Spurious Logic

I have a cunning plan

A plan so underhand that I'm even ashamed to really consider it but it could help alleviate a lot of my money problems. So here it is.

The only revenue stream I can really control is friendly matches. I can't even lower my £1,200 a week salary to something more appropriate. The only way I can generate any income over the pre-season to help get the club finances some way out of the £200,000 hole they're in is to schedule as many friendlies as I possibly can.

Now there are only so many profitable teams which I can schedule and each of them only wants to play me once so there is is a limit on the amount of income I can generate.

However if I schedule each and every one of them, by the time the season starts my players would be so wrecked that the actual campaign for that year would be ruined.

Here's where the clever bit comes in.

As I mentioned during the year on and off, I'd been bringing triallists in on a regular basis to evaluate them. Now they're not eligible for competitive matches, but they can play in friendlies.

Queue lots and lots of friendlies with nothing but triallists (and my real goalkeepers). We played on July 10th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 23rd and August 2nd, 10th. That 5 day stretch in the middle was pretty gruesome as I replayed the same no-hopers continually. They were starting games with a condition of 50% against's teams from a league above us.

I can only imagine what sort of stories these players were telling about our "evaluation programme". Some sort of soccer death march where they're forced to play day after day after day. All for free, in the hope that they might land that £120 week contract. Confused that all the first players seem to do is lie around on massage tables and do pre-season training while they themselves are being run into the ground.

I'm amazed that the fans didn't stage some sort of riot. I mean, they come to see their own team against bigger teams and there's this bunch of people they don't know in their colours.

But come they did. £100,000 of profit and counting. All from a bunch of ringers who I don't have to pay appearance fees to. And, I ended up signing two of them. A 19 year old polish centre back and a 17 year old Spanish right back who can cover at centre back.

I did however make one mistake. The very first game in that sequence was supposed to be a "get the players some way fit for what's coming" type game. Unfortunately the players will still on holiday and I hadn't brought in the triallists yet so I had a team of fake-dynamically generated players against a lower league team. All under the watchful eye of 46 die hard supporters

Our parent club, Levante, is being run by some vindictive people I think. Maybe they're jealous of our carefree, free flowing football style? Or maybe it's just they hate our good looks and fine humour? They offered me a player on loan for free for the year. A very good young player. Better than any other defender in my squad so of course I was happy to accept. The only issue being, he's Columbian. And of course we can't play any non EU players.

It's as if they just wanted to tease us with "you could have him if you were in a higher league, if you were as good as say... us!". And then they swirl their cap, twirl their moustache and laugh maniacally. As it is we took a so-so 27 year old Spanish defender off them on loan for the season. I see him purely as backup, especially as I'd rather bring my youth players through. Though, having some experience is always a bonus.

Idly I check our fixtures for the coming year to see when we're play Águilas again. I want to keep our winning streak of 1 going against them.

Wait... What?

Why don't I recognise most of these teams?

We've been moved to league 2ªB Group 3 from 2ªBGroup 4.

I don't know why or how. Looking at the wikipedia page for the Spanish leagues there's nothing about joining a new league. I'm not sure if it's a bug with the game or this is actually how the system works in the real world.

Regardless, we'll beat them all and get promoted this year. I am confident.

Next-> stalking youngsters at Spain trials day.