The European football thread

[bababui]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

The Gridiron Football League of Sudexcel.

Where can I read about this??

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by bababui

I didnt really cry..I was a little teary and one of my kids noticed and asked..and laughed . He was right though. After seven straight years of losing..revenge!!!! It was so sweet. Check out espn.com video hilights to see how shocking it really was.

I just watched it. To beat your rivals after seven years must be a good feeling.

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by bababui

Where can I read about this??

http://heinsohnistan.createforum.net/post-20.html#20 (background)

http://heinsohnistan.createforum.net/post-29.html#29 (historical results)

[bababui]

Our QB is from Canada and he played the game like it was a hockey game. Cant wait to read your history.

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by bababui

Our QB is from Canada and he played the game like it was a hockey game. Cant wait to read your history.

I saw on the highlights that one of your guys got taken down by one of the USC DBs (I think).
That's the kind of thing that happens in the GFLS as well.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

I saw on the highlights that one of your guys got taken down by one of the USC DBs (I think).
That's the kind of thing that happens in the GFLS as well.

That was a helmet to helmet cha;lenge to our QB. He popped right back up. The definition of toughness...but also perhaps brain damage.

Its been a great week to be a UCLA fan: We are #1 in basketball for the first time since 1995 and then we beat our arch rivals USC and keepthem out of the national championship game.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by bababui

Are spectators prisoners in the stadium? Are they forbidden to leave? Can they use the bathroom?

Home and away fans are segregated, usually the home fans are on both sides of the ground and behind one goal while the away fans are behind the other goal. If you take notice during a game you’ll usually be able to tell where the fans are situated as the home team will defend the goal their supporters are at in the first half and attack it in the second half, this way if their behind or getting tired then they have the fans closer to them to cheer them on while their attacking.

The majority of away fans will either go by coach or by train either way they are given a police escort to and from the stadium, after the game the away fans will wait until the majority of home fans have left the stadium and the surrounding area, depending on the size of the crowd it usually takes 10-15 minutes. The lower down the leagues you go and this kind of thing will fade out, example being at Leigh games there is no police presence just the clubs stewards (Leigh have 5) there is also no segregation at Leigh.

Where in the top leagues the fans will stay in their seat the entire game the lower leagues you will see fans move from one side of the ground to the other so that they will always be behind the goal that their team is attacking, hopefully it will have explained it as they don’t have this kind of thing at the majority of American sporting events as the majority of the crowd is home fans with the travelling distance, over here the home team as to sell a certain % of tickets to away fans, out of the capacity of 25,000 at Latics games they have to make 5,000 tickets available to away fans.

[bababui]

Thank you UKHS for that explanation. It is a very different culture from the USA...although in baseball parks with low attendence this also happened. Ive read the new Leigh Stadium is a 10,000 capacity all seater.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by bababui

Thank you UKHS for that explanation. It is a very different culture from the USA...although in baseball parks with low attendence this also happened. Ive read the new Leigh Stadium is a 10,000 capacity all seater.

Yeah I wont be going as much as I do, I don't go to as many Latics games for the same reason I just don't like all seaters it kills the atmosphere and seeing Leigh only get around 200 already, there will be no atmosphere at all at their games.

[ukhotstove]

Blackpool v Aldershot/Basingstoke
Barnet v Colchester
Sheff Utd v Swansea
Reading v Burnley
Portsmouth v Wigan
Mansfield/Doncaster v Bolton
West Ham v Brighton
Leicester v Fulham
Derby v Wrexham
Wolves v Oldham
Bury/Chester v Ipswich
Man Utd v Aston Villa
Sheff Wed v Man City
Tamworth v Norwich
Salisbury/Nottm For v Charlton
Cardiff v Tottenham
Preston v Sunderland
Liverpool v Arsenal
Bristol Rovers/Bournemouth v Hereford
Watford v Stockport
Crystal Palace v Swindon
Bristol City v Coventry
Peterborough v Plymouth
QPR v Luton
Southend v Barnsley
West Brom v Leeds
Hull v Middlesbrough
Birmingham v Newcastle
Torquay/Leyton Orient v Southampton
Everton v Blackburn
Chelsea v Macclesfield
Stoke v Bradford/Millwall

[Russ]

Do you guys ever sleep?

[ukhotstove]

Don't forget were all in different time zones, reason I'm on at crazy hours is I work nights.

[bababui]

Ever heard of crack??

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

http://heinsohnistan.createforum.net/post-29.html#29 (historical results)

Further down that thread, I've added the "latest" football National League (and SFA Cup) results. It might interest someone.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

Further down that thread, I've added the "latest" football National League (and SFA Cup) results. It might interest someone.

Cool SDPM...sport is a nice inclusion into the game. Keep up the good work.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by molarmite

Alright so nothing big then.

Molarmote..here is a great general tactics guide from the FM Forums

Firstly decide on the tactic you are planning to use. Is it a 4-4-2? a 3-4-3? Whatever it is firstly make sure you have the players to fit in the positions and also that you have backup should they get injured. Having players you can play more than one position is a good way to get you through an arduous season.


Team instructions


There are only a options on the sliders here that your should concern yourself with. Why not the rest? Because every player on your team is an individual and therefore must be given individual instructions that suit his strengths and weaknesses. More on that soon.


The first team instruction to think about is Width. If you are at home and playing with wingers then wide is the way to go. If you are away and defending against a stronger side then think about playing a more narrow game - this way your keeping your players closer and can stop the opposition playing through gaps.


next is tempo - If you want to take your time and build up the move then try slow. You will create less chances but they will be better quality. If you play a faster tempo you will create better chances but they will be of a lesser quality. If you are chasing a game with 10 minutes to go a faster tempo is the way to go - you have nothing to lose.


Defensive line - This is a tough one since the debate is still going strong for 2007 on how best to implement it. As I understand it a higher defensive line when defending can crowd the opposition and assist you. beware with this though that if they start playing a direct or long ball over you will need a pair of fast defenders to cover.


The other option is to play a deeper d-line and draw the opposition towards you and then counter attack. This is effective though there are benefit and negatives for both. In the end decide on the type of football you want your side playing.


Time wasting - At home this should be very low (4) because you should be concerned with getting on top of the other side and scoring. Away it is still not worth wasting to much time because mistakes happen when you dwell on the ball... best time to use this is at the end of a game you ae leading by 1 and you want to kill the time remaining.


Focuss passing - If you have wingers with pace and acceleration then go down the wings away combined with counterattacking. At home it is up to you how you want to play. If you have strong midfield with lots of players there and perhaps a playmaker you can go through the middle.


Individual Instructions


This is probably the single most important aspect to tactics that there is and it is probably the most neglected by most people.


If you make a tactic and leave everyone on default you are essentially telling them to plod about and play one way. Your good passers will pass but so will you bad passers. Your super shooters will have a go but so will your one footed defender... therefore each position on the field needs to have explicit instructions given so the player in that position know his job and is doing what he is good at.


So at the beginning of your season pick your best 11 and put them on the field. From here you wil now build a template revolving around those particular players. Whenever one of them is injured and someone else takes their place albeit temporarily you will need to adjust the instructions for that position so that the incoming player is playing to HIS strengths and not someone elses.


An example of this is The England National Team. Aaron Lennon has pace to burn but is only an average passer and average creative ability. So he will make forward runs often and since he has high dribbling you can let him run with the ball often too. BUT... if you decide to change him for David Beckham for example during the game or before kickoff you will have to adjust the individual instructions because Beckham does not have much pace but he can pass well and is much more creative. Therefore his instructions will be to try through passes often but not to run with the ball since his skill is more to do with the passing and long shots. Since he can cross well you can tell him to do forward runs so he gets to the byline more.


So lets go through the individual settings.


Mentality - your forwards should have an attacking mentality at all times home or away. Their job is to score goals so don't worry about ever giving them defensive mentalities. Midfielders are dependent on the type of game you are playing and the quality of the opposition. If you are defensive and playing away your midfield will be more defensive minded. If one is an AMC then he can be more attack minded.

Defenders will have more defensive mentality.


Creative freedom - Look at each player and see if he has high creativity... if he does give him more. However make sure he has good decision making skills too - if not tone it down a little.


Passing style - Look at Passing, Decisions and creativity for this. Someone like Beckham or Carrack will be on mixed passing as they are creative and can make good decisions about where to pass. If someone is bad at passing give them very explicit instructions on how you want them to pass. Strikers should generally pass short since they are already up the field.


Closing down - optional depending on how you play the game but here is some that have worked well for me. Fullbacks closing down often will cut out crosses into the danger area by wingers therefore closing down for them is a good idea. Strikers should close down often too - this increases pressure on defenders and often mistakes are made that gift you goals. Wingers on high closing down also annoy the opposition.


Tackling - look at tackling and aggression here. If they are aggressive then never put them on hard unless they are awesome at tackling. Also look at the ref obviously and see if he is harsh.
Generally normal tackling is the way to go. I put my strikers on easy tackling since they often are good at it but if they do commit it will be to something they are likely to win.


Forward runs - Look at dribbling, acceleration and pace. High stats in these and get your player to make forward runs often. Don't give you centrebacks this instruction.


Run with ball - look at dribbling for this. If they are terrible at dribbling put it on rarely and they will look to pass instead. As a general rule don't let your centrebacks run with ball.


Long shots - players with long shots stats that are good obviously - 15 or above as a rule. But if they have bad decision making then lower this.


Through balls - players with good passing and decisions and creativity should try through balls often (15 or above) 12 to 14 should be mixed and any lower than that should be rarely.


Cross ball - Crossing is the obvious stat here. If it is higher than 15 set to often. If you have a full back who is good at this but want him to stay back put it on rarely or at most cross from deep.


Cross aim - Do you have a target man? Get your wingers to cross to him. If he is Peter Crouch cross to his head or if he is someone fast play it to his feet or get him to run onto it.


Switch positions - this is still in the realm of forum debate so not comfortable advising on this. Seems to work well with strikers swapping about. Also it might work well if your wingers are capable of playing as Full backs and vice versa. Still in the experimental stage so sorry I can't expand more on this.


Free role - there are only a handful of players in the game that should have a free role. You are basically saying this guy is a footballing god and can do what he wants on the field. Ronaldinho springs to mind. Not many others though.


Hold up ball - Strong forwards can do this but only click on one player. he will hold the ball up while other players get forward to attack. Crouch can hold up ball as he plays with back to goal.


For each of the above positions look at the players attributes and give him instructions that play to his strengths and don't clash. If you do this you will find your players performing much better.


Set pieces


Your best corner taker is obviously the man for the job. Be aware of whether he is left or right footed as the corner will be inswinging or outswinging. left footed players should take corners from the right and vice versa.

Get your two best headers involved in the penalty area. One attacking the gk and one attacking the near post. Any players with high off the ball stats can attack the ball from deep. They are likely to lose their markers more. Keep everyone else lurking outisde the are, or maybe put just one standing on the far post. You can also have a player with good crossing, creativity and decisions to come short as an option.


I hope this has been helpful. If anyone disagrees with any of it feel free to argue your thoughts. Then we can all get better.

[Sdpm100]

I've made another update as the Sudexcel National League has reached the winter break, and the Gridiron Football League of Sudexcel kicks off.

http://heinsohnistan.createforum.net/about12.html

[Sdpm100]

dola, I don't know if this is common knowledge or not, but the Five Live commentator has just said that Claudio Reyna may well be on his way back to MLS at the end of the season.

[molarmite]

Wow that's a long post. It's gonna take me a while to build up the patience to read it.

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by molarmite

Wow that's a long post. It's gonna take me a while to build up the patience to read it.

Sorry. I just thought I would do it wiki-style I guess, so that if it really catches on it is all there.
Sadly, it don't look like it will at present, but at least I'm enjoying writing it.

And now I know, I'll update it less often.