Posted September 30, 2016 If the plan is to have more than one season, my vote is for two leagues for shorter seasons. One league if this is likely to be one time thing. I'm not sure what people signed up for? Agree with this. 5 week league or 10 week league? Given as Haden says Xpert is all about the long game I'm up for promoting a fast pace of development. I'm in for a few seasons at least. Browsing the cast list I think we'd have two pretty competitive leagues with twelve. Other alternative would be one league for first season, then two thereafter? Just so it's not a downer for people starting in the lower league. Or... could we perhaps do champs league format for the first season and sort people into two leagues based on the results? Up for sharing league reports btw! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 1, 2016 One big league please. When we first started X11 I was randomly placed in the lower league and as such missed a chance to win the title. Still raging 10 years later. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 1, 2016 (edited) Xpert is gone. We all know what is at stake here. There aren't many managers left! Pull the plug on Xpert! What do you say about an Admin like that. Two years ago you lost the longest running playground game on NE. Haden reporting for duty. Where the hell have you been? Enjoying death. I only have one question? Why not stay dead there is no shame in saying you are no longer popular. Welcome to the new Xpert. I am your admin. You must be joking. 1 league 12 players coded just for NE, less a league more a personal statement. NE? Haden? I want to start the league again. How much do you know about NE. All there is. Well not like this. Not like them. Just look at you. Starting a league. Xpert. 4-5-1. You have started the league knowing you are not ready, knowing it may die, you have been very bad. The twelve survivors this is what you have made us. Everyone needs a hobby. So whats yours? Resurrection. Charlie Dan Drah DuD Haden Joe Kwelta Matt Nikos Rowan Tales Zell Starts this Friday. Games 7pm every Friday and Tuesday. Xpert 11 For Xpert James? No for MadDog. Edited October 1, 2016 by Haden Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 2, 2016 Great intro! Can't even be mad that you spelled my name wrong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 3, 2016 Am I missing something about MadDog here? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 3, 2016 MadDog sadly passed away earlier this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 4, 2016 MadDog sadly passed away earlier this year. Ah sad news, I feared that may be the case! Condolences to anyone who was friends with him! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 6, 2016 (edited) Ah sad news, I feared that may be the case! Condolences to anyone who was friends with him! Ashley made a thread about this which is worth looking through. Very sad news - and a great presence in the xpert league through the years. http://www.n-europe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58365 Season One - It Begins Angry Greeks The Greeks rise! Nikos cracks the whip! A streamlined team remain, with 5 players sacked since Nikos took over. Pantalis Ostrovski could end up dominating early seasons - a 22 / 7 is a very tasty prospect at this stage. An extremely impressive pre-season could hint at things to come, though this punter is doubtful over the strength in depth in what is set to be a long season.. Title odds: 4 / 1 Drahkon The league’s new boy could be in for a serious ring of fire, having yet to enter the transfer market, and more worringly, having not logged in for 12 days. The squad is a comprised of a bunch of Germans who frankly fail to live up to their nationalities footballing rep, though the strong keeper could prove useful at the inevitable onslaught they will face. Nonetheless, Drahkon is known on the forums for being an extremely talented gamers and a smart guy to boot. There could be hope for them yet... 300 / 1 Eights ReUnited How is an Eights team born? Was Tales ever a good manager or was he merely a beneficiary of a long standing squad? His reputation will be on the line in these early seasons, after a long dry spell before the end of the previous league. He’ll be Pointon to his new captain to cover up the otherwise flimsy defence. Surprisingly thin on youth prospects. 9 / 1 Haden Haden’s team is valued at 11 million - comfortably the highest in the league. Haden is the league’s head honcho. FA corruption? The comments section of the Xpert Echo are filled with screeching conspiracy theorists. Haden has been a busy boy, recruiting a host of players early doors, not least the excellent Benito Mena, and sacking 8 right off the bat. Stuart Preece and Serge Katenin look like an excellent partnership in an otherwise weak back line. Yet there is strength, depth, youth... making probably the standout favourites at this early stage. 3 / 1 Hull-Federer Alliance Imagine Pep and Jose leading the same team. Or more accurately, given the level of previous managerial success, Hodgson and Brucie. This is a team made of such depths of combined history; the simulacrum of everything the men have worked towards. Joe and Roger have knocked their heads together and recruited beautifully - a couple of 20 / 6’s, a couple of golden oldees. This punter suspects the midfield is too lightweight for a title challenge but look out for them in season 3 or 4... Bigsby will surely be in with a shot of the golden boot. 10 / 1 Yellow Sub Submerge, Yellow Sub. Rise, Nuclear Sub. The start of Zell’s first managerial career took off faster than any in the history of the game. Here he has placed his confidence - and the club’s savings in a 26 year old forward, Roray Slater - an unusual choice in a game traditionally dominated by midfield strength.. The squad look light, but then again, Zell has always exceeded the expectations of his squad. The defence looks solid, but a lack of talent between the sticks could be a real issue. One to watch. 8 / 1 Return of the Bob Notwithstanding the revelation that’s Bob’s name is not in fact Bob.. Bob is back. Bob brings boundless goals, bounties of balls blasted in the net - it makes for blatently beautiful entertainment But where will these goals come from? Not from Owono, Etonge or Bouli, that’s for sure. This punter wants Bob to put his money where his mouth is and splash the cash on some mega goal talent. 50 / 1 Seahawks Who are Seahawks? The kind of team that, like Burnley or Cardiff, skirt around the upper eshelons of the game without ever drawing enough interest to really be noticed. Perhaps this will be the season they emerge a force - the front three are a match for any. This punter is not too Keen on the back line though. 30 / 1 Winston Warriors Winston have returned from Russia with an entire roster of players, who he hopes will march into battle with the valour a Bolkonski and the fiendishness of a Rostov. Word is that Winston’s head of recruitment hasn’t slept for a week, so desperate is he to address the goalkeeping vacancy. Ispravnikov and Wimmer bulk up an otherwise average midfield - Winston urgently need to address their lack of keeper if they want in on a shout of glory. 10 / 1 Silverdale I always admired Silverdale; a beacon of consistency not unlike David Moyes’ Everton of yore. The squad boasts the best defence in the league, though once again a lightweight midfield might be their undoing. Silverdale had gone nearly a decade without the biggest trophy - this could be their best shot. 20 / 1 DuD DuD are a team that are practically screaming ‘GIVE ME THAT TROPHY RIGHT NOW’. He has spent big and spent well, going in hard on a first season title push, whilst recruiting some decent youths to build. The team as it is now is an OCD’s dream, reading like a well polished tax return, everything in order thank you very much. His past history as a manager is uninspiring, but this could be a big big chance for DuD to prove his doubters wrong 5 / 1 Moria United Wasn’t Charlie’s team constantly bogged down in the middle league in recent years? Could a talented leader truely be festering in a league like that? For my money his recruitment has been the finest in the league. There are no weak spots, he is equipped for the medium term future, and has clearly seen a vision of his immediate glory. Expect Bolukbasi and Healy to be in the fight come December. 7 / 1 -- -- Guys - on the final week of pre-season I must say that having drawn up this report - I am so ready to get back in the game!!! What do you guys think? Who’s going to win the league? Are you trying or focusing on the medium-long game? Edited October 6, 2016 by dan-likes-trees Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 7, 2016 Great write up dan! Off to a good start there with a last minute winner! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 7, 2016 I took some action yesterday but I actually have no idea what I've done A draw in my first match. My only goal for the season has been achieved: Have at least one point at the end It was a very lucky draw with a goal not given for the Warriors and an own goal... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 8, 2016 Hey Dan did you want to share the writeups? I quite enjoy a 5 things I learnt. Maybe I could do Fridays 5 things I learnt/writeup if you want to tackle Tuesday? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 8, 2016 I took some action yesterday but I actually have no idea what I've done A draw in my first match. My only goal for the season has been achieved: Have at least one point at the end It was a very lucky draw with a goal not given for the Warriors and an own goal... And what a game it was!! Made the total rookie error of forgetting to set substitutions / auto subs. Heart sunk when I realised my error and you started piling in the shots at the end, ha. Peepsy made a really good beginners guide a couple years back which is worth a read - http://n-europe.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1671816&postcount=376 (I'd add to watch out for compatibility when you buy players - 'fair' or 'poor' will play real badly.) His tips are broadly about setting up and developing your team - you should be able to find out more about tactics on a game-to-game basis, which formations suit what style and players etc, on the xpert site Hey Dan did you want to share the writeups? I quite enjoy a 5 things I learnt. Maybe I could do Fridays 5 things I learnt/writeup if you want to tackle Tuesday? Yeah for sure! Definitely a good way of doing it. I think once a week might be a bit too often for me though - I think we used to do once rather than twice a week? So maybe if you did this weekend, I did next weekend, and alternate like that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 11, 2016 5 talking points opening day: Baggies impress Only one team managed to pull off a coveted away victory in the opening round and it was The Baggies against Eights Reunited. Eights were very unlucky when their star keeper Mick Pointon was taken off with a nasty looking injury after half time, however it must be said by that point the Baggies had scored twice and dominated on average 60% of the possession. Playing 4-4-2 the Baggies were crucially able to outclass the 5 man midfield of Eights Reunited. Three men were key to this winning performance. The goalkeeper Mack Partridge was outstanding with the star performance of the entire opening week. He defended his goal with supreme confidence given his underperforming defence instructions throughout the entire match. The other two players were Claudio Grais and Jerry Danielsson in midfield, they scored one a piece and Grais especially was dangerous throughout setting up the two goals he was not involved in. This was the perfect start for the Baggies but for Eights this was a very drab performance their team has potential but lacks stand out stars, they fave a tough away game against the Angry Greeks next and will want to improve massively if they want to take anything away from it. The home formation of choice Three different formations were used by home sides in the opening fixtures with varying degrees of success. 3-5-2 was the most popular choice with Hull-Federer Alliance, Eights and Haden using this attacking possession based formation to varying degrees of success. Every one of these teams conceded goals but Haden and Hull came away with the victories, as noted above Eights did not. Next in popularity was the old classic balanced 4-4-2, Drahkon and Moria chose this formation and interestingly both teams drew 3-3 for Drahkon and 1-1 for Moria. However the most intriguing opening day home formation came from Seahawks. Up against their pals the Angry Greeks they chose a suprising 5-3-2 formation and came away with a 1-0 victory. The Seahawks were down 1 chance to 3 at half time and only had about 40% formation throughout the match. However their defence held out with the extra men at the back able to also assist in attack. This was seen when captain Samson Harewood came up from defence to take a corner that Eugene Abell headed in for the win. It will be worth looking to see if teams change their home formations after this opening set of games. Drahkon makes a tactical start Drahkon FC are a team whose manager has little history with the game and they went up against the Winston Warriors who are a team whose manager knows the game very well indeed. However with a slice of luck and tactical knowledge Drahkon managed to take a point in a riveting game. The first half was quiet but controversially Warriors had a goal disallowed when it was deemed the scorer Artobolevsky had strayed marginally offside. AT half time Drahkon brought on 3 subs and after falling behind to a Winston opening goal, Drahkon levelled to make it 1-1 and then 2 of the subs had an immediate impact. Eigenrauch sprinted down the wing to curl the ball into Rincewind who headed in for his first goal of the season. However after this Winston came straight back into it, Artobolvesky scored on the half volley from a set piece and then Valentenko headed in a corner. Winston Warriors were getting the best of the game with more possession and chances but a late Drahkon corner was swung in and Valentenko ended up prodding it into his own net. It was a devastating blow but a draw is not such a bad result away and as for Drahkon it was a good point that demonstrated the power of impact substitutions. Early runner for top goalscorer? BB eg Bernie Bigsby of Hull-Federer Alliance made a blistering impact on the MadDog league in the opening weekend. He scored a fine hat trick in his teams 5-2 victory over Return of the Bob. He scored two breakaways and one close range shot in a brilliant performance that terrorised Bobs team. The only other player to score more than one goal was Benito Mena who netted two against Silverdale to help Haden United to an opening day victory, his 2nd goal was pratically the last kick of the game in the 91st minute. However at the moment odds are on Bigsby ending the season with the golden boot he is an ice cold finisher and his only rival seems to be Jordi Rincon of the Angry Greeks who has a mediocre opening game. With that being said there is a long way to go so lets see how Bigsby does under the spotlight! Xpert 11 Finally lets look at the Xpert 11 this weekend to see if it gives us any clues on which teams to watch. It must be said that the Baggies have not just the captain but two other players both midfielders with very high ratings in the X11 this week. Apart from Hull's Bigsby no other non Baggies player scores more than an 11 rating. Also impressive is Winston Warriors with three players, two defenders and a midfielder in there despite conceding 3 goals. Making up the Xpert 11 are two players from Haden United, one from Moria United and one from Nuclear Submarine. It is still early days but this weekend in both player ratings and results really did belong to Hull Federer Alliance and The Baggies. Still with a long way to go we will see where these two teams end up on the final day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 12, 2016 Terrible start to the season for me. Must improve... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 12, 2016 Team Bob hasn't done too badly. Three goals in the opening two games. A slow start, but I expect the goals to flow soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 15, 2016 All going quite well so far not heard from Charlie for a while though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 15, 2016 He'll probably get chance to pipe up after Tuesday's game. Hopefully not though :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 15, 2016 (edited) I massively cocked up my preparations by overspending on one player. I've got a decent enough squad now, but have had no money to train players... The Baggies look very strong at this stage, although your squad looks more LA Galaxy than West Brom! Edited October 15, 2016 by Zell Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 15, 2016 Some Pulis bargain hunting i'd say Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) Some Pulis bargain hunting i'd say Stunning buys! Thought your form might dip through lack of training with all the money spent but you can't argue with those clean sheets! Think one of the squads with big-buy keepers is going to win the league this season... Games 2 & 3 Muddled Moria busted by Bob Given Bob’s leaky defence, one would be forgiven for thinking that a home game against Bob would be cause for a guaranteed 3 points in the bag. Not so - Bob provided an onslaught away at Moria, dominating a game where they could have scored 4 or 5 but for a disallowed goal and a missed penalty. Moria squad, looking so strong in pre-season, are not jelling as a squad. Managers will be far more wary of The Bob-Train now. Moria will be desperate for a win at home against DuD after getting off to such a shocker... Baggies stay top after tense rally with Roger In a game only marginally less uneventful than Winston Silverdale, but about as eventful as a Pulis West Brom match, the two league leaders pussyfooted around the court nary daring to go to the net, hit a risky passing shot, or even attempt a cheeky drop shot. A fairly uninspiring performance by both, but both managers will be chuffed as chips to remain in spitting distance of the top of the league, Roger earning a vital point, and Baggies retaining their team’s season clean sheet. DuD has been spending like there’s no tomorrow - it looks to be paying off. Old title rivals on the floor of the table The league standings right now looks like they’ve been flipped upside down. The once-mighty Submarine and Eights prop up the table, with both sides having only a goal to their name each whilst leaking goals at an alarming rate. Zell has put this down to an overspend on a ‘star player’ (yet to score) - Tales has remained silent throughout his abysmal season opening. One would imagine that both are out of the title - these are managers who know the value of the Long Game, so perhaps they will cut their losses early and turn to development.. Bookies spooked as Drahkon goes unbeaten This pundit rated Drahkon’s title odds at 300/1 before the season kicked off. They have since embarked on an unbeaten streak that most impressively has seen them come away from Eights arena with a point, experimenting with three up top, and dominating the game. He has bought intelligently this weekend in Drejs and Fermskog, further boosting what was already a strong squad - if they can settle without disrupting team harmony. Dark horses for the season? Angry Greeks Rising with a monster keeper καλή εβδομάδα! Top of the form table this week, the Greeks keep exit the week with two clean sheets and 6 points. Th team is jelling well and the relatively uneventful transfer proceedings have led to a settled, balanced squad. Haraszti looks an excellent acquisition - the Greeks have yet to concede with him in between the sticks, and he has been the Xpert11 keeper twice. A thin squad means limited formations, and time will tell how far this team can go with 442. For now, they look a match for any. Edited October 17, 2016 by dan-likes-trees Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) There is an Xpert Season 1 winner right at the top of the league. He has been waiting for years. I need you to beat Xpert You have to assume NE is watching If you are caught What the hell are you doing here Sony? Don't mention NE Haden is a fanboy and a fanboy is always hiding a secret. Hello Xpert I needed to see you. Why? There is a new manager. A PM had info on a new manager. What they told was in the PM was sensational. Tell me. It was an agent who killed it in a previous league. It is so ugly. It is the only thing standing between us and NX. It is one of five mangers all I want from you is a codename Odwin Peeps Ell Gaggle Spy Report coming this weekend Edited October 20, 2016 by Haden Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 22, 2016 Odwin Peeps Ell Gaggle Spy Report coming this weekend[/b] Gotta be the Peeps..? That addiction is strong. Whoever it is, Winston look forward to crushing them. I massively cocked up my preparations by overspending on one player. I've got a decent enough squad now, but have had no money to train players... That said, DuD are top having bought the most players (11! Mental). This pundit suspects you just spent big on the wrong position - I feel like in the early seasons a great goalie and free kick taker might be the most important thing, where forwards are least important... Good win for you yesterday in any case - I look forward to our game next week! Pretty much finished up with my transactions for the season - reasonably happy with the squad, though don't think it's a title winning team as is Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 25, 2016 Winston where they belong!! For three days Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 2, 2016 Round 8 3 talking points Hull vs Winston Round 1 This was always going to be a huge match as you could argue these were the two big teams along with the Baggies so far. Hull decided to go for a 3-4-3 formation while Warriors lined up with 4-4-2. Right from the outset the Warriors dominated proceedings with over 60% of possession. This came to fruition as Lanna and then Mayland made it 2-0 to the away side after 30 minutes. However they made the mistake of giving away a freekick that Ganan rifled home for his 5th goal of the season. The 2nd half came and Hull failed to control the midfield and their defence looked suspect throughout, sure enough Artobolevsky hit in a third. There may have been a chance for Hull when Warrior playmaker Sjoo was badly injured and taken off but they just could not create a chance. In fact in the end Mayland set up Artobolevsky for another headed goal sending the away fans into delirium. This was a huge win for the Warriors that places them on 20 points with a goal difference 6 better than 2nd place. With an easy tie against Moria next they will not be giving up that spot, for Hull they fave a trip to Seahawks that they need to win to get their title challenge back on track. Haden's striker issues Haden United looked to be one of the favourites entering the league but were exposed by a gutsy Baggies team on their home ground. While United played a 4-5-1 formation Baggies went for 3-5-2, United did carve out more chances (5-3) but Wizzini with only 2 goals so far in the campaign had another poor spell in front of goal. In what was a drab match as both sides seem to be lacking ideas Baggies defender Potter broke the deadlock with a thundering long shot to give his team a invaluable 3 points. For United a title chase looks to be a distant prospect as their manager tries to figure out where the goals are going to come from. For the Baggies this was a really important win, if they would have drawn it would have been 4 wins and 4 draws and 4 points behind top spot. Instead they have 5 wins 3 draws and are just 2 points behind Winston, more impressivly they have only conceded 2 goals, a top three spot now looks a mere formality. Team of the Month In October there was no stopping Hull, they were unbeaten in all matches and scored some great away wins against Silverdale and Drahkon. They drew away to the Baggies and beat the Greeks at home without conceding a goal, their only slight mistep was dropping a couple of points against Haden United when they drew 2-2 at home. In November after 1 match the early leader is the Angry Greeks as they earned a deserved victory against Drahkon in the last minute of the game when Directo headed in a cross from Gomide. At only 18 this was Directo's 2nd goal of the season and he is quickly becoming a fan favourite. If the Greeks can keep this form up they will be in a good spot to challenge for a top spot as they are now only 4 points behind th eleader Winston Warriors. Apologies for the lack of reports been a tad busy I thought during my week I would do two mini reports instead. Things looking exciting so far! Thinking on for next season we may have to recruit around three managers by the looks of it any help would be great I have sent out a few PM's already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 2, 2016 Hi guys. Long time. I would be interested in signing up for another go at this if you need anyone Round 8 3 talking points Hull vs Winston Round 1 This was always going to be a huge match as you could argue these were the two big teams along with the Baggies so far. Hull decided to go for a 3-4-3 formation while Warriors lined up with 4-4-2. Right from the outset the Warriors dominated proceedings with over 60% of possession. This came to fruition as Lanna and then Mayland made it 2-0 to the away side after 30 minutes. However they made the mistake of giving away a freekick that Ganan rifled home for his 5th goal of the season. The 2nd half came and Hull failed to control the midfield and their defence looked suspect throughout, sure enough Artobolevsky hit in a third. There may have been a chance for Hull when Warrior playmaker Sjoo was badly injured and taken off but they just could not create a chance. In fact in the end Mayland set up Artobolevsky for another headed goal sending the away fans into delirium. This was a huge win for the Warriors that places them on 20 points with a goal difference 6 better than 2nd place. With an easy tie against Moria next they will not be giving up that spot, for Hull they fave a trip to Seahawks that they need to win to get their title challenge back on track. Haden's striker issues Haden United looked to be one of the favourites entering the league but were exposed by a gutsy Baggies team on their home ground. While United played a 4-5-1 formation Baggies went for 3-5-2, United did carve out more chances (5-3) but Wizzini with only 2 goals so far in the campaign had another poor spell in front of goal. In what was a drab match as both sides seem to be lacking ideas Baggies defender Potter broke the deadlock with a thundering long shot to give his team a invaluable 3 points. For United a title chase looks to be a distant prospect as their manager tries to figure out where the goals are going to come from. For the Baggies this was a really important win, if they would have drawn it would have been 4 wins and 4 draws and 4 points behind top spot. Instead they have 5 wins 3 draws and are just 2 points behind Winston, more impressivly they have only conceded 2 goals, a top three spot now looks a mere formality. Team of the Month In October there was no stopping Hull, they were unbeaten in all matches and scored some great away wins against Silverdale and Drahkon. They drew away to the Baggies and beat the Greeks at home without conceding a goal, their only slight mistep was dropping a couple of points against Haden United when they drew 2-2 at home. In November after 1 match the early leader is the Angry Greeks as they earned a deserved victory against Drahkon in the last minute of the game when Directo headed in a cross from Gomide. At only 18 this was Directo's 2nd goal of the season and he is quickly becoming a fan favourite. If the Greeks can keep this form up they will be in a good spot to challenge for a top spot as they are now only 4 points behind th eleader Winston Warriors. Apologies for the lack of reports been a tad busy I thought during my week I would do two mini reports instead. Things looking exciting so far! Thinking on for next season we may have to recruit around three managers by the looks of it any help would be great I have sent out a few PM's already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
