AI Experiment - what would happen if?

[deadeyedunc]

I think there's a problem in the game linking reputation with finances. The game seems to base reputation solely on league factors. IRL if there was a super rich club in the conference then players from league 1/2 clubs would certainly want to join as they know that they'd receive good wages and have excellent prospects of future success.

IMO there needs to be some link created between finances and reputation. This experiment really highlights that fact as the Bandits aren't able to make the progression expected of a club with 95mil in the bank. No club would ever have made the rise from conference to PL IRL if they faced restrictions like the Bandits.

[ScottM]

You are right Dunc, As I said if a club is able to offer much higher wages to tempt better players from leagues above, you know for sure the Footballers of today would be joining like a shot.

A clubs Rep seems to be much too restrictive when it comes to the AI of the players making decisions. If a club was to offer them a much larger salary than the League average or than what they were receiving at a higher league, that must make some difference. It certainly does in real life.

Scott M

[FcPoliFan]

I think the problem occurs to player controlled teams as well. I recall a thread discussing about this exact issue for Eastern Europe, although it seemed more of a problem there: big money available, even fantastic results sometimes, and players will rather stick to 200 pounds a week rather than 20,000 pounds a week.

[kipfizh]

We've never had a Gretna in our conference, so I suppose we don't really know what would happen, but it'll be interesting to see what'll happen if the Bandits get to, say, League One - with the Premiership potentially two seasons away would they be able to attract players who want to help them get there?

In fairness to the system, the Bandits are signing players over 100 AI, which is pretty huge for the Conference, so I think the cash is having some effect. Maybe this season they'll start to head up again? Stay tuned....

[Balthazars]

An excellent piece of work. It is through the efforts of people like you kipfizh that the rest of us ordinary FM players can get to understand a bit more about how this awesome game actually works.

I'm finding the two idiots personally very interesting, as normally I avoid troublemakers so I never really get to see them in action. I have a theory that trouble makers tend to kick up more of a fuss based on the reputation of the club they are currently at. Does Newcastle or Spurs have the higher reputation in the game? I'm just curious... ^_^

For me, I'd be really interested to see how such a setup would be changed if the backroom staff were also changed to be top-notch characters. Personally, I think it will make a huge difference, because top scouts will be able to pick out talent better, top coaches will develop players better, and a top manager will be able to mould players into a team unit to a superior level.

Anyway, that's an idea for another time, after you finish this test properly.

Thanks for making the effort, and of course, keep up the good work.

[standardly]

What i think the game is lacking is an "estimated rise of a club". A club potential rating used within the game. Take for instamce arsemal in the EPL who are considered a "potentially" great team. This can be influenced by youth of players, quality of playrs etc. This would help give better 'blurred' edgs for how reputation works. So rather than being stricly a numbers game, the game trys to see how it would expect you to do in the future, hopefuly helping a club like the bandits to sign higher quality players. I.E. Who even in the championship woukldnt drop to the conference to play consistently in front of 80,000 people?

[Amaroq]

I guess players go by club reputation, and given that the prediction for the Bandits is that they'll sit in the middle of the Conference, they're not that appealing. Should the players available take into account the money available? Probably, yes, based on the Gretna experience in Scotland, although that may also be down to the ambition of the chairman.

That seems to be the central conclusion of this thread, yes.

I'm not sure the complexity of an "estimated rise of a club" is necessary, and it might make it too easy on human players rising through the ranks.

What if it were as simple as providing a money->reputation feedback loop of some sort?

Possibly at the point where a transfer budget is generated, give the teams who 'announce' a big transfer budget a reputation boost, while those who announce a small transfer budget take a reputation hit.

Make the furthest that you can move approximately one division - our Bandits here as a Conference National side should have a maximum reputation of League Two mid-table, even if they do have $20M in balance.

In fact, that might have a nice knock-on effect, of having the chairman and fans expect - as surely they would! - to promote, given the massive bank balance available.

On the other hand, if SuperSmallTown reaches the Premiership, and has no budget to bring people in, the down-to-Championship-level reputation ding might cause people to *expect* relegation.

[Jayslick]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

Bandits details:

Having added a second manager as Bandits manager, then reloaded the save to get back to where we were, we have a few more details about them:

The board expectations are for a mid-table finish, and the fans agree. The financial situation is stunning though – a transfer budget of nearly 24m and a balance of 97m. The club is making close to 20m profit every season, having started the game with around 25m in the bank.

Finance Overview

So from a financial perspective, they have no restrictions. The problem is, once you filter out players who won’t be interested in joining, the player search looks like this:

Interested Players

Not a lot of talent there, certainly no opportunity to spend big money. All they can do is find the little gems for practically no money, despite having plenty of cash at their disposal. So it seems the lack of transfer activity may simply be down to the players.

Squad (sorted by CA)

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA

Atkinson, GK, 19, 111-116 – New Signing (85k)

Kinch, ST, 20, 108-119

Terrell, MLC, 22, 96-118 – New Signing (55k)

Rowe, MR, 23, 96-110 – New Signing (50k)

Liversidge, D/AM L, 20, 96-109

Riley, DC, 23, 95-100

Bloomfield, AM RC, 19, 91-108

Hendry, MC, 23, 88-101

Fuller, DR, DM, 26, 88-98 – New Signing (free)

Wells, ST, 19, 86-97

Warrender, DR, 24, 86-86 – New Signing (12k)

Stothard, DR, 22, 83-95

Benton, DC, 19, 83-93

Mills, DC, 17, 79-113

Steele, MC, 19, 79-99

Elding, ST, 28, 78-95

McGrath, AM L, 28, 78-90

Brown, AM RC, FC, 27, 75-90

Pejic, DC, 27, 74-99

plus a whole load of junk.

The five players that came up from the youth academy are five out of the Bandits six worst players, all with CA below 50. They’re all trash. However, the five signings they’ve made this season seem like very wise choices. No-one reaches 120 PA, but this level of squad is very good for the Conference, and should set them up for an excellent season.

CA of X or above:

190 : 0

180 : 0

170 : 0

160 : 0

150 : 0

140 : 0

130 : 0

120 : 0

110 : 0

100 : 2

90 : 7

80 : 13

70 : 19

60 : 26

50 : 30

I’ll keep this running every season, to track how this changes over time – will the number improve consistently?

ok so here is my question about finances: with that much to spend and no guys interested in joining the team that leaves only one or 2 avenues for them to pour their money into. scouting and player development. they better have a state of the art training and youth dev centers or are building them. they have to realize this. scouting i would assume that the restrictions are at least up to any EU player. its doubtful they get any permits for brasilians and Argentineans in that league but the AI should realize that the money they have can only be used in these 2 directions for them to achieve success with their financial dominance. The fact that they expect midtable but have 100 million and havent developed anything special talentwise.

The club should be seeinking connections with teams. I have seen saudi teams worth $55 million and they are in the same boat. teams like that should want to create connections with each other. they should be looking for parent clubs and parent clubs should have noticed where all these awesome guys came from and want to make them a feeder club. teams like arsenal and certainly chelsea where a bunch are would like first option if guys like that had been developed by the bandits.

can u post what their scouting restrictions are and what their youth and training facilities are?

[Jayslick]

also forgot to mention coaching: the board should realize that with that kinda money coaching is a place to put the money.

the team should have a big coaching staff. even if they cant get great coaches they can have a large staff size. smae with the scouting department. i would expect that they would have as many scouts as possible. the board should lift any low set restriction on the number of scouts the team can have and they should have more than 10 scouts.

curious how this has been set up by the board and their massive amount of funds.

[breum]

Transfer budget doesn't mean anything if the wage budget is miniscule...

[kipfizh]

Balthazars, thanks, and according to the game, both clubs are at Continental level, not sure how I can find out the exact number, any ideas?

As for the staff, that AI experiment will follow this one, based upon the same data, but extended to staff. With perfect staff, will their rise be quicker?

Amaroq, I love the idea, I have a suspicion it's in there already, with players dropping down a level of team for a pay rise, but I agree it could probably be enhanced.

Jayslick, their training and youth facilities are perfect, so they can't improve them at all. All they can do is join with clubs, hire more staff etc, but that probably comes down to the ambition of the manager and chairman - in the Conference, will an unambitious chairman let many staff be hired?

[The Golden boy]

wen is next update reli cant wait!!

[asbb]

surely worldclass staff will flee the clu as fast as the stars- I always lost my carefully sourced coaches as soon after a season. still it'll be fun to follow the career paths of Jose sper bandit- perhaps we could have an idiot manager to compare.

[waz_nufc_awk]

Kipfizh,

An absolutely outstanding thread, have been reading avidly for days now.

Consistently readable and well written updates and summaries and also congrats to a lot of the people posting replies and actually thinking about what they are typing.

I think if there were Annual Thread of the year awards you would certainly get a shout for originality and interest levels, considering some of the banal tripe that some people consider a basis for starting a thread.

kutgw

[Konquest]

I have run a similar experiment on my side and I'd like to share some of the results with you. I was curious to know if the behaviour noted in kipfizh's game was going to be widespread or if there would be some significant differences between the two games. I won't go on with a full fledged player-by-player update, but it would be interesting to compare the games. I'll try to answer some of the questions/predictions found in the thread, so that might help us to find some more answer.

Background[/b}: Took Billericay to the Conference South and I gave them a reputation comparable to those of the other teams in that league (1500, actually). They were predicted to finish 5th in the league. Balance was set to 40M and the chairman was set as a medium guy (10 in each mental category actually and 20 Business, Patience and Resources and 1 in interference). Manager was given 20's across the board.

Right when loading the game, 3/4 of the players were already wanted by other clubs and it was a question of time before it was almost all of them. Billericay managed to sign 10-12 of these guys, others were scattered around the top leagues. 2 went to Celtic, 1 to Rangers and there was the usual Chelsea (5), Man U (3) also...

So here are my answers after 2 seasons...

Originally posted by kipfizh:

So, what would happen?

The club

Would the club, in financial security, keep hold of the players for at least a couple of seasons, having unparalleled success?

Would these starlets give them a successful cup run or two?

Would the players all demand to leave, leaving the club rich but playerless and in deep trouble?

Would their money and profit coming from the ground be wisely invested in more players and a steady climb up the divisions?

Would the money be worthless as no player of talent would join the club?

Would the chairman get power hungry and go through a series of managers?

Billericay went on to easily secure the Conference South title, with only 2 defeats and 3 draws. They were eliminated in the first round of the FA Cup (against L2 Yeovil) and the 3rd round of FA Trophy (after the january transfer window, in which they sold a bunch of players).

The players were not sold by the chairman but by the manager, and some even left on free transfers before the season!!

The Club managed to hire some good players though between the two seasons and are playing above expectations in the Conference National (finished in 6th spot, though they were touted to finish 14th), one point shy of the playoffs. Their youngsters seem promising too, as they are in 4th place of their U18 group.

The good players

Would their loyalty see them stay with the Bandits for years, leading a rise through the divisions?

Would they leave in the first summer or January transfer window for a big club?

When would they become household names?

Just how much would they command in transfer fees?

Who would they go to?

As I said previously, there were no more star players at Billericay at the beginning of the second season. Some left before the first season, some were sold during the Jan. transfer window and the rest were sold after the season. Overall, Billericay made 20M in transfers. Loyalty is not heavy on the balance against offers from most of the Premiership clubs... Two players went to Scotland for the first year and performed well over there. They were then sold at a huge price back to the EPL (20M each, to Arsenal and Liverpool).

The bad players

Would they overcome their fragile and arrogant mental states to become world beaters?

Would anyone sign such a pair of troublemakers?

Just how many clubs would they get through in their careers?

How many players would end up hating them?

Would they ever go to a big club, or would their hatred of all the clubs hold them back?

How much trouble would they get with officials?

Would they ever get international recognition for the right reasons?

Idiot A signed at Hearts for the first season where he performed quite well (7.29 average, 4 MoM) and was named on the Champions Cup Dream Team, at Left Back. He was then transfered to Aston Villa for 10.5M. He made a couple of transfer demands, but that was pretty much it. He is now worth 14.25M.

Idiot B is the biggest of the two idiots. He signed for Tottenham at the beginning of the first season and stayed there, even if he demanded transfers a couple of times during the season. He demanded a transfer and 2 weeks later he signed for 5 years with Tottenham. Worth 18.5M.

England

All these players are English. How long before they get call ups?

Does the mental attitude affect the call-up - which players get in?

How well would England do with them?

Idiots were called in first, as they were playing at a higher level than the others. Idiot B got 7 caps and 1 goal and was the only one capped during the first season. There are currently 6 good players in England National Team. We'll have to check back after a couple of years.

I'm mostly interested in seeing how the Club will react with loads of money and now with a rising reputation. Maybe new talents will start to come in.

Great thread kipfizh... Hope you don't mind my take on the experiment...

[DS]

IT all has to do with the Manager + chairman. Reputation is important but fi they have good manager and good chairman they would make good buys and win matches.

The staff experiment you are doing next kipfizh will it be like:

crap chairman + crap manager

crap chairman + medium manager

crap chairman + good manager

medium chairman + crap manager

medium chairman + medium manager

medium chairman + good manager

good chairman + crap manager

good chairman + medium manager

good chairman + good manager

I think that would be interesting so that would be 9 teams in the experiment. Also you might want to turn off takeovers through an edt file or you might want to leave them...your choice.

[asbb]

but then it would be massive- you'd have to run 9 different leagues to ensure that one team wasn't overly influencing the fate of another. the whole shebang would become to unwieldy to understand what was effecting what. i like you're ambition though, but it'd have to be just the extremes none of that middle of teh road nonsense

[VonBlade]

The trouble with the chairman/manager ideas is that all the good managers will move on, leaving the whole thing to be a chairman test. Which would be hugely boring.

What you need is actually an ambitious and player buying chairman with pots of cash, and one who's more likely to take a hands off approach. Then increase the reputation of the clubs to more of a L1 level so that player purchases are possible, and see what happens.

VB

[Robert_296]

cool test

[DS]

Originally posted by VonBlade:

The trouble with the chairman/manager ideas is that all the good managers will move on, leaving the whole thing to be a chairman test. Which would be hugely boring.

No if you make the managers loyalty 20 and change some other attributes that would effect how long he would stay he will not leave.

[Konquest]

Not necessarily (sp?), because in the test I ran, the manager, despite having 20 Loyalty left Billericay (which he took to league 1) to manage England.

[Guest]

Very Good experiment. But you should ave tried to keep hold of your players. You can ask for ridiculous sums and the move will fail to materialise. But since you were on holiday most of the time it makes it hard. Where you using the latest patch?? Were there any bugs? I had a contract issue which totally messed up my Man Utd game.

[DS]

Originally posted by Pefan:

Very Good experiment. But you should ave tried to keep hold of your players. You can ask for ridiculous sums and the move will fail to materialise. But since you were on holiday most of the time it makes it hard. Where you using the latest patch?? Were there any bugs? I had a contract issue which totally messed up my Man Utd game.

He wasnt the manager. Its an AI experiment. THe Bandits have an AI manager. Kipfizh is just running it with himself as an unemployed manager so he can have a shortlist of all the players so he can see whats happening with them easily.

[Konquest]

I'd be interested to see hw the AI can cope with different conditions, for example, exploiting co-ownerships deals in Italy.

[breum]

Kipfizh, what is the wage budget for the Bandits/how close are they to it?

[Waztopia]

From the screen I saw their wage budget was 725k of 725k still; meaning the wages must be tiny even for conf standards.

And just a side note to something I read. The Chairman upgrades Training and Youth Facilities by comparing the current ones the Club has to the rest of the League. My team has more than enough money to upgrade but the Chairman says we have the best in the League so they will not be upgrading them anytime soon.

[kipfizh]

From memory, the Bandits have the vast majority of their wage budget still available to them - the players they are signing cost neither the transfer fee or wage to prevent them from arriving, the only hitch is the lack of players available.

As for the future staff experiment, I don't think middle of the road chairmen and managers would be necessary in the experiment as it doesn't test the boundaries of the AI - we see that sort of behaviour in our normal games.

There will be extremes of staff in different permutations though, such as ambitious but loyal managers, terrible but loyal, ambitious and disloyal, etc.

Another season has passed, update arriving tonight probably.

Thanks for the support

[Jimbokav1971]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

From memory, the Bandits have the vast majority of their wage budget still available to them - the players they are signing cost neither the transfer fee or wage to prevent them from arriving, the only hitch is the lack of players available.

As for the future staff experiment, I don't think middle of the road chairmen and managers would be necessary in the experiment as it doesn't test the boundaries of the AI - we see that sort of behaviour in our normal games.

There will be extremes of staff in different permutations though, such as ambitious but loyal managers, terrible but loyal, ambitious and disloyal, etc.

Another season has passed, update arriving tonight probably.

Thanks for the support

What I've noticed, (while doing dafuge's challenge), is that what is far more important than transfer fund, wage budget, or stadium size, is club repuation.

Even with a huge bank balance, enormous transfer fund, hefty wage budget and high income from a 80,000 seater stadium, players will simply not want to join a club with a reputation that is too low. That's pretty realistic in my opinion .

Having said that, club reputation is a bit of a bermuda triangle. What affects it and how? We know that winning tournaments and progressing up the leagues causes an increase in reputation, and would also guess that events such as, club turning professional, beating a big team in a cup competition, expansion of training/youth facilities, the building of a new stadium, qualifying for playoffs, signing a 'big name' player, winning televised matches, and positive comments about players in the media would all have an positive effect on club reputation.

Conversely, turning amateur, dropping down the leagues, losing to giant killers, losing/selling high profile players, poor state of facilities, losing televised matches, and negative comments in the midia are all likely to damage club reputation.

This seems to be, (to me anyway), one of the biggest areas of improvement between FM06 & FM07 and is the main reason why the game is significantly harder. The difficulties that people are experiencing with the transfer system are an extension of this reputation enhancement. I am not sure what % of real life players are released/transferred on a free from English League clubs. I would estimate that the real number is far closer to that portrayed in FM07 that the situation in FM06, where players were being sold from Conference clubs for £millions. This in turn has led to an improvement in the finance model within the game.

Forget increasing PA's, stadium size, bank balance etc. The way to get a club to move up through the leagues under the control of the AI is increased reputation. It's like cause and effect analysis. If the effect of promotion and success is increased reputation, then the a manual increase of reputation will gain the same results, (success).

Food for thought.

[DS]

Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

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

From memory, the Bandits have the vast majority of their wage budget still available to them - the players they are signing cost neither the transfer fee or wage to prevent them from arriving, the only hitch is the lack of players available.

As for the future staff experiment, I don't think middle of the road chairmen and managers would be necessary in the experiment as it doesn't test the boundaries of the AI - we see that sort of behaviour in our normal games.

There will be extremes of staff in different permutations though, such as ambitious but loyal managers, terrible but loyal, ambitious and disloyal, etc.

Another season has passed, update arriving tonight probably.

Thanks for the support

What I've noticed, (while doing dafuge's challenge), is that what is far more important than transfer fund, wage budget, or stadium size, is club repuation.

Even with a huge bank balance, enormous transfer fund, hefty wage budget and high income from a 80,000 seater stadium, players will simply not want to join a club with a reputation that is too low. That's pretty realistic in my opinion .

Having said that, club reputation is a bit of a bermuda triangle. What affects it and how? We know that winning tournaments and progressing up the leagues causes an increase in reputation, and would also guess that events such as, club turning professional, beating a big team in a cup competition, expansion of training/youth facilities, the building of a new stadium, qualifying for playoffs, signing a 'big name' player, winning televised matches, and positive comments about players in the media would all have an positive effect on club reputation.

Conversely, turning amateur, dropping down the leagues, losing to giant killers, losing/selling high profile players, poor state of facilities, losing televised matches, and negative comments in the midia are all likely to damage club reputation.

This seems to be, (to me anyway), one of the biggest areas of improvement between FM06 & FM07 and is the main reason why the game is significantly harder. The difficulties that people are experiencing with the transfer system are an extension of this reputation enhancement. I am not sure what % of real life players are released/transferred on a free from English League clubs. I would estimate that the real number is far closer to that portrayed in FM07 that the situation in FM06, where players were being sold from Conference clubs for £millions. This in turn has led to an improvement in the finance model within the game.

Forget increasing PA's, stadium size, bank balance etc. The way to get a club to move up through the leagues under the control of the AI is increased reputation. It's like cause and effect analysis. If the effect of promotion and success is increased reputation, then the a manual increase of reputation will gain the same results, (success).

Food for thought. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The reputation is affecting them obviously but I think its the crap manager thats effecting them more. However if the clubs reputation grew then the expectations would rise and the manager would be fired.

[Amaroq]

Jimbokav - that's why I was going the direction I was, the "Should cash balance be one of the variables impacting reputation?"

If, as I think most of us agree is the case, the Bandits' reputation is what's preventing them from moving up the ranks, then for an AI team to improve is quite a chicken-and-the-egg problem.

This team SHOULD be able to spend its money to lure people down to its level - not world stars, but certainly players somewhat better than they have gotten. Whether the problem is that the players fail to realize it, and so aren't willing to join the Bandits, or the manager AI fails to realize it, and is still pursuing players at the Bandits' reputation level (rather than promotion-contenders), is irrelevant.

Thus, my proposal that maybe SI should consider having cash-on-hand directly feed into 'reputation' - this would have the following effects:

a.) Teams in the Bandits' position (or Fulham a few years ago) will be able to purchase the required players to work towards promotion

b.) When a team has lots of money to work with, the chairmen will demand more, the fans will demand more, and the players will expect better performance.

c.) Conversely, when a team is on the ragged edge financially, the chairman is likely to be more patient with results on the pitch, likewise the fans and players.

d.) A team with lots of money will be able to attract players due to their reputation (as well as their money)

e.) A team with little money will struggle to attract players.

This ALL makes good sense to me, and I'm not seeing a downside to it...

[Kay-Ole]

This is by far the best thread I've ever read on this forum. By far. Keep up the good work! I will post predictions and such at a later point, right now it's the middle of the night and my brain is not working at full capacity

[Guest]

I've been following this thread for about 2 weeks now. Someone previously stated that there was a problem with the AI because players from the Bandits are only transferring to a few squads, mainly Chelsea and Man Utd. I also believe that in another thread, it is mentioned that AI teams are treated the same as human controlled teams. Perhaps an explanation for the phenomenom we are seeing is that simply those are the only squads that have large enough scouting networks to scout such low division teams. Since they are the only teams scouting, they are the only teams signing the players while they are still with the Bandits.

[Amaroq]

Shadow, I'm not convinced - it seems to me as though the AI teams are able to directly "see" PA, more or less, and that the reason the players are going to the biggest teams is because the AI 'knows' that that is the right level for them.

This is very different from the human player, who only gets PA relative to his squad - in fact, it might be interesting to have created a League Two manager for the express purpose of scouting these players while they were in the Conference North.

[craig_killie]

I've enjoyed reading this thread and i hope it keeps going.

I reckon that inevitably with all that money the Bandits will climb up through the leagues eventually although i don't know if they'll reach the Premiership.

[iamjakeyb]

Have you any idea when this update is coming? Keep up the good work. A very interesting experiment.

[wonglf]

could you show a screen shot of the personal page of each idiot so i can see the player decriptions please? also what does the assman say about each player on the coaching overview page? thanks

[Robert_296]

Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I can't see the Bandits ever rising out of the Conference.

ROFL .

So everyone is to keep their predictions to a minimum except you.

lol

Quality . </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[SPE3D]

Excellent thread proving the problem with todays AI is finance failing to impact on reputation.

I don't care who the chairman, manager, coach, tea lady is, any team with that sort of money would be able to attract a higher caliber of player. In turn this would reflect in increased expectations off the pitch from fans, media, chairman alike.

This is what should be happening with the bandits. It isn't but i'm sure the good guys at SI have taken this experiment on board.

p.s. my first post in ages. Gave this game up due to poor AI and poor regens ruining the long term game but always hopeful SI will get it right eventually

[kipfizh]

Sorry folks, I know I'm being a bit slow with the updates, but it turns it that it takes quite a while to type out each seasonal report now that there's a lot of info in there! I'll try to be quicker in future, but for now, here's the next update (after this post).

It seems like the main conclusion is that the only weakness found so far is the lack of effect of financial position on reputation. I'm sure it has some effect, but maybe this is something that needs to be boosted.

Amaroq, I really like your model.

As for the players transferring to top teams, you have to remember that not only are their PAs all 200, but their CAs were also very high to start with, so they were already Premiership quality.

[kipfizh]

Season 2010-11

Club report

2006-07

English Conference South: (Pos 1), P 42, W 30, D 6, L 6, F 82, A 29, GD +52, Pts 96

(Media Prediction: 22nd)

FA Cup: 2nd Round

FA Trophy: Winners

2007-08

English National Conference: (Pos 7), P 46, W 22, D 8, L 16, F 68, A 55, GD +13, Pts 74

(Media Prediction: 22nd)

FA Cup: 1st Round

FA Trophy: Finalist

2008-09

English National Conference: (Pos 7), P 46, W 19, D 12, L 15, F 73, A 65, GD +8, Pts 69

(Media Prediction: 17th)

FA Cup: 4th Qualifying Round

FA Trophy: 1st Round

2009-10

English National Conference: (Pos 9), P 46, W 19, D 12, L 15, F 58, A 57, GD +1, Pts 69

(Media Prediction: 10th)

FA Cup: 4th Qualifying Round

FA Trophy: 3rd Round

2010-11

English National Conference: (Pos 6), P 46, W 21, D 10, L 15, F 75, A 55, GD +20, Pts 73

(Media Prediction: 12th)

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/1104/201011enchc2.jpg]League[/url]

FA Cup: 1st Round

FA Trophy: 4th Round

An improved season all round from the Bandits, who finished a little higher in the league, with more points, scoring a lot more goals, and going a little further in both cups. But it still wasn’t quite enough to sneak into the playoffs, missing out by just one place and one point.

They finally spent some money last summer as I was saying before, bringing in five players who FM Genie Scout rated as five of their best players on arrival. Later I’ll go into the squad breakdown.

The manager position has dropped from secure to safe, so perhaps all is not so well anymore? But they’re getting closer, and surely this slow improvement will see playoffs next season – will it?

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Sorry, screwed up the league URL:

League

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Good player reports

Goalkeeper 1

2006-07, Bandits, CA 151: Apps 47, Conc 29, Cln 15, MoM 3, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.66

2007-08, Bandits, CA 166: Apps 49, Conc 56, Cln 12, MoM 6, YC 6, RC 0, Avg 7.51

2008-09, Bandits, CA 178: Apps 32, Conc 38, Cln 6, MoM 5, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.28

Transfers to Blackburn for 650k

2008-09, Blackburn, CA 178: Apps 14, Conc 16, Cln 4, MoM 2, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.21

2009-10, Blackburn, CA 184: Apps 41 (1), Conc 45, Cln 13, MoM 3, YC 5, RC 1, Avg 7.38

2010-11, Blackburn, CA 189: Apps 32, Conc 48, Cln 5, MoM 2, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.38

Notes: A decent season back in the Premiership with Blackburn after their promotion last season. The top division also gave him the platform for international recognition, winning four caps, and keeping a clean sheet in them all.

Goalkeeper 2

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 10 (4), Conc 6, Cln 8, MoM 1, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 7.93

Transfers to Leeds for 675k

2007-08, Leeds, CA 167: Apps 43, Conc 45, Cln 12, MoM 7, YC 2, RC 1, Avg 7.51

2008-09, Leeds, CA 181: Apps 35, Conc 45, Cln 4, MoM 3, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.26

2009-10, Leeds, CA 189: Apps 42, Conc 51, Cln 8, MoM 6, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.50

2010-11, Leeds, CA 191: Apps 37, Conc 41, Cln 8, MoM 4, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.46

Notes: Hasn’t conceded for England in years now, with 26 caps and another six straight clean sheets. Has another excellent season for the strong Leeds team, who finish fifth. Comes second in European Goalkeeper of the Year.

Left Back 1

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 9 (5), Gls 0, Asts 0, MoM 0, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.14

Transfers to Tottenham on a free

2007-08, Tottenham, CA 165: Apps 42, Gls 1, Asts 4, MoM 1, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.21

2008-09, Tottenham, CA 175: Apps 40, Gls 0, Asts 1, MoM 3, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.30

2009-10, Tottenham, CA 187: Apps 45, Gls 0, Asts 4, MoM 2, YC 6, RC 0, Avg 7.11

2010-11, Tottenham, CA 194: Apps 40, Gls 1, Asts 2, MoM 3, YC 6, RC 1, Avg 7.35

Notes: Wins nine more caps to take his total to 12, and scores his first two international goals. An excellent season as Spurs rise to 7th.

Left Back 2

2006-07, Bandits, CA 153: Apps 51 (1), Gls 0, Asts 2, MoM 1, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.46

Transfers to Liverpool for 40k

2007-08, Liverpool, CA 165: Apps 40 (1), Gls 1, Asts 4, MoM 0, YC 5, RC 1, Avg 6.73

2008-09, Liverpool, CA 179: Apps 50, Gls 0, Asts 6, MoM 3, YC 6, RC 1, Avg 7.30

2009-10, Liverpool, CA 183: Apps 47, Gls 3, Asts 7, MoM 3, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.38

2010-11, Liverpool, CA 192: Apps 53, Gls 3, Asts 4, MoM 7, YC 2, RC 1, Avg 7.47

Notes: Twelve caps and a UEFA Cup medal mask the disappointment of losing out in the Premiership on the final day – leading going into it, a defeat at Sheff Utd hands the league to Newcastle.

Right Back 1

2006-07, Bandits, CA 154: Apps 4, Gls 0, Asts 2, MoM 2, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 8.00

Transfers to Newcastle for 400k

2007-08, Newcastle, CA 165: Apps 39, Gls 1, Asts 1, MoM 0, YC 4, RC 1, Avg 7.18

2008-09, Newcastle, CA 181: Apps 46, Gls 1, Asts 5, MoM 2, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.28

2009-10, Newcastle, CA 187: Apps 3, Gls 0, Asts 0, MoM 0, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.00

Transfers to Chelsea for 27.5m

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 187: Apps 48, Gls 0, Asts 2, MoM 1, YC 5, RC 1, Avg 7.27

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 190: Apps 53, Gls 0, Asts 3, MoM 2, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.39

Notes: Just when you thought it couldn’t go worse at Chelsea, it does. No cup success again, and this time they fall down to sixth in the league, and out of Champions League contention. Despite that, he has an excellent personal season, taking his total to 14 caps, and coming third in European Defender of the Year.

Right Back 2

2006-07, Bandits, CA 155: Apps 50, Gls 1, Asts 7, MoM 5, YC 6, RC 1, Avg 7.70

Transfers to Liverpool for 24k

2007-08, Liverpool, CA 166: Apps 29 (8), Gls 1, Asts 6, MoM 4, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.03

2008-09, Liverpool, CA 178: Apps 51 (1), Gls 2, Asts 2, MoM 0, YC 4, RC 1, Avg 7.15

2009-10, Liverpool, CA 188: Apps 49 (1), Gls 4, Asts 2, MoM 3, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.34

2010-11, Liverpool, CA 195: Apps 54 (1), Gls 1, Asts 6, MoM 4, YC 4, RC 1, Avg 7.51

Notes: Tremendous personal season, and he takes his tally to ten caps, and picks up a UEFA Cup medal.

Centre Back 1

2006-07, Bandits, CA 152: Apps 17 (6), Gls 1, Asts 7, MoM 3, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.57

Transfers to Tottenham on a free

2007-08, Tottenham, CA 166: Apps 40, Gls 1, Asts 1, MoM 1, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.00

2008-09, Tottenham, CA 181: Apps 41, Gls 1, Asts 1, MoM 3, YC 2, RC 1, Avg 7.22

Transfers to Milan on a free

2009-10, Milan, CA 187: Apps 31, Gls 4, Asts 5, MoM 6, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.32

2010-11, Milan, CA 192: Apps 52, Gls 3, Asts 1, MoM 1, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.25

Notes: After another excellent season, won the club World Championships shortly after the World Cup. Took his international caps total to sixteen, with one goal. Won a whole host of personal awards – European Defender of the Year, World Player of the Year and World Footballer of the year. A true star.

Centre Back 2

2006-07, Bandits, CA 151: Apps 3 (5), Gls 0, Asts 0, MoM 1, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.25

Transfers to Arsenal on a free

2007-08, Arsenal, CA 166: Apps 49, Gls 1, Asts 4, MoM 3, YC 7, RC 0, Avg 7.02

2008-09, Arsenal, CA 177: Apps 52, Gls 0, Asts 3, MoM 3, YC 3, RC 1, Avg 7.19

2009-10, Arsenal, CA 184: Apps 51, Gls 0, Asts 3, MoM 0, YC 2, RC 1, Avg 6.98

2010-11, Arsenal, CA 190: Apps 49, Gls 0, Asts 5, MoM 4, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.02

Notes: After an average personal season, lifted the Champions League. Now has fifteen caps and one goal.

Centre Back 3

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 49 (3), Gls 0, Asts 5, MoM 5, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.77

Transfers to Chelsea for 55k

2007-08, Chelsea, CA 166: Apps 23 (12), Gls 0, Asts 2, MoM 1, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 6.89

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 180: Apps 20 (6), Gls 0, Asts 4, MoM 3, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 6.96

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 189: Apps 22 (9), Gls 0, Asts 3, MoM 2, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.19

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 191: Apps 39 (3), Gls 0, Asts 4, MoM 5, YC 3, RC 1, Avg 7.40

Notes: Plays more, and plays well, but Chelsea falter to sixth. Still hasn’t scored a career goal or been capped for England.

Centre Back 4

2006-07, Bandits, CA 152: Apps 45 (1), Gls 0, Asts 4, MoM 5, YC 6, RC 0, Avg 7.80

Transfers to Chelsea for 28k

2007-08, Chelsea, CA 165: Apps 32 (4), Gls 2, Asts 2, MoM 3, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.14

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 179: Apps 28 (4), Gls 1, Asts 1, MoM 0, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 6.84

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 189: Apps 32 (4), Gls 2, Asts 3, MoM 1, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.50

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 199: Apps 23 (11), Gls 1, Asts 2, MoM 1, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.29

Notes: Plays a little less, now has five caps. Is now the most developed CA player in the world, by four points.

Left Mid 1

2006-07, Bandits, CA 151: Apps 13, Gls 3, Asts 1, MoM 0, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 7.15

Transfers to Man Utd for 170k

2007-08, Man Utd, CA 165: Apps 39 (3), Gls 9, Asts 9, MoM 4, YC 6, RC 0, Avg 7.19

Transfers to Chelsea for 10.5m

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 180: Apps 48, Gls 7, Asts 1, MoM 1, YC 4, RC 2, Avg 6.73

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 188: Apps 48, Gls 4, Asts 6, MoM 3, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.08

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 192: Apps 45, Gls 4, Asts 3, MoM 1, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.16

Notes: Playing a little better despite being forced onto the left side of a three man midfield. Internationally, only adds three caps – now has fifteen with three goals.

Left Mid 2

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 44, Gls 11, Asts 9, MoM 3, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.61

Transfers to Portsmouth for 300k

2007-08, Portsmouth, CA 165: Apps 40, Gls 7, Asts 3, MoM 0, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.28

2008-09, Portsmouth, CA 180: Apps 48, Gls 6, Asts 9, MoM 8, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.52

Transfers to Man Utd for 11.5m

2009-10, Man Utd, CA 185: Apps 57, Gls 15, Asts 4, MoM 7, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.42

2010-11, Man Utd, CA 190: Apps 51, Gls 10, Asts 7, MoM 6, YC 1, RC 1, Avg 7.51

Notes: Another prolific season for the starlet should surely show Chelsea how to do it, and that form is transferred to the international stage, as the starlet now has fifteen caps with seven goals.

Right Mid 1

2006-07, Bandits, CA 152: Apps 17 (19), Gls 6, Asts 2, MoM 1, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.00

Transfers to Chelsea on a free

2007-08, Chelsea, CA 165: Apps 12 (17), Gls 4, Asts 2, MoM 0, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 6.66

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 178: Apps 11 (11), Gls 2, Asts 1, MoM 0, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 6.45

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 190: Apps 15 (18), Gls 5, Asts 1, MoM 1, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.18

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 194: Apps 21 (19), Gls 5, Asts 1, MoM 1, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.18

Notes: Still being played out of position at Chelsea, but is now at least recognised at international level, gaining ten caps and two goals. Plays far better for country.

Right Mid 2

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 40 (1), Gls 9, Asts 8, MoM 3, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.49

Transfers to Chelsea for 20k

Loaned to Rangers

2007-08, Rangers, CA 166: Apps 49 (1), Gls 17, Asts 12, MoM 11, YC 16, RC 0, Avg 7.72

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 179: Apps 8 (13), Gls 4, Asts 2, MoM 0, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 6.67

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 182: Apps 12 (4), Gls 2, Asts 1, MoM 0, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 6.75

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 188: Apps 12 (5), Gls 5, Asts 1, MoM 0, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 7.18

Notes: Strange season. His contract ran out nearly a year ago, and he has been playing off a very low wage for a whole season, on a rolling contract. Keeps rejecting contracts due to lack of bonuses, not that it would help any as he barely plays. Really needs to leave Chelsea, and Liverpool are interested. Doesn’t play enough to be internationally recognised.

Centre Mid 1

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 18, Gls 0, Asts 2, MoM 1, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.17

Transfers to Man Utd for 675k

2007-08, Man Utd, CA 159: Apps 33 (5), Gls 1, Asts 2, MoM 1, YC 3, RC 2, Avg 6.55

2008-09, Man Utd, CA 173: Apps 10 (9), Gls 3, Asts 0, MoM 0, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 6.53

2009-10, Man Utd, CA 181: Apps 27 (13), Gls 6, Asts 4, MoM 5, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.18

2010-11, Man Utd, CA 191: Apps 18 (12), Gls 6, Asts 1, MoM 1, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.20

Notes: Slipping out of favour at Old Trafford due to their abundance of talented central midfielders, but at least gains his first cap.

Centre Mid 2

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 2, Gls 0, Asts 0, MoM 0, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 7.00

Transfers to Portsmouth on a free

2007-08, Portsmouth, CA 165: Apps 47, Gls 3, Asts 1, MoM 5, YC 7, RC 1, Avg 7.21

Transfers to Man Utd for 11.25m[/b}

2008-09, Man Utd, CA 180: Apps 33 (5), Gls 5, Asts 5, MoM 2, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 6.82

2009-10, Man Utd, CA 184: Apps 50 (2), Gls 11, Asts 6, MoM 3, YC 8, RC 0, Avg 7.58

2010-11, Man Utd, CA 189: Apps 45 (5), Gls 12, Asts 7, MoM 4, YC 6, RC 1, Avg 7.52

Notes: Another terrific season, securing his place ahead of the first central midfielder – also gains another ten caps to take his total to 14. Becoming a consistent star after a slow start in the Premiership.

Centre Mid 3

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 40 (1), Gls 2, Asts 6, MoM 1, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.41

2007-08, Bandits, CA 165: Apps 53, Gls 9, Asts 9, MoM 8, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.45

Transfers to Man Utd for 975k[/b]

2008-09, Man Utd, CA 180: Apps 41 (2), Gls 8, Asts 6, MoM 2, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.00

2009-10, Man Utd, CA 186: Apps 36, Gls 6, Asts 5, MoM 9, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.75

2010-11, Man Utd, CA 194: Apps 43 (7), Gls 10, Asts 3, MoM 6, YC 5, RC 1, Avg 7.52

Notes: Another fantastic season alongside Centre Mid 2 in the centre of the Old Trafford park. With these three players available they really should be doing better than they are. Again, succeeds at international level, and now has 21 caps with four goals. Another player becoming a recognised star, he is now tutoring a youngster despite being only the tender age of 21.

Centre Mid 4

2006-07, Bandits, CA 152: Apps 54 (1), Gls 4, Asts 3, MoM 1, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.53

Transfers to Chelsea for 1.4m

2007-08, Chelsea, CA 165: Apps 42 (2), Gls 0, Asts 4, MoM 1, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 6.77

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 176: Apps 20 (10), Gls 3, Asts 7, MoM 0, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 6.73

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 187: Apps 35 (5), Gls 2, Asts 3, MoM 2, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.14

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 194: Apps 50 (1), Gls 2, Asts 5, MoM 1, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.24

Notes: A better season for the player, a worse season for his club. Finally gets an international debut.

Striker 1

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 3 (32), Gls 7, Asts 0, MoM 2, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 6.91

Transfers to Chelsea on a free

2007-08, Chelsea, CA 165: Apps 36 (4), Gls 21, Asts 1, MoM 3, YC 5, RC 1, Avg 7.28

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 179: Apps 23 (9), Gls 18, Asts 2, MoM 4, YC 4, RC 1, Avg 7.31

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 189: Apps 11 (13), Gls 8, Asts 2, MoM 2, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.21

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 193: Apps 32 (4), Gls 21, Asts 1, MoM 2, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.56

Notes: Another excellent season for him personally fails to propel Chelsea to success. Only plays three more times for his country, oddly, scoring three times. Now has thirteen goals in fourteen appearances, but is no longer first choice.

Striker 2

2006-07, Bandits, CA 151: Apps 55, Gls 37, Asts 3, MoM 6, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 8.11

Transfers to Chelsea for 100k

2007-08, Chelsea, CA 165: Apps 26 (7), Gls 20, Asts 0, MoM 3, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.15

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 179: Apps 22, Gls 13, Asts 2, MoM 3, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 7.55

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 184: Apps 52 (1), Gls 31, Asts 3, MoM 9, YC 3, RC 1, Avg 7.89

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 188: Apps 52 (1), Gls 31, Asts 4, MoM 6, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.83

Notes: A world star, no two ways about it. Another stunning season, and for the second year running, finishes the season as top rated player and top scorer in the Premiership, although shares the top scorer award with Striker 4. Adds another four caps to take his total to nine, but doesn’t add to his three goals. A wonderful player.

Striker 3

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 1 (25), Gls 2, Asts 0, MoM 0, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 6.58

Transfers to Chelsea on a free

Loaned to Sheff Utd

2007-08, Sheff Utd, CA 165: Apps 30, Gls 20, Asts 3, MoM 8, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.77

2007-08, Chelsea, CA 165: Apps 3, Gls 3, Asts 2, MoM 0, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.67

2008-09, Chelsea, CA 181: Apps 26 (5), Gls 17, Asts 2, MoM 3, YC 3, RC 0, Avg 7.29

2009-10, Chelsea, CA 185: Apps 28 (8), Gls 17, Asts 2, MoM 3, YC 5, RC 1, Avg 7.61

2010-11, Chelsea, CA 190: Apps 6 (12), Gls 5, Asts 0, MoM 1, YC 1, RC 0, Avg 7.00

Notes: With Chelsea having three of the top strikers, someone had to miss out, and it’s Striker 3, who does okay whenever he plays but doesn’t get many chances. Now has five goals in seven caps and he continues to impress at international level.

Striker 4

2006-07, Bandits, CA 150: Apps 55 (2), Gls 31, Asts 2, MoM 5, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.91

2007-08, Bandits, CA 166: Apps 2, Gls 4, Asts 0, MoM 2, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 9.00

Transfers to Liverpool on a free

2007-08, Liverpool, CA 166: Apps 46 (1), Gls 23, Asts 4, MoM 5, YC 3, RC 1, Avg 7.34

2008-09, Liverpool, CA 180: Apps 52, Gls 26, Asts 0, MoM 6, YC 4, RC 0, Avg 7.52

2009-10, Liverpool, CA 190: Apps 45, Gls 25, Asts 1, MoM 11, YC 6, RC 0, Avg 7.87

2010-11, Liverpool, CA 194: Apps 53, Gls 31, Asts 2, MoM 9, YC 6, RC 1, Avg 7.83

Notes: A star player to rival anything Chelsea have, he has another brilliant season, finishing Premiership joint top scorer. He comes third in European Striker of the Year and European Player of the Year, and is first choice at international level, where he now has 27 goals in 28 caps. Won the UEFA Cup, but missed out on a Premiership medal on the final day.

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Bad player reports

Idiot A

2006-07, Tottenham, CA 150: Apps 47, Gls 8, Asts 8, MoM 7, YC 4, RC 2, Avg 7.34

2007-08, Tottenham, CA 165: Apps 39, Gls 3, Asts 6, MoM 2, YC 9, RC 1, Avg 7.21

2008-09, Tottenham, CA 177: Apps 1, Gls 0, Asts 0, MoM 0, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 7.00

Transfers to Fiorentina for 13.25m

2008-09, Fiorentina, CA 177: Apps 34, Gls 5, Asts 5, MoM 3, YC 0, RC 0, Avg 7.56

2009-10, Fiorentina, CA 184: Apps 37, Gls 6, Asts 6, MoM 2, YC 5, RC 4, Avg 7.41

2010-11, Fiorentina, CA 190: Apps 39, Gls 10, Asts 4, MoM 8, YC 3, RC 1, Avg 7.72

Notes: Has an excellent season over in Italy, and behaves himself very well, so he must be being managed exceptionally. After being knocked out in the Champions League qualifiers by Rangers, Fiorentina reach the UEFA Cup quarter finals before being dumped out by Besiktas.

Now has 19 caps and one goal, and seems content where he is. No transfer requests, no playing up, and only one red card. Hamburg are interested in taking him to Germany, but right now he seems happy where he is.

Idiot B

2006-07, Newcastle, CA 150: Apps 46, Gls 1, Asts 7, MoM 1, YC 5, RC 3, Avg 7.30

Transfers to West Ham for 11.5m

2007-08, West Ham, CA 165: Apps 40, Gls 5, Asts 3, MoM 2, YC 6, RC 0, Avg 7.13

2008-09, West Ham, CA 177: Apps 42, Gls 2, Asts 3, MoM 2, YC 3, RC 2, Avg 7.29

2009-10, West Ham, CA 185: Apps 49, Gls 3, Asts 7, MoM 6, YC 2, RC 0, Avg 7.35

2010-11, West Ham, CA 193: Apps 42 (2), Gls 4, Asts 5, MoM 4, YC 5, RC 0, Avg 7.20

Notes: Control seems to have been lost this season, when it comes to Idiot B. Marcello Lippi left West Ham at the beginning of the season, and it seemed Paul Le Guen couldn’t cope when he came in. Idiot B skipped training, was fined, then started complaining repeatedly about his personal life, before requesting a transfer and telling his media he wanted out, and he wanted out now.

West Ham’s form dipped badly this season, could’ve been his influence, could’ve been the new manager, but they finished a distant 13th, without any notable cup run.

He’s a very unhappy man, and maybe this time he’ll be on his way out of Upton Park, although the new manager is Michael Laudrup, and he has man management skills of 20.

Now has fourteen caps and two goals.

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Other stats

England won the World Cup in style, without conceding a goal, and are top of their European qualifying group, again without conceding.

Liverpool led the league until the final day, when a shock defeat at Bramall Lane handed the league to Newcastle, a surprising winner considering they have none of the stars. The biggest disappointment by a mile were Chelsea, who fell even further to sixth.

Premiership

The cups were odd, Coventry beating Bradford in the FA Cup final, and Bristol City shocking Arsenal in the League Cup final. In Europe, Arsenal compounded Chelsea’s misery, beating them in the Champions League final, and Liverpool made it an English double, beating Besiktas in the UEFA Cup final.

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Summary

The Bandits appear to be improving. Yes, it’s a slow process, and it wasn’t good enough to reach the playoffs, but they made five good signings last summer and if they carry on it that vein it’ll surely only be a matter of time, assuming of course the manager is capable of it.

Will next season be the one that takes the Bandits up into the league? Surely the media will start expecting success.

Chelsea manage to fall away even further, this time down to sixth, with no cup to make up for it. It’s strange, because the two strikers they play are two of the most prolific strikers in the world. The wide midfielders are improving, but are never going to set the world alight in central midfield, and a couple of their players simply need to leave if they’re ever going to play regular football.

So why are Chelsea failing so badly? A look at their goals says that after the two regular strikers, the next top scorer has only five. But there’s still no excuse for it. They’ve got the biggest array of talent in the world, and they’re spectacularly screwing up.

Will Chelsea come back strongly next season? Will they lose at least one unhappy player?

The league was certainly a bit odd overall this season. Newcastle, despite none of the stars, took the league, while Chelsea, with ten of them, failed badly.

Are Newcastle a flash in the pan team? Or will some unwanted Chelsea stars head up north?

Interestingly, not one of the 24 players moved this season, so on the most part they seem settled. Will they ever move on?

Idiot A has been perfectly behaved after a little blip last season – he’s now playing well, but not in a particularly strong side. Will he remain so calm?

Idiot B, on the other hand, is still a prize prat. He has his third manager in a season to deal with now, and it’ll be interesting to see if Laudrup’s excellent man management skills will calm him down. He does desperately want to leave though, and with West Ham’s fortunes tumbling so badly, it might be a good idea to ship him out of the door as soon as possible.

Last season’s summer questions answered

Q: Will the Bandits challenge for promotion?

A: Closer, but no.

Q: Will the Bandits qualify for the FA Cup again?

A: Yes, although the campaign didn’t last long once they got there.

Q: Is Mourinho under threat?

A: His job is listed as safe. The players are loyal, but not happy with the league position.

Q: Was Chelsea’s fourth place just a blip?

A: Not in any way, they got worse.

Q: Will Man Utd’s Centre Mids start playing well?

A: Yes – last season seemed to be a blip.

Q: Is the Old Trafford era over?

A: No – they rose back to third.

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Bandits squad[/b]

General

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/944/201011banditsstatsmx8.jpg]Stats[/url]

Young and improving squad.

Finance Overview

Interested Players

Wages

Very healthy financial situation, and an ex England U21 goalie available – will they go for him? They’ve got plenty of wage budget available.

Top 20 in Squad (sorted by CA)

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA

Kinch, ST, 21, 115-119

Atkinson, GK, 20, 114-116 – New Signing (85k)

Terrell, MLC, 23, 102-118 – New Signing (55k)

Rowe, MR, 24, 100-110 – New Signing (50k)

Liversidge, D/AM L, 21, 96-109

Riley, DC, 24, 96-100

Bloomfield, AM RC, 20, 94-108

Wells, ST, 20, 93-97

Mills, DC, 18, 91-113

Hendry, MC, 24, 91-101

Fuller, DR, DM, 26, 90-98 – New Signing (free)

Warrender, DR, 25, 86-86 – New Signing (12k)

Stothard, DR, 22, 85-95

Steele, MC, 20, 83-99

Elding, ST, 29, 78-95

McGrath, AM L, 29, 78-90

Gore, DM, 19, 77-93

Brown, AM RC, FC, 27, 75-90

Pejic, DC, 28, 74-99

Thornton, AM LC, 18, 72-90

CA of X or above:

190 : 0, 0

180 : 0, 0

170 : 0, 0

160 : 0, 0

150 : 0, 0

140 : 0, 0

130 : 0, 0

120 : 0, 0

110 : 0, 2

100 : 2, 4

90 : 7, 11

80 : 13, 14

70 : 19, 22

60 : 26, 26

50 : 30, 31

These numbers seem to suggest that the squad’s improving!

[kipfizh]

Oh, for an edit button....

...or a less careless pair of eyes:

Stats

[kipfizh]

My shortlist of 24 players now looks like this:

Shortlist

Key questions for this season:

Will Chelsea’s drop continue?

Can Newcastle sustain success without any stars?

Will the Bandits go up?

Will anyone move?

Will the wide men at Chelsea leave?

Will England ever concede a goal?

[Amaroq]

Class as ever, kipfizh. Thanks for the updates, and no worries about the timing! I'll take quality over speed-of-update any day.

Good point about their CA being Premiership-worthy already.

Is it just me, or is Idiot A really settling in just as well as any of the others have? There's only the one brief moment of prat-ness so far, really. Is there now any noticeable difference between him and Idiot B in any of the mentality attributes?

I get the sense Chelsea should really work out some player-exchanges. Top of my list would me:

Right Mid 2 to Man U for Centre Mid 1

Followed perhaps by:

Left Mid 1 to Man U for Centre Mid 3

Striker 3 to Leeds for Goalkeeper 2

Right Mid 1 to Liverpool for Left Back 2

Sure, they have ten of the 'stars', but given the positional collisions, they have too many on the bench or out of position. Even if the AI isn't there to look at possible exchanges in that way, maybe it should be there to look at selling the mis-fits and buying better-suited replacements?

Newcastle's success was so very unexpected! Do you think they've achieved sufficient reputation to attract, say, either of the goalkeepers, or god forbid, Idiot B, away from their clubs?

[draganche78]

Excellent kipfizh.

Here are my answers:

Will Chelsea’s drop continue?

No, it will be to much with so many bandit players in the team to go lower than 6th position.

Can Newcastle sustain success without any stars?

No.

Will the Bandits go up?

I would like to see them going up. Yes

Will anyone move?

Yes, probably left / right mid from Chelsea. Maybe GK from Leeds.

Will the wide men at Chelsea leave?

See above.

Will England ever concede a goal?

Yes, penalty.