opc's Div1 Preview - Cathleticobias Strikes Back

[opc]

AC Dead People
Ghost, TTom, Aero, CircleBoy, Menso Pelaez

Having finished 3rd in Div2 last year, not much should be expected of this team. However, TTom finished with the most assists in all competitions with 11 (2 ahead of assist aficionado opc), with Aero achieving the highest points total in division 2 with 16 goals and 2 assists, so the quality is there, but whether it will consistently come together on matchdays is another story.
The drafting of CircleBoy is a brilliant bit of business. Coupled with Usopp being dropped from last season, it is very much a like for like change, other than CB clearly being the better player. Their other draft pick, Menso Pelaez, will be a surprise package for me, having not seen much of him. However, what I have seen he has shown promise but, as we all know, promise isn't enough in the harsh world of Division 1.
This is a team filled with players I like, but each bring with them a question. Ghost, as an admin of the site, is extremely committed to the league. Will these commitments hinder him as team captain? TTom can pull of some astounding bits of skill, but rarely does he do this consistently. One thing that is consistent about him, though, is his eye for the right pass. This worked well in division 2, but can he rip apart the more established defences in division 1? CB is not only a brilliant player, but an all round nice guy. However, he left his team halfway through last year, will he be dependable this year? Aero, will he be too much of a fag? And will relative unknown Menso be worth the gamble? With all these variables, I think ACDP will find it tough.

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Arriba! HC
jonnyynnoj, deerhaunter99, Sukh, Lloyd Banks

Not much needs to be said about this team. Having won the Div1 for the last two season and with arguably the two best players on the site in Jonny and Deer, they must surely start the season as favourites. This is only strengthened by the draft of top quality forward Lloyd Banks as well as surprise package of last season Sukh.
However, I struggle to see where the defensive side of this team is. Jonny is of course an incredible defender but in Deer, Sukh and Lloyd they have 3 very attacking players. One possiblity is that Arriba! are working on the theory of attack being the best form of defence. If that is the case, then they couldn't have a much better attacking trio.
Arriba baffled everyone when they decided against drafting a 5th player, even leading some to question whether this was within the rules. After the all clear, though, they went along with this decision. Though it wouldn't be much of a problem for the league, if 1 player doesn't show up for a cup match then they will be forced to play 3v4. Is this Arriba devaluing the cup, or does Jonny simply have faith in the reliability of his players? Only time will tell.

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CathleticOPC
Cathalio11, opc, attaxsh0t, Socrates, Vargo

Having come 2nd in the only league that matters and reaching the semi-finals of the cup, CathleticOPC (then Cathletico Mad-dudes), had a fairly successful season 2 campaign. The big decision for season 3 is the decision to drop the attacking Maddude with no clear replacement. Although newcomers Socrates and Vargo are very accomplished players, both are seen as defenders.
So the question must be asked; where will the goals come from? Captain Cathlatio drafted Socrates as an attacking player, saying people must be blind not to see his attacking qualities. With occasionally unreliable attaxsh0t as their only other 'forward', this gamble must pay off otherwise Cathletico could find themselves with a massive lack of goals.
Last season the defensive duo of Cathalio11 and opc, affectionately known by some (mainly me and Cath :p ) as OPCath, was the most organised defence on the site. With a seemingly telepathic understanding of each other's play, otherwise known as teamspeak, they set the defensive world alight with their defensive rotation. This proved to be very successful, conceding just 13 goals all season. However, with the draft of Vargo as another defender, can this partnership be replicated in the form VargOPC? Cathletico will certainly be hoping so.

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Deadly Monkees
Aidan, Aaron, Klinsa, kAoS, ksd

Having won the league that doesn't matter last season to gain promotion, Monkees' heads will be in the clouds. However, a poor cup run left them going on in the group stages, so not everything went well for this team. In Aidan, Aaron and Klinsa they have a strong core to the team, with Klinsa proving he is a midfielder of the highest quality. For me, though, questions still remain over the ability of Aaron in goals. I'm not convinced he can make the step up to division 1.
In signing kAoS, DM have a strong player who is rated very highly by the FM community. However, neither him or ksd are, in my opinion, an out and out striker. That puts incredible pressure on Aidan to perform from the start and, should their captain not be available, Monkees will have a serious problem.
Despite this, I think they have an outside chance of a title push. They've had a pre-season in which they've looked strong and their teamwork has been brilliant. One thing is for sure; with their first game being against Arriba!, Monkees are being thrown in at the deep end. Will they sink or swim?

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Deja Reloaded
GOKU, -rising.star-, Zizou, Sony., Usopp

Deja had a promising season 2 campaign under the name Bombay Badboys. The most impressive aspect of their season was the intricate passing between team captain GOKU and -rising.star-. Despite being aesthetically pleasing, though, this partnership struggled to create the end product, scoring just 14 times in the league, an average of just 1.4 goals per game. Clearly this is not great form, and one which leads me to believe that they could struggle this season.
Unfortunately for Deja, they lost brilliant defender Cheese because of the allure of captaincy. This forced them to keep Zizou, a player I don't think is good enough for division 1. Their replacement for Cheese this season, Usopp, was dropped by last season's playoff winners AC Dead People. If he wasn't deemed good enough for division 1 by them, then why GOKU has decided he is good enough is very confusing. Personally, I don't think he is. We could see many goals conceded by this team because of this. Their other signing, Sony., is completely unknown to me, so it would be unfair to comment.
Having struggled to score last year, and with the side being arguably weakened by the draft, this could be a bad year for Deja and one that sees them drop into the hell that is division 2.

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MasterChefs
Adarax, Blazing, Maddude, Sup, ♥

Surprise winners of the cup last season, MasterChefs enter the 3rd season in good form. However, the team is in transition with Chef choosing to step down as captain and Adarax stepping up to the plate. The often erratic Blazing seemed to settle down last year, but a contribution of 2 assist and 0 goals must surely lead to the question of why he was kept.
Chefs haven't just lost their captain, though. They also lost lead goalscorer V-11. This may seem like an absolute catastrophe, but in signing Maddude, they have a player who has proven he can perform at the highest level. Having played with him myself for two seasons, I can confirm he is a very good player, but I often found myself frustrated with his greed. Whether this will hinder this team remains to be seen. Another of their drafts, Sup, is a very good player and I am very much looking forward to seeing what he can bring to not just the team but the league as a whole.
A big question I have of this team is their defensive qualities. Maddude cannot defend, Blazing is error prone in defence, and Adarax is a much better attacker. Sup can do a job at the back, but his passing in midfield would be missed. ♥ I know nothing about, so if MasterChefs are relying on him to bring a stable defence then I do hope they have good judgement, their season could depend on it.

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Northern Lights
Girgensons, jassip, Opticon, YaMa, FEDAYN

What a joke. Relegation.

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NWA
Lekumberri, Cookies, Fabregas, KaLaJaN1, Rvilla

Last season's top scorer for NWA Smiley is out, Rvilla is in. Whether Rvilla performs will be key to NWA's season. There don't appear to be many goals in the rest of the players, so the pressure is certainly on. Elsewhere they have signed relative unknown KaLaJaN1, or at least he is unknown to me so, yet again in the preview, I'm going to have to withhold any comment.
If NWA can get their defence organised, they will certainly be a force. With one of the best goalkeepers in the league in Cookies, and two solid midfield players in Lekumberri and Fabregas, they should theoretically concede very few goals. In practice, of course, it could be a completely different story. After all, last season they had the same set of defensive players and conceded 21 in the league. Organisation is most definitely key to this team, and it could make or break their season.

[Barry]

Needs more HK Flamingo and Brary tbh.

[opc]

Bump

[rising star]

Cheese was not dropped, he wanted to be a captain.

[opc]

Cheese was not dropped, he wanted to be a captain.

Ah, OK, I'll change it :)

[rolex]

wow opc u write like a 12 yr old

[Lloyd Banks]

haha it took you 2 lines to mention yourself

[Ghost]

wow opc u write like a 12 yr old

Too much irony, bro.

Agreed with you Ollie, Aero really does need to stop being such a fag about it all.

[Zizou]

Who cares about your biased previews you arrogant bastard

inb4 your reply:

[opc]

Who cares about your biased previews you arrogant bastard

Probably no one, but a preview hadn't been done, so I did one. And I tried to be as impartial as I could. The bit about OPCath is quite clearly tongue in cheek. Each to his own though :)

[Prizzle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WRYS-ZrMcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-cu-S1ogh8

http://www.haxballtube.com/watch/f17c1de9
http://www.haxballtube.com/watch/597210cb

[opc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WRYS-ZrMcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-cu-S1ogh8

http://www.haxballtube.com/watch/f17c1de9
http://www.haxballtube.com/watch/597210cb

1. 20+ second intros? Really?
2. I have no idea how good the opposition is, so it won't tell me anything.

Thanks for the links though :)

[Girgensons]

inb4Cathleticogetsrelegated

[Prizzle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WRYS-ZrMcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-cu-S1ogh8

http://www.haxballtube.com/watch/f17c1de9
http://www.haxballtube.com/watch/597210cb

1. 20+ second intros? Really?
2. I have no idea how good the opposition is, so it won't tell me anything.

Thanks for the links though :)

I have a huge ego, thats the reason for the long intros . Cool writeup, thanks.

[Aidan]

ksd is a keeper btw :)

but a nice review opc

[Lloyd Banks]

inb4Cathleticogetsrelegated

o rly?

[Girgensons]

I didn't say we wouldn't relegate along with them.

[Lloyd Banks]

[any1]

Can't really comment on how good this review was since I don't really know how good the teams are. But I can make some shrewd guesses. Like the team with jonnyynnoj being pretty good.