C24 Interviews

8/3/2019 C24 Interviews

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Club 24 Thread: C24 Interviewshttp://www.xperteleven.com/viewLeagueMessageN.aspx?threadID=3029543&read=1&Lnr=0&dh=4

Duffster Blev medlem:2006-09-11

Ämne: C24 InterviewsSkrivet: 2008-05-12 21:41:23Uppdaterat: 2008-05-12 22:04:38

For the leagues first ever interview i spoke with leading Romania manager Blu3red and quizzedhim on his thought's about X11 amongst other issues, enjoy the read!.

How did you come across Xpert11?- A friend of mine told me about this game, and first I wasn't that interested about the game, 6months or something had passed.. but then in a boring way I decided to read the rules and since

then I have spent a lot of my time on here. I really like this game and I have time to be herebecause I don't like other online, pc/video games. So just one game for me, and as you can tellI'm playing very seriously.

Tell us a little bit about yourself the man behind the screen.- Nothing much to tell, I am an 18 years old student (19 this month) and I am living in a superbcity called Cluj Napoca from Romania, the most beautiful country in the world, if you don't believeme come and see.My CV and other credentials are secret and since there are not many girls here I won't reveal thissecret!

You now have a new adventure in the Xpert leagues with Juventus Cluj, what was the reasonsbehind leaving the Pro-league?

-I was stuck after a great performances in Pro league, 4 consecutive promotions from div 4 to topdivision, a cup final and two quarter-finals. I knew that even if I would have enter in XCL , it wouldbe just useless because I had a pretty mediocre team.So, I wanted something new.. create a team from scratch, and to have only hard trainers in theteam. I am very close of this dream now.

Juventus Cluj are arguably one of the best youth teams around X11, are you happy with how theyare progressing? how much effort went into finding the correct players & what do you expect theymay achieve when they peak?- I am defenetely satisfied about how my team is going, very good average forms and the playersare playing very good now.I spent lots of money in evaluations but most of the players were bought from the forums.

We all know what hard trainers are capable of when they reach their peak so I have greatexpectations in 3-4 seasons from now... but I still want to make some adjustments to my team.

Lets talk about your private league Romanian Elite, what was the original plan behind the creationof this league? where did the idea come from to start an all Romanian league?- I had this idea after I joined VIP World Elite, I was thinking to myself that this concept of a greatelite league is perfect for Romanians, because we are clearly the most serious private leagueplayers, that's why Romanian Elite is ranked number 1 now.

Romanian Elite went straight in at number 1,something only a handful of private admins have



managed, how did you as an admin feel about this?- Of course I am proud but this is not my achievement only, I thank all of the managers whoentered this league because they are very serious and they accept very well my demands for theleague.

You also are admin of the Fanatik League,whats your plans with this league and you're other private teams?.- Fanatik League - Snooker FC , well.. this was a small league at the beginning just with somefriends, and we had great time there. Now is full of English managers, who are crap by the way,and the Romanians are fewer and fewer. I am just raising a team there and doing some tacticalexperiments.EuroXtreme VIP - U Cluj , I am planning on staying forever here, this is my favourite non-romanian league so far,I definitely want to win some trophies here!.Club 24 - Oscar Actors , I like small seasons.. this is quite a challenge, I would like though sometime in the near future to have again a CL format. But I am satisfied with my team here, despite of having some bad results from time to time. I am not going the whole youth thing here, no no.

What do you look for when joining a private league,having been in some of the "Big privateleagues" what was your thoughts on those leagues?-I just look for some great managers to interact with and some great competition too.

VIP World Elite was perfect at the beginning, but AndyM2033 made some mistakes there and theleague have lost some great Romanian managers due to Romanian Elite, and some others too,like you for example.Worst league is definitely Xtreme Challenge Trophy, sorry for Dado_ who is a great guy and he isdoing his best, but the swedes are soooo quiet and they are not so good managers either.And a big mistake for these so called "big" private leagues is that you never should create VIPleagues,who can guarantee you that some great managers from that league will stay forever asVIP's?

And of course you are coach of Hoj who are one of the most succesful Xpert Ladies side, Youhave managed to win the Xpert Ladies Cup with them (congrats btw), do you have a long termplan that will mirror Juventus Cluj?- I just want to get into Hall of Fame, it will be tough but I am already promoted this season in the

top division, and next season I will sell two of my young players to buy some new high skilledplayers to reach my objective. I will also play only on 1 mil win bonus, it will be interesting

Romanian managers are known for being very competitive and boasting a tight community is thisthe way you see it? being a respected coach by your fellow countrymen you must have a fewnative rivals- Yeah, the Romanian managers are great, not only the top 500 managers but others too. Wehave a very strong community, we help each other sometimes and we are hoping that soon, moregood Romanian managers will appear. I don't have rivals really.. we are all great coaches and of course that I am more proud when I beat a manager like DannyS, Sam11 or Pryncyus but I'm notdoing anything special when I play against them.

What other managers do you rate as the main players from Romania?, and is there any up &

coming managers from Romania we should be looking out for?- Best11, Sam11, Lupy, DannyS, Uliu, Pryncyus, Popaeugen and so many others.You should look for managers like Vuck, Laurentt, Blade8760, Fcbprofetu, Natanael_morar.. theywill become great in the near future.

Outside Romania what other managers do you enjoy competition with, and is there any youwould like to challenge with at some point be it xpert/private competition?.- I would like to play against you, never played yet, it will be interesting. I would like to playagainst Gazebo too, who is a very good manager.TheAzzurri (old pal from Pro League), Holidays( I am his role-model, hehe), Dado_, Z0la,



Doomonyouall and again so many others I don't know right now.

Moving on to the game, there has been quite few changes in recent months on X11, what's your opinion on these changes?- Not so good, the best change was produced today (12th may) with this local top 5. I like rehabtraining though, especially with my hard trainers. For example I have an injured player now, andhe has form 15 because of the rehab training, that's very good. No comment upon the morale andothers changes, they are rubbish.

Do you feel the site has got better overthe last 6 months or do you see the game getting moreand more random?- The game is better because new good and ambitious managers appear day by day, but thegame was, is and will remain always random from points of view.

A lot of managers are divided about the benifits of playing careful and that it is far superior to theother 2 agression options, how often do you use careful and do you too see it as a major factor on ranking points?- 80% of the time, but I only use careful if I am raising a team(I raise 3 teams so probably that'swhy I am using it so much), or if the ref is bad, like S2 H9 and so on.I don't know if careful bringsyou lots of manager points. I don't see any difference here. I think the aggression tactic only

counts 0.5% from a tactic, so not much to gain from that if there really exists a benefit.

Apart from the training icon, do you tend to try and buy players with any other SQ's, somemanagers believe there is no need to rely so much on the "non-hidden" special qualitys for their gameplan,whats your thoughts- I always like a moody midfielder! But just one. And my favourite icon after hard training is thegreedy one. I like to have lots of hidden qualities.The non-hidden special qualities are important for midfielders and especially for forwards. Myfavourite is goal instincts but I like quick, ice and intelligent for a midfielder. Header and goalinstincts for a forward. And of course one good freekicker, the most important in the team.But remember this, excluding the forwards I always want to have a greedy or a cheater instead of the shown special qualities!

What would you like to see the devolpers implement to enhance the gameplay,?- Some new tactics would be great, but I don't know.. I don't have any good ideas in my mind rightnow.The average age rule, reduced to 25. Simple from my point of view.A great thing would be the private league job center and if the X11 Crew really not intend tochange something, at least I want to see some more statistics, like a best average tactic game(all tactics divided by the number of matches) or something like that and many others, I needsome time to think about it. But in my opinion some new statistics will be gold for this site.As you can see I don't have ridiculous or impossible ideas/demands, but unfortunately for us theswedes think that all ideas are ridiculous. They are very conservative.

Okay Blu thank's for your time and all the best in the future, hopefully you reach your goals, and just for fun heres the Quickfire 10

Fav Team -Always U Cluj, even if our rivals (CFR Cluj) will play directly in Champions LeagueGroups next season and even if we are playing in the second league!- All Time Player - Zidane-Sexiest Woman - Elisha Cuthbert- Food - All kind of salads- Drink - Water - Band - Coldplay- Film - Shawshank Redemption-Best X11 achievement - Winning Xpert Ladues Cup



-Predicted number 1 on x11 - Doesn't matter to me, not soon!-(S)6 (h)4 Ref -Cheat,offside or none? -none, or sometimes cheat.

Cheers Blu/Duff

The usefulness of a cup is its emptiness.http://www.xperteleven.com/viewGlobalMessageN.aspx?threadID=3841256&forumid=26&read=1

Flytta till överst på sidanDuffster [Kontakta författare inom ligan][Användaren är VIP-medlem] [Användaren är ligaboss för ligan] [Är med i Hall Of Fame!][Duffster]Blev medlem:2006-09-11

Svar till: Duffster Skrivet: 2008-12-29 13:16:01

Since this thread is long overdue on updating, thought i'd paste in Musky's interview from xtreme

done by Holidays yesterday that explains his reasons for dropping two teams etc..

1. Commiserations on your heart breaking defeat in the EuroXtreme final today. Unfortuantely nofairy-tale finish. Can you explain how you are feeling right now?

Not too bad – I have to admit, as soon as my keeper got injured I started looking at my averageform and stuff, wondering how it would be for the next guy/girl; I’d already accepted I was going tolose and become philosophical about it…

2. Blu3red is a formidable opponent wherever you meet him. You must be really pleased to havecome up against such a good manager on more than 1 occasion. How much do you now hateBlu3red?

I think Blu is the most knowledgeable manager I’ve EVER come across on xpert11. Like Duffster,he is one of those who are only the right set of circumstances away from being ranked Number 1in the whole thing. Having said that, his tactics today were rubbish! So were mine though, so whatcan you do..

3. You have decided to quit 2 of your sides, this one and New York Rangers of club 24. Manywould consider these to be your most competitive sides in the most competitive leagues. Whatare your reasons for leaving such good sides?

I just don’t have time for them. I’ve got a lot on at work – there is now someone working for me,



and I really can’t sit there on xpert all day while he does my job for me! These are the only twoteams I *could* quit – the ones that remain are all essentials (a league with real-life mates; theleague I joined xpert for; the xpert league and my own league) so to free up any quota at all thesehad to go. I didn’t want to leave either of them, they’re top leagues.

4. Do you think you'll feel any sadness about someone else taking over the good work you havedone with these teams?

That’s no problem, I’m not sentimental about them. With C24 I feel a bit guilty if anything, as Colinhas a bit of a job on his hands, the Rangers being in a bit of a state compared to the top teams.

5. Building AS Saint-Étienne has been a long term job, with the purchase of a whole side of 174's. Obviously the culmination for you was winning the cup and today’s final. Did you ever thinkyou'd reach this day where your team is competing at a higher level, especially during the AstonVilla days where the team was being stuffed every week.

I didn’t really think about it, I was just hoping the league would still be going by the time my teamdidn’t suck! I am genuinely unable to concentrate on more than two teams at a time (another good reason for leaving a couple) so I just set basic tactics for here and enjoyed the lack of responsibility. I didn’t mind getting dicked on all the time, I’m not a competitive person (although I

understand some people don’t imagine this to be true!)… Winning the Cup was great, though, Ienjoyed that.

6. What will you miss most about both EuroXtreme and C24?

Here, I’ll miss all the trading and VIP transfers and just being in a really big, well run league. I alsoreally like my team, having hated them for several seasons.. I’ll miss Gordon Cowans especially –me and him have a special relationship.

7. Your Xpert side Hellmoppers are considered one of the all time great Xpert sides. Do you haveany long term ambitions to take them back to the very top?

Yeah definitely. Not sure if I’ll be able to – I am doing pretty badly so far, and not nailing tactics at

all really, compared to with Bellagio – but the plan is to stick it out until Steve Steadman and allthe other youths I’ve bought are in their 30s. I want to win the Cup with them, and to see if Kurdiska and all that lot are catchable in the league. In terms of Champions League – they’vewon it before, albeit in a different, less competitive xpert climate, so it’d be great to get thereagain.

8. Being as team-hopping is considered by many to be for the weak, do you think you'll ever change your Xpert side again. Or would Audub leave your league in disgust if you did such adastardly thing?

Heheh, I’ve no plans to leave Hellmoppers. If audub left the VEEP everytime he was disgustedwith me, he’d have a MaxwellT style xpert rating by now, so I’ll have to survive without his goodopinion. The only circumstances in which I’d change teams would be firstly if I completely cock up

Hellmoppers over a long period of time and just basically fail there and have to retreat with my tailbetween my legs – secondly if I won the Champions League with Hellmoppers, and a nice teamcame up in the Dream League. The Hattrick is fine, but the Dream League is the best xpertleague without a doubt – and best just means it has the most managers I like in it – so one day I’dlike to end up back there… Ideal scenario, Hellmoppers win the Champions League and Leaguedouble and the bloke who runs Alandia Stars retires at the same time. THEN I’ll team-hop, oohyeah…

9. So, of all the leagues you've have been in, which is your favourite and why?



The VEEP isn’t just my favourite league, it’s my favourite thing about xpert, period. Partlybecause, for obvious reasons, it’s set up just how I like it, but mainly because of the people in it.It’s just a fabulous bunch of men!

10. Finally then, although this is the end of your involvement with this team, do you think it's likelywe might see you back here in this wonderful league sometime in the future, perhaps with a newuber-shitty 5 skill.

- No mate, I’m out. When I do get itchy feet and a bit more time (by finishing the Masters I’mdoing whilst working a full-time job, basically) then I may go back to C24 with a new team if Duffster will have me, and I will at some point join my mate Bogdanleo’s league as I’ve beenpromising him for more than a year… But the long term plan is basically to concentrate onZildjian, Hellmoppers and Portugal – I’ll even quit the league I’m in with my mates, and hand-over adminship of the VEEP to Neowhite, so I can really cut down my xpert-hours (and actually setdecent tactics for all the teams I have left…).

Cheers mate, and congrats to Blu – and best of luck to whoever takes over (if you sell Cowans I’llhunt you down and kill you…).


Flytta till överst på sidanDuffster [Kontakta författare inom ligan][Användaren är VIP-medlem] [Användaren är ligaboss för ligan] [Är med i Hall Of Fame!][Duffster]Blev medlem:

2006-09-11

Svar till: Duffster Skrivet: 2009-01-29 19:42:37Uppdaterat: 2009-01-29 19:45:16

It's been a long while since we've had an interview, all these interesting managers under one roof and the old admin never got around to questioning them, must've been a right lazy tosser,nevermind..... We've got SIX yuss 6 - rolled into one Cheech style for you to read over, Myself &St.Ash threw in some Q's for the first group of 6 (we'll be getting around to you aswell) with somebog standard questions in hope of some varied opinion.

RF RichardFenn BAS BasilBrush303 OLI Holidays GB GrassBandits TP PrinceCharming77SHER Sherwyn.

* Whether you play for ranking or just for winning (which comes hand in had some argue) whatone thing in the team set-up do you think awards the most manager points?

RF Formation and playing style. The variations depend on team strength as well as what your opponent will do, so there's a lot to consider and a lot of ways that you can screw it all up.Bas Playing Careful



Oli Playing the right agression for the right referee.GB I've never tried to understand the number of points associated with each individual action. I'dlike to think it's the lowest aggression setting, but I suspect it's guessing the playmaker correctly.When my rank went to it's highest point I was winning and creating more chances pretty muchevery game, but I think the key was playing teams who don't change their playmaker.TPI hate to lose, I´m probably the worst loser in the world. So I always play to win but I think if you play to win you will also get good ranking. They go hand in hand.SherIn my private leagues, i try to win rather than try to be the best ranked manager, whilst in thexpert leagues I try to get more ranking points but I also try my best to win at the same time. Imless inventive in my tactics and formations in the xpert leagues and more flamboyant with tacticsand formations in private leagues. I think exploiting the ref values correctly as well as putting outyour strongest 11 gets u the most points

* What is the most enjoyable aspect of playing Xpert 11?

RF In terms of the game itself, the CR. As long as it's a good one.Bas Beating managers I rate. I like the community and I like winning.Oli Got to be the social side of the game. Most of the time spend on here is nothing to do withyour team at all.GB Knowing you've absolutely nailed your tacitcs. It's a bit like betting on a winning horse - when

you're right you know exactly why you were right and can justify everything that made you choosea specific action, when you get it wrong it's not your fault.TP As I said, I´m very competative and if I play a game I have to win it. So for me it´s thechallenge of the whole thing.Sher The roleplaying aspect. Being a manager, building your team, guiding them to greatnessand at the same time competing with other real life players... Something which no other manager sim can deliver.

* What's your favourite special quality that can be used in a game, Do special qualities makemuch of an impact to a game? If Free kick is the first what's the second!

RF FK, Intelligent. FK has the obvious impact, but then I really can take or leave the rest.Bas My favourite SQ that can be used in a game is moody. The vast majority of SQ's add a small

% value to a player's skill so makes little difference until a players has a medium amount of skill(say 8). With the outfield/goalkeeping SQ's having one SQ will make you less able when trying toscore/save with other attempts than your SQ. So at a low skill their effect will be negligible andwith goal instincts possibly have a negative effect when placed with a higher skilled player. Withmoody you can get up to +30% and although you can get up to -30% this can be offset to someextent with form and a win bonus. Only greedy comes close to this.Oli Cool. I don't really rate sq's because they have a smaller effect than their monetary valuewould imply. For that reason, I tend to buy players without these visibles.GB Freekicker is obviously the one quality that tangibly makes a positive impact. In VIPI I've ahigh quality freekicker who's scored 6 direct freekicks, assisted 1 set piece freekick and scored 1penalty in his last THREE games. I don’t believe in itself any one other quality is head andshoulders above others. To me SQ helps with your flexibility in preparing your team for specificchallenges different opponents offer or exploiting their weaknesses. Asthetically I like a forward

who can header, but it's swings and roundabouts depending on who/what you're playing.TPFree Kicks is probably no#1.. but hard trainer and cool are also up there. I like the SQ:swithout them the game would be a lot less tactical and that´s no fun. I think the SQ make quite animpact on the game and to know how to use and counter them is really important.Sher Special qualities dont impact a game that much but id choose the intelligent sq

* Do you believe the rumour that St.Ash is in fact a woman playing a dude, disguised as a dude?

RF I'll believe it when I see itBas On the internet nobody knows you are a dog.



Oli Most definatelyGB Ashleen? Anyone who openly talks about nipping home at lunchtime to give the wife a quicklength of pink steel is clearly either i) a gayer who wants others to talk about the cock actionthey're getting, or ii) a deranged middle aged female (e.g. LCF?) who wants to hear others talkingabout there cockular exploits. In the unlikely scenario that neither is true do you think Mrs Stashwould be up for a spit-roast session? n.b. For the record Ash is welcome to whichever end of Celine Dion's rotting corpse gives most satisfaction to his/her needs.TPIsn´t that quite obvious? Come on, you gotta have some harder questions than that.;)Sher I think he would like long-balls on his forehead.

* What is your take on the use of pressure? Do you use this a lot or try and avoid it more oftenthan not, When is it useful? (Apart from - counter LRS)

RF Not really much clue. But I'll use it if I think I need it to tip the midfield in my favour or myopponent is using LRS. Don't like using it as a weaker team - if you go behind, you go moreoffensive and combining that with pressure can open up your defence.Bas I use pressure nearly all the time with the only exceptions being bruise, and then about 50%of the time. A lot of this game is won and lost in midfield so anything that will boost it I see as abonus. There are times when it can be detrimental and can mean that you will give away freekicks depending on the ref.

Oli I always play pressure. Thats not to say I don't have an idea when not to use it. I just see it assomething which ultimately has only a small bearing on negative results. There are moreimportant tactics IMOGBI use pressure far more than is probably good for me, but I kind of bought into the theory thatI'll take the upside of the 70 minutes or so it's on your side, if you know the strengths andweaknesses of your opponent. Tend to play pressure at home with a 442 or most of the timewhen I have 5 in midfield, but I'm much more cautious about using it away especially when Ibelieve my opponent will play long balls. i.e. I haven't a fucking clue when to use it.TPI use it probably close to 90% of my games. To have the stronger midfield is essential, at leastthe way I play. If i only played with three MF I might not use it but I almost never play that way. Itdoesent hurt to have some cool players to take away some of the negative from useing it though.SherI use pressure in most games, as long as you have more midfielders or stronger midfieldersthen pressure will give u a boost.

* IWhat would you say your strength(s) is within the game & your weakness or/and area you'd liketo improve?

RFI think my strength is probably getting good CRs. My weakness is prob that I'm never reallythat confident of reading other managers - I tend to sit on the fance and hedge my bets rather than make a committed decision. Not very adventurous when it comes to transfers, either.Bas Strengths1. Team building, especially at finding a bargain and knowing when to sell a player.2. Able to learn and absorb quickly.3. Know that you not only play a team but also a manager Weaknesses1. Do not fully understand the referees yet.

2. Still struggling to fully understand the game engine.ImprovementsResearching why form changes and what dictates the change in the hidden form tendencyOli I'm a confidence manager. If things go well, then my teams are competetive. I let things getme down sometimes, which leads to a lack of focus. The 2 relegations are a case in point. Needto take games 1 by 1, like the Floyd game and stop looking at the bigger picture.GBUnfortunately my strength is ultimately my weakness. I analyse and reflect probabilty in myselections and set-up which means I almost always do good things but rarely do great things. Ishould probably take more chances in certain situations, but I tend to look at the odds and playthe percentages. Don't think I have enough long term vision either - I was happy to sign 18/6's for



my Xpert team this season, when I should be bolder if I want to create a great rather than a verygood team.TPI think I´m strong when it comes to team selection and tactics. I can set my tactics in a coupleof minutes and they will be pretty good. But I suck at team building. I don´t even know wichagents that are trustworthy.SherStrength- Team buildingWeakness- still dont quite know how to break down overly defensive teams

* Will Doomonyouall ever have a team over 26 average age?

RF Not in my lifetime.Bas Doom really needs to figure out what he wants from this game and how he can actuallyachieve it.Oli I doubt it. Perhaps if he ever reaches the XCL, he might, but the chances of that are probablyzero so.....GB Never. The world will end just as his 16/6's - that cost 80m each - turn 20.TPTrick question? Of course not.Sher No he's an X11 paedophile

* The diverse opinion on ref values is interesting, If I give you 2 ref values here what would be

your settings? the formation is 3-5-2 & it's a regular league game with an established first eleven.

S5-H9 -S6-H4 -

RF (S5, H9) Offsides, careful, no cheat. I'll assume I have less than 6 cheats.(S6, H4) Offsides, normal, no cheat.Bas You have not said if these games are home or away as I believe that referees reactdifferently depending on this. After talking to blu I might cheat on a 5-7 ref at home but notaway.Generally though, i would play pressure on both and bruise on neither. I might cheat athome on the 6-4 if my playmaker had the cheat SQ.Oli S5-H9 - Offides, Careful - S6-H4 - Offsides, NormalGB S5-H9 - Offsides: Almost always yes, Cheat: No, Aggression: If I'm confident I'll win

(particularly at home) then Careful, but in all other circumstances (say 50-60% of the time) I'll goNormal.S6-H4 - Offsides: Yes, Cheat: No, Aggression: If I'm reasonably confident I'll win (particularly athome) then Normal, but in all other circumstances (say 20-30% of the time) I'll go Bruise.TPS5-H9 - Careful, offside traps, no cheating.S6-H4 - Normal, offside traps, no cheating.I hardly ever cheat unless it´s a obvious ref (S2H2 or something like that)Sher S5-H9 - Pressure, careful, offside traps( if all defenders have hearts and teamwork valuehigh) cheat (if more than 4 cheaters in team)S6-H4 - Pressure,Offside normal

* Do you find the competition in Club24 as strong as it looks from the outset? And if asked toinvite someone to join us, who would you choose?

RF I think my team's starting to find the right level, so it's been hard to judge - I probably had it abit easy in the first couple of seasons against youth teams and shot up the rankings, then gotscrewed over when we got too high up.Bas It is getting better as the seasons go by but I would still like to see a Cup introduced. I wouldlike to see Cruze join.Oli Yep, it's strong. We had 3 shots at the overall title, winning once, and they were the "easy"seasons. As we've dropped leagues, the competion has if anything got harder. Fantastic league,no let ups at all.As for who I'd like to join... would have to be Canaries4life. Was in my Xpertdivision when I joined the game (joined within a couple of days of each other). In a poor 8th



division, we fought to the last (me prevailing ). He's a Norwich fan too so we had some goodbanter. We both moved clubs and went our seperate ways. 18 months on, he now manages inthe Final League top division, and is doing a damn sight better that I managed in my time there.GB Yes and no. I don't think there's much tactically between most of the managers in the top1000, so whilst you can expect to get it right all the time everyone is in the same position so it's allrelative. The managers I appreciate build great teams without going all youth. I won't namenames but there are 5-6 managers here who I think are a level above the rest (and no I'mcertainly not one of them). There are several managers who I'd love to see here includingContraDuck, Furad, Gildar, and Franzie...but to name one it would have to be rps78TP The competition´s quite hard. Because it´s only six teams and we´re pretty even it´s alwaysexciting when the last couple of games are to be played. I like it.I would ask Gerry77. You probably never heard of him but he´s quite good. We have had a lot of battles in a private league (and I´ve lost most of them )Sher Definitely strongest tactically minded league ive ever been in.I would invite Ricky_sa... Masterful tactition!

* What's your game plan within this league? are you happy with development & how long beforeyou can challenge for the title? (or again if already win)

RF Take the team as high as I can, as quick as I can without going all youth.BasIf I can get 4 points from my first two games then I stand a chance. Otherwise I am going tohave to wait a couple more seasons for my team to age before I will win it.Oli To develop a first 11 that can challenge. The all yoofs sides are coming up good so for depthit will take some time to challenge again. But players like my 2 van strikers convinve me that over time a good can be built season on season. I predict 5 more seasons and we'll have stability.GB It took me nearly two seasons to adjust, and my strategy has changed accordingly. _angst_ raised this recently, but I've found the short seasons are mint for player development, and I'm amuch heavier trainer here than in other leagues. It’s not going great, but I have a reasonable"conveyor belt" in defence, keeper would have been OK, save my #2 hasn't gone up in 2seasons, need to move two of my high skill mids out quickly, and my strikers are a mess but willbe resolved this close season. Concerns are that the different areas of my team won't peaktogether so ultimately we'll never be hugely competitive. I'm aiming NOT to be promoted this

campaign - playing a stronger side in easier games, and giving marginal players the experiencein harder games to take the defeats I need. We'll definately aim for promotion to C24 nextseason, but we'll need a lot of good luck/tactics to challenge in the next 3-4 seasons, by whichtime, Duff, Rob, Sherwyn, Kate and others will have uber teams that will inevitably mean I startfrom scratch at some point.TP I suck at team development so my starting line will probably never be the strongest in anydivision I´m in. But if we set good tactics and have some luck perhaps it can be done this season.SherI plan to build a team then dominate. Still very far from even thinking of climbing the leaguesbut in 4-5 seasons I should be challenging to win divisions.

* Age old question, But.... what is the game lacking? and what would be good for Xpert11 toimprove on?

RF Some cup incentives. The cup is truly shit unless you have one of the strongest sides or getlucky.Bas I would like to see the option to trade one of 'my own' league slots for a private league slot for a higher VIP membership fee.I am also looking forward to the Morale feature being implementedas I believe that it will mean that managers will no longer be able to play for ranking alone.Oli Would like to see cup runs made more attractive. On this game, the negatives are moreinjuries, big form losses and a lowering of team development. Cup matches and the XCL mostcertainly should not result in the last one... since when did playing in the Champions league, FAcup and Premiership put Manchester United at a developmental disadvatage.In real life, suchproblems would be lessened by financial incentives anyway something not present now. Not sure



hpw to rectify the problem, but on my eyes only the injuries from extra matches is a reasonablenegative side effect. The rest take the fun away.GB It's against the ethos of the game, but I'd like to see a larger element of financial controlneeded to run a good team. It's difficult to envisage how this could be done without ruining thesimplicity of the current product. Perhaps SQ could have a slightly higher improtance inperformance to reflect the disparity in player valuations with/without key SQ too.TPSome more tactical choices would be nice. Not to many but some more. Like if you have a biglead the guys would play more defensive and more careful and the other way around. Some moreSQ would also be fun. And a little less injuries please.SherI would like a bigger squad of players and more different sqs and player characteristics.

MINT!! Cheers guys,


Flytta till överst på sidanDuffster [Kontakta författare inom ligan][Användaren är VIP-medlem] [Användaren är ligaboss för ligan] [Är med i Hall Of Fame!][Duffster]Blev medlem:2006-09-11


Time for an interview (yuss Nort I got around to one) caught up with Roberto11x to find out a littlemore about the great MANager!! enjoy.

Q1 Rob, how did you first get involved with X11?

I joined through a football forum I’m a member of. Within a month though I noticed that the adminhad done some dodgy direct transfers with my team just before I joined. I called him out and quitthe league in disgust. By that time though I’d got my first Xpert team and another couple of private teams, and was already hooked on the game.

Q2 I'll begin with your official team Midgar Meteors, you've been with the club nigh on a year nowand decided to take a youthful direction, what's your thinking on this option & how long before youexpect to be moving them up the divisional ladder in the more established Euro league?

Looking at the BK Hammarslags and FC Ballbreakers of the game made me realise that the verystrongest teams don’t go for the balanced building approach. Both of those teams bought a coreof great juniors in 2005/06 and are now the two strongest teams in the XCL. I think its veryunlikely that I’ll be able to repeat that as I have a slightly wider age gap between my oldest andyoungest players (6-7 years as opposed to 4 years for Ballbreakers), and my team will probablypeak before I reach the top division (if I ever reach it!) In the short-term I expect to be relegated toDivision 6 this season, and possibly Division 7 after that. After that though I’m pinning my hopeson achieving promotions every other season, maybe even two out of three seasons. I’m confidentenough in my development skills that it will be one of the strongest sides in the Euro League, soat worst I’ll have a side capable of doing well in the Cup. Odds are that I’ll never win a trophy with



my Xpert Team, but I live in hope!

Q3 What goal(s) have you set yourself on the global side of the game? and what’s been your biggest virtual merit/moment thus far?

I have the same goals as most others I guess. It’d be nice to get to Number 1 and/or be MOTW.But the biggie is the XCL … first step to reach it, then to try and win it. With my average agehovering around the 19 mark its going to be a year or two in real life terms before I can have acrack at any of those goals though. I’ve never won an Xpert Division, even with my old teamNorthern Lights who always had a competitive average age and line-up. So really my only meritshave come in private leagues. The best moment by far was winning the Boogie Times Leagueshortly before Flugel’s mental breakdown. Its one hell of a tough league but I went on a 3 seasonsurge winning Division 2, Division 1, and the top flight all in a row. Its something I’ll never matchagain with any team.

Q4 How long do you take to set up tactics ahead of a match?

It varies. In here it's almost beneficial to spend less time looking at your opponent’s tactics, asgood managers rarely do the predictable (…unless it’s a double bluff!). On average though I’d sayI initially spend around 10-15 minutes checking the opponent and setting my line-up and so forth.

Very often I’ll go back and tweak them, sometimes even moments before a match!

Q5 Your team Kingfield Knights has been in the Club24 since season 3. How happy are you withthe development of your side?

In the most part, I’m very happy. I’m content that the goalkeepers, defence and forward line havethe potential to match any in the league. I am very aware though that I neglected the midfieldearly on and am now paying for it with relegation. Most of the other teams who started out at thesame time as mine now have solid established midfields, whereas I’ve only got three who are8skill+. I have finally settled on my midfield now though, and once the other three gain a skill bar or two, I’ll be happy I’ve got a good working midfield to stick with for a few seasons.

Q6 What method/philosophies do you employ when looking to strengthen your squad on the

transfer market?

I have a solid method for finding undervalued players on the Xpert market, but now that I’ve builtthe core of my squad I probably won’t be in the market for any more of these. With private leaguetransfers though I’m fairly useless and often pay over the odds for a player I really want (just lookat my 2 keepers in Kingfield!). With Kingfield and my VIPI team I have only really bought youths.I’ve had a lot of luck turning 18/4s into 19/6s and making a massive profit, so one thing I do(especially in here) is buy a few 18/4s and keep those who come with high form, in the hopes Ican get them to double jump… I must have had at least 7 or 8 18/4s do this in Kingfield and itshelped fund the purchases of slightly better players. Another thing I do is spend a fair bit onevaluations trying to find hard trainers … I’ve been successful with that so far and I now have 8 of them in this team and 6 in my Xpert team. They are worth every penny

Q7 Who was/Is your favourite xpert11 signing?It was the goalkeeper in my old Boogie Times League team. He was immense for me. Bought asa 20/6, he gained a bar every season and was a 25/11 when I left. He had the ‘Moody’ SQ, butcoupled with being a hard trainer meant his bad games were never terrible – but his great dayswere match winning performances. No doubt about it, that keeper was responsible for a largechunk of the success I had with that team. My favourite signing with a current team is Li Hoi Quanwith my Xpert team. He is still a 16/4 but has 4 hidden SQs that I love, and will be immense in 10season’s time.



Q8 And what is your favourite part of the game?

Change Reports and the few days after when I’m buying new players. I’m pretty good atpredicting how my Reports will go, but I still like being surprised! I can often be found up at 4amon the day of a change report (especially in here as they always fall on a weekend).

Q9 I personally and sure others have too, taken notice when you've gave opinion on formtraining, it seems a strength of yours, so without giving too much away, what's key in your opinionto getting best out of form?

Cheers, nice to know I can add something in a league with so many knowledgeable managersThe ‘key’ is pre-emptive form training. In other words, not waiting for form drops and red arrows tohappen before training the players. The player form graphs are very useful in working out if aplayer’s form has levelled out, which is one instance where pre-emptive form training comes inhandy – the player has to drop form at some point, so if you can see it coming you can correct itso that a player doesn’t play 2 games in a row with a negative form tendency. Another tip is not tobe afraid of the risk of overtraining – if one in four players who are pre-emptively form trained‘overtrains’ then it was still worth doing it as the benefit to the other three is so great it totallyoutweighs the one overtrain.

Q10 You have 2 other private teams, can you tell us a bit about these clubs, and what has beenyour best private merit/moment to date?

My VIP Invitational side Coventry Cougars were a youth side when I took them over, comprisedalmost solely of 18 year olds. I’d never had an all-youth team before that. Slowly I’ve managed torebuild the side, bringing in some better youths and giving a healthier spread of ages. But I’venever once come close to winning a division, and its only now that they are starting to becomecompetitive. Within 3 seasons though they should be one of the strongest sides in the league andready to challenge for some silverware.I’ve had some instant success with my newest team, Flamengo. I’ve just won the cup in season 1and have developed some half-decent juniors. I very much doubt I’ll stick with that league thoughas it’s a bit of a poor-man’s Club 24, and is full of game threads, certainly not my cup of tea! Mybig hope is to find another newly created league of high quality, as I’m getting sick of building

youth sides and want another crack at building a good balanced side from a level playing field.

Q11 The best/worst piece of advice you have been given, either about the game?

Best nugget I’ve picked up from someone else would be something Blur3d said about not tryingto outguess very good opponents – just play to your own strengths. Worst advice … its hard tosay, there is so much crap and contradictory statements in the main Xpert forum that I generallydon’t take on board anything I read in there.

Q12 What would you say has been your favourite change made by the crew to xpert11?

I hated the idea of removing notations for training and friendlies, but I’ve come to like the decisionas I think I’ve adapted to it better than most, giving me an advantage. Now managers have to be

clever with their training, rather than just clicking the button as often as possible.Q13 What about changes in general to xpert11? what should/could be implemented?

I am quite nervous about the suggestion of merging Match Experience and Average Form. I find itpuzzling and unnecessary … it would represent a fundamental change to the way we all play thegame, and I’m not sure I’d like that. On the whole the crew don’t make the changes I want to see

– a lot of it comes across as window dressing and fluff (i.e. away kits that you’ll never get to seebecause you’re a VIP!). I’d like to see a couple of new SQs, or some of the existing SQs to betweaked/expanded as with ‘Ice’.



Q14 Are you a fan of SQ's? what do you deem important in this area and what SQ do you rateand avoid?

I love hidden SQs, but can do without most of the visible ones as they drive the price up too muchand only serve to specialise a player. ‘Free-kicks’ and possibly ‘Ice’ are the only exceptions to this

– every squad should have at least one of each. My favourite SQs are ‘Training’ (obviously),‘Moody’ and ‘Greedy’, all of which help players play beyond their skill. I won’t touch ‘Fragile’players will a barge pole. The only exception across all my teams is one of my defenders in theKnights, but he is also has the magic cone so I let him off! I try to avoid ‘Divas’ too but I can livewith one or two per team.

Q15 Mint!! Thank's for your time Roberto!Cheers for the opportunity to ramble on!

- Quickfire 10 -Favourite:Drink – Southern ComfortFood - MexicanWoman – Louise Redknapp

Sports icon - RomarioCar – (own) Ford Fiesta ST, (want) Aston Martin VanquishRecommend:Holiday Destination – Thailand (avoid Bangkok like the plague though)Website – http://www.cinemasacre.comSong – Gangstas Paradise (Coolio)Book – I don’t read much fiction, but for any history buffs I can highly recommend Laurence Rees’Auschwitz bookFilm – Pulp Fiction is my favourite, but you’ve all seen that … so I’d have to recommend Idiocracyby Mike Judge (creator of King of the Hill and Beavis and Butthead). Funniest film I’ve ever seen!


Flytta till överst på sidanColinzink [Kontakta författare inom ligan][Användaren är VIP-medlem][Colinzink]Blev medlem:2008-01-18

Svar till: Duffster

Skrivet: 2009-05-15 02:41:35

As I begin my C24 interview adventure, I decided to interview one of the newbies to the league,Bejjita. The dude has accomplished a lot already and his interview is really good stuff...so I'll stfunow and get on with it!

1) Give us a quick intro behind the man behind the username and how you came to know X11.

Well my name is Nathan and I’m 18 from Northampton studying my A Levels at school to go to



University next year at Kent to study Law for 4 years with one of those years abroad. I came toknow Xpert Eleven after a mate of mine started the league which is now the Xpert Series. I wasskeptic before joining but eventually a great mate of mine and I joined the game on the 5th of June 2008. Little did I know this game was to absorb me for months to come...!

2) Bejjita…you haven’t even been on the site for an entire year, yet here you are in Club 24. Tellus what you think about that, and please try not to kiss Duffster’s ass too much as he isinsufferable enough as it is. K, thanks.

I’m extremely flattered in all honesty. I desired to join this league for a very long period of timebecause it combined the two things I love most about this game. [Good] Competition, and tengame seasons. It’s quite easy to tell I love my short seasons seeing as I run two 6 team leaguesand was in the ELoS for a very long time. I do have to thank Duff for having faith in me at least, Ihad a pretty unknown rep when I showed my interest and I’m glad that I’ve been given theopportunity to join a league where my thirst for knowledge can be satisfied!

3) Your ranking is pretty flippin’ good considering you haven’t had a whole lot of time to work outthe kinks in this game, and you are also a former MOTW. What is the one thing that you think

helped you get to where you are? I am looked more or less for an outstanding tactical nuance if you will like what you feel is the most important thing to get right on that page, and not giving amanager credit (so save your undying manlove for Richardfenn until the end of the interview ).

Why thank you! Hmm, while it’s extremely clichéd and quite cheesy I know I have to say thecrucial piece of the puzzle for me is research. I usually buy at least 3 tactical reports per competitive game that I play in preparation for the tactics and I take a lot of joy in breaking anopponent down and getting their tactics nailed, even when they change semi regularly. There arealways trends in players and even though that don’t have trends and showing a trend in thatbehaviour itself .But seeing as you asked nicely I will have to say that I’m a big fan of the Bruise setting on thetactics menu. Bruise is incredibly underrated IMO and I’ve won countless matches where I havecome up against managers who play refs ‘by the book’ and I’ve managed to steal the win due to

what was Bruise IMO.

4) You aren’t one of the old farts around here so the xpert flame is still burning strong I am sure,but what is the most goddam frustrating thing about this game for you?

The most frustrating thing for me is the length of the official leagues. 3 months is a huge amountof time and I think it’s quite offputting if you start with a brand new team in the more establishedleagues. I lost something like my first 12 games in a row when I first got my new side because Ihad a squad with an average strength 2 bars lower that just the second weakest team in theleague. It was a shambles. I think the length of time is too long and the tempo is too slow toenthrall you. If it wasn’t for the ranking I wouldn’t have too much interest in the official leaguesuntil I was in a position where I could challenge for the title/cup/XCL.

However other notable mentions include – Injuries. Being the speed league whore I am injuriesare the quickest way to say goodbye to your lovely change report. Careful vs Careful injuries (hadone today infact) are the ones which grate me the most. Very frustrating. Another pet hate of mine on the game is players who just refuse to increase in form. You know things are absurdwhen you train a player for 40 days straight and his form is still below 10.. And no he’s not injured:P.

5) What is the visible SQ that you feel makes the most of a difference, and how much of apremium would you pay to get that SQ? Also, if the answer is FKs, give us something else to



work with too.

Ahh you know me too well! Hahaha. FK it is! But seeing as you asked, all round. There was oncea day and age where I thought all round was pretty useless. But having played Tony Toni Tonefrom my New Jack Swing side in a huge amount of games in the midfield position to see himperform to his skill regularly has been invaluable in keeping my squad versatile. There are allsorts of mind games you can play in terms of tactics when allrounders are involved too. Nonmidfielders as PMs, PMs in defence among others. How much would I pay for it? At a high skilllevel I’d say up to 2-4m. If you wanted a more prominent SQ in terms of value then probablyshooting power as it is essentially the FK takers’ younger brother :P.

6) Some managers feel that playing long balls over someone playing pressure is an excellenttactic. How do you feel about this and when you use press, do you think about this? Despite that,when do you think is the best time to use press?

I’m not a believer of that personally. I see them as separate options and if my tactic report cameup to find that someone used LB against my Pressure I wouldn’t sweat it. I have decided after research that I most often use pressure when I’m NOT going offensively (which is quite often),when I play a large amount of midfielders (no less than 4) and when I’m facing LRS. If I’m forced

to play in 3 for example and I know that I’m facing LRS then I will make an exception but anexception it is and not the rule. I also do not use pressure with bruise that often although it doesmake for good mind games in terms of baiting LRS and vice versa. And in cup games I try to stayaway from pressure once more, and it makes for great mind games there, the mix-up pressurecan impose is immensely useful at times when you’re facing a good manager.

7) On a run of the mill referee, (5,5/6,4/5,6) are you checking offsides or cheat? Does it ultimatelymatter? Do you consider things like how many cheats/talkers/cool/tough players or teamworkvalues when choosing any of the checks like using traps, press, or cheat or is that just taking ittoo far?

5, 5 neither for me. 6,4 I’d go offsides no cheat, and 5,6 neither. I don’t think I’d cheat with anyone

above 5 in skill and 4 aggression coupled with 5 skill (Gunner Gren I think?) and to cheat withsomeone 5 in skill I’d expect at least 2 or 3 cheats minimum in the team and that is borderline. Idon’t consider talkers for anything as I think the SQ isn’t noticeable from experience. Good luckworking out the big mouth in my NJS side! Don’t particularly rate (don’t shoot me!) cool that highlyso rarely have enough in the team to make a difference and tough players or teamwork I never take notice off in regards to the aforementioned tactics. Although there are certain situationswhere I would shy away from using a tough player as playmaker in a game I’m likely to go carefulin because of Tony Nolan/9,9 say.

8) When it comes to teambuilding, how do you like to build your sides? I know you have been in afew youth leagues in your time on the site…did you pick up any good strategies with youthplayers from those leagues that you would like to share?

I’m not fully assertive in my theories regarding teambuilding yet. My most successful and nicecreation was my Depor team in the ELoS, there was a nice staggering of ages (barring theforwards) and the team was coming along real nicely. The new manager(s) have ruined it though.I often like to try my teambuilding moves in private leagues to test them. I’m currently in theprocess of applying a strategy I talked over with Iknowwhoiam in my New Jack Swing team andmy squad is in transition so don’t make too much of a judgement over my teambuilding just yet.I’m not even near started. I still like to hear many theories on the subject though, so I just absorbthe info and once I get the dream team via the JC I will hopefully have an ultimate strategy toimplement (and no not all youth/old :P)



9) Ok, let’s talk about your xpert league career. You managed BK Egon but also just moved in theJC not too long ago…I think I told u it was a premature move, but with yesterday’s change I looklike the fool now, lolz! Anywho, your new team is in first but the division looks hella tight. Do youthink you are going up, do you want to go up, or do you think you will shit the bed?

Haha. You know what Zink? If I don’t promote this season then shoot me. I’m on one game aweek and my form is gonna shoot through the roof, I’m the best manager in the league and I haveone of the stronger teams. It can’t go wrong to be honest. As for do I want to go up? Hell yeah,winning is the best feeling of all in this game, everything else is means to this end.

10) In PLs, you are in Doom’s league…I know what it is like of course but everyone else wouldsure like to know the answer to how the hell anyone can put up with his incessant ramblings? Ok,for the real question I see you are the admin of 2 leagues. What types of things have you tried todo with them and do you envision either of them being a top league one day?

Doom is nice once you get him on his own . Well unlike most of the players around this rankingband, my two leagues were created so that my friends IRL had a league to play in competitively

against each other. As a result there are certain players who drag the league rating down. It’s amixed bag. In the Xpert Series I have some absolutely cracking managers at the top. But Division2 is a very very mixed bag. I did once consider getting rid of the shitty managers but when Irealised that some of them only play the game as part of my league I realised how cruel it’d be.Running a top league would be nice but it’s not a priority for me. So maybe one day, but for now Iam content with them.

11) I sorta mentioned it earlier, but what do you think of the new take on the JC? A step in theright direction, fuckin stupid, or a total waste of time altogether? What change do you wish thatthey made instead?

Hmm, I don’t think it has really sank in yet and until it’s more likely to affect me (when I can hop) it

hasn’t caused me to think too deeply about it. I can see why they did it, and why it was needed,but one thing that did jump out at me is that the weighting of the skill bars awarded seems a bittoo high. We will see how it affects things though.

12) You have a new team here and it isn’t too bad all things considered…what do you think willbe your first couple of moves? Obviously the division is gonna be really hard to win; do you thinkyou got the goods to step on everyone else in there and get off the bottom?

I wish I knew a few of these things you’re considering! The team sucks! :D But I am simply gonnatry and play the transfer market and gonna need a bit of luck. I got real lucky with that 20/6keeper youth so that was a cool break. I have just got to keep my head, and buy enough playersin while saving enough money for my beloved training. My teamwork values are gonna be

horrible not to mention a pretty shit average age I imagine, so don’t expect too much from me , Iwill aim to win every game regardless though.

13) Now I told u there would be a spot for this…who are the managers that in general you give alot of credit for your X11 knowledge? Also, have you formed any good rivalries out there and if soare they friendly or fierce?

Fennmeister this is your equivalent of the e-christmas card. Other managers who have helped medirectly have been Iknowwhoiam, PaulR, Ricky_SA, Sherwyn come to mind.



Managers who have written some great posts who I took interest in not mentioned above includeGB, Duff, yourself Zink, Holidays has a lot of good stuff to say, Blu3red, hell I might as well saymost of C24 really :D!As for rivalries, my ultimate rivalry will always be with H04NG, he’s one of my best mates IRL andwe joined X11 on the same day. A true rival ‘til the end, although I’ve beaten him a lot more thanhe’s beaten me . It was because of him I wanted to get so good at the game for sure.

14) Do you think you will be playing X11 in 5 years and if so, do you think you will be in the XCLkicking the shit outta mofos, or will you be in a perpetual state of arrested development likeDoom?

XCL kicking shit out of mofo’s for sure . I would love to still be playing X11 in 5 years and makingthe Hall of Fame is a huge task that I want to achieve.

15) Duffster dangled the idea out there that he will be creating another league sometime in thefuture…what do you think the idea is? Rather, what do you think the best thing for a privateleague would be and how would you go about doing it?

Getting me in from the beginning of course :P. No in all honesty, I’m not sure, he’s already got thenail on the head with C24, short seasons , and top competition. I guess all that could improve isfor there to be even more active managers. I can’t really pick something out that I would find to bea necessity that isn’t already in the league.

16) Anything you would particularly like to finish on? Me? I like to finish on a cocktailwaitress....YUSSS!!!!1111!!!!1!1

Your fac.. No I mean thanks a lot for the opportunity , and I hope you enjoyed reading theinterview as much as I did writing it. Although it wasn’t THAT enjoyable, I did an even longer version but bastard Xpert Eleven kicked me out to the lobby when I went to send so this is theslightly condensed version . Maybe another time I’ll have more to talk about! Thanks Zink!

And thanks to you, Nathan!

They took you nightman and you don't belong to them. They locked me in a world of darknesswithout your sexy hands, and I miss you nightman...sooo baaaaaaaaaaaaaad!

Flytta till överst på sidanColinzink [Kontakta författare inom ligan][Användaren är VIP-medlem]

[Colinzink]Blev medlem:2008-01-18

Svar till: ColinzinkSkrivet: 2009-06-12 04:05:03

Up next on the interview trail is former long-time number 1, _angst. Per usual, I will let theinteresting interviewee do the talking since I am not interesting at all.



1) Greetings, _angst_! Can you tell us a little about yourself? Preferably give us a schedule of where you will be the next few days and a list of all of your fears? Don’t ask me, hitmen thesedays…

Howdy Colin!I am a perfectly normal human wormbaby.Err…Well, I’m a student even though I’m currently taking a sabbatical. I’m studying to get a masters inthe field of molecular biology. Main interests besides science include sports, music, boardgames,ccg's… Well, guess you could sum it up by calling me a full fledged geek.

2) You have a “Big 5” listed in your presentation...but I don’t see making it onto Colinzink’s friendlist in there…bollocks… Which achievement do you think is the most impressive and which onedo you want the most? Maybe it is one that you have already achieved?

Yeah, I thought about putting it on the list but then I realized that if I ever manage to accomplishthat feat I’m afraid that other managers will get too jealous. I’m sure they can handle it if I getranked 1 or if I win the XCL. But I don’t think they would be able to handle it if I made your friend

list.

I’m most proud of the ranking I managed to get and keep for a while. The one I want the most atmis an Xpert League win. Sure, winning the XCL would be cool, but it’s not a realistic achievementatm. Considering my team I’m not sure any result-based achievements would be realistic but acoach can dream…

3) I’m pretty sure every manager that started in the early part of 2008 knows who you are sinceyou were number 1 for a great majority of that time…when I look at your page; it says you had 21bars!!! And if I am right, Malmö FF were not in the XCL at that time, so what mainly do youattribute to such dominant tactics? Is there something that you can share with us that can help usachieve this? And why do you think you are back to the “mortal” status of 14 bars now?

I did. I even have a “printscreen” of it .

I was in the XCL though after losing the cup finals to Adrenochrome who also won the league thatseason. I did however manage to miss the playoffs and thus only got 6 XCL-games into myranking cycle. I got completely humiliated by the amazing coach Contraduck during 2 games of the group stage and then I lost the deciding game due to an early red card(http://www.xperteleven.com/gameDetails.aspx?GameID=5648465&dh=1).

I did manage to get all that ranking because I’m a very good tactician; at least when I have thetime to spend on creating perfect tactics. I’ve always been a good tactician and I have a history of being good at strategy games. I’m talking the big takes at least 9 hours to play boardgamestrategy games now.

I’m not sure I can give any concrete tips on how to create good tactics. Most of the coaches inthis league already know how to do it. All they have to do is to take the time to analyze their opponents and outsmart them.

The main reason my ranking is bad atm is that I don’t have the same amount of time to spend ontactics. I’ve had sort of a low activity period on X11 and you can’t expect to have a good ranking if you don’t spend the time to get it. I’m also trying to rebuild my Malmö FF side which affectsresults which in turn lowers my rank even more .



Hopefully I’ll be back soon. Just dropped into the >100 zone which is horrible. I haven’t been thisbad for over 1½ years :’(.

4) What would you say is your managerial weakness…so I can exploit it when we play (If I don’t just tumble all the way down without getting to play you)?

Teambuilding. And it will be till I actually manage to build a competitive team. I’m learning and I’mslowly getting better. But I’m not close to good yet.

5) Do you spend a lot of time thinking about SQs? Do you dream about them like CosmicRichiedoes? No seriously, it has been said that managers like Chrille have been able to exploit theranking system because of SQs…do you buy this and if so, can you explain?

I like them but I don’t think they’re worth the econs people spend on them. They’re just not thatgood. Sure, if I buy cheap players, like 18/4, I can spend a few extra 100k on sq’s but usually I gofor the cheaper players. Skill is way more important than sq’s.

They are one of the keys to exploit the ranking system. That’s a given. They help you strengthen

your tactical choices but they can also undermine you. They’re far from the only key to goodranking though. Chrille combined it with ok -> good tactics and a stronger team generating lots of wins. This adds up to a good ranking without you breaking a leg to get it.

6) Sort of a weird question, but have you ever met anyone on X11 in real life? If so, what was itlike? Weird? Fun? Sticky?

Didn’t I write that in some kind of post on the forums? Yes, I’ve actually met Zanza67 and we’vediscussed X11 tactics at a local coffeeshop a couple of times. He’s a nice guy. It was pretty weirdin the meeting strangers from the internet kind of way but I’m not shy enough to care.

I’ve also met Motorroger who is a friend of my brother Krissepoffer. I don’t know him though, only

met him a couple of times. He gave me some tips when I started playing X11.

7) One of the first topics you started was about injuries. Do you have any further insight oninjuries and what we should all be thinking about?

I was just giving you some Xpert Tactics love . Sadly though I don’t have much else to share withyou at this time. I have a theory that not playing to the refs might cause you more injuries. Like if you play careful when Charlie Fender is judging while your opponent goes bruise. But I haven’tbeen able to gather enough data on this yet.

8) I have this quote of yours in my notes: “Yeah, in my limited team building experience the only

way to get a new team on its feet is to buy a bunch of young guys (I prefer 18 y o with 4 skill anda sq) and keep a bunch of old guys to help the all the players reach 100% match exp. Then oncethey develop you sell some and keep some using the money gained to bring in younger andbetter players. Rinse and repeat till you're good and rich enough to beat everyone.” Do you stillagree with this?

This is what I’m trying out in my private leagues and I think it works. I also want it to be true. IMOa team should consist of a first squad, then a bunch of youth prospects and a bunch of half-developed future first team players. Problem is that it takes a lot of time to get a team like thatand that it’s easier to buy 30+/>=12 and just win everything.



I think the team Adrenochrome is my role model when it comes to team building; being able tosport a really strong avg age 26 side while having lots of nice prospects too.

9) Ok, let’s talk about your xpert league career. You have made it to the top division in XpertLeague, congrats! Do you think you have what it takes? Some strong teams and managers inthere…like Adrenochrome (OMG, I mentioned Glidar’s team, watch out for Doom and Bejjitabeating off back to back!)…surely this is the pinnacle challenge of you xpert career, or am I wrongin saying that?

Thanks .

I was in division 1 when I decided that I needed to reconstruct the team. Getting rid of the oldguys and trying to develop the future Malmö FF first team squad. First thing I managed after thatwas getting in to the top division. That wasn’t really part of the plan .

I always try to win every game I play. But given the strength of my team I’m no top candidate for the title. I can only sport 11 decent players atm. I can however beat the other coaches with goodtactics (even though gildar and zanza are tough to beat tactically) so if I get lucky injury-wise and

shape up my tactics I could be able to do some great things . Current plan is to be ready to win itall in about 6 seasons so anything before that would be a great bonus.

10) In PLs, you are in WWVIP and Xpert Tactics. Care to tell us a bit about them? Also, it hasbeen mentioned that you have some super secret Swedish knowledge about actual skill that youwon’t share…which is cool (and by cool I mean totally lame)…but is there something else notquite as huge as that…that you can share with us? And feel free to tell me the exact skill thing…I’ll leave the money in the usual place.

WWV was the best thing to ever happen to my X11 career. I was about to join something newand I ended up in the WWV. Then I got to know coaches like Duffster and EvertonAce. Greatguys, great times . Sadly the league seems to get less and less active with more and more of the

good coaches leaving it. Or perhaps it’s just me losing interest since I’m rebuilding the team inthat league too.

Xpert Tactics is a league where a bunch of experienced managers are trying to analyze thegame. Currently it’s not very active but the potential is out there. There are some great guys inthat league and once discussions gets going they usually turn out great.

I do know some things. Things spoken so softly that only certain coaches (and hippos) can hear them. I don’t share other people’s research though and that’s why I’m not sharing that info. I’mhappy to share my own ideas and theories though .

11) You are chief of staff for the Swedish Xpert Daily (yay!). Your XD is in a bit of a transition

phase if I recall correctly. Can you tell us a little bit about what Swedish users can expect from thenewspaper in the coming months? And do you have any cool ideas for those of us in the EnglishXD staff? I hear Doom might actually write an article for once, but that is probably a buncha shite.

Sadly I can’t do that since I don’t know anything yet. I will have some downtime due to summer related stuff but in a few months I will start spending more time trying to figure new interestingstuff out with my reporters. I am however looking forward to “the daily hippo” gossip column bydoom .



12) You are one of the few coaches here to conquer the 10-bar challenge…who is your money onto be the next to do it?

Basically anyone not currently involved in a broiler project. I don’t know most coaches in thisleague yet so I don’t know what they can and can’t do. I’ll take a guess and say it will either beyou, Patongniakos or YGA.

13) A relatively standard question…who are the managers that in general you give a lot of creditfor your X11 knowledge? Also, have you formed any good rivalries out there and if so are theyfriendly or fierce?

I spied on Rps78, Nobego and Clarremarre when I first started here. I developed my tactics bydiscussions with Dado_, Gildar and Zanza67. I also want to mention Duffster and EvertonAce for some nice discussions.

I only have friendly rivalries, at least to my knowledge. My main rival was my brother Krissepoffer but he stopped playing the game a few months ago. Other rivals are the ones mentioned aboveminus Rps and Nobego.

Gildar is my toughest opponent and I think I would consider the Adrenochrome – Malmö FFrivalry my most important fixtures. I’m not sure they consider us such bitter rivals thoughconsidering we’ve always been the ones beating from below. We’ve faced off in 4 competitivegames. They’ve won 2 cup finals and 1 league game. We’ve won 1 league game whereAdrenochrome were already champions. Sure they played their best squad and wanted to win butstill…

14) Is there a Swedish conspiracy and if there was one, would you tell us?

Yes. Soon the Swedish empire will rise from the ashes and rule the world. Everyone will tremblebefore our might. We’ve sent agents (hippos) of doom to every corner of the world plotting thedestruction of civilization as we know it. But don’t tell anyone since it’s a secret…

15) Anything you would like to add?

Not really. Thanks for taking the time to write these questions and thanks for taking the time toread my answers.

RegardsAlex

They took you nightman and you don't belong to them. They locked me in a world of darknesswithout your sexy hands, and I miss you nightman...sooo baaaaaaaaaaaaaad!

Flytta till överst på sidanDuffster [Kontakta författare inom ligan][Användaren är VIP-medlem] [Användaren är ligaboss för ligan] [Är med i Hall Of Fame!][Duffster]Blev medlem:



2006-09-11

Svar till: Duffster Skrivet: 2009-11-21 14:45:02Uppdaterat: 2009-11-21 14:49:52

The long overdue interview is with the Flying Dutchman Patongniakos. With a strike rate up therewith Bergkamp, the flair of Cruyff, the tactical mind of van Gaal & of course a striking head of hair that shames even van Nistelrooy... I tried to get past those flowing locks and into the mind of aclockwork orange.. Enjoy!!

We'll start with the basic question.. how exactly did you get to know this game? and what keepsyou interested on a daily basis?

*Pata - I first heard of X11 on a holiday forum about Thailand in August 2006. Some guys in thereput up a post to join their new created league. I missed out the season creation date by one day,so had to wait till that season finished. I actually didn’t start playing X11 till about 2 months after Ifirst signed up.

On a daily basis I like the experimenting thing with my teams. Will these tactics work? Why didthose tactics work back then and they didn’t work now. The teambuilding thing of course and after all these years I still get a bit aroused when my youth coach pops up saying he found a newtalent for my club.

You know when I see your username, I need to admit here despite always sharing at least oneleague with you over past years I still struggle to type it.... and that's every month aswell if we goby in here, So where doe's the username come from? is it Greek.

*Pata - Do you have a moment? It's kind of a lonnnng story, but here it goes: As it was supposeto be a Thai oriented league I thought it would be very inspirational of me to choose a team namewith my holiday destination in it, which was Patong on the isle of Phuket. Makes sense, doesn’t?

Okay, here comes the complicated part: With a lot of fantasy the name of Patong sounds a bit likethe beginning of the Greek football club Panathinaikos. (Why on earth I chose a Greek footballteam still puzzles me, they must of had a good result in the Champions League that night)

Put those two names in a cocktail shaker and after that make the classic error to fill in the teamname as the username, when filling in the registration form when entering the site for the firsttime.

After all those brain twists I ended up with the very unique Xpert username of Patongniakos. (I’mso very sorry all)

In you're profile.. you are from Limburg, way down south in Dutchland and bang in middle of

Belgium & the Germany, do you speak..Limburgish? Is this Netherland's Hadrian's Wall?*Pata - The people from Limburg all kind of have a singing accent in the South of Holland. I dounderstand it now, but I can’t speak it. I moved to Maastricht 9 years ago. It’s an old Roman cityfamous for its Universities and it’s a well known place in Holland for shopping, eating anddrinking. We do have some old Roman city walls here, but I don’t think Hadrian would be veryimpressed with it. Good city to life in though.

Before we go onto the teams, what about yourself Pat? outside Xpert.



*Pata - I work in hotel management. I traveled around a bit after my college time. I worked in ahotel north of Hyde Park in London for 5 years and after that I settled down in Maastricht and I lifehere now together with my family (GF and daughter).

You've been with your official team Rio Bangla Boys for almost 3 years now, I don't want to tellyou what I got typing that name into google Pat lolz, where doe's the name originate from?

*Pata - Some very dodgy results on Google … lol ... maybe it’s time for a team name change.Anyway back to the question. I took Bangla from one of the main tourist roads in Patong and putRio in front of it to add some Brazilian flavor. At the back I put Boys as Rio Bangla sounded a bitunfinished.

RBB have made steady progress season after season climbing the Super league winning 5divisional titles, what has been the highlight of your time with the club?

*Pata - 5 divisional titles and 6 promotions in 9 seasons is good stuff I suppose, but the best thingabout it all is, that I never finished lower then the season before. Every season I improved!Unfortunately that’s all going to change this season as I will get relegated.

Now you've reached Division 1.. and I look around at those in direct competition with RBB it's

clear your sqaud is lacking just a bit in the skill department, how are you finding this?

*Pata - Frustrating to be honest, but I can’t do much about it. In terms of strength I’m just notgood enough no matter what tactics I play. It’s the downside of having a relatively new club in ahigh division. I don’t think I could have had a stronger team on this level by doing things different,but not to worry next season the team will be a bit stronger again and I will be in division 2.

Do RBB have the econ to spend on higher skilled player(s) or are you dependant ondevelopment?

*Pata - I have 21 million in the bank at the moment, but I won’t be spending it on somespectacular transfer anywhere soon. What can you buy anyway nowadays with that kind of econs? One 26 year old 12 skill? No way, I saved up far too long to spend it like that. I’ll invest it

in good youths, when the time comes and it’s the only way to improve my current squad.

Having been involved in private cup competition with you & knowing it's an area you usually dowell in, I was suprised to see other than season 12 RBB have struggled to get passed the 5thround in Super league cup.. is/was this intentional for development reasons?

*Pata - I always play to win, so no, it isn’t intentional. This year I went out against a stronger firstteam lineup from division 3. Last season my tactics were worse then my opponent so I deservedto go out. The season before I had one of my most annoying results on X11. I lost to a manager ranked around 70.000, who just ticked all the boxes on his tactics page. In other words I’m doingthe best I can.

Have you ever personally been tempted by the job centre? Or have you grown the virtual

attachment to Rio Boys? What is your take on the much debated subject of - Staying with originalteam V Using the job centre?

*Pata - It’s my team and as long as I see progress it will stay my team. I’m afraid if I jump toanother existing team I will regret it afterwards and as a result will loose interest in the game. If other managers jump to higher division teams to win prizes that’s fine with me. It’s just that Iprefer to play it my way. If managers use the jobcentre as a tool to improve their rank and then

jump to a higher division team I don’t like it at all. I believe the creators of this game have to comeup with a better ranking system anyway as in my opinion a lot of the high ranked managers arenot as good as their ranking tells us.



Moving onto Private leagues Pata, tell us about your own private league - VIP World Elite?

*Pata - I like the league setup with 50 teams spread out over 5 divisions of 10 teams. It’s not themost active league around, but most managers log in each day so the league is taken seriously.

Your profile has a list of many milestones, and that isn't even updated, just how many merits haveyou had in private competition?

*Pata - Hmm … I came up with 18 titles including cup wins. It could be more though. If I adddivision wins it should be around 30.

What about your current private league/teams?

*Pata - Paris Angels: Consistent team which reached every playoff played in that league.

- Dutch Delight: The seasons are incredibly short! I probably lost one or two titles by developingyouths, but if I hadn’t done it that way I would not have been in the position to challenge for thosetitles anyway.

- ROE Windmill Myths: Team with the most horrific team logo on this site, although Chrille’s logoin this league looked mint as well.

*What do you regard as best merit on Xpert Official + Private?

*Pata - Xpert: I haven’t got a clue to be honest. If I say something I'm just saying something..Private: I’m giving every one a head start in TCC, but I’m number 1 in the all time standings of every league I’m playing in. Club 24 seems to be the easiest league I’m in.

Favourite player you've signed?

*Pata - As most valuable player:Hroar Tvedt – Paris Angels - Header – Rock in the defense for many seasons.

As exciting prospectRui Novoa – Rio Bangla Boys – Hard trainer, free kick and moody. Right now he’s on 18 averageform with 3 games to go.

Favourite youth you've developed?

*Pata - Sonny Silooy – Dutch Delight – Hard trainer, allround and shooting. I took him on as a17/3 and he developed into a 30/14

I've heard the Rock/Paper/Scissors term used many times by managers about the tactical

choices, so I asked 3 managers outside the league that are ace on the tactical side of the gameto give you a wee game of Rock/Paper/Scissors, this is how you got on Pat.

Some might say I'm getting a bit too predictable here. I just hope no one will notice the pattern I'musing here ;o)

Nobego +-----------+ Pat1.Paper <-----> Paper 2.Rock <-----> Rock3.Scissors <-----> Paper



Ursprungligen postat av: NobegoHa! hope I win

Indeed you did.

Rps78 +------------+ Pat

1.Rock <------> Paper 2.Paper <-----> Scissors3.Scissors <---> Paper Ursprungligen postat av: Rps78No one beats me this game hahaha

Sorry R.. But...I think Pat just p3wnd you there.

$crooge +-----------+ Pat1.Paper <-----> $cissors2.Rock <-------> Paper 3.Scissors <---> $cissorsUrsprungligen postat av: $crooge

Hehe...cool, m8 :DIn swedish its in fact called "sten - sax - påse" = translating = "rock - scissors - paper (bag)"

Looks like the dutch master has outdone you too $crooge!

What can we expect from Dutch Delight over next few seasons? DD have been ultra consistentusing the conveyor belt method even seeing off the best up & coming youth teams over time andremain a major challenger every season, what's the opinion on these two methods being usedwithin the league?

*Pata - I’d really hate losing for seasons in a row, so creating a youth team would never be anoption for me. Youth teams will rise and a few seasons later fall deep into the lower divisionsagain. Delight might drop one or two divisions, but they will always stay competitive.

Few of the "norm" questions here...

Most constructive change in your time?- When they took the form notations away after every training and match played.

Most disliked change in your time?- Not being able to receive talents after they decided to close the transfer markets.

What change you'd like to see implemented in your time?- A Hall of Fame page for each club with player and club awards e.g. longest winning streaks,unbeaten run’s, biggest win’s, record signing fees, 5 best club goalscorers, etc. etc.- Average age lineup between 26 and 29 if not the performance of the team will be affected.

- Being able to tick ‘substitute slightly injured’ for each individual player.- The use of a tab key in the league forums for making tables or lists.

Few questions from the assistants...

St.AshHaving just won the title for the 3rd time what are your plans now? Do you think you'll ever just"Sell up" and go the all yoof route like some cheaters on this site and fall down the leagues or willyou try and rebuild as you go and stay in the top league for as long as you're on the site?



*Pata - I’ll never go all youth with any of my teams. With Colin going down and PrinceCharmingcoming up, next season will be a difficult one again. YGA and Grassbandits for the title and theothers fighting it out for relegation. I believe Grassbandits said he would rebuild after this season,so it should be a bit easier in season 16 again if we survive. I’ll just stick to my conveyor beltgame plan again this season.

BejjitaYou've built some good teams in your time on X11, what do you believe is most crucial in takingand developing a side from the bottom to the top? 2/3 year age gaps in every line of the field andfielding a squad of 26 year average age.And.......You've been in the top flight for nearly your entire stay in C24, yet you have managed to win thetitle. Given the fact that your team is not strongest (albeit well built in light of your constantresults) have you ever been tempted to throw a few results down the drain in order to build astronger side? Or likewise, to ignore that extra bar of form at the change report or so, just to getthat one win?

*Pata - To stay in the top division for this long it’s pretty obvious I had to develop my youths, so Ididn’t always field my strongest squad. When I’m choosing my line up and making my tactics Ialways look at the possibility to get anything out of a game. I must admit I didn’t stick to my

principle of developing all my youths in season 13 and 14. I don’t think I ever threw a result,although I was pretty sure I would lose that last game with Delight against Zink’s Thunderhorse.

MistraMr. Pata, Dutch Delight have never been the strongest team out there, yet results arecontinuously impressive, always there challenging for the title, what is your general approachwhen playing against stronger teams?

*Pata - Strength is important, but so is choosing when to play pressure and which playing style touse. If everything is against me I’ll just go defensive and pray. Ha ha … it’s all a bit abracadabrahere ... you know what I like most about this game figuring out how the opponent will play andcountering those tactics spot on.

*Quickfire Q's!!

Food – Winter dishes from the ovenDrink – After a good dinner … a fine glass of malt whisky.Woman – I’m very happy with mineFilm - Pulp FictionSong – YMCA from The Village People … ha ha just joking it would be a song from U2, PinkFloyd, Dire straits, The Golden Earring … uhm … I can’t pick one it depends on my mood reallyGreatest Goal [link?]- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTylUoFfjtI He knows exactly what he’sdoing. The simplicity is just brilliant!

Holiday destination – PhuketWebsite [other than x11] – http://www.nu.nl, which is a Dutch news site

Music album – Moby (Play)Book – Lonely PlanetBest hooker in Amsterdam – Very expensive

What about the forthcoming World cup Pat? The mighty Dutch looked good in the qualifiers evenagainst the more talented Scotland, can that carry on to the finals & see the men in orange win it?

*Pata - I think 5 or 6 teams can win it and the Dutch are one of them. It’s best for the Dutch if theyare in the underdog position, once they are getting confidence it quickly turns into overconfidenceand then it always goes terribly wrong. The good thing is they have a down to earth coach.



Who is your all-time favourite Dutch player? and who is the most promising up & coming youngDutch player?

*Pata - Cruijff was the best Dutch player ever, but from my time I always enjoyed watchingBergkamp play.

Promising players: Afellay and Wijnaldum.

If any of us C24ers travel to Holland or is that Netherlands? and stay at your hotel Pat... wouldyou chuck in a free hooker & a couple of space cookies?:P

*Pata - Just send a mail when nearby, but free hookers and space cookies … erh … sorry Duff …we are not managing a brothel here … lol!

*There goe's my fantasy then Pat..

Cheers & good luck mate!/Duff


Flytta till överst på sidanBejjita [Kontakta författare inom ligan][Användaren är VIP-medlem] [Ligaassistent][Bejjita]Blev medlem:

2008-06-05


Club 24 hasn't had an interview in a while so to fire up the league a bit - who better thaneveryone's favourite/most hated DOMINATOR... Bejjita to get cracking on interviews to give youan insight into some of the managers who don't quite have a mouth like me!

First on the list is Stevejohnston. Steve is a really nice guy and unless you've been living under arock, you'll know he took home the Club 24 trophy last season. Great choice for an interview andSteve justifies it with some great insight into his life, and his tactics! So sit back and enjoy yourself

C24'ers.*****

[Bejjita]Hey Steve, you've been playing Xpert Eleven for about 2 years and 3 months now, whatbrought you to the game, and what has kept you here?

[Steve]My brother-in-law (yorkshiretrev) was staying with us and he was using my pc to settactics, I'd never heard of x11 so was curious to see what he was upto. He gave me a very basicbrief about the game and said I could join the HBOS league. I started with an xpert team first as it



was a couple of weeks till the new season started and got hooked straight away even though Iwas unsure what I was doing. He's the only person I know irl on x11 and for bragging rights thatkeeps me pretty motivated! The private leagues have kept me here tbh, competing against topmanagers and looking to come out on top, with a little banter along the way.

Who is Stevejohnston? My money is on you being Steve Johnston, but what do you do off-screen, outside of setting tactics and setting form training?

I live in sunny Paignton near the beach. I'm 28 on Wednesday, got 2 kids (an 8 yr old daughter and 4 yr old son) with my fiance (got engaged 7yrs ago lol). My family keeps me pretty busy tbh. Iwork in an independent jewellers full time. In my spare time (which I dont really get much of!) Icollect slot cars and rake some of them around on my 90ft track and play pool (good excuse toget slaughtered once a week) amongst other stuff.

Lets have a look at your official journey. I remember you coming through in the lower leagues of the Xtreme League, before moving to Final League, and then again to what is now Excelsior XI.What is it that kept you in the Final League, is it the best league?

Yep started off in the Xtreme league, didn't have much of a clue about the game so it was therewhere I was starting to pick up what worked and what didn't. Think I got promoted once or twice,

used 352 and 451 alot as it suited my team which was good for my ranking and back in thosedays I got upto no.1 in UK pretty quick tbh. Then I applied for a team in job centre first time Ilooked at it and got the job to my surprise, then I switched to Excelsior in the same division as itwas in a better position than my old team and have been here since. There was no particular reason I joined the Final league, it was just what panned out at the time, I'm happy here thoughand there are some decent managers that I've come to know, so I've no plan to move at themoment.

Regarding Excelsior specifically, how is the team coming on, how do you feel they are coming ontowards meeting your targets, and what targets are they? The team is an old one, do you feel youcan rebuild it(or even want to) and how will the average age rule hinder you do you think? Willyou try and get around it?

My target was to get them to the top division to try and win the title, I managed the first partwinning 2 successive divisions part but the second part was always going to be a struggle withthe strength of the teams up there. My team is old and I've already got 3 retiring at the E.O.S. andI got shafted by X11 early in the cup which pissed me off. My goal now is to rebuild the team, I'venever rebuilt an old squad so its a new challenge. I'm fortunate to have some decent assets tosell off and will keep my 2 24/11's and my 25/12 and a few oldies to help with the avg age rule. Itsa challenge I'm looking forward to and as long as my interest in the game continues hopefully Ican find my way back up to the top of the Final League, prob in about 10 seasons time!

I've noticed with Excelsior that you've been quite active in the transfer market since you've joined(something I like to see!). Just how important do you see this, and do you ever feel its a waste of time?

It's always good to be involved in the TM, to build a strong enough side to compete at the top,buying and selling are key. You have to buy at the right time and price and sell at the right time toraise maximum econs, there can also be a need for repeating the process which takes a longtime. I've had some success but I'd be the first to admit I've made plenty of mistakes in the TMwhich hopefully I can learn from now I'm going to rebuild, so definitely hasn't been wasted time.

Lets move on to something you'll enjoy even more, the private leagues! Starting with our veryown C24. You've only been at the team for not even a year and a half but you've already wonarguably the best league on Xpert Eleven. How did it feel?



Amazing, best day on X11 - helped by the fact on the same day we were confirmed groupwinners in the CC!. Like you say arguably the best league to win and I'm proud we made itconsidering last season not many people would have predicted it - even myself! So many greatmanagers here so its always going to be a great achievement.

Now in the official leagues, it's fairly common, even in the higher divisions that an opponent mayforget tactics not once, but maybe more than once a season. As a C24 calibre manager, you'relikely to be good at exploiting this. But playing in C24 means you're up against a top manager every week. Just how did you win C24 with all this in consideration, what did you do to get aheadof the top managers?

Firstly I played to my strengths, I know where my squad is strong and I know where itsvulnerable. I had an idea how alot of teams were going to set up against me and if I thought myweakness would be exposed I would try to counter that. Some managers I had played before andtried to look for patterns and what worked but generally went with what I thought was best to getthe job done, and didn't tinker too much before kickoff. Also I had to have that little bit of luck,where small things went my way. Sometimes you have seasons where everything seems to workwell and last season here was certainly one of those.

What about the Captain's Club. This is another prestigious league that has a lot of competition,

and you are currently the league title holder. So yet again, victory to Steve! Once again, how didyou do it, but in particular - this time you were there from the creation of the first season. Howdifferent was it starting on a (theoretically) even playing field and how come it took you 8 seasonsto win do you think?

That was what attracted me to the league in the first place, first time I joined a league from thestart and the initial transfers were manic. It was a new challenge competing from the start and tosee what methods the other managers were going to take. It's a little different as its a groupleague so you have to decide whether your gonna go for quick glory or develop a squad that willtake longer to get to the top but be stronger when you get there. I bought some HT's and plenty of yoofs - prob more than alot of others and I knew it could be a few seasons before I climbed to thetop. My team has been at or near the top of the squad value and strength list for the past fewseasons so I'm pleased with the job I've done.

Can't skip any, so tell us about the HBOS league! I would imagine it's the league that got you intothe game no?

That's correct, as I said earlier that's where the manager is I know irl so its good to talk to himabout tactics and stuff. I joined in season 2, one manager in the league inherited a strong startingsquad and he just wrenched every last drop out of them to dominate the league for the first 6seasons winning the league 5 times before having no other choice than a full rebuild. I have sincebuilt up my squad as prob the strongest in the league and have won the title 3 times. My goalthere is to now dominate the league for the next few seasons and win the most amount of titlesbefore the youth teams catch me back up.

I've noticed that you're (stalker I know!) very picky with your quota and didn't even really join and

leave leagues. What was it about C24 and CC that made you decide - these are worth using myquota on, what do you need in a league for it to be viable?

Your right, as yet I've never dropped out on a private league. The first league I joined for theobvious reasons previously mentioned.C24 is prob the best league in X11 with so many great managers. I wanted to face the best so Iapplied, I had a high rank so thought I could bluff my way in! Lots of tactical stuff in the forumsetc. Its here where I learnt to find HT before the changes and so much other stuff so a greatleague to be part of and I'd never leave whilst I'm active on x11.With Captains Club Basil asked me to join and the challenge of starting from scratch against



strong opposition was too good to miss, I may never have got the chance again so I was pleasedto become part of the league. During the first few seasons lots of people joined and left(includingBasil) so I took over as captain of our group. The league has now stabilised and I'm glad I joined.Our group won last season aswell as my team winning the top division, there is quite of bit of banter in CC which adds to the league. A good admin and top managers are the vital ingredientswhich is the case here and in CC, its a challenge to compete as it should be. I'm sure there areplenty of other good priv leagues out there and hopefully sometime I will get the chance to play insome of them.

Lets hear a bit about your opinions on teambuilding. What do you look for when you're trying tobuild a team and do you have any methods you would like to share with us? What SQ's do youprefer when building a team as well?

When I'm building my teams i focus a fair bit on the midfield, for me the midfield is the mostimportant part of the team and a strong midfield is crucial, I like to have 1 or two moody mids if possible aswell, I'm a big fan of these but not so much on moodys in other positions. I like tostagger ages aswell, I dont like to have more than 1 player in any position of the same age. Gotto have a decent fk specialsit this is the most important sq, also like the "position" sq for mykeepers where possible to help a little against fk's. Sq's are important for the resale factor for those sq lovers than inflate the prices to crazy amounts.

Some tactical debate is conventional in a C24 interview. Two points:

1 - When do you use pressure, and how do you counter it?

Very difficult question to answer, so many factors but I use pressure probably more than most.There's the obv like with/against lrs and with a stronger and/or larger midfield. I will often pressagainst normal offence. I press the majority of the time to counter the performance drop fromcareful aggression. Long balls and through plays are very effective against pressure based onpast results, but as I like to have a strong midfield I will often match my opponent by playing 5mids and also pressing. So due to the way I build my teams and the fact I often use a 5 man mid Iuse pressure over 90% of the time.

2 - When do you find it appropriate to bruise an opponent, and do you tread the line with'inappropriate' refs?

If I'm stronger I don't like bruising, I will only usually bruise against a stronger team to get thatneeded boost with the right refs. I sometimes bruise and mark a strong keeper if i think it will helpto win a game but its obviously ref dependant. I don't take too many risks with the refs, I'd bruisewith a s7,h4 ref against the right team if I thought it was worth it but I play it safe when I'mstronger. Overall I'm not a fan of bruise and try not to use it really.

What's your plan in C24 now that you've won it?

To win it again and defend my title!, Its only so long before I will need to rebuild and the longer Ileave it the less funds I can generate, I will keep going for a couple of seasons as long as I'm at

the top, a hattrick of titles would equal Blu's record which would be a great achievement albeitone which is a long way off. If I cant do it this time I will rebuild and hopefully come back stronger.

What would you rate your strongest skills on the game, and your biggest weaknesses (hey wemight even try and help!)?

My strongest skills and weaknesses probably contradict each other a little. My strength isknowing what works best for my team and how to get the most from it with the right formationagainst my opponents.My weakness is not mixing thing up enough, and not being adventurous enough with the tactics.



Still not that great on the transfer market but I'm improving on that aspect. I suck on neutralground too my cup history is pretty shocking!

What was the best piece of advice you were given, and the best that you've given?

The best piece of advice I've been given is - not to concentrate too much on my opponent andfocus on my own strengths.The best piece of advice I have given is - try new things out to find what works and learn fromyour mistakes.

Any last words?

Not a great deal, just to say thanks for taking the time to do the interview and to all the peoplereading it!

Cheers Nath for taking the time to write the questions and stalking me. ;-)

Steve.

More than welcome, thanks a lot!

Deus Ex Machina.. future XCL winners.

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2008-06-05

Svar till: BejjitaSkrivet: 2011-04-22 17:11:55

Your favourite interviewer is back! Next I'm getting to know one of the newer managers in theleague.. but a stranger to good competition he is not! It is ShadowsDT!

ShadowsDT has been playing in C24 for one season now and is playing in C9 with a brand newteam, The Sports Analytics. Making sure not to knock over the trophy cabinet, I go and get aninsight into the Aussie genius himself!

Hey Shadows, nice to speak to the man himself! Welcome to Club 24! What are your thoughts onthe league having finally joined?

I have been keeping my eye on this league for a while (over 2 years) and I have always wanted tobe apart of it to test my skills and I’m happy with what I see.

You're obviously in the league as you're a manager with some ability (so I hear :P), so whatwould you say you bring to the table? What are your biggest strengths as a manager, and your weaknesses?



My biggest strength would probably be development of players and trying to get that extra DVacross all players in the squad especially the younger ones. I wouldn’t say I have a weakness justsomething that I’m not the best at and that’s managing my econ, if I have to train a player or not, Iwill train him.

Could you give us a bit of history about Shadows? How you grew as a manager, earlyexperiences and teams?

I first started out with my ShadowsDT side (which I am still with) and won the division to getpromoted then won the league the next season, I discovered early (after 6 months or so) thatdeveloping youth is the best way to build a team and get results. I was with a couple of other teams but the structure didn’t interest me and a team in VIPI that I achieved all of my goals(winning the cup and league) before coming here.

You've managed to build a team that has exceeded the 400m mark for team value in the officialleagues. Congratulations! Just how did you manage to do it? And how long is it now until you winbig honours with Whitsunday?

Thanks. When I first joined Whitsunday it was in division 7 facing relegation at the half-way pointof the season and valued around the 15m econ mark (old system). I sold a few players before the

end of the season which brought in around 30m. In the next 2 seasons I brought in a few oldhigher skilled players to help out with average form as well as many youths, who if they got adouble increase in the CR were sold and profits were made on as many players as I could. Then Inoticed a team full of special qualities win the cup (Squid-Kid's Stormtroopers in season 12) andthat’s when I first started to have any long-term plan with the side and started bringing in mainly16/4's or 17/4's with special quality combos with potential and training the pants of them. Sincethen (11 seasons ago) I have taken my team from division 7 to just 1 step away from the Super League while having a "youth base" which I planned to try and win Super League with. As for bighonours with Whitsunday, it shouldn’t be that far away, I plan to get promoted in the next coupleof seasons and by then Big Boyz will probably be my main threat for the SL title. Another thing Ihave done with the team is manage to get 7 or more MOTR's each full season which I guess hashelped with the success so far.

Having had a look at your presentation, you're clearly a fantastic manager when it comes toachieving honours in the private leagues. How is it that you're so consistently successful, and willthis success translate to Club 24?

I think the main reason is because of great teambuilding with good tactics, I have nearly alwaysbeen in the top few on the best coaches and strongest team list in. Also always playing youths inmost matches and taking one match at a time. Yes, of course even though it’s going to take manyseasons to reach the top of the Club.

Hypothetical question (or maybe not so hypothetical seeing as you do have a new side!). Youhave a new side and there are two scenarios:

1 - You start with a new side in a new league. How do you go about building the team 'the

ShadowsDT' way to ensure success?In a new league with all teams on a level playing field I would definitely bring in some youthplayers in each position which I could make a profit off if I need to and make sure I had a goodgoalkeeper and freekick taker, as these two players can win many games then any others.

2 - You start with a new side in an established league, at the very bottom, and therefore have tocatch up, ditto question in point 1.

In a well established league (like C24) I think going youth is your best option. With my C24 team I



have brought in many youths players and I plan to sell all of them and make good profits, buyplayers on a better skill path and start again building a "base squad" which you plan to win thingswith. However seeing as though there are 10 divisions in C24 it might need an extra rebuild totwo.

In addition to this, I noticed a lot of your private sides play in leagues that do not have very deepleague systems. Which encourages a youth setup because you can comfortably make it to thetop before the team matures. This isn't the case starting from C9 in C24. Will this hinder you atall?

The simple answer is no, it will just take a little longer to get there. As I’ve previously said with myxpert league team I started with a "youth base" after two and a half seasons there and with manyof the seasons getting promoted my goal was to just survive from relegation but avoidingpromotion seemed harder. It’s all about having a plan in place and following it. Yes this league isfull of good managers and will make it tougher to get there but if you have the confidence it willtake you a long way.

It is clear from your sides that you are very good at building strong sides ultimately. But how doyou rate your tactical ability? If (when? ) you make the XCL you'll be coming up against sides justas strong as your own if not stronger in some cases, do you think you have the tactical nous to

blow away all in your path? You're not used to a Smogens-esque skill deficit when the going getsserious right?

Well I wouldn’t rate it as good as my team building ability but it isn’t bad at all. In recent monthsmy xpert ranking has been in the top 100 for a while now and is currently top 20 and that’s onlywith 8 cup matches on my 6 month cycle, not sure how many managers have achieved that. Asfor taking on stronger teams, its something I don’t often do being a good teambuilder but comingup against a better team is something I look forward to against team like FC Botosani in TCC andImperial Cobán, LA Colts, Big Boyz (which Im was maybe unlucky to get results from this seasonand their are 2-3 bars stronger) and Realgalacticos when the time comes. But it won’t be until 3seasons or more time until I target the XCL, when that time comes my squad will be moredeveloped by then with the old average age rules there won’t be many teams full of players intheir 30's playing at their best.

Enough Xpert for now! Tell us about yourself outside of x11, an insight into ShadowsDT!

Well ShadowsDT is short for Shadows Dream Team which was my team name for all fantasysports from EPL, F1's even golf and nascar a few years ago. You could say I live for sport, I playcricket, pool (8-ball) and running IRL but I follow most sports. I’m working at a pet/produce shopatm but I’m thinking about doing a degree on sports analysis which I’ve been putting off for sometime.

Back to the game, what would you say the best advice you were ever given was? And the bestyou could give?

Not sure what the best advice I was given but "Shinozu" helped me with a lot of the basics when I

first joined and leftbanks guide helped immensely. As for what I could give is buy youth playersand train them as much as you can as I think teambuilding is just as important as tactics buttactical advice is more readily available.

Could you tell us a bit about your private leagues?

KBM Xpert League was the first league I joined and it was for managers from Kaki Bola Malaysiawhich I found through a yahoo fantasy football forum that someone advertised there but thatforum is dead now. I created Asian Elite for the better managers in KBM but didn’t expect asmany to join that did and it is probably peaked but I can’t see it dying anytime soon. In TCC I was



made captain in season 4 and I had a lot of pieces to fix. This is when my restructured youthteam started being really competitive, I’ve won 2 titles there and I’m also unbeaten for 47 leaguematches, if only the same could be said about the cup.

What's your general opinion on Xpert Eleven as a game right now? A lot of things have changedrecently with two way average age rule, DV and such. What's your opinion on the game as awhole?

The game as a whole is great if you get into it but if your not it could make you lose interest. For new managers joining the site, unless the read leftbank's guide or get some good advice I cantsee the site going ahead and mainly keen managers will stay with it. As for any company if youdon’t look after your customers you won’t go forward. I just hope the crew realize this and it keepsmoving forward.

Any last words my friend?

To succeed at Xperteleven you need to do as much as you can. Be it countering everything in thetactical space to developing your players and building them into the best team you can, if you dothis you will go along way.

Thanks very much Shadows, a pleasure.

Deus Ex Machina.. future XCL winners.

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