AI Experiment - The Bandits, The Sheriffs and FM12

[resde34]

YES! Bandits are going to destroy the next league, Sunderland really got their hands full with two idiots.

[G_D_K]

Pretty much as I predicted...though I expected a bit more movement in the spring transfer window. Looks like Hay was the only Bandit to leave...and Anderson (DC) didn't keep the starlett DCs out of the team that often...how many appearances did he end up with?

Next season...Bandits to run away with the title again, Sherriffs close on their heels. I think the Sherriffs will get their revenge in the first matchup between the two...but the Bandits will sweep the rest of the heads-up matches!

Hope to see some transfer activity...see how the managers handle incoming talent...and maybe some decent youths will show up through their academies!

[Lord Sidious]

Man I really hope the Idiots CA will rise this time around. Elsewise i hope that when all the starlets have left the Bandits we Sheriffs will crush them with our superior transfer system skills. One can hope right?

[5ergio]

Yeah! We have cruised the league as expected. Strike force is way over the scope of the level we are at so I am guessing another roller coasting this season. Let's keep the win streak over Sheriffs and I'll be more than happy!

[chopper99]

Fantastic updates Kip.

ONly thing I'd mention is that the screenshots seem quite small? Any way you can make them bigger going forward, or is it just me?

Also, do all the starlets have 20 for aggression? That seems quite odd. Finally, you've classed Newcastle as underachieving in the league roundup, but they finished 7th. Seems like a pretty good season for them.

But yeah, great season for The Bandits. My prediction that The Sherrifs would fair slightly better in the first season was clearly incorrect. And poor Sunderland, my real life favourite club. Having 2 idiots really didn't do them any favours. I'm hoping they bounce straight back up.

Can't wait for the transfer window roundup now to see who goes where. Will The Bandits have any starlets left next year?

[kipfizh]

Fantastic updates Kip.

ONly thing I'd mention is that the screenshots seem quite small? Any way you can make them bigger going forward, or is it just me?

Also, do all the starlets have 20 for aggression? That seems quite odd. Finally, you've classed Newcastle as underachieving in the league roundup, but they finished 7th. Seems like a pretty good season for them.

Yeah, I scaled the images down - won't do that again.

And yes, the starlets have high aggression - I used to think this was a negative statistic, but I don't think it is, which is borne out by their lack of cards.

[daemonic]

Great update, really enjoyed reading that with my morning coffee

[chopper99]

Yeah, I scaled the images down - won't do that again.

And yes, the starlets have high aggression - I used to think this was a negative statistic, but I don't think it is, which is borne out by their lack of cards.

Cool.

That's quite interesting in regards to aggression. So how dirty a player is looks to be completely determined by hidden attributes and personality?

[5ergio]

Cool.

That's quite interesting in regards to aggression. So how dirty a player is looks to be completely determined by hidden attributes and personality?

I always related aggression to how aggressively the player will try to do things on the pitch, i.e tackling, closing down an opponent. So what I believe was aggression was mainly effective on defensive minded players if you are instructing them to close down and get in physical touch. As long as they know what they are doing and not just flying into reckless tackles, aggression may provide an edge. That is my assumption though.

[Kenco]

Finance and Staff

Finance

Barcelona and Real Madrid lead the way with the Sheriffs an impressive fourth with an estimated value of £227m. Weirdly, the Bandits are valued at just £18.25m, and are nowhere to be seen.

Rich Clubs

Bandits Balance – £17.5m, with a transfer budget of £9.6m.

Sheriffs Balance - £19.9m, with a transfer budget of £12.1m.

Former Manager Watch

No former managers.

The estimated values are interesting. What were they at the start of the season? Any reason why they are so vastly different?

[snootyjim]

I always related aggression to how aggressively the player will try to do things on the pitch, i.e tackling, closing down an opponent. So what I believe was aggression was mainly effective on defensive minded players if you are instructing them to close down and get in physical touch. As long as they know what they are doing and not just flying into reckless tackles, aggression may provide an edge. That is my assumption though.

I think in FM11 if you fined a player for prior dismissal then their aggression could drop as a result, the player attempting to curb their behaviour.

[vurogj]

I think in FM11 if you fined a player for prior dismissal then their aggression could drop as a result, the player attempting to curb their behaviour.

It can still happen in FM2012.

[BenArsenal]

Brilliant stuff.

I must say, I'm really hooked to this, having followed all three editions. Great job kip.

[leonavich]

Brilliant update! I am honestly surprised at the number of players with caps though. Though they are clearly talented, with such low reputations in such low leagues, how is it that they have been noticed by their international teams but not by larger teams within the country? Even from a League 1 or 2 side? I did notice in the screen shots however that a fair few players are now wanted by other clubs.

It will be interesting to see how many of those hang around and how many depart for pastures new.

Looking forward to the next update already!

[Unknown Hacker]

I always related aggression to how aggressively the player will try to do things on the pitch, i.e tackling, closing down an opponent. So what I believe was aggression was mainly effective on defensive minded players if you are instructing them to close down and get in physical touch. As long as they know what they are doing and not just flying into reckless tackles, aggression may provide an edge. That is my assumption though.

Aggression is the willingness of a player to get involved in physical play even at the expense of a card or two. In conjunction with the wrong PPMs and stats it can be reckless but should never be confused with dirtiness.

[henryzz]

Surprised about Scotland. I assume they were without their captain darren fletcher as well. Impressive.

[magicmastermind124]

With regards to the images, you can use Steam's screenshot service to take screenshots. By default the key is F12 - these can then be accessed using the Steam menu (View > Screenshots). You can then upload them onto the Steam Cloud. To get the image link view the image in your online library and click on View full size - you then get the URL for the picture by right clicking and selecting Copy Page URL. Insert this link into IMG tags and you have the picture (it's a good service, not sure why people don't use it, maybe they just don't know about it.)

[BigShane]

Made my day to see you started this again Kip!

Will be interesting to see if the Bandits' inevitable success keeps their crap manager in the job, or if their smart chairman will upgrade ASAP. Also keen to see how the starlets nationality affects where they move to.

[Spamjabber]

Only started reading this now but its a great experiment, at some stage I will have to go back and read the last two.

My predictions are as follows:

I did think the Bandits were going to pip the sheriffs in the league, but I didn't expect the sheriffs to drop the points they did.

Future predictions are controversial but I'll put them out there:

1. Sheriffs will shift quite a few faces in the transfer window and sign a few gems.

2. Bandits wont spend money, maybe buy one or two but keep the core of their team.

3. Sheriffs will buy their way up through the leagues and Bandits will use their talent as long as they can keep them.

4. Ultimately I think the Bandits might beat the sheriffs to league titles in the lower leagues but once they hit the football league I think the Sheriffs might pull ahead due to their ruthless attitude and pressure from the fans.

I am interested to see how long the starlets stay at the club though but I think the sheriffs sloths will dissolve sooner rather than later and will be replaced with players that will have a much better attitude and ultimately lead them to more success.

[kipfizh]

With regards to the images, you can use Steam's screenshot service to take screenshots. By default the key is F12 - these can then be accessed using the Steam menu (View > Screenshots). You can then upload them onto the Steam Cloud. To get the image link view the image in your online library and click on View full size - you then get the URL for the picture by right clicking and selecting Copy Page URL. Insert this link into IMG tags and you have the picture (it's a good service, not sure why people don't use it, maybe they just don't know about it.)

Awesome, thanks for this!

[kipfizh]

European Championship 2012 - Preview

Hosts: Poland/Ukraine

Holders: Spain

Group A: Croatia, Greece, Scotland, Ukraine

Group B: Germany, Poland, Portugal, Sweden

Group C: Denmark, England, Holland, Slovakia

Group D: France, Italy, Slovenia, Spain

Scotland, now ranked 11th in the world, may fancy their chances of getting out of Group A, while co-hosts Poland have a tough challenge in Group B, with three difficult opponents. England’s group could be worse, and they will look to accompany the Dutch into the knockout stages, but Group D is the painful one, where holders Spain face France and Italy as well as the unenviable Slovenia.

Notable absentees: Norway (16th in world), Russia (17th)

Highest ranked absentee: Norway (16th)

Starlets:

None

Idiots

None

World stars

Ronaldo (Portugal)

Just the single world star in Ronaldo, with all the starlets too young and raw to feature.

[kipfizh]

I always related aggression to how aggressively the player will try to do things on the pitch, i.e tackling, closing down an opponent. So what I believe was aggression was mainly effective on defensive minded players if you are instructing them to close down and get in physical touch. As long as they know what they are doing and not just flying into reckless tackles, aggression may provide an edge. That is my assumption though.

This is my understanding too, and it will be interesting to see how the starlets cope with the high aggression. So far, they have barely picked up any cards, so it appears to be channeled extremely well.

The idiots also have high aggression, but crucially, their dirtiness stat is 20, and they have the PPMs of diving into tackles and arguing with referees. These three factors, combined with their sheer insanity, ensure that they spend a good few matches suspended.

[kipfizh]

The estimated values are interesting. What were they at the start of the season? Any reason why they are so vastly different?

They were equal at the start of the season, and I have absolutely no explanation for the disparity. They have similarly valued squads and similar bank balances, but wildly different estimated values. Bit of a mystery, that one.

[kipfizh]

European Championship 2012 – Report

Group A:

Co-hosts Ukraine got off to a poor start in Group A, losing 2-1 to Croatia, while Scotland’s increased world ranking failed to help them as they went down 1-0 to Greece. A 2-0 defeat to Croatia days later put the Scots on the brink of elimination, while Ukraine were also struggling in their home tournament, drawing 1-1 with Greece.

With Croatia already assured of a place in the knockout rounds, they eased up, losing 1-0 to the Greeks and rendering the result of Ukraine-Scotland meaningless. The match finished 1-1, and Scotland ended the campaign rooted to the bottom.

Group B:

The tournament’s other co-hosts, Poland, had the daunting task of facing Portugal in their opening game, and like Ukraine, they lost, going down 1-0 to a Ronaldo strike. Perhaps surprisingly, Germany and Sweden played out a 1-1 draw in the other game.

Any hopes that Poland would bounce back were quickly dashed, Sweden beating them 2-1, and another 1-1 draw for Germany, this time against Portugal, left them needing a victory to qualify. And a victory they got, beating Poland 1-0 to leave the co-hosts without a single point, while Portugal crushed Sweden 4-0 to top the group.

Group C:

Group C started with a crunch clash between Holland and England, and when Van Persie put the Dutch ahead early, it looked bad. But Lennon equalised, before Rooney slammed home the winner six minutes into Fergie, er, I mean added time. Denmark cruised to a 2-0 win over Slovakia in the other game.

England and Holland then made short work of their next opponents, England dispatching Slovakia 4-1 and Holland defeating Denmark 2-0 to make them strong favourites to qualify together. Even though Denmark held England to a goalless draw in the final game, they still won the group, with Holland finishing runners up after thumping hapless Slovakia 4-0.

Group D:

And so to the proverbial Group of Death. Any assumption that Slovenia would roll over were eradicated when they drew 0-0 with Italy, while Spain were opening the defence of their crown with a 2-1 win over France thanks to a Llorente goal two minutes from time.

France bounced back well days later to thump Slovenia 3-0 and put themselves back in contention, while Spain confirmed their qualification with a 2-1 win over Italy. As with Croatia in Group A though, Spain then slipped up, suffering a shock 2-1 defeat to Slovenia, which meant France v Italy was a straight shootout for second place. Italy won it in style – 3-0, and France suffered the ignimony of finishing bottom.

Summary

France crash out, but otherwise it is a very strong quarter final lineup.

[kipfizh]

Quarter Finals: (group winners on the left):

1. Greece v Germany

2. Portugal v Croatia

3. England v Italy

4. Spain v Holland

Semi Finals:

5. Winner of 1 v Winner of 4

6. Winner of 2 v Winner of 3

Final:

7. Winner of 5 v Winner of 6

A couple of enormous clashes in there – England v Italy and Spain v Holland are mouthwatering. Predictions?

[resde34]

Hope Greece can do it like its 2004

[chopper99]

Those are some pretty tasty quarter final matches.

Hopefully England can beat Italy and then get revenge on Portugal.

[Kenco]

IRL England would lose to Italy on pens, but in FM I fancy them to sneak through to face Portugal. Greece to surprise Germany and Spain to beat the Dutch.

[leonavich]

Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain are my predictions. Spain to win it all though.

[kipfizh]

European Championship 2012 – Quarter Final

Remaining starlets:

None

Remaining idiots

None

Remaining world stars

Ronaldo (Portugal)

Greece v Germany

Not an awful lot to say about this one – Germany cruised to a 2-0 win and were barely threatened by Greece, who came into the match as the team who had won their group. Germany will take some stopping.

Portugal v Croatia

Croatia played well for half an hour without ever really threatening, and when Portugal scored after 35 minutes the result looked inevitable. Danny added his second of the game with 17 minutes to go, and Ronaldo added the icing on the cake at the end.

England v Italy

Italy came flying out of the blocks and could have scored twice in the opening three minutes, before Rooney caught them with a sucker punch in the fourth. But Italy didn’t waver, and Balotelli levelled six minutes later, and deservedly so.

But after 15 minutes, England were ahead again through Ferdinand, and despite constant pressure from Italy, they couldn’t find a second equaliser, and England were through.

Spain v Holland

On paper, this was the tie of the round, with the World Cup Final of 2010 getting a second airing. Any hopes that the game would be less feisty were dashed when the first yellow card was handed out after five minutes. But then game settled down, before Huntelaar put the Dutch ahead on 66 minutes.

Then the game turned sour, with five more yellow cards before the dying moments of the game, when David Villa equalised for the holders. Into extra time, and Holland lost the plot, picking up another four yellows to rack up a total of eight in the game, and their mood was hardly helped when Negredo scored the winner for Spain five minutes from the shoot out.

[chopper99]

Come on England!!!

[5ergio]

Oh boi! England vs Portugal & Germany vs Spain in the semis! I sense some penalty shoot outs!

[Lord Sidious]

Rooney red card after "kicking" Ronaldo.

[kipfizh]

European Championship 2012 – Semi Final

Remaining starlets:

None

Remaining idiots

None

Remaining world stars

Ronaldo (Portugal)

Germany v Spain

After their quarter final thrill ride, Spain came into the first semi-final looking jaded, and Germany took full advantage, racing into a three goal lead before half time. Iniesta pulled one back after the break, but it wasn’t to be enough, and the holders were out.

Portugal v England

With Portugal a bogey side for England, the first half was incredibly cagey, with neither keeper particularly tested. In the second half, disaster struck for England when Ferdinand put through his own net, and despite their best efforts, they couldn’t equalise, and Portugal had once again dumped them out of a major tournament.

[FlownCanary]

Portugal eliminating England? What a surprise hah. KUTGW Kip, I'm so glad this is back. And here's to hoping that Porugal get thrashed in the final! Haha.

[leonavich]

Wow, Spain surprised me! This is proving to be an interesting tournament!

[DB1]

Got a feeling that the Germans will win this. Efficient vs Ronaldo. Could be close. England so close yet so far

[TwinsFan86]

Just out of curiosity is it the default Germany squad, or the fixed Germany squad?

[kipfizh]

Just out of curiosity is it the default Germany squad, or the fixed Germany squad?

It is the default one.

[kipfizh]

European Championship 2012 – Final

Remaining starlets:

None

Remaining idiots

None

Remaining world stars

Ronaldo (Portugal)

Germany v Portugal

Germany went into the final as strong favourites, but their plans were thrown out of the window in the eighth minute when Kevin Fink was sent off for an awful two footed challenge. On the stroke of half time, Postiga made them pay, and with Portugal showing greater fitness in the second half, they scored the second in the 89th minute through Moutinho.

Portugal are the champions, and fittingly Ronaldo, their best player and the sole world star at the tournament, picked up the Best Player award.

[BenArsenal]

Pfft, Winker Ronaldo.

[spotg]

Postiga :D

</bitter Spurs fan>

[daemonic]

European Championship ends, transfer windows opens, excitement heightens

[kipfizh]

Postiga :D

</bitter Spurs fan>

Mind the gap.

</chuckling Arsenal fan>

[spotg]

Mind the gap.

</chuckling Arsenal fan>

.

[kipfizh]

Season report – 2012/13 – Summer Transfer Window

With a stunning 2011/12 season under their belts, the Bandits looked forward to their new life in the seventh tier of English football, or more specifically the Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division (oh the glamour). Joining them were the Sheriffs, who definitely came out second best last season but will be looking to make amends.

The first priority was to keep hold of their star players, but for the Bandits, the summer started badly in that regard. Highly rated youngster Stuart Cox (PA 176) was the first to go, Tranmere snapping him up for a paltry £18k, before Centre Back 1 was attracted to the European game, signing for Basle for £425k.

Right Back 1 made the switch to the Premiership, signing for Wigan for £950k, and the club’s two best strikers were to follow, Striker 1 joining Sheff Utd to £575k and Striker 3 linking up with Wolves for a club record £1.3m.

And that wasn’t it – Bristol City and Blackpool picked up Attacking Mid 1 and Centre Back 3 respectively, both for £850k, and finally Left Back 1 joined Norwich for £825k. In all, seven starlets left the club, leaving just four of the group who started with 100 CA, although all eleven of the backup starlets stuck around. Fifteen starlets are surely enough to succeed in the non-league game, but their strength in depth is certainly weaker than before. A shame to lose Cox too – he was a talent.

And what of the Sheriffs? With ambition and antagonism in their dressing room, it was widely predicted that they would lose more of their stars than the Bandits, but in reality this wasn’t the case. The only idiot of the remaining six to leave with Driven Idiot GK, who flew to Italy to join Cesena. The Sheriffs’ only other disappointment was losing young Thomas Holloway, whose 170 PA was something to be nurtured. He moved to Chesterfield for £24k.

So the Sheriffs are left with all four lazy idiots, plus Driven Idiot Str. They should be fine.

They certainly started well – after a series of big wins in pre-season against non-league opposition, they opened their campaign with 3-0 wins away at Brackley and Weston-super-Mare. These were quickly followed up by 6-1 and 6-0 wins over St. Albans and Basingstoke respectively, as they ended the transfer window with a perfect record.

As for the Bandits, they had the regional pre-season curtain raiser to play, as they faced the champions of the Southern Premier, the league the Bandits were now in, in a tie that I honestly don’t understand the importance of. In any case, the Bandits raced to a 6-0 win to signal serious intent, made all the more impressive by the fact that Banbury, their opponents, had been promoted to the Blue Square North, one rung above them.

And they took that form into the league season, following up a 5-0 opening day win with a trio of 8-0 destructions, of Hemel Hempstead, Stourbridge and Barwell. This, of course, denied the Sheriffs top spot as August turned to September, the Bandits claiming that position on goal difference.

Here we go again.

[kipfizh]

Squad Analysis – Bandits (Sep 1 2012)

Top 20 in Squad (sorted by CA)

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA (change)

Goalkeeper 1, 18, GK, 127-200 (+24)

Left Mid 1, 18, LM/LW, 125-200 (+20)

Defensive Mid 1, 18, DM/CM, 121-200 (+18)

Right Mid 1, 18, RM/RW, 120-200 (+19)

Centre Back 2, 18, SW/DC, 111-200 (+27)

Centre Back 4, 18, SW/DC, 110-200 (+28)

Defensive Mid 2, 18, DM/CM, 109-200 (+28)

Left Mid 2, 18, LM/LW, 109-200 – new entry in top 20

Striker 2, 18, ST, 108-200 – new entry in top 20

Striker 4, 18, ST, 107-200 – new entry in top 20

Attacking Mid 2, 18, CM/AM, 105-200 (+24)

Anderson, 29, DC, 105-115 (-6)

Right Back 2, 18, RB/RWB, 104-200 – new entry in top 20

Goalkeeper 2, 18, GK, 103-200 – new entry in top 20

Left Back 2, 18, LB/LWB, 101-200 (-3)

Right Mid 2, 18, RM/RW, 100-200 – new entry in top 20

Ramsey, 20, AM C, 81-162 – youth product

Cargill, 18, DC, 75-140 – youth product

Hemming, 17, GK, 74-139 – youth product

Williams, 18, DM, 71-141 – youth product

Players from last season’s top 20 who have left the club:

Hay, 27, M RL, 112-115

Centre Back 1, 17, SW/DC, 105-200

Centre Back 3, 17, SW/DC, 105-200

Attacking Mid 1, 17, CM/AM, 104-200

Left Back 1, 17, LB/LWB, 104-200

Right Back 1, 17, RB/RWB, 104-200

Striker 1, 17, ST, 104-200

Striker 3, 17, ST, 104-200

Cox, 17, ML, 89-176

Hawkins, 17, M LC, 89-173

Yildirim, 24, AMC, 82-115

Players from last season’s top 20 who have dropped out:

None

Notable others:

None

Not as strong as last year, in terms of depth, but some fantastic rises in ability from the committed starlets makes them far too good for this league.

CA of X or above (excluding starlets and idiots):

190 : 00, 00

180 : 00, 00

170 : 00, 00

160 : 00, 00

150 : 00, 00

140 : 00, 00

130 : 00, 00

120 : 00, 00

110 : 02, 00

100 : 02, 01

90 : 02, 01

80 : 06, 02

70 : 08, 05

60 : 11, 11

Quite telling stats – at the beginning of last season, the Bandits had six players (non starlets) with a CA of 80+, but this season, there are only two. Of course, the starlets should drag them along, but it is a concern for when they leave.

[kipfizh]

Squad Analysis – Sheriffs (Sep 1 2012)

Top 20 in Squad (sorted by CA)

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA (change)

Lazy Idiot GK, 18, GK, 150-200 (-)

Lazy Idiot Def, 18, SW/DC/LB/LWB/RB/RWB, 150-200 (-)

Lazy Idiot Mid, 18, DM/MC/AM/LM/LW/RM/RW, 150-200 (-)

Lazy Idiot Str, 18, ST, 148-200 (-2)

Driven Idiot Str, 18, ST, 125-200 (-)

Hamilton, 28, AMC, 109-115 (+1)

Oakes, 16, DC/DM, 91-167 – youth product

Daley, 29, GK, 89-115 (-20)

Nelthorpe, 16, ST, 85-158 – youth product

Hajji, 17, D RLC, 84-156 (+9)

Horlock, 18, ST, 81-152 (+5)

Jones, 18, ST, 80-134 (+20)

Pickup, 17, DL, 73-128 – youth product

Whittaker, 18, ST, 69-135 (+13)

Seavill, 17, GK, 61-115 – youth product

Martin, 16, DC/DM, 59-129 – youth product

Tyler, 21, DL, 55-115 – new entry in top 20

Hopkins, 17, DC, 54-106 – youth product

Howard, 18, DC, 53-101 – youth product

Laws, 17, M RL, 51-112 – youth product

Players from last season’s top 20 who have left the club:

Driven Idiot GK, 17, GK, 125-200

Driven Idiot Def, 17, SW/DC/LB/LWB/RB/RWB, 125-200

Driven Idiot Mid, 17, DM/MC/AM/LM/LW/RM/RW, 125-200

Zabek, 27, D LC, 103-115

Holloway, 16, AM LC, 87-170

Mogg, 16, DM, 70-146

Mansell, 17, M LC, 66-125

Casey, 22, AM LC, 63-109

Gape, 17, DR, 61-122

Players from last season’s top 20 who have dropped out:

None

Notable others:

None

A squad driven as much by the youth academy as anything – they continue to have a decent squad and some of the kids are ready to play immediately.

CA of X or above (excluding starlets and idiots):

190 : 00, 00

180 : 00, 00

170 : 00, 00

160 : 00, 00

150 : 00, 00

140 : 00, 00

130 : 00, 00

120 : 00, 00

110 : 00, 00

100 : 03, 01

90 : 03, 02

80 : 04, 07

70 : 07, 08

60 : 11, 10

The Sheriffs have less cream at the top, with only one player (non-idiot) in the 100 CA bracket, but they have far more at 80+ than before.

[kipfizh]

.

Sorry - low blow....

[spotg]

Keep the updates coming and I might forgive you