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Šjor Bepo

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:wenger: How would that work? If all week is free for both of you, why not just choose a day instead of leaving Annah decide?
well, if we can play any day it makes it easier for annah to put us when nobody else is playing....
 

antohan

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Wait for after our match before you tell him to be logical. I like seeing what he comes up with :)
In fairness, he had some cracking ideas on reinforcements... then did something completely different.

Shame, you wouldn't have enjoyed playing against his original idea, hit you everywhere you are vulnerable while adressing your strengths.
 

Skizzo

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In fairness, he had some cracking ideas on reinforcements... then did something completely different.

Shame, you wouldn't have enjoyed playing against his original idea, hit you everywhere you are vulnerable while adressing your strengths.
Oh i never meant it in a bad way. I like seeing what he does with his teams...can't ever say he's not creative or thinking outside the box.
 

antohan

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Oh i never meant it in a bad way. I like seeing what he does with his teams...can't ever say he's not creative or thinking outside the box.
I understood your point, just saying that for once he curved his instincts... and it will probably backfire. It was basically a spastic idea against any team, bar yours.
 

antohan

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Well that's reassuring then :p

Good thing I never PM'd you with any thoughts or ideas for our team :lol:
Well no, he told me about it later and I was like "woah! awesome!!!! you should have sooo gone with that!".

He wasn't too pleased I think.

Suffice to say this exchange happened when he asked me whether he should sign Andrade. Burgnich, Djalma, Carlos Alberto and Andrade in the same team... True story.
 

Skizzo

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Well no, he told me about it later and I was like "woah! awesome!!!! you should have sooo gone with that!".

He wasn't too pleased I think.

Suffice to say this exchange happened when he asked me whether he should sign Andrade. Burgnich, Djalma, Carlos Alberto and Andrade in the same team... True story.
Well I look forward to hearing you expand further on this exchange after the game :)
 

VivaJanuzaj

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Of course he isn't, but you are in a fantasy draft world where Alves is a defensive liability but doesn't get more than lip service for his contribution upfront, while Irwin is Mr. Reliable at the back while being equally irrelevant to the attacking drool stakes.

The same world where Gary feckin' Kelly can stop Zidane just by "tucking in". In real life, the only thing tucking in is his sphincter when faced by Zinedine.
:lol:
 

antohan

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Didn't understand what you meant, so I digged into it and wasn't disappointed.

https://www.redcafe.net/search/18480880/?q=kelly&o=date&c[user][0]=3500

:lol:
:lol:

My back four was vastly superior. Bunch of morons banging on about how I should have picked Rivaldo instead of Davids... :rolleyes:

vs.

Of course, it was ultimately my fault as it was my first draft and I didn't know how you could go 11-3 down within five minutes for not picking Rivaldo. Nutters, I had Zinedine Zidane FFS!

Looking at that I miss the days when final teams weren't too different from the ones at the start. It was far more challenging. Spent that entire draft hoping to get wingers but all the teams I beat seemed to have great midfielders. Simeone ended up on the bench! :lol:

We also had those dull group stages, but they had a major upside which was that you had to prepare a team that could be switched around to address the oppo. Given how narrow the pools were there was no chance to put together superteams (or superunits in defence/midfield/attack) and the ability to adapt was far more significant.

It was all beautifully imperfect, which made it more realistic really. Now you play anyone marginally out of position and it's a massive blunder, simply because the teams are just too fecking good and it's those tiny differences that end up costing you.

GROUP STAGE FORMATIONS

....
[/quote]
 

antohan

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Since you have Platini and Maradona in your team, I decided I need to be more defensive. So doubled my D-Line. It'll be a 0-0 draw, but you just can't score against me!

feck Kocsis, your most important forward in that setup is on the bench! You need Jairzinho to nick one here.

Why not go striker-less? This was probably one of the best coups I ever pulled off, another low-scoring nail-biter against @Gio (6-5!):



feck, I miss decade drafts :annoyed:
 

Mani

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feck Kocsis, your most important forward in that setup is on the bench! You need Jairzinho to nick one here.

Why not go striker-less? This was probably one of the best coups I ever pulled off, another low-scoring nail-biter against @Gio (6-5!):



feck, I miss decade drafts :annoyed:
So have you decided to play next draft?
 

Joga Bonito

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My back four was vastly superior. Bunch of morons banging on about how I should have picked Rivaldo instead of Davids... :rolleyes:
Your midfield was a notch or two above his as well. Had a quick look at the match thread and many just seemed to point out the lack of width in your team. It was a fair enough criticism to a certain extent, as you lacked top notch wingers/wing-forwards but then you had two excellent wing-backs and Enrique-Seedorf who could provide certain amount of wingsmanship on the right hand channel/flanks. His team only had Overmars who wasn't on his preferred flank, so that was bizarre, since you were the one to cop all the flak for the lack of width. You could have done with Rivaldo at inside left but it most certainly wasn't a necessity as it was painted out in that thread, imo.



Probably the only bugger who managed to get past a prime Kelly :lol:
 

Annahnomoss

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Just isn't enough to play Zinedine Zidane out of position on the left and Utility Enrique on the right when you are facing two beasts like Kelly and Capdevila.
 

Balu

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and many just seemed to point out the lack of width in your team. It was a fair enough criticism to a certain extent
Lack of width was big in draft games for a while :lol:. It was the number 1 criticism thrown around, no matter how brilliant your wingbacks were. If you didn't have two wingers providing width, you were fecked. Overall the games have become a lot less one-dimensional in terms of tactics used and discussed in my opinion.
 

Skizzo

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Lack of width was big in draft games for a while :lol:. It was the number 1 criticism thrown around, no matter how brilliant your wingbacks were. If you didn't have two wingers providing width, you were fecked. Overall the games have become a lot less one-dimensional in terms of tactics used and discussed in my opinion.
It's like night and day comparing the discussions in those games compared to these current ones.
 

Annahnomoss

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Lack of width was big in draft games for a while :lol:. It was the number 1 criticism thrown around, no matter how brilliant your wingbacks were. If you didn't have two wingers providing width, you were fecked. Overall the games have become a lot less one-dimensional in terms of tactics used and discussed in my opinion.
:lol: The fact that asymmetric formations has become accepted has reduced the amount of train wrecks a lot too. Felt like people really tried to squeeze players around a whole lot just to make it symmetric before and it resulted in a lot of sometimes hard and negative critique.

I remember Beckham being played 10 meters further up the pitch in some game as a right winger and the manager was completely slated for it. I think he even tried to explain Beckhams regular role rather than stating he'd be a right winger but it didn't pay off. My memory may be completely off with this one though.
 

antohan

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It's like night and day comparing the discussions in those games compared to these current ones.
Absolutely, I look back and it was completely fecking mental that I went 11-3 down before I had even entered the thread! Very naive of mine and I clearly underestimated Ronaldo. I actually felt like I was getting dumber as I progressed, started out with a clear idea and ethos about my team, but then realised no one rated Ramelow at all. Not a world beater, but the sort of cog that worked very well if used appropriately. Nah, it was like talking to a brickwall.

Fwiw the 50s one was at a different level.
Probably helped by the fact we only had about 12 people interested in it :lol:

:lol: The fact that asymmetric formations has become accepted has reduced the amount of train wrecks a lot too.
I was blasted for my "spaghetti formation" in the next final after that. Still think out of all my teams that's the one I would have paid most to watch. Still, it wasn't the formation, it was fecking Donaldo holding a grudge :mad:

Really should have won three in a row there :annoyed:

Felt like people really tried to squeeze players around a whole lot just to make it symmetric before and it resulted in a lot of sometimes hard and negative critique.

I remember Beckham being played 10 meters further up the pitch in some game as a right winger and the manager was completely slated for it. I think he even tried to explain Beckhams regular role rather than stating he'd be a right winger but it didn't pay off. My memory may be completely off with this one though.
In fairness, that was part of the idiocy of squeezing players into accepted formations. Beckham regularly showed up as a winger in a 4-2-3-1 and we all know there's something wrong there: either you are depicting it wrong to comply (hate that) or you are really playing him differently to his peak form (which is stupid). Basically, the guy is a right midfielder so show him as a fecking right midfielder. I can get quite anal about that, but I think that sort of backlash is what has got people to be more careful and honest in their approach, reflecting reality rather than goign for smoke and mirrors.
 

crappycraperson

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This was anto's starting formation in that match -




.. and you can see where lack of width criticism would come in for that team.. Zidane on right where he will gravitate to center, same with Forlan on left.. Enrique more of a CM than an outlet out wide.
 

Annahnomoss

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This was anto's starting formation in that match -




.. and you can see where lack of width criticism would come in for that team.. Zidane on right where he will gravitate to center, same with Forlan on left.. Enrique more of a CM than an outlet out wide.
 

antohan

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This was anto's starting formation in that match -




.. and you can see where lack of width criticism would come in for that team.. Zidane on right where he will gravitate to center, same with Forlan on left.. Enrique more of a CM than an outlet out wide.
The entire point was starting with the more conservative setup, knowing full well I had an extra gear or two.

I still had width from both fullbacks AND both Davids and Lucho comfortable pushing out to the flanks. Sure, no wingers, AND? So what? Does that warrant going 11-3 down inside five minutes before the manager has even replied to anyone?

That's why I've always made a big deal of thinking the game through, and tracking it. If you start a more conservative formation, I'll assume that's what is playing NOW and make my mind up as to what is going on NOW, and wait and see on what happens LATER and whether any subs can change the course of the game. Football games are rarely linear, can't see why our interpretation of an imaginary game should be different.

I also had this idiotic idea whereby I thought it was relevant to keep a certain rationale and playing style to the team, not making drastic changes from one week to the next, etc. In real life it obviously is correct, but I was probably pushing the envelope expecting that to be considered when voting.

For the record, I do think that team would have nicked a goal or two and won it anyway.
 

crappycraperson

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For the record, I do think that team would have nicked a goal or two and won it anyway.
I agree .. essentially your opening formation was just a diamond and it would have worked well. It is just that most voters saw opposition weakness as the full backs and saw you not exploiting that to the fullest so I can see why someone would immediately think that you blew it.
 

antohan

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I agree .. essentially your opening formation was just a diamond and it would have worked well.
Exactly, in attack Forlán would have been a second striker and Zidane the tip of the diamond. It was just shown as a XMAS tree precisely because it was a conservative setup and it was worth highlighting Diego would drop deep and would work his socks off supporting the build up as usual.

It is just that most voters saw opposition weakness as the full backs and saw you not exploiting that to the fullest so I can see why someone would immediately think that you blew it.
Sure, but I had played the same frontline throughout the tourno so that much should have been expected. Even getting Rivaldo, you can hardly argue I was hugging the line and tearing into them any more than I would with Zidane-Candela (NT partners to boot) and Zanetti-Lucho (with Zanetti well used to crossing for Vieri). Then there was Davids-Seedorf... That was another rookie mistake: I had proven partnerships all over the pitch yet didn't stress it at all.

That said, maybe people weren't ready for it. I had placed great emphasis on character, leadership, big game players, while the oppo had a fair few faint-hearted bottlers. I had made a point of making an all-Serie A defence: players that hadn't necessarily played together but would play with a common ethos (as opposed to Canna-Carvalho-Capdevila and Gary feckin' Kelly). Stressing both those points didn't seem to make the least bit difference.

I know it's odd I keep banging on about it, but I was royally pissed off at the time. With myself for letting my boys down and with all the earlybird voters who, frankly, acted like a bunch of cnuts. It was my first draft and rather than being supportive or offering advice they just seemed overly keen on punishing non-conformity with conventional wisdom.
 

Annahnomoss

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I'll go back home in some days. Hopefully you guys can organize the matches and start them.