CONFERENCE EIGHT

[northstar]

Congrats Ivor  well deserved win last night and the title as well.

Hard luck Martin, great season 

you two guys were different class this time around.

Whats happened to Joe

[MartinW63]

Hard luck Martin.
My cunning plan worked a dream. I swapped the matchball for a turnip!
Unfortunately i forgot to tell my players, and Daf Tarse ended up with concussion 

Totally outplayed.

Well done Ivor.

The long wait for a title continues, just hope my board are as understanding as Wengers.....🤣

[jimbo]

Hi,

Just thought I would post in the Conference 8 thread as I have been randomly placed in 8-3-4 Northwest Region further to signing up to SL1. I have spent the last 7 years on SL2 and fancied giving this game a real go. Obviously there is a long way to go, so in the meantime it would be great to get your thoughts on what this conference is like? Should I stay where I am for now and work my way up? or change to a higher up division?

Many thanks

Jimbo.

[Baggio]

Hi,

Just thought I would post in the Conference 8 thread as I have been randomly placed in 8-3-4 Northwest Region further to signing up to SL1. I have spent the last 7 years on SL2 and fancied giving this game a real go. Obviously there is a long way to go, so in the meantime it would be great to get your thoughts on what this conference is like? Should I stay where I am for now and work my way up? or change to a higher up division?

Many thanks

Jimbo.

Greetings Jimbo, Conference 8 is a tough league so you will need some time to train your team. How competitive you want to be is the question, you'll probably need a team of swc 6's at least before challenging for the title. but in all honesty you could probably stay in the division with a team of swc 1's and the right tactics. I'm sure as you've been playing SL2 it wont be too difficult to pick SL1 up


Either way mate theres plenty competition in the conference and I'm sure with time your team can challenge.

All the best Jimbo

[Contrast]

Hi,

Just thought I would post in the Conference 8 thread as I have been randomly placed in 8-3-4 Northwest Region further to signing up to SL1. I have spent the last 7 years on SL2 and fancied giving this game a real go. Obviously there is a long way to go, so in the meantime it would be great to get your thoughts on what this conference is like? Should I stay where I am for now and work my way up? or change to a higher up division?

Many thanks

Jimbo.

If you haven't already, take a read of this: http://forums.catgames.biz/index.php?topic=28.0

[jimbo]

Hi,

Just thought I would post in the Conference 8 thread as I have been randomly placed in 8-3-4 Northwest Region further to signing up to SL1. I have spent the last 7 years on SL2 and fancied giving this game a real go. Obviously there is a long way to go, so in the meantime it would be great to get your thoughts on what this conference is like? Should I stay where I am for now and work my way up? or change to a higher up division?

Many thanks

Jimbo.

Greetings Jimbo, Conference 8 is a tough league so you will need some time to train your team. How competitive you want to be is the question, you'll probably need a team of swc 6's at least before challenging for the title. but in all honesty you could probably stay in the division with a team of swc 1's and the right tactics. I'm sure as you've been playing SL2 it wont be too difficult to pick SL1 up


Either way mate theres plenty competition in the conference and I'm sure with time your team can challenge.

All the best Jimbo

Cheers Joe 

I like a challenge and thank you for your advice, it's very much appreciated!

Game on 

[jimbo]

Hi,

Just thought I would post in the Conference 8 thread as I have been randomly placed in 8-3-4 Northwest Region further to signing up to SL1. I have spent the last 7 years on SL2 and fancied giving this game a real go. Obviously there is a long way to go, so in the meantime it would be great to get your thoughts on what this conference is like? Should I stay where I am for now and work my way up? or change to a higher up division?

Many thanks

Jimbo.

If you haven't already, take a read of this: http://forums.catgames.biz/index.php?topic=28.0

Many thanks Richard 

I think this link will be part of my daily routine for a while 

[jimbo]

So, I am in the lowest division possible: 8-3-4 Northwest Region. I can see that my division is full of CPU's but won my first two games with clean sheets so feel like I am starting to get the hang of my tactics. 9 games to go, can I make the playoffs?

+/-   Pos       Team Name   Pld   W   D   L   F   A   Pts   
(0)    1       Red Moggy Lions   21   17   0   4   364   243   51   
(0)    2       Wurners End Village   21   16   1   4   343   202   49   
(0)    3       FC Bewsy   21   16   0   5   306   206   48   
(0)    4       FC Milan   21   15   1   5   307   191   46   
(0)    5       AFC St Asaph   21   12   2   7   258   289   38   
(0)    6       Valleys Commandos   21   12   0   9   200   183   36   
(0)    7       novageracao   21   9   3   9   257   285   30   
(0)    8       Kingsmill Town   21   10   0   11   209   259   30   
(0)    9       arseal fc   21   9   2   10   246   294   29   
(0)    10     Green Shield Warriors   21   9   0   12   276   280   27   
(0)    11     Redah Bugima FC   21   8   2   11   243   297   26   
(0)    12     Westhampton Athletic   21   7   3   11   192   218   24   
(0)  13     The Pompey Chimes   21   6   3   12   248   264   21   
(0)    14     Red Star Tornadoes   21   6   1   14   199   309   19   
(0)    15     Slough Town   21   4   0   17   71   129   12   
(0)    16     Lusty badgers   21   3   0   18   189   259   9   

Mathematically still possible!

My team is completely new so have to use my time in the basement division to snap up some new players, train and hope to be competitive with some of the bigger teams in the near future 

[northstar]

you can do it Jimbo!!

see you in about 10 seasons!!! 

[jimbo]

Cheers northstar 

Wow, 10 seasons sounds like a long time but feel patient enough for the challenge!

Do you have a team in Conference 8?

[Wizard]

Hey Jimbo!

Couldn’t help but notice you posting on the forums. Welcome! I am Wizard (Kenny), manager of Menagerie in 7-1-1. I joined again about 4 months ago after a 6-7 year hiatus (perhaps even longer) and I am loving it all over again. Like you, I was randomly placed into a x-3-4 division with lots of computer teams. Personally, I didn’t want to wait over 10 seasons/over a year to reach the dizzy heights of 7-1-1, so I put myself into 7-1-4 to start off with. This was not just  to spend a few seasons getting reacquainted again, but also so that it wouldn’t take long to get myself back up to 7-1-1 with a reasonably competitive team. I’m not doing too shabby with a team of 3 season old players.

I’m just a bit worried you might get bored down there in the lower divisions winning every game against the computer teams on an extremely long journey up to 8-1-1. Obviously, there are a great bunch of fun private leagues to take part in which will keep you entertained, but you could think about joining one of the higher divisions if you get bored/so that you get to play with that big boys sooner! Just a thought! Mind you, some people do start off in x-3-4 and work their way up. I remember when I first joined SL 15 years ago I was placed into 7-2-4 and it was a sweet feeling when I eventually reached 7-1-1.

Anyway, will be great to see you around the forums! And will no doubt meet you in the FL or one of the private leagues! 

[jimbo]

Hi Kenny,

Thank you for your reply!

It’s sounds like you have progressed well in a short space of time which is great motivation for a newbie like me. I agree with you 100% on the prospect of spending 10 seasons to get to x-1-1 being a long haul. Therefore, I will start looking at an appropriate division to join in order to be a bit closer to the top and to play less CPU’s of course 

One question around moving divisions. Does this affect anything if I move now or would it be better to move at the start of the new season? Is there a division you would recommend? I don’t mind where I go as I like a challenge 

I am keen to get involved in the FL next season. Are there any other private leagues that you would suggest entering or maybe wait until I have built a reasonable squad?

Many thanks for your advice and your kind welcome - very encouraging!

Jimbo.

[Angele]

Hi Jimbo and welcome.

Re: thoughts on where you start, I'd say it would depend on how you are going to build your squad and 10 season is a long (and ultimately wasteful?) route. IMO.

Even the most basic (full) squad will cost 10 000 credits. Then there would be Friendly costs to maximise training and that would cost around 4 000 a season.

And all for very little reward because even with credits back from regularly winning leagues you would end up in the top division with a team that would likely be ready to die on you and need rebuilding (more time and money).

So my advice (and I claim no special insights;-)) would be to swap to a division around five promotions below the top one. Build a basic squad (15 or 16 players) of youngsters and develop that with full progs of friendlies and planned training.

The season before (or after) you reach the top one, look at replacing the 4 or 5 duds you will have with players you can start training up to replace the ones you have that are nearest falling off their perches. They can just sit back while your main squad will have time to settle into the top division and (probably) reach a stage where they can challenge at the top with players at or near their peak. And you'll have a revolving player replacement system in place that shouldn't hurt your form too much).

As for private leagues, will they benefit you or just be a financial drain for at least the first few seasons (especially if your new squad gets regularly battered by established teams)?

Bound to be holes that some could pick in all that (which is a good thing) but I'd say we lose  newbies every season because they come in expecting instant gratification and to be able to compete with the best. Even spending fortunes won't bring a new team that.

So plan and build patiently would be my advice, avoiding having a 20 player squad that has one good season before needing totally replacing and rebuilding and yet doesn't waste its best seasons away from the top division.

And look at formations the top teams use, plan your squad around an idea it and stick with it --- no mash ups caused by seeing a player you like the look of on the transfer market (however good he might be), if he doesn't fit in with your plan.

And the best of luck

Lynne :-)

[jimbo]

Hi Lynne,

Thank you for your reply.

I will wait until this current season finishes and will look to go in a x-2-1 or x-2-2 at the very beginning of the next season - I'm assuming it's best to move leagues on day 1/47?

I've bought 3 players already, 2 any side midfields and a STR (C) - all mid to late 20's - do you think this is okay? Not sure what age I should be aiming for but curious to know if younger players train better? So my aim at this stage could be to sign another 12 players and by the time I hopefully climb to a x-1-1 I can sign another 5 new players to train whilst having a reasonably assembled squad.

I'm happy to stick with a full programme of friendlies and maybe play in the bottom FL mainly for gelling and experience.

I really appreciate your advice and look forward to building a squad that will hopefully compete with some of the tops managers in 4-5 seasons 

Many thanks

Jimbo

[cha4zz]

Just one super quick piece of advice jim from someone outside of conf 8, whenever you take over a computer team in another division – you take over the worst placed computer team in that division. So, you’re highly likely to take a bottom placed team at this point of the season (might be difficult for you to stay up).

I’d probably say to either work out if it’s worth just playing these 8 or so games and then moving at the beginning of the next season – or working out whether you think you can stay up and moving now.

Good luck with it all.