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+--- Thread: #2 Rookie Season (/showthread.php?tid=423)
RE: #2 Rookie Season - Thunder39 - 2025-08-09
CPT #1
Kaapstadt’s Rookie Wall: Maverick Jones’ Rookie Season Review
There is always a jump in ability when transitioning from the academy to the Minors. This is a league with a mix of young up-and-coming stars and experienced veterans winding down their careers. Maverick Jones entered the season as a relative unknown. The keeper had been touted for his athleticism and composure, but few could have predicted that his first year in the top flight would end in lifting the league title with Kaapstadt.
Jones’ numbers tell a mixed story. His 14 wins tied him for second among all keepers, and his 8 clean sheets were the best in the league. Those figures alone would have been enough to mark him as a star in the making.
A closer look at the stats paints a slightly different picture. His 12 goals conceded ranked as the lowest in the league, but his save percentage of 68.42% was only the sixth best, a figure that suggests he was more the beneficiary of a dominant defensive unit and not a star between the posts.
Kaapstadt’s back line was a brick wall this season. Time and again, they snuffed out attacks before they could develop, leaving Jones with fewer high pressure moments than most of his peers. When called into action, he delivered enough to keep the momentum rolling, though there were matches where lapses in positioning or handling reminded fans that he was still a young keeper making his way in the league.
Jones did have his moments this season, but he will definitely be looking to build on his performance next season. A weird thing to say about a season in which your team wins the league. Another strong season from Jones and Kappstadt and we may be talking about Jones as one of the league's elite keepers in the next few years.
Approved - And congrats on the title!
RE: #2 Rookie Season - Ben - 2025-08-18
Task 1: Biography
Ben Nelson’s rookie season with Seoul Mythic marked a significant step in his footballing journey, as the New Zealander transitioned from his academy team the Victoria Falls Eagles to the competitive environment of the Minor League. Asked to play primarily as a centre back, Nelson demonstrated the versatility that has been a hallmark of his career, adapting his natural midfield instincts to provide stability and composure at the heart of the defence. His ability to read the game, distribute under pressure, and anticipate opposition movements proved invaluable for a Seoul side that exceeded expectations.
Seoul began the season brightly with a 3–1 victory over Athênai F.C. and continued to build momentum with notable wins against AS Paris, Inter London, and a thrilling 6–3 away triumph over Cairo City. Nelson featured consistently, bringing balance to the back line and often initiating counterattacks through his sharp passing. His influence extended beyond defence, as he contributed a goal and an assist across the campaign, his goal coming in a tightly contested 2–2 draw against Athênai, where he rose highest from a corner, while his assist helped seal a 2–1 home win over Montréal United.
Despite a strong first half of the season, Seoul faced challenges in the final stretch, dropping points against F.C. Kaapstad, Cairo City, and Montréal United. Even so, Nelson’s leadership qualities and reliability were clear, as he remained a central figure in the squad throughout the ups and downs. Seoul ultimately finished third on 23 points, defying pre-season predictions that had them closer to the bottom of the table.
For Nelson, the campaign was both a test and a statement. His rookie season showed he could adapt to new roles, perform under pressure, and contribute meaningfully at both ends of the pitch, an encouraging sign as he looked to establish himself further in the professional game.
Approved
RE: #2 Rookie Season - ThePope - 2025-08-18
[CT #1]
After wrapping up his first full season with Krung Thep FC in Thailand, Peter Apostle returned home for a brief visit. Sitting down with L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican City’s own newspaper, Peter reflected on his whirlwind rookie year in the SSL, the challenges of adapting abroad, and what the future might hold.
“It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since I was drafted. Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real sometimes. After bouncing around in Italy and catching the tail end of the SSL Academy season, I never thought things would move this quickly. Getting picked up by Tenochtitlan and then sent to Krung Thep in Thailand for my first full season—it’s been a whirlwind.
This year wasn’t easy. A lot of people think stepping into professional football is all excitement and glamour, but the truth is it takes work—long hours, sweat, and sometimes frustration. Krung Thep had a heavy midfield presence, so I had to adjust. I came in as a CM/CDM, but I found myself learning to play center-back more often than not. At first it was tough, but by the end of the season, I felt like I could hold my own there just as well as in midfield.
I managed to earn 14 starts, which I’m really proud of, and I’ll never forget matchday 3 against Rapid Magyar. Scoring from outside the box like that—it’s the kind of moment you dream about as a kid. I might not be the goal-scoring star I once imagined myself becoming, but I found a lot of joy in helping the team in other ways. I picked up an assist, got a Man of the Match award, and kept an 87% pass completion rate with 16 key passes throughout the season. It felt good knowing I could be trusted to move play forward and create opportunities.
Defensively, I think I showed I can be reliable. I won 71% of my tackles and 56% of my headers, and over the year I racked up 4 key tackles, 39 interceptions, and 19 clearances. Those aren’t numbers that get you headlines like a striker’s goals or a keeper’s saves, but they mean something to me. My season average came out to 6.98—not bad for a rookie finding his feet.
When I look back, what stands out isn’t just the football. It’s the experience—getting to play professionally, living in Thailand, trying incredible food, and building friendships with my teammates. It’s been an amazing first year, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This is only the beginning.”
Approved
RE: #2 Rookie Season - Bayley - 2025-08-20
Career Task #1
JMH had a very eventful rookie season in Academy. He played 14 games for Accra in Academy running 173.7 KM with 3 goals, 3 assists, 15 shots on Target, and a successful pass rate of 85.74%. JMH played pretty much in central midfield, in that holding central midfield position which is not necessarily very normal for what he is used to. But, there was a really good learning curve in being able to hold the ball up and not just go straight forward on the attack. His 18 tackles won was what really led Liffeyside to select JMH in the 2nd round, 22nd overall in the Season 22 Prospect Draft.
They have other plays for JMH though. They are looking at him to be more of a wing back, much different from his traditional CAM position that he is used to. So, that is about to be a huge challenge for Hendry. He was always a natural playmaker, so this time, it will come from the wing rather than moving in the center of the park. He will be more of a playmaker down the wing, so that will be exciting change to challenge JMH a little more.
So, where do we go from here? Reports have JMH heading right up to Liffeyside which will be another huge challenge for the young Benelux player. He will be playing people that have been in the league for 8-10 seasons. As an expansion team, there are always challenges, but this is going to be another one. A pure rookie not even making a stop in the minors and heading right to the majors. Does this happen often? This does not, but this is the start of the new look JMH. He is going to be a mainstay on defense for the squad. From Accra to Liffeyside, it is about growing, learning, and making the most of his opportunity.
Quote:Words: 316Approved - JMH deserved better then 22 OA
RE: #2 Rookie Season - Nion - 2025-09-04
#1 Biography
Brodie James rookie season wasn't that bad, but it was questionable.
Let's start with his Academy Season for context.
Sydney City Academy came 1st in the Academy season!
Brodie James has made 14 Goals, 3 Assists with the most Distance ran with 203.8 Kilometres, with an average rating of 7.55.
He got the highest XG with 13.67 (Don't laugh).
This performance eventually got him a spot in the Academy Team of The Season.
Unfortunately, some of the defenders in the S21 draft practically hate him, because he got fouled against the most.
Now, fast forward to the S21 Prospect Draft.
Despite his top 3-5 effort in the SSL Academy and his talk with 6 teams, he DID NOT get drafted to any of them UNTIL THE VERY LAST PICK!
He almost crashed out thinking that he wasn't going to be drafted even though he played so well in the SSL Academy, along with getting a Team of The Season spot for the Academy later on. He felt a massive sense of relief as if he nearly bottled a 3-0 lead in the UCL final.
He did need to stay in Sydney for a bit, because he wouldn't get a flight ticket to Auckland from Darwin, as it would be a waste of time.
For one moment, he was confusion, "Why is an Iceland team in the Majors League, a New Zealand team in the minors league, but an Australian team is an Academy team?" (Get the reference?)
Fast Forward to the end of the season.
Despite scoring 5 goals this season along with not winning a trophy as of yet, Brodie James took his rookie season as a "good start", and I indeed agree.
Brodie James got 5 Goals (like I mentioned), 4 Assists with 3 Goals coming from direct Free-Kicks, with an average rating of 6.76.
He didn't get highest stats for literally anything (unless there's something I missed).
Brodie James didn't get picked up by an expansion team, but he did stay with North Shore for the S22 season.
He's loving the club he plays for right now, but only time will tell what'll happen.
"God Bless" - Brodie James
Also, yes Aussies call it "soccer", but I call it football (even though I'm Australian)
Approved - Lots of career ahead for James. He's in a good spot!
RE: #2 Rookie Season - Crunk - 2025-09-07
CPT1
Nyron Nosworthy had, to be completely frank, one hell of an Academy career. Playing on the right wing, he was:
11th in Goals Scored (7)
14th in Expected Goals Overperformance (1.4)
12th in Shots (36)
12th in Shots on Target (17)
5th in Assists (7)
8th in Expected Assists (5.59)
5th in Chances Created (16)
5th in Crosses Attempted (121)
These numbers were no doubt one of the reasons that Port Royal FC went on to win the Academy league with a dramatic 3-1 victory over Victoria Falls. Nyron didn't have the highest highs - Alejandro Fuecoco had some incredible individual performances - but Nyron was consistent and productive.
Between the championships and his performance, it wasn't a huge surprise when the newly formed expansion team Liffeyside Celtic FC picked Nyron with their first pick as a franchise - second overall in the prospect draft. What certainly was a surprise was that they immediately converted him from a left winger into a centre back. Not only that, the rookie centre back was thrown in at the deep end - immediately placed in a starting spot in the majors.
So, how is that going? Somewhat predictably, not well. As of now, after 5 games, Liffeyside have a single point, have conceded the most goals in the league and are only kept off the bottom of the league by an AC Romana team who have only scored two goals in 7 and a half hours of football.
And as for Nyron, he is far from a superstar as of yet, though he leads the league in clearances, is joint second in key tackles and ranks fifth in shots blocked. It was never going to be a great season for Liffeyside, but the rookie is already putting up some numbers, and he has plenty of time to improve and many seasons of career left to prove himself.
(307)
Approved - Tigibh A Chelitigh!
RE: #2 Rookie Season - woog - 2025-09-09
Career 1
My first season was one of inconsistent play - the fire, the water - with inconsistent burst of excellence and poor defence all averaging out to modest totals.
All this suits me. I am the jaguar stalking in the night. I am not meant to be noticed most of the time. On the other hand, my results should leave a greater mark.
An average match rating of 7.1 certainly looks like camouflage, like an invisible stalker. On the other hand, being caught offside 9 times - ninth in the league - is poor hunting. 27 fouls - third in the academy - is clearly evidence of hunting, but not successful hunting. I have much to learn. Is being 16th in yellow cards when I was 3rd in fouls proof I fouled poorly or well? I do not know.
19th in goals in the academy is adequate. 14th in assists means I work well enough with other hunters. And I ran the 15th most in matches. These are all acceptable. A man must work hard and deliver results.
I have no clear sense of whether my defending has any value, others will tell me. The academy taught me to move my attacking range a little farther out, both for my own chances and those of my teammates.
As I look back on the season in Port Royal, the team's success is what I will remember, the team's academy championship the accomplishment that matters. On the final day, Istanbul won their match, forcing us to win ours if we wanted the championship. We thank you for that pressure, Istanbul. I will salute your graduates when I face them in the minor league. And when we do, we will show them what we have learned since then.
I too have earned my place in the minor league, in Rova. I will learn to make Rova's hunt my hunt, as Port Royal's became my hunt last season.
Approved - The hunt is on!
RE: #2 Rookie Season - RussDrivesTheBus - 2025-09-26
Career PT 1[url=https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showthread.php?tid=224&pid=88190#pid88190][/url]
Once Rashford and Chicken caught wind of Derbatov's elite skill and pulled the trigger on getting him into the squad, they saw what they had hoped for, yet also feared. Derba was running circles around the youngsters and doing what he was put on the earth to do; put ball in net. The defenders were getting quite discouraged because they simply could not stop him. Rabonas, bicycle kicks, tricycle kicks, headers from outside the box. He could not stop putting ball in net, as he had his entire youth. While this would be incredibly helpful on the pitch against opponents, it was truly destroying the morale of the North Shore defensive unit. So, Rashford did what no other manager ever would have thought to do. He challenged Bimi. He told him to take a minimum of 4 touches once in the box before attempting a finish. If he didn't want to take 4 touches or didn't have time, then he had to pass it off. He also couldn't take any more penalties or free kicks. Naturally, Bimi was absolutely gobsmacked, and frankly, offended by such an antithetical request. They had a bit of a shouting match, but eventually, cooler heads prevailed. Derbatov took the challenge on and put his mind to figuring out why he would be asked to do such a thing. Rashford's genius was put on full display as Bimi was able to even further hone his craft in practice and then fully unleash against unwitting opponents, all while his defense was able to remain mentally sharp. He stormed out of the gates in his rookie season for North Shore and tallied 16 goals. It was less than the media had expected, but he was also able to subvert their expectations by adding in 10 assists. Surely, his new found ability to share the power of ball in net with his teammates came from the expert management of North Shore.
Approved
RE: #2 Rookie Season - tomtommen - 2025-09-30
CP #1
In Tom Mæddisen's first season with Montreal United he played 13 matches in total. That would be 1147 minutes. He ran 172,9 km gathering up one goal and one assist. He made ten shots on target out of a total of 25 attempted shots. But Tom Mæddisen is not really about scoring or making shots. It is just a bonus that happens now and then. Tom Maddisen is all about passing and creating chances. That's what he likes to do. He made 489 sucsessful passes out of 559 attempts. That's an impressive 87,48 in passing percentage. But he need to work a bit on his crossing though as he only hit 3 long crosses out of 14 attempts. Not very impressive. The cross percentage was at a mear 21,43. He created eight chances in total and won six out of 46 headers. As you probably can tell he has five in heading. He also made seven dribbles. Which is something he would like to do more of. The tackle percentage is at 64. Which is impressive to actually not be that good at it. He also made 22 intecerptions, six clearances and made no mistake leading to goal. Collected one yellow card after eight fouls. He was actually fouled as many times as he did foul others. He also made two blocks and had an average rating of 6,95. A rather average player in total in his first season.
But this was not thought to be Tom Mæddisen's big year. He is a very young and just a raw talent. His time will come. He was also a bit down on the pecking order in Montreal United as they had many good midfielders that season. He will be nurtured into being an important piece on the team in the future.
Words: 324
Approved - 6.95 is solid for a rookie year. Keep going Tom!
RE: #2 Rookie Season - boom - 2025-10-04
CPT #1
Orla Hughes-Galloway has been having a successful rookie season so far for CS Rova Mpanjaka, helping the new expansion team to reach as high as sixth place in the SSL Minors Division standings through the first two-thirds of the season. It took her a little while to get used to the routines of being part of a new team and learning a new system, but she's been able to play a style of soccer that's comfortable for her and that's parlayed into getting four goals and four assists through 16 games, up there with the better players on an up-and-coming Rova side. On the pitch, she's been a positive presence at the left attacking midfielder role, routinely banging around near the opposing goal to produce chances for herself and her teammates. Orla's skill set has helped to create mismatches for her teammates to exploit, using her speed and agility up from to go both north-south and east-west on the pitch and draw defenders to her. Another mark of an attacking player creating chances is drawing a fair amount more fouls than they commit, and Orla has been respectable in this regard, drawing 28 fouls while only committing 13. Over the last third of the season, Orla is working on developing more consistency with her offensive contributions and learning to think the game more accurately so that she can make smart decisions with and without the ball. The physical skill set is there with her agility and ball-handling skills, but whether Orla succeeds or not at the higher levels of the SSL will depend on if she can develop the mental game to go with it. She's doing her best to prove to the Liffeyside Celtic management that they made the right choice trading into the third round to draft her and working to earn that eventual callup to playing in Ireland.
Approved - Potential steal of the draft! Love seeing Orla playing hard week in and week out!