Topic: Soccer Manager: The American Dream (Season 1) - It Begins...

[Betty Blue]

Welcome to the latest Soccer Manager Worlds draft game world - The American Dream. So titled because every team in this league will be from the Americas (North, South & Central).



13 out of 16 clubs have been taken

Defacto - Boca Juniors, LiverpoolForever (Neil) - Newell's Old Boys, Midget (Alex) - Millonarios, Lawnmowerman - San Jose Earthquakes, Betty Blue - Colo-Colo, KingLuis10 - Botafogo, Card Cheat - The Strongest, RK7 (Jon) - Guadalajara, Kesey - FC Bolivar, Mikey_LFC - Club Tigres, Chrismonster - Universidad de Chile, The G in Gerrard (H Mann) - America de Cali, Rob Soar - CD Marathon, [RK7]Jon

Free clubs: Canada - Vancouver Whitecaps, Brazil - Palmeiras, Argentina - River Plate.

The basic rules:

- Each participant is tasked with building a squad of 23 players (we might stop drafting after 18 rounds and move to free for all, let's see how it goes).
- Your total budget is 220m (SM prices). The gameworld economy will be on the lowest setting, so spend wisely!
- Messi & Ronaldo have been banned from selection.
- After the draft, you can use any remaining cash (you wish) to supplement your squad, so long as you stay below the squad cap (35 players maximum).

How the league will work:

- Manual concerns
Players rated 89-91 must play a minimum of 8 games a season (this includes the cup and sub appearances). Only 34s and over are exempt. The idea is not to catch out managers or punish people who aren’t around as often. It’s about seeing a more realistic use of squads with young superstars given the gametime they get IRL. The likes of Felix, Sancho, and De Jong should never be left in the reserves. (Note: we may tweak the number of appearances in later seasons if it's not working out)

Additional: If any of your players are injuried or suspended for at least 4 games across a season then they will be exempt from concerns that season.

- 90s and under Cup
The domestic cup is strictly for players rated 90 and under. Which is why it’s important managers are active. On the off chance that anyone forgets to rotate their team and batters a low rated team, they must deliberately lose their next cup match. Repeat offences will lead to further punishments. And if it somehow happens in a final then shit will hit the fan. There may also be a special TBC bonus prize for winning the cup.

- League set up
Similar to Sleeping Giants with 2 x divisions and 8 teams in each, but promotion and relegation will be 2 up/2 down. Making for much more competition in division 2 and allowing teams to consolidate after promotion. Hopefully in future we will get ourselves up to 16 managers and turn division 2 into the true bloodbath it’s intended to be!

That’s all folks. Feel free to fire any questions my way.

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Final draft list -

1. Defacto - Sadio Mané, Joao Felix, Giorgio Chiellini, Luka Modric, James Maddison, Karim Benzema, Amine Harit, Diego Godin, Samir Handanovic, Felipe Luis, Harvey Barnes, Łukasz Piszczek, Marko Grujic, Thiago Silva, Lucas Leiva, Joaquin Sanchez, David Villa, Pepe Reina, Carlos Tevez, Justin Kluivert, Razvan Marin, Lucho Gonzalez, Masaya Okugawa.

2, LiverpoolForever - Andre Onana, Moussa Dembele, Rodri Hernandez, Serge Gnabry, Jonathan Tah, Bruno Fernandes, Fiyako Tomori, Houssem Aouar, Steven Bergwijn, Joel Veltman, Jorge Mere, Nikola Moro, Alfonso Pedraza, Francisco Ferro, Joao Jota, Victor Osimhen, Sergio Alvarez, Ruben Vinagre, Pedro Porro, Rafael Leao, Maxime Lopez, Andreas Christensen, Milot Rashica.

3. Betty Blue - Jadon Sancho, Mo Salah, Benjamin Pavard, Roberto Firmino, Caglar Soyuncu, Renan Lodi, Martin Odegaard, Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni, Ferran Torres, Boubakary Soumaré, Marcus Thuram, Dwight McNeill, Diego Alves, Nico Elvedi, Andres Iniesta, Kangin Lee, Colin Dagba, Mahmoud Hassan Trézéguet, Gaetano Castrovilli, Pau Torres, Aaron Connolly, Andrea Cistana.

4. Card Cheat - Kylian Mbappe, Mason Mount, Ryan Sessegnon, Sergino Dest, John Lundstram, Lisandro Martinez, Youssofo Moukoko, Dejan Kulusevski, Andy Robertson, Ederson, Karem Adeyemi, Saul Niguez, Adrian Fein, Gustavo Assuncao, Edmond Tapsoba, Axel Disasi, Eberechi Eze, Goncalo Pacienca, Dominik Greif, Bukayo Saka, Hans Hatobeur, Joel Matip, Ryan Babel.

5. King Luis - Virgil Van Dijk, Frenkie De Jong, Alex Meret, Achraf Hakimi, Sandro Tonali, Exequiel Palacios, Ki-Jana Hoever, Aparecido Emerson, Luca Pellegrini, Leroy Sane, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cristian Romero, Anthony Martial, Takumi Minamino, Xavi Simons, Tomas Esteves, Scott McWank, Brian Brobbey, Kamil Grabara, Fabio Silva, Davide Moscardelli, Billy Gilmour.

6. Kesey - Trent Alexander-Arnold, Julian Weigl, Bernd Leno, Dani Olmo, Edin Dzeko, James Milner, Benoit Badiashile, Leonidas Stergiou, Ferland Mendy, Pedrinhio, Luan Candido, Luis Alberto, Hakim Ziyech, Abdou Diallo, Kjell Sherpen, Pol Lirola, Andrea Pinamonti, Marcel Sabitzer, Ezequiel Busquets, Lukas Mai, Lucas Tousart (replaced with Álvaro Odriozola), Leander Dendoncker, Koni De Winter.

7. Lawnmowerman - Lautaro Martinez, Fabian Ruiz, Kai Havertz, Nicolo Zaniolo, Ibrahima Konate, Nordi Mukiele, Stefano Sensi, Stefan De Vrij, Timo Werner, Rayan Cherki, Denis Zakaria, Myron Boadu, Sergio Reguilon, Thomas Strakosha, Theo Hernandez, Gianluca Mancini, Adil Aouchiche, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Gabriel Veron, Lucas Paqueta, Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Kouame, Teun Koopmeiners.

8. RK7 - William Saliba, Phil Foden, Eduardo Camavinga, Reinier Jesus Carvalho, Harvey Elliott, Reece James, Youcef Atal, Boubacar Kamara, Nikola Milenkovic, Mikel Oyarzabal, Odsonne Edouard, Bruno Guimaraes, Dragowski, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Pedri, Curtis Jones, Hamed Traore, Faustino Anjorin, Tanguy Kouassi, Avrelien Tchauameni, Marc Roca, Ricardo Pereira, Julian Brandt.

9. G in the Gerrard - Luis Suarez, Sergio Ramos, Rui Patricio, Fernandinho, João Moutinho, Youri Tielemans, Gerard Pique, Jamie Vardy, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Dani Alves, Chilwell, Deulofeu, Harry Wilson, Diogo Jota, Luka Milivojevic, Javi Martinez, Harry Winks, Aaron Ramsdale, Tyrone Mings, Yan Valery, Patrick Van Aanholt, Todd Cantwell, Lewis Dunk.

10. Midget - Matthijs De Ligt, Fabinho, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, Marc-André ter Stegen, Mohamed Ihattaren, Mason Greenwood, Florentino Luís, Naci Ünüvar, Todibo, Bernardo Silva, Ozan Kabak, Lucien Agoumé, Sebastiano Esposito, Mickaël Cuisance, James Garner, John McGinn, Ronaldo Camará, Lucas Hernández, Vedat Muriqi, Eric García, Lucas Martínez Quarta, George Baldock.

11. Rob Soar (via SM) - Gianluigi Donnarumma, Clement Lenglet, Moise Kean, Declan Rice, Daniel James, Jules Kounde, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Jonathan Ikone, Everton Soares, Yari Verscharen, Wan-Bissaka, Calvin Stengs, Arne Maier, Tahith Chong, Dayot Upamecano, Ruben Neves, Adama Traore, Jean Pyerre, Yacine Aldi, Vincent Kompany, Axel Tuanzebe, Illan Meslier, Ante Palaversa.

12. Chrismonster - Alisson Becker, Goes Rodrygo, Gabriel Barbosa, Christian Pulisic, Melo Arthur, Federico Valverde, Gabriel Martinelli, Kieran Tierney, Paulo Dybala, Max Aarons, Jack Grealish, Matt Doherty, Willy boly, James Tarkowski, Erik Pulgar, Karamoko Dembele, Sepp Van Den Berg, Santi Cazorla, Ferreira Pepe, Ricardo Quaresma, Dean Henderson, Jaun Vargas, Conor Coady.

13. Mikey_LFC  - Ansu Fati, Erling Håland, Vinícius Júnior, Matteo Guendouzi, Alphonso Davies, Donyell Malen, Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson, Morgan Gibbs white, Juan Foyth, Matty Longstaff, Kingsley Coman, Tyler Adams, Luiz Felipe, Oumar Solet, lloyd Kelly, Andriy Lunin, Jonathan David, Joe Gomez, Thiago Almada, Riqui Puig, Sean Longstaff, Rhian Brewster.

[KingLuis10]

Pretty hyped about this, not gonna lie. Time to rekindle the spirit of Garrincha.... Vamos Botafogo, the Lone Star!

[Midget]

A bit skeptical about the manual concerns still. The idea is fine, but in this system injuries and the amount of cup games you get to play play a big part in how you can allocate those 8 games. Let's say I have a 89 rated talent I want to keep, but he gets injured for 4 weeks. What if there's not enough games left to play him in when he gets back? Not sure if there is a better system necessarily, but just can see some hassle with it down the line. Willing to work with it and see how it goes though.

[Betty Blue]

A bit skeptical about the manual concerns still. The idea is fine, but in this system injuries and the amount of cup games you get to play play a big part in how you can allocate those 8 games. Let's say I have a 89 rated talent I want to keep, but he gets injured for 4 weeks. What if there's not enough games left to play him in when he gets back? Not sure if there is a better system necessarily, but just can see some hassle with it down the line. Willing to work with it and see how it goes though.

Sorry, I forgot to mention how injuries would work. Glad you brought it up. The idea mooted was that players injured for at least 4 games - could be multiple injuries - are exempt from concerns being applied that season. Similar with red card suspensions - though much less likely.

The number of games was very carefully weighed up. Others actually wanted more, but I decided on 8 because I don't want the concerns to feel restrictive or bothersome. They're simply there to give the world a different flavour and see more young/lower rated players on show - as with IRL football.

The cup is purposely incentivized in this way. I don't want people to throw these games, as often happens in SG, I want to see teams really going for it for once. In any case, everyone will have a minimum of 15 games a season to play with. Even 15 minutes off the bench counts as an appearance. So it shouldn't be too hard to complete the quota. And like I say, if it doesn't work out we can always tweak it.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Sounds great.

[Card Cheat]

Cracker.

Still working on my draft strategy!

[KingLuis10]

What's the selection order? 

[Lawnmowerman]

[Lawnmowerman]

Cracker.

Still working on my draft strategy!

I'd imagine if there's a downside to a low kitty, most peoples strategy is the same, Young players with low enough ratings and wages, that'll rise in time. Could become a draft obsessed with youth this. Is there anything in place to stop this? A cap on young players in the actual draft itself. No cap on after x amount of rounds is done

[The G in Gerrard]

Looking forward to this. I fly out at 9am tomorrow so need to think and send a list over as won't be back on until Saturday.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

For clarification we can draft players above 90 ? How many under 90 players do we need exactly, is there a minimum or?

[Betty Blue]

What's the selection order? 

Just working out who I hate the least 

Actually I was waiting a little to see if anyone out there on RAWK randomly wanted to join the draft.

I'd imagine if there's a downside to a low kitty, most peoples strategy is the same, Young players with low enough ratings and wages, that'll rise in time. Could become a draft obsessed with youth this. Is there anything in place to stop this? A cap on young players in the actual draft itself. No cap on after x amount of rounds is done

Interesting point. I'm open to adding a few new rules if people want it. Now's the one and only time - before we kick off the draft - that any changes could happen.

Personally, I have no special strategy as of yet! Besides avoiding picking too many high rated players. It's hard to predict how people will work around the lower budget.

For clarification we can draft players above 90 ? How many under 90 players do we need exactly, is there a minimum or?

Of course, it's only the cup where you'll have to field a team of u90s. The number of players needed in that bracket is a good question. I hadn't thought too deeply about it as I was sort of assuming most squads would be dominated by players in that range. But maybe it would be wise to specify a minimum. Could possibly also eek up the u90 cup to u91s for the first few seasons as well, just to allow for the fact our squads will be quite small.

[Lawnmowerman]

Interesting point. I'm open to adding a few new rules if people want it. Now's the one and only time - before we kick off the draft - that any changes could happen.

Personally, I have no special strategy as of yet! Besides avoiding picking too many high rated players. It's hard to predict how people will work around the lower budget.

I'm not entirely pushed about it, but the most bang for your limited buck in the game will be young players on the rise. If you do put a cap on players say - 23 and under being picked, it may force people to pick those 86/87/88 rated players that are well into their 20s and still have value fee wise. If people think 23 is too steep, then a potential cap on deffo 21 and under.

Or just raise the kitty so people will feel more comfortable shelling on those in the 20 mill bracket. I don't think there will be many players over 20mil being bought with a kitty so low so like i say, they'll go here the most bang for their buck is

It's a delicate balancing act. I don't envy you

[Betty Blue]

I'm not entirely pushed about it, but the most bang for your limited buck in the game will be young players on the rise. If you do put a cap on players say - 23 and under being picked, it may force people to pick those 86/87/88 rated players that are well into their 20s and still have value fee wise. If people think 23 is too steep, then a potential cap on deffo 21 and under.

Or just raise the kitty so people will feel more comfortable shelling on those in the 20 mill bracket. I don't think there will be many players over 20mil being bought with a kitty so low so like i say, they'll go here the most bang for their buck is

It's a delicate balancing act. I don't envy you

Yeah, I do see where you're coming from. I'm just not entirely sure what the cap should be, if at all. I'm reluctant to prevent people from drafting the way they want to either. Personally I think I'm going to wing it. I thought about creating a strategy, but really I just want some players I like in my squad. It's all a bit of fun at the end of the day, so maybe we shouldn't try to overthink it. The first couple of rounds will be fascinating in any case.

[Lawnmowerman]

Yeah it is a bit of fun and i'm not gonna overthink it. I did think of making a list of players and values added up but then i thought fook dat. Just wing it

[Betty Blue]

Yeah it is a bit of fun and i'm not gonna overthink it. I did think of making a list of players and values added up but then i thought fook dat. Just wing it

I did about 10 names and then realised how silly it was when you can just jump in the database and find the players easily enough.

Selection thread on the way.

[KingLuis10]

You can target younger risers or you can target cheaper older players with a view to being competitive & using the extra cash from doing well in the league/cups to reinvest in your squad. Both strategies worked well in Sleeping Giants. I'd probably raise the budget slightly if it were up to me but I'm happy to go with 220m as well.

[Betty Blue]

You can target younger risers or you can target cheaper older players with a view to being competitive & using the extra cash from doing well in the league/cups to reinvest in your squad. Both strategies worked well in Sleeping Giants. I'd probably raise the budget slightly if it were up to me but I'm happy to go with 220m as well.

Or you can wing it 

Willing to raise it to 250m if enough want it, but I got the impression in the SM discussions that people wanted a bit of a challenge.

[KingLuis10]

Haha I'm winging it for sure  Haven't made a list, just planning on picking a few players I like to start with. Then I'll see how much cash I have left to play with and work something out!

[Betty Blue]

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I was actually quite hoping to be much lower down on the list. Got no idea where it's good to be drawn in this to be honest.

[Lawnmowerman]

The one draft where i honestly couldn't have cared one bit if i came last.

Let's see what the first few do. Will there be a lemming off the cliff....

[Betty Blue]

The one draft where i honestly couldn't have cared one bit if i came last.

Let's see what the first few do. Will there be a lemming off the cliff....

Haha completely agree. I may well be that lemming    Can I really resist splurging.....  probably going to eenie meenie miny moe my first pick.

[LiverpoolForever]

When do we start ?

[Betty Blue]

When do we start ?

We've started! Defacto is up first, then he should PM you when it's your pick.

[Lawnmowerman]

Haha completely agree. I may well be that lemming    Can I really resist splurging.....  probably going to eenie meenie miny moe my first pick.

MBAPPEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! jaysus, imagine spending that amount of money on one player. But you only get one shot! jump jump jump!!!

[Betty Blue]

MBAPPEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! jaysus, imagine spending that amount of money on one player. But you only get one shot! jump jump jump!!!

Mindgames. You just want him to yourself. I see through you 

[Lawnmowerman]

Mindgames. You just want him to yourself. I see through you 

Raise the feckin kitty!! oh jaysus i want Bobby so bad. Can he justify my love

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Sadio Mane

[Lawnmowerman]

Sadio Mane

nearly 25% of your kitty on one player!! 

Pop it in the selection thread!!

[deFacto please, you bastards]

nearly 25% of your kitty on one player!! 

Money well spent 

[Lawnmowerman]

Money well spent 

You won't know until your team is put together!

[KingLuis10]

Jason Sancho aka Santy

Off to play some footy, will be back in an hour or so in case CC picks.

[Betty Blue]

Impressive curveball from Neil there. Could be a wise move given how expensive some keepers can get and how few good ones there are.

Had a top three for my first pick. Sadio was just behind Sancho, despite the cost. Given Mane's nailed on for a 95 I think he's worth the splurge. But I'd have taken Sancho regardless. Excellent value at 24m and looks set to be a superstar. Good chance of a 91 in the reviews too.

Interested to see how everyone below me plays it now. 220m is going to drain away in no time.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

I'm trying to pick players that I haven't had in any of my teams

[KingLuis10]

Boom baby!

Still miffed the Last Auction Heroes GW fell apart after I got my grubby hands on big Virg... let's try again 

Not sure what I would've done if CC hadn't picked Mbappe, mind. He made my choice a lot easier that's for sure!

[Betty Blue]

Boom baby!

Still miffed the Last Auction Heroes GW fell apart after I got my grubby hands on big Virg... let's try again 

Not sure what I would've done if CC hadn't picked Mbappe, mind. He made my choice a lot easier that's for sure!

Back in those days he was a lowly 93 player too. What a bargain he was. Interesting to see which players end up being the bargains in this one.

[kesey]

Code ?

[Betty Blue]

Code ?

So we pick before the GW can be logged into ?

If so . Iam out .

Mate, we can't create the GW until we're a few rounds in or else the CPU will start filling our squads up before we're ready to go.

Not too sure what difference it really makes? You can always see who has been picked on the first page in the selection thread and then check in on any old DB to research player values and whatnot.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Don't be a drama queen go make your pick

[kesey]

Don't be a drama queen go make your pick

I like to see what's there though . That's the thing. 

Ok. Fuck it.

Sterigou.