AI Experiment - what would happen if?

[muja50]

Legendary kip!! Absolutely Legendary.

To be honest i think the bandits having three consecutive managers of similair ability has aided the experiment side of the bandits as it helps us come to a reasonable conclusion about the importance of different managerial attributes. But obviously as a member of the 'Bandit Firm' i could count my self a little impatient for the glory days of premiership domination & masters of europe to come by...

Also as a gooner i cant be happier about the bandits fierce rivialry with spurs... (or is it something you tweaked from the original fisher athletic?)if possible kip,can you post the information screen just to see if AI is reactive to the birth of confrontation btween two sides,as it would make sense geographically as bandits being from southeast london (though if i recall correctly you might have changed it to poole)

[DefoesRightBoot]

Well the top 3 and 4 of the top 5 in the current squad are new signings, so IF they can play together quickly then this could be the Bandits best squad we've had.

Alternatively they could just fail to gel completely, and be *****... but that would make a poor story...

[ReddaJoppe]

I just finished reading this thread and it took me the better part of two weeks! And that's just reading mainly kipfizh' post and sort of glancing through the rest.

This is a very interesting experiment and a really well-written story at the same time, nicely done ;-)

Can't wait for the next update now that I've finally finished reading the hole thing. Go Bandits!

[StanleyRovers]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by StanleyRovers:

Also, if its not too much trouble, i have a question, have San Marino ever qualified for a international tournament?

No, they haven't, and they are a truly absymal team, going 25 years between 2006 and 2031 without even scoring a goal, including 88 consecutive defeats.

They've never been close to qualifying. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

LOL, that really is awful, they have a few good regens on my game

oh well, thanks anyway Kip

[Meitheisman]

Originally posted by DefoesRightBoot:

Alternatively they could just fail to gel completely, and be *****... but that would make a poor story...

I might sound very pessimistic but I think that's what will happen and the Bandits will fail to qualify for Europe... hopefully I'm wrong though.

[DefoesRightBoot]

Originally posted by Meitheisman:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DefoesRightBoot:

Alternatively they could just fail to gel completely, and be *****... but that would make a poor story...

I might sound very pessimistic but I think that's what will happen and the Bandits will fail to qualify for Europe... hopefully I'm wrong though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes. You do.

[kipfizh]

Originally posted by AB-forever:

Have they ever loaned a player out to Esbjerg? and have they ever recieved a Danish regen because of this link?

They've loaned a couple of youth players out to Esbjerg, but no-one of any note, and never received any Danes, no. Not sure the link has helped them much yet!

[kipfizh]

Originally posted by muja50:

Also as a gooner i cant be happier about the bandits fierce rivialry with spurs... (or is it something you tweaked from the original fisher athletic?)if possible kip,can you post the information screen just to see if AI is reactive to the birth of confrontation btween two sides,as it would make sense geographically as bandits being from southeast london (though if i recall correctly you might have changed it to poole)

There's no rivalry labelled in the game, and over the past couple of years the games have calmed down, and you're right, the Bandits are based in Poole, so it won't be a geographical thing.

I'm not sure if rivals get added during the game - does anyone know?

[cms186]

update imminent kip?

[Saviola JH]

I'm not sure if rivals get added during the game - does anyone know?

"Apparently" the game updates fierce rivals and rivals if you play several important matches in a row...finals of cup competitions and title deciders, etc. I've never had it happen to me, however.

[FlownCanary]

Loving the story Kip, love that we have a 180+ player too!

Quick question, have any league teams dropped out altogether yet? Would like to know who's dropped into oblivion

KUTGW Kip, can't wait for the next update!

[kipfizh]

Bandits report – Season report

After another turbulent start to the summer, the Bandits headed into the new season not knowing what to expect of their manager. They weren’t sure of his abilities, but he came with a good record and had replaced those he had sold well during the break. But it was Reynolds’ final signing that the fans were most excited about – Aitor Rubio, star striker.

The season began, ironically, away at Rubio’s former club Liverpool, current Premiership champions, and the perfect start was made, Messner giving the Bandits a shock lead in the opening minute. Two minutes later though, Liverpool were level, and an exciting match ended 2-2, a respectable opening day.

What followed wasn’t so good though, a 1-1 draw with Leeds being followed by a 4-0 hammering at Villa Park as the Bandits imploded badly. A 2-1 win over newly promoted Port Vale gave them their first victory of the season but the form was still poor going into the first round of the UEFA Cup.

AEK Athens were the opponents, and the Bandits began well, new full back Martinelli opening the scoring, but just after half time the Greek side grabbed an equaliser and an away goal. Michael de Lange gave the Bandits the 2-1 win with a late goal but the fans were still unimpressed as the tie remained in the balance.

Rubio had made a slow start to the campaign, and it continued as the Bandits went down 2-1 to Burnley in a dismal performance, before Chelsea came to town. Rubio finally got his first goal for the club, but it took a late Messner penalty to rescue a point after Chelsea had come from behind to lead.

Next came the away tie in Athens, and Rubio scored a precious early goal to cancel out their opponent’s away goal, and although AEK equalised, they couldn’t force another one and the Bandits squeezed through 3-2 on aggregate.

The league form was still appalling though, confirmed by a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle. After seven games, they were seventeenth with just six points.

Finally a decent win was achieved against Man United, winning 1-0 in a feisty match that saw three Bandits carried off injured, forcing them to play the whole of the second half with ten men. They then managed a decent comeback against Arsenal, going 2-0 inside six minutes before coming back for a draw. Still comfortably in the bottom half, a string of wins was required.

But first, the UEFA Cup, and with a group of Orgryte, Espanyol, Boavista and Hertha Berlin, they had to be confident of progressing. The group certainly started well with a 3-1 win over Orgryte, and eventually three draws would see them comfortably through in second place.

The league form continued to improve with a 2-0 win over West Ham, but if the cup successes of last season were hoped for again, they took a dent with an early exit from the League Cup, losing 3-1 at Man City. A 2-2 draw with West Brom and a 2-1 defeat to Sheff Wed knocked them back in the Premiership again too, and the fans were beginning to get restless, the team still only 13th after twelve games.

But then, finally, form was found. Colchester were beaten 2-1, before Rubio and Sayer each grabbed a brace in a 4-0 win at Forest. Rubio then added two more in a 4-1 win over QPR as the Bandits moved into the top half for the first time all season, before the star striker made in six in three games, adding two more in a 3-0 win over Man City, revenge for their League Cup defeat.

Next came a trip to Spurs, and for once, both sides ended with eleven men on the field, but despite an even game, Tottenham were clinical in their finishing to run out 4-0 winners, a deceptive scoreline given the nature of the match. To add salt to the wounds, it was former Bandit Aaron Lomas who did the damage, scoring twice.

Heads didn’t drop, and Messner’s brace saw off Chesterfield days later, but as Christmas loomed the players began to struggle again, drawing with Sunderland, losing 2-1 at home to Liverpool despite leading against ten men, and then being hammered 4-1 at Leeds to send them back into mid table. On New Years Day, they lost 2-0 to Villa, sending them back to eleventh after a disastrous holiday period.

The FA Cup provided a reprieve, with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal sending them through to round four, and with new 36m recruit George Birchall getting off the mark nine minutes into his debut at Port Vale, victories followed in that game and against Burnley.

The team then travelled to Stoke for the fourth round of the FA Cup, and it proved to be a violent affair. The Bandits took the lead but ended the game with eight men on the field, two sent off and two injured, the last injury occurring after all subs had been made. For their part, Stoke received one red card and one injury, but their two man advantage showed as they came back to win 2-1, knocking the Bandits out.

They travelled to Chelsea shorn of players through injury and suspension, but put up a good fight, eventually going to 2-1 to a Tony Harris goal, the former Bandit haunting his old club. Victories over Newcastle and Man United pushed them back up the league though, before the UEFA Cup restarted with a tie against Italian side Palermo.

The home leg started badly, Palermo scoring an away goal before the half hour, but Rubio equalised before half time, and then the Italians were reduced to ten men. Schweinsteiger’s winner seventeen minutes from time ensured that the Bandits would travel to Italy with an advantage, but perhaps the margin should’ve been greater given the opportunity.

The plan was to keep the second leg tight, counter attacking when possible, and it frustrated Palermo throughout the first half. In the second, as they threw men forward, Messner and Rubio capitalised to send the Bandits through 4-1 on aggregate, after a superbly professional display.

By now Aitor Rubio was proving why he was so highly rated, and his hattrick against Arsenal gave the Bandits a thrilling 3-2 victory, before West Ham knocked them back with a 2-1 defeat.

The second knockout round of the UEFA Cup didn’t require the Bandits to leave the country, as familiar foes Sheff Wed lay in wait. The formerly dominant Premiership side were on the rise again, and were well on their way to comfortably regaining their crown, so it was about as hard a draw as the Bandits could’ve got.

And the away leg began with Wednesday pouring forward, and going into a 2-0 lead after twenty minutes, much to the delight of their fans. But first Schweinsteiger and then Messner shocked them into silence, and a half time the tie was locked at 2-2. Messner’s red card early in the second half was a setback, and the hosts took advantage to lead 3-2, but after they were also reduced to ten men they were unable to add to their tally, and the Bandits fancied their chances.

The second leg was another professional display, as Schweinsteiger’s first half goal ensured that Sheff Wed needed to come out and play, and as they attacked, Rubio added a second to send the Bandits through to the quarter finals again.

West Brom were then beaten in the league before Wednesday got some measure of revenge with a 2-1 win a week later, so with seven games to go the Bandits sat eighth, close to the UEFA Cup spots but perhaps needing European glory to confirm their entry for next season.

Unfortunately, the first leg of their quarter final was an abject disaster. In truth, Fiorentina could’ve scored more than they did, but a 3-0 result left them strong favourites to progress. The straw the Bandits clutched to was that exactly the same thing happened in last season’s quarter final with Bremen, before they stormed back with a 4-0 second leg victory.

Messner scored early in the second leg, but Fiorentina managed a sucker punch before the half hour to leave the Bandits needing five. Messner completed his hattrick in the second half, but the 3-1 win wasn’t enough and they were out.

So the only thing left was to try and qualify for Europe through the league. A win over Colchester put them sixth, and another victory against Forest enhanced that position. Four points from the next four games changed little, but it meant they went into the last day still sixth, behind Burnley on goal difference, ahead of Man Utd on goal difference with Chesterfield two points back.

A win could see them fifth, and would guarantee and least sixth, while a defeat would see Chesterfield rise above them and possibly drop them back to eighth.

It was particularly critical because of the cup results. As with four seasons ago when the Bandits came sixth and didn’t qualify for Europe, there was only one league place up for grabs, and that was fifth. Man Utd had won the league cup, and West Ham’s appearance in the FA Cup final meant that those two clubs had sewn up the other two places, both being behind United. To make matters worse, the Intertoto Cup offer had been made to Chesterfield, so it was all or nothing on the final day.

The Bandits did their bit, winning 2-1 at Chesterfield, and with United losing, all eyes turned to Burnley. Unfortunately for the Bandits, Burnley defeated Chelsea 2-1 to secure fifth on goal difference, and guaranteed that the Bandits would face a season without European football.

It was an outcome that the board found unacceptable, and immediately after the final match they dismissed Tait, hiring Robbie Way as a replacement. The 52 year old is a former Bandits youth coach, having left seventeen years ago to become assistant manager at a variety of clubs. Eventually, last summer, he was promoted to Spurs manager, but worryingly, he was sacked in March with them languishing in the bottom half – last season they had come second.

Robbie Way

On the face of it though, he certainly looks no worse than Tait, being a similar type of manager, and with a peaked CA of 117. His buying players rating is one higher than Tait, at five, but still the joint worst in the Premiership with the Arsenal manager.

The fact that he seems such a poor appointment makes you realise how bad Tait really was – Way is actually considerably better than Tait, so perhaps we shouldn’t worry too much.

But next season the Bandits will be without European football, and really, they need a better manager. On the plus side, Rubio and Messner scored 49 goals between them, 7.57 and 7.54 respectively, while January signing Birchall averaged 7.70 in his ten games. They have some stars now, as long as no idiot manager decides to sell them.

But the malaise can still be blamed on consistently bad appointment. Sing with me – ‘sack the board, sack the board, sack the board’.

Honours: League Cup (2044, 2047, 2052)

[kipfizh]

Bandits report – Season summary

2006-07, English Conference South - 1st, FA Trophy - Winners

2007-08, English National Conference - 7th, FA Trophy - Final

2008-09, English National Conference – 7th

2009-10, English National Conference – 9th

2010-11, English National Conference – 6th

2011-12, English National Conference – 18th

2012-13, English National Conference – 5th

2013-14, English National Conference – 1st

2014-15, English League Two – 21st

2015-16, English League Two – 21st

2016-17, English League Two – 6th

2017-18, English League Two – 6th

2018-19, English League Two – 7th

2019-20, English League Two – 6th, Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – South Semi Final

2020-21, English League Two – 10th

2021-22, English League Two – 1st, Johnstone’s Paint Trophy - Final

2022-23, English League One – 13th, Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – South Semi Final

2023-24, English League One – 11th, League Cup – Final

2024-25, English League One – 11th, League Cup – Semi-Final

2025-26, English League One – 18th

2026-27, English League One – 17th

2027-28, English League One – 14th

2028-29, English League One – 20th

2029-30, English League One – 1st

2030-31, English Championship – 14th

2031-32, English Championship – 10th, League Cup – Final

2032-33, English Championship – 12th

2033-34, English Championship – 8th

2034-35, English Championship – 21st

2035-36, English Championship – 2nd

2036-37, English Premiership – 17th

2037-38, English Premiership – 12th

2038-39, English Premiership – 15th, FA Cup – Semi-Final

2039-40, English Premiership – 11th

2040-41, English Premiership – 14th

2041-42, English Premiership – 13th

2042-43, English Premiership – 11th

2043-44, English Premiership – 6th, League Cup – Winners

2044-45, English Premiership – 9th

2045-46, English Premiership – 3rd

2046-47, English Premiership – 2nd, League Cup – Winners

2047-48, English Premiership – 5th, League Cup – Final

2048-49, English Premiership – 5th, UEFA Cup – Semi-Final

2049-50, English Premiership – 11th, League Cup – Final

2050-51

English Premiership: (Pos 6), P 38, W 15, D 12, L 11, F 57, A 45, GD +12, Pts 57

(Media Prediction: 7th)

FA Cup: 5th Round

League Cup: 4th Round

2051-52

English Premiership: (Pos 9), P 38, W 16, D 7, L 15, F 56, A 51, GD +5, Pts 55

(Media Prediction: 6th)

FA Cup: Quarter Final

League Cup: Winners

2052-53

English Premiership: (Pos 3), P 38, W 21, D 6, L 11, F 67, A 46, GD +21, Pts 69

(Media Prediction: 8th)

UEFA Cup: 1st Knockout Round

FA Cup: 4th Round

League Cup: 3rd Round

2053-54

English Premiership: (Pos 5), P 38, W 15, D 15, L 8, F 55, A 46, GD +9, Pts 60

(Media Prediction: 5th)

UEFA Cup: Semi-Final

FA Cup: Semi-Final

League Cup: Quarter-Final

2054-55

English Premiership: (Pos 6), P 38, W 18, D 7, L 13, F 64, A 57, GD +7, Pts 61

(Media Prediction: 5th)

League

UEFA Cup: Quarter-Final

FA Cup: 4th Round

League Cup: 3rd Round

[kipfizh]

Bandits report - Best and Worst

General

Stats

Finance Overview

The Bandits spent a fortune this season on new players, but still managed a profit.

New records:

Highest Transfer Fee Paid: 36.5m for Aitor Rubio, to Liverpool

Total Transfer Spending: 99m

This season:

Best player – Rubio, 7.57

Top scorer – Messner, 25

Worst player – Aizpurua, 6.44

The Bandits return to the top of the rich list, quite comfortably.

Rich Clubs

[kipfizh]

Bandits report - First XI Summary

GK: Johnstone (35, 169/173) – 7.52

LB: Veiga (26, 164/178) – 7.10

CB: Dompig (29, 170/170) – 7.32

CB: Christie (26, 175/179) – 6.73

RB: Haaland (32, 163/188) – 6.86

LM: Lopez (29, 160/179) – 6.60

CM: Schweinsteiger (31, 152/173) – 6.58

CM: Birchall (27, 177/188) – 7.70

RM: Aizpurua (27, 154/154) – 6.44

ST: Rubio (26, 184/184) – 7.57

ST: Messner (26, 175/175) – 7.54

Average age – 28.5 (up from last year’s 27.5)

Average CA – 167.5 (down from last year’s 168.3)

Average rating – 7.09 (up from last year’s 6.87)

The first team is now a tale of the good and the bad. Johnstone is still a fantastic keeper, and with McParland also playing as well in almost as many games, there is healthy competition there, especially with McParland being only 25. Dompig is playing much better now that he has moved back from midfield to the defence, Birchall is a stunning signing in midfield, and the front pairing of Rubio and Messner frightens the life out of the league. Veiga is also a decent full back.

Those players are all potential Premiership winner – they are good enough. But the rest of the team is letting them down. Christie is settling in, so we’ll give him a break, but Haaland is past it, Lopez isn’t good enough, Schweinsteiger is past it, and Aizpurua is never going to be good enough with a PA of 154.

Those players need to be replaced, and by younger versions. Notice that the youngest player in the team is 26, hardly with time to grow into a better player. The average age is now too high, while the CA dropped slightly because of Haaland and Schweinsteiger’s declines.

Haaland already has a replacement, and Luke Matthews, who is 25 with a CA/PA of 171/185, should fill in next season. So that’s one slot.

But the point is – five of those players are playing superbly, with four of them averaging over 7.50, meaning the average rating of the team is very good. They just need some decent teammates.

[kipfizh]

Bandits report – Outside the first XI

Dropped:

None

Sold:

Simon (CB): Hadn’t played well for a while, and at 32 was deemed too old. Dompig moved back into defence.

Rowntree (CB): Moved to Barcelona after deciding the Bandits were not big enough for him yet.

Harris (LM): Moved to Chelsea for an enormous fee but struggled badly there.

Pollard (CM): Sold to Chelsea in January but well replaced by Birchall.

Prospects

Harper (20, 166/181), gained another ten points of CA, and having spent last season on loan at Rangers, moved across the city to play for Celtic all season, doing well again. It is his time to challenge for a first team place.

It is a bit concerning that the Bandits now have only one starlet – they need youth badly.

[kipfizh]

Competitions - Other stats

England performed quite well to finish third in the World Cup, a tournament that Spain won, defeating Germany on penalties in the final. Japan extended the record for winless games to eighteen after another dismal campaign. England have won all three games of their European Championship qualifying.

Sheff Wed stormed back to win the Premiership after a few years away, beating champions Liverpool into second, while Chelsea particularly suffered, falling all the way back to 13th. Arsenal joined Port Vale and Colchester in dropping back to the Championship, following the route Man United took before remaining in the Championship for twelve years. Can they bounce back?

Sheff Wed claimed the double by hammering West Ham 4-0 in the FA Cup final to complete a superb season under former Bandit manager Ben Clayton. Man Utd won the League Cup, beating West Brom on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

Benfica claimed the Champions League, also on penalties, beating Bayern Munich after a 1-1 draw, while it took another set of spot kicks to decide the UEFA Cup, Marseille defeating Fiorentina after a 2-2 draw.

Meanwhile, the incredible story of Welling continued. Three years after they lifted the FA Cup while dropping to the Conference South, they claimed their third consecutive promotion, going up from League Two through the playoffs, and via yet another penalty shoot out. They are now a League One club and still rising.

[kipfizh]

Player reports – the original Bandits

Goalkeeper 1 – Retired from playing 03/07/2032, from management 2054

Goalkeeper 2 – Retired from playing 27/06/2032, from management 2053

Left Back 1 – Retired from playing 30/06/2030, from management 2054

Right Mid 1 – Retired from playing 25/04/2026

2026-2027, Aston Villa (youth coach), CA 130, PA 130

2027-2035, Chelsea (assistant manager), CA 130, PA 130

2035-2037, Chelsea (manager), CA 130, PA 130

2037-2038, Roma (manager), CA 130, PA 130

2038-2042, Chelsea (manager), CA 129, PA 130

2042-2043, No Club, CA 130, PA 130

2043-2045, Milan (manager), CA 126, PA 130

2045-2047, Barcelona (manager), CA 124, PA 130

2047-2053, Sheff Wed (manager), CA 111, PA 130

2053-, Bayern Munich (manager), CA 105, PA 130

Will finally call time on his career this summer, and almost finished perfectly, reaching the Champions League final, but his Bayern Munich side lost on penalties to Benfica.

Centre Mid 1 – Retired from playing 02/07/2030, from management 2051

[kipfizh]

Premiership Analysis - Reputation

(league position in bold)

1 (1). Sheff Wed (1) – 8541 (-177)

2 (2). Liverpool (2) – 8374 (+3)

3 (3). Tottenham (15) – 7953 (-188)

4 (4). Chelsea (13) – 7890 (-184)

5 (5). Bandits (6) – 7855 (-65)

6 (8). Newcastle (4) – 7731 (+264)

7 (6). Leeds (10) – 7615 (-301)

8 (7). West Ham (9) – 7300 (-337)

9 (10). QPR (17) – 7203 (-181)

10 (14). Burnley (5) – 7202 (+260)

11 (12). Aston Villa (3) – 7102 (+39)

12 (11). West Brom (12) – 7055 (-149)

13 (15). Man Utd (7) – 6955 (+77)

14 (13). Sunderland (16) – 6849 (-188)

15 (9). Man City (11) – 6716 (-701)

16 (-). Nottm Forest (14) – 6412 (+76)

17 (-). Port Vale (19) – 6313 (+40)

18 (16). Arsenal (18) – 6297 (-51)

19 (18). Chesterfield (8) – 6123 (+177)

20 (-). Colchester (20) – 5563 (+127)

Promoted sides

Derby – 6424 (+743)

Crystal Palace – 6385

Hull – 6284

The top five remain the same, but Newcastle close in on them after an excellent season. The Bandits suffer a small loss in reputation, but nothing compared to a few of the teams around them.

Nearer the bottom, Man City suffer badly, while even an eighth placed finish doesn’t stop Chesterfield dropping a place to 19th. Colchester never stood a hope at the bottom.

None of the sides coming up have a terrible reputation, and any of them stand a chance of survival.

[kipfizh]

Premiership Analysis – Team Ability

(league position in bold)

1 (1). Chelsea (13) – 74.10 (+0.21)

2 (2). Liverpool (2) – 74.04 (+1.37)

3 (5). Sheff Wed (1) – 73.85 (+1.69)

4 (3). West Ham (9) – 73.25 (+0.74)

5 (6). Tottenham (15) – 72.04 (+0.15)

6 (7). Bandits (6) – 71.93 (+0.29)

7 (4). Man City (11) – 71.91 (-0.32)

8 (10). Leeds (10) – 71.87 (+1.28)

9 (9). Aston Villa (3) – 71.48 (+0.48)

10 (15). Newcastle (4) – 71.21 (+1.46)

11 (12). West Brom (12) – 71.09 (+0.68)

12 (11). Arsenal (18) – 70.42 (-0.03)

13 (13). Sunderland (16) – 70.34 (-)

14 (14). Man Utd (7) – 70.24 (+0.07)

15 (8). QPR (17) – 69.69 (-1.46)

16 (18). Chesterfield (8) – 69.20 (+1.99)

17 (-). Nottm Forest (14) – 67.64 (+2.23)

18 (19). Burnley (5) – 67.51 (+0.42)

19 (-). Port Vale (19) – 66.03 (+1.09)

20 (-). Colchester (20) – 65.63 (+2.09)

Promoted sides

Derby – 66.46 (-2.36)

Crystal Palace – 64.92

Hull – 67.42

Chelsea’s lead is cut at the top after Liverpool improved their side considerably, while champions Sheff Wed also close the gap. The whole of the top six improve, a reflection of the higher standard of the league, only three of the twenty Premiership sides actually getting worse. One of those three, Man City, allow the Bandits to move up a spot to sixth.

All this makes it very difficult for the promoted sides, although Hull seem to be coming from a good position.

Overachievers : Burnley, Chesterfield

Underachievers : Chelsea, Tottenham

Title Prediction : Liverpool to become champions again

Relegation Prediction : Crystal Palace and Derby to go back down, with QPR

[kipfizh]

Summary

The last twelve months have seen two changes of manager for the Bandits. First James Reynolds jumped ship to Deportivo, and then Scott Tait was fired after failing to take them back into Europe. Now it is the turn of Robbie Way, who looks a very similar manager.

They were once again cruelly denied entry into Europe, sixth place not being enough after sides below them triumphed in the cups, so next season should all be about the league, and pushing forward.

The team itself is split in half. Johnstone, Rubio, Messner and Birchall are absolute stars, but half of the team are either past it or simply not good enough. If they can be replaced with quality, the Bandits will have a stunning team – they have more stars than ever before.

Sheff Wed returned to the peak of the English game, winning both the Premiership and the FA Cup, all ironically under former Bandit manager Ben Clayton, who was poor both then and when in charge of Chelsea. Can he keep it going?

Speaking of keeping things going, Welling managed their third promotion in a row, after winning the FA Cup three years ago. What a run they are on.

Only one former Bandit remains in the game, legendary manager Right Mid 1, but he will finally retire this summer, signaling the end of the original starlets. Only the club remains.

The Bandits still have a wonderful platform – the most frightening strike force in the league and a terrific pair of goalkeepers. If they sort out what’s in between, they’ll do well. Is Robbie Way the man to make the right decisions?

Bandit’s former manager watch

Justin Edinburgh has retired.

Steve Brackstone has retired.

Gary Perry has retired.

Dean Glover has retired.

Martin Lawton has retired.

Danny Gamble has retired.

Phil Edwards has retired.

Ben Clayton was hired by Sheff Wed having been out of work for three years. Incredibly, despite his apparent lack of talent, he took his new club to a Premiership and FA Cup double.

Stuart Davies has retired.

Left Back 1 has retired.

Neil Angus has retired.

Terry Arthur has retired.

Mark Nicholson had an amazing season, taking his Benfica side to European glory, winning the Champions League.

James Reynolds left the Bandits to join Deportivo last summer, but his new club were not in European competition so he remains untested.

Scott Tait was fired by Bandits just after the end of the season, and is still out of work.

[kipfizh]

World View - Ones to watch

Your annual guide to the stars of tomorrow:

Gregory Bertin (Bordeaux/France, 17, 104/199, Winger: 49.72%), was born in Bordeaux and has signed for his hometown club. The right winger is yet to make his debut, but is quite the prospect.

Previous tips (legends, or players still with promise)

Carlo Lupo has retired.

Hugues Guichard (Bayern Munich/France, 33, 102/195, Target Striker: 64.82%), loses 27 more CA points, and after being out of favour all season he will retire in the summer.

Bjorn Strand (West Ham/Norway, 32, 167/193, Target Striker: 78.37%), incredibly stops his decline and regains six lost CA points, scoring 25 goals at an average of 7.72 in another amazing season for West Ham. He’s still got it.

Umit Abdulkadir (Real Madrid/Turkey, 30, 184/199, Fast Striker: 78.15%), loses seven CA points, but scores another 24 goals at an average of 7.68 for Real Madrid. He may no longer be a world beater, but he is still a star striker.

Leonardo (Barcelona/Brazil, 28, 178/185, Target Striker: 76.25%), falls away from his peak at only 28, losing seven points of CA, but scores sixteen goals at an average of 7.50 for Barcelona, impressing once again.

Peter Schulz (Bayern Munich/Germany, 30, 181/188, Target Striker: 76.29%), loses just one point of CA, yet continues to improve on the field, scoring an astonishing 43 goals for Bayern Munich, averaging 7.79 along the way. He is deadly.

Fabrizio Bucci (Inter/Italy, 29, 191/199, Target Striker: 76.95%), drops just one more point of CA as he slows his decline down, and is another of Europe’s top strikers, scoring 35 goals for Inter. So many of the top players are strikers at the moment.

Joe Galloway (Liverpool/England, 28, 186/190, Full Back: 81.44%), keeps his CA static, but manages to improve his scouted rating, despite already being the best in the world by that marker. He impresses once again for Liverpool, and is a superb left back.

Guillaume Charton (Lyon/France, 28, 194/194, Goalkeeper: 75.18%), maintains his peak, and continues to play amazingly well for Lyon, averaging 7.83 in conceding just 18 goals in 48 games. What a keeper.

Juan Perez (Real Madrid/Mexico, 25, 194/194, Winger: 79.51%), remains at his peak for Real Madrid, and returns to form, playing some dazzling football having played a large part in Mexico’s progression to the World Cup semi finals last summer.

Aaron Lomas (Tottenham/England, 26, 185/198, Target Striker: 79.22%), continues his slow crawling improvement, gaining just one point of CA, but scores 27 goals in a fine campaign for Spurs, showing the Bandits exactly what they are missing by selling him.

Graham Thomas (Liverpool/England, 24, 184/198, Centre Back: 75.99%), gains just one point, and plays reasonably for Liverpool without starring.

Andre Luis (Valencia/Brazil, 24, 183/198, Attacking Midfielder: 75.16%), gains four points of CA, but is really struggling for Valencia despite his apparent ability.

Raymond van Dijk (Chelsea/Holland, 23, 179/195, Full Back: 80.48%), gains just one more point of CA, but sees his scouted rating go above the magic 80% mark. He finally asserts himself on the Chelsea team, playing well.

Roberio (Marseille/Brazil, 21, 177/198, Winger: 77.43%), improves by another nine points, but isn’t setting the world alight with Marseille just yet.

Olivier Texier (Sheff Wed/France, 22, 177/199, Winger: 77.68%), rises by ten points, joined Sheff Wed for 13.5m, but averages an appalling 6.15 for his new club.

Robert Wojcik (Portsmouth/Poland, 17, 141/194, Target Striker: 71.53%), improves by another 21 points, and moved to Championship side Portsmouth for 500k, where he made a decent start.

Juan Carlos Gimenez (San Lorenzo/Argentina, 18, 149/199, Midfielder: 65.71%) gains a massive 33 points, and begins to play very well for his club. He will be noticed soon.

[kipfizh]

World View - World beaters (by CA)

Gillaume Charton (Lyon/France, 28, 194/194, Goalkeeper: 75.18%) remains joint first, and has an incredible record for Lyon, keeping clean sheet after clean sheet for Lyon and France. His average of 7.83 is remarkable for a goalkeeper.

Gillaume Charton

Juan Perez (Real Madrid/Mexico, 25, 194/194, Winger: 79.51%), remains joint with Charton, and after a season of struggle he is back to top form, averaging 7.45. Still only 25, he could be a great player for years to come, but his scouted rating stubbornly refuses to hit 80%.

Juan Perez

Mathieu Adam (Real Madrid/France, 25, 192/192, Goalkeeper: 76.60%), moves up from joint fifth to third, but still faces the problem of getting past Charton at international level. For Real Madrid, he is excellent, and with Perez creating chances at the other end, it is a surprise to see Real Madrid fail to win trophies.

Mathieu Adam

Fabrizio Bucci (Inter/Italy, 29, 191/199, Target Striker: 76.95%), continues to be on the list, although the former world’s best drops back from third to fourth this year. He has another awesome season, scoring 35 goals for Inter, and shows no sign of fading. He is a long way from finished.

Fabrizio Bucci

Reiner Helbig (CA 186) and Umit Abdulkadir (CA 184) drop off the list.

[kipfizh]

World View - World beaters (by scouted rating)

Joe Galloway (Liverpool/England, 28, 186/190, Full Back: 81.44%), remains top for the second year in a row, and the third year of his career, improving his scouted rating once again to stretch it way beyond the 80% mark. A very solid and dependable full back, he continues to impress for Liverpool.

Joe Galloway

Raymond van Dijk (Chelsea/Holland, 23, 179/195, Full Back: 80.48%), is a new entry on the list, and is a great player at the wrong club. This has been the best season of his career and the right back will still feel he can do better, Chelsea not quite extracting the best from him yet.

Raymond van Dijk

Here are the best players in the world, in each position, by scouted rating:

Goalkeeper: Emanuele Amodio (Benfica/Italy, 30, 180/187, 77.31%)

Sweeper: Terry Hill (Bayern Munich/England, 27, 171/183, 77.38%)

Centre Back: Joe Galloway (Liverpool/England, 28, 186/190, 78.68%)

Left Back: Joe Galloway (Liverpool/England, 28, 186/190, 81.44%)

Right Back: Raymond van Dijk (Chelsea/Holland, 23, 179/195, 80.48%)

Left Wing Back: Joe Galloway (Liverpool/England, 28, 186/190, 80.50%)

Right Wing Back: Pacheco (Liverpool/Portugal, 29, 172/179, 77.36%)

Defensive Midfielder: Jochen Kunert (Chelsea/Germany, 32, 160/187, 76.05%)

Central Midfielder: Juan Perez (Real Madrid/Mexico, 25, 194/194, 77.54%)

Attacking Midfielder: Ronald Diaz (Newcastle/Bolivia, 31, 168/177, 78.79%)

Left Winger: Olivier Texier (Sheff Wed/France, 22, 177/199, 77.68%)

Right Winger: Juan Perez (Real Madrid/Mexico, 25, 194/194, 79.51%)

Fast Striker: Thiago (Sevilla/Spain, 28, 173/190, 78.29%)

Target Striker: Aaron Lomas (Tottenham/England, 26, 185/198, 79.22%)

Losing their place:

Mathieu Adam (GK), Fabrizio Pastore (LW)

The team stays almost exactly the same as last year, with Adam and Pastore knocked down to second place in their positions, but everyone else remaining.

[kipfizh]

World View - Distribution of 180+ CA players

The clubs

Real Madrid – 6 (-2) (194, 192, 184, 183, 182, 181)

Lyon – 4 (-2) (194, 188, 183, 182)

Milan – 4 (+2) (188, 186, 184, 180)

Barcelona – 3 (-) (186, 186, 180)

Bayern Munich – 3 (-) (186, 185, 181)

Chelsea – 3 (+1) (186, 185, 182)

Tottenham – 3 (+1) (185, 181, 180)

Liverpool – 2 (-1) (186, 184)

Inter – 1 (-1) (191)

Bandits – 1 (+1) (184)

Valencia – 1 (+1) (183)

QPR – 1 (-) (183)

Sheff Wed – 1 (-) (181)

Benfica – 1 (+1) (180)

Marseille – 1 (-) (180)

Deportivo – 0 (-1)

West Ham – 0 (-1)

Sevilla – 0 (-1)

Total – 35 (-2)

The number of stars drops by two, down toe 35, and the Premiership clubs do not dominate the list anymore, Chelsea in sixth being the highest. Real Madrid are doing well, while Lyon’s success has them continuing to attract the stars.

Deportivo, West Ham and Sevilla drop off the list, and are replaced by the Bandits, Valencia and Benfica.

The leagues

England – 11 (+1)

Spain – 10 (-3)

France – 5 (-2)

Italy – 5 (+1)

Germany – 3 (-)

Portugal – 1 (+1)

Total – 35 (-2)

England return to the top, mainly thanks to Spain’s losses, while Portugal make it six leagues in the list, in the year when Benfica became European champions.

The nationalities

England – 7 (-)

France – 5 (+1)

Italy – 5 (+1)

Spain – 3 (-2)

Germany – 2 (-1)

Brazil – 2 (-1)

Argentina – 2 (-)

Turkey – 2 (-)

Mexico – 1 (-)

Belgium – 1 (-)

Russia – 1 (-)

Holland – 1 (-)

Slovenia – 1 (-)

Serbia – 1 (-)

Peru – 1 (+1)

Portugal – 0 (-1)

Total – 35 (-2)

In a largely unchanged list, the usual suspects still rule at the top.

[chopper99]

It brought a tear to my eye seeing the final original Bandit deciding to call it a day and retire.

As for the present Bandits team, what a disappointing season. The boards choice of managers as generally always been very poor, which is doubly annoying considering how much cash they have to offer a manager in both wages and transfer funds.

The new manager isn't any better and I have a horrible feeling we'll see at least one of the star players sold over the summer. Without European football to tempt them it's also going to be more difficult to replace the players that just aren't good enough.

'Sack the board, sack the board!'

[Mravac Kid]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

Bandits report - Best and Worst

Highest Attendance: 139999 v Man City (FA Cup Quarter Final Replay)

OK, who's that one bastard who didn't show up for the game?

Also, England seems to always breeze through their qualifiers without conceeding. When was the last time they conceeded in the qualis? And what's their longest clean stretch?

Meanwhile, Italy continue to bring doom to their fantastic world-beaters... Bucci seems to be destined to follow Lupo into an internationally dry career.

LOL, Reiner "Donkey" Helbig. Ph33r The Donk

It's a shame to see Reynolds go, even though he hasn't done anything special he was the first well-rounded manager for the Bandits. I'm sure he would have done better in the coming seasons had he stayed aboard...

All hail and glory to the original Bandits! A glorious chapter in world football draws to a close, never to be repeated again.

Now that all of them have retired, can we see their trophy cabinets, both as players and staff?

[JRHaggs]

Agonizing. It really is amazing that there seems to be no prospect of the board ever hiring a decent manager.

Additionally, I'm afraid the young Harry Harper has neither the speed or aerial prowess to ever be a star Premiership striker. If he can get the right price, Robbie Way should move him along, I think.

To me, the squad is actually in less dire shape than you've suggested, Kip. Replacing Schweinsteiger and Aizpurua should be enough to create a devastating side. Aizpurua especially needs replacing. I feel like Lopez and Christie (and Haaland, too a lesser degree) should still be good players.

Welling is the new Bandits, I think. How does their board stack up against the Bandits'?

Back to the management situation. There appears to be a serious problem here. Is it possible that, because the only loaded league is England, only English managers are considered by the board? There have been foreign managers at other Premiership clubs in the past, though, if I remember correctly (didn't Spurs have some prodigious Turk at the helm early on?). So is it the AI of the board, or is it that the pool of managers is so thin that there aren't enough to go around?

Again, agonizing.

'Sack the board, sack the board, sack the board...'

[JRHaggs]

Originally posted by JRHaggs:

Didn't Spurs have some prodigious Turk at the helm early on?

Actually, it was Turgay Tufan, who managed Portsmouth, then Liverpool, then Man City, ...

I can only assume he's Turkish.

[wisescummer]

It does seem that the standard of international football has gotten worse. There, never seem to be any shocks, or even a side from outside Europe doing well. Kip, have any non-obvious sides done well in the world cup (I know about Scotland and Belgium)?

[Meitheisman]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

I'm not sure if rivals get added during the game - does anyone know?

I asked this question on here last year and the answer was no, not sure if it got implemented since though.

[Mravac Kid]

Originally posted by JRHaggs:

Welling is the new Bandits, I think. How does their board stack up against the Bandits'?

They lack the humongous stadium and the killer attendances to even come close to the Bandits. And I'm pretty sure they don't have a sugar daddy either.

They are most likely just a momentary flash, just around for a few years before fading back. At best they'll manage to float around just above Conference...

'Sack the board, sack the board, sack the board...'

Indeed...

They should have done that after the 3rd manager change in the Premiership, when it was obvious something's wrong. What's that, 20 years ago now?

[Mravac Kid]

Originally posted by wisescummer:

It does seem that the standard of international football has gotten worse. There, never seem to be any shocks, or even a side from outside Europe doing well.

That's by and large a consequence of having just the English leagues selected. The game figures out the rest of the world according to its internal calculations, and the big European leagues rank highest.

[VonBlade]

Blimey it's all action. Go away for a week and when you return we've gone through two managers, all the Bandits have retired and we've signed an absolute bona fide world star.

Gutted that the continued turnover of managers is having such a bad effect on the team. If there is one thing the board should learn it's that the big success comes from the Ferguson, Wenger management longevity, rather than the Cristian Gross/Iain Dowie school.

Finally looks like we've some team stability. And for the first time in almost ever it's the middle of the park that we struggle in rather than the wide positions. What a fantastic strike pairing too. The decent rep should see us hold onto them for a while and hopefully these Uefa runs should boost us to the point we can poach others. It's starting but not quite there.

Sack the board sack the board sack the board....

[JRHaggs]

Originally posted by Mravac Kid:

Originally posted by JRHaggs:

Welling is the new Bandits, I think. How does their board stack up against the Bandits'?

They lack the humongous stadium and the killer attendances to even come close to the Bandits. And I'm pretty sure they don't have a sugar daddy either.

They are most likely just a momentary flash, just around for a few years before fading back. At best they'll manage to float around just above Conference...

True. But, really, it seems that, although the big bankroll propelled them into the Premiership, the Bandits are lacking something that Welling possesses. Obviously, I don't know what that quality is. But Welling is climbing faster than the Bandits did. Is it possible that there is an advantage to developing the front office/financial aspects at the same rate as the team climbs the league ranks?

Eureka! How about this?:

Is it possible that the enormous bankroll has preserved the Bandits' board's reign artificially? Could it be that the crap-tacular managerial situation is due to the protracted rule of what should be a non-league board? I think there may be something to this.

Kip:

Do we know how the Bandits' board compares to other premiership boards?

It may be useful, looking ahead to the next experiment, to parse this out.

Note: Please excuse my circuitous approach to my conclusion. I don't think real good...

[JRHaggs]

Sorry about the stupid quotation mess above.

[5ergio]

Bah, managers passing by, European football is a year far away We should all sing...

Sack the board, sack the board, sack the board!

On the other hand, we got an awesome striking duo supported by Birchall. Only if we had a star winger

Kip, may I request the other Turkish player's profile over 180+ and where abouts are Turkish teams in Europen coefficients?

Yet again... Sack the board, sack the board, sack the board!

[Meitheisman]

Originally posted by DefoesRightBoot:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Meitheisman:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DefoesRightBoot:

Alternatively they could just fail to gel completely, and be *****... but that would make a poor story...

I might sound very pessimistic but I think that's what will happen and the Bandits will fail to qualify for Europe... hopefully I'm wrong though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes. You do.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sadly I was right though

This summer should be interesting since we'll see how the Bandits can hold on to their stars without European football but with a reasonable reputation, which one will take the edge?

And what everyone said about the board, I'm starting to get sick of them hiring terrible managers, how old are the board members now anyway, shouldn't they get replaced at some point?

*Fingers crossed for a board take over*

[5ergio]

Originally posted by Meitheisman:

And what everyone said about the board, I'm starting to get sick of them hiring terrible managers, how old are the board members now anyway, shouldn't they get replaced at some point?

*Fingers crossed for a board take over*

Well, considering the fact that I've experienced a lot of 100+ years old board members in my games, it just doesn't seem likely that they'll be replaced due aging However an ambitious, relatively young board could well take us further. I don't want to see 50 more years like one year in Europe, one out. We want some silverware! So, sack the board, sack the board, sack the board!

[Young Jimlad]

Galloway essentially that generations Maldini.

[cms186]

Forest stay up \0/

[StanleyRovers]

Pacheco is the best right wing back in the world, and Aaron Lomas is the best Target Striker. Damn you Terry Arthur!!

Yet another poor choice of manager

"Sack the board, sack the board, sack the board"

[AB-forever]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AB-forever:

Have they ever loaned a player out to Esbjerg? and have they ever recieved a Danish regen because of this link?

They've loaned a couple of youth players out to Esbjerg, but no-one of any note, and never received any Danes, no. Not sure the link has helped them much yet! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I guess the loanees didn't tear up the Danish league?

"Sack the board, sack the board!" It seems to me that The Bandits will never ever get a good manager.

And it annoys me that some managers can't spot obviously bad players, like Aizpurua. Our new manager seems better to judge player ability though.

To me Haaland doesn't seem so bad yet.

What a great striking partnership

And i don't think that Harry Harper will ever be very good.

How can Joe Galloway be the best centre back in the world by scout rating when his Marking is only 10?

And where's the Bandits squad report with the 20 best players and that?

[mjbmedia]

can i ask, what was the answer to the original supposition on the first page of this amzing thread??

[nine_iron]

Very well done!

[Nexus1614]

Hey kip, do you mind people running an experiment similar to this on FM08?

^_^

[VonBlade]

Originally posted by Nexus1614:

Hey kip, do you mind people running an experiment similar to this on FM08?

As has been stated many times, no. Loads have tried.

can i ask, what was the answer to the original supposition on the first page of this amzing thread??

Depends which one you mean. Most of the player questions were answered within a season or two. And the thread contains the rest of them.

VB

[Wanson]

This experiment has been going on a long time now, great work btw kip. In all that time The Bandits haven't even come close to a league title.

There's got to be something wrong with the AI there. The Bandits have limitless transfer funds, massive fan support, a humongous stadium, excellent training and youth facilities and the reputation to entice nearly any superstar player to the club. How can a club like that not come even close to a title in over 30 years?

If a human player were to take control of the club they'd win the league within 2 seasons easy. If a human player had been playing from the start they'd have won the Premier League within 10 years from the start.

The AI has failed this experiment miserably IMO.

[turn it upto 11]

whatever happened to ryan morley

[martinw]

Personally I think the AI problem is in the boardroom. Having a board that hasn't changed throughout the game has prevented the club from reaching its potential.

It is possible for clubs to change the board, but not when the chairman 'loves the club' and would never leave. Maybe for future releases they need to have a retirement/death for the board members and a 'sack the board' protest from the fans.