BRAP2 strengthens team

After a bidding war I managed to buy a midfeild/winger for my beloved BRAP2. The new addition is a polish player named Lukasz Woszczyna and it is hoped in pasable form he will get 3 stars in either winger or inner midfeild position. Future additions are planned and in season 22 it is hoped BRAP2 can finish top 3 in VI.174

Insanity contagious!

Spending big is the current trend for nuclear cup contestants. The manager of The Units consulted prophet de Iaco concerning the purchase of 24 year old Riku Saksi, an 3.5 star passable form winger with decent secondary skills and experience, and also magnificent set pieces ability.
The prophet spoke thus: "This player is worth $900,000, do not pay more."
The Units placed the winning bid, the price? $900,000 exactly.
The Units now expect to rest on their laurels until the Nuclear Cup.

Lorax Victory followed by claims of insanity

Big news this week for the Green Loraxes. In the final league game of the season, the Loraxes are step closer to avoiding relegation with a gutsy 5-2 victory over the Assassins, allowing them to finish 6th in V.200. Now they must win a qualification game next Sunday against The Millers to maintain their place in the 5th division. Players and fans however are confident that this home game qualification will bring joy to the Loraxes and establish themselves as truly belonging in the 5th division.

However, some commentators are a bit concerned this over-confidence is shared by the Loraxes manager, who has displayed some rather erratic and risky behavior recently. This is largely based on the decision to buy two of the most expensive players in Lorax history. The first was midfielder, Sergio Travesedo, a 26 year old solid almost excellent playmaker, and passable passing for $288,000; and Martin Anaut, 26, a solid keeper with weak experience, 3.5 star passable form, for $284,000. These purchases have caused the Loraxes fall into major debt of $134,000. The Loraxes manager though was unapologetic saying "the addition of these two brilliant players to the Loraxes will show the Hattrick world and also the Nuclear Cup that we are a force to be reckoned with! This tiny debt is insignificant when put in context with our plans for world domination!!" We will have to wait and see whether the Lorax manager will be regarded as a visionary or a lunatic.

Final Round

The Units have decided to abandon Counter Attacking for the clash against Iraq FC. After much deliberation and gnashing of teeth - and consulting of HO - it has been decided that CA will give the Units next to no chance of victory. However, by concentrating on increasing midfield and using MOTS, it seems the Units can reach the giddy heights of "inadequate" in midfield, thereby almost equalling the midfield of Iraq FC. Admittedly, this seriously affects the rest of the team, and the chances of victory are still low, but I think it is the best option.
The Units humbly request all readers of religious persuasion to pray fervently to their relevant deity for a miraculous Units triumph!

The Units newest player

The Units have purchased a new defender, Armirtharaj Jayashree, 24 years old for $400,000, after raising money by selling two players. He should get 3.5 stars in passable form. This new signing will boost the defense of the units considerably, but will it be enough to help win the last match, and avoid relegation??
As the previous post alluded to, playing counter attack is a viable theory against Iraq FC, as they have a very strong midfield. The addition of Jayashree will help CA due to the extra defensive abilities (and he is in good form), although a higher passing ability would be nice.

In other Units news, I am happy to announce the sale of the universally detested dud of a defender Zelkjo Validzic. Although still technically part of the Units' squad, he is for sale (deadline tonight) and someone has already place a bid of $225,000, thereby guaranteeing the sale. Good riddance- he is unpredictable, with lame secondary skills. The funds raised from the sale of this hopeless fuckwit will go towards a 3.5 star forward with good set pieces.

Counter-attacking - what to consider?

The Units face an uphill battle this Sunday against IraqFC who possess a very strong midfield. It is clear that The Units will need some very clever tactics to get the better of IraqFC and avoid the much publicised relegation to the VIth division. The most obvious tactic usually considered in such a situation is Counter-Attack (CA). But what is the most effective way to play CA? What should you consider when choosing such a tactic?

I stumbled across this Hattrick blog entry (http://bobymoore.blogsome.com/2006/11/18/effective-counter-attacking/) which discusses some of the considerations when playing CA. It suggests you need:

1. Good levels of defence (to reduce the opponents goals, because you won't get many chances).
2. Very good CA level
3. Keep possession fairly high (~45% is ideal, but at least between 30-40%).
4. Need attack level high - to have the best chance of the few chances you may have.
5. Optimise your team for Special events.

Some of these points seem quite open to debate, especially whether having such a high midfield is necessary, as many people have played without much midfield at all.

What are peoples thoughts on the CA strategy? Is it the best tactic when you are guaranteed to lose the midfield, or is it overrated?

New Nuclear Cup Fixture released!

Since the preliminary Nuclear Cup fixture was released we have gained two exciting late entries into the Cup - Gaeta and blackness12. This has prompted the Nuclear Cup council to re-convene and come up with a new and even better schedule than before!

The competition is now composed of two pools - Pool 1 (BRAP2, Bluthenthal da 3, More Fire! and Gaeta), and Pool 2 (The Units, darkness12, Green Loraxes and Mababies). Each team will play each other team in their pool at home and away. Then the top two teams in each Pool will play a Semi-Final and winner of these will be in the Nuclear Cup final. We will also include further playoffs of the other teams to determine a ranking for each team in the Nuclear Cup.

If anyone has any issues with the fixture, let us know.

Good-luck!

Preliminary Fixture for Inaugural Nuclear Cup Released

It has finally arrived! - the Secret Nuclear Cup Council has convened, and a fixture for the much anticipated inaugural Nuclear Cup has been delivered. See the links on the top left of the website to access the fixture/results and the current standings in the Nuclear Cup (not much to see yet).

The Cup is composed of five preliminary rounds in which each of the six competing teams will face off against each other once. The highest ranked team at the conclusion of the 'regular season' will play the winner of a Semi-Final between the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the Nuclear Cup Final.

Due to there being limited time for the cup to be run, we cannot fit in a home and away match between each side, and therefore was determined by a 'lucky dip' draw which was strictly monitored by the officials Dr. Kylie Wagstaff and Ms. Kim Gia Lieu.

Any comments are welcome...

What the hell!!!??

The president of Bluthenthal da 3 is sending a message to all the participants of The Nuclear Cup:
"What the hell!! I'm gonna pave everybody this season!!!"

Nasty Injury

Bad luck for The Units this week as star defender Carlos Rognoli, 19, was injured for 7 weeks. He joins forward Bryan Nicholas and midfielder Braith Kent on the sidelines for the Units.
However, the club doctors are not too pessimistic: "with the healing powers of younger players, Carlos should be back in action early next season" said one doc.

Relegation?

Will inaugural Nuclear Cup entrants the Units be relegated to Division VI next season? Find out this sunday 12.00pm, when the mighty Units take on Iraq FC at home- anything less than a win will mean humiliating demotion....

Here I am.....

After a bad week of footy I will be out for revenge. Watch out for me in the Nuclear Cup!

Nuclear Cup - The Beginning!!

The Nuclear Cup was founded today. Details will be posted shortly...