When doing a substitution, be careful about what position you select for the sub to enter at. For example, typically you input something along the lines of "T=45,S2,DF" as your entry orders. However, becuase the last dropdown box also includes aggressiveness (p,n,a) problems can arise. You can input "T=45,S2,p" and the program will accept it. Even though the 'p,n,a' are supposed to go along with the "c" command instead of the sub commands, there is not a "can't do that" error that comes up.

You can sub in a player at the program will place him where you direct, such as at position "p" which doesn't exist. The player will show minutes played, however he will not contribute any SL to area totals. It is unknown if a 'non-playing' player could be injured or gather DP as those are team-wide checks, though it is highly unlikely that the player would ever get a shot as those are area-specific allocations. This could also create havoc with mandatory positioning such as 1 GK, 2 DF, 2 MF, 1 FW, etc. or your SL with regard to 2:1 rules.

And the answer is not very; GP is way down though DEF is up a little but we lose 20 on OFF. The OFF and DEF bonus relies on DF, MF, FW and OTF but as GP really needs a big SW this takes a lot from DF area total, although in the game I looked at we had a decent DEF bonus for the better MF and we got the SW vs L bonus. Playing without a SW just kills GP too much.

To play Finesse it seems to me you need a big SW and hope they play L or E tactic, a big OTF advantage and to mark those L forwards.

CP cost: (SL+1)*2
TP cost: (SL+1)*3
OTF cost: (OTF+1)*12

As for the OTF discussion, I think as SL's go down then the OTF will become less valuable, not more valuable. OTF was shifted in FLATNZ from adding the number itself (i.e. OTF of 8 adds 8 to the DEF & OFF for the match) to a percentage multiplier (i.e. OTF of 8 adds 8% of whatever the current DEF & OFF are to the totals). As the T11's go down, and the area totals go down, the OTF contribution goes down.

Right now, the current average T11 offense in the league to start this season weighs in at just under 116. Defense is 104. Assuming a team uses the Normal tactic, an OTF of 7 would add 7 to the defense and 8 to the offense, 15 total. An OTF of 10 would add 10 to the defense and 12 to the offense, 22 total.

So raising the OTF from 7 to 10 on average will net the team 7 more area points per match. That will cost 324k to raise the OTF from 7 to 10. If the cash was spent on a player instead, you could raise your third rookie from 0/4 (after seasoning) to 0/11. That would cost 168k + 175k for the extra TP slots, 343k total. That would give you 7 more SL per match. However, depending on tactic choice and position that SL could net slightly more or less area points, and it would only be for 2 out of every 3 matches. Depending on the age and SL of the player you wanted to put the money toward instead, you would net between 4 and 7 SL more for the money you would spend on OTF.

So all that goes to say that right now the OTF is worth the money in the long run because it can be used in every match (unless you're a Longball or Early Cross team and ignore it) and comes out slightly better on area total additions at this time. However, that first considers T11 strength, and not average strength which is of necessity lower due to subs and players needing a rest. It also can't predict how much the T11 strength will drop as the seasons progress. Right now, it's about right. By next season or season 18, it will definitely merit revisiting.

1. DVV 5,3,1
2. HOB 6,3,1
3. AA 6,3,1
4. OLY 7,3,1
5. LSD 7,3,1
6. WRR 7,3,1
7. ODD 8,3,1
8. SAT 8,3,1
9. GM 8,4,2
10. MLB 8,4,2
11. SCO 9,4,2
12. CUB 9,4,2
13. KM 9,4,2
14. ASM 10,4,2
15. PEX 10,4,2
16. TUC 11,4,2

Start Cash - 444k

Gate money - 2586k (31 games average of 83.42k per game)
Origin Powerball - 200k
Conference Award - 100k
Shield Defences - 60k
Press - 530k

Coaching (CP) - 1868k (33 slots on 5 players)
Training (TP) - 1707k (31 slots on 4 players)
OTF - 96k (1 slot)
Extra slots - 75k

Current cash - 174k

I plan to spend 50k on CP and 54k on TP in the first play-off game and expect 75k gate money for it, and another 50k press. There's also 200k for the Golden Boot and Golden Gloves which leaves me with 395k.

Tim says it's 650k press for a season and that extra 50k would mean I finish the season with almost the exact same amount I started with. I don't know if there's press post finals or Tim missed one or I've made an error somewhere.

We have 2 Shield defences this session - if we hold it both times then the last game is against ODD and would be a Shield defence (?). So that's us or ODD

If we lose it in the 1st game, against AA, then they have a defence against LSD - win that and it's either AA or SAT after the final session.

Lose to LSD and it can go to DVV who could lose it to AA who could lose it to SAT.

If LSD hold against DVV then they could lose it to WRR.

Grid Girls at the Hamilton 400

At the end of the prior session MLB had 688k in the bank. They got 50k for press money, so that's 738k.

In match 21, they coached four players (220k+75k) and trained three (156k+50k) for a total of 501k spent. That leaves them 237k + 75k for the match income, which is 312k going into match 22.

In match 22, they coached three players (142k+50k) and trained one (51k) for a total of 243k spent. That left them with 69k + 64k for the match income, which is 133k going into match 23.

In match 23, they coached three players (158k+50k) and trained two (123k+25k) for a total of 356k spent. That would leave them with a balance of -223k before match revenue of 82k, and -141k after the match revenue was added. Instead, they show -58k currently.

So this leaves multiple questions:
1) If they had 133k in the bank prior to match 23, how were they able to spend 356k in the match? (which only Tim and the program can answer); and
2) Where did the other 93k come from to make the difference from -141k to -58k?

Here's what the match reports show in terms of who had to receive CP/TP from one match to the next, so someone else can check my math to see if I made a simple adding error:
Match 21 CP:
GK Turk McBride from SL 28 to 29
SW Donnie Edwards from SL 27 to 28
UT Kolby Smith from SL 29 to 30
MF Jared Allen from SL 22 to 23
Match 21 TP:
DF Mike Vrabel from SL 13 to 14
MF Matt Cassel from SL 15 to 16
MF Zach Thomas from SL 21 to 22
Match 22 CP:
SW Donnie Edwards from SL 28 to 29
SD Larry Johnson from SL 23 to 24
DF Damon Huard from SL 17 to 18
Match 22 TP:
MF Matt Cassel from SL 16 to 17
Match 23 CP:
SW Donnie Edwards from SL 29 to 30
MF Jared Allen from SL 23 to 24
SD Larry Johnson from SL 24 to 25
Match 23 TP:
MF Zach Thomas from SL 22 to 23
GK Ryan Succop from SL 17 to 18

And that's where I'm left getting my numbers from. What took place behind the match reports I can't see to help out any more.

Every season, Rob; every season.

And that gold medal match of ice hockey was one worthy of the name!

SAT & LSD receive 50k as Conference Runners-Up.

AA & HOB receive 100k as Conference Winners.

Congratulations to all!

It appears that Waikato is in North Island , so we should expect a comfortable win as the North beat the Southern Softies :)

Unfortuantely he fell foul of the mighty Al S. by publishing "cheat" suggestions , and in a flash he was gone.

My memory is a bit dim , but i remember salvaging this some time back , not sure where the Spanish ? came from.

Mine opens with a security alert re. LUFC.EXE (RUN) . Then este software Ha sido etc etc (OK) and I get the LUFC.

Speaking of controversial, I've rebated MLB 200k worth of fines. Over the past season and a half Phil has accumulated a truly impressive total of fines to his intense frustration and confusion, since he couldn't figure out where he was going wrong. We seem to have finally found daylight on it, and in the interest of encouraging learning and not penalising people for honest misunderstanding any more than I have to, I've decided to return a portion of the cash that has been taken off MLB.

And no, I'm not returning any of yours, Rob or Denis. This is blatant favouritism towards cats.

Waitangi Day commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the majority of Maori tribes and the British Crown that birthed New Zealand as a nation, with Maori retaining much control and resources. The treaty was subsequently significantly abused and ignored by the Crown representatives in New Zealand, but the treaty remained in existence, and about 25 years ago efforts began to redress the balance of the abuse where possible. That process is largely completed.

The next step (IMHO) is for New Zealand to write a constitution and declare independence. At present we are one of the few democracies in the world without a constitution, and legally are still tied to the Crown. The Governor General has the final authority. In practice this isn't the case, and at some point that needs to addressed. NZ has no legal means to challenge any action the governing party has the numbers to pass, except chuck them out at the next election. There is no such thing as an unconstitutional law in NZ.

They'll need to be on their toes next session though, as they immediately end up with another Shield defense against Willy the Rat and his pet manager Mr. Given. Rumor has it that Willy wants the Shield back now, having watched it get stolen from him prior this season.

Though the name says Simon Rowlinson, the e-mail address says Roy Rolston? Would this be the infamous leader of Forest in MSWL United? If so, perhaps I will have to re-think my opening lines for this coming session as we face off against AA in match 13. Something unexpected may be called for as Roy won't be playing a rookie in this league for more than a session, if at all!

We'll also have to think about how to play WRR this time around. I'm doubting that the Counter tactic will catch them by surprise again. Though perhaps in saying that they'll think we'll switch from it so it'll work again. Which in saying that will make them think that we'll go C again and leave them open to another strategy. Or just throw our hands in the air and realize that Willy doesn't think that deep and will probably come to Graymalkin Lane and simply bash us in the head with a T11. That sounds more like him. So be it. Should be an entertaining session all around.

OLY N lineup, MF of 7, cut FWs to 14. Stats: GP 39.6, DEF 76.45, OFF 108.08 - total 224.13
Same lineup playing L: GP 39.6, DEF 69.5, OFF 142.5 - total 251.6

Want another option? N, with Charles Dickens oop as MF. GP 39.60, DEF 85.25, OFF 136.68 - total 261.53!

Change what you're doing and put yourself on track as a serious Alpha contender!

Player of the Season still a 6-way tie.

Bank balances to make accountants' cry. Unless they're working for DVV. Although ASM & ODD aren't far behind. Meanwhile the league's strongest team has an operating capital of a mere 120 thousand. We are definitely not the Premier League around here! :-)

How does ODD manage to have a Golden Boot leader on the back of 52% Stall?

Man, is Pirongia ever saving Willy's cheese. And WRR has the lowest scoring percentage in the entire league. Not sure how thrilled I am about that combination.

I got 4 quick affirmatives to changing it to weekly, followed by 4 who think it would be better to stay with multiple match sessions. The rest are probably easy either way. My usual policy in this situation is just to leave things as they are. :-)

I very much take on board the comments that the multi-match session increases a manager controlled random element, as opposed to the computer generated one. I've always been a fan of keeping the computer controlled randomness to a minimum, but predictability is a bit boring. A third quicker season is good too. You can tell which way I'm leaning.

Going to one match per week is a plus in that every match gets full attention. Managers are less likely to completely throw one because it's another week or two before they get around to winning again. Further, injuries and suspensions come into play immediately so the opponents get a fair shake at a weakened team. Also, should a certain team happen to win the Shield against all odds in match 2 of a session and not know it then they played way too weak a lineup to keep it in match 3 and that's just a shame that no real Shield Defense was ever mounted. Not that such a thing happened last session or anything...

On the down side, little teams don't get overlooked as much so upsets will probably be less frequent. Further, if a team tanks one match to save up EL for a big clash it will be obvious. There won't be any more guessing about which one or two matches will see a top line and playing the odds for victories or stalling to steal points against better teams. Also, as Robin deftly points out in his e-mail, when you know you're going to lose the whole week isn't any fun. Nothing like just waiting to see how bad the goal differential is going to get as the only surprise coming for you!

Proposal for compromising the above pluses and minuses:
Would 2 games every week be possible? That still leaves some of the guesswork in, and gives every team a far better shot at having a winnable match every week. Little teams would still get overlooked enough that upsets can happen, while teams could still have the option of resting or going all out to catch someone by surprise with a T11 in the 1st or 2nd match.

I really prefer multiple games per session myself, even if just two. I feel it increases the unpredictability of the league. It also speeds up the season which would be increased by going to a one-per-week schedule. FLATNZ tends to tarry on a bit in terms of seasons per year as it is. Picking up the pace to give teams having an off-year or rebuilding a glimmer of hope in the now foreseeable future wouldn't hurt things.

Yes, that would screw up the current press schedule. However a man like Tim would surely be able to prorate that out over the season so it either comes out the same or just a few K higher or lower than is currently possible. I can help there if needed.

So far, the teams on the high and low end of the T11 tables have increased their SL the most this season. For the other 14 teams (including KM), we need to pick up the pace or we're in trouble.
On the low end, TUC has raised their total SL by 28 so far this season, best in the league. Derek is coming on strong this season and it's good to see TUC developing without NMR's hampering the process.
Right behind them at 24 SL is PEX. Mike H. appears to be getting the grasp of the CP/TP process and the Expos are making strides and quickly closing the gap to the league-wide SL average.

On the high end, DVV is 2nd in the league on T11 and they have also added 24 SL to their team. With the most cash at this point, I expect that trend to continue. After last season's fade from top competitor status, they are in good form to battle back to the Cup Playoffs.
Most disturbing though is HOB. While they have hovered around the poorest teams in the league this season after setting the bar for expense records last year, they have added 21 SL to their roster. That's tied for 5th-best. Mr. Turner is showing off the financial skills as with little in the way of flexibility he has actually managed to INCREASE the gap on T11 between his team and every other Alpha-likely team in the league except DVV at this point. This bodes poorly for the rest of us.

Uh, that should be, "Out of the office." The commissioner will be back in the office on January 1st, although probably not in any condition to do any league business until the 2nd, at least.

Hope you all had a good Christmas. We had a vomitous Christmas Eve, with 2 bed changes and 3 lots hitting the carpet, but Christmas Day was much better, and by the end of the day, everyone was feeling pretty chirpy. Lots of family and presents. Boxing Day spent helping my sister and her husband move house. We're off to the beach now for a few days, aiming to be back in time for a New Year's Eve party. Do fun and have heaps! :-)

Is she really, Phil? Because some fairly major congratulations are in order in that case!

As for the other, that was a commissioner SNAFU (and no, I don't intend to spell that out). However, if you really truly desire your 7/2 MA to be repositioned as a WG, I'll give it to you as a congratulatory present.

North America on the other hand... our top seed and #2 seed were in the Bowl playoffs with them. Along with AA, who happens to be the 4th seed for UK! Can any of us little fish hope to survive against the Shark in our pond? Or will the points lead that AA can build up be too big to overcome in the other groups?

As Steve said. Many managers use it as free time to coach those brand new players (especially GKs), since it has no impact on the season. Effectively it is purely a revenue source. I decided that the 28 matches was just not quite enough. OP is a way to give teams a bit more cash in a more interesting manner. :-)

Nothing resets in FLATNZ until the end of the season. Please note that your rosters show only data relevant to the regular season competition (C1). So while DP and EL will show the same, your roster won't show minutes played, since OP is a separate competition (C2). Don't worry - they're still there. Your age 0 will still count the OP minutes against their seasoning.

1. Do you get any prize for winning your group?
2. Why am I stuck in the toughest group?
3. Does player EL get set to 10 after the matches end?

Webster's only shot and goal in match 30 vs. KM came on a penalty kick. The match report attributes one shot and goal for him that match. In tallying all his other stats from matches 4-33, Webster took 17 shots and scored 10 goals. His final numbers on the LSD page show 11 goals on 18 shots, so the PK shot and goal from match 30 are included in the program's tally for both total shooting records and percentages.

As for answers:
Team names can be changed between seasons with the permission of the Commish.
Player names may be changed if a new manager has taken over that season, and for any existing managers up to 5 names for free and a set fee for any more than that.
Following the finals, Tim will send out info with all our closing season cash balances and draft order. Every team gets three apprentices in the off-season. The rules have quite a bit of detail in this regard, as to who gets what and how much SL you can expect from your top apprentice.

"What the F is going on I sent my lineups in and what do I get"....... it has happened to most of us over the years that these Olmec leagues have been around.....unfortunately there is NO way of replaying the game/s , it is not built in to the game ..the commish has no option but to let the game stand.

I too have been screwed over by acts of computers or ISPs in the past. Several seasons ago I lost some critical matches heading into the playoffs that cost me home field and likely the victory in a very narrow loss the following session. Orders were sent in plenty of time I thought (18 hours or so) only to see my team go NMR and Tim later explain that due to ISP problems the e-mail didn't arrive until several hours after the matches ran. It was clearly date- and time-stamped well before the deadline. It just got lost in cyberspace for a bit. Must have been a male e-mail and couldn't be bothered to stop and ask for directions.

The point of that is to relate that sometimes this stuff happens and to any of us that have played for years, we know your anger and misery at the moment after a long season is undone in a single blow that by all means appears entirely preventable by someone, somewhere. I took my own losses as an admonition to get my lines in earlier. Tim has always been good about sending a "Received. Thanks." e-mail when he gets them with time to spare. If I sent them in and don't have that within 24-36 hours that leaves me with a few options:

1. Send them again.
2. Send a note with no attachments (more likely to get through spam filters and junk sorters quickly) asking if they arrived OK, followed by a 2nd e-mail with the orders re-attached so he knows to check the spam/junk boxes in case he never saw them.
3. Dropping a post on the blog asking if they arrived OK so Tim knows that they were at least sent and he can send a note asking for them again and perhaps delaying running matches for an hour or two if he knows that they are coming and you have tried unsuccessfully through no fault of your own to get them in.

I think we've already had the Conference award (my spreadsheet says so anyway) but another 200k for awards, 50k (minimum) for press and 79k for gate money means we start next season with a little over 450k.

Will that be enough? Well I don't know yet as I haven't planned next season's finances. What I did decide is that there's no real difference between using 43 extra slots this season and 22 this and 21 next. It could be argued that the 6 CP spent on the age 4 players was a waste and that cash and the 150k in slots would be better spent on an extra age 0 next year.

Dr KM mentions 6 matches total for teams to spend in. That's total, not per team. 2 matches is the most a single team will get.

Yes, penalties don't show as shots taken or faced, but do count as goals. After thinking about it for 10 seconds, I think I like it this way.

There are no cash prizes for playoff placings. Just match fees. The Cup & Bowl winners get a bonus to their match earnings for the next season, which is shared with whoever they play. Off the top of my head, I think it works out something like a half share of 125k and 68k over the whole season, with your opponents getting the other half. Or maybe those numbers are your half. Can't remember for sure. I'm think it's in the rules, if anyone ever reads them.

Did I really spend that much money during the season .....ooo that hurts ....I have to go and lie down .

HOB 6805 (238)
GM 5632 (223)
AA 5296 (127)
OLY 5268 (259)
SCO 5169 (113)
ASM 4911 (802)
SAT 4836 (295)
WRR 4725 (168)
LSD 4654 (743)
MLB 4451 (204)
ODD 4391 (255)
DVV 4072 (284)
CUB 3570 (0)
KM 3503 (199)
PEX 3253 (0)
TUC 2758 (0)

Points to ponder during the off-season:
Did KM, PEX, and TUC finish in the last three identical spots due to: A) spending less, B) having less money to spend, C) having fewer decent players worth spending money on, or D) all of the above? I'm going with D until proven otherwise in coming seasons...

Most Consecutive Losses - 11
Most Losses - 22

They will join the record books, however they won't be setting any new marks, which has to count for something.

For the other record that was set this season, look to yours truly. Though we are requesting an official query into the rules that are obviously set up by Willy the Rat to make us look bad!
Last session, we were clinging to a 30.7% 'save' percentage, though we have to use that term very loosely. We had stopped all of 14 of the 46 shots faced so far in the season. 32 goals against on 46 shots to be barely ahead of the current mark of GK futility: 29.8%.
So how exactly is it that we now have given up 35 goals on 48 shots to fall below this mark? We gave up 3 goals on just 2 shots somehow?!? The individual match reports against LSD show 2 goals, 3 shots and AA getting 1 goal on 2 shots. Surely we gave up 3 goals on 5 shots and finished with 35 goals on 51 shots for a 31.4% save rate, right?

So those questions about apprentices? That would be an example of a case of "feel free to ignore my questions, forcing me to get up off my backside, go upstairs, retrieve my printed FLATNZ rules and read the answer for myself." :-)

I'll post the draft list after the final. AA's position in the league will be determined by the upcoming match(es). The player allocation is identical each season. Who you get is determined by your finishing position.

Historically EC wasn't used in FLATNZ because you could get better area stats playing the same lineup L. With the revamp at the beginning of this season, EC multipliers got made a lot more competitive. The question of building WGs is now much like the one for building SWs. Make a big contribution, but only good for one thing.

Neither help a BC team. SW don't contribute to 2:1, so need all DFs to support MF. Need as big MF as possible, so have avoided WGs. Although with the mods.... I might have to revisit that.

The season I joined we didn't have any wingers and my first season is with the current age 3 players. As you can see I needed a GK and DF that season. The age 2 players the season after are another DF and MA. Both seasons I was in Beta.

Last season I decided to go for the 2 WGs and also decided I could also train the SD and the now age 1 MA. It was looking good for early cross this season.

Wow! ASM sliced nearly a million off their bank account in one session! If ODD did that, Robin would have a heart attack!

Deco is Player of the Year. No-one can catch him. Sometimes it is nice to play for the big spender. Maybe we should start calling him "Steve the Russian"?

I'm thinking Eric Staller (OLY) has the Dirty Harry award sewn up, although 8 DP in 2 matches is not impossible. Red card would do it.

WRR, who regularly have a GP in single digits, have the 2nd best defensive record in the league. Ha ha ha ha! (This is probably due to having the best Team Save record. Mark the big guns, push the ball to the crappy shooters and let them fire as many as they like. Seems to work. Interesting to know whether that also contributes to our not having such a great attacking record. Probably.)

Now under new management KM , Kevin Martin they are now a bunch of donkeys?

I suppose that is what you get when you get a manager from Hicksvile in the Nowhereland ,somewhere in US of A ?

HOB have 136k left and I had planned to use 1 TP on Talbot and Middleton, and 1 CP on Bentley and Xavi in the last two games. I left Xavi right till the end in case injuries or mistakes left me with a few slots short.

In the next game I'll spend 118k on Bentley and one of the age 1 players. That leaves me with 18k. Gate money for the match is 93k (94k if rounded up, but I've never checked that) giving us 111k. I need 120k to coach Xavi and the other age 1.

Most Losses: 22. TUC is at 21.
Worst Goal Differential: -53. TUC is at -46.
Least Points: 24. TUC is at 23.

Fortunately, hope abounds for Derek's squad that has recently shown a lot of life. No team had given up fewer shots and fewer goals than AA heading into last session, and TUC pulled off 2 goals for a great upset victory! That helped them elude other 'least' records. Without anything left to save the EL for, this already tired team can afford to go all-out for another win or two draws and avoid all of these marks. Best of luck to Derek in that regard.

HOB 6567 (414)
GM 5409 (391)
AA 5169 (734)
SCO 5056 (235)
OLY 5009 (779)
WRR 4557 (283)
SAT 4541 (505)
MLB 4247 (650)
ODD 4136 (236)
ASM 4109 (1572)
LSD 3911 (396)
DVV 3788 (328)
CUB 3570 (210)
KM 3304 (486)
PEX 3253 (168)
TUC 2758 (233)

HOB 6153 (428)
GM 5018 (380)
SCO 4821 (50)
AA 4435 (744)
WRR 4274 (359)
OLY 4230 (507)
SAT 4036 (633)
ODD 3900 (273)
MLB 3597 (904)
LSD 3515 (898)
DVV 3460 (396)
CUB 3360 (192)
PEX 3085 (179)
KM 2818 (253)
ASM 2537 (0)
TUC 2525 (484)

Most draws: 14. OLY has 9 and needs to draw all 5 to make it. I'm guessing Jason is not going to be playing for all draws, so this one will undoubtedly be gone by next session.
Most losses: 22. TUC is at 19 and appears on track to set a new low. If they can topple KM again and draw at least one other they can hold out for just a tie instead of holding the mark on their own.
Most goals for: 66. SCO is at 45, HOB and SAT at 42. All are well off the pace to set a new mark here, though I'm not ruling anything out with these offenses. 5 goals per match for the last 5 would do it!
Least goals for: 6. TUC is at 5 and needs just 2 goals. KM is still on the schedule so hope blooms eternal if they can get off at least 2 or 3 shots.
Worst goal differential: -53. TUC is at -44. Only 9 away. They'll need to scrape together at least one draw and keep the losses close.
Fewest points: 24. TUC is at 18. Lots of ways to get to six points, though close losses alone won't cut it any more. Need at least a draw this session.
Longest losing streak: 13. Already matched by TUC this year.
Worst shot percentage: 8.5%. TUC is at 12.8%, down from 14.3 last session. They need some shots to score goals, though not taking any would be better served to avoid this one.
Worst save percentage: 29.8% KM is at 31.1%, up over 2% from last session thanks to actually making a save! This could be a lot worse if SAT didn't get bored and quit shooting at us.

my spreadsheet tells me what percent of T11 I planned to use (57ish% vs ODD and the reserve goalie - we got what we deserved?, 70% vs OLY and 96% vs WRR) but doesn't take into account OOP, passive players or SL increases in a session. However Olmec obviously does.

Most Wins: 21 by OLY, season 11
Contender: HOB @ 14. They would need to outright win all 8 matches left to set a new record though, which is a tall order in Alpha.

Most Draws: 14 by MLB, season 6
Contenders: SCO & OLY @ 8. Would need 7 of 8 matches to end in a draw. Not likely.

Least Draws: 1 by PEX, season 10 & LSD, season 13
Contender: HOB @ 1. Would need to win or lose outright for remaining matches to tie this one. Possible given their boom or bust results to date.

Most Losses: 22 by HAZ, season 10 & LSD, season 12
Contender: TUC @ 16. Need to win/draw three more this season to avoid this mark.

Most Goals For: 66 by HOB, season 13
Contenders: HOB @ 35, SAT @ 34. Would need to average 4 goals per match for every remaining match. Unlikely, though SAT has the better shot being in Beta.

Least Goals For: 6 by HAZ, season 9
Contender: TUC @ 5. Need just two more goals, and they still play KM again (see GK Save % below) so they should be safe.

More Goals Against: 82 by LSD, season 12
Contender: TUC @ 44. Would have to give up 5 goals per match average. Should be safe from this one.

Best Goal Differential: +43 by KM, season 11
Contender: HOB @ +21. Would have to double their current mark in 1/3 as many matches. Very unlikely.

Worst Goal Differential: -53 by SCM, season 8
Contender: TUC @ -39. Have to lose by 2 goals per match on average. Possible, though their form of late is much better than early this season.

Most Points: 104 by OLY, season 11
Contender: HOB @ 65. Would have to get max 5 points from EVERY match. Odds of that happening are slim to none, emphasis on none.

Least Points: 24 by SAT, season 11
Contender: TUC @ 17. Need 1 goal per match average to avoid this infamous mark. Improving team may just have it in them.

Most DP: 176 by WRR, season 11
Contender: KM @ 102. Need one red card per match average. Not happening (I hope...)

Worst Losing Streak: 13 games by HTS, season 1
Contender: TUC @ 13 games tied this mark earlier this year. No other teams can tie or break it.

Best Shot %: 49.5% by GM, season 6
Contender: DVV @ 42.4% Have to step it up against some very good GKs. Very improbable.

Worst Shot %: 8.5% by SCM, season 8
Contender: TUC @ 14.3%. Need to fire often and off-target.

Best Save %: 82.1% by AVL, season 7
Contender: DVV @ 70.4%. DVV with best scoring and save percent so far this season is raking in the luck. Still, making up 12% in just eight matches is a tall order. Don't be on this one.

Worst Save %: 29.8% by AVA, season 5
Contender: KM @ 28.9%. Already ahead of the pace, with matches against SAT, AA, and LSD still to come this season and no true #1 GK. Will take considerable undeserved luck to avoid a new low.

We always expect to lose one game per session and you can be sure that if we were going to play WRR first then it wouldn't be a tired squad :-P

HOB 5725 (375)
SCO 4771 (750)
GM 4638 (550)
WRR 3915 (629)
OLY 3723 (321)
AA 3691 (638)
ODD 3627 (420)
SAT 3403 (548)
CUB 3168 (144)
DVV 3064 (436)
PEX 2906 (264)
MLB 2693 (501)
LSD 2617 (587)
KM 2565 (392)
ASM 2537 (755)
TUC 2041 (545)

Total spent so far this season with last session's costs noted are:
HOB 5350 (333)
GM 4088 (1071)
SCO 4021 (683)
OLY 3402 (387)
WRR 3286 (889)
ODD 3207 (383)
AA 3053 (580)
CUB 3024 (354)
SAT 2855 (780)
PEX 2642 (628)
DVV 2628 (361)
MLB 2192 (543)
KM 2173 (766)
LSD 2030 (261)
ASM 1782 (0)
TUC 1496 (262)

Philip .......you are naughty and deserved to be punished ........poor o'l C & C are dumb cats who can not weed or wight .... shame on you !

Previous Conference Winners/Runners Up

1st - Northern Conference

After coming 2nd for the last two seasons, GM cracks the top spot again.  ($100k)

HOB are the team to beat, and they prove it by taking the top spot in the Southern Conference.  ($100k)

CUB drop back a place from last season's breakthrough top spot.  ($50k)

After a nowhere season last season, WRR make a strong showing in Southern to take 2nd place.  ($50k)

Didn't hear back from anyone, but the site is back up, so I guess that is what counts! I've updated all the stuff done at my end while I was waiting. I will get to press rewards this afternoon, as I'm about to take the kids to school and then head out to the college to work on assignments.

Big thanks to Kevin and Phil on the rankings. They made my part so much easier! In fact the whole mid-season went so much quicker this season, with much of the stuff automated now. I've got intentions for further automation (like a constant update to ranking in team histories - only happens manually at present, unlike points and shooter), sometime when I get to doing all those things I "intend" to do. :-)

Welcome to Graham!

The All-Star players from each team will return to their teams with the same DP and EL as when they left. Mid-season aging will be the only impact on your team from the All-Star break.

As for Alpha/Beta, how that works is that this league splits teams each season based on winning at the midway point. In other leagues, there is a Div 1 and Div 2 (& Div 3, etc.) with promotion and relegation between them. In FLATNZ the teams get all scrambled back together at the start of each season (strong and weak mixed) and duke it out to determine who is better this year. The top 8 teams get put together for the second half, and the bottom 8 teams get put together as well.

I've given Kevin some work to do, so that should make him happy. :-) Julia's back, which makes me happy, but with school holidays and her away, I didn't get my usual Thursday slot for league stuff. Spent it preparing Sunday's sermon, actually. So here's a reminder to myself and everyone else that team press and random blog posts will receive the usual pay, come the deadline next week. So I'd better write some. I'm also starting 2nd semester next week, which unfortunately for me means a drive up to Auckland and back each week as my subject isn't available distance. Hopefully in a couple of weeks the family will be settled into a new routine and I can get back into extra FLATNZ stuff. But if it takes a few days to get a response, that'll be why, and just so you're aware that it may take a few days to get a response. :-(

Patience, Iago.

Now I guess I'd better hold up my end and get the db set up and roster files out.

That perfidious individual would be me. And I didn't play CA, I played N because I forgot to set my tactic. Something about trying to do rosters, lineups, mid-season aging, groups and what all. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.

Mid-season 12 was the last All-Stars.

We have to pick 16 players, 2 from each team in our Conference that are age 2 and above. The Juniors pick two from each team aged 0 and 1. Each team also gets an OTF which is the average of their conference (Northern is an eigth under 4.5 and Southern and eigth over 4.5) and a fixed home bonus (it's in the rules, 10 I think). Two games home and away.

Total expenses this season to date (trades excluded), with expenses from last session noted, are:
HOB 5017 (255)
SCO 3338 (135)
GM 3017 (318)
OLY 3015 (219)
ODD 2824 (391)
CUB 2670 (129)
AA 2473 (0)
WRR 2397 (273)
DVV 2267 (263)
SAT 2075 (270)
PEX 2014 (160)
ASM 1782 (208)
LSD 1769 (160)
MLB 1649 (260)
KM 1407 (84)
TUC 1234 (542)

That's exactly why he posted it, Robin! I'll leave you to decide which exactly I'm referring to.

Made a minor change to the reporting. I have edited the emotive "deemed to have thrown match", which managers seem to take very personally, to "failed to meet min SL requirements".

OLY goes through to Alpha, with very mixed emotions, I am sure! I was comparing them and LSD and wondering why LSD hadn't gone through instead. Checked the rules, and after fewest losses (first tie breaker) is GD, then GF. Hence OLY through. But LSD has more wins. Shall I update the rules for next season to make tie breakers read "fewest losses, most wins, GD, GF"?

My lady is somewhere between here and Finland, on her way to her brother's wedding. Not finding taking care of the kids by myself that big a challenge since I normally do most of the day time stuff with the kids anyway, but it sure is busy!

Trade for Peter has gone through, so now my old man is playing for the team. ;-) We can certainly use the boost going into Alpha! Aside from HOB way off in the distance, the SLs of the likely contenders are very close indeed.

Having tea with my parents this evening, so I'd better get myself out the door.

1 OP
5 North/South Conference
1 All-Star break
5 Alpha/Beta
1 Playoff

I work on 13 press sessions a season, which I think means none for the All-Star matches.

We're all playing in the dark a bit, Craig, when it comes to spending. I'm increasingly thinking that starting next season with a balance of ~1000k, then spending the season earnings, might just be the way to go. Which means I can spend my entire current balance by season's end. The tricky bit to work out is that all the post-mid-season spending is going to be more expensive than the pre-mid, since the SLs will be higher (or quickly get that way). I might need to call on Steve & Kevin's help to work out how much extra that actually is.

1. HOB 4762 (412)
2. SCO 3203 (239)
3. OLY 2796 (575)
4. GM 2699 (201)
5. CUB 2541 (0)
6. AA 2473 (599)
7. ODD 2433 (603)
8. WRR 2124 (234)
9. DVV 2004 (353)
10. PEX 1854 (0)
11. SAT 1805 (693)
12. LSD 1609 (525)
13. ASM 1574 (305)
14. MLB 1389 (263)
15. KM 1323 (196)
16. TUC 692 (587)

So that's 18,186k divided by 16 teams, for 1136.625k per team. Each team has played 15 matches (12 conference, 3 OP) so that's an average of 75.775k per game. I have no idea what number I used to calculate the earlier average. I must have had a typo on the calculator or spreadsheet at some point and failed to double-check my work. Nice catch, Steve.

Planning: I always do the same, whether it's TP, CP or cash. In other leagues I'll guess my gate money and decide how much cash I want to end up with and therefore know how much cash I can spend in trades and auctions. I also stop at the 19/29 mid-season or 20/25/30 end-season skill levels, except in three cases.

1. First choice keeper. Steve Turner started at SL 27 and it's worth losing the extra SL dropping by going past 29 as long as you get the 10 points in early, and I used 10 CP in the first 10 games. The extra shots he saves will make all the difference (except I think I've been unlucky).
2. At least one striker (MA/FW). In theory Trevor Shooter should be at SL 36 now, but with Deco at SL 33 thanks to captain's bonuses I decided to save some cash and will go back to coaching Shooter after mid-season. The extra goals he scores are making all the difference.
3. Mistakes. Gary Lee was supposed to stop at SL 29 and Robert Bentley have the other 3 CP. A clerical error allowed Lee to reach 30 and there was no point stopping there. I haven't worked out if it was cheaper to stop at 30 and then coach Bentley or do as I did.

Second, we here at KM figure out what we are going to spend on all our players as the season starts. For example, our 4/19 DM Batman got 2 points before mid-season to peak at 19 (because if I spent another one to get to 20 it would be lost with mid-season aging anyway). After aging, Batman is getting another 4 points to hit the SL 20 barrier (21+ loses another point so that's wasted money in terms of SL surviving into next season). So that will end up costing us a total of 74k (36+38) before aging and 148k (34+36+38+40) after aging for 222k total. I do this for each player I plan on coaching at all. If the total of what I want to do exceeds the cash I have, then I either live with the cash loss or cut back on coaching/training plans for the less-critical areas until I'm back within my budget. If I'm under budget (very unlikely) then I can add some points to key players or bring up another B-list player to boost the T16. Learn the aging caps and stick to them. Adding a CP to a player two matches before the aging deadline is wasting money if it takes them to the next aging level (10,20,30 for mid-season; 11,21,26,31,36 for post-season). Let aging hit and then add the CP.

To be clear on this point consider an age 2, SL 19 player. At mid-season aging they will lose 1 SL and be 2/18. If I added a CP to them before aging they would be 2/20. At mid-season agign they also drop to 2/18 though. That CP was wasted if I didn't get several good matches out of it.

Another critical factor in cash flow is how much you are spending for extra CP & TP slots. What many teams do is figure out how many CP/TP they are going to spend over the course of the season and plan on using the full amount of free CP/TP slots at one per game each. All of the extra ones then get spent as fast as possible at the start of the season. That way you get the most return on your expense of 25k each. For example, if I know I'm using 36 slots and only 31 are free then I spend to use the other 5 as close to starting the season as possible. I've got the 125k planned on being spent regardless of where I use it in a season, so I burn it fast so I get more matches from the higher SL. The remaining 31 are allocated out at one per match in my order of priority to improve the team. This way does not increase your odds of winning as fast as the "spend it all now" strategy. It does maximize your remaining cash for the season though.

One thing to recall is that a team can now hover around 200-400k every session and still be OK with coaching costs. You no longer need to build up a big bank account to buy CP & TP at the start of the season. If you wanted to run your team that way, you can.

Here is what you can count on for cash if you participate in the league fairly well:
50k per session for press/blog posts. 1 OP session, 5 conference, All-Star, 5 post-conference, & Playoffs gives us 13 sessions total. Tim will have to tell us if he's not planning on giving out the bonus for the All-Star and Playoff sessions. I won't count them now, just in case. That leaves 11 sessions at 50k for 550k total.
31 matches guaranteed (3 OP, 14 conference, 14 Alpha/Beta). If you make the playoffs you get an extra match or two matches tops. Teams right now are getting an average of 63k per match this season. For Alpha teams, this will be higher as the season progresses. For Beta, lower. 63k*31 matches = 1953k. Figure 2000k for easier math if team is even slightly better than average. At KM I'm only hoping for 1800. :-(

So that means that you can plan on having 2500-2600k for sure in a season. You can earn more with finishing in the top 2 in conference play, winning the Cup/Bowl, or getting player/team awards for DP, top GK, top shooter, etc. You can't count on those in a season, though they're nice bonuses to pad the bank for next year. If you are spending more than 2600k this season, then you will have to plan on making that up somehow or steal from next year's coffers and plan on spending less next season.

Once you have spent all your extra CP/TP slots, stick to the one each per game strategy and your bank will slowly refill as the match and press revenue from the season keep coming in. If you are spending close to what you started the season with, then you should be fine at the end of this year too. If you are going way overboard with CP on players at 30+ SL and TP on 25+ SL youth players, then at some point in the next season or two down the road you will have to plan for a "maintenance" session where you try to keep players at 25 or 29 SL and not push things to allow the bank to catch up. Think of it like a salary purging season for professional sports teams.

I'm no good at budgeting, but if you want to plan ahead look at the match commentary. It tells you how much money you make. Use that along with 50k (press and blog cash) to wok out your income. You can then decide for yourself how much to allocate for training purposes. The rules detail the cost of training which is based on the age and skill of a player.

The DAC (Dictators Are Cunning) Rule is now in place. Expansion teams may not trade until their roster has been entered into the database. (This doesn't affect trading draft picks. You can still trade them in advance of naming and position.) If you're making an expansion roster and you're going to trade, you can send me a trade notice, but I will enter the expansion team first, then process the trade. Let the other manager choose the name & position if that's part of the condition, but the expansion roster player has to start on the expansion roster. Skipping that step appears to be bad for me.

Well it is nice to see that people are regularly checking the blog. The first sign of shadyness and the posts get busy. Let me just rub the sleep out of my eyes.

From Season 12 Info (what I send out to get you all ready to set up for the season):
LSD -> WRR 0/4, 300k
WRR -> LSD 0/7

LSD -> GM 4/17, 3/15, 1/10
GM -> LSD 0/4, 2/16 DF Augusto Pinochet, 100k

The rosters at the end, however, appear to have Augusto Pinochet at GM and "Pinochet" at LSD. I would guess that this was because Rob did his trades before sending in his expansion team roster, and as I was moving things manually, I failed to remove Augusto fromt the GM roster. You may remember a certain 900k bonus a few weeks ago. Since this happened at the beginning of Season 12, well done to the super sleuths, but I plan to do nothing about it. If GM couldn't win the Cup even with that kind of help, there's nothing more I can do for them.

KM -> GM: 4/16 GK Mickey Mouse + 25k

GM -> KM: 4/13 DF Augusto Pinochet + 5/9 DF Ho Chi Minh

Bulking up? It's like this, Rob. I started season 13 with 3235k, bought 37 CP (1350k), 38 TP (1640k) used 15 extra slots (375k) and finished the season with 3452k (thanks to press, gate money, and awards). The plan was to buy 40 CP and 31 TP (using CP on OTF for no extra slots) and spend the other 800k or so on extra CP and/or TP that would cost 250-400k in extra slots. A successful side nees to finish with 3000k to keep playing at the top.

But what's the point of finishing with 3000k now? My plan is to use one CP and one TP slot for the rest of the season. Assuming I've done the maths right I think I'll be OK. As long as you use at least 1 CP and 1 TP every game, and you coach and train the right players then any extra slots used aren't wasted, cash in the bank is.

I add the press bonus before running the matches.
HB & coaching costs are checked by the software before applied, so if you try and spend money you don't have, it won't happen.
Shield bonuses are applied at the end of the session, since I can't necessarily predict where they will go, and if I always do things in the same order I am less likely to forget. Note, only less likely.
Otherwise I think that is correct, Kevin.

In addition to the five cash variables Steve lists (CP/TP, extra slots, gate, 45% fine, press) there are also Home Bonus costs, Shield Match revenue, and Misc. Bonus cash (blog pic, logo, etc.) in FLATNZ. I believe the order runs as follows for each session:

1. Starting cash balance
2. Home bonus cost for match 1 of session
3. CP/TP costs for match 1 of session + extra slots purchased
4. Gate revenue added to team from match 1
5. Fine for being under 45% applied
(4 & 5 may be switched in sequence, I don't know where that went into Tim's program order)
6. Repeat 2-5 for match 2 of session
7. Repeat 2-5 for match 3 of session
8. Press revenue added at end of session by Tim manually
9. Shield Match revenue added at end of session (manually or auto-calculated now?)
10. Misc. bonuses applied manually at Tim's discretion, typically done at the time he posts them on the blog in between sessions as with AA's and SAT's recent bonuses for new manager participation.

I am fairly certain that the program will NOT allow a team to go into a negative bank balance at any time. Orders attempting to do so will be ignored. CP/TP costs & the extra slot costs come out before the match revenue is added back in (in the old program at least) so you cannot spend what you are planning on getting and hoping it balances out later. Bank balances are updated with match revenue after each match though, so you can guess what you'll earn in the first match of a session and spend a little below that in the second or third match if you're careful and/or desperate and daring. Press, Shield Match, Misc. bonuses etc. were added manually in the past after the session was complete, so none of those funds will be available for usage until the following session.