Fun/Games Striker Trials

[DanEnglish]

Just now, Kun Aguero said:

I'm halfway through the simulation, and the one who's likely to go out this round will blow your mind 👀 (and yes, he's been picked by one of you)

Picked by ONE of us?

Mbappe, Kane, or Salah … oh no … surely we can’t be saying ‘bye’ to Mbappe?! Argh!

[Meow]

1 minute ago, Kun Aguero said:

the one who's likely to go out this round will blow your mind 👀 (and yes, he's been picked by one of you)

Sounds like Kylian Mbappe @DanEnglish

[Kun Aguero]

Striker Trials: Round 4

The Playmakers

Results

#7 Kylian Mbappe - 17 G+A

A result I totally did not expect, Kylian Mbappe who's been favorite to win the entire game, shockingly went out this round, after providing only 17 G+A. Part of the reason might be Kai Havertz who had been scoring more than him, but Central Cordoba being too weak might be the biggest reason. So that marks the end of Mbappe's journey, but that doesn't mean he won't come back again. 

Spoiler

#6 - Romelu Lukaku - 33 G+A

I was totally expecting Lukaku to go out this round, but he managed to survive again, with almost double the score of Mbappe. His 2 partners did quite well, with both scoring around 20 goals, but Lautaro Martinez was the standout player, with 21 goals as well as 12 assists.

Spoiler

#5 - Lionel Messi - 38 G+A

Well this round turns out to be full of surprises, Lionel Messi ended at 5th place with 38 G+A. His 2 teammates (Darwin Nunez and Gabriel Jesus) did well for themselves, both scoring 20+ goals.

Spoiler

#4 - Erling Haaland - 39 G+A

And here's yet another surprise, Erling Haaland failed to get into Top 3 with 39 G+A. That's a fairly decent goal return from the Viking with almost a goal per game, but he could've score more if Bruno Fernandes chose to pass more instead of scoring himself.

Spoiler

#3 - Robert Lewandowski - 45 G+A

I'm pretty surprised no one picked Lewandowski this round, even with 2 very good wingers behind him. He turns out to have a very good season with 45 G+A after last round's poor performance, but that just even good enough to get into Top 2.

Spoiler

#2 - Harry Kane - 47 G+A

Who would've thought having 2 Inside Forwards beside you actually help you scores more. Harry Kane had an excellent season with 47 G+A, while his teammate Vinicius Jr. also did quite well himself with 30 goals. Part of the reason behind Kane's success might be his OTHER teammates, as 3 of the top assisters in the team was originally from Banfield.

Spoiler

 

#1 - Mohamed Salah - 49 G+A

Turns out this was the round where the top dogs flopped, and the bottom table bounce back. @Meow's pick this round Mohamed Salah won the round with 49 G+A, which is probably what most of you expect from Messi. Salah was doing almost everything by himself, while his 2 teammates (Davies and TAA) didn't help much in terms of assists.

Spoiler

 

League

Finally a trophy for Harry Kane, maybe Argentina's the answer for him after all?

 

Ranking

1. @StuartM 33 pts
2. @DanEnglish 32 pts
3. @Indian 32 pts
4. @BatiGoal 31 pts
5. @Kanegan 29 pts
6. @Meow 29 pts
7. @P.Rahul 28 pts
8. @TheShane 28 pts
9. @Titjes 28 pts
10. @broodje kip 27 pts
11. @AtleticoWolves 26 pts

 

Thanks for reading, and here's what's coming next...

[StuartM]

Definitely a few surprises in there, Kane and Mbappe swapped around might have made more sense.

I think I might screengrab that table, print and frame it. I know its a marathon, not a sprint and the gaps are very small... all to play for!

[BatiGoal]

Didn't see that coming. What's the AI favoring here? How well players fit into the AI manager's system? Pure ability of a player? The experience / consistency? The entire potential of the team / squad? The tea at halftime? Specific attributes for preferred formations? Random factors? 

🤔 

[Meow]

Honestly I'm usually someone who likes associating results with some sort of logic. And I think I had solid logic behind "1 striker, no one else? AI assigns goal to striker".

The issue is, not actually sure if there's causation here.

 

17 minutes ago, BatiGoal said:

The tea at halftime?

Wasn't the tea mate, I had the baker mix laxatives in Mbappe's baguettes knowing he couldn't resist the temptation in addition to the homesickness from being in Argentina.

Edited March 26, 2023 by Meow

[broodje kip]

Table is still very very close currently 

[Kun Aguero]

Striker Trials: Round 5

Double Trouble

After 4 rounds of competing against each other, it's time to see whether the 6 strikers remained can work together to progress to the next round, or are they going to send their partner home instead.

The Scenario

The remaining 6 strikers had been ranked based on their performance from previous round, and the ranking looks like this (funny thing is Mbappe could've easily be No.1 if he wasn't knocked out last round) :

1. Mohamed Salah
2. Robert Lewandowski
3. Lionel Messi
4. Harry Kane
5. Erling Haaland
6. Romelu Lukaku

• In this round, the Top 3 strikers will pair up with the Bottom 3 strikers, and will be placed in 3 Belgian Pro League teams. 
• The score will be combined goals + assists from the striker duo.
• The pair with the lowest score will both be eliminated, meaning only 4 will remain after this round.

 

The Strikers

#1 Mohamed Salah + Harry Kane - Anderlecht

Spoiler

 

#2 - Robert Lewandowski + Erling Haaland - Gent

Spoiler

 

#3 - Lionel Messi + Romelu Lukaku - Union Saint-Gilloise

Spoiler

 

What do you need to do?

• Pick 1 pair you think will win this round.
• Send your selection to me thru PM.
• You may discuss in this thread, but is advised to not reveal your selection.
• If your strikers placed #1, you will be awarded 5 points; 3 points if your strikers placed at #2, and 1 point if your strikers placed at #3.
• You have around 48 hours to make your choice.

Feel free to ask any questions, and have fun! 😁

[DanEnglish]

On 26/03/2023 at 11:41, Kun Aguero said:

Striker Trials: Round 4

Wow. (Obviously) was not expecting Mbappe to finish last!

Am also surprised to still be 2nd overall! Have been lucky:

• Messi + Haaland also scored poorly, so those votes only gained 2-3 points on me
• Salah win boosted the (previously) bottom of the table guy - rather than someone shooting into a multi-point lead!
• round 4 means there’s less point difference between 1st and last (vs round 1) so haven’t lost that much  out of it.

Salah eh? Wow.

[BatiGoal]

I see 3 options here which really stand out. The rest is trash imo but the 3 I'm looking at are pretty solid options. Of course I can't say which 3 I'm looking at, sorry, I don't want to be helping my competition too much. But 3 are really good. So there's a good chance you pick one of those 3 that I can't reveal. Follow your instincts, guys, goodluck!

Edited March 27, 2023 by BatiGoal

[Titjes]

All goals & assists or only from the League?

[Meow]

3 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

I see 3 options here which really stand out

Congratulating you in advance for your bronze medal for this round #mindgames

Edited March 27, 2023 by Meow

[TheShane]

I legit thought that you'll plair remaining with created old players to make a partnership, like Messi-suarez, Lewy-muller, Lukaku-eden,          salah- mane, kane-son, haaland-kdb. ( In prime).

[Meow]

7 minutes ago, TheShane said:

In prime

You'll be surprised how hard porting over a player is from an older version.

Mirroring how they look using Ingame Editor alone will not create the same player, even if they look like it.

[TheShane]

30 minutes ago, Meow said:

You'll be surprised how hard porting over a player is from an older version.

I know it's very hard and I have no idea how to do it either.

 

31 minutes ago, Meow said:

Mirroring how they look using Ingame Editor alone will not create the same player, even if they look like it.

I thought It will work. Like on PC there's retro databases where newgens can be made to appear as the did irl as seasons go on. So I maybe misinterpreted as if you make a newgen with similiar everything, they'll be same. Thanks for letting me know tho, as I was planning to make retro Milan.

 

[broodje kip]

1 hour ago, TheShane said:

I legit thought that you'll plair remaining with created old players to make a partnership, like Messi-suarez, Lewy-muller, Lukaku-eden,          salah- mane, kane-son, haaland-kdb. ( In prime).

Kane-Son and Haaland-KDB would be a real cheat code in Belgian league.

[Kun Aguero]

3 hours ago, Titjes said:

All goals & assists or only from the League?

It will be from all competitions this time

2 hours ago, TheShane said:

I legit thought that you'll plair remaining with created old players to make a partnership, like Messi-suarez, Lewy-muller, Lukaku-eden,          salah- mane, kane-son, haaland-kdb. ( In prime).

That's a really good idea, might consider using that in the final few rounds 😏

[Meow]

On 27/03/2023 at 17:00, TheShane said:

I thought It will work. Like on PC there's retro databases where newgens can be made to appear as the did irl

Well the appear as they did irl was never a thing on FMM, but I am aware of those types of saves in FM.

As for making players the exact same, it's doable just a hassle. That said if there's any one who can do it properly it's @Kun Aguero, who is fairly well-versed with the hex.

[Kun Aguero]

Deadline passed, 10/11 votes in. Quite an equally spread this round.

Mohamed Salah + Harry Kane

• @StuartM
• @BatiGoal
• @Titjes
• @broodje kip

Robert Lewandowski + Erling Haaland

• @DanEnglish
• @Kanegan
• @Meow
• @AtleticoWolves

Lionel Messi + Romelu Lukaku

• @Indian
• @P.Rahul

[BatiGoal]

Let me explain why I voted for Salah and Kane. I voted for Salah and Kane because Salah and Kane are going to outscore the other two. Basic math really 👍

[StuartM]

My (crap) logic... Lewandowski and Haaland are great but too similar, Messi and Lukaku are great but too different, Kane and Salah are just right (like Goldilocks and the Three Bears... 😂)

[Meow]

3 hours ago, StuartM said:

Lewandowski and Haaland are great but too similar, Messi and Lukaku are great but too different, Kane and Salah are just right

You'll be surprised how close my logic is to this, except anything under 15 aerial is a midget so Kane and Salah are too similar.

Lewandowski and Haaland meanwhile are both Complete Strikers, one a bit faster than the other.

[DanEnglish]

Huh. That’s pretty interesting logic 👍 

I think all of the strikers should do really well - the only difference is that I’m betting on option D to make the … er … Decisive … er … Difference … again 🙂

Spoiler

Option D is lewan - D - owski !!!

[Kun Aguero]

Striker Trials: Round 5

Double Trouble

The Strikers

#3 - Lionel Messi + Romelu Lukaku - 45 G+A

Many of you might be expecting Messi to be carrying Lukaku this round, but that wasn't the fact. Messi was quite poor in his 30 games played in Belgium, providing only 17 G+A, despite not having many major injuries. Lukaku on the other hand did quite well himself, getting 28 G+A, but the combined G+A of 45 means that they're going home this round.

Spoiler

#2 - Robert Lewandowski + Erling Haaland - 57 G+A

Erling Haaland was the flop this round as he only managed to get 14 goals in 32 games, in a season filled with minor injuries. Lewandowski was the one carrying this duo, scoring 45 G+A by himself, which is equal to what Messi + Lukaku scored. Nonetheless, both strikers will progress into the next round.

Spoiler

#1 - Mohamed Salah + Harry Kane - 96 G+A

Salah and Kane turns out to be a pair made in heaven, a staggering 96 G+A between them two, with Salah netting 60 G+A all by himself. Maybe @StuartM's theory that the pair being not so different yet not so same was the reason of this success. 

Spoiler

 

League

Salah and Kane led Anderlecht to win the league.

 

The Ranking

@StuartM remained top of the table, while @BatiGoal surpassed @DanEnglish to 2nd place. Still very close on top, but next round may change everything...

1. @StuartM 38 pts
2. @BatiGoal 36 pts
3. @DanEnglish 35 pts
4. @Indian 33 pts
5. @Titjes 33 pts
6. @Kanegan 32 pts
7. @Meow 32 pts
8. @broodje kip 32 pts
9. @P.Rahul 29 pts
10. @AtleticoWolves 29 pts
11. @TheShane 28 pts

 

Coming next... the return of a few familiar faces...

[BatiGoal]

Shocking results for Messi and Haaland. Messi's had some good rounds before but Haaland.. the AI doesn't seem to like Haaland for some reason. Really odd since I believe we have a fresh save every time yet the same inconsistent issue seems to pop up. I'm not picking Haaland next round .. then again, surely he'll prove us wrong at some point. 🤔

[StuartM]

Haaland is bound to come up trumps at some point, I need to find a new nursery rhyme logic for the next round, perhaps Erling will huff and puff and blow the house down

[Kun Aguero]

Striker Trials: Round 6

Challengers Face-Off

This round, we will be seeing the return of 2 familiar faces, Kylian Mbappe & Heung-Min Son, trying to force their way back into the game, while 2 more challengers, Lautaro Martinez & Marcus Rashford will enter the ring as well. 

The Scenario

• The 4 remaining strikers plus the 4 challengers will be put into pairs, and their objective is to score more than the striker they're paired with.
• The score this round will be league goals only.
• The striker who win in each pair will progress to the next round, meaning there's a chance the 4 remaining strikers (Salah, Kane, Lewan and Haaland) might all go home this round.

The Strikers

#1 - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) vs Lautaro Martinez (Chelsea)

One of the best performing striker in the game so far will face his challenger Lautaro Martinez. 

Spoiler

#2 - Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) vs Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)

Mbappe returns after his disappointing exit in Round 4, can he knock out tournament favorite Lewandowski to gain a place in the next round?

Spoiler

#3 - Erling Haaland (Man City) vs Marcus Rashford (Man Utd)

There's no way Rashford could score more than Haaland right???

Spoiler

#4 - Harry Kane (Tottenham) vs Heung-Min Son (Arsenal)

Friends to foes, partners to rivals, can Son force himself back into the game, by knocking out former partner Kane?

Spoiler

 

What do you need to do?

• Pick 1 striker from each pair that you think will outscore his opponent.
• Send your selection to me thru PM.
• You may discuss in this thread, but is advised to not reveal your selection.
• If your selected striker outscore his opponent, you earn 2 points, otherwise 0. Meaning the maximum points gained this round is 8, and the minimum is 0.
• You have around 48 hours to make your choice.

Feel free to ask any questions, and have fun! 😁

[BatiGoal]

🤔 pick the better half of each pair eh .. I think I got this. Yes, I'm getting 8 pts. Or am I?

[Kun Aguero]

Just to clarify, you need to pick 4 strikers this round (1 from each of the 4 pairs), not 1 striker nor 1 pair, unless you only want 2 points.

Eg: 

1. Salah from Salah v Martinez
2. Lewan from Lewan v Mbappe
3. Haaland from Haaland v Rashford
4. Son from Kane v Son

[Kun Aguero]

Deadline passed, 10/11 votes in, quite interesting that there's only 3 combinations. Most of you who think Mbappe will win against Lewan think Son will win against Kane, while those who think Lewan will win against Mbappe think Kane will win against Son instead.

Salah, Lewandowski, Haaland, Kane

• @StuartM
• @BatiGoal
• @DanEnglish
• @Titjes
• @P.Rahul
• @TheShane

Salah, Mbappe, Haaland, Son

• @Kanegan
• @Meow
• @AtleticoWolves

Salah, Mbappe, Haaland, Kane

• @Indian