So far, I've had quite a lot of positive feed-back on my original advertisement campaign. People seem to enjoy reading my little stories. Now all I need is for them to actually start bidding for my players as well... I suppose this will happen eventually. Anyway, today's new advertisement.
This is Alain. Alain is a young Cameroon boy, born in the slums of Yaoundé. Ever since he was a young boy, he has been providing for his family after his father had died in a tragic mining accident.
Considering that he has six younger brothers and three younger sisters, this has been quite the responsibility for young Alain. Eventually, as with many of kids placed in these circumstances, he couldn’t burden the responsibility and expectations and he ran away from home.
In Cameroon’s large cities, many children live on the street. Each day, as they struggle to survive, they are exposed to violence. Young Alain watched two of his best friends die right in front of his eyes, before he was arrested by the police for shoplifting.
During his stay in a juvenile correctional facility, he discovered he was quite a decent football player. His football-skills eventually saved him, as the warden of the facility recognised his talent and helped him find a club.
After a few seasons with a local club, Alain made the big move towards Europe. He has become a more mature and level-headed person and he wants to get back into contact with the family he abandoned back home in Cameroon.
However, to do so he requires money. This money can only be gotten by either a substantial wage rise or the signing-on-fee from a transfer. His current manager is reluctant to give him a wage rise, but he is willing to transfer Alain. Would you help Alain get some money, so he can find his family?
Monday, May 18, 2009
Attempting Guerilla Marketing In FML
Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing tactics are unexpected and unconventional; consumers are targeted in unexpected places, which can make the idea that's being marketed memorable, generate buzz, and even spread virally.
In FML terms, it means I'm trying to divert from the standard sales pitch, which focusses on a players Market Value, stats, and attributes. Most people have stopped reading these transfer list mailings long a go, simply because they are boring.
I want to be creative and devise my own unconventional methods of promoting my players and/or tournaments. I want people to start talking about my advertisements. Creating a buzz about them will ultimately lead to people bidding on my players or entering my tournaments.
This is a new advertisement I sent out today, to promote the auction of four star Potential Ability defensive midfielder Salvador Lahera.
This is Salvador. Salvador or Sal for his friends, was a simple Spanish boy, a lad from the country-side. Ever since he was a child, he dreamt of a career as a professional football player.
Salvador was quite fanatica about this dream of his. Every waking moment was speant kicking a ball around, often much to the dismay of his parents and their neighbours, who lost many a window to Salvador and his ball.
Persistency pays off in the end though, as Salvador managed to secure a spot in the academy of various decent teams. Unfortunately, his choice in clubs wasn't always the best. Driven by a greedy agent, he chose the wrong club. He opted for a club which switched away from using proper defensive midfielders.
Now Salvadors dream of becoming a proper professional football player is in danger of extinguishing like a candle in a heavy rain-storm. Can you help him rescue his career? Are you willing to keep a young boy's childhood-dream alive?
So far, I've received only a single reply to this, but I've only just started my campaign. I will keep you updated on more results and ideas.
In FML terms, it means I'm trying to divert from the standard sales pitch, which focusses on a players Market Value, stats, and attributes. Most people have stopped reading these transfer list mailings long a go, simply because they are boring.
I want to be creative and devise my own unconventional methods of promoting my players and/or tournaments. I want people to start talking about my advertisements. Creating a buzz about them will ultimately lead to people bidding on my players or entering my tournaments.
This is a new advertisement I sent out today, to promote the auction of four star Potential Ability defensive midfielder Salvador Lahera.
This is Salvador. Salvador or Sal for his friends, was a simple Spanish boy, a lad from the country-side. Ever since he was a child, he dreamt of a career as a professional football player.
Salvador was quite fanatica about this dream of his. Every waking moment was speant kicking a ball around, often much to the dismay of his parents and their neighbours, who lost many a window to Salvador and his ball.
Persistency pays off in the end though, as Salvador managed to secure a spot in the academy of various decent teams. Unfortunately, his choice in clubs wasn't always the best. Driven by a greedy agent, he chose the wrong club. He opted for a club which switched away from using proper defensive midfielders.
Now Salvadors dream of becoming a proper professional football player is in danger of extinguishing like a candle in a heavy rain-storm. Can you help him rescue his career? Are you willing to keep a young boy's childhood-dream alive?
So far, I've received only a single reply to this, but I've only just started my campaign. I will keep you updated on more results and ideas.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Advertising In A New Fashion
I often get bored reading those standard advertisements, so I figured I'd try my luck at writing a proper one myself. Feast your eyes on this...
The new Dunga is for sale. Clodoaldo, an 18 year old defensive midfielder is now available in auction, starting at Market Value.
Like Dunga, Clodoaldo plays the anchor role in midfield extremely effectively. Many players in this position lunge into tackles and put themselves about, but Clodoaldo rarely goes to the ground to make a tackle, instead using his anticipation and timing. His passing ability is also second to none, always starting a fresh attack and rarely wasting it.
Let's just have a look at his History Stats. As you can see, Clodoaldo has had excellent averages in the various XEFA Youth Competitions. His passing percentage has always been over 80%, he barely gets carded and he's capable of scoring goals and providing assists.
You can get this player for a modest fee. The auction starts at Market Value, which means a fee of roughly 65k. For a player with such a history, he's also cheap in the wages. His wages are below 3k, which is a very low fee in today's overinflated economy, where youth players with far worse stats and far worse performances, earn double or more of this fee.
Now that is proper advertising, instead of just summing up a name, price and sometimes senior performance...
The new Dunga is for sale. Clodoaldo, an 18 year old defensive midfielder is now available in auction, starting at Market Value.
Like Dunga, Clodoaldo plays the anchor role in midfield extremely effectively. Many players in this position lunge into tackles and put themselves about, but Clodoaldo rarely goes to the ground to make a tackle, instead using his anticipation and timing. His passing ability is also second to none, always starting a fresh attack and rarely wasting it.
Let's just have a look at his History Stats. As you can see, Clodoaldo has had excellent averages in the various XEFA Youth Competitions. His passing percentage has always been over 80%, he barely gets carded and he's capable of scoring goals and providing assists.
You can get this player for a modest fee. The auction starts at Market Value, which means a fee of roughly 65k. For a player with such a history, he's also cheap in the wages. His wages are below 3k, which is a very low fee in today's overinflated economy, where youth players with far worse stats and far worse performances, earn double or more of this fee.
Now that is proper advertising, instead of just summing up a name, price and sometimes senior performance...
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Player Development; Development Theory
People have been complaining about the progression of the newgens in the Miller Beta GW. These new players are apparently not developing according to expectations. These expectations are probably based on the Potential Ability (PA) of said players.
In a way, they are right. Not all great talents live up to their reputations. Stefano Fiore, Alessandro Bernardini, there are a number of top notch newgens that come to mind when we're talking about top youngsters who are not developing as you may expect.
On the other hand, isn't this realistic? Isn't this exactly like real life? Not everyone who is dubbed a great talent actually becomes a world beating super-star. Allow me to introduce a real-life example... Denílson, full name Denílson de Oliveira Araújo, is a winger, who in 1998 became the most expensive footballer in the world when Real Betis paid São Paolo £21.5m. He was touted as a great, great talent.
Despite his obvious skill and talent, Denílson failed to live up to the high expectations. He never became the world beater everyone predicted he would become. The reason for all of this? Poor mentality... He may have had the skills, but he did nothing with them and didn't develop himself as a player... Is this starting to sound like the FML newgen scenario yet?
I think more noticeable improvements can be seen in the performance of young players if the clubs place greater emphasis on the mental side of the game. This way the players will develop a greater sense of determination, resilience and foresight. One of the reasons for this is that they will learn how to play the game in their head, eventually even compensating for poor(er) physique or technique by being smart(er) and positioning themselves well.
I've done a sweep of the top newgens in the Miller Beta world and one thing struck me. All of them had excellent mental stats, especially in the Work Rate and Determination departments. I then compared their mental stats to those of players that weren't living up to expectations. Most of those had decent mental stats, but they were lacking in the Work Rate and Determination attributes.
The conclusion is fairly easy. Players with decent values for Work Rate and Determination are far more likely to live up to their PA. There's less need of splashing loads of cash on top PA players if there's not a very big chance of them living up to that potential. Looking at these two mental attributes will give you a pretty decent idea if a player will be able to live up to his potential.
In a way, they are right. Not all great talents live up to their reputations. Stefano Fiore, Alessandro Bernardini, there are a number of top notch newgens that come to mind when we're talking about top youngsters who are not developing as you may expect.
On the other hand, isn't this realistic? Isn't this exactly like real life? Not everyone who is dubbed a great talent actually becomes a world beating super-star. Allow me to introduce a real-life example... Denílson, full name Denílson de Oliveira Araújo, is a winger, who in 1998 became the most expensive footballer in the world when Real Betis paid São Paolo £21.5m. He was touted as a great, great talent.
Despite his obvious skill and talent, Denílson failed to live up to the high expectations. He never became the world beater everyone predicted he would become. The reason for all of this? Poor mentality... He may have had the skills, but he did nothing with them and didn't develop himself as a player... Is this starting to sound like the FML newgen scenario yet?
I think more noticeable improvements can be seen in the performance of young players if the clubs place greater emphasis on the mental side of the game. This way the players will develop a greater sense of determination, resilience and foresight. One of the reasons for this is that they will learn how to play the game in their head, eventually even compensating for poor(er) physique or technique by being smart(er) and positioning themselves well.
I've done a sweep of the top newgens in the Miller Beta world and one thing struck me. All of them had excellent mental stats, especially in the Work Rate and Determination departments. I then compared their mental stats to those of players that weren't living up to expectations. Most of those had decent mental stats, but they were lacking in the Work Rate and Determination attributes.
The conclusion is fairly easy. Players with decent values for Work Rate and Determination are far more likely to live up to their PA. There's less need of splashing loads of cash on top PA players if there's not a very big chance of them living up to that potential. Looking at these two mental attributes will give you a pretty decent idea if a player will be able to live up to his potential.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Expectations For The New Season
With my recent transfer from XEFA to EEFA, I'm not quite sure what to expect of the new season. EEFA has some top notch teams in it, like Ste's Mighty Villa and Jogabonito FC. Based on the world ranking, my own team should be able to hold its own and achieve a top position, but as I have learned before, world rankings mean shit all.
I am content with the progress the team has made though. I reinforced the defence considerably. Hell, only one player from last seasons defence is still playing for my team. Only Vitaly Mandzyuk is still a Fortuna squad member. Fernando Amorebieta, Rolando, Javier Flano and Sascha Dum have reinforced our defence, whereas Sandy Paillot, Ricardo Clark and Thiago Carleto have departed, all in profitable deals.
Midfield is still a bit dodgy. I don't have a lot of depth in this line of the team. Serge Wawa is basically my only decent defensive midfielder and he's a natural defender... Paulo Henrique is the only class central midfielder, Issey Nakajima-Farran and Marko Damjanovic are either not natural midfielders or not (yet) good enough. Down the wings, Pat McCourt and Robert Flores are world class, but I have no real replacements in case of a serious injury.
Upfront, I have two able strikers. Dieumerci Mbokani is the undisputed first choice upfront. He keeps banging in the goals at all levels, so I have no need to replace him. He's still fairly young and his wages are quite normal (26k), so he really has been a bit of a bargain. Backup striker Ola Toivonen is more static, but better in the air so ideal when the team needs a targetman upfront. He's on very cheap wages (3k) but he's got an expiring contract so I may swap him for another striker of similar value.
On the youth level, I'm quite content with the progress some players have made. Christian Rapp has been promoted to backup goalie and may see some first team action this season. Marko Damjanovic has been making regular appearances this season, same as his countryman Velibor Jovanovic, who covers for Javier Flano if needed. Upfront, Angelo Antonucci has been loaned to Tom Delgado's Red Devils USA to get first team experience. Not sure if I'm going to regret that, as Tom has the nasty habit to break all his players...
I am content with the progress the team has made though. I reinforced the defence considerably. Hell, only one player from last seasons defence is still playing for my team. Only Vitaly Mandzyuk is still a Fortuna squad member. Fernando Amorebieta, Rolando, Javier Flano and Sascha Dum have reinforced our defence, whereas Sandy Paillot, Ricardo Clark and Thiago Carleto have departed, all in profitable deals.
Midfield is still a bit dodgy. I don't have a lot of depth in this line of the team. Serge Wawa is basically my only decent defensive midfielder and he's a natural defender... Paulo Henrique is the only class central midfielder, Issey Nakajima-Farran and Marko Damjanovic are either not natural midfielders or not (yet) good enough. Down the wings, Pat McCourt and Robert Flores are world class, but I have no real replacements in case of a serious injury.
Upfront, I have two able strikers. Dieumerci Mbokani is the undisputed first choice upfront. He keeps banging in the goals at all levels, so I have no need to replace him. He's still fairly young and his wages are quite normal (26k), so he really has been a bit of a bargain. Backup striker Ola Toivonen is more static, but better in the air so ideal when the team needs a targetman upfront. He's on very cheap wages (3k) but he's got an expiring contract so I may swap him for another striker of similar value.
On the youth level, I'm quite content with the progress some players have made. Christian Rapp has been promoted to backup goalie and may see some first team action this season. Marko Damjanovic has been making regular appearances this season, same as his countryman Velibor Jovanovic, who covers for Javier Flano if needed. Upfront, Angelo Antonucci has been loaned to Tom Delgado's Red Devils USA to get first team experience. Not sure if I'm going to regret that, as Tom has the nasty habit to break all his players...
Reviewing Last Season
Looking back upon the past season, I can safely conclude most of my predictions came true. My league form was decent, but nothing spectacular. We finished in mid-table obscurity, near the tenth spot. The cup was a relative success story, as we reached the quarter finals before crashing out to some AI-ridden team (damn you Agbonlahor, DAMN YOU!!!).
The bright side is that I have found a formation that works really well for the current squad. A 4-3-3 formation works very well for the current squad, as Mbokani is the ideal targetman to head home the crosses by my pacey wingers Robert Flores and Pat McCourt.
Flores is the most valuable player of the past season. He bagged an average of one goal in every three games, which is quite a respectable amount of goals. Couple that with a fair amount of assists and his improved market value to almost 900k, and you have a pretty decent idea as to why Robert Flores is my most valuable player.
I do feel Dieumerci Mbokani deserves a special mention for his impressive goals to games ratio. Including his record in friendly games, he bagged over 300 goals in an equal amount of games, scoring a very respectable average of one goal a game. Unfortunately, his record in official games wasn't that impressive, but he still made his mark on the Game World as a top notch striker.
The bright side is that I have found a formation that works really well for the current squad. A 4-3-3 formation works very well for the current squad, as Mbokani is the ideal targetman to head home the crosses by my pacey wingers Robert Flores and Pat McCourt.
Flores is the most valuable player of the past season. He bagged an average of one goal in every three games, which is quite a respectable amount of goals. Couple that with a fair amount of assists and his improved market value to almost 900k, and you have a pretty decent idea as to why Robert Flores is my most valuable player.
I do feel Dieumerci Mbokani deserves a special mention for his impressive goals to games ratio. Including his record in friendly games, he bagged over 300 goals in an equal amount of games, scoring a very respectable average of one goal a game. Unfortunately, his record in official games wasn't that impressive, but he still made his mark on the Game World as a top notch striker.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Thrill Of Gambling
As the pre-season has ended and another season has gotten underway, I finally found some time to update my blog. Mea Culpa, I should have done this earlier but believe it or not, there are things more important than FM Live.
In this blog-post, I want to address the legalised gambling within FM Live and the fun this brings with it. Although the game of FML can be fun by itself, the excitement is amplified when money or any type of wager is involved. Wage auctions bring exactly this bit of excitement.
The reason for this is quite easy. In a normal transfer auction, you enter a maximum bid and FML looks at the second highest and adds +1 to make your final bid. Wage auctions don't function quite the same way. "What you bid is what you pay," is the credo in a wage auction.
This sometimes creates awkward situations, especially when top stars are involved. Theo Walcott for example, is on a wage of 75k a day because his manager didn't quite understand the general principle of the wage auction. It was an expensive learning process, as it didn't just cost him the 1.5 million acquisition fee and the 750k signing-on-fee, but also a lot of mocking, as the second highest bid was only half that amount. Many laughs were had on his account.
Anyway, the wage auctions provide a nice and legal gambling system. Will I get the player at all? Is my bid high enough to beat the competition? Is it not too high? I don't mind overpaying by a few k, but it's rather harsh when you overpay by a lot...
Legalised gambling and for me a form of great amusement. I like the wage auctions, even when I sometimes do lose in them and even when I do feel they are responsible for crappy players having obscene wages.
In this blog-post, I want to address the legalised gambling within FM Live and the fun this brings with it. Although the game of FML can be fun by itself, the excitement is amplified when money or any type of wager is involved. Wage auctions bring exactly this bit of excitement.
The reason for this is quite easy. In a normal transfer auction, you enter a maximum bid and FML looks at the second highest and adds +1 to make your final bid. Wage auctions don't function quite the same way. "What you bid is what you pay," is the credo in a wage auction.
This sometimes creates awkward situations, especially when top stars are involved. Theo Walcott for example, is on a wage of 75k a day because his manager didn't quite understand the general principle of the wage auction. It was an expensive learning process, as it didn't just cost him the 1.5 million acquisition fee and the 750k signing-on-fee, but also a lot of mocking, as the second highest bid was only half that amount. Many laughs were had on his account.
Anyway, the wage auctions provide a nice and legal gambling system. Will I get the player at all? Is my bid high enough to beat the competition? Is it not too high? I don't mind overpaying by a few k, but it's rather harsh when you overpay by a lot...
Legalised gambling and for me a form of great amusement. I like the wage auctions, even when I sometimes do lose in them and even when I do feel they are responsible for crappy players having obscene wages.
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