EEFL Rules, version 15.1 ------------------------ With the concept of numbering rules according to the seasons in EEFL, this version is now moved to 15.1 as we are now in Season XV. The code alterations for this season have been minimal, but there are some subtle changes you should be aware of. These are detailed near the end in section H. You will probably find you can probably skip whole sections of the rules for a while. As a novice, your first concern is choosing a squad of players with which to play your opening matches in the first session of the season (usually a pre-season friendly mini-tournament which is there to help you experiment :-) and your second is knowing the format in which to send your team line-up and orders to the beloved commissioner. Part G of the rules is a "pull-out" beginners' guide to getting that first session running smoothly, to go to it use your editor to search for "BEGINNERS GUIDE" ... but first read through section A. [Part A] OUTLINE OF THE GAME [A 1.0] Short History About 1970, a bloke in England named Alan Parr invented a "soccer" simulation he named "United". The game became rather successful both in the UK and in the USA, where several play-by-land-mail games are still alive and well. In 1987, Dan Stafford and Bruce Geryk developed a version that improved several aspects of the game to help focus on the play and balance the long- term strategies better. In 1989 at the University of Chicago, Bruce further revised this version in response to Bob Kusumoto's idea to run a league by e-mail. Bob brought this version to the Net that September, founding the United Electro Football League (UEFL). In March of 1990, Bob's education and health needs suggested a new commissioner for the UEFL. Chris Gandy took over, and was followed by Jeremy Billones, who still runs the UEFL. When the league shut down for the northern-hemisphere summer, a few stalwarts rebelled against the hiatus, against some of the rules, and against everything in general. This bunch formed a second league, the Experimental Electronic Football League (EEFL). In the EEFL, play is year-round, breaking only for massive holiday interruptions (as in late December). Bruce Cota began as commissioner, with five teams and a sixth he ran under autopilot. The rules focused even more on the play -- and they've changed every season according to the wishes of the managers. Over the next four seasons, the league grew to 12 teams, and the rules stabilized -- somewhat. In June of 1991, Bruce got a *real* job, losing his Internet access. After roughly 3 months of no play, Prune Wickart volunteered to step into Bruce's position. Besides getting Bruce's records and automating scripts, Prune let in 48 new teams, massively expanding the league. There was some turnover and a few embarassing software errors, but the league ran with a fair amount of fun for five times as many people. Currently, the EEFL runs at about 10-14 days per session, with 10 sessions (including playoffs) plus a Cup tournament to each season. We have just begun season 15, and have a First division, two Second, four Third, three Fourth divisions and now also bring on two novice divisions. All in all a total of 132 teams. Welcome to the monkey house! [A 1.1] Overview Each game player (henceforth called a "manager") manages a football (or, if you prefer, soccer) club. Each season is divided into "sessions", each of which consists of one or more matches, generally three, for each club. In most matches, one club is designated as the "host" and the other club is designated as the "visitor". The host is said to be playing a "home match" and the visitor is said to be playing an "away match". All other matches are said to be "on neutral ground". The game is governed by a "commissioner" (also known as the GM). Each manager sends instructions and lineups for each session to the commissioner, who then resolves the matches and determines the scores and the effects of the session on each manager's club. These rules are written for a specific software implementation and, as as result, there may be a few silly restrictions that result in teams doing illogical things under certain circumstances. The game wouldn't be the same without them :-) NOTE: The random number generator doesn't hate you with a vengeance -- it hates *all* of the managers with arbitrary vehemence. [A 1.2] Entering the Game Anyone who wishes to join the league must send a legal initial roster to the commissioner. This is most easily done using the EEFL's Web Page, http://www.eefl.org:1919/ If you do not have Web access, write to the commissioner (prune@teleport.com) for rules and a starter kit. Once the commissioner receives a legal initial roster, that manager goes on the waiting list. The current waiting list is roughly 1 year long. With the current facilities, the league runs with roughly 130 teams. At the start of each season, the Commissioner will send mail to the waiting list, asking for managers to verify their readiness to play (many managers move or lose contact during their wait). Of those who reply, the managers nearest the top of the waiting list get to join the league; the number who get to join is determined by how many new teams the league needs. Another way to join the league is to adopt an abandoned team during the season (see the next section). [A 1.3] Leaving the Game If a manager is NMR (see [B 10.0]) two sessions in a row or three times in a season, the commissioner will, at his discretion, declare the manager "gone" and the team available for adoption. The GM then informs the managers on the waiting list that a team is available; the top one who responds favorably gets to take over the team immediately, in its current condition. If no such manager volunteers, the GM will take appropriate action, including (but not limited to) ... 1) Playing the team himself (caretaker environment). 2) Removing the team from the division (and fixing the fixtures) Teams abandoned after the middle of promovals are usually dropped from the league at the soonest opportunity; this allows one more novice team to join the following season. [A 1.4] Taking a Break If you will be unavailable to run your team for an extended period of time, you have a couple of good options. First of all, you can send in orders ahead of time, enough sets to cover your entire absence. If that is not reasonable, you can also find a friend to take over your team during your vacation. That person must agree to give the team back at a specified time. If this period extends over practically the whole season or longer, then your team may go into 'stasis', whereby it is out of action for one or more seasons. A team in stasis may re-enter the league at the beginning of a future season. It will suffer only one end-of-season aging and will be placed in a division appropriate to the general quality of the players in the team or as the commissioner deems necessary (usually, this means rejoining your previous division). [A 1.5] No Peeking If you officially take over any EEFL team such that the GM regards you as the person who gets to see the roster, you are banned from playing any other EEFL team for a period of two seasons (this is about how long it takes for your knowledge to go out of date). The commissioner may bend this rule under reasonable circumstances. Taking over a team includes both normal and substi- tute management ... once you agree to look over the roster, that's the only team you can play for two seasons. [A 1.6] Benign Dictatorship At times, the GM may make changes in the game to maintain the spirit and playability. He will not break the rules lightly, but will do so when needed to maintain overall fairness and consistency. If all we had to do was to follow the rules, we'd let an automatic mail script run the league. Fortunately, this duty is rarely invoked. [A 2.0] The Structure of a Season [A 2.1] Tables Clubs are ranked during the season, and during special tournaments described below, primarily by the number of "league points" (LPs) they earn. Clubs earn 2 LPs per win and 1 LP per draw. Clubs with equal LPs are considered tied for the position. [A 2.2] Pre-Season Tourneys (optional) A season may begin with pre-season tournament, either to test software or just for fun. As nearly as possible, each tournament consists of four clubs playing one another in round robin fashion. Pre-season tourneys are much like normal sessions, except that players acquired in the pre-season draft (described later) are considered to be in "contract negotiations" and may not participate. [Since pre-season matches don't count, we mustn't let managers use the opportunity to train their newest players.] After the pre-season tourney, all ELs are reset to 10. The managers may decide among themselves which clubs play at what tournaments (by sending and accepting invitations), where one club is the host, but the commissioner may offer a default schedule to be played on neutral ground. [A 2.3] The Regular Season Most of a season involves clubs visiting one another back and forth. This is known as the "regular season". At the beginning of each season, the Commissioner will publish a schedule for the entire regular season. As nearly as possible, each session in the regular season will consist of three matches for each club, and the schedule will have each club playing an equal number of home and away matches and play each club in the league an equal number of times at home and away. After the recent dramatic expansion of the EEFL, a four-tiered structure has been devised. There is a First Division at the top level, and two Second Divisions below that. At the bottom of the EEFL are a number of regional divisions, all at the same level. New managers are placed into Novice Divisions, which at the start of next season enter the "normal" division structure somewhere in 4th, 3rd or 2nd divisions depending on results in promotion-play. Exact details are left for the commissioner to give when it is time. Tables are kept for the regular season as described in [A 2.1]. [A 2.4] The Promoval Season (Post-season) For the Championship, promotion and relegation, a Swedish promoval system is used. The precise nature may change depending upon the number is each division, but the basics are as follows; watch out for mail from the commissioner for the details. For the first 9 seasons, the Zenith (1st Div.) champion was crowned only after 9 sessions. With many more teams now, and promovals beginning after 6 sessions, we split the championships for season 10. Now, the top club is declared Zenith Champion after 6 sessions, just as with the other divisions. The roll of honour is currently: Season Champion Manager 10 FC Oulu OUL Timo Ojala 11 FC Oulu OUL Timo Ojala 12 Grecian Urn Neophtyes GUN Richard Mosher 13 Juggernaut JGR Jim Reisman 14 FC Oulu OUL Timo Ojala Then, the top (6) clubs will continue with additional fixtures. The top club begins with 5 points, the 2nd club with 4 points, etc., and the 6th club begins with 0 points. The winner of the additional fixtures is declared EEFL champion for the season. The roll of honour is currently: Season Champion Manager 1 Orchestrated Mayhem, Ltd OML Richard Gordon 2 Orchestrated Mayhem, Ltd OML Richard Gordon 3 Adirondack Automata AA Prune Wickart 4 Marauding Mathematicians Maundering MMM Peter Sjostrom 5 Adirondack Automata AA Doug Ingram 6 Adirondack Automata AA Doug Ingram 7 Adirondack Automata AA Doug Ingram 8 Grecian Urn Neophytes GUN Richard Mosher 9 Adirondack Automata AA Doug Ingram -------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Southampton Argyle SAR Tim Chown 11 Southampton Argyle SAR Tim Chown 12 Grecian Urn Neophtyes GUN Richard Mosher 13 Grecian Urn Neophtyes GUN Richard Mosher 14 FC Oulu OUL Timo Ojala There are also tournaments for promotion and relegation between divisions. The lower (4) clubs in Division 1 play against the upper clubs in the Second divisions in the "Upper Promoval Tourney" for a place in the Original division next season. At each level, the top teams of one level play the bottom teams from the level above; the best teams play in the upper level, and the others play in the lower level. Some teams in the middle of a level play for prizes only, and will not promote or relegate. [A 2.5] The Cup At the end of each season, all clubs take part in a Cup tournament. This gives the minnows a chance to pull some upsets; in Season 6, four 3rd division teams made it to the last 16, while double champions AA failed to make the semi-finals. The draw for the Cup is random, but some higher teams gets byes in the first round, and top teams of the league are seeded not to meet until the finals matches. This tournament is single elimination with seedings based on regular season standing. Under the current system, the seedings are done in order of Zenith division standings, followed by the champions, then the 2nd place teams, of Yang and Yin divisions (2nd division). When clubs are tied on league points, the following criteria are used: 1) Total goal differential 2) Head-to-head match record 3) Most goals scored in head-to-head play 4) Record against the regular season champion. 5) Record against the regular season runner up. 6) Record against the ... The top 16 teams will be seeded absolutely; if all goes according to plan, the quarterfinals will put #1 vs #8, #4 vs #5, #2 vs #7, #3 vs #6. The defending champion will get no special seeding. The bracket is not changed if a seeded team is upset; the unranked winner inherits the ranked team's seeded position. Each team in the Cup gets $100K just for participating. The rewards increase for each round a team advances. The winner of the Cup gets $600K. The roll of honour in the Cup is currently: Season Cup Winner Manager 1 Orchestrated Mayhem, Ltd OML Richard Gordon 2 Adirondack Automata AA Prune Wickart 3 Orchestrated Mayhem, Ltd OML Richard Gordon 4 Adirondack Automata AA Prune Wickart 5 Adirondack Automata AA Doug Ingram 6 Shamrock Rovers SR Philip Thompson 7 Southampton Argyle SAR Tim Chown 8 Grecian Urn Neophytes GUN Richard Mosher 9 Grecian Urn Neophytes GUN Richard Mosher 10 Orchestrated Mayhem, Ltd OML Richard Gordon 11 Southampton Argyle SAR Tim Chown 12 Grecian Urn Neophytes GUN Richard Mosher 13 FC Oulu OUL Timo Ojala 14 FC Oulu OUL Timo Ojala There is another tourney for lower-placed teams, so that a natural early loss in the Cup does not end the season. Teams in the 3rd and lower divisions are elegible for the Automata-Glass Plate, with one exception: a team that makes the Cup round of 32 may *not* play in the Plate. Fixtures and first-round byes in the Plate are totally random. The roll of honour in the Plate is currently: Season Plate Winner Manager 8 All-Time Saints ATS Johan Plomp 9 All-Time Saints ATS Johan Plomp 10 Real Mississauga MIS Pablo A. Iglesias 11 Leuven FC LFC Paolo Petroni 12 White Beach FC WB Miltos Grammatikakis 13 Christchurch Candy Crunchers CCC Alan Murray 14 FC Borg BRG Matthew Galer Cup and Plate games, unlike league games, require a winner. Thus if at the end of 90 minutes the scores are level a period of 30 minutes of extra time will follow. If the scores still remain level, a UEFA-style penalty shootout occurs. In this, each side gets 5 kicks, with the order of kickers being in decreasing shooting SL. If the scores are level after 5 kicks, the kicks become sudden death (ie. one kick each until one team scores and the other misses). If one team has less than 11 players on the pitch at the end of 120 minutes, they forfeit the missing player(s)' kick. Once all players have kicked, the first kicker shoots again! Note that players pay ELs for taking part in extra time (but suffer no loss for any penalty kicks :-) [A 2.6] Awards (optional) At the end of the regular season, the player that has scored the most goals in the regular season is awarded the "Really Big Boot". The runner up for this award wins the "Really Long Bootlace". The best GK, as determined by some suitably complex formula, receives the "Chastity Belt". There is also a prize for the most number of saves by a non-GK (see [F 2.1] number 5) and for the most assists by a player (see [F 2.1] number 6). Managers may also, by popular vote, make the following awards: Player of the Year Manager of the Year The club who wins the Really Big Boot gets a $50K prize. All other awards carry a $25K prize (including the Really Long Bootlace). All those awards are given to winners in the individual divisions. [Part B] CLUBS AND PLAYERS [B 2.0] Basic Terms The purpose of these definitions is _not_ to be constraining. When the mold doesn't fix, either revamp it or created a special case. This is certainly acceptable and not the point of the definitions. The objective is to provide a uniform basic agreement of the _purpose_ of these three components of play: tactics, characteristics, and team skills. Why have the different types if the affects garnished are the same? Keeping the different types distinct tends to keep things clear and logical. At least, that is the attempt! 8^) TACTICS: Tactics allow strategic planning by altering the basic premise of play. Longball means long kicks from the defenders to the forwards, Pressing shows little regard for defense, et cetera. Normal is itself a tactic, showing consideration for all aspects of the game equally. A tactic adjusts the OFF, DEF, and GP formulae. CHARACTERISTICS: Characteristics (I), (W), (Q), and (B) decree certain traits common to only a few players. Every characteristic provides an automatic +10% SL bonus. In addition, each characteristic provides a distinctly recognizable advantage. The advantage must be distinctly recognizable such that a team can scout opponents and, by determining which special characteristics exist on that team, be able to _intelligently_ attempt to deduce their strategy. Reducing, rather than increasing, the guesswork is the direction we should take by including new characteristics, and revamping old ones. TEAM SKILLS: Team skills are (currently) OTF, OST, and CK. These are quantities that teams can develop that have general affects, similar to player SL, and apply regardless of tactics (although special cases, like OTF and Longball, may be applicable). A tactic may change _where_ the skill is applied (to GP, DEF, and/or OFF, for example), again, in the manner of player SL. That is, tactics determine the formulae in which the team skills apply. CONCLUSION: Team skills, unlike tactics or characteristics, are _generally_ useful. Tactics and characteristics are _specifically_ useful. Tactics, of course, can be adjusted at any time during the game. Team skills are developed over time, while characteristics are set for the life of the player. [B 2.0] Club Features Each club has a name, a bank account (measured in Kilo-Dollars), a number of "coaching points" (CPs) and "training points" (TPs), a coaching staff, a bonus for each of one-touch-football (OTF), corner kick (CK), offside trap (OST), and a roster of 11-25 players [B 6.7] [B 3.0] Club Names The name of the club is determined by the manager of the club, within the bounds of good taste. The name of a club may be changed between seasons at a cost of $100K. (That is, 100 Kilo-dollars.) When a new manager takes over an existing club, that manager may, at the beginning of that first season (only) change the name of the club at no cost. [B 4.0] Club Finances [B 4.1] Ticket Revenue Most of a club's income comes from ticket revenue; a club gets a certain amount of income from ticket revenue for every match in which it plays. The amount earned in each match is given by the formula: Gate = division_mult * ( 1.5 + 2 * home_rating + visitor rating)/3 Club ratings are numbers between 0 and 1 as described below. If the match is on a neutral ground, the ticket revenue is just the base times the sum of the two ratings. Ticket revenue is split evenly between the two clubs involved, and is detailed in the match report that you receive after the game. The base division multipliers are: First $47K Second 44 Third 41 Fourth 38 Novice 41 A club's rating is computed by taking the ratio of the number of LPs the club has earned during the session to the number of LPs the club would have earned if it had won every match. Half of this ratio plus half of the club's previous rating becomes the club's new rating. In addition, the defending regular season champions and Cup champion get a rating bonus added to this figure. BONUS TITLE 0.20 Cup champion 0.10 Cup 2nd 0.05 Plate champion 0.15 1st Division champion 0.10 EEFL champion (see below) 0.15 2nd Division champion 0.10 3rd Division champion 0.07 4th Division champion half promotion without a championship Thus, if a club is both First Division regular season champion and Cup champion, the club has 0.35 added to its rating. If two or more clubs are regular season champions, they split the bonus evenly. In the pre-season tourney and the first session of the season, each club's rating is carried over from the previous season. Teams just promoted or relegated get a rating of 0.50, as do Novice teams. Ratings are computed at the beginning of each session and apply to every match in that session. This rule does not apply to playoff matches. Income for playoff matches will be announced before the playoffs. Similarly, prize money for progress in the Cup will be announced before the Cup begins. [B 4.2] Healthy budgeting Managers are advised to project their income ahead to ensure they have sufficient funds for next season's coaching staff and new draft players. As a general guide, you will need $1000k to buy the 3 CPs per session that you get "free" as a beginner [B 5.0]. In addition, you have to pay for two of your three draft players prior to each season [E 1.0]; your first pick in the draft is FREE; the others can cost up to $200k between them. So to keep on an even keel, with 10 sessions in a season you will need to rake in $120k per session, unless you trade things away [E 5.0] or have a good Cup run [A 2.5]. [B 4.3] Debt A club may never go into debt and a manager may never submit orders that require spending more of a resource than he has at the beginning of the session. If you are getting into finincial problems, you should consider entering the trading game [E 5.0]. Bear in mind that for the end of the season you will need to have sufficient funds to buy your CP allocation (your TP allocation is fixed and free). [B 5.0] During the pre-season trading, your roster may appear with negative CP or TP. Your first allocation of CP/TP comes just before the pre-season tourneys. You may trade these first points during the off-season, as long as you do *not* trade away more than your first allocation. For all other sessions, the TP/CP allocation you see in your roster includes your allocation for that session; your orders should not ask to use more than those amounts. Loans between clubs are not permitted. [B 4.4] Press Any press that the commissioner deems particularly good will bring a bonus of up to $10K. At least one such award will be given in each session. The commissioner reserves the right to give this award in recognition of a longer string of good press that has not yet been so recognized in the season. [B 5.0] Coaching Points (CPs) and Training Points (TPs) CPs and TPs are spent, as described in [B 6.3], to increase the ability of a club's players and to increase the club's OTF, CK, and OST bonuses. A club earns 3 TPs each session. To obtain CPs, a club must hire a coaching staff at the beginning of each season. The number of CPs earned each session depends on the quality of the coaching staff. In general, for every $125K spent on a coaching staff, the club earns 0.5 CPs per session up to 2 CPs per session. After that, a club earns 0.5 additional CPs per session for every $250K spent on the coaching staff. Thus, if a club spends $1250K on a coaching staff, the club earns 3.5 CPs per session. The costs are easily described in the following table: CP staff cost 2.0 $500K 2.5 $750K 3.0 $1000K 3.5 $1250K 4.0 $1500K 4.5 $1750K 5.0 $2000K +0.5 +$250K Note that a club cannot hire more coaching staff once the season is under way. Each season, you will get 10 allocations of CP and TP, one allocation before the pre-season tourneys, and one before each of sessions A through I. If you save any CP/TP from these, you may still coach and train after session I (this is during the Cup). Your roster after each session will show how many CP/TP you have to spend during the coming session. CPs and TPs may be freely accumulated and traded. [B 6.0] Players Each player has a name, a unique numerical Id, a Skill Level (SL), an age, one or more special characteristics, a certain number of Disciplinary Points (DPs), and an Endurance Level (EL). In addition, a player may either be qualified to play at one position (GK, SW, DF, MF, or FW), or may be a "utility player' (UT), as described in [B 6.2]. [B 6.1] Player Names and Ids A name is a string of up to 32 non-whitespace characters (not necessarily alpha-numeric) that starts with an alphabetic character. A current software restriction (design limitation) dictates that each name must consist of a first name and a last name, each beginning with an alphabetic character. Upper and lower case are significant! Managers are encouraged to not to use very long names as they can make the match reports and output look untidy. A player is named by the manager of the club that the player joins when he/she first enters the league. The name of a player may be changed at any time at a cost of $10K to the owning club. The commissioner will advertise any name changes that occur. Due to current software restrictions, no club may have two players with the same last name and first initial. This is because the orders format uses the initial-dot-surname format (eg. J. Smith). Each player also have a unique numerical Id. This to help separate different players in different teams and to help follow players' history through trades and namechanges. The Id is set when the player is created (through draft, buying amateurs or when first creating a initial teamroster) and can not be changed throughout the lifespan of the player. [B 6.2] Player Positions Five positions exist in the EEFL: Goalkeeper (GK), Sweeper (SW), Defender (DF), Midfielder (MF), and Forward (FW). A player is qualified to play at exactly one position when he enters the league. A player may play in a position for which he is not qualified, but he will not be as effective (see [D 3.2]). However, some players are designated as "utility players" (UT) and may play at DF, MF, or FW with no penalty. [B 6.3] Skill Level (SL) and Coaching/Training Each player has a skill level (SL) which is an integer that quantifies his ability to perform on the field at the positions for which he is qualified. The SL may increase with training for young players or with coaching of older (age 2+) players. The SL will decrease with age. [B 6.3.1] Increasing SL through Coaching and Training A player's SL may be increased by coaching and/or training. In each match, the manager may elect to train one player and coach one player. To coach/train a player the club spends one CP/TP. The effect from coaching or training is an increase of 1 SL for that player, which takes effect at the END of the MATCH. [Increasing SL at the end of each match is probably more of a burden on the manager. However, since EL must be updated at the end of each match, it is far easier in terms of software to increase SL at the end of every match as well.] A club may elect to coach or train more than once per match (if the required points are available) at a cost of $25K per additional coaching/training. [B 6.3.2] Restrictions on Coaching and Training Training is the method by which you increase the SLs of young (age 0 or I) players; by using one TP on a player in a match, his SL will be raised by 1 at the conclusion of the game. Coaching is similar, but is done by use of CPs which are applied to older (age II or over) players. A player may not be coached or trained in a match unless he plays for at least 20% of that match (18 minutes) in a position for which he is qualified, whether as a starter or as a sub. Utility (UT) players can be coached or trained while playing in DF, MF or FW. Subs can be trained or coached as any other player can, provided they meet the requirements above. (ie. explicit comments to the commissioner are no longer required). No player may be coached or trained more than once in any given session. To reiterate (as it's a common mistake by new managers): ONLY age 0 and age I players may be trained, ONLY age II and older players may be coached. [B 6.4] Age and Aging Each player has an age, which is an integer greater than or equal to zero. Players typically join the league with age 0. At the end of each season, every player's age increases by one. [B 6.4.1] Aging Each player loses SL as he grows older. This loss depends on his age as indicated in the following table (which may be extended as necessary in future seasons to accommodate older players): .Mid Season Loss: . . SL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ 20+ . AGE . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 . II 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 . III 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 3 . IV 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 . V 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 . VI 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 . VII 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 . VIII 0 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 . IX 0 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 . X 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 . over X reduce to SL 1 . .Post Season Loss: . . SL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+ 21+ 26+ 31+ . AGE . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 . II 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 . III 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 5 6 . IV 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 6 7 . V 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 . VI 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 . VII 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 . VIII 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 . IX 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 . X 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 . XI 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 . XII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 . XIII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 Making the rate of aging depend on a player's SL makes it more difficult for managers to produce and maintain players with SL 20+ and gives weak clubs a break. Note that apprentices do not suffer any aging effects. Players move to the next age level at the end of the season. Mid-season loss occurs at end of the halfway point of the season (ex: if there are 10 sessions in a season, the loss occurs at the end of 5 sessions). Post-season loss occurs after the final post-season match of the season, usually the Cup Final. If a player's SL is less than 1 at the end of a season, he immediately retires. Managers must keep their rosters at 25 or fewer players. If you have more than this, you must sell/transfer a player, or retire him by e-mailing the commissioner. [B 6.4.2] Apprentices (Age 0 players) A player with age zero is known as an "apprentice". An apprentice becomes "seasoned" at the end of the session when he played his 360th minute; that generally being his fourth complete match. When an apprentice becomes seasoned, his skill level (SL) rises by 2 for the beginning of the next match. The player receives no credit for playing out of position (see [D 3.2]). Your team roster [B 6.7] indicates how many minutes' worth of experience each of your apprentices has. If a player ages to age I without becoming seasoned, he will not get the seasoning bonus (ever). [B 6.5] Player Characteristics A player may be "big", especially good at heading tball; may be "wing", especially good at wingplay; may be "intelligent", able to direct other players effectively; may be "quick", able to react to a changing situation rapidly. [deleted clause permitting more than one characteristic for a player] These characteristics are assigned to the player when he joins the league and never change. The person creating the player chooses characteristics according to the given restrictions: the manager of a new team may assign these characteristics as described in the section on new teams, [B 9.0]; a manager buying an amateur chooses according to the restrictions given in the section on amateurs, [E 3.0]; the commissioner assigns the characteristics of players in the pre-season draft (see [E 1.0]). [B 6.6] Endurance Level (EL) Because of the hectic and exhausting schedule that EEFL teams maintain, it is not possible for most players to play every match without being injured. Each player therefore has an "endurance level" or "EL". Each player gains a certain amount of EL before each match and a player must spend EL to play, as described in [D 2.1]. A player who runs out of EL risks injury if he continues playing, as described in [D 2.2] . Each player gains 4 EL before each match. A player may accumulate unused EL, but the total accumulated may never exceed 10. Players are considered well-rested at the beginning of the season. Therefore, before the first match of the season, whether it be a pre-season tournament match or a regular season match if the club does not take part in a pre-season tournament, every player has 10 EL. [B 6.7] The Roster Each club has its own roster of players. There may be between 11 and 25 players on any team roster. The commissioner will periodically publish names, positions and ages of all players on all rosters in the League. However, the specific details of players are kept private to their manager and the manager should avoid disclosing too much information about a team's strengths or weaknesses (although a good manager will use all his information sources to gather as much spying knowledge as possible). After each session, you will receive an updated roster, along with a results summary for each Division and a set of match reports for your team's games. The roster tells you everything you need to know about your players, as detailed in [B 4.0 - 4.6] above. Here's an extract from an imaginary small roster: ----------- OTF: 4 OST: 0 CK: 3 WDL: 6 3 0 0 Rating: .713538 Bonus: 0.00 0 Draft: IMR1 IMR2 IMR3 Goals: 20 10 CP: 5 3.0 TP: 3 3.0 Cash: 1071 Team: Babes (Wow!) United Manager: Magnus Nilsson Stadium: local theatre Age SL EL Pos Su SD DP Gl Sh As Sa Ga Co Id 0 12 9 GK 0 0 4 -10 0 0 12 10 0 431 Bart Stilton (E 670) 2 12 6 SW 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 -1 320 Jim James (B) 2 10 10 DF 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 10 0 432 Gorby Chev 0 4 10 DF 1 4 12 0 1 0 4 4 0 433 Peter Pan (E 100) 1 6 4 DF 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 9 0 546 Jimmy Cagknee 3 8 10 DF 3 10 24 0 3 0 1 10 0 1002 Hopalong Cassidee 0 12 7 MF 0 0 4 3 22 5 0 9 0 627 Bill Bloggs (E 520) (W) 2 12 10 MF 0 0 4 1 18 5 0 9 0 434 Johnny Begoode 4 7 8 MF 0 4 4 1 5 5 0 10 0 435 Fred Titmus (I) 3 17 10 FW 0 0 0 7 17 0 0 9 0 436 Joey Jordan (B) 5 3 10 FW 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 0 437 Andy Pandy 1 12 6 UT 0 0 4 6 34 7 1 9 -1 1003 Snazzy Duper The leading information is OTF, OST, and CK bonuses, division WDL record, your team rating, gate receipt bonus (from promotions, etc [B 2.1]), goals for and against, coaching points (available and allocation hired per session), training points (available and basic allocation per session) and cash (in kilo-dollars), teamname, manager name and name of playingground. The columns are as follows (as indicatated by the abbreviated headings): Age age of the player (0 is an apprentice) SL raw skill level of the player (without any bonuses) EL endurance level of player for the next match Pos position player is qualified to play at Su number of matches player is suspended for SD disciplinary points gained in the last session DP total disciplinary points for this season Gl goals scored (or goals conceeded if a GK) Sh shots made at goal (but not necessarily on target) As number of goal assists player is credited with Sa saves made by GK (or defensive blocks made by outfielders) Ga games played, in part or full Co If -1, then the player was coached/trained last session Id unique numerical player identification Special attributes are listed after the player names. Apprentices have the number of minutes they have played listed after their name; when they have played 360 minutes (4 whole games worth) they get the 2 SL seasoning bonus. [B 6.4.2] Note a player listed in team orders to play when suspended or with an EL of less than zero will be replaced by a substitute off the list of substitutes in the team's orders for that game. Such a replacement does not count towards the team's limit of two subs for the game. [B 7.0] Blowouts and MVPs [B 7.1] Blowouts To discourage managers from fielding lineups that are too weak, whenever a club loses by 5 or more goals, that club is said to have been "blown out". If you lose by 5 goals or more, you lose a CP. Further, if you suffer a major blowout (a loss by 9 goals or more) you also lose all training, coaching, and apprentice experience for that match. If you inflict a blowout on an opponent, you gain a bonus of 0.08 to your team rating (NOT to your team bonus). This addition to your rating will age with the rest of your rating as normal. [B 7.2] MVPs (Most Valuable Players) To encourage managers to try and do well in every match, a club is rewarded whenever it earns five or more LPs in a single session with a bonus as follows: First time 1 TP + $25K 2nd 1 TP + $25K 3rd 1 TP 4th 1 CP >4th 0.5 CP [B 8.0] Team Bonuses Each club has an OTF bonus, which reflects its ability to work as a team with short, accurate passes; a CK bonus, which reflects its ability to get shots from set plays resulting from corner kicks and direct kicks; and an OST bonus, which reflects its ability to spring an offside trap on opposing attckers. A club may coach its bonuses in any match. The effect of this coaching is to increase that bonus by 1 point, to a maximum value of 10. The cost of coaching the CK or OST bonus is 1 CP per pt. The cost of coaching the OTF bonus is 2 CP per point. No bonus may be increased by more than one point in a single session. Note that it does NOT cost $25K to increase the OTF bonus by coaching OTF bonus in one session. If you increase your OTF bonus in any one match, the cost is 2 CPs, but there is no $25K cost. If you coach a player in the same match, you pay the $25K. If you think of OST as merely another player, you should understand this rule. Each club loses half of its CK and OST at the end of each season. Fractions are dropped, so that a club with a CK bonus of three would lose two points at the end of the season, and a club with a CK bonus of one would lose that point at the end of the season. OTF bonus decreases in much the same way as CK bonus, but with only a 30% loss. This, too, is rounded down. A club with an OTF bonus of 7 would lose 3 points at the end of the season. [B 9.0] New Clubs A new club has a roster of 18 players, a $100K bank account, one team bonuses above zero, and a coaching staff sufficient to give the club 3 CPs per session. The players consist of 3 players at each of ages I 0-3. One player of each age may be designated as either "big", "wing", or "quick", one other player may be designated as "intelligent", and one other may be designated as a UT (see [B 6.5], [D 3.3], and most importantly, [D 5.6.1]). The manager assigns a name and position to each player. No more than one player in this initial squad may be a UT. When choosing your initial roster, think carefully about how well each area of your team will suffer aging effects (ie. spread your ages around). The exact details may however change depending on rulings from the commissioner, so don't take the above as the absolute truth. Visit the EEFL web page for help. [B 10.0] Policy on NMR (No Moves Received): As the size of the league grows, the chance that all systems will simultaneously be functioning correctly at the appropriate time decreases. Henceforth, I will try to run the session on the designated day -- no earlier and no later. If a manager is NMR for any reason --- even if it is beyond his control, I will use his most recent set of orders, or some arbitrary facsimile if none is available to me. In this case, the youngest possible players on the field in each match will automatically be trained and coached, with higher SL players taking precedence over lower SL players. I will never automate the expenditure of more than 1 CP and 1 TP per match. To avoid losing control over their lineups, all managers should strive to get their orders in a couple of days early (or earlier in the case of managers not in the USA). You can always mail in revised orders. Feel free to send in a rough draft for insurance and then a later revision for fine tuning. [Part C] LINEUPS For each match to be played, each manager must submit a lineup. A lineup is a list of 11 players, the positions at which each player will play, special instructions for each player --- pertaining to aggressiveness, the position at which they play, marking, and/or substitution, team tactics, a substitute goal keeper, and up to 9 additional substitutes. (Usually only two or three substitutes.) In addition, a lineup must indicate all coaching and training instructions for that match. Furthermore, it now possible to specify conditional orders for either the team or individual players. [C 5.0] The conditional orders are completely optional and are probably best avoided by beginners until they understand the rest of the game mechanics. [C 1.0] Players and Positions (including substitutes and limitations) Each player in a lineup must be given a position to play. A position is one of GK, SW, DF, MF, and FW. GK, SW, DF, MF, and FW are the positions goalkeeper, sweeper, defender, midfielder, and forward respectively. In addition, a player may be a substitute (Sn, for 1 <= n <= 9). [C 2.0] Instructions to Individual Players Each player in a lineup may be given an instruction regarding the aggressiveness with which to play, an instruction regarding the exact position at which to play, and/or an instruction to leave the field at a certain point during the match or enter the field at a certain point during the match. Conditional orders allow, for example, a player to be pushed forward if the team is losing by 2 goals or more. [C 2.1] Instructions Regarding Aggressiveness Each player may be given one of the following instructions pertaining to aggressiveness: 1) Play passively (`-') 2) Play dirty (`*') 3) Play aggressively (`+') The effects of these instructions are described in [D 2.1] and [D 3.4]. A player who is given none of these instructions is said to be "playing hard" (by default). [C 2.2] Instructions Regarding Position A player may be given any ONE of the following instructions: 1) stay back (`<') --- play defensively. 2) push forward (`>') --- play offensively. 3) play on the wing (`^') 4) mark an opponent (`: ') or (`: #') The name of the opponent should be specified in the same way your own players are in the orders, eg. F. Bloggs (NOT Fred Bloggs). Only a player at DF may mark an opponent (who may be playing anywhere). Starting season 11, it is also possible to use the numerical playerId rather than the playername in markingorders. A FW who is pushing forward is said to be playing "center forward". A DF who is staying back is said to be playing "central defender" or "center back". [D 3.5]. [C 2.3] Instructions Regarding Substitution Up to two players in each lineup may be told to leave the match at a specified minute ("@ min", where min is 1 .. 90 (or 120 for Cup matches). If there is no substitute available, or if two subs have already been used (perhaps because of an injury) the player remains on the pitch. If you wish to avoid using up his EL and getting another injury, you may write the order as "# min", and the player will leave the pitch even if there is no sub (note that this leaves you a player short. Also note that you still must maintain a minimal lineup on the pitch [C 4.1, 4.3]). [C 3.0] Team Strategies A lineup may be told to use "longball", "stalling", "ball control", "opportunistic" or "pressing" tactics, rather than using normal tactics. The effects of these tactics are described in section [D 5.4]. The choice of tactics may depend on the game situation, or the strength or weaknesses of the opponent. A longball game may be handy if you have a weak midfield and strong FW line, against an opponent with a relatively weak DF or SW area. Exchanging "spying" info with fellow managers can help you choose suitable tactics and formations for each game (but don't believe everything you hear ;-) Building OTF, CK, and OST bonuses up can also be considered a tactic, although it is more of a long-term strategy. It will cost you SLs on your older players in the short term (as you won't be coaching them), but will cost "only" 6 CPs each season to maintain it at its maximum of 10, once attained. [C 4.0] Restrictions on Lineups (READ CAREFULLY!!) The following restrictions apply to team lineups, both at the start of the game and then at every minute in the game after kickoff ... [C 4.1] Restrictions on GKs - There must be exactly one GK - GKs may never be given instructions regarding aggressiveness. (GKs always play normal.) - GKs may not be given any instructions regarding position (ie. they cannot push forward, stay back, play on the wing, or mark an opposing player). - You may change GKs once during each match. This does not get you a third substitution. [C 4.2] Restrictions on SWs - There may be at most one SW. - SWs may not be given any instructions regarding position (ie. they cannot push forward, stay back, play on the wing, or mark an opposing player). [C 4.3] Restrictions on DFs, MFs, and FWs - There must be at least TWO players each playing at DF, MF, and FW. - Only DFs may mark opposing players. - There must be at least two players in each area who are not playing center. Thus, if you only play two FWs, neither of them may play center. - No more than one FW may play center (see [C 2.2] and [D 3.5]). - No more than one DF may play center (see [C 2.2] and [D 3.5]). - In each area (DF, MF, or FW) there must be exactly zero or two players on the wing at the start of the match. It is quite legal to have two wing players as the only two players in an area. Note that at the end of each minute's play, the balance of the team is checked, and any illegal situations are removed. Thus if you have 1 or 3 players on a wing, one player (at random) will be moved back into a normal position. Also, you will not be able to have fewer than two players in any position, so if you have only two FWs you cannot change one of them to play MF, unless you first place another player into the FW slot. (For this reason you may notice part of a change occurring 1 minute after you requested it). [C 4.4] Restrictions on Substitutes - For any "n", there may only be one Sn. If there is an Sk, then for every i: 0 < i < k, there must be an Si. In English, use S1, S2, S3, ... as your sub identifiers. The EEFL software accepts subs up to and including S9. - By default, a substitute plays on the wing if and only if the player leaving the match plays on the wing. Note you can use the new conditional orders to get around this, provided the team lineup rules are still obeyed. NOTE: ONLY wingorders are inherited by substitutes. - Also note that the designated penalty kicker (see [F 1.1]) should not leave the match voluntarily ("@ "). If he does leave, the highest qualified penalty kick shooting SL player will take any kicks won (note PK shooting SLs are now different to normal player shooting SLs, see section [D 7.3]). [C 4.5] General Restrictions Note that a player may be given no more than one instruction with regard to position. Thus, for example, a player who is marking may not also stay back or push forward. A switch of position during the match, eg. to '^' implies that any other positional instruction is forgotten. [C 5.0] Conditional Instructions Players and teams may be given conditional instructions, using a case-format. [specified in F 1.2] The conditions may be based on events or values such as: - current game time (minute) - difference in goals between the teams - difference in shots made by the teams - shots made by either team - own team's current tactic - a booking to either team or a player - a red card to a team, a player in an area or a player - the current endurance level (EL) of a player - an injury to a team player An example is case: G>=1 < meaning that the player should play back if the team goes ahead. Case orders are given in columns beneath the player names [F 2.0]. Conditions may *not* be based directly on team tactics. This means that tactical selections must still be based on good spying or, failing all else, good guesswork. Teams may have conditional instructions that result in a change of tactics, however, eg. case: G<=-2 L would cause the team to use longball tactics if it goes 2 goals down. The limitations and rules for orders given are the same as the initial orders that the players are given. That is, only one instruction regarding position may be in use at any minute during the match. Also, if there are wingplayers in an area, there must be exactly two playing on the wing, etc. [Part D] MATCH RESOLUTION The match is resolved on a minute-by-minute basis. Existing managers familiar with the Season VI mechanics should read this section carefully to note the implicit changes that the switch to "real-time" has brought into play. [D 1.0] Discipline Players may be booked (given a yellow card) or sent off (given a second yellow card or one red card). Bookings and dismissals occur randomly with a reasonably low probability, but this chance is raised for players playing aggressively and lowered for players playing passively. [D 1.1] Bookings and Sendings-Off The chance that a given player is booked (shown a yellow card) depends on the aggressiveness with which he plays: aggressiveness % chance of booking per min probability per min -------------- --------------------------- ------------------- passive (-) 1 / 90 % 0.00011 normal 5 / 90 % 0.00056 dirty (*) 25 / 90 % 0.00278 aggressive (+) 25 / 90 % 0.00278 If a player is booked, the player has an additional chance of being sent off *there and then* (ie. of being shown a red card). This chance is equal to half the chance the player had of being booked in that particular minute. (Thus, if a player who is playing aggressively gets booked, he has a 13.9% chance of being sent off.) Exception: The chance of a GK being booked or sent off is always set at 2.5/90 % (a probability of 0.00028). If a player is sent off, he immediately leaves the field and gets no substitute. If a player receives a second yellow card, he is also sent off. The probability per minute of a second booking is half that of the original booking chance (the player is assumed to be a little more careful after that first offence!). Thus if a person is playing normal with a 5/90 chance of a booking every minute, he can get a booking (which has a 2.8% chance of being a red card) then every minute after he gets a 2.5/90 chance of a booking every minute. (These figures are cumbersome as they are derived from the chances set when the game was not ajudicated minute-by-minute.) [D 1.2] DPs and Suspensions Each time a player is booked, he receives four disciplinary points (DPs). Each sending-off earns an additional six DPs (for a total of 10 DPs). Every ten DPs in a season carry suspensions with them as follows: 10 DPs . . . . . first match of next session 20 DPs . . . . . three matches 30 DPs . . . . . six matches 40 DPs . . . . . nine matches etc. All DPs are cleared from a player's record at the end of the season. Suspensions become effective at the end of each session, even though a player may earn sufficient DPs to be suspended during the second or third match of the session. (The EEFL punitive committee meets at the end of each session, and this also means managers won't get trapped by players becoming ineligible unpredictably - it's bad enough as is with unexpected injuries ;-) Your team roster [B 6.7] gives you information on your players' disciplinary records. Three columns are of interest: Su the number of matches the player is suspended for, starting with the first match of the next session. SD the number of disciplinary points (DPs), and hence the fine in $k [D 1.3], accumulated by the player in the previous session. DP the total of the player's DPs this season. If you try to play a suspended player in a match, one of your subs will be brought on to play in that player's place before kickoff (and hence you still have the 2 normal match subs available). It is up to the manager to watch the "Su" column as carefully as the "EL" column :-) EXCEPTIONS: Any suspensions earned in the last session of the season carry over to the next season (the last Cup or Plate session is the last session) [D 1.3] Fines Yellow and red cards also carry fines of $1K per DP earned. All fines are magnanimously paid by the club (well, deducted by the code when the game is run, actually ;-). [D 1.4] Penalty Shots Each player who plays dirty or aggressively has a 5/90% chance of causing a penalty kick to be awarded to the opposing club each minute of the game (corresponding to a probability per minute of 0.00056. The method for resolving penalty kicks is discussed in [D 7.3]. [D 2.0] Injuries and EL Expenditures Because of the hectic and exhausting schedule that EEFL teams maintain, it is not possible for most players to play every match without being injured. Each player therefore has an "endurance level" or "EL". Each player gains a certain amount of EL every session, and a player must spend EL to play. The amount of EL the player spends depends on the aggressiveness with which he plays and the length of time he plays. A player who runs out of EL risks injury if he continues playing. [D 2.1] EL Expenditures A player must have at least zero EL to enter a match, and must "spend" EL to play in a match. The amount of EL the player spends depends on the amount of time he plays and on the aggressiveness with which he plays: Aggressiveness # of minutes/EL ----------------- ----------------- passive 18 normal 15 dirty 15 aggressive 12 A player may not leave the match without paying for every minute he was on the field. Thus, a player pays 8 EL for playing 90 minutes in which he plays aggressively, 6 EL for 90 minutes in which he plays normally, and 5 EL for 90 minutes in which he plays passively. Note that a player playing for only 1 minute still spends 1 EL. A player's EL may drop below zero, as a result of playing in a match, but in that case the player risks injury, as described below. Beware if using conditional aggression orders that a player's final EL may not be accurately predictable. The match report lists each player's EL at the end of the game. [D 2.2] Injuries In any match, the chance per minute for each team of having a player injured is 1/90 % times the number of players *on both teams* who are playing dirty or aggressively. Eg. if three players are playing aggressively, the random injury probability per minute is: 3 * 1/90 * 0.01 = 0.00033 If there is no player playing aggressively, then each team has a 1/180 % chance per minute of having a player injured (probability 0.000056 per min). When an injury occurs through this process, the injured player and the team the player comes from is selected at random. A team will not sustain more than one RANDOM (tackle-related) injury per game. In addition, if a player plays in a match until his EL is -k, that player has a 10*k/90% chance of injury, per minute (but only after his EL drops below 0). Such an exhaustion injury has thus a probability per minute of 0.0011*k. Injuries to players with EL below zero are on average more severe than "random" injuries. [D 2.3] Effects of Injury If a player is injured, he immediately leaves the match. A substitute may come into the match, as described in [D 2.4]. The injured player also loses additional EL, depending on the extent of the injury. The chance of each type of injury and the effect on the player's EL is based on one of two tables, depending on whether the injury was "random" or caused partly through exhaustion (ie. EL dropping below 0). For a random injury, the effects are as follows: % injury Effect ---- ------ ------------ 01 -75 bruise -4 EL 76 -94 bad sprain -8 EL 95 -98 muscle pull -12 EL 99+ torn ligament -20 EL For an exhaustion-induced injury, the effects are more severe: % injury Effect ---- ------ ------------ 01-50 sprain -4 EL 51-75 concussion -8 EL 76-90 bad muscle pull -16 EL 91-99 badly torn ligament -32 EL 100+ broken leg -96 EL, permanently lose 1 SL. When determining the extent of an injury (caused either way), the player's age is added to the percentage. [D 2.4] Substitutes In the course of a match, up to two substitutes may enter to replace players who leave, either voluntarily ("@" instructions) or due to injuries. When a player leaves the match, a substitute enters the match. The software currently allows for up to 9 substitutes to be named (S1..S9), but in general there should be no need to name more than 4 or 5. If a player is ineligible to start a match due to lack of EL (probably due to injury in a previous game in the session) a substitute is used instead, prior to kickoff, and he does not count towards the 2 subs allowed. Whenever a substitute is called for, the first substitute in the list is taken who is qualified at the position played by the player being substituted for. (Note that UTs are considered qualified at all positions but SW and GK.) If there is no such player, the first substitute from the list is chosen. [Note that the possibility of injury is largely within a manager's control. A manager should be able to predict how many players may be injured and, hence, how many subs are required.] A player who enters the game as a sub and is then injured may be substituted, provided that no other sub has been used, of course. Both regular and conditional substitution orders [F 2.0] allow for a named subsitute to be brought on (if he hasn't already). [D 2.5] Voluntarily Leaving the Game If a player is scheduled to voluntarily leave the match at a certain minute (ie. is designated "# min") and there is no available sub, the player still leaves the match, and the team plays one short. This allows you to bring off a player in danger of injury, but you can NOT bring any player back on to the pitch once he is substituted. Note that you must still maintain a minimal lineup on the pitch [C 4.1, 4.3]. [D 3.0] SL Bonuses and Penalties In each match, each player may get certain SL penalties and/or bonuses for a number of reasons. These penalties and bonuses are expressed as percentages of the player's SL. All penalties and bonuses are cumulative. After applying all the modifiers, fractions are always rounded away from the original SL. Penalties and bonuses are taken into account when determining team balance. A player's SL after all bonuses and penalties are taken into account is called the player's "effective SL" for that match. [D 3.1] Players Who Play only Part of a Match Each such player contributes his SL only while on the pitch! The match report indicates the average SL contribution of the player while on the pitch, to both OFF and DEF (without wingplay). [D 3.2] Playing Out of Position (OOP) A manager may use a player at a position for which he is not qualified. While playing in this non-registered position, the player performs at a lower skill level. However, when injuries occur, the manager may be forced to juggle the players into alternative positions. In this situation, the utility player (UT), is valuable. In general, a player loses 20% of his SL when playing at a position once removed from his own, 40% when twice removed, and 60% when thrice removed. This means that while a DF can get away quite well with playing in midfield, he'll be a bit of a donkey up front. Example: A FW is once removed from MF, twice removed from DF, and thrice removed from SW. A SL13 FW plays MF at SL10, DF at SL7, and SW at SL5. A GK takes a 50% OOP penalty for playing SW, a 70% OOP penalty for playing DF, a 90% penalty for playing MF, and a 100% penalty for playing FW. Similarly, a SW takes a 50% penalty when playing at GK, a DF takes a 70% penalty, an MF takes a 90% penalty, and an FW plays GK at SL 0. A UT player takes no penalty at DF, MF, or FW, but takes a 20% penalty when playing at SW and a 70% penalty when playing at GK. All bonuses and penalties for playing out of position, player-char (W/B/I/Q), and aggressiveness are summed before calculating effective skilllevel. Example: MF SL 13(W) playing at DF position and playing rough would have effective SL 13 * (1 + 0.1 - 0.2 + 0.15) = 13 * 1.05 = 13.65 rounded up to 14. [D 3.3] Size, Speed, Reactions, and Brains A big player gets a 10% SL bonus (for heading the ball and battling for the ball), but only when NOT playing on the wing. A quick or wing player gets a 10% SL bonus at any position. An intelligent player gets a 10% SL bonus at any position, but also gets a midfield general bonus if playing MF [D 5.6.1]. [D 3.4] Aggressiveness A player who plays dirty gets a 5% SL bonus. A player who plays aggressively gets a 15% SL bonus. A player who plays passively gets a 20% SL penalty. Passive players use less ELs than "normal", while aggressive ones use more (and have a higher chance of being booked or sent off). [D 3.5] Centers A big FW who pushes forward is said to be playing "center FW". He is in the best position to take crosses, get rebounds, and get easy shots. 25% of his effective SL is added to the team's offensive wingplay bonus, regardless of whether there are any players on the wings (there still may be crosses to him). Similarly, a big DF who plays back is said to be playing "center DF". 25% of his effective SL is added to the team's defensive wingplay bonus (for clearing the ball away from the goal), and he does not contribute at all to the team's offensive rating. [D 4.0] Deleted Section D 4.0 has been deleted by a rule change. The section is left blank intentionally. Of course, since we put in this notice that the section is *supposed* to be blank, the section is no longer blank. As long as we've blown the purity of our blankness, I'll satisfy your curiosity. The rule used to say that if you and the commissioner were ever in the same town, you had to buy him a beer (at his discretion). When I (Prune) took over, I decided to apply my discretion to the rule itself. Now, it's quite likely that I'd accept the offer, but I prefer to keep the rules out of your wallet. This rule has been expanded to apply to the coders too, so if you visit Sweden or England, drop in! [D 5.0] Team Ratings [D 5.1] Area Ratings The total effective SL of all a lineup's players in each of the five positions (GK, SW, DF, MF, and FW) is called that area's rating. The offensive contribution of a DF who stays back is effectively zero, since any shots taken by that DF are lost. A DF who pushes forward (">") or an MF who stays back ("<") contributes half his effective SL to the DF rating and half to the MF rating. An MF who pushes forward or an FW who stays back contributes half his effective SL to the MF rating and half to the FW rating. (The effects of DFs staying back and FWs pushing forward are described in [C 2.2] and [D 3.5].) An FW who pushes forward (playing center) contributes all of his SL to the FW area, but there are additional advantages described below, and in [D 3.5]. The match report shows totals for each of your five areas, and shows any changes due to events in the game (eg. players changing position). However, you cannot simply have a FW total of 100 and a DF of 5 ... [D 5.2] Lineup Balance The effectiveness of players at any given position depends, in part, on the effectiveness of the players playing behind them. (Somebody has to give them the ball!). Therefore, the rating of the MF area may not exceed twice the rating of the DF area. If this rule is violated, then excess MF rating is lost. Similarly, the rating of an FW area may not exceed twice the rating of the MF area. Example: A lineup has a DF rating of 12, an MF rating of 30, and an FW rating of 50. This is a violation of lineup balance, and so the MF rating is reduced to 24 and the FW rating is reduced 48. EXCEPTION: If a club uses longball tactics, the FW rating may not exceed the DF rating by more than a factor of two, but may exceed the MF rating by any amount. If a team violates this rule, his area ratings are adjusted to meet the rule. Any SL lost by this rule are lost while the imbalance continues in the game. Example: If a club has 48 SLs in the FW area, 35 in the MF area and 15 in the DF area, the MF area has an effective SL of 30. The 5 extra SLs are lost. Note also that a player on the wing (see [D 6.0]) contributes only 75% of his SL towards lineup balance computations. Lineup balance is applied, and must be obeyed, every minute of the game. [D 5.3] OFF, DEF and GP Ratings Each team is given a rating for offense (OFF), defense (DEF), and goal protection (GP). Under normal circumstances the values for each of these ratings depend on the total SL in each of the areas SW, DF, MF, and FW as follows: GP = SW + 0.5 * DF DEF = SW + DF + 0.5 * MF + OTF OFF = 0.25 * DF + 0.75 * MF + FW + OTF (where "OTF" is the club's One Touch Football rating.) However, if you choose to NOT play a sweeper, the OFF and GP are affected as follows, regardless of tactic employed: GP *= 1.2 (ie. a 20% bonus to DF contribution to GP) OFF -= 0.05*DF (ie. a 5% penalty to DF contribution to OFF) If you have 4 SL10 players, here's how the figures come out: GP OFF 4 DFs SL10 1.2*(0.5*40) = 24 0.2*40 = 8 1 SW SL10, 3 DFs SL10 10 +(0.5*30) = 25 0.25*30 = 7.5 At first sight it becomes appealing to not use a SW, but note below that longball is a very effective way to make a team with no SW suffer. [D 5.4] Team Tactics and their effects There are team tactics that a manager can employ, which may suit the team's playing staff or be geared to a situation (eg. holding out for a draw away from home). These tactics can alter the above OFF/DEF/GP formulae, if applied by either manager. For season VIII we have two new tactics, ball control (B) and opportunistic (O), plus some extras when certain tactics are used against each other (see [D 5.5] for a summary of these extras). Read this section and the next very carefully! A manager may use no more than one of these tactics at any one time, and does not have to use any of them! [D 5.4.1] Longball (L) When a lineup uses this tactic, its defensive squad is making long passes to its forwards to try and generate fast breaks. This changes the formulae used for computing OFF and DEF to the following: DEF = SW + DF + 0.5 * MF OFF = 0.25 * DF + 0.5 * MF + 1.25 * FW Longball is therefore effective when the club uses a weak midfield and a strong FW area. Note, however, that the club's OTF bonus is not used, since the club is not making short accurate passes. If the opposition uses a SW, that sweeper can intercept long passes and prevent fast breaks. Teams facing longball get a bonus to DEF of 0.5*SW, while if a team stalls against longball it gets an additional bonus of a further 0.5*SW to DEF (making the SW contribute 2*SL to DEF). Futher, a team stalling against longball gets 0.25*SL of any big DF or SW as such players will be better able to clear the long balls. When using longball against the opportunistic tactic, you get a bonus of 0.25*DF to your OFF, as the opportunist team is looking to make breakaway attacks and is more susceptible to the pass behind its defence. [D 5.4.2] Stalling (S) When a club is stalling, the club is trying to retain possession of the ball rather than to get good shots. The club therefore uses the following formulae for OFF and DEF: DEF = SW + DF + MF + 2*OTF OFF = 0.25*MF + FW The ball handling ability of the midfielders is used for defense rather than offense, and the OTF bonus is used completely for defense (the team is just kicking the ball around to keep it out of opposing hands -er- feet). It is possible to completely shut an opponent out with a good stall, but beware the possibility of the press, which can strain even the best defence. [D 5.4.3] Pressing (P) When a club is pressing, the club is trying to get many good shots rather than to protect its own goal. The club therefore uses the following formulae: OFF = 0.50*DF + MF + FW + 2.0*OTF DEF = SW + 0.75*DF + 0.25*MF GP = 0.75*SW + 0.25*DF The ball handling ability of the midfielders is used for offense rather than defense, and the OTF bonus is used completely for offense (the team is kicking the ball upfield with less regard to maintaining posession). This tactic can generate extra shots, but is also likely to weaken your defence substantially, especially the GP. If you press against a stalling team, your defenders join in the attack, and you get a bonus to OFF and a penalty to DEF: DEF -= 0.25*DF OFF += 0.25*DF In most cases the defensive penalty will not worry the attacking team, as stalls are often "all-out" with a very weak OFF. [D 5.4.4] Ball Control (B) The idea of the ball control tactic is to place emphasis in winning control of the midfield area, and using that control to generate some extra shots. The emphasis on OTF is also place on offence, so the tactic is an aggressive one, but not all-out like the pressing tactic. You get a bonus to both OFF and DEF for each extra MF player you have compared to your opponent, but if you get outnumbered your offensive OTF is cut to zero as you become "stifled". OFF = 0.25*DF+ 0.75*MF + FW + 1.5*OTF DEF = SW + 0.75*DF + 0.75*MF+ 0.5*OTF GP = 0.75*SW + 0.25*DF The bonus to OFF is based on the numeric superiority in the MF area, and is enhanced if you have some OTF ability: OFF += (OTF+5)/4 * difference in number of MFs DEF += (OTF+5)/4 * difference in number of MFs So if you have OTF of 4 and have 3 extra MFs you get +9 to OFF/DEF. This makes the tactic good against longball. [D 5.4.5] Opportunistic (O) If the all-out defence of the stall is too much for you, the opportunistic tactic may appeal. When using this tactic you are attempting to defend but hope to get some breakaway attacks. You get a 25% SL bonus for quick players who are not on the wing, so this tactic can surprise teams who put their defenders on the wing, leaving you to make quick breaks down the middle. Even your SW ventures forward with this tactic. OFF = 0.25*SW + 0.25*DF + 0.5*MF + FW DEF = SW + DF + 0.75*MF + 1.5*OTF GP = 0.75*SW + 0.5*DF and the team playing *against* opportunistic gets a DEF bonus: Defensive SL += 0.25*SL of quick players who are not on wing. In addition, if you use opportunistic against a press or ball control tactic, you get a further bonus to offensive SL of 0.25*DF as some of your defenders venture into attack occasionally. All the tactics in their basic form can be summed up by the following table: - GP - ----- DEF ------- ----- OFF -------- SW DF SW DF MF FW OTF SW DF MF FW OTF Normal () 1 .5 1 1 .5 1 .25 .75 1 1 Stall (S) 1 .5 1 1 1 2 .25 1 Longball (L) 1 .5 1 1 .5 .25 .5 1.25 Press (P) .75 .25 1 .75 .25 .5 1 1 2 Ball control (B) .75 .25 1 .75 .75 .5 .25 .75 1 1.5 Opportunistic (O) .75 .5 1 1 .75 1.5 .25 .25 .5 1 [D 5.5] Tactical Combinations A new feature for season VIII is the idea of (small) alterations to the formulae for OFF/DEF/GP when certain combinations of tactics are used against each other. These are best explained by listing them! Tactic used Opposing Tactic Effect on your team all except Longball DEF += SW * 0.5 stall as sweeper intercepts all Opport Def_SL += 0.25*SL to quick players who are not on wing Opport all Off_SL += 0.25*SL to quick players who are not on wing Opport Press/Control OFF += 0.25*DF Control all OFF/DEF += diff_in_no_of(MF) * (OTF+5)/4 if diff<0 then OFF(OTF) = 0 Press Stall DEF -= 0.25*DF and OFF += 0.25*DF as defenders join attack Stall Longball DEF += SW + 0.25*SL of Big SW/DF Longball Opport OFF += 0.25*DF These cases make the choice of tactics used slightly more interesting, without making that choice the dominant factor. [D 5.6] Miscellaneous OFF and DEF Bonuses [D 5.6.1] Midfield Generals An intelligent midfielder serves as a midfield general. Whenever this player is on the field, and is playing MF, his age is added to each of the OFF and DEF ratings of the team. A team may play with more than one general; each general gives the team full benefit. Exception: an intelligent MF playing on the wing does not get this bonus. [D 5.6.2] Home Bonus The home club in each match has its OFF and DEF ratings increased by 3 points. The home club may increase its home advantage by "advertising" to bring in more fans. The cost of advertising to raise the bonus is as follows: Home bonus: 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cost ($$) : free 5K 10K 20K 40K 80K [D 6.0] Wing Play This rule is quite simple, but just hard to explain. This section has had more rewrites than any other, so here is yet another. The basic idea is that you can attempt to get extra shots by playing (W) players on the wings, and that you should put some defence on the wings in case your opponent likes wingplay. Only (W) players get an offensive (attacking) wingplay bonus on the wing, while any player gets a defensive wingplay bonus on the wing Big players do not get their 10% bonus if they are on the wing. Each player on the wing suffers a 25% penalty (not rounded) on his effective skill. This number is used for 2:1 balance purposes, and for assigning shots. I will call this number the rating. Wingplay thus does not effect GP. Thus a SL 13 (W) DF has effective skill 15 (due to his (W) attribute) and less 25% is 11.25 DF. This is used when determining the 2:1 rule, and when assigning shots, and when calculating OFF & DEF. It will still be considered a SL 15 DF when determining GP. By using, thse modified SL's, we calculate both teams OFF,DEF,GP, and calculate how many shots each team gets (call them S1, S2 for team 1 and 2 respectively) Next we calculate wingplay bonuses. In this calculation, every (W) player on the wing doubles his rating. Each Big Centre FW adds 25% (not rounded) to his rating. We use this to calculate the New_OFF rating for each team. The difference New_OFF - OFF is called Offensive wingplay. Players who are not (W), and on the wings generate no offensive wingplay. We then double the rating of each non (W) player on the wings, ((W) players have already been doubled) Each Big Centre DF adds 25% (not rounded) to his rating. We use this to calculate the New_DEF rating for each team. The difference New_DEF - DEF is called Defensive wingplay. By using New_OFF, New_DEF, GP for both teams, we can calculate how many shots each team gets when wingplay is considered (call them W1, W2 for team 1 and 2 respectively) Team one gets the maximum of W1 and S1 shots Team two gets the maximum of W2 and S2 shots Thus the SL 13(W) DF ^ would have SL 15 for determining GP SL 11.25 for determining OFF,DEF, 2:1 balance, shot allocation SL 11.25*2 = 22.5 for determing New_OFF and New_DEF a SL 15 non (W) DF ^ would have SL 15 for determining GP SL 11.25 for determining OFF,DEF, 2:1 balance, shot allocation, New_OFF SL 11.25*2 = 22.5 for determing New_DEF Example ------- A side has SL GK 17 SW 10 DF 10 ^ , 7(W) ^ , 9 , 7(B) < MF 12 , 13 FW 9(W) ^ , 13(W) ^ , 5 it has no OTF, and is not at home, and is using the normal tactic It is playing against a team with 20 GP, 60 DEF, 50 Off which also has 10 Off wingplay, and 20 Defensive wingplay For determining GP, the following ratings are used SW 10 DF 10 , 8 , 9 , 8 This gives GP of 27.5 The next step is to calculate the area ratings for determining OFF,DEF,2:1 balance, and shot allocation SW 10 DF 7.5 , 6 , 9 , 8 MF 12 , 13 FW 7.5 , 11.25 , 5 This yeilds DEF 53 OFF 50.125 S1 and S2 are 2.49 & 2 shots respectively We the calculate the area ratings for determining New_OFF. We double each (W) player on the wings, and add 25% to any (B) centre FW SW 10 DF 7.5 , 12 , 9 , 8 MF 12 , 13 FW 15 , 22.5 , 5 This yields New_OFF 70.375, and hence Offensive wingplay is 20.25 We the calculate the area ratings for determining New_DEF. We double each non (W) player on the wings, and add 25% to any (B) centre DF SW 10 DF 15 , 12 , 9 , 10 MF 12 , 13 FW 15 , 22.5 , 5 This yeilds New_DEF of 68.5 and hence Defensive wingplay is 15.5 Our side thus has Off DEF GP Offwing Defwing 50.125 53 27 20.25 15.5 Our opponent has Off DEF GP Offwing Defwing 50 60 20 10 20 W1 & W2 are 3.50 & 2.33 shots respectively. Thus our side has max(S1,W1) = 3.50 shots and their side has max(S2,W2) = 2.33 shots. Note that side two got more shots due to his wingplay, even though we have 50% more wingplay on defence. Simple mathematical calculations show that you will gain a benefit from Offensive wingplay if the ratio Offwing/OPP(Defwing) is greater than the ratio ( OFF - OPP(GP) )/ OPP(DEF) ) [D 7.0] Shots and Goals Each team's OFF, DEF and GP ratings are now compared. From this, a certain number of scoring opportunities (henceforth referred to as "shots") are awarded to each club. Each shot is assigned to a player from the appropriate team and has a chance of being converted into a goal. This chance depends on the player to whom the shot is assigned and on the SL of the opposing GK. The method for resolving penalty kicks is discussed in section [D 7.3]. [D 7.1] Deciding when shots occur If a club's OFF rating exceeds its opponent's GP rating (highly likely), the club can expect to get a number of shots over the course of 90 minutes computed as follows: 7 * [(OFF - OPP(GP))/OPP(DEF)]^1.5 where "^" is exponentiation and where "OPP(GP)" is the opposing GP rating and "OPP(DEF)" is the opposing DEF rating, and assuming that these ratings do not change during the game. The shots can be expected in a random spread through the game. Tactical team changes, injuries and changes in player positions and styles will almost certainly affect the OFF, DEF and GP ratings. Shots are thus allocated by each minute accumulating a shot resource, which corresponds to the "probability" that a team gets a shot in any one minute (1/90 * the expected number of shots). When this total resource reaches a random target, a shot is awarded and the remaining resource carried forward for the next target. The target, and to a lesser extent the accumulator, is weighted by "luck" to date, where this is measured by the ratio: (total resources accumulated - shots so far) / time left [This method has been tested and yields very similar result to the previous single shot computation before the switch to min-by-min code, with a similar spread of events. Blocks also use the resource method] [D 7.2] Resolving the shot - GOAL ? Each shot is resolved using the following procedure: 1. First, the shot is randomly assigned to a player. The chance that a player will be assigned a shot is proportional to the player's contribution to the OFF rating. However, any shot that is assigned to a DF who is staying back is LOST. For purposes of assigning a shot, players on the wing are only given 75% of their SL. 2. Next it is determined whether the shot is lost because the shooter is "offside". The chance of this depends on the position of the player taking the shot, whether that player is pushing forward or staying back, and on the lineup of the opposing team. The base chance depending on the position of the shooter is as follows: DF : 1% (0%) DF > : 2% (0%) MF < : 2% (0%) MF : 5% (0%) MF > : 10% (1%) FW < : 10% (1%) FW : 20% (2%) FW > : 30% (3%) 5% is subtracted from this percentage for each opposing DF who is not pushing forward or staying back, 10% is subtracted from this percentage for every opposing DF who is staying back, and 15% is subtracted from this percentage if the opposing lineup fields a SW. However, the percentages may never go below the minimum percentages (in parentheses) listed above. A corner kick cannot be offside. Quick players modify the offside percentages as follows: Offensively: 75% of base chance to be caught offside Defensively: 50% of base penalty against offside for DF 75% of base penalty against offside for SW (offsides are more likely with these DF/SWs) This base chance is modified by the team's OST rating: % offside = MIN(75, ((1 + OST/5) * base chance) ) 3. Next it is determined whether the shot is a "miss". The chance that a shot is on target is N% plus 3% for each of the player's SL, where the value of N depends on the position at which the player is playing (this represents the difficulty of the shots the player is likely to get): DF: N = 5 MF: N = 15 FW: N = 25 5 is added to N if the player is pushing forward and 5 is subtracted from N if the player is staying back. For this purpose, the SL of the player taking the shot is the player's "actual SL" (not effective SL). Furthermore, the SL of the shooter is computed as if the player were playing at FW, so that a player qualified only at MF would take a 20% SL penalty for the purposes of taking a shot. This SL is subsequently called the player's "shooting SL". 4. Finally, if the shot is on target, the opposing GK has a chance to save the goal. The chance that the goal will be saved is 60% + 2% for every SL of the opposing GK, minus 2% for each SL of the shooter (computed as in rule #3 above). However, this chance is never less than 10% and never more than 90%. With no GK, the base 60% chance is removed. The match report indicates to an extent how good or bad the shooter and the keeper are, by the amount the shot misses by, the skill of the save or the nature of the goal. It also adds some spice to the action ... [D 7.2] CK Bonus A club's set play bonus indicates the amount of practice it has had executing set plays, particularly those that result from corner kicks. A corner kick generally results from the opponent's goal protection; the CK bonus provides a reasonable counter to this protection. If a club with a non-zero CK bonus has a lineup whose OFF rating exceeds the opposing DEF rating, the lineup gets a number of additional shots over 90 minutes as given by the following formula: CK/4 * [OFF/OPP(DEF)]^1.5; This figure, divided by 90, is added to the shot resource accumulator each minute. Note that a shot generated from this bonus *cannot* be offside. The OFF and DEF numbers in the above calculation ignores any and all wingplay the teams have. Big players contribute more to the CK calculation. Big FWs contribute an extra 25% of their SL to OFF. Big DFs contribute an extra 25% of their SL to DEF. Big SWs contribute an extra 25% of their SL to DEF. Big MFs contribute an extra 15% of their SL to each of OFF and DEF. [D 7.3] Resolving Penalty Kicks Penalty kicks are resolved somewhat like other shots, however: 1) The player with the highest shooting SL takes the penalty kick. 2) There is no chance of being offside. 3) The shot bonus (used to determine whether the shot is a miss) is 50% (since the kicker gets a pretty easy shot). 4) The chance that the shot will be saved is reduced by half. (The GK has to guess which way the shot will go.) 5) The OOP penalties for the shooter are different to regular play. FWs/MFs/UTs receive no penalty, DF 10%, SW 30% and GK 50%. This applies to both shot accuracy and the keeper's save chance. [D 8.0] Man-to-Man Marking This rule is a bit complicated too ... but marking can be an effective way to stop that Golden Boot winner making lots of holes in your goal! However, a prudent manager will ensure his defence is not weakened too much by having one or more DFs keeping a close eye on certain players. [D 8.1] Basic Rule In each line up, a DF player may be assigned to "mark" one opposing player. The player's contribution to his team's OFF rating is reduced by an amount equal to the effective SL of the defender who is marking him (to a minimum of zero). (Note that this also reduces the chance that the player will be assigned a shot.) Marking a player does not reduce the marked player's defensive capability (as the marking is only really occuring when the opposing team attack). A defender who is assigned to marking an opposing player does not count his effective SL towards his team's DF rating, EXCEPT for purposes of team balance. An opponent playing at DF cannot be marked, as his runs from deep are hard to pick up. [Marking is good for two things. First, it can prevent the opposing player's best shooters from getting shots. Second, a little algebra shows that marking out opposing players reduces the number of your opponent's shots if your GP + half your DEF rating is greater than your opponent's OFF rating (the number of shots lost increases as the difference increases). On the other hand, marking increases the number of your opponent's shots if his OFF rating exceeds your GP + half your DEF rating: when a player is used for marking, he no longer contributes to the club's OFF or GP ratings.] Example: A DF with effective SL 15 marks an opposing player (suppose he is an FW) with effective SL 13. The effective SL of the FW will not be counted towards his team's OFF rating, and the FW will never be assigned a shot, but the effective SL of the DF will not be counted towards his team's DF ratings. Example 2: A DF with effective SL 10 marks an opposing player (suppose he is also an FW) with effective SL 15. The effective SL of the FW is 5 for purposes of computing the team's OFF rating and for assigning shots (but his effective SL is still 15 for purposes of making any shots). The effective SL of the defender is not counted towards his team's DF. [D 8.2] Double Teaming (and Triple Teaming...) Any number of DFs may be assigned to mark opposing players, and any number of DFs may be assigned to mark a single opposing player (in which case the effects on that player are cumulative). [D 8.3] Marking when Players Enter or Leave the Game. If a marked player leaves the match due to injury, red card, or substitution, or if the marked player enters the match as a substitute or a replacement, the effects of the marking are calculated while the marking condition exists. Similarly for the defender, ie. marking only occurs while both players are on the pitch. Thus, you are not penalized for marking if the player being marked does not play or plays only a portion of a match. [D 8.4] Marking and OTF bonus. For every player who is marked, the contribution of a club's OTF bonus to OFF is reduced by two (to a minimum of zero). Thus, man-to-man marking provides a partial counter tactic to OTF. The defensive OTF of the opposition is not reduced by the marking. [D 8.5] Marking and Wing Play. The effects of marking count BEFORE the effects of wing play. This means that if a DF marks an opponent who is playing on the wing, the DF's SL is essentially dereased by 25% when computing shots "without wing play", and, if the mark is wing, the effect is increased by 50% when computing shots "with wing play". [D 8.6] Marking and Lineup Balance Lineup balance and penalties resulting from lack of balance are computed before any effects of marking are taken into account. [Part E] HOW NEW PLAYERS ARE ACQUIRED [E 1.0] Pre-Season Draft At the beginning of every season, all returning clubs participate in a draft. (New clubs do not participate.) There are 3 age 0 players available for each team participating in the draft. A certain amount of SL is randomly distributed among these players. Every manager gets three picks from the draft. The players are selected by managers in reverse order according to the previous season's league standings. Thus, if there are `n' teams in a division, the last place team gets the 1st, (n+1)th, and (2n+1)th picks. The first place team gets the nth, (2n)th, and (3n)th. Draft picks may be freely sold or traded. ALL FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS ARE FREE. After that, the cost of taking a player is $50K plus $25K for each SL of the player, plus $50K if the player is big, wing, quick, intelligent, or a UT player. [Managers are advised not to trade away their first pick unless the gain for them is significant. A good first round pick is worth much more than the listed price. Think about what you lose if you don't have a star player coming through the ranks.] The procedure for resolving the draft is as follows: 1) The commissioner publishes a list of available rookies (apprentices). Each player has an SL, a position at which he is qualified and may be wing, quick, big, or intelligent. Each player is assigned a number rather than a name. Players who are identical in all respects are not assigned the same number and are referred to as a "lot". 2) Each manager sends the commissioner an ordered list of his preferences. This list is a list of lot identifiers in the order in which the manager would like to pick them. Any pick may be conditional, and "global conditions" may be specified, such as "do not pick more than one player at position X", "do not pick below my 8th choice in the first round", etc. If orders are unclear, then the commissioner will attempt to make the best pick in the interests of that club, but there is no guarantee that this will be done with a large amount of loving care ;-) For the sake of draft orders, assume you're giving the instructions to a 5 year old child ... 3) The commissioner hands out the highest priority possible pick to each club, starting by giving the nth club its first pick, the (n-1)th club its first or second pick, etc. 4) Managers assign names to their new players. [E 2.0] Free Agents Any rookies not selected in the draft become free agents. These generally arise from clubs who don't have enough cash to afford their third (or sometimes second) draft picks. They are generally of SL 0 or SL 1. The commissioner will provide a list of free agents prior to the first session of the season. Managers may bid for free agents by placing their bids in the Comments section of their team orders. Managers of new teams are not allowed to bid for free agents. Any manager who wishes to hire a free agent for his club indicates this fact on his orders for a given session, and indicates the amount of money he is willing to pay. The minimum cost is the player's listed price (from the draft). The player joins the club's roster at the end of the session. If two or more clubs attempt to hire the same player in the same session, the club that offers the most money signs the player. If the two clubs offer equal amounts of money, neither club signs him (he holds out for more money.) [E 3.0] Amateurs At any time during the season, a manager may recruit an amateur. The amateur will be qualified at any one position desired by the manager (not UT), and start at SL 1. The amateur may be age I, II, or III, depending on the choice of the manager. An age III amateur may be big, wing, or quick (but not intelligent), again at the manager's choice. An amateur costs $25K. An amateur may not be used until the session following the one in which he was recruited. For a manager to recruit an amatuer, he must place his recruitment instruction in the Comments section of his team orders. [E 4.0] Re-Qualification A manager may decide to switch the qualification of a player from one position to another. The player loses SL as described below, loses the old qualification, and gains the new qualification. o The immediate, permanent SL loss is what the player would lose making the same change out of position as in [D 3.2], with a minimum loss of 2 SL. o After the change, the player must still have a SL greater than 0. o A UT may change to SW or GK as would a DF. o No player may change to UT. o No age 0 player may change positions. The requalification may be performed at any time, and the order should be included in the Comments section of the team orders. [E 5.0] Transfers and Trading Players may buy sell, or trade anything. Trading can be a very rewarding experience, especially when both teams gain from the trade, as is perfectly possible and as is always true with the best of deals. If you have players to trade, your best means of advertising them is to contact the other managers by e-mail. And rather than mail everyone, send your offer to the EEFL Trade Digest, which is mailed to all managers just after each session is run. And wait 3 or 4 days for offers to come in; you never know with current network congestion whether the best offer is yet to come from a manager in another continent! Managers must truthfully inform each other of the age, skill level, disciplinary record, and injury status of any players involved in a transfer, and must agree on a time for the transfer to take place (so that no player is on two different clubs for a given match). Any manager found intentionally misrepresenting information regarding a player in a transfer will be immediately removed. No deal is complete until both managers submit identical transfer orders to the Commissioner. All transfers must receive official approval from the Commissioner. This approval can be considered automatic in all cases except those in which one club stands to benefit significantly more than another. Adequate explanations of the reasons involved should guarantee Commissioner's approval (this is to prevent give-aways by managers who plan to drop out). Each team pays an administrative cost of $1K per player involved. For trades to be executed before a given session, they must reach the commissioner at least 24 hours before the session deadline. This to allow other teams a chance to react to trades. It is also often appreciated if a manager doing major trades late before a session notifies his opponents in that session of any changes in his roster. [E 5.1] Trade Restrictions There is a trade deadline in force that means you are not able to trade anything after the last league game has been played, after which trading resumes once the Cup final has been played. This is effectively an embargo on trading while the Cup is on. You may, of course, strike a deal while the Cup runs, but the actual exchange of "goods" may not occur until after the Cup ends. No player loans are permitted. If the commissioner suspects that such a loan has occurred, then a penalty will be applied at his discretion, with this at least meaning that the player involved will not be allowed to move back to his original team for some time. Any players involved in each trade must transfer immediately. Novice teams may trade only among themselves up until half-way through the season (currently the end of session E). At that point, they may then trade with any managers throughout the league. This allows them to get a feel for players' worth before being exposed to the trading market. [Part F] ADJUDICATION OF A SESSION [F 1.0] Format of Instructions The instructions submitted by each manager must follow precise specifications (to permit automation). At the commissioner's discretion, a fine of up to $25K may be levied for each deviation from the formats given here. Bruce tried to be nice about this, but it seems that EEFL managers were really a bunch of slobs (I think I ran second in total fines when I was running a team). Fines will henceforth be stricter. All errors will be publicly announced. The first error of each type will get off with a warning. The next time ANYBODY makes the same error, he gets a $10K fine. After that, each occurrence of the error will bring the maximum $25K fine. Typographical errors get fines of $5K and $10K each. In season 6, the errors dropped off rapidly late in the season. There were relatively few fines during the Cup. As long as the error count is generally low, I will keep the maximum fine at $10K. To help you get used to new rules, there will be *no* fines or counting in the pre-season tourneys. The fines in session A will start at $5/10K. Managers should be aware that the conditional orders [F 2.0] are ENTIRELY optional, ie. you DO NOT have to use them. [F 1.1] Header information The instructions submitted by each manager each session must begin with the following header: "orders:" " : " This helps the poor commissioner keep track of things. Failing to say who you are is an unforgivable sin! [F 1.2] Team orders and tactics This part of the orders identifies for each column who the opponent is. Below that you put any starting tactics in round brackets, plus any home bonus you which to receive (the default home bonus is 3, as that much is free). "vs" "vs" "vs" "("")" "("")" "("")" Below that you may OPTIONALLY specify conditional orders for the team in each match with a "case:" statement of the form: "case: " See later in this section for examples. (Quotations denote strings that are to be typed literally.) Each club is assigned a standard abbreviation by the commissioner and this abbreviation is used in the header to identify the club submitting the orders and the club's opponents for that session. The club's tactics for each match are given on the line below, in parentheses. There may then be as many lines listing conditional orders as the player wants [F 2.0], each such line beginning with the word "case: " then a listing of conditions and, last on the line, the tactic to be used if the conditions are met. The tactics may include any of the following: "L" or "l" for longball, "S" or "s" for stalling, "P" or "p" for pressing, and "H" to indicate any home bonus (the is the home bonus desired.) Note that if you have a home a match you MUST type "H3" to get the free 3 points of home bonus. If you want to buy more points, type "H" followed by something bigger than 3. The tactics given in the conditional lines may not include the home bonus. The conditional orders may also be a "N", meaning the team stops using any of the special tactics if the conditions are met. The format for the conditions given after the "case:" are discussed later [F 2.0] [F 1.3] Player orders and tactics Following the team information, the lineup for each match is given. The lineup is a sequence of lines of the following form: "" is a two character string from the following: GK, DF, MF, FW, CP, TP, Sn (where n is an integer from 1-9, such as "S2"). The meaning of these strings should be apparent from the rules. A player is indicated by a first initial and a last name. Typographical errors cause trouble and will be punished by fines from the commissioner, so be careful. The initial must be followed by a period and there must be a space between the initial and the last name, as in B. Cota. Three players must be specified on every line. However, the special player-name "none", or "NONE", or "None" may be used to indicate that there is no player in a given lineup specified on that line. Each player should appear at most once in the lineup for each match unless he is being coached or trained, in which case he appears twice --- once in "CP" or "TP" line, and once in another line that indicates the position at which he is playing. In addition, the special player names "CK" and "OTF" may be used on CP lines to indicate that a club is spending CPs to increase its CK or OTF bonus. Instructions given to a player may be any of: ": or #", "@ ", "# ", , "@ ", "# ", "+", "-", ">", "<" or "^". Conditional orders are given on the line(s) following the line with the player and all such lines follow the format: where uses a case syntax: "case: " and if the player does't have conditional orders, then simply fill the column with a "none", "NONE" or "None" entry (just the "none", not "case: none"). The conditions and instructions are discussed in [F 2.0]. If a single player is given multiple instructions, each instruction must be separated by one or more blank spaces. (i.e. " < + ", not "<+") If more than one conditional statement is true for any given player or team at a given time, the last (lowest) true case statement in the list is the one applied to the player or team. This means that if you have a player ordered like this: FW A. Deetoo ^ case: G>=2 < case: G>=1 ^ He will always play wide as if you go 2 up the last case will always be true. One workaround is to list your cases in order of goal difference. Thanks for pointing this out, Doug! Blank lines may be included freely for readability. A note to the commissioner may be added at this point with a "Comments:" line, followed by the message starting on the following line. Currently in EEFL, to lower the mail sent to and from the commissioner, the Press is sent under separate cover to a specified manager who administrates the press. The team orders are terminated by the word "end" on a separate line. [F 2.0] Conditional Orders The conditional orders all follow the format case: which is to be interpreted as "when (all) the conditions have been met, apply the instructions (to the player or team). Conditions may be based upon various things, like the scoreline, player injuries, time, red cards and player ELs, but NOT on opposition team tactics (we don't want to remove the guesswork from the game!). Instructions may at player level be typical orders like "^", ">" or ": A. Player" or at team level may be tactical orders like "S" or "L". [F 2.1] Possible Conditions The is a list of conditions, all separated by spaces, etc... and for the whole expression to be true, and thus the instructions given to the player (or team) ALL conditions must be met! Each condition is given as a letter telling what condition to look for and a number or another character to indicate which value(s) of the requested condition will be required. Possible conditions are: Condition Is True when: Examples T[<=>]# When gametime has passed the T>45 true if later than minute 45 time in the condition T<=90 true if before or in minute 90 T<>5 true if NOT minute 5 G[<=>]# Difference in goals between G>=2 (True if own team the two teams are greater than leads by 2 or more goals) the specified amount. G=0 (True if scores are level) a positive number means that G<>0 (True if scores are not the own team is to be leading, level) a negative means G<=-5 (True if the opponent the opposing team. leads by 5 or more goals) F[<=>]# Difference in shots between F>=7 True if you have had 7 or the two teams. Works the more more than your opponent same way as "G" F<-3 True if opponent has had more than three shots more than you Y<+/-/0> A player has recieved a Y+ booking. + means a player in the own team, - a player in Y- the opposing team. 0 means the player that this condition Y0 is given to. R<+/-/P> A player has recieved a red RS (True if own SW ejected) card. Works the same way as "Y" except that "0" can't be used. and you may specify a position P in which a player of your own team has been sent off as one of G,S,D,M or F. E[<=>]# When the player's endurance E<=0 (True if Endurance sinks level is equal to or lower to 0 or or below) than the specified level. I<+/-/P> When a player is injured, I+ + means a player in own team, - means a player in opposing team. P is position as in the "R" condition. % What tactic is your team %O true if your team is playing playing (B,P,S,L,O,N) opportunistic (used only in player conditions) [F 2.2] Conditional Instructions The same rules apply for these instructions as do for normal instructions given to players (ie. "^",">","<","+","-" and ":", with the following additions: "0" (a zero) cancels all earlier given orders regarding aggresiveness, thus making the player play normal. "|" cancels all earlier given orders regarding position, in effect canceling marking, wingplay, pushing forward and staying back. "@" Normally is written in the form "@ #minute" In conditional orders, it is also possible to write "@@" to indicate that the player will leave the game immediately when the conditions are met. You may also specify WHICH sub is preferably to be brought on in place of the player coming off by adding Sn after the time of withdrawal (NB Named subs are now possible with normal non-conditional substitutions). "#" Indicates that the player is to leave the pitch whether or not any sub is available (see above for specifying the sub). In conditional orders, you may write "##" to indicate that the player will leave when the conditions are met, regardless of whether a sub is available (provided that you still have a minimal lineup on the pitch [C 4.1, 4.3]). "C" Changes the player's playing position. The syntax is "C " where is one of GK SW DF MF and FW. eg. C FW will change the player into playing as forward for the rest of the match. Can be useful in a match where you are desparate to win! Note that a change to GK or SW is not legal (and will be ignored) if there is already a player at that position. In general, if you have two players in an area, you may find that there is a 1 minute delay if you try to swap another player in and out of that area, due to the 2-player minimum restriction on the DF/MF/FW areas. This has a minimal effect on area ratings. "X" Swaps the player's position. The syntax is "X " where is one of GK or SW eg, X GK will change the player into playing as GK and move the GK to the position the player currently had. For teams, the usual L, S, P, O and B tactical options apply, and if you want to revert to "normal" tactics use "N" (normal). Note you cannot change your home bonus during the match. Also, in team conditionals, you may include direct output of textstrings to the matchreports! This is done by having two " surrounding the string you want printed. The "s must be separated from any surrounding text by a space, and everything between them will be copied to the matchreport when the conditions become true. Any such message will only be printed the first time it comes true, and at a ny given minute, only one such message can be displayed. For example: case: G<0 P " The manager orders his players to score! " Any sort of text can be included within the quotes except for the keywords 'case:', 'none' or more quotes. Final restriction for the messages are that they must be shorter than 60 characters long. [F 2.3] Examples of the case syntax in operation case: G<=-1 T>=60 > + player pushes forward and plays aggressively X if his team is losing after 60 mins or more. case: F<=-5 L adopt longball tactics for team if the opponents have had 5 more shots than you have. case: Y0 - Play this player passive if he gets a booking to reduce further the chance of a second card and hence a dismissal. case: T>=45 C MF player switches to MF at half-time. NB, such a conditional on a sub allows him to enter the pitch in any position, provided formation and balance rules are maintained [C 4.0]. case: RG C GK Tells player to go into goal if your keeper gets red-carded. case: E<=0 ## Sub this player immediately if his EL drops to zero (if one of the 2 subs hasn't been used yet, of course; otherwise, the player simply leaves the match). case: R+ @@ S2 Sub this player immediately if a player in his team is given a red card, and if possible bring on S2 as his sub. case: G>=1 : F. Bar start marking F. Bar when (if) your team takes the lead. case: G>0 : #123 Start marking player with Id 123 if your team takes the lead. case: F>10 " Magnus shouts that the opponents are lazy " Print the given message if more than 10 shot more than opponent. Note that the case syntax does not work implictly in reverse, ie. a player will NOT revert to his original orders if the case condition no longer holds. If you want to achieve that effect, add another case line (a player may have any number of cases attached). Conditional orders that occur in the same minute will be applied in an arbitrary order (the software has a specific order, but we will not make any promises about future changes). If it is important to you that some conditions apply before others, then make certain that they occur in different minutes. For instance, consider: FW A. Striker case: G>=3 @@ S1 FW B. Striker case: G>=3 @@ S2 FW C. Striker case: G>=3 ## The casual reader would assume that, when the team goes ahead by 3 goals, that subs will come on for A & B, and that C will leave the pitch for a well-earned rest. However, the software will decide the order. It is quite possible that C will leave first, with S1 coming on to replace him. Then B leaves, also with a sub. Since this uses up the two allowed subs, A remains on the pitch for the rest of the match. Also, the software checks after *each* conditional action to see the the resulting side is legal. For instance, you cannot use the "C" action to change your GK: one action cannot remove your GK, nor can it put in the second. Although you may have a "simultaneous" command to swap in the new GK, the software does not have any patience in this respect. In case you're wondering, the "X" action will perform this swap for you. [F 3.0] A sample team order Here is a sample orders file, like the one the commissioner expects from you for the next session of 3 matches. A handful of case [F 2.0] lines are shown, but these CAN be completely ignored. Note the columns don't have to line up, but it aids readability for yourself if they do; the commissioner's automatic orders checker doesn't mind either way :-) You can put comments in your orders by using '#' at the start of a line. This may be useful for you to separate sections of your orders. ------------------- cut here ----------------------- @@EEFL MAN blahonga orders: Mange United session 0 Magnus Nilsson opponents FO1 FO2 FO3 (H5) () (H8) case: G>=2 S case: G>=2 S none case: R+ S case: G<=-2 L none #--------------------------------------------------------- GK B. Hope J. Cleese B. Hope @ 45 SW D. Aykroyd D. Aykroyd D. Aykroyd - case: G>=2 @@ none case: G<=-1 0 case: G<=-1 + none case: G<=-2 + case: G>=1 - none none DF M. Palin D. Kaye M. Palin case: G>=1 T>=60 @@ S5 none case: G>=2 - none none case: G<=-2 + DF W. Allen H. Lloyd H. Lloyd + case: G<=-2 T>=45 @@ S4 none none MF NONE J. Belushi S. Laurel + MF M. Brooks S. Laurel O. Hardy + none case: G>=1 - none none case: G>=2 @@ none MF O. Hardy M. Brooks J. Belushi @ 60 MF S. Laurel - NONE NONE case: G>=1 T=45 @@ S3 none none FW R. Atkinson ^ D. Allen ^ D. Allen + case: G>=2 - case: RS C SW | none FW B. Keaton ^ R. Atkinson ^ B. Keaton + case: G>=2 - none none case: G<=-1 + none none FW G. Chapman C. Chaplin G. Chapman case: G<=-1 + case: RS @@ S2 case: G>=1 - case: G>=1 - none case: G<=-1 + FW E. Idle G. Chapman - C. Chaplin + case: G<=-1 + none none case: G>=1 - none none #--------------------------------------------------------- S1 D. Kaye E. Idle E. Murphy S2 S. McCall B. Keaton ^ W. Allen none case: T1 ^ none S3 M. Brooks NONE NONE S4 H. Lloyd NONE NONE S5 E. Murphy NONE NONE S6 J. Cleese B. Hope J. Cleese #---------- S6 is the GK substitute ---------- #--------------------------------------------------------- TP D. Aykroyd R. Atkinson J. Belushi CP B. Hope OTF C. Chaplin Comments: If I had one, I'd put it here, like a note to confirm a recent trade or something like that end. ------------------- cut here ----------------------- [F 3.0] Box Scores and Match Reports When a session is resolved, "box scores" are published that describes the results of each match, and each manager is sent a "match report" for each match his club participated in. A match report is like a box score, but it is more detailed and has more information. [F 3.1] Box Scores Box Scores contain the following information for each match (you will probably receive box scores for ALL the EEFL games): 1. The final score. 2. The number of shots and penalty kicks each team got. 3. The players who played for each team and the minute that each player entered or left the match. 4. The number of saves each GK was credited with, and goals he conceded; the number of shots and penalty kicks each player got. 5. The number of "saves" each non-GK player made -- a "save" here meaning a "saving tackle", for example. 6. The number of assists for each player -- each goal scored has a chance of being assisted, and the assist is assigned to a player at random, weighted on SL. 7. An indication of which players were booked, which players were sent off, and which players were injured (but there is no indication of the severity of the injury). 8. The goalscorers and the times of the goals. This info may get posted to rec.sport.soccer one day! [F 3.2] Match Reports A match report contains all the information that a box score does, and the following additional information ... this is sent ONLY to the two participating teams (and player SLs are only shown to their manager): 1. The position at which each player played and the instructions regarding tactics given to each player ("<", ">", ":", "^"). However, there is no information about instructions regarding aggressiveness. As things can change during the game, like positions, the initial and final lineups may be different. 2. The detailed resolution of each shot (whether it missed, was lost due to offside, and maybe how much it missed by). Also, important blocks and checks may be reported. In effect, a block or a check is a shot lost due to goal protection. The ability of the strikers, defenders and goalkeepers are vaguely hinted at by the nature of the messages that get printed. A good striker might burst the net, while a good GK will often catch a shot effortlessly. BUT a poor forward might occasionally make a good shot ... 3. Any team tactics (longball, stalling, pressing, ball control, opportunistic) used. Any changes that occur during the game are listed. 4. The severity of injuries. Injuries are likely to be worse if exhaustion is the main cause. 5. Characteristics (big, etc) of each player in the match. 6. Some indication of how shots were obtained (OTF, wingplay, wing breaks, etc). 7. Goal, shot, assist and save/block counts for each player. These are another indication of real skill levels. 8. Substitutions, when they occur. The EL of the player departing is hinted at by the message printed (eg. "runs of the pitch", "hobbles off", "is carried off", etc). Additional information is also be published that a player could presumably compute himself, such as his OFF and DEF ratings through the game, and each player's contribution to OFF and DEF (without wingplay) and effective SL while on the pitch. Very rough estimates (that the manager could evaluate himself from applying the rules to the observed shot and block+check counts) of the opponents' DEF, GP and OFF are listed. These include any wingplay effects. A financial report shows all costs and profits from each match, and this should especially help new managers with their budgeting. [Part G] BEGINNERS GUIDE First off, don't be daunted by the volume of the rules; there are a lot of relatively simple concepts in the game. Once mastered, those will help the other pieces fall into place. As a beginner, you will be placed in a division with other beginners in your first season. If you do well, you get the chance for promotion and to pit your skills against more seasoned managers. If you find yourself languishing near the foot of the table, keep trying, you never know when your luck may change! And after the league you have the Cup to build for. The game is all about learning. The question is, what do you start with? You'll have a roster [B 6.7] of 20 players to begin your first season, and you can select which players in which positions are of certian ages, skill levels and special abilities. Your first task is to make your initial squad up, and for this a team of 2 'keepers (GKs), 2 sweepers (SWs), 5 defenders (DFs), 5 midfielders (MFs), 5 forwards (FWs) and one utility player (UT) would be well balanced. But you could do something different if you wanted to be more defensive or aggressive. Balance your ages and skills in each area, and place your skills with some care; maybe an intelligent midfielder, a big GK, a big FW and some wing MFs. Perhaps a big DF to play as central defender. If you choose a balanced side to start with, you'll be able to respond to injuries easier. The reason for balancing the ages is that older players lose their skill levels (SLs) faster than young ones (apprentices at age 0 lose no SLs to aging). The aging effects occur twice in the season; once at midseason and again at the end of the season. Check out section [B 6.4.1]. So you have your squad eager and ready. All you need to know now is how to put your team orders together in a form to suit the commissioner (and the dreaded match software!). Your order, in regular season, will be for three matches at a time, with the format being 3 columns, one column per match. The catch is that players can't play in every game. One of the roster columns shows the endurance level (EL) of each player. These start at 10, decrease with playing (6 ELs for one full 90 mins at normal aggression), but recover at a rate of 4 ELs between matches. This means that to retain fitness a player should play only two full games per session. In addition, the EL for the start of the next session will depend on the matches that the player plays in ... Matches in EL change 1st and 2nd 0 1st and 3rd -2 2nd and 3rd -4 This is because EL tops out at 10, so if you rest in game 1 the 4 EL recovery is in effect wasted if the player starts on 10 ELs. But in general, if you play 2 games out of 3 you *should* be OK. There now follows a template that you could use for your first set of orders. It includes no special team tactics, no player orders (just the positions they play in) and no conditional orders (ie. orders to be given dependant on the game situation). Fill in your team name and replace TID with your team's official abbreviation. Replace AAA, BBB and CCC with your first three opponent's short names. The player names should be replaced with your real player names, eg. if you have 5 each of DF, MF and FW then the players with initials A. to E. represent those 5 players. And remember you can slip a utility (UT) player in any of the DF/MF/FW positions with no loss of skill level (non-UT players get a penalty for playing out of their qualified position). So your UT could step in in place of E. Defender, E. Midfielder or E. Forward without a skill level (SL) penalty. Your substitutes are then listed, and these MUST be players who are not in the starting line-up. Your formation here is 4-3-3, ie. 4 defenders (including the SW), 3 midfielders and 3 forwards. You have a sub in each position, though only two may come on in the evnt of an injury. With more complicated orders, you can schedule subs, but don't worry about that yet! The only SL restriction you must check is that your MF total is no more than twice your DF total and your FW total is no more than twice your MF total (extra imbalanced SLs are lost for the game). Finally, you specify training (TPs) and coaching (CPs). [MVP removed] You can spend 1 TP and 1 CP per session as a beginner, and you use TPs on players of age 0 or 1 and CPs on players of age 2 or over. The TP or CP will increase the player's SL by 1 *after* the game, provided they complete 18 minutes play in their qualified position. You may only train/coach one player once per session. gets a 1 SL bonus if you take 5 or more points in the session (ie. 2 wins and at least a draw). --------------------- cut here ------------------- @@EEFL TID password orders: opponents AAA BBB CCC () () () GK A. Keeper B. Keeper A. Keeper SW A. Sweeper B. Sweeper A. Sweeper DF A. Defender B. Defender A. Defender DF C. Defender C. Defender B. Defender DF D. Defender E. Defender D. Defender MF A. Midfielder B. Midfielder A. Midfielder MF C. Midfielder C. Midfielder B. Midfielder MF D. Midfielder E. Midfielder D. Midfielder FW A. Forward B. Forward A. Forward FW C. Forward C. Forward B. Forward FW D. Forward E. Forward D. Forward S1 E. Defender A. Defender C. Defender S2 E. Midfielder A. Midfielder C. Midfielder S3 E. Forward A. Forward C. Forward S4 B. Sweeper A. Sweeper B. Sweeper S5 B. Keeper A. Keeper B. Keeper TP A. Youngplayer B. Youngplayer C. Youngplayer CP A. Oldplayer B. Oldplayer C. Oldplayer Comments: Don't kill all my players! end. --------------------- cut here ------------------- And that's all the commissioner wants. In the mail, make the "Subject:" line clearly state what you team is and which division it's in, to help the commissioner see easily and quickly who sent the mail. Note the columns don't *have* to line up vertically. The space between the initial and the surname *is* important. Blank lines can be ommitted. Make sure your orders get to the commissioner by the deadline. Allow a day or so for e-mail delivery outside the USA. After the deadline, you'll get results and reports back. It's usually more fun to read the full reports first, as they are blow-by-blow accounts of each game, with full statistics for you to look through and *learn* from. Then check out the other teams' progress with the results you get (in a separate mail) and finally you should get your updated roster, with all sorts of stats on each player. (You may well get copies of results in other divisions too, which can be of interest). As information can be crucial in the game, you may want to file the reports/results in your division for future reference (eg. so you can mark that star FW of theirs next time round!). What next? You can use the same squad again, if you had no injuries, just replacing the opposition short names. But perhaps you can check up on various options, probably in this order ... (take things slowly :-) - home match bonuses - different formations - making use of special characteristics (eg. big FWs pushing forward '>', wing players on the wing '^') - team tactics (maybe stall in one game and go for two strong lineups) - dirty, aggressive, and passive play (eg. to get more SLs out of lesser used players) - substitutions (maybe to allow star players to have a go in every game) - marking (stop that opponent's star FW denting your goal) - conditional team orders (eg. stall if you go two goals up) - conditional player orders (maybe push your UT forward if you go behind). ... and much much more. Experiment and enjoy it! :-) Finally, keep your eyes peeled for Trade bulletins and more importantly Trials and Tribulations issues, which contain thought from other (more experienced) managers. When you play this game, you will get to know many people in many places. You will soon find it hard to keep track of all of them, so you will soon grow to appreciate what everyone else appreciates. Whenever you send a mail to someone, make sure you always together with your name include your team- abbreviation, perhaps teamname, what division you play in, and what game you are talking about! Yes, the last one may be very important to some people as many of the managers play in two, three four or even more different football-leagues over the net. So, take it as your habit to always sign with something like 'Steve, XBC, Yang division, EEFL' [G 2.0] Useful Services Some managers find that writing lineups and trading players are just not enough to support their EEFL addiction. These people find other things to do to help make the league even more fun. The services they support are often useful to other players, and critical to the commissioner. Without them, the league would have many fewer teams. Orders Subcommissioner Jason Alexander (DSG) Your orders go to Jason at jalex@u.washington.edu each session -- only the late ones go directly to the commissioner. Jason checks the formatting and either returns or repairs the errors before sending them on to Prune. Rules The latest version of the rules is available at: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~mange/eefl/rules.txt Rules Committee Jeff Okamoto (AH) Clearing house for rule discussions, makes final proposals, and passes the results to the league for final vote. Press Editors vacant The commissioner doesn't have time to read 100 press releases each session. These people divide the load, and pass on the best 2 or 3 in each division to the commissioner for final consideration. We need volunteers to collect the press, send it all out to the managers of each division, and forward the best ones to the commissioner. Trade Digest eefl-trade@vivi.com A regular publication, advertising potential trades of players or other team resources. It is run through an automated mailing-list. To remove yourself from this list, send a message to eefl-trade-request@vivi.com with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject. To get on the list, send a message to eefl-trade-request@vivi.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject. WWW Site Dale Johnson (RUR) Several WWW-pages exist with various information available. The perhaps most important are: http://www.eefl.org:1919 The latest version of the rules is available at: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~mange/eefl/rules.txt FTP Site Some addresses where you can find archives and tools are: ftp.funet.fi pub/doc/games/play-by-mail/eefl Software Magnus Nilsson (COM) Magnus has made most of the code updates since season 5. If you have a question on how to write detailed conditional orders, please include Magnus on the "Cc:" list. EEFL broadcasting server Magnus Nilsson (COM) To allow managers to talk, draft and watch matches together, as well as offer some other services, it is possible to log on to a EEFL-server currently found at the address eefl.lysator.liu.se, port 2345. Once logged on, you enter a mud/irc-like enviroment. Every manager who plays in EEFL has an identity he can use to log on to this server. People on waitinglist can receive such an identity by asking the commissioner for one. For details on how to connect, ask. Once connected, please make use of the help command for details on what can be done.