AS Paris - What a Minor League season so far! (Thoughts till Minors MD-10)

[Summerstood]

As a Parisian (as in my team is AS Paris, not that I am from there or I know French!), I certainly hoped that we win the Minors this year. Yes, there was hope but after looking at the other teams, I had a feeling that while it is easy to hope for something like that, I had to be realistic with my expectations. But boy oh boy, what a season we have had so far! It is turning out to be a very good season for us in the league and we would certainly like to keep it that way! Without further adieu, let me take you (YOU, YES YOU!) through the journey of AS Paris in the Minor League so far this season.

POINTS TABLE SO FAR:


A near domination in the league so far with 9 wins out of a possible 10. Let us go match by match shall we?


MATCHDAY 1: AS Paris 6 - 2 Inter London

The Parisians started off the league with a bang scoring six at home against Inter London. This match featured a hat trick from Eric Belmont, one goal a piece from Leandro Dybala, Slab Head and Irepsej Imenaktok. The hat trick from Belmont ensured that he got his first Player of the Match award.

MATCHDAY 2: Cairo City 1 - 4 AS Paris

AS Paris followed their MD-1 performance with a four goal bashing of Cairo City away at Cairo. This time, the goal contributions was again spread out, with Slab Head, Ashito Aoi, Ron Wince and Vito Habjanic scoring a goal each. The goal scored and a pretty good defensive performance saw Ashito Aoi win his first Player of the Match award in his nascent SSL career.

MATCHDAY 3: Athênai F.C. 3 - 5 AS Paris

Paris kept their nascent win streak alive by scoring 5 more goals away at Athens this matchday. The goals were split even with Ron Wince, Vito Habjanic, Eric Belmont, Leandro Dybala and Angry Lizard scoring one goal a piece. Another fantastic performance saw Eric Belmont win his second Player of the Match award this season.

MATCHDAY 4: AS Paris 1 - 3 North Shore United

A tactical masterclass from North Shore United saw AS Paris lose their first points this season, losing 1-3. The only goal from the home side was scored by Eric Belmont, who by now was already amongst the top goal scorers in the league.

MATCHDAY 5: Krung Thep FC 0 - 3 AS Paris

The loss in the previous matchday spurned AS Paris and they had a comfortable 3-0 win over recent joiners Krung Thep over in sunny Bangkok. This match yet again saw contributions of different players in the scoresheet with Vito Habjanic, Ashito Aoi and Dunkler Sowerwine entering the scoresheet. This match had Vito Habjanic win his first Player of the Match award after a good few goalscoring games from him.

MATCHDAY 6: AS Paris 3 - 2 Montréal United

The battle of the Francophiles saw Paris overcome a 0-2 deficit to see off Montreal by winning the game 3-2. Leandro Dybala, Dunkler Sowerwine and Eric Belmont scored one goal a piece and Dybala finally won his first Player of the Match award of the season.

MATCHDAY 7: Rapid Magyar SC 1 - 8 AS Paris

This match was a goal fest for Paris. Nuff said. A six goal masterpiece from Eric Belmont made sure Paris beat the other new joiner to Minors by a comfortable seven goal margin away from home. This performance from Belmont saw him rise to the top of the scoring chart in the Minor League and win his third Player of the Match award for the season. Dunkler Sowerwine and Angry Lizard were the other goal scorers in this match.

MATCHDAY 8: AS Paris 1 - 0 Seoul Mythic FC

This was a rather quiet night for the Parisians as they beat Seoul Mythic FC 1-0. The solitary goal was scored by the centre back Slab Head. The "Slab Header" from him ensured in him receiving his first Player of the Match award this season.

MATCHDAY 9: F.C. Kaapstad 1 - 2 AS Paris

A true top of the table clash right in the middle of the season. The last fixture for AS Paris before the reverse fixtures start. Ultimately though, the Parisians came out on top owing two the goals scored by Ron Wince and Ashito Aoi. Both Wince and Aoi gave their everything in this match but ultimately due to some good defensive and offensive work & a splendid goal scored to boot, Ashito Aoi won his second Player of the Match title after his performance in this match

MATCHDAY 10: AS Paris 5 - 1 Cairo City

In the first reverse fixture of their season, Paris made light work of Cairo at home scoring five goals. Slab Head and Eric Belmont scored twice and Vito Habjanic scored once in this match for the Parisians. Yet another fantastic performance from Eric Belmont saw him stay at the Minor League goalscoring chart with 14 goals to his name so far and this performance earned him his fourth Player of the Match award this season.



GOAL DATA ---

Goals For: 38
Goals Against: 14
Goal Difference: 24

Paris so far have the highest goals scored slightly edging out fellow rivals North Shore United by a single goal. As far as goals conceded with 14 is concerned, they have the second best record just behind F.C. Kaapstad with 11. But due to their overall performance they have the best Goal Difference amongst all the Minor League teams so far this season. 


LEAGUE LEADERS FROM AS PARIS FOR INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS (Till Minors MD-10):

Eric Belmont :
First in Goal scoring chart - 14 
First in Player of the Match Award received - 4

Leandro Dybala:
First in the Assists chart - 12
Joint Eighth in Key Chances created - 13

Vito Habjanic:
Seventh in the Assists chart - 7
Joint Second in Key Chances created - 17

Angry Lizard:
Joint Eighth in the Assists chart - 6
Joint Fourth in Key Chances created - 16

Ron Wince:
Ninth in the Successful Passes made list - 527

Slab Head:
Third in the Successful Passes made list - 634

Ashito Aoi:
Joint Third in Player of the Match Award received - 2

Patrick Carrigan:
Second in the Clean Sheet chart - 2
Second Last Goals conceded - 14
Third in Highest Save Percentage - 68.18%



Let's just hope that Paris continue to play similarly and may the odds be always in our favour! :D

[roquefort]

Great article summer! I love the stats watch at the end

[KoriMizu]

I'm really happy to see that AS Paris has completely outperformed the expectations I had laid out during preseason. 9 wins in 10 games is an absolutely incredible start, and I really do hope that the team continues to perform in the second half of the season. Additionally, I'm pleased to be proven wrong about both Carrigan and Ashito, at least with their performances to this point in the Minors season. I was, admittedly, expecting both of them to struggle for one reason or another (Age for Carrigan, Experience and Overall Ability for Aoi), seeing Carrigan showing signs of past greatness and Aoi proving that his training is paying off has me rethinking some of my initial concerns during the preseason. I do find myself curious now if Aoi is in the upper ranks in other stats besides just PotM awards, but even being joint third as a rookie is remarkably impressive. It's also refreshing to see so many of Paris' key players among the top 10 in assist, which to me as an academy player who's preferred role is more as a facilitator then a goal scoring, gives me something to look forward to should I be drafted by Paris and their sister team in the Majors. A fantastic article through and through, and an all around great read!

[CROney3]

I'm really happy to see that AS Paris has completely outperformed the expectations I had laid out during preseason. 9 wins in 10 games is an absolutely incredible start, and I really do hope that the team continues to perform in the second half of the season. Additionally, I'm pleased to be proven wrong about both Carrigan and Ashito, at least with their performances to this point in the Minors season. I was, admittedly, expecting both of them to struggle for one reason or another (Age for Carrigan, Experience and Overall Ability for Aoi), seeing Carrigan showing signs of past greatness and Aoi proving that his training is paying off has me rethinking some of my initial concerns during the preseason. I do find myself curious now if Aoi is in the upper ranks in other stats besides just PotM awards, but even being joint third as a rookie is remarkably impressive. It's also refreshing to see so many of Paris' key players among the top 10 in assist, which to me as an academy player who's preferred role is more as a facilitator then a goal scoring, gives me something to look forward to should I be drafted by Paris and their sister team in the Majors. A fantastic article through and through, and an all around great read!

I will say, I was hesitant at first to be drafted by Paris/Sao Paulo when I entered the league. They were bottom feeders at that point and seemed to be struggling with even getting people to be active to play for them. After getting invited to the locker room, I could see that they were building something special. Getting drafted with the GK ahead of me only 1 season older, I figured I'd be in for the long haul on Paris (which I was fine with!). But this group of managers views both teams in equal light, where they want both squads to win. So on their behalf, I'm sure it's GREAT to hear that users in the academy are taking notice of how these 2 teams are being put together and want to join. The more people that WANT to be there, the better the overall squad will be. 

Also, without getting his ego inflated even more, @donut really does know how to put together some good tactics AND is great at helping with builds of the players. So that's probably why you're seeing the progression out of Aoi, with Summer doing an amazing job at earning and Saba doing a great job at guiding. It's a great squad to be a part of!