forameuss Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time In sport, a golden generation is an exceptionally gifted group of players of similar age whose achievements reach or are expected to reach a level of succes beyond that which their team had previously achieved Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time The Preamble So, another save. What have I got planned for this one? Well, I'm going to be sticking to International football once again, but with a slight twist. I love a twist. As you can see by the title, I'm going to be focusing on a Golden Generation. Several times over the years, the media have proclaimed a group of players to be the fabled "Golden Generation". That has never come to fruition though. My job is to make sure that changes. My job is to take these highly rated players and make something of them. Make them great. And most importantly, follow their careers through from precocious youngsters, to grizzled veterans. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time The Manager Meet Mick Hovis, the World's premier Scotch Egg impersonator. Believe it or not, this guy once played for his country, his beloved England. Born in Macclesfield on Christmas Day 1976, he had a storied career, forming part of a couple of Golden Generations, without ever really tasting success. After his retirement though, his football brain was about all he had left. He put on considerable weight, lost what little hair he had, and was reduced to pundit jobs on very niche television stations around the World. But not now. Now Mick has been charged with using his immense knowledge of the game to rebuild England from the ground up. With the help of some new friends. He's quite majestic, isn't he? I had to put a big coat on him, he just looked a bit Steve Bruce otherwise. No teams chosen, as throughout his career he kept his cards close to his chest on who he really supported. Rumour had it that he was spotted at several Orange Lodges around Scotland, and was a full card-carrying member of Ra' Gerz Worldwide Fan Club. But alas, no-one knows. One thing is for sure though, and that's his love of a good old 4-4-2. He's not a Mike Basset style disciple of it, and likes to switch things around, but the idea of 4-4-2 as a base is ingrained in his mind. So how is he going to set up? Well, like above. Coaching wise, he has work to do. He intends to work on the rest of his badges, but to be honest the classrooms bored him. He wanted to be out on the pitch, yelling at players who needed to be yelled at and cuddling those that needed to be cuddled. He has no interest in fitness (I mean, look at him) and about the same in Goalkeepers and Tactics. He's not going to be particularly versatile on that front, with an idea of how he wants to play and that's it. However, he excels when talking about the mental side of things, and is a natural at teaching defenders how to stand in the right places, and be like he used to be in the heart of England's defence. On the mental side of things, he's effectively a fatter, more coherent Harry Redknapp. He is a master motivator and man manager, with very little discipline. His determination to succeed was what attracted the FA to him in the first place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Yeah, but what are you actually going to be doing? Good question. I alluded to it in an earlier post, but basically I'm going to be doing a youth challenge of sorts. I've created four players in the editor - one goalkeeper, one defender, one midfielder and one forward (all central, and all will be covered in a following post in detail). All of them have been given a -10 potential, all of them 17 years old. I'm going to start by taking over the England U19's side, with a view to following the careers of these players through the U21s, and then into the senior team, hopefully managing each stage personally. My ultimate aim is to win the World Cup with these four players in the starting line-up. That's not a given of course, because I could end up with players not being highly rated as expected, or even completely retiring. I intend this to be a 20 year career, and it'll be officially "over" once all four players have retired. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Reserved Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wavelberry Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Ha ha. Looking forward to this. Can't believe 'Arry's been overlooked again though . Triffic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
krakonico Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 I'll be checking this, is interesting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time A journey begins. Big Mick is in charge of the England Under 19s, and he's not quite sure what he's got himself in for. Still, it's a pretty cushy job. He can sit at home and eat/drink his weight in gravy while "watching" players. Unfortunately, his method of watching players involves writing their name on a blank A4 page, and then writing down the first things that come to mind about them. That's why an unnamed player's notes contained such gems as "hench", "dece", "fugly" and "bet his mother's ashamed of him". At this stage I wanted to bring you the initial screenshot of the four players involved, but thanks to Mick's poor player knowledge, they were effectively blank husks with no visible attributes. They weren't much better in the editor to be honest, as all four are effectively templates of each other. Anyway, I'll cover them in as much detail as you'll get now, and we'll see how the career's develop. In a general sense, every player was created in the same mould. All of them have a -10 potential, so will be assigned something between 170 and 200. I'm not one that aggressively monitors the db to understand the spread of PA, but I'd imagine even a 170PA player who develops perfectly will be a very good international player. I didn't set height, weight, or anything like that, with only cosmetic attributes being changed (I'm not going to say in what way, I'm just annoyed it didn't generate a face for them) and stuff like birth place. All were born on the same day, and are otherwise identical. Apart from some PPMs... Jonathan Handling is the one missing from the set above, purely because I completely missed the screenshot. He joined Sunderland very early on, and if that's anything to go by then he's the best prospect out of the four. As a goalkeeper, he has no PPMs, as I couldn't see any I could assign. Tom Mackie is the striker, and secretly I'm hoping he's the top player as I love a striker. He holds two PPMs related to his finishing, the exact ones slipped my mind (FILL THESE IN LATER) Alfie Mitchell is a central midfielder, and I've built him in a way that should mould him into a creative midfielder. He likes to dictate tempo and tries killer balls often. Hopefully he'll provide the ammo for Mackie Then there's Joe Waller...this guy is a bit of an experiment. Initially I just wanted to add three players, but then the idea of having a full spine of the side came in, so I added a central defender. He has been defined as liking to argue with officials, so interesting to see if that moulds his personality in a negative way. In terms of fixtures, they're hardly inspiring. I've never managed at this level before, so I'm not even sure how it's going to work. Still, we've got a nice local derby to start off, then a couple of tough games to close out the year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDave Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 So the keeper is a Handler and the centre-back a Wall - what a very Dickensian approach to player naming! Never managed an age group side myself, so will be watching curiously to see how this goes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time So here's our opening squad, and it was a wonderful new experience for me. Basically, Mick was sitting in FA's headquarters when Roy Hodgson came in. He asked what was happening about the squad, and to be honest, Mick didn't really know what to tell him. He assumed that there would be a man to do that for him - he certainly gave his binder of scrawled notes to a guy that asked for them. While wondering who exactly that was, he picked the best 23 players he could think of. Three of our four created players are involved, but why isn't it four? Well, after Mick requested the company of Jonathan Handling, Gareth Southgate cleared his throat and said quietly that he had already picked him. Mick didn't like that. Gareth didn't like it either a few minutes later when he was rocking back and forth remembering Euro 96. He didn't get his way though - Jonathan Handling is clearly meant for bigger things. Other than that, Alfie Mitchell, Tom Mackie and Joe Waller are all involved. Unfortunately, it looks like starting them at 17 might lead to issues. Since I'm managing England, they're already blessed with some pretty good young players. Of course, Mick's "effective" management will probably mean that most of them will end up being terrible, but it also means that Tom, Alfie and Joe are probably unlikely to be first picks. I mean, they will be, but going purely by quality they wouldn't start. Still, from a pure career standpoint, every one of the guys in this squad I'll be looking to develop right through to the main squad. Mick's not a great judge of talent generally - he would never have let a dog win Britain's Got Talent - but he'll keep an eye on all of them. Sometimes too close an eye. Roy Keane style. Now that we've called up these players, we can give a bit of background to them. Tom Mackie looks like he'll develop into a decent striker, as the "shape" of the high attributes seems to match a fairly vanilla striker. The thing about these players is that I'm going to have absolutely no input into directed training, so I'm at the mercy of his AI club. Young Alfie Mitchell, Dickensian pickpocket that he is, also has a nice spread of attributes. Exactly how I wanted him to turn out, but we'll need to see how those decent attributes develop, and whether he ever makes it to a great level. Joe Waller is hopefully going to be the no-nonsense center back that Mick was in his day. Tough, uncompromising, a real **** basically. Think old school wrestling heel, only without the steel chair attacks. Although I'm not promising that. Again, he's coming along nicely, and he's the player I have the highest hopes for, outside Jonathan Handling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 6 minutes ago, EvilDave said: So the keeper is a Handler and the centre-back a Wall - what a very Dickensian approach to player naming! Never managed an age group side myself, so will be watching curiously to see how this goes. I really should have called the striker Jimmy Goals and the midfielder Benjamin Shortpass or something. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Well would you look at that. Not only have I just finished a long Scotland-centric career, I've only gone and been drawn against them in my first "proper" round of qualifying. No sentimentality here though, Mick might be Northern, but there's only one group he hates more than the Scots, and that's anyone south of him. And cyclists. He hates cyclists. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Let's write this in bigger text. If there's one thing that Mick likes, it's big text and little words. But if there's one thing he likes even more, it's winning 6-1 on his opening game against a "rival". Good start to proceedings. Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 8.9 (2 assists) Joe Waller: 8.0 (1 goal) Tom Mackie: 6.4 A day to remember for two of our three players involved as they made their debuts with aplomb. The same can't quite be said for Tom Mackie, who was pretty unimpressive if I'm honest. It doesn't help that he's up against Dominic Solanke though, who looks like something special. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Another game, another dominant win. This management thing is easy. Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 6.8 Joe Waller: 6.5 Tom Mackie: 6.7 They've calmed down a bit following their debut, and even in an impressive win they looked pretty average. Still, it's not all about performances at this stage, it's just about getting minutes on the pitch and improving. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adonalsium Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Go full anime and call it the Generation of Miracles. Shame that you can't give green hair to your players, though. Looks good so far! I'll follow this for sure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Now, a little window into managing at this level. You'll notice that I was only allowed to call up 18 players. This is incredibly difficult for me, having been used to being able to call up at least 23. When that's the case, you get a nice way of dividing up the slots - 4 for each central position (DC,MC,SC), 2 for each flank (DL/R, ML/R), and 3 keepers. Now though, you have to drop to 2 keepers, and drop 4 players from the other three position slots. Tough decisions. Particularly when you've got to play three games over the course of four days. Still, we're keeping the three future stars in - Joe Waller, Alfie Mitchell and Tom Mackie are all involved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 6.4 Joe Waller: 7.1 Tom Mackie: 7.6 (1 goal) Another routine win, and the bonus of two good performances from Joe Waller and Tom Mackie. Alfie Mitchell...not so much. Already a good start as Scotland drop points against Lithuania. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 9.0 Joe Waller: 7.3 (1 goal) Tom Mackie: 8.8 (1 assist) This probably shows where we are in terms of the group. Scotland drew at home to this Lithuania side, and we absolutely demolished them away from home. Dominic Solanke was once again wonderful, and our three stars didn't do too badly either. Job's a good 'un. Still to play Scotland, which...should be fun, I guess. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 7.3 Joe Waller: 7.4 Tom Mackie: 7.0 (1 goal) Mugged 'em. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adonalsium Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Doing well so far. Will be amazing to see the progress in the players' abilities. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time No sooner had we gotten through one qualifying group, we were given another one. Qualifying Group 2: Qualify Harder. Definite step up in opposition, although why they insist on putting World Ranking in there when this is an U19 competition that has no bearing on it, I'm not sure. It's essentially unknown how these teams are going to play, but I'd be wary of Hungary and Poland. We should have enough about us to beat Wales. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Before we go back to qualifying, we've got a pair of tough matches. Ireland and Portugal, both away from home, with the latter probably providing the sternest test. Good news though - back to 23 man squads! Still no Jonathan Handling (****ing Southgate) but the other three take their places. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 8.1 (2 assists) Joe Waller: 7.0 Tom Mackie: 6.7 Easy match again. I know this save is all about the four created players, but Dominic Solanke is an absolute baller at this level. I'm wondering what his ceiling is. Will be very interesting to find out. At the moment he's completely overshadowing Tom Mackie in most games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 6.6 Joe Waller: 6.3 Tom Mackie: 6.8 After so many games without defeat, we've finally lost one, and in an absolute thriller. Not really sure how it happened, mind. We were 3-0 up, and I started to kick back on the bench. Subs were planned, and I even contemplated getting Tom Mackie to go down to the nearest English pub and get me a bag of chips, because we wouldn't be needing him. Then in nine minutes it all fell apart - 3 goals from Portugal and they were level. A lot of subs in the second half that kind of killed any momentum, but they got a 4th to hand us our first defeat. Not too much of an issue, but it is frustrating. And I didn't get my chips. Less said about the performance of our three players the better to be honest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceching You Out Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 On 8/18/2016 at 03:43, forameuss said: Easy match again. I know this save is all about the four created players, but Dominic Solanke is an absolute baller at this level. I'm wondering what his ceiling is. Will be very interesting to find out. At the moment he's completely overshadowing Tom Mackie in most games. As a Chelsea fan, I'm curious to see how FM shapes his future as well. He's one of the more highly rated youngsters in the academy -- dominant for his age but remains to be seen how/if he carves out a niche at the top level. Wouldn't put it past the FM gods to twist the story by having an existing diamond outshine your golden generation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mascarpone Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 This seems like an interesting career, good luck there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time End of Year Party After every year I'm hopefully going to provide a post where I show how the player has progressed, along with any other interesting notes. This is the first one. Lucky you guys. There isn't really a massive amount to write home about yet, but it's early days. Biggest annoyance is not being able to use Jonathan Handling. I bet once I get around to the U21 side, he'll be called up the main side instead. It's not necessarily a bad thing that he's getting called up, but I worry that as a goalkeeper, he's going to forever be that prospect that never actually gets a game until I take over and make sure he does. We'll see. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Another month, another squad. This time we're playing Spain away, and going by reputation, they should be a tough opponent. Mackie, Mitchell and Waller all take their places, with Handling still galavanting with Gareth Southgate. I heard he took him to the pictures and everything. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 6.9 Joe Waller: 6.8 Tom Mackie: 6.8 (1 assist) Lads on tour in Spain, lads come home with the win. Lovely. And good to see us put that disappointing defeat against Portugal behind us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menion Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Loving the format and idea. Got into work this morning hoping for more though. Could we have a little update with how Jonathan Handling is doing for u21s? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 3 minutes ago, Menion said: Loving the format and idea. Got into work this morning hoping for more though. Could we have a little update with how Jonathan Handling is doing for u21s? Again, as is the theme with my careers, I've gone way ahead of myself in terms of where I am with the game and where I am with updating. I made the end-of-year screenshots a little more detailed, so you'll probably get a better idea at that point. It's a bit of a learning experience for me. I think I briefly managed at U21 level (although can't remember exactly when) but I've never gone as low as U19s, and it shows. Can't say I'm particularly enjoying the slog of losing players every few months because they're now too old, or just because Southgate wants them. And the tiny squad rules get a bit grating. But I'd say I'm here for 3-4 years maximum, at which point I expect the players will graduate to the U21s. Then I need to hope that that job becomes available. Then another few years, and it'll hopefully be on to the senior squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 9.0 Joe Waller: 7.7 Tom Mackie: 8.7 (2 goals, 1 assist) Is it job done already? A heavy win against Hungary - who I thought might be the toughest opposition - with matches against Wales and Poland to come. Only one team to go through from each group though, so need to be wary. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 6.9 Joe Waller: (didn't play) Tom Mackie: 6.5 Two wins from two, but it's the same for Wales. It'll come down to a shootout in Wales to see who qualifies, with ourselves ahead on goal difference, so a draw favours us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 8.3 Joe Waller: 7.7 (1 goal) Tom Mackie: 7.1 (1 goal) Off to the tournament we go, easily brushing aside a poor Welsh side. We'll be one of the 8 - can I pick up an early trophy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menion Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 4 hours ago, forameuss said: The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 6.9 Joe Waller: (didn't play) Tom Mackie: 6.5 Two wins from two, but it's the same for Wales. It'll come down to a shootout in Wales to see who qualifies, with ourselves ahead on goal difference, so a draw favours us. Did you drop Joe Waller? :o Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 6 minutes ago, Menion said: Did you drop Joe Waller? :o He wasn't quite fit. For some reason playing three games in five days doesn't seem like a good idea. I wanted him ready for the Wales game, so decided to give him a little rest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menion Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Just now, forameuss said: He wasn't quite fit. For some reason playing three games in five days doesn't seem like a good idea. I wanted him ready for the Wales game, so decided to give him a little rest. Fair enough. I saw him on the bench and feared that he just wasn't cutting it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 7 minutes ago, Menion said: Fair enough. I saw him on the bench and feared that he just wasn't cutting it. Believe me, they're going to be playing pretty much whenever available. Even if there's a slightly better option available, I'll be giving these four as much gametime as possible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time I don't really know exactly what to make of the draw, but I'm certainly wary of it. Norway have a few stars (not sure if Odegaard will be around) and Holland obviously have the prestige. I'd expect us to get through the group though. Potentially facing Germany, Belgium or Spain in the semi finals. Or Russia, who knows. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time U19s European Championship Squad Announcement Once again we're forced to call up just 18 players, this time for a tournament. I'd say I'll stop going on about it, but I won't. Dreadful times. Happy with the quality of the squad though, and depth-wise we'll be at no disadvantage compared to other sides. With all these double-barreled names it's starting to sound like a local constituency election. Joe Rankin-Costello (Lib Dem), Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (Greens) and Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Conservative). Not that Mick is one for politics. He thinks they're all ****s. Goalkeepers Freddie Woodman | Sam Heneghan Defenders Tafari Moore | Joe Rankin-Costello | Cameron Borthwick-Jackson | Dael Fry | Joe Waller | Rico Henry | Reece Oxford Midfielders Taylor Moore | Alfie Mitchell | Daniel James | Ainsley Maitland-Niles | Ademola Lookman | Hyuga Tanner Forwards Dominic Solanke | Tom Mackine | Izzy Brown Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Fun-time Claudio is no more, but Mick won't be replacing him. He has great respect for Claudio - he once taught Mick how to make a mean Roman Carbonara during a heated evening in Rome. He also taught him how to love, but he doesn't like to admit that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Check out Billy Big Baws everyone...Jonathan Handling decides that he doesn't want a new deal, although no reason was given. He doesn't appear to be turning heads elsewhere just yet, so could just have been a poor deal on offer. Tom Mackie had no such issue though. He signs on the dotted line with Hull, and that's a decent extension. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menion Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Wow, that's a bit shout from Handling. Is he getting any game time? Any interest in him? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings We're off and running, but not at the sort of pace we hoped for. Still, three points is three points. Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 6.9 Joe Waller: 6.9 Tom Mackie: 6.8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings While it's another three points, we've yet to catch fire in the tournament. Another goal for Izzy Brown, and we sit top of the group. A point against Holland and we should win it. Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 8.0 Joe Waller: 6.9 Tom Mackie: 6.5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Big news during the tournament as Joe Waller makes a huge move from Barnsley to Arsenal. This is an interesting one. I'm deliberately taking no part in their wider development, so interesting to see how good old Arsene does with him. Talking of Arsene Wenger, Mick is very defensive of the guy. He doesn't understand all the hate he gets from Arsenal fans and phoned up 606 to talk about it during a particularly boozy Saturday evening. It didn't go well. Anyway, I expect Waller to experience some loan spells over the next few years, as I don't think he's ready to start for such a huge club. Ukraine? Ukraine?! **** off. You can't even get chips there. Don't even get me started... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings In a parallel universe, Izzy Brown was the guy I edited into the game. That's three goals in three games for the boy, and he's almost single-handedly put us into the semi final comfortably. Tom Mackie also got a goal early on that was cancelled out, but its Izzy who takes the plaudits. Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: not enough minutes Joe Waller: not enough minutes Tom Mackie: 8.6 (1 goal) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time After being so good in the group stage, we're rewarded with a match against the team we least wanted to draw. Germany stumbled a little in the group stage, and finished behind Russia, with this match pretty much becoming the final everyone thought they'd see. And the tournament itself is in Germany. No pressure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 The Golden GenerationFor realsies this time Line-ups | Match Stats | Match Ratings Pummeled. Izzy Brown kept up his great form by getting us back into the game. We fell behind without even touching the ball. Germany passed it around from kick off with a beautiful one-touch move and then lashed a shot past a despairing keeper (Jonathan Handling would've saved it...). Brown got the equaliser, but that was about all we managed. For the next 80 minutes Germany pulled us to pieces and completely demolished our previously strong 4-4-2. Before the match I was starting to wonder whether my starting rep was too high for this role, and whether I'd just go through it easily until I hit the senior team job. I can now say that that was very misguided. Player Watch Alfie Mitchell: 6.8 Joe Waller: 6.4 Tom Mackie: 6.9 (1 assist) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.