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.