All-time World Cup for 32 countries would be very ambitious but count me in. Each manager could take a team from each continent
Thanks for the rep of my previous post mate - but have another read as I edited it while you were doing that and replying lol, and my extra thoughts have some relevance here I think!
I like the idea of diluting the stronger nations! It will probably be more interesting then seeing All-Time Germany knocking out All-Time England in the semi finals on penalties and playing Brazil in the final
Or splitting England into 'A' and 'B' will make the penalty problem resurface (as the 5 or more great first-choice takers the all-time scope allows, get split between both squads)…..lol!
Yes, even if not necessarily 'B' in quality (if indeed we had the draft between two managers, or one manager hedged his bets more between his two squads of the same nation - and maybe paired complimentary players etc).
Let’s start pencilling down the possible 32 countries then (including B or C sides). Regarding ‘B’ - yes, drafting between two managers is a good idea.
Brazil spread between 3 managers less so. But yes, they could still field 3 competitive squads. I’ll give them a good match with my All-time Portugal though
Netherlands below Czechoslovakia, lol. Dearman et al. at their finest. His number one country also showing the colors... (sadly a common one on the internet and the corporate media).
Depending on La-Maquina's feeling (3 Brazil teams, 1 Spain) being agreed upon (rather than 2 of each, but then of course yes Brazilian teams would start favourites over Spanish ones I guess) I'd envisage something like this maybe: Brazil A, B, C Argentina A, B Italy A, B Netherlands A, B France A, B Germany A, B England A, B Spain Hungary Uruguay USSR Portugal Peru Denmark Yugoslavia Sweden Chile Colombia Poland Czechoslovakia Austria Belgium Scotland Nigeria I could be missing some as I'm not even looking at that table as I type or thinking too much in depth lol, but that sort of line-up seems feasible. But with other nations options too (everyone signing up would have free choice), instead of one of those I listed (a main team, or a B/C team)…. With that line-up we'd at least have Europe, South America and Africa represented. I could see a participant choosing Mexico maybe for example though, or Cameroon....
Maybe it's even feasible to go with Great Britain A, B instead. And Benelux A, B? That could open slots for combined Romania/Bulgaria, or combined Cameroon/Ivory Coast. I'd allow such selections anyway (but would take on board being out-voted on that lol). I guess it would even things a little at the top end, and open things up for more nations being involved. Although it would dilute the World Cup concept (but maybe B teams already do).
I'd have thought at the least though anyway, the first choice XI of France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Argentina might be deemed to be able to give Brazil a good game. Throw in the tactical aspects and suchlike and it could be interesting even if there weren't B teams I'd think. Maybe it'd be ambitious to add England to the list lol (but of course early-era stars can be added to what came later). And likewise Spain (but might the case for them Tika Taka'ing Brazil to defeat be made?) or Hungary (but their case might seem feasible considering team harmony with lots of players from the same eras playing?). Of course some people might take some nations (perhaps one each) where the aim is not really to win the tournament, but to put together ideal teams/squads for outsiders and bring something to the 'tournament' that way.
Alternatively/additionally, we could split the A/B team concept like this: - Brazil, Italy, France, Germany must have A/B team determined by snake draft (with separate drafters - one managing the A team and one the B team which should be of similar quality) - England (GB), Netherlands (Benelux), Argentina, Spain can send a proper A team, and a B team which is probably more of a reserve selection (even if managed by a different person). A Cameroon/Ivory Coast joint effort could be an African Atlantic (Ocean) XI?! Maybe Nigeria would try to team up with Liberia, for some particular reason! Switzerland joining Austria might seem valid too (but not necessary unless requested), or Paraguay joining Uruguay (ditto).
Japan/Korea (all of Korea!) could be an option too, if somebody fancied it, and would add an Asian entrant to the list. Or how about Austral-Asia (all of Asia, plus Aus/NZ!)? USA/Mexico maybe even. I wouldn't be against Scandinavia/Nordic XI potentially, but Denmark and Sweden do seem good enough options anyway. Denmark and Fennoscandia (taking that to mean Sweden/Norway/Finland) as the two entries though could work? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennoscandia
I was thinking anyway, if we aren't having injuries as a factor, that people would have the option to include 2 goalies or 3 in their squads. The only stipulation would be (if assuming a 32 team tournament like we are discussing rather than 16 or 24), that the 2nd goalkeeper plays at least 45 minutes (in one game) in the group stage, although it could be split more evenly between two goalkeepers if the 'Ron Greenwood' approach (with Shilton/Clemence) was adopted! A 3rd goalie, if not also playing in the group stage, would have to play 45 minutes in the remainder of the tournament, if the team made it all the way to game 7. I think I'd suggest goalies can only be subbed on at half-time (if using the criteria as suggested of one substitution after 45 minutes and one with 20 minutes remaining - I know msioux did things a bit different in the 1950 edition in terms of just stipulating a certain number of changes but of course we had smaller squads too I think didn't we?).
Actually, no, I'm thinking for knock-out games it could be allowed to bring a goalie on after 70 minutes instead of 45 (just in one game). That could allow people to even gamble on bringing a penalty stopping expert on (although they'd be coming on anyway as it would be pre-decided and not situation dependant). I think we would vote on penalty shoot-outs separately (with penalty takers submitted at that stage) if the overall consensus was a draw after extra-time in any games.
Imagine Kewell running down the left wing feeding Cha Bum Kun on the counter! Yes, a Fennoscandia squad would be a very solid outfit, and at least guarantee Jari Litmanen a place on the plane!
Potential pots for the draw: Pot 1 Argentina A Argentina B Brazil A Brazil B Americas Reserves (Brazilian players not selected in Brazil A/B eligible plus players from USA, Mexico....Canada, Paraguay, Bolivia etc - not Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru or Uruguay though) Spain Italy A Italy B Pot 2 Great Britain A Great Britain B Benelux A Benelux B Germany A Germany B France A France B Pot 3 Chile Colombia Peru Uruguay Austral-Asia Nigeria Cameroon/Ivory Coast (possibly Ghana/Liberia too?) Bulgaria/Romania Pot 4 Austria (/Switzerland?) Fennoscandia (including Denmark) Czechoslovakia Hungary Poland Portugal Soviet Re-Union Yugoslavia But of course I'd be open to other requests for someone to take charge of particular other nations, or a different variation of some teams (maybe England alone, or Netherlands alone of course, but also maybe Austro-Hungary and Denmark as two entries for example instead of Hungary and Austria/Switzerland which would leave Fennoscandia without Danish players being eligible).
My mind is wandering all over the place with this now lol, but possibly to at least disadvantage Brazil A/B a bit more I'm thinking the manager of Americas Reserves could be permitted to enter the Brazil drafting after 10 rounds, and select 13 Brazilian players for the squad that way (so starting with taking the 21st selected player in the Brazilian drafting process as the opening pick of round 11 in that particular snake draft). Then the rest of the squad would be made up freely from those other nations' players (Mexico, USA, Paraguay, Bolivia etc). Of course, things change if somebody wants to have a go with Mexico as an entrant for example (just like if somebody wants to go with Sweden alone).
Ok, potentially something like this then: Pot 1 Argentina A Argentina B Brazil A Brazil B South America Reserves (including 'Brazil C' quota) Spain Italy A Italy B Pot 2 Great Britain A Great Britain B Benelux A Benelux B Germany A Germany B France A France B Pot 3 Chile Colombia Peru Uruguay Conacaf XI Austral-Asia Africa Portugal Pot 4 Austria (/Switzerland?) Bulgaria/Romania Fennoscandia (including Denmark) Czechoslovakia Hungary Poland Soviet Union Yugoslavia I've switched Portugal and Bulgaria/Romania between pots 3 and 4, as geographically/linguistically that seems to make sense maybe.