build around them.
Thank you for the interview Christian! I had a great time!
I wish you and your team the best and I wish for your National team Italy to get the world cup one day! It is not impossible!

Thanking a lot Michalis for his really kind availability and the time he dedicated to my questions, I can only add that this opportunity is really a honor for me because he showed us how modest he is being a great manager, actually the first of the ranking today 26/6 that I’m finalizing the interview! I really think that all of us can learn something interesting from him! I consider him already a friend! 
See you all at the next opportunity with another interesting Special.
(Interview started during final phase of World Cup and arranged for the posting on today 26/6)
CHRISCUS

Starwatch – Manager edition

Written by dagriggstar

Over the course of the season we have seen 10 welcome cups finished, with a further 2 still running. I thought it might be interesting to see how the latest Australian talent fared in the newbie cups.

 

Team	Average Round	50-1	50-2	50-3	50-4	50-5	50-6	50-7	50-8	50-9	50-10	50-11
Waiheke Island Wolves	3	3
Shenhua FC – Real Madrid	5.6666666667	4	5	8
Wollongong Wolves	3.3333333333		5	3	2
Rangers – Real Madrid	5.6			4	6	8	4	6
Sandhurst Eagles	1.6			2	3	1	1	1
Railroad Dodgers	1			1
Racing Meander F.C.	2				2	2
Sheffield Wednesday	2				3			1
Economic Consumerists	3				4	4	1
Gunyah	2.8						3	3	4	2	2
Kellyville Tigers	1						1	1
Borenore	2								2
Dead Dodos	2.3333333333									2	2	3
Aujk Markera	2									2
Marist United	3									3
Heart FC	2										2
Trippysbombers	2											2

 

Congratulations to Shenhua – Real Madrid for achieving the best results this season from an Australia team. For anyone wondering round 8 denotes making the quarter-finals of the cup.