Blackout Rugby

[mcrabb]

I did notice, if you've got a spare million+ that an U20 PI player has been listed called James Vidini. He'd be an ideal replacement if you can afford it.

My current flankers are looking okay and all have a minimum of collected (though they don't match Stewart for weight).

My first choice blindside was:
Valente Rullo
22 years old | 48,894 CSR | 181 cm | 110 kg | Australia
Right handed, right footed, in admirable form, and perfect energy levels.
A collected player with collected discipline, moderate leadership, and moderate experience.
Stamina: Satisfactory Handling: Decent
Attack: Average Defense: Sumptuous
Technique: Amazing Strength: Princely
Jumping: Horrible Speed: Limited
Agility: Horrible Kicking: Reputable

But in my last game I moved him to prop (low weight but compensated for by his great technique and decent strength). He was replaced by my new signing Kawasawa (stats posted earlier). Although this brought my overall pack weight down to 933Kg it seemed to work fairly well as I beat the team in 2nd place 39-0 both of us playing normal.

My openside flanker is:
Ambrogio Faustino
22 years old | 53,220 CSR | 186 cm | 111 kg | England
Right handed, right footed, in satisfactory form, and perfect energy levels.
A conservative player with collected discipline, despicable leadership, and moderate experience.
Stamina: Reputable Handling: Admirable
Attack: Admirable Defense: Sumptuous
Technique: Sumptuous Strength: Impressive
Jumping: Moderate Speed: Reputable
Agility: Average Kicking: Average

As back up to these positions and No.8 I've got Lovelace and Piggot.
Bronson Lovelace
19 years old | 34,272 CSR | 189 cm | 118 kg | England
Right handed, right footed, in decent form, and perfect energy levels.
A psychotic player with controlled discipline, satisfactory leadership, and despicable experience.
Stamina: Satisfactory Handling: Satisfactory
Attack: Average Defense: Princely
Technique: Princely Strength: Impressive
Jumping: Satisfactory Speed: Limited
Agility: Moderate Kicking: Limited

Mcebisi Piggot
19 years old | 27,793 CSR | 193 cm | 130 kg | South Africa
Right handed, left footed, in decent form, and perfect energy levels.
A collected player with flawless discipline, limited leadership, and non-existent experience.
Stamina: Reputable Handling: Satisfactory
Attack: Reputable Defense: Admirable
Technique: Admirable Strength: Impressive
Jumping: Reputable Speed: Moderate
Agility: Moderate Kicking: Moderate

 

[MrB]

Your team has a hell of a lot more depth than mine! I'll have to hope to get lucky with injuries.....

 

[mcrabb]

And if I do end up playing you in the play-offs I'll have to hope you do suffer some injuries because your top players are stronger than mine.

I've got 1 player with 70K+ 4 with 50K+ and 8 with 40K+. You've definitely got the advantage with several 60/70K+ players.

Also you now know the stats of virtually all my forwards :-(

 

[MrB]

If I knew how to take advantage of that I would but my knowledge is still way too limited!!

 

[mcrabb]

Lost my game on saturday but it was against last season's champions and they played LTNT versus my normal and I only lost by 7 points so not all bad. Still top of the league too.

Just debating what to upgrade - my training facilities or my stadium. My stadium is currently 11,310 but I have 1369 members (I think I read that your stadium should be about 10x your members so it might be an idea to upgrade). I've got about 1.25M which would easliy cover the cost of upgrading to about 15,000 (to allow for future growth). On the other hand there are upcoming changes to the way members and spaonsors are calculated for next season, so I don't want to be disadvantaged for next season. Any ideas?

On the other hand, it would be useful to upgrade the training facilities (currently only at 3 for everything), but again with the changes to the sponsors, I'm a bit concerned the finances will be harder to manage next season. Although it would be good to start it off now, I'm wondering whether it would be better to hold off til next season to see what the wages are like and what my fortnightly balance looks like.

 

[MrB]

I have a 12,500 capacity and with 1,355 members I've filled it for cup games. For league games we tend to max out at 11,500 but I've not had a consistent run of wins to get the happiness up. Though if I stay in Level I I guess that's unlikely to ever happen so I will probably leave my stadium as it is for now.

I've put in for Level 4 facilities, attack and defence trainers. They arrive early next month. I expect it will mean I will only break even now however hopefully that will be compensated for by the improvements in the team.

 

[mcrabb]

It would be useful to know what the extra training benefits are beyond the extra 2 training slots. I'm still not convinced it's worth it, but don't want to get left behind if you need to there to compete at the top.

 

[MrB]

As far as I know:

Faster team training.
Ability to hire Level 4 coaches so faster individual training.
Level 3 facilities/coaches can only train up to a certain level (16?) so your players will cap there if you don't upgrade.

 

[mcrabb]

Yes I know most of these but I haven't seen anything that defines by how much.

Does it cut skill training by for example a week, or just a small change (i.e. cut it down by 1/10th of a week) saving a week every few pops.

Also I haven't seen the training cap confirmed, have you? You may well be right about level 16 but I wasn't sure if this was true or just a guess.

Also I didn't think it affected team training at all. I thought this was defined by your general coach who can go no higher than level 3.

 

[MrB]

Good last point, forgot about that. Oh well, I'vegone for it now so I might as well see if it works, can always sell later if it's bankrupting me!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Yes I know most of these but I haven't seen anything that defines by how much.

Does it cut skill training by for example a week, or just a small change (i.e. cut it down by 1/10th of a week) saving a week every few pops.

Also I haven't seen the training cap confirmed, have you? You may well be right about level 16 but I wasn't sure if this was true or just a guess.

Also I didn't think it affected team training at all. I thought this was defined by your general coach who can go no higher than level 3.

It's a soft cap for training. Players can go higher, but it will take forever.

 

[Napster]

Started this one again. I have time to burn. Check out Cranbrook RFC.

 

[mcrabb]

Welcome back

Have requested a friendly if you're interested.

Post your team up if you want any advice or tips on who to play where. It doesn't look like you've got that many potential trainees. The two Pacers look like they might have potential and one or two others but it depends on their stats. You may be able to get much better 17-18 YPs on the transfer market for fairly cheap.

Oh and remember you don't really need more than 28 players as they're just a drain on your finances.

 

[mcrabb]

Sorry Napster. That was rather a one sided friendly. I did play WNWIM and played some of my reserves.

I won my last game so with one match left of the season I am guaranteed top spot. I'm thinking of playing WNWIM to maximise training since I'm already top and I can't get an auto-promotion place. Also, if I lose the team could sneak into 4th spot which would be an easier game for me (especially if they play LTNT to ensure the win).

Think I might fall slightly short of my target of getting 11 players 50K+ and the other 4 players 40K+

 

[Napster]

Sorry Napster. That was rather a one sided friendly. I did play WNWIM and played some of my reserves.

No probs. Still getting my head round it all to be honest.

 

[mcrabb]

As mentioned before, if you need any tips or help defining player positions etc. then let me know.

 

[MrB]

I'm 5 points behind 4th after a heavy beating last week. We play the already relegated team while they take on the team in 3rd so I could still conceivably get to 4th but I can see the 3rd place WNWIMing as they don't need to win it. So most likely it will be a qualifier against one of the teams below the promotion line from II.........

 

[MrB]

We won by plenty for a bonus point, 4th lost by plenty and we sneak above them and bizarrely find ourselves in the I.1 play offs!!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

No injuring my players before my play-off game please B!

 

[MrB]

Erm, goes both ways that!!