Beginning of Season 3, just got through the meat of free agency. Here's what I came down with:
GK- 20/57. He's going to be a developmental project. He started as a 50 oa 18 year old, but never saw much PT with his old club (17 games in 2 seasons) so I thought I'd give him a shot.
F- NF 32/61. Key ratings: FKD: 85, Shoot: 84, PM: 77. With no defensive ratings below 60, he'll see a lot of PT as a Wide Defender.
F- 31/69. Key ratings: CKO: 86, CKD: 95, Drib: 85, Shoot: 85, Tack: 91. He will be the other Wide Defender.
F- AV 32/61. Key ratings: CKD: 80, Drib: 89, Ball Strike: 83. A solid up and down player, he's a guy who has no real weak links and is a Box-to-Box kind of player. However, though he is a jack of all trades, he is also a master in none. He will be playing as a Wide Midfielder.
F- 32/69. Key ratings: Stamina: 91, Pass: 90, Shoot: 86, Rec: 92. The big get of this class, he can literally do it all, and do it all decently well. However, I want this team's strength to be up front, so he'll be playing Center Forward in hopes that he can facilitate the attack.
F- 23/59. Key ratings: Shoot: 85. He's the developmental player, as all the 18 year old forwards were far too expensive for me. (Cheapest one worth a hoot, an 18/41 F with 55 shooting and a lot of work to do elsewhere went for $360K.) He has a lot of flaws, but he could make a nice goalscorer at the very least.
Projected Lineups:
GK:
20/57- He will be the everyday starter, but I'll be avoiding him like the plague against top teams, in favor of...
Bench:
28/68- Our starter from last season.
Defense:
31/69- See above.
34/69- That midseason add from last season. Only scored 6 goals in 17 games up front after arriving last season and he'll be heading to the back. Such is life in this system.
35/66- After putting the ball in the back of the net 40 times in his first season with the club, he only popped in 11 in his first season at the back. He'll stay in Central Defense this season.
NF 32/61- FA signing. See above.
Bench:
33/63- Was a starting defender last season, he will come off the bench in defense this time around. I'll get to the other starting D from last season in a second.
29/54- The top backup from last season moves a little further down the line this season. He's a solid defender and he'll be sticking around for a while longer at least.
33/58- Servicable backup D, but he'll be out of here at the end of the season.
Midfield:
AV 32/61- See above.
34/64- The only actual midfielder on the roster. He's a set piece master and the midfield maestro of the team.
31/67- The other starting defender from last season and after scoring 17 times, he hops up to the middle, where I think he is better suited.
Bench:
28/61- A starter last year, after scoring 13 times last season, he'll move to the top backup role in the middle of the field.
26/62- Also a starter at mid from last season. 12 goals last season.
27/56- The top backup mid from last season, he played in 19 games. Expect him to see even fewer this season.
33/55- After playing 16 games last season, he'll be lucky to touch the field this year. He'll be gone at season's end.
Forward:
23/59- FA Signing. See above
32/69- FA Signing. See above.
29/64- The only returning starter up front and for good reason. He scored 33 goals in as many games last season, good for 4th in the league.
Bench:
34/63- The second leading scorer from last year's team with 25 goals in 28 games. He becomes the first off the bench.
27/62- After a solid start to his Cruz Rojo career early on (See the updates from season one earlier in the thread) he came back down to earth. He finished last season with 13 goals to his name.
29/56- Another guy who served me well early on, but will likely be shown the door at the end of the season. Played in just 8 games last season, scoring 3 goals.
Should be another good season. I see a top 3 finish for sure. Gunning for top 2. Worth noting, this league has some crazy scorers. 33 got my top scorer fourth. The league leader scored (are you sitting down for this one?) 71 goals.