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AI Experiment - The Bandits are back for FM09


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I'm pretty confident the Bandits will go up next season as they came pretty close already and will no doubt add improve the squad during the transfer windows. I could see the Sheriffs going up as well but I'll predict they do no better than the Bandits did this past season and will lose in the playoffs.

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I think this year's disappointment could be good for the Bandits in the long run: the gap between League One and the Championship is a big one, so this extra year and a little more reputation will allow them to put together the framework of a team that's good enough to fight with the big(ger) boys. Just to link in performance to personality, I'd expect the Sheriffs to exuberantly shoot up alongside the Bandits, only to come crashing straight back down. (Probably not, due to the resources and so on, but if I'm right I'll look like a genius.)

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I'd like to associate myself with the comments of the right honourable gentleman above. Glad to see this rivalry thing hasn't been wasted. I'd just settle for securing promotion (or playoffs if its been bad), if we deny them either I wouldn't mind. Sadly not much chance of sending them down but plenty of opportunities to do that later.

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It'll make it even sweeter when we lift the League One trophy on the Sheriffs' ground. Go Bandits :thup:

Exactly what I foresee Meitheisman :thup: Maybe it is good to be in the same league with them after all :D

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Yeah! The Bandits are back!! With their evil twin, the Sheriffs!

I was already a big fan of the first topic but never posted there. I discovered this one yesterday and read the all 13 pages in one shot, it's still great, no, wait, it's even better!

I'm quite surprised about the idiots inability to improve their CA. Professionalism and hard working rate seem to matter even more in this version.

The rise of the two rivals is also impressively fast. Is it mainly a matter of coaching abilities or did the AI improved on this point? It would be interesting to see one of the 2 coaches leave.

KUTGW and please, stop torturing us and post an update! :)

A quick prediction for the upcoming season : Bandits in the top 3 and go up, Sheriffs finish mid-table.

Go Sheriffs !

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I predict that the Bandits manager will be snapped up by a bigger club before too long, maybe this season. That will leave the Bandits without the main thing that is pushing them forward so quickly.

The question will be who will the board replace him with? In the past experiment the board constantly chose poor managers, so it will be interesting to see what happens this time round.

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Season 2012-13

Club reports – Summer Transfers

After promotion for the Sheriffs, they joined the Bandits, who had failed to go up for the first time in their history, in League One. Their rivalry would once more be renewed in the league, but first they had to try to strengthen their sides during a crucial summer. The Bandits were looking to take an extra step and seal promotion this time, the Sheriffs had to deal with a club takeover.

Bandits

As usual, the Bandits started the summer with a clearout, with fourteen players leaving on free transfers, but it wasn't all good news this season. While most were players the club chose to let go, including the rapidly fading Marcus Bent, one was simply a case of a player walking away at the end of his contract. Tom Kilbey, the club's best player and at 21 a massive prospect, had been unhappy all season and decided to move on. He wanted a bigger club, but ended up with Bradford, and will be playing the Bandits later in the season in the league.

Coming in, the manager spent no money this summer, choosing instead to bring free transfers in. Two were pre-arranged, coming in on the Bosman rule, whereas the rest were simply without a club having been released at the end of the season.

David Pipe was the first, joining from Bristol Rovers, but the 28 year old right back is just cover, with a CA of 102 and a PA of 110. The other Bosman signing was veteran midfielder John Eustace, now 32, who arrived from Stirling with a falling CA of 100. Both were adequate, the Bandits ending the summer with thirteen 100 CA players, but they don't set the world alight, merely improve the squad depth.

One player who did raise the excitement levels was Nicky Maynard, a 25 year old left winger or striker whose CA of 124 instantly made him the best player at the club, at the same level Kilbey was when he left. His CA of 135 could also be reached.

The next two signings were less than inspired – Jack Cross, 20 year old central midfielder with a CA of 76 and a PA of 100, and Thomas Lyskov, a 21 year old left back whose 78 CA could rise to 139. The latter was by far the biggest talent, but isn't a signing for this season.

An improvement was made with the next signing, 24 year old central midfielder Wayne Brown signing up with a CA of 99 and a PA of 139, adding more squad depth, but it wasn't until the final signing of the summer that the fans really took much notice.

But a great signing it was, designed in the short term to earn another promotion. It was only six years since David Healy nearly single handedly took Northern Ireland to the European Championships, and despite his 33 years, he still has real talent, a CA of 111 putting him in the upper echelons of the league. Unlike Bent, he did not demand £90k a week, taking home a mere £29.5k.

And that was it – Healy was the new veteran striker brought in for the short term, while Maynard came in as the best player, replacing Kilbey. Elsewhere, it was just squad building.

Sheriffs

The Sheriffs came into the league with only four players with 100 CA, and desperately needed a bunch of new signings if they were to compete. Fortunately for them, the impending board takeover did not stop the players coming in, so the manager was free to strengthen his squad.

First though, he let players go, thirteen in total, before turning his attention to getting the players needed to thrive at this level. First to arrive was James Bailey, instantly lifting the number of 100 CA players, the 23 year old defensive midfielder having exactly that ability, and a PA of 126 to boot. His price tag of £7k from Rochdale seemed reasonable.

Next in were two signings from Nottm Forest – Shaun Derry, a defensive midfielder who at 34 and with a CA of 83 was a strange and pointless signing, and Nathan Tyson, a 30 year old striker with a CA of 115, who was anything but. Tyson should go on to be a massive success this season. The combined fee was only £15k.

Rob Atkinson cost somewhat more, the 25 year old left or centre back arriving for £160k from Grimsby. His 96 CA is unlikely to improve much, so he seems a little overpriced, but adds good depth to the squad. The same could be said of Danny Mills (yes, that Danny Mills), who was snapped up for £7k from Southend. Now 35, his 94 CA makes him a squad player.

A player who would expect to feature more is Chris Sedgwick, who at 32 still has a CA of 106. The right winger cost £80k from Preston.

Next were three free transfers, Mark Hughes, a 25 year old centre back with a CA of 105 and a PA of 125, Stephen Gleeson, a 24 year old central midfielder with a CA of 93, and Marc Tierney, a 27 year old left back with a CA of 106. The manager knew what he was doing – simply bringing in as many players with 90+ CA as possible.

There were two more to come, and both were excellent signings. Sean McAllister cost £250k from Gillingham, but the 25 year old central midfielder instantly became the club's best player with a CA of 118 and a PA of 127. Finally, Etienne Esajas signed from Bournemouth for £40k, and the 27 year old left winger's CA of 110 put him right up there too.

And that ended the summer. Fans who had been worried about transfer embargos were delighted to see the names come in, and the squad looked much stronger than only a few months earlier. Having ended the season with four 100 CA players and nine with 90 CA, they now had eleven with 100 CA (only two less than the Bandits), and twenty with 90 CA. It looked good.

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Club reports – August-December

Bandits

The Bandits opened away to Tranmere, a side they put nine past in two league games last season, but found it tougher going this time, a Mark Burton penalty giving them a 1-0 win. The cup season then got underway instantly with a 3-0 win over Cheltenham in the League Cup, the League Two side being dispatched by three early goals.

New star Nicky Maynard then delighted the fans with the winning goal in a 2-1 win at Swindon, before the first disappointment, a 2-0 reverse in a League Cup tie at Preston, although the Bandits did at least force extra time before their illustrious opponents showed their class.

A 1-1 draw with Brighton was then followed by four victories, the defence proving watertight by keeping four clean sheets as the Bandits pushed themselves to the top of the league. They finally conceded against Millwall, but still ran out 2-1 winners, before drawing 1-1 with Bournemouth, David Healy finally scoring his first for the club.

Bournemouth were again the opponents in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, and took the lead before Wayne Brown and Daniel Nardiello turned the match in the Bandits' favour, sending them through 2-1.

Back in the league, it was business as usual, Port Vale being beaten 2-0, before they lost for the first time, a surprise 2-1 home reverse to Shrewsbury, a lucky win for the visitors given that they only managed one shot on target in the entire match, Mark Hudson helping them out with an own goal. A draw at Southampton continued to slight wobble, before a win over Southend put them back on track.

At the end of October, they were sitting pretty at the top of League One, two points clear with a game in hand, having conceded only six goals in thirteen league games. Their scoring record of nineteen wasn't overly impressive, less than many in the top half, but one goal was often enough to win games.

As November began, the defence stayed watertight, and the goals began to flow, as three games in succession were won 3-0 – a league game at Rotherham, a Johnstone's Paint Trophy South Quarter Final against League Two Ebbsfleet, and then an FA Cup game at home to Crewe. But when they started to concede goals, they stopped winnings matches, as the month ended with three league draws, four goals conceded in the process.

December saw another draw, away at strugglers Swindon in the FA Cup, before two goals from Mulligan put them back on track with a 2-0 win over Bury in the league. But three days later a 1-0 defeat at Crewe sent them into the cup replay with shaky confidence, and it showed as they endured a stalemate at home to a Swindon side they would normally defeat with ease. Finally, three minutes into extra time, Nardiello put them ahead, but Swindon weren't done, levelling with two minutes of extra time remaining to send the tie to penalties. And after Healy missed the Bandits' opener, Swindon nailed all five to progress.

They didn't have much time to pick themselves up as the Christmas period had kicked in, and days later they lost 2-0 to Carlisle as goals remained elusive. And it was more of the same in the South semi final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, a scoreless draw at home to Millwall. Once again, it would take penalties to separate them, but this time the Bandits held their nerve, going through three rounds of sudden death kicks before winning 7-6, Ben Parker striking the winning blow.

Relief flowed through the club at finally getting a positive result, and they bounced back in style, going 3-0 up against Bradford, themselves in the playoffs, by half time in their next game. The sending off of Mark Hudson forced them to be careful in the second half, but they still ran out 4-2 winners.

Days later, they continued to score with ease, but their defence fell apart in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Oldham. It marked another low in the season of David Healy, who had struggled to find the net all season, and had missed the crucial penalty in the FA Cup shoot out. He missed another in this game, and with only four goals in nineteen appearances was not proving himself to be the signing everyone hoped he would be.

The final game of the year was a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Tranmere, and it was two points dropped that enabled Southend to leapfrog them and end the year top of the league. The Bandits remained second and in a good position, but a pack behind them was waiting for any more slip ups.

Sheriffs

Joining the Bandits in League One, the Sheriffs had made a decent fist of improving their squad in the summer, leaving the fans confident that the club would at least be at the right end of the table.

The season began with a League Cup tie against Championship Fulham, and when Ellington gave the Sheriffs the lead, a shock looked to be on. But Treacy equalised for the home team, with eleven minutes remaining, and Ellington was then among two penalty misses in the resulting shoot out. Four cup ties have gone the distance in the last year for the Sheriffs, but they've now lost two penalty shoot outs in a row.

The league campaign got off to a great start, Nathan Tyson scoring his first goal for the club to earn a 1-0 win at Bury. Tyson and McAllister then struck the goals in a 2-0 win over Crewe, before Carlisle were destroyed 6-0, Tyson scoring a hattrick to take him to five league goals in three games.

A 2-0 reverse to Bradford was their first slip up in the league, and was quickly followed by a dreadful performance at League Two Northampton in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, another 2-0 defeat ending another cup campaign early on. A 3-1 win over Oldham pushed them back up the league, before defeat at Nottm Forest and a draw at Tranmere left them sixth.

It had been a start of Jekyll and Hyde proportions, three wins out of three at home, with eleven goals scored, but poor on the road, and that continued, a 3-0 win over MK Dons at home being quickly followed by defeats at Bristol Rovers and Swindon. Back at home again, and Tyson scored five in two games as the Sheriffs hammered Brighton 4-1 and Huddersfield 5-2, before yet again failing to win away, drawing 0-0 at Colchester, a side bottom of the table without a win to their name.

The final game in October was a 3-0 win over Millwall, which left them a very healthy third in the league, four points behind the Bandits. But the discrepancy between home and away form was incredible – at home they had won seven of seven, scoring 26 and conceding only four (their 26 home goals in more than anyone else had scored in home and away games combined), but in seven away games they had hit the net a paltry twice.

And it didn't change in November, the month beginning with a 1-0 away reverse to Stockport, before the Sheriffs emphasised their home power with a 4-0 win over Burton in the FA Cup and a 3-0 triumph over Port Vale in the league.

Nathan Tyson did manage an away goal in their next game, but it only earned them one point against Southampton, before they reverted to type with a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth. Another 1-1 draw at Southampton, this time in the FA Cup, at least gave them the chance to progress on their own patch.

Back at home, the Sheriffs finally lost their 100% record with a 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury, but first made up for it by beating Southampton 3-2 in the replay, before scoring thirteen unanswered goals in three stunning league games. First up were Southend, who were dispatched 4-0, even more impressive when you consider that the defeated team would end the year top of the table. Next, and perhaps more surprisingly, the Sheriffs finally won away, and in considerable style, hammering Rotherham 4-0. They went one better on Boxing Day, putting five past Gillingham as their promotion push told hold.

Now with an away win under their belt, they managed another in the final game of the year, a 2-1 win at Crewe that left them third, three points from leaders Southend and just one point behind the Bandits, with a far superior goal difference. With goalscoring not a problem for them at all, and their away hoodoo seemingly over, it promised to be a very interesting second half of the season.

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I have to say I'm surprised that the Bandits didn't strengthen their squad further in an attempt to get out of league one. Given their past transfer activities and ability to attract star players for the league I'd have thought they'd do the same again. However, I am not Dream Manager, and would not think to question his master plan!

Up the Bandits.

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not an inspiring summer of signings. Still pretty good, I'd have taken this. This gets ever more exciting. At least 1 will get automatic promotion I'm sure but its open at the top.

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reactions to this update, in chronologcial order

yay: a teaser

nay: it's not finished yet

naaaaay: Kilbey (might ask again in five years how he's gone - personally hope he rots at Yeovil or Carlisle or Milton Keynes or some other hole)

yayish: Healy

chuckle: Mark Hughes, a 25-year-old centre back

tense: squads look pretty even, the derbies will be deathmatches

yay: Aug-December update!

yay: great start 7-2-0 and still in the paint pot

lol: veteran misses the opening penalty

intrigued: Southend leads the league...the Sheriffs really that far back?

more intrigued: the huge home crowd swinging things for the Sheriffs - or just pot luck?

more intrigued: clearly Shrewsbury's the bogey team

ah, clearly not that big a gap. Crazy close stuff. And still two derbies to look forward to, plus an FA Cup match for the Sheriffs and the paint pot for the Bandits.

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Guest roberto922

Just been catching up on the last 2 or 3 seasons, great work kipfizh, looking forward to the next update

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Brilliant update, Kip. Interesting that the Sheriffs are outperforming the bandits of last season by a fair distance - suggests to me that the time factor, rather than necessarily the success factor, is important in terms of reputation for these two giants - would suggest their reputations are probably quite similar despite the Bandits having been in L1 for an extra season. Come on you Bandits! Lets go shoot the sheriffs!!

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it seems that the Bandits are shaken by the Sheriffs chasing them in the league table and that’s what causing them to drop in performance, I think that the game at bandits stadium will be crucial, if the sheriffs manage to get a point or even three there, then they will probably finish ahead of the Bandits.

One other thing that would be interesting to see is if the Bandits are going to sign a better striker in the January transfer window. I recon that the board and the fans are pretty disappointed by the managers signing of Healy and is interesting to see how the AI manager reacts to that kind of pressure.

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I cannot wait for updates!!! :thup: For me, it's the Bandits up as league winners and the Sheriffs up from playoffs! :)

One of the most surprising or even shocking things to see has been the fact that there is no real difference between managers, one of them being the absolute best and the another one technically equally adept but mentally an idiot. Do you share the view that manager's attributes actually play a smaller role on a team's success than we thought?

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I cannot wait for updates!!! :thup: For me, it's the Bandits up as league winners and the Sheriffs up from playoffs! :)

One of the most surprising or even shocking things to see has been the fact that there is no real difference between managers, one of them being the absolute best and the another one technically equally adept but mentally an idiot. Do you share the view that manager's attributes actually play a smaller role on a team's success than we thought?

The Sherriffs manager is hardly "mentally an idiot" - he's a perfect judge of other players, iron disciplinarian and brilliant at the mind games. Most importantly, he's sufficiently good at using his big transfer budget and ambititious in his approach to ensure that he doesn't have to worry about issues like squad disharmony, financial restraint or struggling against the bigger boys.

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I think the whole CSE forum will go nuts if we see a Bandits v Sheriffs playoff final.

UP THE BANDITS

That would be amazing! If that happens Kip, you need to give us the huge build up and match report ... Everyone would be on complete tenterhooks! Maybe even announce it was happening and set a time when you was going to post it to ensure we were all here to read it live ... :)

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Championship is the biggest gulf in terms of the league below it out of all of the English leagues generally. It's the league I've always found it hardest to get out of when I've taken teams from bottom to top in pretty much every incarnation of CM/FM. Out of interest, how long did it take the Bandits to make it from the Championship to the Premiership in the first experiment?

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