Mookham(?) A Football Manager 14 AAR

[BanzaiCat]

As long as Newcastle are ahead of Sunderland, yer alright by me, kid!  ;)

Whey, aye bonny lad. Awa' th' toon.

[KyzBP]

As long as Newcastle are ahead of Sunderland, yer alright by me, kid!  ;)

Whey, aye bonny lad. Awa' th' toon.

That's kind of what I feel like writing this.  Sacked, Pitch, Keeper, Kits etc...
I'm trying to write it using the terms associated with the game.  I have to keep in mind that this is a sports game on a war gaming site and some of the people reading this are Americans who don't know or care much about soccer.

[KyzBP]

In World Cup 2014 News:

GROUP A
England
Brazil
Mexico
Ukraine

GROUP G
USA
Peru
France
Spain

I would say that England will move out of the Group stage while the US will be heading home.

[KyzBP]

"They're just kids Hans and we're expecting them to perform a miracle."  I was almost pleading with Hans to produce said miracle.
"They're good kids.  They understand the importance of this game.  Injuries happen all the time in all sports.  We just have to adapt and go play." Hans seemed to be trying to convince us both.
"We're down to 3 games.  We still need 6 points and I have to rely on guys whose moms dropped them off today.  I think we're sunk Hans." 
"Just focus and we'll do just fine"  Nope, Hans didn't convince me.



We lost our first game but won the next one.  In the process we managed to lose two of our key defenders and our keeper.
The funny thing is I didn't notice our keeper was out until I was setting up this match so I had to grab the keeper out of
our U18 team.   Where's the Polish guy you ask?  Well I got kind of tired of his complaining about not starting so I sent him away on loan.
I could probably use him right now.

We still need 6 points (2 wins) in 3 games.  That may be out of our reach.  Cross your fingers, here we go.

[MetalDog]

Good luck!  :)

[bayonetbrant]

In World Cup 2014 News:

GROUP A
England
Brazil
Mexico
Ukraine

GROUP G
USA
Peru
France
Spain

I would say that England will move out of the Group stage while the US will be heading home.

That depends on which version of Ukraine shows up.  If you're playing 5-6 years ago, and Schevchenko and Timoschenko are still running about, they're very dangerous.

Similarly, if the "players mutiny of 2010" version of France show up - or the 2002-we-lost-to-Senegal-to-open-our-title-defense - then the US is in pretty good shape.  Remember that they knocked off Spain in 2009 at the Confederations Cup in one of the most stunning international upsets in a decade (or more).  That Spain team was worth probably a half billion dollars on the open market (yes, "billion" with a "b") and any one of them would likely command a larger transfer fee than the entire US lineup combined, and the US beat 'em.  It wasn't a fluke; they flat out beat Spain with a better game plan, solid discipline, and a great counterattack.

[BanzaiCat]

KyzBP, you said the keeper was complaining about not being played? Is that really an in-game function? Do the players' abilities get affected by being pissy little nancy boys complaining about not having enough pitch time?

[undercovergeek]

yeah players will complain theyre not getting played regularly - its contract dependent - if you signed them with the line 'important first team player', theyll expect to be playing regularly, if you said 'back up for the first team' they wont whinge as much but then probably wont sign because they want some action

[BanzaiCat]

But if you're starting way at the bottom, I assume the expectations are a lot lower? I mean if you're recruiting some beer-gut dudes out of the local pub, they're not going to think they're going straight to the Premier League and expect to be played regularly? If you're running a PL team, I would expect much more prima-donnaship out of players than at the lower levels. Or is that not right?

[KyzBP]

"The Board will see you now Mr. Saturn."  If I didn't know better I'd swear the Receptionist is also the Waitress at the Pub.
"Max, come on in.  There's no need to sit down."  I think I know where this is headed.  "I'm sure you know why you're here."
"I'm hoping you're giving me my Christmas bonus in person."  It was worth a shot.
"Max, we're replacing you.  For now we're bringing up Mr. Moss from the U18s until we can find a proper Head Coach."
"Why not, half his team is already up here."  That was not just me being a smart ass.  It was true.
"We'll give you the rest of the day to pack up and say your good byes."  The Board is so generous.

And with that I ended my brief career as a Head Coach.



That was the most difficult game of FM I've played to date.  I've been playing this game for 13 years and have never gotten myself fired before Christmas.
The house rules I used definitely handcuffed me early.  Only using the recommendations of sub par scouts when looking for players was a big challenge.
When creating the team I made a mistake in setting the minimum attendance level.  I was only averaging about 200 fans a game at $14 a ticket.  Given the
product on the field though,  I'd say 200 fans was probably about right.

That unexplainable loss in the Trophy competition really did seem to throw the team through a loop.  Morale absolutely crashed.  Then the following game, 2 days later,
was played with guys at 80% condition and some youth players.  The final dose of salt in the wound was the injuries.  We were decimated.  There was really very
little hope.

All of that being said, I still enjoyed the heck out of it and am starting a new game.

Where Are They Now you ask?

I let the game play out for another year to see what would happen.  Here's the results:

Hans Gessner (Assistant Coach) stuck around until the end of the season.  Mookham attempted to resign him but he refused and went back into retirement.
Rob Haworth was injured near the end of the season and was released.
The Polish Goalie re-signed with the team and is still in net.
Moss, the U18 Coach was quickly sent back down when the Board hired the guy underlined above.
Mike Davies, the Guy Underlined Above, is still at the helm of Mookham.  I find that kind of funny because:



We had the same amount of time and he performed far worse.  Mookham are barely afloat at the bottom level.
When the team dropped they sold or released nearly every player we signed except the keeper.

As for me, I tried to get hired by any team with an opening.  I was laughed at by each and every one of them.
I've decided to give goat milking a try.  I've never done it before but I'd never managed a football club either.

I hope you enjoyed the story but more importantly, I hope it makes some of you guys want to try the game.

Thanks,
Erick

[undercovergeek]

IIRC its not where you are on the league ladder - premiership or amateur, but the fact that there are players who will expect to be playing week in, week out whether against Manchester United or Abdullah the Mullah's Indian Takeaway First XI, and will complain if they dont, left unattended theyll ask to be transferred

[BanzaiCat]

Ah, okay, makes sense. Thanks, 'geek.

[undercovergeek]

"The Board will see you now Mr. Saturn."  If I didn't know better I'd swear the Receptionist is also the Waitress at the Pub.
"Max, come on in.  There's no need to sit down."  I think I know where this is headed.  "I'm sure you know why you're here."
"I'm hoping you're giving me my Christmas bonus in person."  It was worth a shot.
"Max, we're replacing you.  For now we're bringing up Mr. Moss from the U18s until we can find a proper Head Coach."
"Why not, half his team is already up here."  That was not just me being a smart ass.  It was true.
"We'll give you the rest of the day to pack up and say your good byes."  The Board is so generous.

And with that I ended my brief career as a Head Coach.



That was the most difficult game of FM I've played to date.  I've been playing this game for 13 years and have never gotten myself fired before Christmas.
The house rules I used definitely handcuffed me early.  Only using the recommendations of sub par scouts when looking for players was a big challenge.
When creating the team I made a mistake in setting the minimum attendance level.  I was only averaging about 200 fans a game at $14 a ticket.  Given the
product on the field though,  I'd say 200 fans was probably about right.

That unexplainable loss in the Trophy competition really did seem to throw the team through a loop.  Morale absolutely crashed.  Then the following game, 2 days later,
was played with guys at 80% condition and some youth players.  The final dose of salt in the wound was the injuries.  We were decimated.  There was really very
little hope.

All of that being said, I still enjoyed the heck out of it and am starting a new game.

Where Are They Now you ask?

I let the game play out for another year to see what would happen.  Here's the results:

Hans Gessner (Assistant Coach) stuck around until the end of the season.  Mookham attempted to resign him but he refused and went back into retirement.
Rob Haworth was injured near the end of the season and was released.
The Polish Goalie re-signed with the team and is still in net.
Moss, the U18 Coach was quickly sent back down when the Board hired the guy underlined above.
Mike Davies, the Guy Underlined Above, is still at the helm of Mookham.  I find that kind of funny because:



We had the same amount of time and he performed far worse.  Mookham are barely afloat at the bottom level.
When the team dropped they sold or released nearly every player we signed except the keeper.

As for me, I tried to get hired by any team with an opening.  I was laughed at by each and every one of them.
I've decided to give goat milking a try.  I've never done it before but I'd never managed a football club either.

I hope you enjoyed the story but more importantly, I hope it makes some of you guys want to try the game.

Thanks,
Erick

oh man, youve got to start another one, that was great!

[BanzaiCat]

KyzBP (or 'geek), so once you're canned from your team (which makes me raise an eyebrow - that's really interesting considering you, as the player of the game, created the team...I like that there's no safety net), you can shop yourself around and hope to take over ANOTHER team, and end up possibly playing against the team you created?

I like Geek's idea of "Abdullah the Mullah's Indian Takeaway First XI" - what a riot that would be to take THAT team all the way to the Premier League...

Seconding what 'geek said - do another one if you're so inclined.

[KyzBP]

KyzBP, you said the keeper was complaining about not being played? Is that really an in-game function? Do the players' abilities get affected by being pissy little nancy boys complaining about not having enough pitch time?

Absolutely!  If you promise them that they'll be a key player and then bench them they start bugging you about it, even demanding to move on if you're not using them.  If they are a popular player at the club then their poor morale becomes contagious.  I usually try not to set anyone as a Key Player but some guys won't sign without it.  They are a bunch of little divas.