The Roots of DESL

Thanks to Peter Babcock, Edwin Smaal and Vince Scimeca

 

Strategy and useful tips - by Edwin Smaal

A bit of history:
A few years ago, my first experience in the EFL's was with LEFL and UEFL, back then the most famous EFL's around. Then I got a mail from Shane, who commissioned the unknown L&AEFL for me, saying he was expanding and had a few spots available. I started reading his rules, and was instantly fascinated by depth and possibilities of this type of EFL. I literally studied his rule set for 15 - 20 hours, I wanted to know every detail about the game. Back then the rule set was very unclear. But after about 40 emails with Shane, I knew everything about L&AEFL before i ever played 1 match.
I made my team, called Kamikaze, who started in division 2. I could not wait until the first match. With my knowledge of all the details of the game, I quickly took hold of the 1st place in the division, and kept it throughout the first season. I was investing in the future and learning from the more experienced managers, by examining what they did. This was the best EFL I had ever played in. I was so excited, I quicky started my own league called WWEFL, and quit UEFL and LEFL because of lack of time.
Unfortunately Shane quit his league unexecpectedly for many, and I haven't heard from him since.

At that time Peter had just started with SAEFL, and I was lucky to be a part of that. As of today I am still a manager in this great league, with my team Alcohol Anonymous. And because of his and my league i am writing this article to help out starting managers, as it is likely that this type of EFL will dominate the EFL-based games in the future.
 

This is just a first article in which I will start fencing with some common points/problems. Maybe in a later article, will i explain them in more depth.
 

1) Creating your team
Before you create your team, you should think about which tactic(s) you want to use. Because if you know what you want to play, you can chose the players to fit this tactic. The best thing to do when creating a team is to examine what existing teams play, and see which tactics are played by the top-teams.
Choice 1 or 2 tactics you want to play (more on this later), and create your team around it.
 

2) Choice of tactics
Like I said before, choice 1 or 2 tactics you want to use. When using a tactic, allways use them to your maximum advantage. So if for instance you play WP, then always use 1 striker and 2 CF's. Because then you maximize the bonus. Since you are only allowed to play maximum 5 attackers, and you need 2 wingers to play WP, then the maximum bonus is achieved if you player 3 attackers next to the wingers.
The same goes for all tactics. Try and use as many players as possible who get the tactical bonus !!

Ofcourse the choice of tactics depend on alot of other things, including the choice of tactic you expect your opponent will use, and on the depth of your squad etc.
 

3) Choice of Style
Always choice a tactic first, then search for a style that maximizes the bonus from the tactic.
So instance if you choice to play ZD, your FB, AS, DM, MF and CM get 25% in defence. So what you need to do is find a style, where these positions are as defensive as possible, since they get a bonus in defence. It would not be smart to play All out Attack, or Total Risk.
So find a style to match your tactic, to maximize bonuses
 

4) Choice of formation
Again, choice a formation to maximize your tactical bonus. I allready explained this with the tactic section. Furthermore, look at what you expect the opponent to do. Bear in mind the Attacking bonus and defensive bonus. For every CF you have that the opponent does not have a CB, he gets 10% bonus in attack, the same for Wingers unmarked by a FB, and AM's unmarked by a AS or DM.
So if you think the opponent is playing WP, then use CB and FB in stead of DS and AS to stop them from getting attacking bonus. Also try and receive attacking and defensive bonuses if you can.
Never forget the Old-one-in-five rule. This rule implies that when you use more than 5 attackers in your line-up (depending on which style you use, see latest rules for this), then for each extra attacker, your divisor is increased by one. For some styles like AA, TR and MI, then WH and AM also count as attackers. So if you use 5 attackers and 1 AM with the TR style your divisor is increased by 1. This means, that when calculating your number of shots, they are divided by 2.5 in stead of 1.5
 

5) Rotating your team
NEVER FORGET TO ROTATE YOUR SQUAD!!!.
Every new season, you see the unexperienced managers make the same mistake. The play their top team in the first few weeks. What happens ?? Well, they get tired, and injured.
It is better to rotate and lose a few matches, then lose of few good players!!!
Championships are won throughout a season, not in the first few weeks. Every champion will lose matches, but the true champion choices when to lose these matches. This means rotate your squad, even though this means loss in certain matches. Lose some matches, but win the ones that matter!!
Another aspect in rotating is chosing the right tactic to match the rotation. In the beginning of your career, when your team is not that broad yet, it can be a good idea to choice 2 tactics: 1 Major tactic, and 1 tactic while rotating. This means, choice your best players for the major tactic you will want to play, and a back-up team for the other tactic. For instance in L&AEFL at first my major tactic was WH-play, getting in those valueble points. But when my team needed resting, I played my back-up team with ZD-tactic, trying to go for the 0-0 draw. This way I could still get 1 point, while resting my key players. If chosing this tactic against certain weak defensive teams, I would easily keep the 0-0, while beating the better teams with WH-play.
 

6) Grudging
Don't think of Grudge as the certain way to win a match. So many grudge cards get waisted in this type of EFL. I believe only 55 - 60% of grudge cards lead to victory. Ex-TX managed Burke in WWEFL counted it during one season, and it didn't make much difference.
But Grudges CAN make a difference if used correctly. This is what NOT TO DO
* Don't use your back-up team, and then think that with a Grudge you will still win
* Don't use a Grudge in matches you will allready win
* Don't use a Grudge in matches you will lose anyway (which happens too often). For instance if you are the team at rock-bottom, don't use it against the title contender, in stead use it against a lower placed team.

Then when do you use a grudge card ??
* In a match you are not certain you will win, a match that will be very close. Where a grudge card will make the difference between the 1-0 defeat and the 1-2 victory.
* A match that requires a Grudge, like a Cup Final, or a match against your all-time rival !!
 

7) Depth vs Power
This is an interesting subject with most likely different opinions about it. Ofcourse you will want both, but in the beginning you will have to make a choice. Either a team with depth, with a lot of reasonable/good players, but no real stars. Or a team with power, meaning (in my terminology) not alot of players, but a great top-11 team.
What exactly am I talking about?? Well, a team with depth, can rotate easily, it has a lot of players. It doesn;t have a strong first 11, but will earn league points steadily since rotating is easy. It will lose occassionaly from a team playing a power line-up.
A power team, can win any match it wants, but it is forced to lose matches while rotating. This is because it's top-11 can beat any team, but it's back-up team sucks. So this type of team will lose many points when rotating, but can win the matches it choices.
Now, what type of team do you want ?? The depth teams will generally earn more points, due only because they lose less points. This type of team can end in the top-3 of the league more easily than power teams. Then on the other hand, power teams can rise to the occassion, and beat any team when playing their top-11. They are the teams that can win the Cup.
So when consistency is required, choice for depth. When the 'rise to the occassion' team is required, choice power.

But now my personal opinion on this. I always choice for depth in the beginning. It will earn you more league points and more cash. Power is something I build on during the 2nd and 3rd season. In my first season, your team is so small, that rotating is very difficult. That is why I advice you go for depth in the 1st and 2nd season. If you do choice a power team, and get injuries to one of your key players, your team is much more vunerable than depth-teams.
I don't mind losing from another top-team, as I know that he will lose points along the way, and most likey more than I will.
This doesn't mean that you have to get rid of your power players as quickly as possible. Only do it if the right deal comes along. For instance 2 NSL 7.5 players can be more valueble than 1 NSL 10 player in the beginning. Power teams will want to keep the NSL 10 player.
 

8) Trading
Trading is what makes a champion. No one just starts off with the Golden team. Once you have chosen your major tactic, try and acquire players with high NSL and good EMP in that position.
For instance, if you play ZD then you need good players in FB, AS, DM, MF and CM.
So if you have a NSL 10 striker, it is wise to trade him for a NSL 10 FB, because then you will have the same NSL player, but then in the position to match your tactic.
Ofcourse don;t only watch a players NSL, also watch his EMP, since it is more important than his NSL. A NSL 8 player can outperform a NSL 9 if he has better characteristics.

Coming back to my depth squad, for a starting manager it might be wise to trade that special NSL 10 player for 2 NSL 7 - 8 players.

Think both long term as short term. For short term you just need good NSL/EMP players, age not important. For long term, try and acquire some young players with potential. Aging can kick your ass if you don't control it. In the important positions for your tactic, try and acquire good players who can carry you for several seasons. So remember that a 18yo NSL 7 player is worth much more than a 32yo NSL 7 player. The 18yo will increase in NSL, while the 32yo will decrease or even retire.

If you are not certain about a deal, ask the commissioner for advice.
 

9) Finance
Well, as in the real world, everything evolves around money. Without cash you can't buy new players, and without new players you can't win the championship.
So take good care of your cash, don;t waiste it on crappy players, or on fines due to bad orders.
Always make it to the EB-deadline since it gives you $7.500 cash in the pocket each week.
If you do that for a season of 25 weeks, that earns you $187.500 a season !!!
Another easy way to earn money is write good press. Usually the commissioner will give you a nice cash bonus for good and/or funny press.
And then for the easiest way to make money: Become the champion !!
 

I hope this helps. It is only a basic summary of the strategy in this type of EFL, and much more can and will be said. It is a mere guideline for interested managers, ofcourse everyone makes his own choices, and that is what makes the game so much fun.

12-02-1999  Edwin Smaal (Manager AA, commish WWEFL)

 

 

 

Strategy Article By Vince Scimeca

for Shane Wright Style EFL (SAEFL, WWEFL, GEFL)

Let me begin by saying that Edwin Smaal (manager of AA and Commissioner of the WWEFL) has written an excellent strategy article which gives may useful tips for this style league. It can be found at http://www.icon.co.za/Edstrategy.html

This article is meant to compliment that article and give my input and insights from playing in this style league since its inception by Shane Wright with the L&AEFL.

The L&AEFL was a new style Play By EMail soccer league which, in my opinion, is far more realistic then the LEFL and old EEFL. Those style leagues are more like complex math formulas in which the clubs that do well have figured out how to coach, train and rotate their players to achieve success. This EFL style developed by Shane Wright is based on a player profile that exists in a database in which the skill is already determined for each season of their career. In addition the player also has "hidden" qualities that the manager may or may not figure out over time, such as leadership, determination, team ethic etc. This in conjunction with the style and tactic that the manager chooses to play on his club and the style and tactic that is played against him, will determine how each player actually performs each match. There are also other factors such as morale, home field advantage, etc. that come into play. Basically what this comes down to is that there is quite a bit that needs to be taken into consideration to field a competitive team.

Honestly, if you asked 10 managers to write this type of article you would probably get 10 different opinions of what the keys to success are. My experience in this type of league goes back to the inception of the L&AEFL when I put together a club called Catbel Athletic, which now competes in the SAEFL.

I also manage Texas Express in the WWEFL (which I took over towards the end of the first season), in GEFL I manage Kateliz United. I also attempted to start my own league based on this concept, before there was a program to actually run the matches. Needless to say I didn't have the time to put into it, and before very long, I folded the league. Since then this style EFL has stabilized with the development of a program by Peter Babcock to run the matches and gives the commissioners the ability to save a great deal of time.

As a person who continues to play soccer, I developed a club based on my ideologies of the game "the best offense is a good defense". See, I play sweeper, and have always played defensive teams in these leagues. Well, after about two years and only one title (which I fell into when I took over Texas Express for the Cup Final) I'm not so sure that this theory holds in this style league. When I took over Texas Express, I was put into a situation which was quite unfamiliar to me; managing a club which was in the cup final and also in contention for the league title. The club was, and continues to be, an offensive powerhouse. I was use to playing 4 or 5 defenders in tactics such as ZD, TS and ENF. The only success I had with my defensive tactics was in the second season of the L&AEFL when I had a ZD club that was on their way to a solid top 5 finish. Looking back on it now, I would have had no shot at winning the title against the more offensive style clubs. Look at how the SAEFL finished in season one. IQ took the title playing very offensive tactics, mainly WP. GU won the SAEFL Cup playing WH over MR who played WP. In the WWEFL Coltrane won the league title playing offensive tactics and Texas Express won the WWEFL Cup playing WH. So, in my opinion, it would be VERY hard for a club playing defensive tactics to win any sort of title.

Defensive clubs can EMP high, but all they are doing is limiting the amount of shots the club they are playing against will get. If a defensive club plays against an offensive club they may get lucky and shut them down, but they generally generate no offense themselves. Typically the offensive club will still win, but instead of 9-0 or 6-4 the score may be 2-0 or if they are a very strong defensive club the score may be 0-0. This does not mean that a overall weak club can start playing WH or ONE and expect to win over a strong ZD club. But if clubs are fairly equal, I would put my cash on the offensive club to win in most cases.

Now, don't think I have given up on playing defensive tactics or I am trying to discourage you from playing them. What I am saying is that in my opinion, it will be next to impossible to win any sort of title by strictly playing defensive tactics. The key word in that last sentence is "strictly". The clubs that are going to be successful over a long period of time are the clubs that have a handful of 2 to 4 tactics that they can play strongly. Edwin makes a great point in his article (see url above) about having 2 tactics, one for the win playing your first team, and a second tactic playing for a draw while resting your starters. In the case outlined by Edwin he plays his first team regular in an offensive style to get the maximum amount of points and he plays a defensive tactic with his second team to get the draw. This is very similar to the tactics that are often played in soccer around the world today; play for the win at home, possibly taking more risks and play for the draw away, attempting to shut down the other club. You can see how this type of game can be considered very realistic!

In his article, Edwin stresses the importance of trading. It is interesting to see managers who only target "star" players who can have an immediate impact on their success and trade and sell their younger players who are not that good yet for little in return. Holding onto younger players is like playing the stock market; you hope you get a good deal on a player that will help you in the future. This does not mean that I think a 18yo NSL 4 player should be worth 200K, but in a season or two he could be worth well more then that! For example, Catbel Athletic had a FB last season named B. Berlinnin who never played a match. He was 18yo and NSL 3.75. I was very happy when I got my roster to start season two and I saw that he was now a 20yo FB NSL 8! This will not happen very often at all, but my point is that trading is very important to the success of your club, but youth is critical to the long term success. It is important that you begin to fill your club with a "third team" of youngsters to take over when that 29yo NSL 9 player drops a point and a half to two points of NSL during the off season. This way you don't have to scramble to trade for or buy a replacement.

I rambled on quite a bit here, but I hope you find this insightful to your success as a manager. The important thing is to have fun. I have met some great people playing in these leagues and hope to some day sit down and have a cold beer with some of you and discuss our EFL strategies!

Vince Scimeca

2/23/99

SAEFL:Catbel Athletic

WWEFL: Texas Express

GEFL: Kateliz United