Daredevils New Signings

The Daredevils have been busy this pre season wage auctions. They managed to sign Commanding Midfielder Christian Romaric as well as Flamboyant Argentinian Sebastian Blanco, and Dazzling Brazilian winger Erick Flores. In general the Daredevils faithful are thrilled at the prospects of seeing such world class talent at the club. The big name signings seems to be in tune to the recent promotion to the Premiership.

StJohn has been busy of late with a new Football Association being created, the Elite Daytime FA. It is one created from the ashes of the now defunct Afternoon FA, and promises to be an AI free place. As of now there has been 6 teams who opted to leave their FA to join the EDFA. It promises to be a unique place and is believed to have innovative competitions in the pipeline.

NB: I just got word that this blog was featured in the legendary Get Sacked Podcast !! Thanks to the hosts Gareth Millward and Jordan Cooper for taking the time to review the blog. The entire podcast can be found here!

Youth Sweep

Season 4 has now ended in StJohn, and The Daredevils end the season with an incredible high. Winning no less than 5 FA Trophies. They include an almost complete youth sweep, including the U21 League, U19 League, Youth Cup, Youth Charity Shield, as well as a Non Premiership Cup Win. They also did very well in the UFFA U19 Cup and World Youth Cup, reaching the Semi Finals and Quarter Finals of both respectively. In addition to the silverware, they also got themselves a worthy promotion to the Premiership.

When asked of the challenges of next season, the manager replied that indeed, "There will be new faces in the club, some fresh blood will need to be thrown in the midst to cope with the challenges of the Premiership. We do not want to be relegated next season, we want to make a mark and prove that we are there to stay."

In the close end of the season, promising English striker Nathan Eccleston was sold off, and rummours in the backroom staff is that the likes of Alex Nimo, Dimitriu Copil, Alex Marrow as well as Paolo Sammarco are going to follow suit.

When asked about plans for fresh youth blood, the manager said that indeed the club will follow up to their plans for quality youth coming through the Academy. "Already Nikola Raicevic and Andrea Fabio are showing great promise, and they will be drafted into the first team soon enough."

Retirements of Season 3

Every season, we see new blood amongst the player databases with hundreds of high potential youth being regenerated everyday. Its a great thing to see a high potential youth player slowly evolve to world class quality. Already we have seen a few regens already on their way to greatness. But spare a thought for the greats who are retiring or has retired, so as to give these young ones the time and space to attain great feats.

In Season 3 in StJohn, we had a lot of such greats bidding adieu to their careers and hanging up their boots. Namely, the likes of Italian Target man Luca Toni, Dutch wizard Clarence Seedorf, Louis Saha, Italian Defensive Rock Alessandro Nesta, Frédéric Kanouté will never ply their trade in StJohn. Its a sad day when you have to bid goodbye to such class. I'm sure players of such caliber will be sorely missed especially by the teams who owned them, along with Mauro Camoranesi, Marcos Senna, Raúl Tamudo, Steve Finnan, Benni McCarthy, Francesco Toldo and flamboyant Brazilian wizard Denílson Araújo to name a few.

But with the departure of such talent, it also brings forward regen superstars, the ones who are ready to rule the world. The likes of Dominic Ollier, Nicolas Raicevic, Phillpo Serra, does seem to be up and able to take in the workload and fill the void left by these evergreen veterans. A final toast to all those Retirees of Season 3. May you all find peace in your retirement :)

End of yet another Season

Season 3 comes to an end. Its been a remarkable Season for the Daredevils. We finally showed true grit and determination and the Academy squad won the Youth Championship and the Seniors followed it up with their League win. It was an emotional win for the Academy squad since many of them wont be a part of the squad next season. Quite a few are already on their way out of the club, since they have been told, they wont be a part of the Seniors team next season.

With the pre season on its way the Daredevils have already made their first big name signing. The one and only Aliaksandr Hleb. The manager was greatly excited at having splashed the cash to bring in such a big name. Hleb already voiced his long term commitment to the club by signing a contract for 2 seasons. The club faithful are greatly impressed and excited to see a player of such stature ply his trade in The New Old Trafford. The club is also looking to rid itself of some of the youth players. They are currently deemed as surplus requirement at the club and will be looking at a new home soon enough.

At a recent press conference the manager of the Daredevils stated his focus and vision of the club. He stressed the importance of Seniors Football, especially since the Daredevils are now in the Championship, just one spot away from the top level football in the Premiership. He also stressed the fact that the club should continue investing in youth, since they are already reputed as one of the best Academies of StJohn. "We are continuously monitoring our youth program and upgrading wherever necessary. Our coaching is one of the best in the Gameworld, and we are looking to increase our scouting capabilities in the near future. We also aim to set up youth camps so that we can spot and nurture good talent."

In other unrelated news Abe Roddney was made the newest moderator of StJohn :)

FML 1.2 Update !!!

Last week saw FML 1.2 being launched to Beta Testing, and by the first looks of it, it simply looks great !!! The full changelist is available here There have been a smashing loads of features including a new skin, and a whole new and shiny interface. The update focusses on the community aspect of the game as mentioned. The brand new Friends feature is a superb addition to the game, and it seems to the stepping stone to many other great features such as sharing skills and Feeder-Parent Clubs relationship.

The other major feature which is headlining the 1.2 update is the brand new Tactical Theorems & Frameworks It quite likely revolutionizes the tactics part of the game. Having tested 1.2 I can assure you that this should be largely welcomed by the FML faithful on a large scale. With due time SEGA and SI will reveal even more features, of the exciting 1.2 update. But so far these are the two major headlining news. There are many other nifty features which will make the game greatly enjoyable, and I hope SI releases further screenshots of them. :) Overall as a customers' POV I cant wait to play the new update, but I'm definitely not looking forward to explain all the features to the managers when it does go Live. Sadly though it seems that it will take quite a while to release that particular update. Watch this space for more news on further updates on 1.2 :)

WCA Season Round up

Hi again, this is your WCA Fed Organiser and Journo Abe Roddney. Another season gone by; and boy oh boy, what a season it was!! We've had some great games and some great players who left their mark. Congrats to all the winners and sympathies for the losers.

It's the end of a great season in Weekend League One C. Topping the table, one point ahead of FC Tornado with one draw more and one defeat less, are Matthew Harbord's Hedge End. A meagre defence was key to their success, finishing with a goal difference of 42, compared to FC Tornado's 28. Robinson Zapata was solid in goal, and with full-backs Cyril Raymond on the left and veteran Brazilian Dida on the right, in such fine form, the team ended the season with only two defeats. The fans at Havendale has plenty to cheer this season, but with Matthew Harbord deciding to move his team to the Extreeme Evening Football Association rather than compete in the Weekend Championship after promotion, we wish him all the best in his new FA.

Narrowly squeezed into runners-up, FC Tornado also had a exceptional season. With only three defeats, Phil Marsh has been proving his credentials as a manager. With key players such as Rodrigo Mora in midfield at 23, and hitman David N'Gog still only 21, the future looks rosy at the Gustnado Stadium.

Mark Andersen's FC Almind finished in third place. Though having a large, young squad at his disposal, FC Almind can boast no star footballers at the Almind Stadium, so a comfortable finish is commendable. Behind FC Almind, Andy Ellie's McGrath's Dodgy Knee Cap XI finish in fourth. With the AI in charge for every league match of the season, the side's charge up the table was unlikely. However, Dutch forward, Eddy Putter, and Spanish striker, Paco Esteban, formed a fantastic strike partnership at the front-end of a workmanlike 4-4-2: Putter was the league's top scorer with 21, Esteban in second with 20.

There were less big-money signings than in the other two League One divisions. Hedge End signed Rade Prica for £500,000 and the 30 year old Swedish target man contributed 17 goals in 18 appearances. Rubicon FC signed Marcelo Moreno for the same amount, and though he only returned 7 goals, he may well be a star to watch in future. FC Tornado did not spend big money on players, but with a stadium expansion underway, to a 20,000 capacity, Phil Marsh has an eye on the team's future.

The journalist's team of the season is: Robinson Zapata (GK, Hedge End); Cyril Raymond (DL, Hedge End), Gilberto Velazquez (DC, Stygia United), Dmitry Belorukov (DC, Clackyballs FC), Dida (DR, Hedge End); Mark Gonzalez (ML, FC Tornado), Chicao (Obi Clains Tropper), Rodrigo Mora (MC, FC Tornado), Anastasios Agritis (MR, Inter Sheep); Eddy Putter (S, McGrath's Dodgy Knee Cap XI), Paco Esteban (S, McGrath's Dodgy Knee Cap XI).

At the end of the season, I Taz I Ross won the league with Team Scotland. With Team Scotland ranked over eighty places above their nearest rivals in the division, it is no surprise that Team Scotland finished with only two defeats and with a goal difference of 50. Leading the line, Didier Drogba needs no introduction: as a late signing, he pulled in a respectable 20 goals, losing out on top scorer to Milliontown's unfancied Brazilian striker, Max, with 27 goals and, in second place, Plain Lazy's Spanish wonderkid, Bojan.

With a wage bill of almost £160,000, Team Scotland were able to spend twice as much on wages as their nearest rival, Gresa United. While almost a third of that total is claimed by Drogba, Team Scotland will need prudent financial planning to mount a challenge in the Weekend Championship. Shrewd transfer investment will also be helpful, with Drogba and star full-back John Arne Riise both in their thirties. However, their league form and their victory in the Non-Premiership Cup are enviable, particularly considering the side finished 18th in the WCA Qual 2 last season. And for plaing some fantastic football, congratulations and best luck for Team Scotland's promotion!

In second place, Gresa United, whose veteran Spanish hitman, Xisco, helped to propel them into title contention. Shrewd loan business, with four players brought in from Kanyl FC, helped them to towards a tilt at the title. Milliontown finished third, with a fine season, also knocking out McManus FC in the last 16 of the Game World Cup (why I would want to mention that, I don't know). Ogilvy Reds finished in fourth place and Athlectico Caskey in fifth.

Elsewhere in the league, Real Reefers threw down £550,000 for thirty-three year old Portuguese playmaker, Deco, who was not able to prevent the side from finishing in 18th place.

The journalist's team of the season: Mickael Landreau (GK, Team Scotland); John Arne Riise (DL, Team Scotland), Mario Pardo (DC, Jop's), Phillipe Mexes (DC, Team Scotland), Fernando Varela (DR, Team Scotland); Renato Augusto (ML, Team Scotland), Gary O'Neill (MC, Gresa United - loan), Atiba Hutchinson (MC, Milliontown), Mikko Manninen (MR, Tricky Dirty Group); Max (S, Milliontown), Bojan (S, Plain Lazy).

In the first season of the Weekend Non-Premiership Cup, I Tz I Ross lead Team Scotland to a victory over Andy Ellie's McGrath's Dodgy Knee Cap XI. Over two legs, Team Scotland won 5-2, adding the cup trophy to their championship title in League One A.

In the first leg at The Local, Birmingham, Team Scotland scored three goals before Brazilian forward Adriano (the other one) pulled one back from the penalty spot, his only goal of a disappointing season. Team Scotland had the lion's share of the game, McGrath's flat 4-4-2 unable to cope with the 4-3-3/4-5-1 deployed by Team Scotland, a popular tactic currently.

In the second leg at the I Taz I Ross stadium, the match was closer, though both teams fielded the same formation. Unsurprisingly, Didier Drogba opened the scoring for Team Scotland after a goalless first half. Talented Dutch hitman, Eddy Putter, fired in the equaliser before Norwegian full-back John Arne Riise put the game beyond doubt with a further goal for Team Scotland:.

Though the match was not as close as expected by pundits, McGrath's having been tipped as a dark horse for league and cup success, both sides deserved to reach the final. Team Scotland had edged through a difficult semi-final against Maulers FC, an eighty-fourth minute goal sealing the tie from fifteen year old Gerald Mnguni, possibly a talent for the future. McGrath's Dodgy Knee Cap XI had dumped Championship runners-up La Ganda from the tournament in the quarters, before a thrilling penalty sudden-death victory against FC Tornado.

It's the end of the season for the C division and this is how the table ended up.

Topping the table after thirty-eight matches is Jin Y's Sage Utd, picking up the champion's £850,000 prize money. Although competition was tough amongst the title contenders, Sage Utd managed a twenty-four game winning streak, formidable in any division. With the exception of veteran targetman Miroslav Klose, Sage Utd have a young side and with star players like Marek Hamsik and Miguel Veloso, should be well placed to compete in the division above, as the side's run to the semis of the Game World Cup clearly showed. Our reporter caught up with Jin Y at the Forest Stadium where he declared himself pleased with his team's success and eager for the challenge of the Premiership next season.

Although Per Barkestam's La Ganda lost the Championship by a point to Sage Utd, easy consolation will be found in promotion, in their WCA Casual Cup triumph and a in decent run in the Non-Premiership Cup. Constant Djakpa was their form player through the season, with nineteen assists overall. Credit is also due for completing every game of the season without Ai assistance.

Nicolas Vestlund's Lokomotiv Falukorv finished in 3rd place. Fellow South Americans, Sergio Almiron in midfield and Nestor Ayala up front, were both in great goalscoring form, though the manager will want to motivate the talented but underperforming Dutch striker, Collins John. Jeff Atkins' Ganbare Osaka finished in fourth place, with Maulers FC and Kill4U chasing.

Elsewhere in the league, Branquignoles were the season's underperformers, finishing 16th, a surprise for a team fielding Niko Kranjcar and Nicolas Anelka. The recent purchase of Christian Chivu for £855,000 should help to shore up the back line and help towards a better finish next season.

The journalist's team of the season is: Tim Krul (GK, Lokomotiv Falukorv); Constant Djakpa (DL, La Ganda), Flavio Cordoba (DC, Sage Utd), Gregory Bourillon (DC, Ganbare Osaka), Steven Whittaker (DR, TJ Sokol Hvozdany); Tomas Rosicky (ML, TJ Sokol Hvozdany), Marek Hamsik (MC, Sage Utd), Steven Ireland (MC, Ganbare Osaka), Erdal Kilicasian (MR, Selhurst Strikers); Eduardo (S, Ganbare Osaka), Elvis Abbruscato (S, Aston Miller - formerly La Ganda).

The WCA Youth League was a hard fought battle, and I can safely say that it was probably the toughest one amongst all other FA youth leagues. Apart from last season toppers Anarchy In The Klub and Daredevils F.C there was also top youth teams like Plain Lazy and AC Muppets.

Right from the word go, the defending champions Anarchy In The Klubb and last season's runners up Daredevils F.C were under severe pressure from Plain Lazy who were riding the Bojan wave and AC Muppets with a bunch of high potential youngsters. As predicted it turned out to be a race amongst the top 4 teams for glory in the Youth league. But very soon Plain Lazy and AC Muppets went ahead of the pack and were involved in a cut throat battle between themselves. In the end of a long season it was Principled Manager Simon Thurlby's AC Muppets who held their nerves to lead to glory.

The WCA Youth League Dream Team as in accordance to the Yours Truly is :-

Renan (GK), Sekou Bamba (WBR), Carlinhos (WBL), Rajko Brezancic (DC), Wellington (DC), John Fleck (AML), Alex Marrow (AMC), Oscar (AMC), Damián Ismodes (AMR), Bojan (ST), Marquinhos (ST)

Sub :-

Federico Serraiocco (GK), Phil Livermore (DC/DM), Lucas Galdino (DC), Carlos Valencia (WBRL), Marco Zampieri (MC), Adrien (MC), Ahmet Ari (AMC), Aaron Moses-Garvey (AMC), Jair Baylón (ST)

As always only performances with over 20 games were taken under consideration when selecting the team.

Note: This issue is dedicated to a whole lot of players who are going to retire this season. Heres wishing them well in their post FML life.

Fernando Morientes , Alessandro Del Piero, Paul Scholes , Ryan Giggs , Juan Sebastián Verón , Claude Makélélé , Gary Neville , Juan Pablo Sorin , Massimo Oddo , Pedro Munitis , Ludovic Giuly , Rubén Baraja , Kily González , Dietmar Hamann , Sami Hyypiä , Olivier Dacourt.

Many thanks to Mark Mcmanus and James Cresswell for their work as WCA Journalists. Without their help, we might not have had such marvelous articles. Kudos you people, and kudos to you folks in the WCA - the haven to play good football, you guys play well, and inspire us to write better!!

Update...

Its been a while since I updated the blog a bit. There has been a lot going on in the FML community as well as in StJohn. For starters there has been an affiliate scheme now in FML to reward people who are promoting the game :) This will be a welcome to all people who are actively writing blogs and promoting the game via any electronic media. Next up cam the decision on the part of SEGA/SI, to stop the launch of new GWs and fill up the existing GWs. Whilst this has been a matter of great debate, personally I find this as a great move. The best of FML experience comes from a world which has a few experienced users. And it is always a challenge to compete with the existing users and then beat them at their game. That has been proved from FML BETA itself :)

And if that wasnt all, the payment scheme of FML has been revamped. There is a further new payment plan for a new 2 year subscription, and Im really tempted to extend my account right itself. Also I believe to encourage people who have difficulties paying the entire amount in one go, there is a new easy monthly payment scheme, which I believe will bring in even more people.

In StJohn things have been as busy as it can get. We've got a new bunch of 400+ users and we almost always have around 50+ managers online. With the peak of 200+ around in the weekend evenings. There have been appointments of new FA Organisers for many of the existing FAs. To my delight, I was made the Fed Organiser of my own FA, the WCA. Add to that fact, new journalists have been appointed across many of the FAs. I, myself have appointed two more journalists to assist me, and encourage more participation across the FA.

StJohn is currently flourishing, and although as predicted, there is more money now than in the previous season, and we've already seen some outrageous transfers (a 17 y/o went for 1.4mill) and some crazy wages for 15/16 y/o regens, I suppose it is to be expected since inflation does slowl come into a GW. Ive got currently 2 million in the bank, but that isnt worth as much as it was in season 1, sadly. But hopefully, the crazy wage bids would subside soon, and I hope it wont be a precedent set to follow.

Season 2 Flags off

Its been 3 days since since Season 2 has started at StJohn. We had a busy pre season. With more than 425 managers joining us, and an extremely busy transfer window. Players were skived off for absolutely hands down prices.

The influx of new managers in StJohn was accelerated by SEGA/SI by a 50% knockdown of prices for an introductory 3 month subscription. More details of this offer is available here. As a result of that we had a huge influx of 425+ managers. Some of them have already established themselves as a part of our wonderful community.

The transfers in the busy period saw some great players change hands. They would include players such as Bojan, Sebastian Giovinco Roman Pavlyuchenko Scott Sinclair and Jeremy Menez. And although there was also some huge free agent signings like Carlos Tevez and Wesley Sneijder it was the medium class of players which attracted the fascinations of many.

For their part the DareDevils did some nifty business. The focus was on Seniors as well as youth and hence Argentine defender Mathias Cahais and USA striker Eddie Johnson was signed. Though its early days I am sure they will turn out to be marvellous piece of business. To replenish their youth supply wonderkid Nicholas Raicevic was signed on board as well as Alessandro Tuia, Welton, Andre Ayew and Henri Lansbury to name a few. As of now we have climbed yet again great heights and are now in #5 in the youth rankings.

The Daredevils were assigned to Weekend League B in their Federation and so far after 2 days they have got a somewhat disappointing start. With only 1 win and 4 draws from their 7 games. But the manager blames this slump in form due to the sudden batch of new signings and lots of new faces than lack of depth and experience in the squad.

Aaaaaannnd, thats Season One folks

We've finally come to the end of Season One of StJohn. It was a topsy turvey season for the DareDevils, and we finished a dismal bottom placed in the FA Qualifier. Though, we did fare pretty well, in the FA youth league, finishing 2nd behind, one of the top teams of the FA, Anarchy In The Klubb. But the fans are hopeful of a better show next season, with end contract wage auctions coming up. The manager has already submitted his wishlist, and it is understood that the board is willing to splash the cash for good buys.

Also with Season One ending, the gates of StJohn are going to open once more for new users. And already we had been assured by SEGA, that there is a plan to boost the users in StJohn. Click here for more information on that. As of now, we've had over 150 new managers since the doors opened on 11th February 8PM GMT. Keep 'em coming, I say :D.

Let the Family In!

Finally, the Daredevils FC Construction Company received the order from the Board about upgrading the stadium. Over the past few days with an increase in the revenue from the giant styrofoam fingers, it is apparent that the Daredevils F.C havea significant fan following amongst families. Right from kids to the aged, the local village has its share of loyalists of the Daredevils F.C. The problem which they were facing were the hard wooden seats and the rowdy, vocal diehard and devoted fans.

Indeed as an anonymus high school kid pointed out, "I love the club. But them hard wooden seats are damn uncomfortable. Some of them in fact have splinters sticking out. Plus with so much rowdy fans, its hard to concentrate on the game. I'm sure that the players love the atmosphere, but I'd prefer to keep my distance from such vocal fans."

A recent survey conducted by the club magazine shows that as much as 20% of the Reds' fans are the families. Such a high figure of fans not getting seats isnt expected of a club of the stature of the Daredevils F.C. Hence the board called up the Construction Company and has immediately ordered a construction of a new block in the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand. Fans will be pleased to know that the new block, a Piegvehole, has plush comfortable seats, and has an expected capacity of 720. Word has it, that the ticket prices for the new block will be significantly higher than the other parts of the stadium, but with such high demand, the club is confident that it will be soon brimming with a new set of fans waving the large styrofoam fingers.

We get ourselves a Stadium gents !!

Today at around 9AM GMT approximately St John was upgraded with the Stadium patch. Right after getting the stadium, there appears a flurry of construction activity. People flurrying to build a new stand for their Family fans, some going to build a new stand and Corporate boxes for their big spending corporates.

Indeed the Daredevils board are also pondering on a further stadium expansion to accommodate the family and glory hunter fans, since they currently feel ill at ease to seat themselves with the diehard and devoted supporters. They are wanting a luxurious Di Lusso seating, or at least a Piegvehole type of block. The board has listened to this petition and will make a final decision in the next board meeting which is sceduled in a few days.

The last few days has also seen, some improvements in the club. Most players have recovered from their injuries and the Devils have been active in the transfer market as well. They had loaned out prized striker Sadick Adams to get better first team exposure, as well buying in a replacement in explosive 20 year old Enlish striker, Febian Brandy. Brandy was previously plying his trade at young manager Daniel Malone's Shiny Toy Guns FC. The Devils paid well over the top for the English U-20 striker and the manager hopes that the player will give a good return on the said investment.

Meet Abe "Chat Helper" Roddney

I was called for a chat with moderator Henrik Bjorkman, early morning. I was pleasantly surprised to know, that I have been considered as a potential Chat Helper. And when I responded that I would be honoured with the appointment, bam 2 minutes later I see my name highlighted in blue and on top of the chat helpers.

The second surprise, and this got me elated, was the appointment of yours truly, as the official journalist of the Weekend Casual Association. The new job would see me write more and more interesting articles regarding life at the WCA. So, you will be seeing more of those posted here as well.

Now, with that out of the way, I'm also elated that most of the out of action players are now slowly returning to match fitness levels. With the boost of Activity Rating,(at the expense of Seniors Ranking) injuries are becoming rarer and less of long term ones.

And this post will not be complete without mentioning a certain Aaron Moses-Garvey. He was a panic signing at Daredevils F.C, but with such stunnig performances he's now vying for a regular first team spot ahead of the likes of Rodrigo Possebon, Dimitriu Copil and Yoel Goldstein. With versatility to play in the midfield and as a centre forward, Moses-Garvey has been in exceptional performances, scoring goals at an amazing rate. He lacks up for his lack of technical skills in the pitch with his explosive pace and strength.

His prescence has greatly influenced the team, and has put superstars such as Nathan Eccleston, Omar Andrade and Sadick Adams to raise their levels of performance if they want to maintain their first team spots.

Transfers again

In a move that rocked the GameWorld explosive English winger James Milner was transferred from young English manager Mike Roff's RoFF United to English manager Kieran Reeves' Bristol Sharks for a whopping 1.79Million GBP. The deal also consists of agent fees for Milner's agent of 179,000, who had been a key player in the deal, meeting out the negotiations, over this huge transfer fee, between the 2 clubs. This transfer has been largely been seen by pundits and critics alike as a resounding business deal by RoFF United, and would pave way for large name signings to the Branksome Wreck.

When asked to comment on the deal Roff was bulish,"Every player has a price. Milner is a quality player, but if someone is willing to pay so much, I cant say no. The lad was sad to leave after arriving to the Wreck so soon, but we cannot possibly walk away from such a lucrative proposal.

"I doubt you would see any big names too soon. We are planning an expansion of the stadium, and would probably utilise the money from the Milner deal in it."

On the other hand, at Bristol Sharks, there are mixed reactions. The corporate fans were pleased with the acquisition of such a high profile player, and had vowed to the manager and the board to continue funding to help bring in more big names to the club. Although some diehard and devoted supporters are wary of the deal. Amidst rumours that the club is in debt to pay off such a large amount of money, they hope that The Shark Tank will soon pay host to one of the established trophy rooms at the club.

The manager was ecstatic at the press conference,"I want to reassure all the fans, that the deal is going to pay off. We are looking at long term success, and we aim to bring more quality players such as James, at the club."

The player in question, James Milner, was also excited at the prospect of playing at The Shark Tank. In the press conference where he was unveiled and give the No. 18 shirt, he commented,"I am very happy with the transfer. Its nice to see that I'm being valued at such a high price. I hope I can pay back that kind of money with good performances."

Milner is currently injured for a day with a groin strain.

Transfers

We are only 8 days into St John and we are already seeing an active Transfer market. Apart from the usual high profile signings in the initial squads, which includes the likes of Bojan, Walcott, Amauri, we have also witnessed a host of Private transfers and Exchange Deals, with many big names to boot. With the lifting of the previous 7 day rule, it leaves any manager to sell a player, sometimes immediately after buying, at no profit, since there is a 100% profit sell on clause. But this hasnt deterred ,managers from selling off their biggest names, sometimes in the hunt for a bigger challenge. These host of players is a long list, but some of the most high profile names includes 21 year old Argentine Winger Diego Buonanotte, English striker Jermain Defoe, strong Nigerian target man Yakubu, 19 year old winger Miralem Pjanic, 19 year old French wonderkid Henri Saivet, Brazilian ace Ronaldo, and several others namely Claudio Pizarro, Johan Elmander, Luis Garcia, Arouna Kone, Raul Tamudo, Javier Saviola, etc.

With the injection of FA media money, we can expect more such deals following. St John already benefits from a very active community, whereby the chatrooms are always buzzing even as late as 12 in the night and as early as 6 in the morning. Now with an active transfer window, we can expect an even better season. Be around for the next update about life in St John in the weekend where we will have views from the managers about the goal of the week, and the most improved manager. Till then may your team be injury free and your scoresheet filled with goals.

And We Are Off

The inaugural season in St John kicked off yesterday at 8PM GMT. The Devils being placed in the WCA(Weekend Casual Association) Qualifier 3 faces stiff competition from 20 other equally competitive teams. Even more so, because unlike the Devils, most of them are teams focussed primarily on Seniors success. They have older, and more experienced players, who are stronger and have more stamina. But this makes the job more challenging and difficult., because our manager loves new and difficult challenges, "It gives me a greater thrill." he was quoted as saying.

The manager was accompanied by Rodrigo Possebon, the most famous player in the team and the current captain of the squad, in the season inaugural press conference. Possebon has wowed the fans with his amazing goal scoring prowess especially from long range in the Pre season friendlies and competitions.

Normally known for his versatility, Rodrigo is best when played in the Central midfield, although he is also capable in playing on the right side of defence and midfield. Currently valued at 60,000, Possebon has an Acquisition Fee of 55k, and a daily wage of 3,500 GBP. At the moment of writing this article Rodrigo was out with an injured knee for one day. But he was very upbeat about returning to first team football, as soon as possible. We hope for his speedy recovery so that he can once again bang in his long range swerving screamers and wow the fans of the Daredevils.

Season Kick Off

So, we are a few hours away from the Season to start. The youthful Daredevils F.C. have been placed in the Weekend Qualifier 3, in the Weekend Casual Association(WCA), with 19 other teams. So far the Daredevils F.C have performed admirably. We already have 6 youth records under our belt with the seventh on its way. The likes of Sadick Adams and Omar Andrade have been pumping in goals in the youth scoring charts and as a result the Daredevils F.C remain a top spot of 5th in the youth rankings(our highest so far, ever).

To kick off the season, I've got a small profiling of the young guns of the squad, and I'll start off with the current gameworld record holder of most number of assists, Ghana U19 sensation Sadick Adams.

Sadick Adams, is currently the most expensive player in the squad. With a high Acquisition Fee of 120,000 he is certainly way more expensive than the rest, but the manager firmly believes all the money is well invested, and Sadick Adams will be giving some eye catching performances. So far so, the Ghana starlet hasnt disappointed the fans. The manager has been ecstatic in the recent performances, and although he along with 3 others is almost certain to miss out the start of the season with a fractured rib, the manager firmly believes that if the Daredevils are to scale new peaks this season, Sadick will be a big part of it. Sadick is under a one season contract with a daily wage of 2, 25k.

The Debut of the Daredevils

After a brief stint in Beta, which ended very soon, I finally purchased a 6 month subscription to Football Manager Live. Although i would have liked to be a part of the Pro world Toms(in hindsight its a better idea I'm not, since Toms does have its share of users who have migrated from other GWs with their skills intact), I was left to choose only St John, the newest GW. Apparently I was already 3 days late into the GW. But I still managed a good pick of players. My initial squad, the pre selected one,(something new, which wasnt in the original Beta) had a nice bunch of players, especially Man Utd starlet Rodrigo Possebon.

Then came the tough part. Of selecting the initial squad. My only other occurence of choosing a squad was back in my first and only Beta world. And back then I didnt know much of the game, and I didnt know what manual select was. So, after clearing away the deadwood, and keeping the useful, I tried to create a good enough squad with a mixture of experience and youth. Sadly so, I failed to manage to find the required players, leaving me in a dilemma, whether to go all Seniors(something I've hated doing in my only previous experience) or pull of a coup and go the youth way(something which I found highly exciting since I saw most moderators in my original GW do). So, after pondering, Daredevils F.c decided to choose the youth part.

With a initial skill set of Jack Of All Trades(which I personally feel is a superb innovation on the part of Sports Interactive), I had a bit of everything everywhere necessary. Add to that a squad brimming of all 20 year olds and younger. And the Daredevils officially all set to go.


Like expected, my bunch of 20 year olds performed abysmally in senior games, we had to wait for more than 10 games to register our first win. But having said that, I'm most delighted to say, each of those sorry performances on the pitch has been compensated with the brilliant way they have managed themselves in the youth games. In the 3 days that we've been in St John, Daredevils have leapfrogged to 5th in the youth rankings, and are currently holding 3 of the youth records. Its great to be in a Live GW, but to be on the top of a rankings chart(youth or seniors) is an exhilarating feeling.

Currently we are vying hard for a youth league to be set up in the FA's so that our entire hard work to put together a bunch of kids doesnt go in vain.