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| Building Cassino: The Offence |
This week, I am finishing my plan Cassino FC's long term teambuilding program, focusing on the offensive half of the pitch: the midfielders and forwards. I have always steadfastly believed the midfield is the most important part of the team, minus the goalkeeper of course. Because of this, the midfield will be the strongest part of Cassino FC and the top 5 midfielders will range in age from 33 to 29 during season 15.
The conveyor system for the midfielders is similar to that of the defenders, however, this time there will only be a one year age gap as opposed to two years. The midfield conveyor will start in earnest next season with the purchase of a 19/5 and 20/6. Each season after that will see the purchase of another 19 year old, hopefully at a higher and higher skill level. After 15 seasons, the veteran 33 year old will hit the market at the beginning on the ensuing transfer period as a 34 year old, alongside the oldest defender, a 32 year old. The next wave begins in season 16 with a new 17/4 or better.
Two major problems with my planned teambuild probably have become noticeable at this point. The first issue is some of the players may want to end their career at the club rather than being transfer listed, possibly putting a strain on our finances. The second is the high average age of our midfielders, potentially causing a slight degradation of performance in the offensive half of our team. Both of these problems I try mitigate with the final element of Cassino FC: the forwards.
The solution is one that has been tried before by a handful of top teams that have reached the CL: very young players starting at forward, also known as playing with "no fowards". There will only be 3 forwards on the roster eventually at Cassino; a 17, 18, and a 19 year old. The oldest player is sold at the start of the next season.The forwards, in essence, are a farm for econ and also serve to lower the average age of the offensive half: 451 offensive starters have an average age of 29 in season 15. While the 451 is probably the best formation for this type of roster, I plan on having at least 3 all arounders in order to maintain the tactical flexibility to field an occasional 352 and 343 lineup. Right now, it looks like the 17-19 year old forward conveyor will go into place in season 3 when I should have the prerequisite funds, but it doesn’t really matter: the forwards remain static in terms of age from season to season.
This plan may appear rather inflexible at first glance, but I always have the opinion of selling a few guys early and replacing them with higher skilled players if bargains appear on the market. I could also even downgrade certain spots if I’m ever strapped for cash. All I really have to do now is wait a couple years, hopefully increasing my manager skill and win a couple division titles along the way. I don’t probably won't make it to where I want to be on the first 15 season cycle, but I might catch it on the second go around. The journey is just as, if not more, important than the destination.
A graphical representation below. As before, an "X" indicates a players last season before being transfer listed and a "+" denotes a new arrival. Have a good day.
Midfield Position: Season 1-15
| Season |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
| MF |
|
+20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33X |
| MF |
|
+19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
| MF |
|
|
+19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
| MF |
|
|
|
+19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
| MF |
|
|
|
|
+19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
| MF |
|
|
|
|
|
+19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
| MF |
|
|
|
|
|
|
+19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
| MF |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
+19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
Midfielder Position: Seasons 16-30
| Season |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
| MF |
33X |
33X |
33X |
33X |
33X |
33X |
33X |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
| MF |
32 |
32 |
32 |
32 |
32 |
32 |
23 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
| MF |
31 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
22 |
22 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
| MF |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
21 |
21 |
21 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
| MF |
29 |
29 |
29 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
| MF |
28 |
28 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
| MF |
27 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
| MF |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
Forward Position: Repeating
| Season |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
| F |
19X |
19X |
19X |
19X |
19X |
19X |
| F |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
| F |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
+17 |
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