Nikos9

Fedex said he'll participate in the cup!

Yep, count me in for the cup.

Sounds good to me! :p

Congrats! When's the wedding? I was thinking something more along the lines of New Age Outlaws Vs LOD Vs DOA on Raw 6/8/98...I would youtube link it but there seems to be no video evidence of it which I'm surprised about as it was hilarious! The moment when Billy Gunn was tagged in to fight against Road Dogg!

Cheers Daniel-son, t'was awesome! ...so this is what you were doing instead of coming to the wedding!? Just kidding, shame you couldn't make it though, would have been good to see you and catch up...it's been like 5 and a half years now! The others say they miss you and your classic ways btw and wanna see you, they're worried you've become hermitized!? I hear on the grapevine you're engaged yourself now, is that true? If so congrats...just shows how out of touch we are. Fancy getting the old gang back together for a meet up at some point, say in like a month's time to give us plenty of time to get it organised? It'll be like:- Just looked at the league and I was about to say with 3 games left I reckon you'd be safe but then saw your last 3 fixtures; Yellow Subs, me and Eights and now I'm not so sure! Looks like you need a favour, DX style! :p

2-3 and 9 chances. Back to the Lower League now and we focus our attention on the current league leaders, Lords of Hydra. Nikos: Hydra - You're now in your fourth season, do you feel like you've settled in properly and have got to grips with management yet? I felt like last season was going to be our year. Unfortunatley the rumors of the clubs owner being caught up in operation yewtree really hurt the players morale (especially when he fled to brazil and didnt pay us for 3 months....) and we went on a huge losing streak which stopped our promotion hopes. Now that all the allegations have been dropped we are back stronger than ever, the players are all loving their football and im where i belong. Managing the best team in the league Haden: What is your preferred formation and why? I prefer the 3-4-3 attacking formation. Who needs to defend with strikers like mine? Amirite?! Grant: What is meaning behind team name Hydra? We have many heads, all of which can strike from any position, you stop one of us and there are to more ready to take his place! (The true story is actually better lol, its Lords of Hydra because about 11 years ago i started playin FFXI on the xbox 360 test server which was called hydra and we had a linkshell called LoH which stood for LordsOfHydra, that name and my character name (Lordesequiel) has stuck with me ever since Peeps: What are your expectations for the middle league next season? Have to be realistic, unless the chairman gives me a truck full of money we will have to settle for establishing ourselves there and not getting relagated. The gulf between us and the relegated teams last season was huge, theres lots of work to do. RLTA: hypothetically speaking you have the money to buy an 18/8 player he will have one special ability for any position you would like him to play in (except all rounder) what position would you choose and also what special quality would you select I would buy a striker. Why would you even buy anything else?! And he would have to be a diva, just like me! Thanks Hydra, always good to hear from one of the lesser known managers of N-Euro. It sounds like you, bob and MadDog would get along like a house on fire, given your attacking philosophy! A word of advice though - whilst scoring goals is great, try not to leave the back door open or you'll get found out in the Middle League, it's all about balance! Having had a look though it seems you have a decent enough back line with the second best defence so far this season and some good youth developing to stand you in good stead. Keep up the good work!?

How are your Inter View answers coming along @Esequiel?

Now onto a team who has had a fairly meteoric but conspicuous rise through the leagues. Rossers have been quietly getting on with things in the background without distraction from all the noise around them to earn their first stint in the Elite League this season. Nikos - Rossers - Where did you come from and what have you made of your time here so far? I am from Derbyshire and i love this league its a league where you can feel comfortable doing your own thing and thats important when your learning the ropes Haden - Are you surprised with your dramatic progress so far? I took this team over at the end of season 29 the change report was very poor showing 4 skill increase and 1.9 skill decrease and the season before (season 28) was no better showing 5.3 skill increase and 3 skill decrease so any potential this team had of being a top team had gone but it still has enough in it to be a nuisance team a team that will make their opponents work for any points they might get but to answer your question yes i am surprised the team has recovered so quickly Mcoy - Mcoy would like to know how you felt after your first title victory. Do you expect to win more titles in the coming seasons? Unfortunately i have not won any titles yet and its looking likely we will be relegated this season, i did gain promotion to the elite league thanks to a third place finish last season but we was a long way off the 1st place team Hadens Legends and 2nd placed team Coloccini FC so even when we drop down a division it would be a tough ask to win that league so to answer this question i would have to say i don't see us winning any titles for several seasons the main reason being we are promoting youth i hope to eventually replace the team i inherited so we will always be weakening the squad skill bar wise Zell - How are you finding your first foray in the Elite League? Its a baptism of fire but its a good challenge sure we are losing our games but we are not getting thrashed and i think that's the best we could of hoped for, there is some very good teams with good experienced managers in this league and i like to look at their tactics used to see where i can improve my game Danlikestrees - Rossers - I'm loving watching the rise of the rovers. My only fear is that you have risen too high too fast - is this a concern for you? I feel with this team its to good to drop into the lower league as its gradually improving each season so it will probably be a yo-yo team one that does well in the middle league but is not good enough to stay in the Elite league so to answer the question i think we have risen to quick but i see it as a good thing that we are competitive like i said earlier in this interview i know this team will never be elite champions as it is now but for now i am just happy to be having some fun with the team Peeps - You have a strong team with potential but the ages of your players are quite varied. What are your plans for development over the next few seasons? The problem i had with this team when i took it over was as you would expect from a team that has not been well tended to, poor form, skill bars lower than they should be for their age, and no econs, A complete rebuild was the logical option but if i did that it would be with mediocre 17/3 18/4 youth players and if i am honest that would not have inspired me to stick with the team so it was plan B that i chose which was to add youth to the team each season and try and save up the econs and see where that gets us maybe in 4 or 5 seasons time. So to answer this question i am happy doing what i am doing at the moment which is removing deadwood over time and replacing them with a youth player, (next player to go would be 32/8 (MF) Leonid Yushchenko its a waste of 130k keeping him on and training him), i do want to be a serious elite team one day one that will be good enough to challenge for the title and deep down i know i will have to bite the bullet and rebuild from scratch to achieve that Thanks everyone for the great return of questions and thank you RLTA of Rossers Rovers, you've done well to get so high so soon, proving that there is plenty of fight in your team and savviness in your tactics should anyone risk playing a weakened side against you. You may be doomed this season but if that's the case I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty more of Rossers in the Elite League in seasons to come. Good Luck! Nikos

Onto Inter View number two and today on the show we have the manager of Russian Revolution, Grant Spinks (Answers were provided this morning before todays games). Nikos: Russian's - you're through to the final of the World Cup, how and why did you get there and can you see yourself lifting the trophy? For many reason:- We have the strongest team I have developed the managerial know-how We are on level playing field We train hard I offer my players lifetime supply of vodka Nobody else is as patriotic towards their country as I am to Russia Can we win trophy – Yes we can! Peeps: At the time of writing you're in 7th place in the middle league. Do you expect to be fighting against relegation for the whole season or have you just had a bad start? Where do you see the team in 2-3 seasons time? We hyad unsatisfactory start. We wanted to beat bob but drew, we wanted draw verses Dedede but lose. As long as we can beat and keep current bottom three below us we will be ok but will be tough season. As long as we stay where we are we be safe but yes, we will be fighting against relegation all season unfortunately. Hopefully 2-3 seasons time we’ll be comfortable/strong middle league team or weak upper league team. Haden: Why the revolution? Our friend Tsar Nikolai9 as I call him gave me kick up backside. We were floundering, up against ropes without purpose, knowledge or direction and on verge of quit but unlike Mcoy, we spent acquired wealth and invested in future, following advice of Nik, (who told me he follow advice of you), he showed us error of our ways and how to correct. Now we on right track so we also have you to thank for that Haden. Comerade Co-op had reached main goal of playing in Elite League and got raped, this time around we intend to get back there and do raping to likes of Mcoy, if he ever get there. Bad luck to you for narrowly missing out on silverware today in the World Cup final but good effort. Looking at the match report it seems Mexico's tactics were better on the day but thanks for accrediting your revolution to myself and Haden who will no doubt be happy about that too and happy to see how you've progressed since the turnaround. Good win for you today in the league against my old enemy, taking you up to 5th, if you keep up that level of performance I'm sure you'll be safe from relegation. Nikos

Given their recent exchanges it seemed only fitting that Russian Revolution followed Mcoy as my second interviewee for this season's Inter View! The way it works:- - Please feel free to post all your questions below. - I'll wait until this forum runs dry of questions then post these to Russian's inbox. - Russian can then pick & choose which questions he'd like to answer, if not all of them and reply with his answers to my inbox, not on here. - I'll then pile it all together and present it all as a press release + on N-Euro - Russian can answer in as little or much detail as he likes. With no further ado, time to fire away with your questions to Russian Rev... (Thanks to Peeps and Haden who have contributed so far)

Hello and welcome to the first Inter View of the new season. We've had a bit of a shake-up around here folks, with a fresh approach and format. It therefore seems only fitting that we start with a fresh face who is likely to make a big impact, not only in the league but the forums and press too, especially if his last stint here is anything to go by. So without further ado lets kick things off:- Nikos: Mcoy, why did you leave and what did you get up to in your absence? Mcoy had just had enough at that time, Mcoy had done what he wanted to do and that was to win the championship at least once. Mcoy was busy with other events around him and didn't want to watch his side decade into a bottom league beat about. Mcoy has been busy travelling the world and increasing his revenue to fund his expensive but lucrative lifestyle. Mcoy has put that all behind now though. Mcoy is back. Peeps - Mcoy, what has sparked your return and why did it take so long? Mcoy: Mcoy was inspired by the world cup possibly. Mcoy has alot more spare time and after he saw that the Neurope X11 league was still alive and kicking he was more then eager to rejoin. Mcoy took so long because Mcoy has been busy with real life and partly forgot about the game in the first place, Mcoy is more then happy that he can find the time to manage his team after work again though. Haden - McCoy who is top on the list of people you think need an ass whooping? Mcoy: Mcoy hasn't really found anyone so far that has stood up as a challenge in the battle of the press. Mcoy would be more then happy to find such an opponent though, Mcoy could definetly see things heat up in the middle league. Right now Mcoy would have to say the dirty Russian Revolutions is a target in the future. Their cheek to field a top tier team against Mcoy's new boys in a friendly has left the entire team of Mcoy thirsting for Russian blood in the distant future. Zell - Mcoy, where do you see The Great Mcoy to be in five seasons time? Mcoy: Zell, Mcoy is looking at re-learning the game, tactics and all the other little bits and bobs that can help in the matches. Mcoy definetly sees himself in the top half of the middle league 5 seasons down the line. Mcoy could possibly be in the top league but as he understands, the oponents have toughned up somewhat. Nikos - Mcoy, you were the richest manager in N-Europe last time around. Why did you not spend the money before you left? To me the transfer market is one of the most fun parts of the game. Do you intend to do the same thing this time around? Mcoy: Mcoy has never been a huge fan of spending money, Mcoy has a huge weakness of liking to save for nothing in particular (it was around 60 million when Mcoy left, lol). Mcoy hopes he can get over this barrier and make some good investments in the coming years. In the past Mcoy favoured developing home grown youth from the academy, but Mcoy thinks he'll be taking a slightly different approach and will make use of the transfer market a lot more. Mcoy can guarantee that his players will be tougher, better trained and in better form then before Thanks for the intriguing insight, Mcoy. Good luck in your first season of rebuilding and we look forward to keeping track of your progress.

The first randomnly selected interviewee for this season's Inter View will be The Great Mcoy! The way it works:- - Please feel free to post all your questions to the man on the xpert site where I've created an Inter View forum. - I'll wait until the forum runs dry of questions then post these to Mcoys inbox. - Mcoy can then pick & choose which questions he'd like to answer, if not all of them and reply with his answers to my inbox, not the forum. - I'll then pile it all together and present it all as a press release + here - Mcoy can answer in as little or much detail as he likes. With no further ado, time to fire away with your questions to Mcoy on the forum (not here)...

I've never seen that happen before! Usually when I've made all my subs and a player gets slightly injured, he's stayed on the pitch for me even with the "substitute slightly injured" box ticked. Maybe they've made a few subtle changes without announcing them yet. Or maybe it's a glitch, Winston had one in our game today (see game comments) and I had one in my offiical league team today too. I bought a keeper with 'king in the air' trait but the trait didn't show up next to him on the squad page although it did on the player's page. However, it rectifed itself later in the day fortunately...thought it was the Montreal screw job all over again! :p

Am thinking about shaking up the Inter View process, maybe making it like an open mic type format on the xpert league forum. I randomly select an interviewee then people can blast them with questions, he selects maybe 3 of those questions (or as many of them to answer in as much depth as they'd like), provides me with the answers and I'll present them on here/as a PR. How does that sound? Advantages - Something different, Inter-active (pardon the pun), gets more people involved/Inter-ested (pardon the pun). Disadvantages - Not all questions may be answered, not all managers may get Inter-viewed (unless instead of random selection, people volunteer as before (although the point of randomness was to get some of the people involved outside of this forum who don't usually participate)).

I know him...wasted a lot of time trying to give him tips and tell him all the about the game but it seemed to fall on deaf ears so not sure he'll respond but I'll try. Think he just joined in the first place to humour me!

The overall standard is a lot higher now than it was, even teams in top half of the lower league are pretty strong!

I've managed to convince Grant and his Russians to join so hopefully he'll be in the World Cup at some point today!

Ah ok, what the heck, I'm in with my band of greasy Greek men...seeings I owe you n'all!

Congrats Haden...hahaha, that is quite possibly one of the funniest, most classic videos ever to grace youtube! Good old JR! :p

I'm gonna give the World Cup thing a miss, my views are the same as @Charlie's plus I just moved house, internet access is tricky & I don't have the extra time atm but thanks.

@Zell, my former nWo protégé and partner in crime...you disappoint me!

It was away for me but yeah, it distubs me that I'm the only team they've beaten this season, plus I fielded my strongest side! I think I'm more shocked by the fact Elites haven't picked up more points cos they've got a pretty strong team...he is bringing youth through though who have no heart yet so I guess that's partially why.

Haha, what a classic! Good to see you back McCoy! Peeps is the big boss man now!

Spotlight:- Score: 1-1 Possession: 56-44%

He is, I saw him on Friday and he said he's been busy but intends to carry on and improve his squad!