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Topic: New forum game: F Plus Association Football Congress!  (Read 12194 times)

Cheapskate

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Is there anything we can do about finances in the more immediate future? Find a californian hedge fund with a really really ugly logo to sponsor our mascot?
unregistered hypercum 2, May 21, 2022, 03:56:33 am

Our general manager (that’s you!) seems to think that these losses are sustainable, but if we wanted to get some extra cash, we could get rid of players during the next transfer period (January), lay off some coaches, or arrange friendly matches with larger teams (which, on our budget, would mostly mean going to Glasgow to get wrecked by Rangers and/or Celtic).

moooo566 (taylor's version)

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Well, if I think it's sustainable, it must be.

Also, maybe best to to a) fire my fellow ballpit users or b) get all my people injured by a jaunt to the old firm

Cheapskate

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November in Inverness: a month of cold rain, colder winds, and remarkably good soccer.



Our defense needs a bit of work because we aren’t great at clearing the ball away after the other team gets a chance, but so far, our scoring has been so good that we’ve made up for it.



The month starts with a draw at Ayr, followed by wins over Dunfermline and Queen of the South.






We even get a win in our money-raising friendly match at Dundee United! (Not to be confused with their extremely local rivals Dundee.)



And for once, we aren’t useless in a cup, getting a win over tiny Deverondale to advance in the Scottish Cup.



Speaking of cups, the under 18 team continues to advance in the Scottish Youth Cup.



Here’s a more detailed look at our finances. We’re losing money but should be able to take out loans if necessary, and promotion to the Premiership will probably clear away most of the debt.






We’re still in first place as December arrives.

SHAMBA~1.SBB Dr. Buttplug
« Last Edit: May 22, 2022, 02:33:34 pm by Cheapskate »

Cheapskate

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Also, during the stream, I was asked if the game had any Ted Lasso references. Here’s the start screen.

SHAMBA~1.SBB

Cheapskate

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We return to Inverness in about half an hour!

moooo566 (taylor's version)

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Please could you drop the discord link again? The original one you posted has timed out.

Cheapskate

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Please could you drop the discord link again? The original one you posted has timed out.
unregistered hypercum 2, May 27, 2022, 12:49:51 pm

Sorry I missed this. I post a new Discord link every time on my Twitter account (@cheapskateshow) and I’ll post another Discord link for Sunday’s stream.

It’s December, and we start the month in first place, but we’re preparing for some turnover when the transfer window reopens in January.



We’re still in good form, but no unbeaten streak can last forever. We take a high-scoring draw against Kilmarnock and a two-nil win over Hamilton Academicals (why yes, that is what inspired the name Unseen Academicals),




We even get a call from Steven Gerrard! (Who’s complaining.) I ask him to sign a glossy photo for Milf Parade, and a few more for anyone else who finds him handsome.



But much of the first team goes down with the flu, and we lose our first-string goalkeeper to a pulled muscle.



We limp into January with a draw against Partick Thistle and a loss at Dunfermline.




We are, however, still six points clear of Arbroath for first place.



On the youth side, a new batch of youngsters will arrive this spring. Our boys are still in first place, thanks to good shooting and good heading.






And now, a survey of other teams we could’ve managed as of January 1, 2022:

FC Andorra is struggling in First Division B—they’re in 12th place and have a chance at relegation if they drop below 16th.

MKS Cracovia is in third place in the Ekstraklasa.

Oxford United is in eighth place in League One—they’re tied with Wycombe Wanderers, Bolton Wanderers, and Rotherham United on points but trail on goal differential.

Palermo holds a three-point lead over second-place Bari in Serie C, Group C.

A.S. Rodos is three points back of the lead in Greek Super League 2 South. They’ll need to win the league to have a chance at promotion.

The season in Finland is over (would you want to play outdoors in Lapland in December?) and RoPS finished in third place, missing out on promotion.

Dr. Buttplug

Cheapskate

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By mid-season, the AI has gathered enough data on your team to make adjustments when it faces you, so the games get harder. As they’ve done for us.

We start the month with a 2-0 loss to second-place Arbroath, and the supporters are turning on us faster than Chicago Bears fans turn on their team.




After falling behind 2-0 to tenth-place Raith Rovers in the next match, I hit the Berate button. That wakes the players up. We follow this up with a win over Queen of the South.




Our Scottish Cup campaign continues with an extra-time victory over Cove Rangers (which sounds like an overspecialized kit for D&D 3.5). In the next round, we’re facing Celtic in Glasgow. They’ll almost certainly erase us.




January ends with an ugly, injury-filled loss at Kilmarnock.



The fans were hoping for some new players to join us during the transfer window, but as we didn’t sell anyone, we didn’t have the cash to bring anyone in.



We’re still in first place, but Arbroath and the Accies are within striking distance.




No streams next week, as I’ll be out of town.
Dr. Buttplug
« Last Edit: May 29, 2022, 03:06:39 pm by Cheapskate »

Cheapskate

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Sorry to keep you all waiting: my laptop is fixed now, so I should be able to stream on Friday.
Great Joe Salubrious Rex SHAMBA~1.SBB

Cheapskate

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February dawns with us holding a narrow lead in the Championship.



Our match against Greenock Morton plays out like I want our matches to play out: we take about a zillion shots on goal.



We’ll have to play the rest of the month, and much of March, without starting left back Cameron Harper. This is going to be a problem.



Our cup match against Celtic ends in defeat, much as expected, with their Japanese stars Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda tearing our defense apart.



Sadly, things don’t improve after that. Seventh-place Ayr foul the shit out of us to hold us to a draw, and the Accies then put up a 3-1 win over us to bump us down to third place. Our stats guys tell us that we’re not doing well in the center of the pitch, so I’m moving to a slightly narrower formation.




At least we have some good news: Dr. Buttplug’s influence is rubbing off on other players, making them better at trash-talking their opponents.



Next stream Sunday!
Dr. Buttplug Salubrious Rex SHAMBA~1.SBB
« Last Edit: June 17, 2022, 12:56:30 pm by Cheapskate »

Cheapskate

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Salubrious is starting to get impatient with the team, so impatient that he’s considering stepping down from the board.




The nightmare continues at Partick Thistle, who beat us 4-1 after a sending-off and an injury.



I futz with the tactics a little, looking to employ less risky passing, and it starts to pay off with a win over first-place Arbroath.



We only take one point off last-place Raith, but we’ve found our second wind: we take wins over Dunfermline and Kilmarnock.





Meanwhile, TheLizzard’s youth scouting has turned up a few gems.



There are four matches left in the season, and three candidates to win the league: ICT, Hamilton, and Arbroath. And the final match of the season is Hamilton at ICT.




Tune in Friday—if our match against Hamilton will decide the league, I’ll hold it on Sunday for a bigger audience.
Salubrious Rex
« Last Edit: June 19, 2022, 02:34:12 pm by Cheapskate »

Salubrious Rex

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Salubrious is starting to get impatient with the team, so impatient that he’s considering stepping down from the board.
Cheapskate, June 19, 2022, 11:39:17 am

Look when I accepted the role of Managing Director nobody told me there would be so much responsibility. Further, nobody told me that we'd lose at all. Frankly I think I've been wronged and if I had to blame somebody, I'd start with skipping myself and then working my way down our team's structure from there.
Cheapskate

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With Hamilton even with us in the standings, we’ll need to take care of business against weaker teams to secure our chances at the title.

Which we don’t, starting with a 3-3 draw caused by conceding a goal five minutes into extra time.



And continuing with star defender Kirk Broadfoot breaking his ankle.



And continuing with Ayr finishing level with us.



Somehow this inspires Salubrious Rex to change his mind about leaving.



An injury and a red card can’t stop us from beating Greenock Morton.



But that’s not enough. Hamilton destroys Raith to win the title.



The first-versus-second showdown in the final match of the season ends up meaningless, but at least we won.



Next up is the playoff. The third- and fourth-place teams play a home-and-home, with the winner going on to face us in a home-and-home.



Arbroath defeats Partick Thistle, meaning that we’ll play them in two matches. If we get the win on aggregate goals, we’re promoted.



They’ve had our number lately, but who knows?



Join me Sunday for the final matches of the season.
SHAMBA~1.SBB
« Last Edit: June 24, 2022, 12:44:01 pm by Cheapskate »

Cheapskate

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A home-and-home series with Arbroath. Win and we’re still alive. Lose and we’re stuck in the Championship and probably go broke. Time for a team meeting to get everyone excited.



The first match, on the road, goes our way, and despite missing a few key starters, the team is really clicking.




And with a two-nil win at home, we’re through!



But wait…



We’re going to have to beat the second-to-last place team in the Premiership to advance, and that team is Dundee United.





We’ve got them at home for the first leg, and we’ve got a sellout crowd on our side.



Their first-string goalkeeper has picked up a slight injury that makes our life easier.



Austin Samuels gets two goals and an assist to put us up 3-1 in the first leg.



Midfielder Scott Allardice gets hurt in injury time. It’s going to be the last match of the season, so we’ll give him painkiller injections so he can be on the bench if we need him in the second leg.



But we don’t. Hayden Lindley, who’s only playing because of Kirk Broadfoot’s injury, scores two headers to seal the deal.






« Last Edit: June 26, 2022, 02:04:20 pm by Cheapskate »

Cheapskate

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And now, the official end-of-season review.

















But what happened to the other teams we could’ve managed, both in the game and in real life?

FC Andorra
In-Game A disappointing mid-table finish.
Real Life Won promotion to the Segunda Division, but amidst controversy: club owner Gerard Pique is under investigation for bribing Spanish FA officials, and newspapers report that he was caught cheating on his girlfriend, Shakira.

MKS Cracovia
In-Game Finished fourth in the Ekstraklasa, qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
Real Life Finished ninth in the Ekstraklasa.

Oxford United
In-Game Finished sixth in League One, but lost the playoff final to Sheffield Wednesday.
Real Life Finished eighth in League One.

Palermo
In-Game Cruised to victory in Serie C.
Real Life Cruised to victory in Serie C, then got bought by the Sheikh of Dubai.

Rodos
In-Game Finished a distant third in Super League 2 South.
Real Life Relegated from Super League 2 South, due, in part, to a points deduction as a result of financial irregularities. I can only imagine how irregular your finances have to be if they’re irregular by Greek standards.

RoPS
In-Game Third place in the Finnish First Division.
Real Life Went broke and got relegated.

And as for the real-life Caley Thistle? They finished in third place and won the first two rounds of the playoff, only to lose to St. Johnstone and remain in the Championship for another year.

Football Manager 22 is on sale on Steam for $27.49 as of this writing. Thanks for playing, everyone!
moooo566 (taylor's version) Dr. Buttplug Salubrious Rex SHAMBA~1.SBB