#2 Rookie Season

[Wiggo]

Career #1

Full of excitement, Billy Bobby makes the journey to join up with his fellow Academy teammates in anticipation of a brand new season. Having just finished 3rd in an 8-team league just 2 points shy of the top spot, the club were eager to build and make their way to the summit.

Billy Bobby started life as RB at Victoria falls, as had been his most common position throughout his training as youth prospect, while occasionally filling in further up the field when required. The season start was harder than anyone could have anticipated and Victoria were shell-shocked. Winless in the first 5 games, inlcuding 3 losses. Matchday 5 was the worst of them all though, seeing Victoria succumb to a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Istanbul.

Billy knew he wasn't able to make the contributions that he was capable of in the system the team were playing and decided to speak to the manager to discuss what could be done to change the fortunes of the team. It was decided that Billy would now play as a RW for the team, a chance to express his creative ability with the ball at his feet, running at defenders.

The turnaround was almost instantaneous. 4 wins from their next 5 games, with Billy starting to contribute with both goals and assists. He had finally found his form after coming back from his injury, and the team were now living up to their potential. We even saw revenge against Istanbul in the reverse fixture with a 2-1 win. 

Unfortunately, the start of the season was too much of a mountain to climb. Victoria finished the season with a 5W-3D-6L record, a 5th place finish with 12 points off the top spot. Not the season that Victoria had hoped for, but was a great recovery after only having 2 points from the first 5 games.

Billy was proud of the part he played, which saw him finish the season with 5 goals and 3 assists and the 12th highest average rating among all players, which was a great achievement considering this was a much bigger class than normal. This fine return has seen Billy signed by Cairo in the SSL minor leagues, continuing his journey across Africa, now on the other side of the continent and looking to prove himself at an ever higher level.

Approved - Best of luck to Billy in Cairo! 

[fAeser]

https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showt...4#pid94374

After finishing his Academy season with Jakarta finishing 2nd last in the league, Chris Warrick didnt know how to feel about the upcoming draft. On one hand he was excited about it and his individual performance had also been good with an average rating of 7.02 but his team had performed poorly and he felt sad, he felt that he didnt do enough. Nevertheless he had to put it all behind him and continue to train and get better for the future.
On draft night, Chris Warrick sat with his fellow players awaiting for their name to be called. Began Round 1. No Call. "its alright it will come" he thought to himself. Then  as Round 2 finished he felt distraught. "so am i just not good enough in their eyes" he thought. Then began round 3. And there it was.
Picked as the no. 2 pick in the Third Round by Reykjavik, Chris Warrick stood up from his seat and went up to the stage and shook hands with the commish, he was very excited to play for this esteemed organisation of the league but deep down there was a fire burning within him, for he thought that he was just seen as a fringe player in the league and not a top tier one, the ones teams sought out for.

So there he was making his debut in the minor league for North Shore United the minor league team of this organisation. And, he was on fire during his rookie season scoring 5 goals and making 3 assists  while playing Right Back and had an average rating of 7.47. North Shore came 2nd in the league narrowly losing out to AS Paris but there was so much to be proud of still for this team. Warrick  made the SSL Minors Team of the Season during the season end award ceremony as he took the award and stared at the crowd he wondered if he had been able to show the league what they had just missed out on.

Approved - A very good rookie season no question! 

[OblivionWalker]

Career 1

Another soul that had done his best at Jakarta, Takeda Takahashi really wasn't sure what to expect for the draft. He had a few teams reach out but really didn't get a feel for where he could go and honestly he was just hoping to go at all once the draft started.

Being selected in the third round by Schwarzwälder FV, Takeda could take a deep breath. He had a team, and he had something to start working toward. He was in touch with the coaches almost immediately and was pleased to see a very specific and detailed training plan for him of what the team wanted him to work on over the course of the season. To some, it might have seemed like an impossible task, but Takeda wasn't raised to be a quitter, and he wasn't about to start now. He hoped the prove worth of Schwarzwälder FV's selection and perhaps even improve his stock as time went on while he was with Montreal, Schwarzwälder FV's minor league team.

With his training plan in hand, Takeda got to work (after calling home to tell his parents the news, of course). Being a rookie, Takeda was aware of the fact that there would be rotations, and he wasn't going to be playing in every game, so he wanted to train hard and make sure that the minutes he did get were used to their fullest potential.

In 15 appearances and with 1,380 minutes played, Takeda managed to get be named the player of the match once and racked up seven goals and eight assists, a point per appearance average. There was still more to improve on, namely getting his crosses more on target and also improving the accuracy of his headers but for a first season in which he wasn't even on the pitch for every game, Takeda proved that he would contribute and also work hard to get better.

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Approved - Solid Rookie season to build on for Takeda. 

[Ashes]

CPT #1

After being drafted 30th overall by AC Romana in the S21 SSL Prospect Draft, Jesper Sjöman made his debut with their minor league club, Inter London FC. Expectations weren't very high, as both the major and minor league sides were predicted to finish near the bottom of the table- London in particular was already a bottom half club, and they were expected to take a further step back as some of their more experienced players were replaced by newly drafted rookies who would, no doubt, need some time to adjust to the faster pace of football played at this level. Finding his role on the Inter London roster as an attacking midfielder, Jesper was awarded a spot on the team's starting lineup from the start, playing every minute in all 20 of his appearances. However, when it came to the actual matches, it went about as it was predicted. ILFC won just 3 of their 18 games in Season 21, actually tying for last place on points with both Athenai and Cairo City - but, as they had the best goal differential of the three (a very hard earned -32), Inter London officially finished 8th in the, at the time, 10 team league. I mean, it counts. The SSL Cup also did not go London's way, as they were knocked out by Minor League top dogs Montreal United in the first round, with an aggregate match score of 8-2. As for how Jesper himself performed, he wasn't outright bad, he was just very mediocre. Across all 20 matches he played, he failed to score a single goal (despite having an xG of 2.36) and only recorded 4 assists, not great for a player who's meant to be more offense-focused. But, however unremarkable his stats in his debut season may have been, it was enough for AC Romana to call him up to the senior team for his 2nd season.

Approved - Best of luck in Rome! 

[lemonoppy]

https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showt...9#pid90439

Although the season ended poorly for Lisfor IloveZeagle, the Academy time was a productive era of play for him. He hadn’t expected as much success as he had, but the play on the pitch set him up to showcase his talents and abilities as a central midfielder for the Sydney squad. It was a delight being able to carve up the left side, where he was set for the majority of the season. Through his season, he was able to display his brilliance on the ball as a pivot and to flex out wide with a wicked cross that could come out of thin air, when the defense least expected it. This constant work to improve his left foot materialized by the end of the season and IloveZeagle credits the hard work and dedication of his manager, camgoldengun, in developing his play to a place where he feels excited and driven to get to the next level, becoming a true central bulwark for his majors team while developing in the second tier of the professional league, the SSL.

Going into this season, ILoveZeagle is excited and a bit nervous, having been drafted in the first round and unsure yet of what expectations of him are, and where the gaffer wants him to line up. ILoveZeagle expects, and hopes for, a central position, being on the left in Sydney was great for his development, but he feels an affinity and draw towards the center of the pitch. Dropping back into a CDM or CM position or pushing forward as a Striker also would make sense to him, but if the manager sees the amount of trust and workload that Sydney placed on him, and want a forward pushing, attacking CD, that would make sense to ILoveZeagle as well, although that seems more like an inverted wingback, to make use of his killer cross.

ILoveZeagle heads into this rookie season with a new organization looking to make an immediate difference and to claim his spot in the starting XI. Hoping for an average rating of at least 7, a couple goals, and something like 8 assists would be a great start for this young star’s rookie campaign.

Approved - Would love to see you get a few goals and assists to start your career!

[Pandar]

Career PT#1

Arsène N’Goussou had a very successful first season in the SSL.  Having completed a solid Academy season at Port Royal, N’Goussou was selected 4th overall by the Shanghai Dragons FC organization, and was assigned to Rapid Magyar SC.  When N’Goussou reported for training, he found out that he’d be shifting out of his Port Royal position of Central Attacking Midfielder, and would be shifting out to the side of the pitch, becoming a Left-wing Attacking Midfielder.  He also learned he’d immediately be slotting into the starting eleven, so he was thrilled, to say the least. 

Arsène spent most of that off-season learning to play from the wing position, and also spent some time getting up into the striker position, so that he’d be ready to meet the needs of Magyar, and Shanghai in the future.  During the season, he spent most of his training time trying to improve his speed and quickness, and is hoping that that will pay dividends in his sophomore season.  He also worked on becoming more proficient on working the ball with his weak foot, and his hoping to improve even more in the coming campaign.

During his rookie season with Magyar, N’Goussou posted some very solid numbers, offensively.  He made 22 appearances during the Minors’ season, posting an average match rating of 6.83.  He posted 8 goals from 25 shots on target.  He had 377 passes with a 83.96% completion percentage, with 1 assist.  Where N’Goussou really shined this season was the SSL Cup competition.  In his 3 appearances, Arsène posted the 5th highest average Match Rating at 8.51, and posted 4 goals, tying him for 3rd most in the Cup, and 2 assists (5th in the competition).

N’Goussou seemed to run out of gas down the stretch, and was struggling to make contributions that were nearly as meaningful in the last games of the season.  This also likely contributed to Magyar finishing 10th in the table, and being relegated to the lower Minors League for the upcoming re-alignment.  This fall in performance also lead to his exclusion from the Pyrenees squad in the WSFC.  However, he’s been using these disappointments to fuel his training during the off-season, and is committed to doing everything he can to get Magyar promoted at the end of the coming season.

Code:

385 words

Approved - I have a feeling N'Goussou will play for Pyrenees next time around!

[mastersheep]

Career PT1

Zaza Banana is a rising star in the Simulation Soccer League.  After his academy season with the Victoria Falls Eagles where he led all players with 19 goals, he hoped for a smooth transition to the minor league.  So Banana made the long trek to New Zealand to debut with his first professional club, the North Shore United where he hoped to have an impact right away.

Banana appeared in all twenty matches with North Shore and finished tenth in goals scored with 10 goals.  Along with Brodie James and Mikko Rashford III, the team had a fairly strong triple offensive threat, however Banana’s inexperience showed and often he could not get into position to shoot as often as a striker should.  While he was still top ten in shots attempted, it was far worse than some of the more experienced strikers around the minor league.  When he did find his footing, he struck home very well and when he was on, he was on fire.  He had some standout performances and was named player of the match in three of his appearances.

During one of his strongest performances, Banana showed how lethal he is with a two goal performance against Rapid Magyar SC.  His first goal came after North Shore had already been applying tremendous pressure.  Rapid Magyar tried to clear, but turned it back over to the North Shore attack.  Kika Bahl made a great cross right on to the head of Banana, who made no mistake from that distance.  Later on, with the score 2-1 nearing the 70 minute mark, Banana came up big again when Rashford III made a cross just at the edge of the goal line and Banana headed it home once again right in front of the keeper.  North Shore went on to win the match 3-1 and Banana earned a player of the match award with an 8.7 match rating. 

Banana hopes to continue improving as a forward and have more performances like that one.  Eventually, he hopes to turn into a solid offensive player for North Shore and make his way to the major league club, Reykjavik United.  His dream is that one day he can help bring a championship back to Reykjavik.

Code:

373 words

Approved - I bet Zaza will be in Reyk before you know it! 

[Turd Ferguson]

Career PT #1

Turd Ferguson’s rookie season was an interesting experience, to say the least. A somewhat late addition to the draft class meant that there was a bit of a skill gap to make up, and that certainly showed in Turd’s stats, as he did not score any goals in the few games he played. However, he did see some team success as he was a member of the cup-winning Victoria Falls Eagles squad, and made lots of fond memories goofing off with his teammates. In all, it was a good learning experience for Turd as he accustomed himself to professional football.
 
The draft changed everything, however. After some really positive conversations with scouts for several teams, Turd was contacted by the management team at CD Tenochtitlan and asked if he would be willing to play as a goalkeeper. An astounding proposition, but one that Turd found intriguing and ultimately accepted. After CD Tenochtitlan traded up and took Turd second overall in the draft, the deal was sealed, and the change was made. Apparently – and this is something Turd did not know at the time – a player moving from an outfield position to goalkeeper is relatively rare. Turd will be blazing something of his own path going forward.
 
So, Turd has spent all of the offseason training for his big switch. He was already playing at left wingback, so he at least has some defensive chops, but this is still a sizeable transition for the young player. Luckily CD Tenochtitlan has the expertise of Calvin Ball, one of the sport’s foremost goalkeepers. Calvin has been working individually with Turd on his positioning, aerial reach, and defensive reads on things like corners and set pieces, and has the youngster feeling confident heading into his first season as the starting goalkeeper for his new squad. It will certainly be difficult at times, given the nature of the transition, but Turd has the full support of his teammates and management, and the sky is the limit for him!

Approved - Good luck to Turd as he takes the net!

[Prayl07]

Career PT #1


Otto Rocket came into the Simulation Soccer league very very very late. Almost stereotypically for a surfer from California. It wasn't Otto's fault, he just got dates mixed up and clicked join too early in his opinion. So he was really really early not really really late. 

Otto was picked up in the Academy League by Sydney City. He joined them in time to only appear in their last 2 games of the academy season. Otto did play those games through full time and actually got his first assist in the last game with a beauty of a cross into the box after a mis-play by the opponents. Otto did have 40 of 50 passes completed in those games giving him 80% passing.  Otto was looking to be a key distributer in any offense and he tried his best by attempting 34 crosses. The downside was only 5 of those crosses became successful so he looks at that stat as something to improve on in the future. He did create 4 chances for Sydney in his limited time and won 4 of 7 tackles. He finished his 2 games with Sydney with a 6.9 rating. 

The draft came for Otto and he was trying to guess where he would end up at. He had many different scouting conversations and ended up getting picked by Liffeyside in the first round! Liffeyside has done a fantastic job of welcoming him into the locker room and getting him ready for his first minor season. The training for the upcoming season was brought on by Crunk who told him to run. That was it, just run. So Otto has spent the majority of the off-season running up and down the field non-stop in hopes that his numbers are good enough to help CS Rova Mpanjaka to the minors cup this season. The running has been beneficial as Otto's pace is already starting to turn heads! 

Otto Rocket is going show their power this coming season!

Approved - Otto is going to help Rova fly!

[saket23]

Career PT #1

Just a few years after picking up the sport, Zweig had impressed scouts from all over the world, there was interests from several team but Stockholm were able to win the sweep stakes, it made total sense for him to pick a team nearby his academy so he can keep in touch with his friends and coaches.
The big leagues awaited Zweig, it wasn't his first rodeo in the big leagues, Will he be able to turn the tables this time? or will his bad luck continue over from Tennis? As much as he came off as a "shit talking arrogant" guy, even he was feeling the pressure, he couldn't sleep at night thinking of his disastrous years once he went professional in tennis, He spent countless hours just thinking of what could've been, all the mistakes he made, and what he could've done. That anxiety reflected in his debut game where he pretty much was invisible the entire game, he barely touched the ball and was useless. It wasn't a good impression and questions were asked. All Zweig was thinking about was "Its happening again isnt it?" but it all completely changed when during the bus travel to the hotel, his coach took the seat besides him and talked to him for hours; not about football but just life. He knew what Zweig was going through and tried his best to clear his head space. Zweig needed that talk, and it truly woke him up.

The next 10 week were just cinema. One good game after another and the entire football world was put on notice that Patrick Zweig had arrived. The streets of Stockholm were filled with posters of his. He had 8 G/A in the next 10 games with an average rating of 7.38!! Zweig didn't even play the first 3 weeks but despite that, he was among the top goal contributors and was named in the Team of the week 3 times and the Team of the season! He capped off his first every season with a goal too. The signs of a future franchise player were very much there as he had taken his first steps towards being a superstar......

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