The jump has to do with the new league structure. There's now way more division 5 leagues than there was before.

[This message has been edited by gobluwolverine (edited 1/5/2009 4:16p).]

I jumped from German 5th division to the 3rd division. I was pretty worried until I looked at all of the other teams. All of them were champions of division 5 groups, with the exception of 3 or 4, who were runners up. Ought to be interesting.

I got bumped up to division 4. Im in group 22.

this should be interesting. I was hoping for a season in division 5 to build up the yd and tg and stadium. oh well.

game on, lol....

I won Division 7.7 and now moved to Div. 5.59. This game is so much fun...and very addictive.

Ok, it's not exactly that there's more division 5 teams...there's now NO division 6 or 7 teams, at least not in the US. huh?

quote:

---

Ok, it's not exactly that there's more division 5 teams...there's now NO division 6 or 7 teams, at least not in the US. huh?

---

With the revised league structure plus removing all inactive teams, there probably aren't enough USA teams to need a 6th division right now.

By the way, anybody want to tell me what division I am in since I can't log on at work?

I got promoted from div. 6 to the 4th division, and am in the same group as the Ballistas. So after 40 games, (and only one player picked up from the transfer list) my team has somehow gone from 7th to 4th division? I think I'm in for a thrashing this season.

Beer Snob, you're in 4.26

[This message has been edited by AgPat99 (edited 1/5/2009 5:40p).]

Thanks!

AgPat, you and I might be in a dogfight there in 4.23! It looks like everyone in that group won their div. 6 group last season... should be interesting.

I need to upgrade my midfield, but there's not much of a way to do so without spending a boatload of money. I'm excited about the new season and hopefully we don't get ran out of the league in embarrassment.

Well, I'm not sure how to feel about being in Div. 4 now.

I have four players who can play central midfield. One of them sucks horribly and I have been meaning to sell him. The other three are retiring at the end of this season.

Damnit. That's kind of an important position. Looks like I will be active in the transfer market this season.

Ok, looking at the new division 5 teams, this sucks...they are WAY stronger than teams that started in 7 last season.

yep, teams created in higher divisions have a higher average ASI than a team created in div 7 for example.

My team isn't a div 4 quality team. My hope is that I got promoted with a bunch of div 6 teams so we should be all equal. Time will tell.

and joys of all joys, I have 3 starters/subs retiring at the end of the year, including a guy i just had picked up off the transfer list, d'oh!.

speaking of time, league action starts tonight fyi...

Look at it this way...every other team that jumped 2 divisions (and there were a lot) will have the same problems.

I still don't like the fact that 6 teams are relegated. That's way too much in my opinion but oh well. I've never finished lower than 10th but that was just last season and I'm afraid that the first time I finish in the bottom 6 would be this season. That would be my luck.

There are already some who got promoted to div. 5 from the 6th or 7th division who have just started new div. 5 teams. Those new div. 5 teams are better than any in my current div. 4 group, which is comprised of champions and runners-up from last year in Div. 6.

League restructuring is an odd business.

By the way, I can log in at work again.

quote:

---

There are already some who got promoted to div. 5 from the 6th or 7th division who have just started new div. 5 teams. Those new div. 5 teams are better than any in my current div. 4 group, which is comprised of champions and runners-up from last year in Div. 6.

League restructuring is an odd business.

---

I saw that too. tempting for me, having only played 10 games in div 7, but I think I'm gonna stick it out. I like how I've built my team up and I think there's some potential...time will tell.

How do you know when a player is going to retire?

quote:

---

How do you know when a player is going to retire?

---

A little door with an exit arrow appears in the player's status and beside his name on the "Squad Overview" page. It means he will retire at the end of the season.

Can any TM Pro guys explain the B-Team thing?
How does it work?
Does it have a negative effect on training?

It's pretty simple really. If you want, you can create a B team which is filled with players on your team who won't play for your first team anytime soon. Anyone can create a B team but I would only create one if you had the following:

1) A pretty big roster size (at least 40 since each roster has a minimum of 20 players). Really, 45-50 would be the minimum for me.

2) Talented youngsters whether they be talent that you think will develop into first team stars in the future or whether you think they are players you can get a decent amount of money for on the transfer market in the future.

Once you create your team, it works just like your A team except you don't get any money from your B team (no money from attendance, no bonus money, etc). Your B team can promote and relegate like an A team but they can't promote to the same division as your A team.

It has no negative effect on your training. Your TI will be the same for a player regardless of whether he is on your A team or B team. The main point is to either 1) start to build routine for that bad ass youth you have that is way too young still to be on your first team but will be or 2) build up routine and stats for players so they look better when you sell them on the transfer market. My main priority is to use it for option 1.

Based on your explanation and other things I've read, I love the idea of a B-Team mainly because I want to see my youth players actually play. I may just have to pony up and buy TM PRO.

For those of you that have bought TM PRO...
- What level did you buy?
- If you could do it again would you buy a high/lower level or not buy at all?
- Why?

Ok, general question that I haven't seen a good answer to after going through the user guide, etc...how is ASI built up?

quote:

---

For those of you that have bought TM PRO...
- What level did you buy?
- If you could do it again would you buy a high/lower level or not buy at all?
- Why?

---

1) I bought the 90 day increment.
2) I've bought PRO in 90 increments for the past couple of years and I'll do it again when it runs out.
3) Having pro makes the game a lot easier and a lot more fun. Everything is more simple from the transfer market, to coming up with a tactical formation, to analyzing other teams. Honestly, I'm amazed that people can play this game without being PRO. If you really love the game, buying Diamond membership makes the most economic sense but it allows no flexibility and is a large chunk of change to drop at once. Still, you get lifetime PRO and all the benefits of it. Personally, I don't want to be that committed which is why I buy in 90 day chunks. It's pretty cheap (9 euros I think) and if the site starts sucking or I get to a point where I don't want to play the game, I can quit without thinking "damn, I just dropped 175 euros on something I don't even use anymore"

quote:

---

Ok, general question that I haven't seen a good answer to after going through the user guide, etc...how is ASI built up?

---

You won't really see a definite formula for ASI because it isn't important enough to warrant one. All I can tell you is that it increases exponentially as your player adds attribute points but the exact formula isn't known.

Honestly, don't worry about ASI too much. Yes, it's helpful in a very general way (a 20,000 ASI FC is probably better than a 2,000 ASI FC) but ASI only relates to the attribute points themselves and not where they are actually distributed. For example, I have a DC with about 3500 ASI who has been averaging over 6 ratings his career even in division 2. Ordinarily, you would think that 3500 ASI for a starter in division 2 is too low but his attributes are perfectly placed in the appropriate categories (marking, tackling, positioning, etc). Conversely, sometimes you'll see a FC on the transfer market with a 15,000 in ASI who has is attribute points in the exact wrong categories. Maybe he has a 18 in marking and a 19 in tackling but the attributes he really needs like finishing and longshots are 8 and 9.

Long story short, ASI is useful in that you can get a sense of the range of ASI that is required from a player for him to be successful at a given level. But if you try to use it for anything more than that, you will probably be wishing you didn't.

Good info, thanks dre. I've been looking much more at TrExMa for info, which seems to be pretty reliable. I went ahead and bought 90 days of pro too, figure it's worth checking out and supporting the guys.

and I've lost both my right backs in sucessive games. I very intentionally put together a back line that's pretty modular...a couple center backs, one guy that plays either side, one that plays center and left, a right back, and a left back. First match I lost my right back for two games, and last match I lost the guy that plays both sides for 6 matches. argh.

[This message has been edited by fig96 (edited 1/9/2009 10:25a).]

Injuries are a part of the game. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but for any given match, I always have 2-3 starters out with injury. There was exactly one match last year when everyone was available.

My right back picked up a 9-game injury in the last match of the season last year. He was the highest-rated player in the league until having to settle for a 5 rating for the match in which he got injured.

The first match of this season, my starting right winger picked up an 8-game injury.

It doesn't really bother me except when my keeper is injured. I would not have tried so many different formations if not for the injury problems last season.

These are actually my first injuries, I kept everyone healthy for the ten or so matches my team played last season. Just picked up a replacement DR, he'll hold us over for a bit.

Finance question: some of the higher level players are insanely expensive compared to my overall income. Are clubs at upper levels bringing in THAT much more cash, or are they saving up, or..?

I think a lot of clubs build their bank by selling players. one of the benfits of having a strong Academy is the ability to churn out talented young players, that can then be sold, or can replace an older player that can be sold.

How long does it take for some of these youngsters to be serviceable? I have several that were rated 12+ by my scouts and that have had good TI (some 10+) but it just seems that they aren't improving very quickly. I find myself combing the transfer wires hoping to find stop gaps while I wait on the young'ns.

That's a hard question to answer because it depends on a lot of things...not least of which is the division you play in. In general, I'd say that if you have an early blooming youth player who is reasonably rated for the division you are competing in, you probably won't play him for at least 2-3 seasons. If he's a late bloomer, it could be as many as 5 or 6. Example, I have a 18 rated OMR that only started blooming at 22. That means I've been waiting for 5 season for him to start blooming and he's only now my backup winger (mainly because I know he's going to improve...he really isn't qualified to be the backup winger just yet). He won't be a regular for me for at least another season so I'll have him for 6 seasons before he becomes a first teamer.

All the more reason for me to get the subscription and start a B-Team.

Would any of you guys be interested in participating in a texags or Aggie only B-Team Friendly League? One of the leagues where we actually play one another without having to setup friendlies. I would be happy to set one up after my subscription goes through.

[This message has been edited by chjoak (edited 1/9/2009 2:04p).]

Can you do that? I guess you can but I haven't even thought about trying.

In other news, I've been taking advantage of the shortened search times and dropping 3.6 million every 3 days to look for better coaches. So far, I've managed to upgrade to a 96% GK coach and a 90, 87, 86, 86, and 84 for my other coaches. I'm striving to get to 90s across the board but that might not be practical as getting 90s seems extremely difficult (I had the 90 when the training system changed). Once I get that 84 above an 85, I might decide to take a break.

Right now I have 1 93 (GK) and the rest are 82-84. My eventual goal is the 90+ GK, 1 Attacking (ideally Att, Tec & Win) coach at 90+, 1 Defensive (ideally Def, Tec & Win) coach at 90+ and the rest at 85+.

With coaches being what they are now, is there much advantage of having more than 4 coaches (GKs, attacking, midfield and defensive)? Since you can train several skills per coach per session, does it make sense to pay two extra coaches?