Very Small Rocks - 2020-21 - Season Banter Thread

I've moved/restarted the season banter thread here. As we were 7 pages in and much of the prior banter thread was devoted to organizing and the draft, I figured no harm in putting that thread to rest and starting up a new one now that we are into the season.

If you are just feeling nostalgic or perhaps missing the excitement of the post-draft scramble or maybe you find yourself chuckling when Dr. Heckle cuts a player whom you recall he bragged about as the greatest pick of the draft and you want to dig up that quote, you can find the prior thread - 2020-21 Organizing and Banter - here:
https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/very-small-rocks-2020-21-organizing-and-banter-thread.2111086/

If you are looking to check history on the draft, I would start at the GDoc but the official picks are here:
https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/very-small-rocks-2020-21-official-draft-thread.2111233/

And, everyone has visited at least once, but the Official Thread for season transfers is here:
https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/vsr-2020-21-official-transfer-thread.2111368/

blechs_dawgs is having a press conference shortly to formally announce its newest signing, and that will be up later today....

Anyone interested in writing up a draft analysis now that we're 2, almost 3, weeks in?

 

And, I should have done this after GW1 when I would have been at the top of the table, but it's always nice to have some record of the history of the table and to be able to go back and see where the runs (and falls) happened:

STANDINGS - POST-GW2

1 -- BiggerBoat -- 117 (65 in most recent GW)
2 -- Soccer Steve - 115 (79)
3 -- blechs_dawgs - 106 (42)
4 -- Morning Glory - 104 (64)
4 -- FC St. Pauli - 104 (63)
6 -- FC Epikoinis - 84 (39)
7 -- Keysersoze Wanderers - 82 (40)
8 -- Bunch of Muppets - 47 (15)

 

blechs_dawgs opened up the stadium for a late-night light festival to announce the arrival of the newest dawg, Nelson Semedo:

From the press conference that followed:

"We could not be more thrilled about this signing. We have noted previously the disadvantages faced by US-westerners in signing newly added FPL players, and have even resorted to random middle-of-the-night-phone-checks the past few evenings that have not gone over well with the other side of the bed. Last night's check was at 3:30 am, and there was nothing at that point! Suffice it to say, we are feeling very fortunate and lucky to see that he lasted at least a couple of hours unclaimed until we finally woke this morning. Yes, we had to pay a 4-point penalty to make this happen and reducing penalty points was high on our management list of action items for the season, but we hope to see returns on that 4-point investment soon, and maybe even as early as this weekend. You have to spend money (and sometimes points) to get points, and this is ultimately just shrewd business.

There are also enormous trickle-on (up, down, sideways) aspects to this move that we would like to highlight.

First, we had to make a very difficult decision a few weeks ago when we let Willy Boly go during post-draft scramble in order to create the funds for the van de Beek acquisition. That was a hard decision. It may have been the 8th round, but Willy was the 1st defender we took in the draft and we think the world of him. The Wolves defense is a good place to be invested, and we saw how fast Willy was scooped up after his release. No surprise there, and we knew that there was little chance of getting him back later in the season when we made the tough decision to let him go. While we know we can bring back Willy Boly, in Nelson Semedo, we basically get to reverse that earlier transaction - Boly to AMN to Semedo - and, time will tell, but, frankly, I think we even upgrade slightly as we now have a piece of the Wolves defense with an even greater chance for attacking returns if our scouting is accurate.

Second, Nelson's acquisition is going to allow Wolves to push Adama Traore forward, and we know that the dawgs fans around the world (all two or three of them) could not be more thrilled about that. Big, big, big things are coming from the Wolves right side, and the dawgs are fully aligned and invested.

What more can we say? Yippy-ky-ay! We can't wait for the next kickoff. How 'bout them dawgs!"

Semedo himself had a few pre-recorded words: "I'm very happy to be here. I'm excited to get started and thank you very much for your support and we're going to enjoy it together." If you want to see/hear more of the interview:


As for the rest of the press conference, it is bad news on the Sergio Aguero front, as he looks to have another 1 or 2 months on the sideline before he is ready to play. "That is a lot of cash tied up in a player who is not on the field, but we can't rewind the clock and draft again even if we wanted to, and we're still confident that "Kun" is going to deliver big points this season. We knew there were injury issues and that we were going to have wait. So, patience is the word of the day on this one. It is going to end being a little longer than we had thought -- apparently tweeted photos in August that showed him looking healthy on a boat off the coast of Spain don't translate into being game fit and ready to go -- but we knew that it was going to be a little bit of time and the rest of the squad is just going to need to carry us until we get him back."

And, completing the injury report, Tariq Lamptey has got a yellow triangle from last weekend's knock but seems likely to play this GW (in the real world). "Yes, we're aware of his status (both the triangle and that he's likely to play), but it's not really a concern for us, as the current plan is to rest him and to keep him at the end of the dawgs' bench this week. We think we've got better matchups elsewhere, which is a nice luxury to have this week. Next week, we expect him to be back in the dawgs starting 11. He's shown amazing potential and we're excited to get him back out there."

And, as of now, Salah has the captain's armband!

At least for this week, no further questions.....

 

STANDINGS - POST-GW3

1 -- BiggerBoat -- 172 (55 in most recent GW)
2 -- Soccer Steve - 162 (47)
3 -- Morning Glory - 155 (51)
4 -- blechs_dawgs - 143 (41)
5 -- FC St. Pauli - 130 (30)
6 -- Keysersoze Wanderers - 122 (48)
7 -- FC Epikoinis - 100 (16)
8 -- Bunch of Muppets - 65 (22)

Morning Glory and the dawgs swap places, as do Keysersoze and FC Epik, although Keyser... probably would have jumped all the way to 4th but for the late and curious move of ditching Mahrez and Abrams right as they prepared for goal-scoring outings. 12 points for Mahrez and 6 points for Abraham shipped out while taking an 8 point penalty for excess transfers? Dr. Heckle heckled in the official transfer thread and the Keysersoze board has asked for a meeting.

Kudos to Soccer Steve for captaining Ings over KDB. That decision was worth an extra 7 points, and are the difference between sitting in 2nd all alone rather than sharing the spot.

Reverse kudos to the dawgs, yet again leaving goals/assists/points on the bench, this week in the form of an Lamptey and Soucek assists.

And, sympathy for FC St Pauli, as the three-week roller coaster with Son comes crashing from its GW2 high back to the ground with an injury to their captain that will likely see him rest for several weeks.

 

GW 4 - Press Conference at Blech-Headquarters

Another week, another signing (or two), another press conference.....

After 4 long seasons, the dawgs welcome back Riyad Mahrez. As if we needed any reminders, let's roll the video and enjoy this one again... It was a wunder-strike.... It was with his right foot, not his left... We may very well may have already seen the goal of the year....


Mahrez joined the press conference via video conference: "This is exciting. It is great to be a dawg again. I wanted to be there with you today, but I'm still packing up my things in Keysersoze-land. I'm on the first flight out tomorrow morning and I'll be ready to play this GW (assuming Pep doesn't rotate me to the bench). I was shocked to get my walking papers right before this last GW's transfer deadline. You would have to be an amateur to cut Riyad Mahrez and it was certainly no surprise that I would be re-claimed so quickly. And, when that call comes, you hear the ring and you know that you're going to be on the move, but you don't know where you're heading. It is hard to describe the suspense of that call before you answer it. It could have been any of the owners in the league. Heck, it could have been Keysersoze telling me they realized that they bungled it and wanted me right back. But it was sweet music to my ears to hear that it was blech on the other end. I'm sure you all know the story by now as blech loves to tell it to anyone who will listen, but back when I could be signed for a mere 5.5M right before the start of the 2015-16 season, I got a similar call. No one had drafted me before that 2015-16 season. The first game of the season was just days away. And it was blech on the line when I answered and he said the dawgs wanted me and I said I was in. He believed in me before most of you realized who I was going to be. This was before I was a Premier League champion and before I was PFA Player of the Year and CAF African Footballer of the Year. Now, I'm going to rib him a little as he can be a little stingy with the funds and he hasn't been willing to pay to sign me since then. But blech's paying full price now and I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. It shouldn't have been this long to get me back into a dawgs kit, but I'm glad he's finally come back around and to all the dawgs fans who remember those 17 goals in 2015-16, you haven't seen anything yet."

Wheeling and dealing to free up the necessary cash for this week's big move, the dawgs also announced early Saturday morning that Ben Davies had played his last game for the dawgs (at least for now) and that Burnley's Charlie Taylor had just signed to become the latest 4.5 defender to suit up for the new-look dawgs. Asked what it was like to watch Davies play his final game after it had already been announced that he had been given his walking papers, and how painful it was to see the Spurs lose the clean sheet in the closing minutes, Blech responded: "Ben Davies is a professional so we knew he would give it his all. And, he did, and it looked like the clean sheet was there for the taking until the dying minutes."

But, what about the penalty call? "It is not a good habit to be quoting Jose Mourinho, but I think on this occasion, Jose got it right. How did he say it? 'No comment. If I'm going to give my money away, I want to pick my own charity, not give it to the FA.' Hopefully they're going to revisit immediately how these handball determinations are being interpreted and we aren't going to have to through an entire season of this, but, beyond that, I should likewise say 'no comment.' Besides, with what I now have to pay Riyad each week, I can't afford any fines!"

Taking a quick run through injuries, rumors, and availability of the squad, Sergio Aguero is still out and there are no updates beyond what we had last week. The crazy midweek schedule has done us no favors, as Richarlison picked up an ankle injury -- it originally looked certain that he'd miss this week, but we're now being told that we'll have to wait and see and that he has a shot. And, it's not an injury, but apparently the rumor mill is churning about Bayern Munich making a lowball bid for Tariq Lamptey ahead of Monday's transfer deadline that could put a question mark on him this weekend -- "From everything that we've been told so far, there isn't any substance behind this. This is a player BHA just got for 4M and they've slapped a 25M price tag on him. We wouldn't blame them for turning a quick 20M+ if that ends up happening, but the clock is ticking and we have every expectation that Tariq is going to continue to shine brightly for Brighton this year."

Assuming that Mahrez makes his flight and that Richarlison gets the medical green light, fans can currently expect to see a switch from the 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 this coming GW, and the captain's armband will be again be with our "other" PFA player of the year and CAF Footballer of the year, Mo Salah.

 

this crazy season is getting crazier.....

 

Standings post-GW6.....

1 -- FC St. Pauli - 351
2 -- BiggerBoat - 333
3 -- Morning Glory - 285
4 -- Soccer Steve - 264
5 -- blechs_dawgs - 263
6 -- Keysersoze Wanderers - 257
7 -- Bunch of Muppets - 230
8 -- FC Epikoinis - 170

Since I last posted the standings at the end of GW3, FCSP has had a strong run to jump from 5th to top of the table, while Soccer Steve has fallen back to the middle of the pack. Bunch of Muppets has ground to make up after some rough early weeks, but appears to have "rounded the corner" and be heading in the right direction.

 

Just over 1/4 of the season in the books, and the standings post-GW10.....

1 -- FC St. Pauli - 507 (156) (+0)
2 -- BiggerBoat - 506 (173) (+0)
3 -- blechs_dawgs - 499 (236) (+2)
4 -- Morning Glory - 454 (169) (-1)
5 -- Keysersoze Wanderers - 453 (196) (+1)
6 -- Soccer Steve - 445 (181) (-2)
7 -- Bunch of Muppets - 423 (193) (+0)
8 -- FC Epikoinis - 343 (173) (+0)

The first parentheses shows my quick calculation of the points in the last 4 gameweeks since the prior update, and the second parentheses shows any changes +/- in the standings.

After a strong run during the GW4-GW6 period to move comfortably to top of the table, FCSP has fallen back slightly in recent weeks. It is very tight now at the top with three teams separated by 8 points.

There is a similar tight bunch up about 50 points back, with another 3 teams within 9 points of each other.

FCE still has loads of work to do with Auba still not firing as anticipated, but Bunch of Muppets continues in the right direction, putting up the third highest tally over this most recent 4 week period and is poised to cross the "relegation" line and join (or leapfrog) the middle "pack" with just one big week.

 

Ugh. I guess I shoulda stayed quiet. Now we're all in trouble....

 

Through GW14
1 -- blechs_dawgs ------------- 732 (233/236) (+2)
2 -- BiggerBoat ----------------- 711 (205/173) (+0)
3 -- FC St. Pauli ---------------- 702 (195/156) (-2)
4 -- Morning Glory ------------- 655 (201/169) (+0)
5 -- Soccer Steve -------------- 635 (190/181) (+2)
6 -- Keysersoze Wanderers - 629 (176/196) (-1)
7 -- Bunch of Muppets -------- 575 (152/193) (+0)
8 -- FC Epikoinis --------------- 480 (137/173) (+0)

The first number in the parentheses shows my quick calculation of the points in the last 4 gameweeks (GW11-GW14) and the second number is the calculation of points in the preceding 4 gameweeks (GW7-GW10). The second parentheses shows any changes +/- in the standings since GW10.

 

Also, if you haven't seen it, I've added a new "sheet 2" on the GDoc for transfers from G14 moving forward, which starts at transfer 122 last gameweek. Same sheet and same concept, just find it easier after it gets too long to break it and start a new one.

The prior sheet, which has the transfers for GW1 to GW13 is still there, just a couple of sheets to the right should anyone want to look at the older transfers.

 

Looks like it is going to be a brutal week for many. I had 4 players for today. I knew Richarlison was out, but now have Castagne and Zouma not even dress and Mahrez, whom I've rationalized was rested on Saturday to save him for today, has his game postponed. I can still field 10, but from 4 today, I will get 0 minutes....

With the EVE-MCI postponement, Soccer Steve lost his captain (KDB) and vice captain (DCL), as well as Ederson in goal, although he's spared a little there with Guaita coming on with a PK save and likely BPs.

FCSP lost three starters to the game postponement and came in with a decimated bench, so he'll be playing short this week.

Anyone else have bad beats they want to share? Surely some more surprises to come tomorrow due to more lineup rotations...

 

With GW19 behind us, we've hit the midway point. It's been 5 GWs since the standings were posted, so here is the latest look, with LOTS of movement:
1 -- FC St. Pauli ----------------- 978 (276/195/156) (+2)
2 -- Morning Glory ------------- 947 (292/201/169) (+2)
3 -- Keysersoze Wanderers - 932 (303/176/196) (+3)
4 -- BiggerBoat ------------------- 927 (216/205/173) (-2)
5 -- Soccer Steve ---------------- 921 (286/190/181) (+0)
6 -- blechs_dawgs -------------- 911 (179/233/236) (-5)
7 -- Bunch of Muppets -------- 786 (211/152/193) (+0)
8 -- FC Epikoinis ------------------ 733 (253/137/173) (+0)

The first number in the parentheses shows my quick calculation of the points in the last 5 gameweeks (GW15-GW19), while the second and third numbers are for the prior two sets of 4 gameweeks (GW11-GW14) and (GW7-GW10). So, it's not apples to apples as the first number has an additional game and you need to do some division if you're looking to compare, but it shows who has been "hot" in this last set of games (Keysersoze and Morning Glory) and who is "not" (me!).

The second parentheses shows any changes +/- in the standings since GW14. A complete shuffle of the top 3, and unlike the look 5 GWs ago when there was a split, we now have 6 teams within 67 points of each other.

 

While I usually do the updates on the standing further apart, it is worth noting as we get set to kick off the GW, that through GW21, there is now only 27 points separating second to sixth! FC St Pauli has opened up a little lead at 1090, but then the table reads:

Morning Glory -- 1038
blechs_dawgs -- 1034
Bigger Boat ----- 1030
Soccer Steve --- 1028
Keysersoze W -- 1011

21 GWs down, and we're basically even. It should be a good second half of the season.

 

GW22 is behind us and it's still tight as can be. FC St. Pauli still holds a solid lead with the top score at 1142. The positions have shuffled, but gap from 2 to 6 is just 28 points, and the gap from 2 to 5 squeezes 4 teams into a 12-points bracket. The mid-table reads:

Keysersoze - 1088
Morning G --- 1085
Blechs_Ds --- 1085
Soccer Steve- 1076
Bigger Boat --- 1060

Roll on.......

 

While there have updates on the middle of the pack, we haven't had a full look in since gw19. We are 5GWs down the backstretch, and here is where things stand as of GW24:

1 -- FC St. Pauli ----------------- 1259 -- (281/276/195/156) (+0)
2 -- blechs_dawgs -------------- 1237 -- (326/179/233/236) (+4)
3 -- Morning Glory ------------- 1204 -- (257/292/201/169) (-1)
4 -- Keysersoze Wanderers - 1200 -- (268/303/176/196) (-1)
5 -- Soccer Steve ---------------- 1191 -- (270/286/190/181) (+0)
6 -- BiggerBoat ------------------- 1122 -- (195/216/205/173) (-2)
7 -- Bunch of Muppets -------- 1027 -- (241/211/152/193) (+0)
8 -- FC Epikoinis ------------------ 954 -- (221/253/137/173) (+0)

As before, the first number is the current score, and then the numbers in parentheses work in reverse order, showing the scores during the most recent 5 GWs (20-24), the prior 5 (15-19), and then the two prior sets of 4 (11-14 and 7-10). Again, the first two numbers are over 5 GWs, and the last two numbers are over 4 GWs, so not all apples to apples, but perhaps still useful to see the trends of when teams have been hot, or not. The +/- in the last parentheses shows the movement up or down the table since the last update at the end of GW19.

No changes at #1, 7, or 8, but shuffling and jockeying in the middle. My high mark of 326 over the last 5 GWs makes up for my low mark of 179 during the prior 5 GWs to close the gap at the top. FCSP, Morning Glory, Keysersoze, and Soccer Steve all averaged over 50 in the last 5 to stay steady. And Bigger Boat has suffered without Vardy, with a GW average falling below 40 during this stretch.

Only 68 points separating 1st to 5th and still 14 GWs to go.

 

Totally understood, and glad that I could do that for you.

I hate seeing good points wasted, but was proud that I had them in the right order on the bench.....

 

GW26 was a good week for the dawgs! Certainly something bad is coming soon to balance things out.....

Also, as noted in the thread for official trades, Keysersoze brought in Maja and Veltman shortly before the last deadline, and Maja is now on two teams. That still needs to be corrected when @tjh71 shows back up, and we will need to do a manual subtraction of points. So that we have a record of it, for GW26, it looks like Maja got 4 and that Veltman will come on via autosub with 2.

Technically, I believe this was posted as a double trade and the entire thing is supposed to be invalidated and reversed. I don't know what others think, but especially since it doesn't appear that he needed the funds from one trade to pay for the other (both acquired players were worth less than the exiting players), I have no objection to splitting the trade into two and considering the Veltman piece legal if everyone else is okay with that. Thoughts?